'My Friends' by Fredrik Backman and 'We'll Prescribe You a Cat' by Syou Ishida

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat, Syou Ishida (4.0)

I can understand why this book has been translated into many languages – it is delightful. Some of us know that a cat can cure many ills, but now everyone can ‘read’ it in action. Depressed? Overworked? Watch the bond between human and cat work it’s magic. Ishida-san has not veered from true cat behavior in her examples which makes the stories all the more believable.

 

My Friends, Fredrik Backman (5.0)

I’ve enjoyed reading a few of Mr. Backman’s books, but this is my favorite. In it he has perfectly captured the voices of ‘lost’ teens – the angst, ennui and frustration of the time between childhood and adulthood, made tougher for the teens in this book as they all come from troubled homes. The touching story starts with a painting whose backstory is told in flashbacks to understand the artist, his friends and their choices. There is laughter, tears and surprises– all a great book needs. I don’t want to say more as the journey through this book is part of the pleasure. Enjoy.

 Open Socrates, Agnes Callard (3.5)

Not an easy book to read, but the author makes some interesting points about what Socrates and the Socratic method really represent. She uses the dialogues written by various peers and students to describe his motivations and where many people have possibly gotten things wrong. The main point I took away was that the method was not asking questions in order to get the student to the correct answer on their own. It’s to learn and grow together through dialogue and questioning – the key being together. He believed that thinking happens out loud with conversation. And that you need to have the right kind of conversations to learn. I also liked the idea that we often think of questions as solving a problem, but answering a question is a quest not removing a barrier.

'Hamnet' by Maggie O'Farrell & 'The Uncool' by Cameron Crowe

 Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell (4.0)

I wasn’t sure this book would live up to the hype, but I’m happy to say, for me it did. An imagining of the circumstances around William Shakespeare’s inspiration for ‘Hamlet’, it is based on few facts: he got married, had 3 children, one dies (thought to be named ‘Hamnet’), and he writes the play. The author has done a lot with that little bit of info. Her characters are well rounded and interesting, particularly his wife. I liked that you know what happens from the start, yet the story compels you to read on. This is both a story of family and love in perilous times.

 

The Uncool, Cameron Crowe (4.0)

In addition to a good interviewer, Mr. Crowe once again proves himself a great storyteller. Anyone who grew up to the music of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s will appreciate his descriptions of experiences meeting and interviewing countless rock legends. Given his young age and honest nature, they open up to him in astonishing ways. When you look at today’s musical artists, it’s hard to believe anyone would have the kind of access as he did. He has written a touching, authentic account of his family life and budding career in this enjoyable memoir.

'The Book of Doors' by Gareth Brown

 The Book of Doors, Gareth Brown (3.5)

This book is a very imaginative debut novel with a unique take on time travel, which is quite hard to do. I was even surprised by a few parts of the dramatic ending – which I always appreciate! A young woman is gifted a strange book that allows her to travel through doors that she can imagine. She realizes there are other books with magical properties, but people looking for them to use them for bad purposes. She finds others who are trying to keep the books from the bad people. I would have given it 4 stars, if only the evil characters were not so one dimensional. Their actions and dialogue were almost laughable. Also, at times it seemed obvious that the author was a man as the young women in the book have some stereotypical hang-ups. The book is a 4 for plot and 2 for character/dialogue.

'On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service' by Anthony Fauci

 On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service, Anthony Fauci (3.5)

Dr Fauci’s parents must have taught him ‘if you don’t have something nice to say about someone, don’t say anything’. I have never read a book with more glowing things said about everyone he mentions (including every- yes, every- President he works with. Though some with less gusto). And while deserving of praise, in his telling, he rarely takes a wrong step. I enjoyed reading about all the major virology issues he dealt with. Frankly forgetting so many of them during my lifetime. The HIV/Aids epidemic took many pages, similar to the years it took to understand and try to control. I got a little lost in all the detail. I found handling of the workers exposed to Ebola riveting and the handling of COVID frustrating. Overall, much of it was interesting. While I appreciate the hard work many went through, I grew tired of hearing how great everyone was.

 

'Artemis' by Andy Weir

 Artemis, Andy Weir (3.5)

Andy Weir loves a stranded MacGyver-like protagonist! This time it’s a young smuggler, Jazz. She lives on the moon-base, Artemis, with a goal of making enough money to move out of her ‘coffin’ apartment. Weir does a great job at the details of life on the moon – from the basics of everyday to the specifics when something goes awry (i.e. fire at a factory!). The plot moves along well, and the journey is interesting. I prefer ‘Martian’ for the raw fear it induced and ‘Project Hail Mary’ the most for his imagination and the surprises along the way.

'Solito' by Javier Zamora

 Solito, Javier Zamora (5.0)

Anyone living in the US should read this book. It puts a face to the many nameless illegal immigrants coming into the country. It’s easy to label them all as criminals, but following a child who came across with strangers, shows the real desperation many immigrants have. I really liked that this book was told from the author’s perspective as a nine-year-old. His voice was authentic and innocent. He is from El Salvador and this is his story of travelling across 3 countries to join his parents in the US. While the journey was heartbreaking and scary, my faith in humanity was revived seeing how many people wanted to help a young boy.