The Best Minds

Subtitled: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions
Nonfiction by Jonathan Rosen

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a hard book to read.

It was long, for one. And it was sad. The author's best childhood friend Michael Laudor is the smartest and most popular guy on the block growing up in the seventies. They are at school together through high school and college, and it seems that Jonathan feels a little in Michael's shadow as they mature into adults.

But Michael is both brilliant and mentally ill. When his schizophrenia begins to manifest itself after graduation, Michael endures a hospital stay and defers his admission to Yale Law School. Still, he is able to attend the next year with support from his father and from the school dean. The dean, along with many other law professors, sees Michael's mental illness as a disability like any other, and with the newly passed ADA laws in place, feels that Michael can succeed at law school with reasonable accommodations.

And Michael does well at Yale Law, with help. One scene that really affected me in this section described Michael's dad Chuck patiently talking though Michael's pervasive hallucinations. Upon waking up in the morning, Michael would believe that his room was on fire. Chuck would call and gently remind his son that the fire wasn't real, convincing Michael to put out his hand to verify that the false fire was not actually hot, and then coaxing Michael to put his feet onto a floor that looked like an inferno. Reading this one has to admire both Chuck's devotion to his son and Michael's courage in facing such a terrifying world every day.

But law school doesn't last forever, and unfortunately neither will the aging Chuck. When Michael enters the workforce, he finds that world much less accommodating. Things simply will not end well for Michael, and that's not a spoiler. (The synopsis notes actually DO give away the ending, which I regret knowing in advance. So I recommend not reading the entire book jacket.)

In short, this was a well-written book that gives you a lot to think about, but it's heavy and depressing.

Starter Villain

 Audible Original Fiction by John Scalzi.

https://www.audible.com

Charlie is a thirty-five-year-old, divorced, laid-off journalist struggling to hang onto his childhood home and eke out a living as a substitute teacher. His only friend is his cat, Hera, and his dream (an it-will-never-happen kind of dream) is to own the neighborhood pub.

Then his estranged uncle dies and leaves him... not an inheritance, but an adventure.

This was a fun story with great narration. I will look for more by this author.

I also read recently by Audible Originals: Will Save the Galaxy for Food

I also read by this author: Travel by Bullet

The Armor of Light

 Fiction by Ken Follett

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is book five in the Kingsbridge series; the last one of those I read was The Evening and the Morning, which was technically book four but chronologically book one. (Yeah. Confusing.) The other books are: The Pillars of the Earth , World Without End , and A Column of Fire. However, as I mentioned, each book is connected by location only and can stand alone.

The whole series is about the history of England as lived in the village of Kingsbridge (hence the name), and this installment takes place in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution.

As always, the author takes the big sweeping historical events and brings them down to the level of characters that the reader can care about, making things interesting and personal. All of these books are fabulous.

I also read recently by this author: The Modigliani Scandal

A Faint Cold Fear

 Fiction by Karin Slaughter

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is the third book in the "Grant County" book series; the last book I read in that series was Kisscut.

At the beginning of this story, pediatrician and small-town coroner Sara Linton is called to the scene of a possible homicide and accidentally puts her pregnant sister in danger. The mystery ensues from there, and the ending is surprising. 

The story was exciting. It's dark and gory though.

I also read recently by this author: Undone

Tom Lake

 Fiction by Ann Patchett

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In mid-2020 Lara's three grown daughters Emily, Maisie, and Nell have come home to the family's cherry orchard to "quarantine" and pick cherries. To pass the time Lara tells the girls a story they have always wanted to hear: how she used to date the famous actor called "The Duke," before she met their father, of course.

This was a very interesting character story. It was good but not as fabulous as some others I have read by this author.

I also read recently by this author: Bel Canto

Life, Loss, and Puffins

Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is peripherally a story within a story; it begins with a woman called Ru telling a couple of teenaged girls about her life. The dates are ambiguous, and I don’t know how old Ru is supposed to be at the beginning, but I don’t think she’s an old lady. The point of the telling is not reveal until the very end of the book. 

Ru begins her story at age thirteen when she meets her best friend Gabriel, who is not her boyfriend. The events that unfold are interesting and surprising, and the reader will fall in love with both Gabriel and Ru herself. 

This was a really good book with great characters and a lot to think about, as I’ve come to expect from this author.

