'A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness' by Michael Pollan, 'The Huntress' by Kate Quinn, 'His & Hers' by Alice Feeney

 His & Hers, Alice Feeney (3.0)

Still trying to decide if I liked this book. It is very manipulative, with an unreliable narrator. Not as bad as ‘Gone Girl’, but the whodunnit aspect took the last 20% to unravel with several twists. It was quite compelling and read quickly. Most characters were unlikeable in several ways – which makes it difficult to really enjoy the book. The main premise has a journalist returning to her hometown outside of London where a murder has taken place. Every piece of information we get as she is there is a surprise about her history. Throughout the book 1-2 pages from the killer’s point of view are interspersed between chapters. When there are major twists, I often ask myself: did the author give enough clues for the reader to solve the puzzle? In this case I think the clues were so hidden or intended to distract/divert that it was only possible if you guessed every character did it (which I did at one point!).

The Huntress, Kate Quinn (4.0)

I enjoyed this version of her usual trope of strong women during WWII. Though this one has several strong women: good, bad, and good but broken. All her characters are vibrant in different ways. Much of the story happens once the war is complete, with the focus on finding people who had done particularly bad things. A war journalist is trying to find the woman who killed his brother and we know she has taken up a new identity in the US. The chapters dance back and forth in time to give us the back-story of all the main players. The year changes with each chapter, so you need to pay attention.

 

A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness, Michael Pollan (4.0)

This book took a lot of concentration to read – mostly due to the thought-provoking concepts. Mr. Pollan writes clearly but it is understandably difficult to investigate consciousness as it is not well defined. He does a good job of reviewing what current experts are doing to define and understand consciousness, though not quite coming to any conclusions, which may be frustrating for some readers. I enjoyed thinking about various living things and how they might think. The section on AI and how some feel that we need to make something that is conscious to understand it was as disturbing as expected. Personally, I’m not sure we need to understand it. The curiosity is apparent, but would it really advance us as a species?

'Theo of Golden' by Allen Levi

 Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (3.0)

I understand why many people like this book, but I found it a bit too cloying in its message. An older gentleman comes to a small town in Georgia for an unknown reason. He says little about himself and his reason for visiting but makes himself home in one area of town. He visits a coffee shop, admires the many portrait drawings on the walls and once finding that the subjects are local people, makes it his mission to buy them and give them to each person one at a time. The payment required is to sit and discuss themselves with Theo. There are many colorful, wonderful characters he meets this way. Each has their own interesting back-story. The journey the reader takes along this path is sweet -though a bit too sweet for me. I also found the climax very jarring, given all the soppy sugar that comes before it. Kind of like being told to look at unicorns and puppy dogs while a bus runs them over!

'The Wager: a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder' by David Grann

 The Wager: a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder,  David Grann (4.5)

One of the most shocking things to me about this book is that those who survived the horrific circumstances of this experience on sea wanted to go back on a ship after returning to Britain! We are talking about people who experienced starvation, scurvy, being stranded, prison, and more. This is the fascinating story of a British armada sent to engage and loot a Spanish galleon somewhere around the Drake Passage at the bottom of South America. The author has assembled the history of one ship, the Wager, based on journals and accounts from those on board. The harrowing events make this a relatively difficult book to read, but it moves quickly enough to be riveting.

'The Poppy War' by R. F. Kuang

 The Poppy War, R. F. Kuang (3.0)

I was a bit disappointed with this book, given how well this has been rated by many people. The premise was familiar: an orphan fights to get into a special school where they are ridiculed, unfamiliar with the basics but ultimately are the most special of students. The magic of the book is unique – with some having the ability access the power of ‘gods’. But the plot parallels the history of the Japanese invasions of China with the stereotypes intact. I found myself less interested after the students graduate and go to war. The fighting was continuous, brutal and hard to follow on the macro-scale. I was pleased that the author didn’t go the way of R. Yarros with copious amounts of sex thrown into the story, but I doubt I’ll read parts II and III.

'Heart the Lover' by Lily King and 'The Genius of Trees' by Harriet Rix

 Heart the Lover, Lily King (4.0)

Is it odd that I read the first book in this series (this is a prequel) 4 years ago and don’t remember it at all? I’m glad that is the case as I liked this one better and likely would have been put off had I known. This love story feels more real than many I’ve read. The characters are faulty, though ultimately likable. The experiences and emotions of college life – with big decisions coupled with hormones and the lack of wisdom that comes with age- were true to life. It has the pretentious discussions and lifelong relationships of college students (I remember them well). The finale was bittersweet and just sweet enough to not be hokey.

 

The Genius of Trees, Harriet Rix (4.0)

I found a lot of interesting things in this book, though feel that I should reread it in order to fully remember them! The author illustrates the history of trees’ evolution from the very beginning. I appreciated that she spent more time on how trees have affected insects, birds, animals and humans than on humans’ effect on trees, though she does point out where ‘tree huggers’ tend to get things wrong. The botanical vocabulary did slow the reading down at times – though I got several trees questions correct on Jeopardy recently due to my experience with this book!

 

'Pachinko' by Min Jin Lee and 'Impossible Monsters' by Michael Taylor

 Pachinko, Min Jin Lee (4.0)

The title of this family saga is a little misleading. While the Pachinko parlors of Japan play a part towards the last third of the book, much of it is focused on several generations of a Korean family before, during and after the Japanese occupation and the Korean war in both Korea and Japan. The story gives an impression of how Korean’s were treated by the Japanese, what their choices were (few) and how interwoven the lives of both North and South Koreans were before the separation. The author portrays how hard it was for families who wanted to integrate into Japanese society and how that was essentially impossible. I found the characters interesting, mostly compelling and appreciated this history covered.

 

Impossible Monsters: Dinosaurs, Darwin and the Battle Between Science and Religion, Michael Taylor (4.0)

The first half of this book was very similar to ‘Dinosaurs at the Dinner Table’ – a review of how in the early 1800’s in Britian fossils were being discovered and interpreted. Where this book adds value is in the second half. The author dives into the struggle those finding the fossils were having with their world view up to that time. The evidence in front of them did not gel with their religious beliefs of a 6k year old world. Some found comfort in thinking that time worked in a different way. Some agreed with the idea of evolution – but not for humans (we were made in God’s image, right?). While it is understandable to have that crisis of thought in the 19^th century, this book makes one shocked that there are still a large number of people who reject the obvious science of our past.

'Adulthood Rites & Imago' by Octavia Butler; 'The Secret Book Society' by Madeline Martin

 Adulthood rites and Imago, Octavia Butler (3)

These are second and third books in Butler’s Xenogenesis series. Like the first, they both continue the journey of Lillith’s family as they meld more with the alien race that has come to ‘save’ the earth. There are less mind-blowing concepts in these books, but the thought-provoking question of how far we would go to exist if what we know of as humanity is unalterably changed continues.

 

The Secret Book Society, Madeline Martin (2.5)

I was surprised this book has gotten such good reviews. It’s not bad, but the writing was a bit ‘meh’ for me and the plot seemed to hang too much on stereotypes. While I’m aware women had few rights in the Victorian age, having every woman abused and about to be carted off to the asylum seems like a heavy-handed way to make one’s point. I guess any book about women prevented from reading will always get an audience – particularly in our current age where we are holding on tight to our rights.