Sunday, February 12, 2017

Rhoda's Sort of Best Books of 2016

I usually put in a list of the best books I read the previous year.  Last year, I read as much as usual, but few were really memorable.  The following are the only ones I give my tepid recommendation to.  The comments are my notes on the book.

The Japanese Lover, A Novel:  by Isabel Allende

Excellent, interesting book that follows Alma, who is sent to America by her Jewish parents to escape the Nazis. She is raised in California by affluent, loving relatives.  She falls in love with the son of the Japanese gardener and has a lifelong secret romance with him.  Interesting weaving of historic elements with fiction. 

The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore   
True, interesting exploration of two black men from Baltimore with the same name.  One ends up a Rhodes Scholar, the other in prison.  The Rhodes Scholar Wes Moore befriends the prison Wes Moore and explores the backgrounds of each, looking at what made the difference in their lives.

Lafayette and the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell
Fascinating, fun history/commentary about Lafayette, his life and legacy.  I learned a lot and laughed as well.  Her comments are priceless.  Read this if you want to laugh and learn history at the same time.

Every Last One, by Anna Quindlan
Suburban mother with three children, a landscaping business, and ophthalmologist husband is living a basically happy life through about half the book, although the daughter has a weird ex-boyfriend and son Max seems to have problems.  There is always the undercurrent that this can’t last, and it doesn’t.  A good page-turner.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin
Good story about a bookstore owner who ends up adopting a child who was abandoned in his store.  He goes from being a curmudgeon to almost human—falling in love and being a good father.  Lots of book allusions, which was fun for a reader like me.

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