I also read recently by this author: Just a Regular Boy

The Women

 Fiction by Kristin Hannah

https://barnesandnoble.com

In 1967, someone tells Frankie McGrath, “Women can be heroes too.” As a young woman with a strong family tradition of patriotism, often thinking of her war hero ancestors, this really resonates with her. Frankie signs up to be an Army nurse in Vietnam, and quickly discovers how hard heroism is going to be. 

With the benefit of history we all know the troubles that the Vietnam war brought American young men. But in this book we are reminded that maybe ten thousand or so women went through it as well, and their experience was complicated by the common perception that, “There were no women in Vietnam.”

This was a really good story but very upsetting to read. I wouldn’t say I liked it. 

I also read recently by this author: The Four Winds

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson

 Fiction by Ellen Baker

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story begins in 1924 when four-year-old Cecily’s mother drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to come back for her. Then it jumps abruptly to 2015 when 95-year-old Cecily falls down at home and breaks her hip. After that the book goes back and forth between past and present events to tell Cecily’s story.

I liked the characters and plot of this novel,  but I had some trouble with the time line. I wanted to spend much more time understanding past child Cecily before being thrust into present old-woman Cecily and her attendant family members. Later another set of characters are randomly introduced (it is possible to guess how they will fit in but the connection is not revealed until later) and it adds to the slightly jarring feeling. It was not that I was confused, exactly. It just felt like the story could have flowed more pleasantly.

I say all of that (probably unnecessary) explanation to make the point that I liked the book but did not love it.

Will Save the Galaxy for Food

 Audible Original Fiction by Yahtzee Croshaw

https://www.amazon.com

After Earth conquers space travel with hero star pilots boldly going where no man has gone before, they figure out how to do it more efficiently with quantum tunneling. This innovation brings a million opportunities but consequently a lot of star pilots are out of work. 

In this crazy future world we meet our hero, a star pilot scratching out a living taking bored tourists on spaceship rides to relive How Outer Space Used To Be. Then an opportunity comes his way that results in a great caper story. 

This was a fun little story with both excitement and laughs.

I also read by this author, and from Audible Originals: Differently Morphous

Where You End

 Fiction by Abbot Kahler

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Kat and Jude are twenty three year old identical twins. When they get in a car accident and Kat loses her memory, Jude takes the opportunity to rewrite history in order to protect her sister from the reality of their actual shared past. But the past always comes out, especially in psychological thrillers…

I didn’t really like this book. It was so obvious that Jude was making things up and then so annoying how bad a job she did of it. Then the revelations of the twins’ true history was just awful: both too graphic and oddly under-explained. I guess it mostly held my attention but I ended up disliking pretty much every character. 

Family Family

Fiction by Laurie Frankel

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

India Allwood is a TV actress and mother of ten year old twins who finds herself in the middle of a controversy after she makes her first movie. This happens because she accidentally speaks to a reporter and gives her actual opinion instead of sticking to “No Comment.” Then the whole thing blows up crazily and only gets worse when her daughter tries to help. 

This was a great story with wonderful characters and several surprises. 

I Will Find You

 Fiction by Harlan Coben

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

David Burroughs is serving a life sentence in prison for murdering his three-year-old son Matthew. He didn't do it, of course, but the evidence against him was pretty strong and David didn't even try to fight the case very hard. With Matthew dead, why bother?

Then something happens to cause him to think Matthew might still be alive! What will David do now?

This was a really good thriller! The audiobook narration was top-notch as well.

I also read recently by this author: Think Twice

After Annie

 Fiction by Anna Quindlen

https://www.amazon.com

Annie is a young wife and mother of four when she drops dead in the middle of serving meatloaf for dinner. This story is about what happens after that, specifically to her daughter Ali, her husband Bill, and her best friend AnneMarie.

It's a sad story but also a good one. I loved the characters.

I also read by this author: Alternate Side

The ABC Murders

 Fiction by Agatha Christie

https://www.audible.com

In this classic murder mystery, a serial killer is stalking England and sending taunting anonymous notes to semi-retired detective Hercule Poirot about it. Will M. Poirot discover the murderer's identity before his next victim dies?

As always, this was a great mystery story and the ending was a surprise!

I also read recently by this author: The Seven Dials Mystery