What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? Please share! We’d love to know.
I took a short break from The Daffodil Days by Helen Bain and picked up Trespasses by Louise Kennedy. It had been on my bookshelf for too long! Trespasses seemed like the standard Irish story about the struggles of everyday life, but it fools you at the end. Pow! Kennedy has a new book coming out later this year and I might consider it.
So, I’m now getting back into the rhythm of The Daffodil Days and will probably finish it today. I’m not sure about the reverse chronological format. I know there is a reason for it that will all make sense soon! I really don’t know much about Sylvia Plath other than the basic facts of her life. I’m wondering if this will give me the push to read Red Comet by Heather Clark. Has anyone tackled that biography of Plath?
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FINISHED:
There’s Only One Sin In Hollywood by Rasheed Newson, read by Jelani Alladin— Queer, Black Hollywood in the 1950-60s. The author has worked in a variety of roles in the entertainment business so he knows the world of which he has written. I enjoyed learning more about how Hollywood would orchestrate coverups for their stars. In the intersection of homosexual and Black there was no room for gossip and innuendo that might crash a career. 
Backtalker by Kimberle Williams Crenshaw—As a legal scholar she developed the concept of intersectionality to describe the study of how overlapping social identities (such as race and gender) relate to discrimination. As a leading educator she introduced the concept of critical race theory. In Backtalker she illustrates these concepts through precisely selected anecdotes to show the impact in her own life. Ultimately her background and education have led to her current roles as a feminist, scholar, and writer on civil rights, racism, and the law. This beautifully written and powerful memoir explains that equality requires so much more from all of us.
American Han by Lisa Lee, read by Katharine Chin. A Korean, immigrant family reaches for the American dream but something changes from one generation to the next. As the children grow into adulthood they struggle against the expectations of their parents. There are some genuinely funny scenes and some that show the sad struggle of trying to assimilate and to remain true to family.
Hum by Helen Phillips
2026 Climate Fiction Prize winner.
In a not too distant dystopian future a young family of four tries to adapt and survive in a rapidly changing world. Jobs lost to AI, automation at every turn, biometrics, autonomous human-like beings are all part of the technological advancements that exist in this world. May has lost her job so she becomes a test subject to earn money. Seeking self soothing she buys passes for the family to go to the Botanical Garden where they can touch grass, walk through trees, and observe nature. What happens inside the garden puts her family in jeopardy.
NOW READING:
American Alt: A True Story or Madness and Friendship in a Fractured Country by Chris Lockhart. read by John Chancer and Todd Kramer.
All Them Dogs by Djamel White
Booker Prize longlist 2026.
I finished “Flesh” by David Szalay on Sunday and loved it. Most reviewers quibbled about the writing style with choppy, repeated sentences in dialogue, but it helped me understand the protagonist better. The story and ending are heart-wrenching but loyal to the characters.
I started “The Creation if Half-Broken People’“ by Siphiw Gloria Ndlovu. 119 pages in, I was lost and resorted to ChatGPT to keep the characters straight, but it reminded me that I am not supposed to understand everything yet and disorientation is common.
Yay! I’m so happy to see you loved Flesh. I thought the writing was such a perfect representation of his character. It still seems a bit of an odd selection for the prize but it’s pretty unique.
I had hoped to get quite a bit of reading done while we were driving to our destination this past week on vacation with our daughter and her family, but did not. Our granddaughters rode with us which was so wonderful! I did get some done, but it was hard to stay awake to read after full days of sightseeing. War and Peace is my focus and now that we’re back home I’m listening to Captain Blood for the BookBrowse 1000 Books to Read Before You Die side read.
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The Calamity Club, Kathryn Stockett’s new book. Not sure how I feel about this book. I know many people are loving it. 400 pages in so will read it to the end. Might feel differently about it once I am done.
