How did I wind up with this book? Unclear. It’s an unthrilling tale of scientific intrigue (did someone cheat at science to make it seem more like their lab found what might be a cure for cancer?) which felt as slow-motion as the process itself. What saved it, for me, was that it takes place in and around where my partner works, real life places that I’ve been which FELT real. That said, if I read one more book by a Harvard grad talking at length about Cambridge.... A good book, maybe not a great book.

This was a sequel to a book I enjoyed. It’s a YA-ish tale about a young poor Black woman (in Scotland) who is trying to keep a caravan roof over her family’s head while also learning more about how to do magic. And this magic is not just the “ghostwalking” that she learned from her grandma, something we learn that “real” magicians don’t even consider magic. There’s a cool weird library and a lot of other interesting scenery and ultimately there is a narrative about class and who belongs. I was concerned the sequel might not be as good as the first but it was.

Book 1: The Midnight Club. What if there was a way to see the future when you were younger, or see the past when you were older? And what if there was a thing in your collective past which made you really really want to do those things and maybe see if you could get a better outcome? This is about a group of friends who went to college in Vermont in the late 80s and who get back together there in 2014, looking for answers. It’s about the fallibility of memory and the curse of nostalgia. I liked it and the Vermont-y parts seemed real.

This is an adaptation of a longer book. As you might expect it’s an absolutely harrowing read. Incredibly well-illustrated. I learned a few things from reading it, but maybe thanks to having gotten a good education and having done some decently self-educating, I did know a good deal about this ugly part of history. As a graphic novel, there’s a lot of telling not showing. I think the author wanted to use a lot of Dunbar-Ortiz’s words. The illustrations are amazing but it’s mainly text boxes down the sides telling you what’s happening, with a LOT of all-caps for emphasis which led to uneven reading. Definitely made me want to read the original text.

This was a story about a middle aged woman who burns out of a job and goes to an employment agency and takes a string of odd jobs: bus ad writer, poster hanger, Cracker package copywriter, surveillance footage reviewer, park hut space-filler. It’s quirky and goes places you wouldn’t expect. It’s translated from Japanese into British English which took me a few pages to get used to, but overall it was a good relatable read.

This book should have been SO up my street but instead it was a collection of “interesting book rooms” many of which operate(d) with little human intervention with a few subtle jabs at existing public library stereotypes which I didn’t appreciate (things like “no one will shush you here” or “this place has no overdue fines” which, come on....). Many gorgeous (stock) photos and only a few original interviews, the rest gleaned from blogs, news and YouTube which, if you’re a real bibliophile, you’ve probably already read. Lovely, not much new in here.

A sequel to a book I’d already read. It’s an “epic journey” story involving two teens who decide to circumnavigate the globe for an Anthro Challenge. The catch: one has sickle cell and has never been on Earth before, having been raised on a massive space station. It also takes place in a future time where the earth is primarily (I think?) inhabited by post-human “alloys” which can transfer their consciousness into various bodies. Felt a bit too YA for me in that they encountered a heap of obstacles many of which were predictable by someone older/wiser, but definitely worth reading.

This was a fine short collection of essays by a woman who likes to read and also just likes to immerse herself in the possibilities of books. As a person who reads a lot of these sorts of books, there wasn’t a lot that was new for me here, but I always appreciate someone’s fresh enthusiasms. Apparently the woman has a popular book blog which is well liked though I had never heard of it. A nice gift-y sort of book.

A story about some overly-powerful billionaires, the potential end of the world, and a possible way around it. Hard to tell more without giving away some story arcs. It was a bit tough to hang with some parts of this because there are both truly awful people as well as some lengthy reddit-type-posts-as-exposition which would not have been my choice. But! The way it all “works out” is fun and ingenious and kept me happily reading.

A graphic novel translated from the French mostly about a mother trying to come to terms with her 19 year old son who has come out to her as trans. She gets there, but it takes her a long time. This book may not be for everyone because there’s a lot of using the wrong pronouns/names and “...but what about MY feelings...?” but I think it’s also honest and real and may resonate with some people who are less far along in their acceptance journey. Beautifully drawn.