'The Burgess Boys' by Elizabeth Strout

The Burgess Boys, Elizabeth Strout (2.5)

This book centers around two brothers and their sister and how a tragedy early in their lives influenced their personalities and actions in present day. There are a few things about this book that I didn’t like. Firstly, the main ‘surprise’ seemed rather obvious from the beginning. Secondly, the majority of characters, while having ample time to be fleshed out, still came across as two-dimensional. I do think the story had a timely subject: small towns dealing with the large influx of immigrants. And the author looked at both sides of the issue fairly. Unfortunately, the cartoonish main characters overshadowed some of the more interesting characters (the Somali shop owner, the female minister). I’m surprised this book was a New York Times bestseller, but the author did win a Pulitzer for her other work, ‘Olive Kitteridge’.

'Notorious RBG, The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg' by Irin Carmon & Shana Khiznik

Notorious RBG, The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Irin Carmon & Shana Khizhnik (4.0)

You’ve got to love a book that melds a bigger than life rapper with a stoic and influential Supreme Court justice. Many people are aware that RBG, as she is referred to far too often in this book, has accumulated a cult following among millennials, that she had a close relationship to Antonin Scalia and that she was only the second female justice on SCOTUS. This book brought to life many other things about the justice that were new to me: her accomplishments for women’s rights throughout her career, how thoughtful she was in terms of picking her battles, her ridiculous fitness (she can still do 20 push-ups at 83!) and her wonderful 60 yr relationship with her husband, Marty. I enjoyed reading about her life, both in the court and how she has attempted to find balance (harder once Marty passed away). The form of the book is fun – pictures, tributes and legal writings interspersed with the narrative, all which helped me get through the drier legal bits. I already had a good impression of Justice Ginsburg, but after reading this book I have far more respect for her approach to the law and the other judges.

'Saints of the Shadow Bible' and 'Strip Jack' by Ian Rankin

Saints of the Shadow Bible and Strip Jack, Ian Rankin (3.5)

My friend let me borrow the first book in this review. A few pages in, I realized it was actually the 19^th book (yes, 19^th) in the Inspector Rebus series by Mr. Rankin. Since I had apparently missed so much of the Inspector’s story, I decided to also read an earlier book in the series (due to availability, I went with #4). I’ll start by noting that both books are good detective stories with engaging characters and reasonable plots – not to easy to detect and not too convoluted. The later work is smoother and more interesting, with a better writing flow. It is unique in that it is the second book in which Mr. Rankin has integrated the Internal Affairs hero (Malcolm Fox) from his other book series. An interesting conceit that works very well – a hard drinking, bends the rules detective paired with a teetotaling, erudite IA agent who is paid to follow the rules. Both are likable characters that end up working well together. Though I had to make some assumptions and guesses (why is Rebus no longer an Inspector? What has become of his private life? Was his boss his mentee?), ‘Saints…’ can be read as a stand-alone book and is quite good. Overall I would recommend the Rebus series, though as with all prolific detective stories, they will likely be formulaic. I don’t plan to dip too far back in the series, but I will read a few of the recent ones and definitely pick up the shorter Malcolm Fox series and give it a try!

'Make it Stick' by Peter Brown, Henry Roedinger III and Mark McDaniel

Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, Peter Brown, Henry Roedinger III, Mark McDaniel (4.0)

I read this book as part of a book circle organized by our University to encourage teachers to be lifelong learners and continue to improve their teaching techniques. Luckily the gentleman who runs the groups tends to find books that are impactful overall, not just on teachers and college students. This book looks at techniques for studying and learning that are traditionally thought to be the most successful and, using data, refutes their effectiveness. The authors convincingly argue that some of the basics (rereading text and mass practice) are ineffective at long-term storage of knowledge. They argue that the harder it is to learn something and the more you have to go back to ‘retrieve’ the knowledge, the better it is in your long-term memory. They illustrate this in many ways. Failing is and good – as long as you are told why you failed. That will sink the learning deeper in your memory. Our group was able to come up with many examples in our own lives of this phenomenon. Unfortunately, quick and easy learning gives positive reinforcement to the learning process. Hard learning with tests and spaced retrieval can be discouraging. As with most books of this type – you don’t need to read all the chapters to get the key points, but the authors use their own methods (spaced retrieval, interleaving subjects) to give you the best opportunity to learn (i.e. if you skip parts you may be short changing your learning process). Overall this book is very important for someone looking to improve their ability to learn and interesting to those of us who are lifelong learners.

'Star Wars, Vector Prime' by R. A. Salvatore

Star Wars, The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime; R. A. Salvatore (3.5)

There are so many ‘Star Wars’ books that it’s hard to know where a fan should start. This book/series is considered to be at the top of most lists. It begins ~20 years after ‘Return of the Jedi’. Han and Leia are married and have 3 kids, Luke is also married – to another Jedi – and is the Jedi mentor to his niece and nephews. While bringing in many of the classic characters, Salvatore also introduces a couple of important new ones and even better, brings in new antagonists with unique technologies. Unlike the most recent movie, this book has some very new concepts that seem to be worthy of the ‘Star Wars’ canon. Foreboding is enhanced, as the reader is privy to the intentions and power of the new enemy though our heroes are not. Given how much attention was made to the set-up of seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the first half of the book, I was disappointed in how quickly the large plot wrapped up, but overall I think Disney lost an opportunity in not using this as the basis for their last movie.

'A Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood

A Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (5.0)

I had forgotten how powerful this ‘Tale’ was – rereading it was a delight. In the same genre and league as Orwell’s ‘1984’, it is the story of a possible future of which the religious zealots have managed to take over a part of the world in order to reshape it more like the ‘good old days’. At first introduction, the state of society does not seem credible (you will tell yourself ‘that could never happen’), but the narrator uses flashbacks to fill in the blanks as to how the transition came about and eventually you are shocked into believing the unbelievable is possible. Written in 1998, Atwood’s prescience is frightening. The combination of environmental stresses and societal declines has given us a reactionary culture determined to do something about the lack of pregnancies and successful births. Women need to focus on their main job: having healthy babies. Our narrator is one chosen for this duty, a Handmaid. I don’t want to give too much away, but the ends to which this society goes to manufacture a process in which to do that is chilling. I particularly liked the ending – not a fairy tale ending, but a unique way to add a bit more light on the subject. Margaret Atwood is one of my favorite authors and here she is at her best.