For one reason or another, I don’t always write a full review of every book I read. Sometimes I just don’t have the time. And I find that I write better reviews (more meaningful, not necessarily more stars) right after I finish a book and the details are fresh in my head. So here are a few mini-reviews of books I have read over the last month or so.
Honestly, I may end up writing a more detailed review of We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker which is one of my favorite books in 2021 (so far). I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. It’s the story/mystery of a group of broken people beginning with the accidental death of a young girl by a friend of her older sister. Whitaker skillfully paints a picture of both a small, poor California coast town and the wide-open spaces of Montana. I found myself empathizing with all of his broken characters – he creates complicated, disappointing characters who all have sparks of good and bad.
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt by Anonymous was recommended to me by a friend. Duchess Goldblatt is a fictional character created for Twitter by an anonymous person. The book itself is the story of Duchess’s creator, a nameless woman, and how Duchess helps her cope with many recent, personal losses. I found the character of Duchess much more likable that her creator. Duchess has a dry, dark sense of humor with quick wit and a kind heart. Anonymous clearly went through a traumatic time but she wasn’t specific enough for me to feel empathetic. It felt very one dimensional. I would, however, recommend following Duchess on Twitter – she is very entertaining!
The release of Walter Isaacson’s Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing and the Future of the Human Race couldn’t have been more timely with two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out all over the country. Jennifer Doudna was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, along with her partner Emmanuelle Charpentier, for discovering CRISPR technology, an integral part of the vaccines that were developed to fight the pandemic. Isaacson focuses on Doudna – her history, research and lab – while also introducing other scientists integral to gene editing technology and the moral dilemmas that the scientific community and society at large must confront. Even a non-science person like me was able to understand (most of) this book. And the personal stories are inspirational for young people who want to go into the sciences.
Right now, I am reading Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 by Volker Ullrich. Since I read The Diary of Anne Frank and The Winds of War, I have been fascinating by World War II. I haven’t ever read anything specifically about Hitler but the reviews of this book and its pair, Hitler: Downfall, 1939-1945 caught my interest. So far, it has struck me how early in his life he promoted anti-Sementic views around ‘extermination’. It was his goal from the beginning – along with other people, too. Very disturbing. It will be a hard book to review because it is so upsetting.
Looking forward, I will be re-reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig for my book club discussion in May. I loved it and want to remember details so I can participate in the discussion. Others on my short-list; Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny or Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe.
Happy Reading, friends!
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