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Just finshed reading Elizabeth Stout’s newest novel, “Things We Never Say.” It is strong on her favorite subject, loneliness. She introduces the reader to Artie Dam, a schoolteacher in Massachusetts who is beloved by his students but is struggling with depression. A secret is revealed that topples his existence and Artie must figure how to deal with this information and if it is going to change how his life goes forward. This is a very bleak book. Even though it is well written, and her characters are carefully drawn, this sorrowful book is heavy and this reader was relieved to finish it.
About to start the book, The “Book Club for Troublesome Women.” for book club and have “Where The Wildflowers Grow"“ on the Kindle for pure pleasure. It’s my turn for next month’s BC read so I am open to all suggestions.
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I’m in the midst of Daikon by Samuel Hawley. The story reimagines WWII with a third bomb falling into the hands of the Japanese. An atomic bomb was being flown over the country with intentions of dropping it when an error occurred, a Japanese plane spotted the B52 and flew into it causing an accident with all aboard deceased. The bomb; however, was intact. A subversive group of Japanese military personnel have the bomb but don’t know its power. Radiation poisoning affects some of the soldiers who were inspecting and taking the mechanisms apart. That’s as far as I am in the story. Will these assorted military officers use the bomb as a threat to the existing governance or find a way to load and transport it to an American city? Very unsure! The characters’ names are somewhat confusing to my mind only because I’m unfamiliar with Japanese surnames, but… the story is interesting.
A Far-Flung Life follows a multigenerational family living in the remote area of Western Australia. Many family tragedies starting with a truck accident in 1958 lead to more misery, secrets, and discoveries. The story isn’t dismal even though my description sounds a bit of a downer. The setting and isolation of the families captured my mind. The family does survive.
So Far Gone by Walter was an okay read with sudden surprises at the end. Rhys Kinnick fled to an off-the-grid life in order to escape family difficulties. When his grandkids appear at this door, he must re-emerge into the modern world and seek help from friends to find and rescue their mother, his daughter.
59 Minutes by Seddon was a believable story about what happened when the British government announced that the bombing of the countries was imminent. The story follows three main characters as they raced to be with loved ones. There are points when the time setting jumped ahead ten years, but this was necessary to learn of their interconnectedness. “This is not a drill. This is an emergency.” Not words any one of us would want to hear transmitted across media and cell phones. The story isn’t science fiction as the ending clearly reveals.
My first read last week was VILLA COCO by Andrew Sean Greer. It was a delightful and humorous read about a man working for an elderly Baroness in a crumbling villa located in Tuscany.
THE SISTERHOOD: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by Liza Mundy was quite a different emotional read.
This was an excellent and informative book describing the challenges women faced at the beginning of their careers. They faced sexual harassment, job discrimination with difficulties of promotion and a much lower pay scale. It was extremely degrading. However these women showed that female instincts and intuition proved to create valuable intelligence officers. They exhibited strong personalities with high self confidence. The book was very well written describing in detail many terrorist attacks around the world with many of the women losing their lives. The book describes in detail the horrors of 9/11 and aftermath that led to the war in Iraq. The capturing and death of Osuma Bin Laden is also described in detail.
When I started reading this book I held some distrust and animosity towards the CIA. After reading this book I now have more respect and admiration for the employees and especially the women that gave up their lives and risked their lives for others to enjoy freedom.
To share some personal trivia: my family moved to McLean the summer of 1961 and our home was in the Langley neighborhood of McLean.
The CIA, which in the book was nicknamed the farm, opened in 1958 in the Langley neighborhood. This led to drastic demographic change in the town that was once surrounded with lovely horse farms that were later replaced by mega-mansions on tiny plots. Unfortunately an example of progress.
Many of my friends had fathers that worked for government agencies such as FAA, FDIC or the State Department. If someone said their father worked for THE GOVERNMENT—all of us knew they meant CIA.
My high school Alma Mater was Langley High School off Georgetown Pike. It opened my freshman year of 1965-1966. I later moved back to graduate my senior year of 1968-1969. The construction of the building was mainly concrete shaped as a square with a courtyard in the middle. The building was only two levels with dark glass windows. The majority of the classrooms were held in the basement.
With close proximity to the CIA Headquarters my friends would laugh that at the beginning the school was basically a bomb shelter.
