One of my 2021 Goals, along with reading 52 books, is to write a short review of each book on Goodreads. In most cases it’s just a sentence or two, but better than just star ratings. Here are the 9 books I read in January.
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This Jane Eyre retelling is full of twists and turns. As soon as you this you have it figured out, the plot takes off in a different direction.
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History
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Sooo many page flags! Surprisingly prescient, The Great Influenza was written in 2004, with an updated foreword added in 2004.
It traces origins, the spread, the race for a cure and the impact it had in society— including its possible influence on the rise of Hitler.
While COVID-19 is not caused by an influenza virus, there are an astonishing number of parallels in how both pandemic were handled. Disgraceful given the 100 years we had to prepare for this one.
The book concludes with the ominous warning: Society cannot function if it is every man for himself.
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Grabbed a signed copy which is cool. Not my favorite Tana French but a solid story. The rolling hills of French’s Ireland are full of gossip, superstition and foreboding. Should disabuse several generations removed Irish Americans of the notion of the bucolic postcard version of Ireland with no nuance or complications.
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This very personal account of George Takei’s experience in Japanese internment camps was eye-opening. It did not get much coverage in my education, but I’m 1,000 years old, so I hope it’s better now. It’s important to examine the dark parts of history and the parts we played in them to prevent it happening again. The only reason this is 4 stars instead of 5 is the timeline is clunky.
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Tough read in a global pandemic. This swift-acting flu more terrifying. We forget that civilization balances on a knife’s edge. How long would it take us to become completely feral if the lights went out?
Lots of interesting characters, enough of them well-fleshed out with satisfying arcs. The book is well-paced and not as far-fetched as I’d like to think. Station Eleven itself is a satisfyingly unifying thread.
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This book was a delight. It’s complicated, real, relatable. Often insightful, occasionally lyrical.
I highlighted extravagantly. A sample:
“I’m both the sad person and the person wanting to comfort the sad person. And then I feel sad for that person who has so much compassion because she’s clearly been through the same thing, too.”
I hope I remember by the end of the year how much I enjoyed this book I read so close to the beginning.
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I read this book for work, but it’s quite good. Basically about content/inbound marketing and radical transparency in terms of pricing, right-fit customers and answering the questions customers really want the answers to.
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Lyrical and evocative, these stories provided a peek into a culture unlike my own. It’s important
to read without overlaying it with a western perspective. It’s tempting to “Why didn’t they just…” the problems encountered.
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This one kept me guessing. It’s amazing the difference one little word can make.
