1. Nine Years Under by Sheri Booker - Memoir about a teenager who worked in a funeral home - Interesting.
2. Clay's Quilt by Silas House - Novel about a contemporary coal miner in the Appalachians and his courting of a fiddle player. So-so.
3. Next to Love by Ellen Feldman - Novel about WWII war brides. I dunno; I felt like I've read this exact same book, by different authors, before. Meh.
4. Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes - Short novel about an immigrant family in San Francisco in the early 1900s. Charming.
5. Dwarf by Tiffanie DiDonato - Memoir about a Little Person. Interesting.
6. This is Graceanne's Book by P.L. Whitney - I loved, loved, LOVED this book about a girl coming of age in 1960, as told by her ten-year-old brother. I actually dragged out finishing it because I didn't want it to end. The only thing I really have to compare this to is To Kill a Mockingbird - it's almost that good. Highly recommended.
7. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - Vignettes about growing up Latino in Chicago - good.
8. The Supremes at Earl's All You Can Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore - Novel about three women who are life-long friends - Funny and good. Reminded me of Fannie Flagg's books.
9. Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool - Novel about an orphan during the Depression - Technically a kid's book, but still interesting.
10. Movie review time! "Foo Fighters - Back and Forth" is a doc about, duh, the Foo Fighters. Interesting and enjoyable, especially if you like Dave Grohl.
11. West of Here by Jonathan Evison - Novel based in Port Bonita, Washington, with sections set alternately in the 1890s and the present day. I had the same problem with this book that I did with a lot of stuff I've read lately - I didn't care about any of the main characters. Meh.
12. Palisades Park by Alan Brennert - Historical fiction focusing on a family working at Palisades Park. Interesting and an enjoyable read.
12. Faraway Places by Tom Spanbauer - Novella about a teenage boy in 1950s Idaho who witnesses a murder. Lyrical and absorbing and short.
14. Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher - Novel about a teenage taxi dancer in WWII Chicago - Technically a YA, but with adult themes (premarital sex, gambling, etc.). The novelist did her research, and it was an interesting and entertaining book.
15. Big Girl Small by Rachel DeWoskin - Novel about a Little Person navigating her way through high school. Sharply funny and a good book. I'm not going to give away any plot points here, but suffice it to say that the author navigated several difficult subjects with humor and tact. Recommended.
16. Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster - Short, autobiographical stories about living in Chicago - Self-deprecating and funny.
17. The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson - Novel about two women in a nursing home and the people who care for them - Very good.
How about you? Reading anything good?
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