#2025 #38 On Tyranny (Snyder)

 

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Is this some lofty tome packed with new critical insights and expansive historical knowledge? No. Does it aim to be? No. Did it actually take me five months to read? No. But I had to put it down because I read before bed, and well -- this should keep you up at night. But hopefully with a sense of energy and resolve.

What the book IS, however, is a reminder. A reminder of the things you should hold dear. The things that truly COULD make us great, or at least could reinvest in real patriotism. It is an expanded listicle of 20 "lessons" from the twentieth century. The book opens with: "History does not repeat. But it does instruct." Heather Cox Richardson illuminates that in her "Letters from an American" posts. If you feel you lack courage to resist, throw this tiny book in your bag and take it out and reread it as you wait for the bus.

Make eye contact and small talk (#12).
Start somewhere.



View all my reviews

2025 #37 Margo's Got Money Troubles (Thorpe)

 

Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lots of folks misuse the word "ambivalent" but I think that's the right word to describe how I feel about this book. Think more 3.75 stars. There were parts of this book I LOVED and parts I really did not love.

Suzie? I kept forgetting she existed and then she'd pop up like a game of whack-a-mole. The mushroom "scene" was off the rails, although I suppose that was the point. But these types of things made the plot feel like a manipulation, as if Thorpe was just interested in having the reader be a yo-yo she could play with. I least enjoyed the descriptions of the OnlyFans content - not that I'm prudish, but if I'm not a consumer of that content, I don't really relish reading about it either, even in a pragmatic, funny way. I did find, however, Margo's "writeups" very amusing. The more surreal content? Not my thing.

Jinx was a GREAT character and his relationship with Margo is largely what pushes this toward 4 stars for me. I also loved the mix of first and third person narration. And for as little as he's actually described, I felt I had a strong picture of Bodhi in my mind.

So, I had to sit with this for a day before writing a review because I did like it and it did make me laugh (and also cry). I think it felt a bit too improvisatory for me in terms of storyline, but some of the characters were gold.


View all my reviews

2025 #36 James (Everett)

 

James by Percival Everett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a book that needed to be written and needs to be read. There's no better way to reconcile some of the problems with Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn than with satire. But while satire comes into play, this is also a truly beautiful novel. And it isn't just simply "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as told by Jim", although it has been so many years since I read Twain's book I can't claim knowledge of a side-by-side comparison. The messages aren't subtle, but it is an invitation to think about an old character (or actually old characters--Huck, too), in a new way. There are parts that drag a bit, but overall the novel illuminates the privilege of "adventures" and how characters can reclaim and change the archetypes to which they've been relegated.

View all my reviews

2025 #35 Cocaine Blues -- Phryne Fisher #1 (Greenwood)

 

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a big time fan of the TV series, I was excited to finally start the book series!
Phryne Fisher is delightful, although her character is even more "scandalous" in the book than portrayed on the series (well, at least it is, unsurprisingly, more graphic). I'm impatient to see how Detective Robinson develops, and that is what I get for breaking my own rule about not watching a TV/movie adaptation before reading the book.

This installment is good, if a bit uneven. Firsts are hard -- the author has to hook you on the characters AND tell a good story. Greenwood deftly uses the dancer Sasha and the impressionable Dot to help show us Phryne's character, but also as pivotal plot pushers. Phryne is hedonistic, yes, but not just that, and it is ultimately a pleasure to get some insights beyond her roaring 20s persona. It does bite off a lot, however: poisoning, illegal abortion, drug smuggling, thugs, Turkish Baths. The whirlwind sometimes overwhelmed, but overall I'm happy to continue with the series!

View all my reviews

2025 #34: Liars (Manguso)

 

Liars by Sarah Manguso
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think this book is going to land differently depending on the personal experiences of readers. While that's true of any book, I had a really hard time relating to the relentless onslaught of the narrative. I felt like I was a therapist, and I was simply reading a transcript of sessions of a woman in an unhappy marriage. That said, I did appreciate that the post-divorce narrative didn't go the way of the cliché, I suppose. As a child of divorced parents, it did make me think a bit, but mostly the book just tired me out. I needed more shape and direction.

View all my reviews

2025 #33 The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story (Hannah-Jones, ed)

 

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

No book or project could ever be comprehensive when it comes to exploring and capturing the history and legacy that began in 1619, when enslaved Africans set foot on the shores of North America, a year prior to the arrival of the Mayflower. The book is an enlargement of Hannah-Jones's foundational The 1619 Project, published in the New York Times Magazine. However, as a reclamation of American History, this book is a chronicle, a celebration of poetry, art, and writing, and a call for understanding and moving forward. "A truly great country does not ignore or excuse its sins, it confronts them and then works to make them right," Hannah-Jones says in closing.

The contributors to the book are many and varied, with some of the most profoundly powerful and influential voices of our time: Claudia Rankine, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Michelle Alexander, Ibram X. Kendi, Henry Louis Gates, Terry McMillan, and so many more.

In the audiobook, some readers are more compelling than others, but the words are potent, well-researched, and a true call for understanding how conventional narratives of American history have been whitewashed. Turning points, such as Abraham Lincoln's assassination, are reframed so that we understand that when Andrew Johnson took over the presidency for a brief two-month period, he tried to rescind wartime Order No. 15 (known as "Forty Acres and a Mule") and that these original reparations never truly materialized in a way that provided widespread and sustained land ownership to Black Americans. The connection of this (and preceding events) to the current wealth gap between Black and white Americans is made clear.

Ibram X. Kendi's truth-telling is particularly powerful, especially as it targets and demolishes narratives of "post-racial" America. The criticisms may be hard to hear for some, but the cycle of attempts to declare any and all "wins" as progress has largely clouded the narrative in its failure to recognize the persistence of neglect and abuse toward Black Americans, and the systemic infrastructure that perpetuates it.

It is not an easy book to read/listen to -- nor should it be. There is deep and painful beauty expressed in the poems. Few facets of modern life are left un-addressed, whether it is healthcare or mass-incarceration. The book can be (and has been) excerpted to great effect, but sitting with it from start to finish has its own benefits. As a white American, it was invaluable to be reminded of the things I have learned, to be invited to de-center white historical narratives, and to critically consider how much we truly owe to the legacy of Black Americans and how we have failed (and continue to fail) to honor it and fight for it. There has been a lot of backlash and vitriol aimed at the project. I recommend engaging with the book instead of allowing the controversies to subsume the content.


View all my reviews

2025 #32 Espresso Tales (44 Scotland Street #2 - McCall Smith)

 

Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, now I've really gone and messed things up. I started the series with #13 The Peppermint Tea Chronicles, and even thought I had already read Espresso Tales, which was not the case. But now that I've read two books out of order, I think I'll just keep going that route. What was interesting is how my feelings about the characters differed. For example, Bertie and his neurotic and over-protective mother, Irene, were centerpieces of this volume, whereas I was not so interested in them in Peppermint. Despite having skipped the first in the series, I felt that this was a delightful introduction to Bertie, Irene, and Stuart. On the other hand, Ramsey Dunbarton was a dreadful bore, and while I understand that is intended, I needed less proof of it. Big Lou has a larger role to play in Peppermint, but it was nice to see more of her origin story here. It is the characters that give these books a delight, and some of the plots are self-contained, so I think I'm ok to read these out of order.
McCall Smith keeps his characters vivid but also believable (for the most part). This is a wonderful summer read--lighthearted, entertaining, and sure to hook you in to the world of 44 Scotland Street.

View all my reviews