Now after visiting the high school from attending class reunions, the campus has a much friendlier atmosphere.
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I’m looking up Daikon. That wasn’t on my reading radar and it sounds really interesting. Thanks @NanK !
Re: The Sisterhood
I too lived right outside the gates to Langley for a while and practically everyone I knew worked there in some capacity. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and seeing the women prevail in situations where the men couldn’t.
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Carol - Thoughtful precaution on Elizabeth Strout’s book; I want to read it and I’ll keep the content in mind before I start it. I loved Marie Bostwick’s The Book Club of Troublesome Women. It was a wonderful start (for me at least) in the new trend of historical fiction books that are situated in the 1960s. I sentimentally thought about my mom as a young woman in that time period - when women couldn’t get a credit card in their own name and so many other gender biased situations that we now take for granted. Enjoy!
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@Carol_N you may have just sold me on Elizabeth Strout. I enjoy bleak 
and will now go into this with different expectations. I was planning to read it anyway since it made the Booker list.
| The Invincible Brain by Majid Fotuhi |
|---|
Fascinating research results presented in a easy to understand narrative.
The system of thinking explored and proactive suggestions for maintain a healthy brain.
Diminished intellect is no longer just an accepted symptom of aging.
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After reading my review I felt I did not write the review that does the book justice. Unfortunately I included more personal information. My husband insisted I submit however that is the last time I will take his advice. The following is my revised review. There are some repetitions so please bear with me.
The SISTERHOOD; The Secret History of the CIA by Lisa Mundy
This is an excellent, well written, and informative memoir of the first women who chose a different career path from the norm at the time.
They originally worked as secretaries at OSS, Office of Strategic Services at the end of WWII. They worked in crumbling buildings around the district. The name was later changed to be the Central Intelligence Agency. Due to the lack of space in the district the present headquarters was relocated to Langley, a neighborhood of McLean, VA which in the book is nicknamed The Farm. Eliminating communism was originally the agencyʼs main mission but now fighting terrorism has now become its main focus.
The author conducted extensive research and even had the privilege to interview some of the first members. These women exhibited strong personalities, high self-confidence and a different lifestyle. They especially had to face many extreme challenges, such as sexual harassment, job discrimination with difficulties of job promotion and a lower pay scale than their male colleagues. Eventually their female instincts and intuition proved to be valuable assets for intelligence agents.
The book describes in detail many terrorist attacks around the world with many women losing their lives. The book describes the horrors of 9/11 and the aftermath that led to the war in Iraq. There were many attempts to destroy Osama Bin Laden and finally the successful capture and death is included.
When I started reading this book because of the agency’s reputation in the 60ʼ and 70’s I held some distrust and animosity towards the CIA. After reading this book I know have more admiration and respect for the employees and particularly the women who risked their lives for citizens to enjoy their freedom.
Thank you for your patience,
Oh Anne I am not a literary writer and I bite my nails whenever I submit anything. I enjoyed my times living in the DC area. After college I returned and left in 1977. I moved to the St Louis area to fund my newly wed husband to get is MBA at Washington University.
My brother lives in Vienna Va so I return some. Especially now it has become annoying and depressing.
I think your reviews and comments are just fine. Please don’t think you have to strive for perfection as I consider this a group of friends and I, for one, accept each one just as you are.
You and I appear to have led crossing lives. I grew up in Missouri, went to DC area for about 10 years and then relocated to TX. I lived adjacent to the mall at Tysons and so was almost across the road from the Langley entrance.
Anne, thank you for your gracious comment and support. Sometimes I can be somewhat OCD . You are correct the purpose of belonging to Book Browse is to enjoy the communication and share ideas. As we age our focus is to relax and enjoy our reading. I do like reading the other members ideas. We are lucky to have the opportunity to share our thoughts-
Thank you for your encouragement- 
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My book club also read The Book Club for Troublesome Women about a year ago. I went into with some trepidation because I’ve never been crazy about books or movies set in 50s-60s, but I ended up liking it very much. It should generate some good discussion.
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