History of the planned but never-attempted German invasion of England, especially of the English preparations to meet it. Aims to disprove the ideas that Operation Sea Lion was a bluff, and that the British were unprepared for invasion. Argues that British preparations for the invasion were much more serious and thorough than the German preparations, and even had the Germans won the air Battle over Britain, the planned invasion would have still probably failed. Very readable, relies on quotes more than numbers. I felt the use of Churchill's taking meetings even in the bath as an example of how fevered the planning was during the darkest days of 1940 was incorrect, because taking meetings while he bathed was part of Churchill's routine for many years before WW2; he was just weird. An interesting story the book told was of the British planted rumor in the NY press that a German invasion attempt was actually made, but that it's only result was thousands of burned bodies washed up on the shores of the English Channel. Reading this book, I couldn't help but conclude that rumor was probably an apt prediction of the result of Operation Sea Lion would have been had it gone forward.

Graphical story of John James Audubon's life's work, 'Birds of America'. Also about environmental degradation, which was an issue even during Audubon's time in the early 19th century. The notes & short biography at the back of the book also make for good reading, and make me want to read more about him.

Series of essays about the experience of being a refugee (officially or not), by a varied group of writers, current and former refugees all. Some of the essays are directly autobiographical, but most are more generally about the refugee experience, or about what separates refugees from other travellers. Some of the writers believe that once a refugee, always a refugee. I want to read more of all of their writings!

Memoir focusing on the development of the author's identity as a queer muslim woman of colour. Exploration of the roles of religious, gender, & ethnic identity in the author's life & coming of age. After Habib's childhood, her memoir reads a bit more like a declaration or manifesto of that identity. I enjoyed reading about growing up in Pakistan and as a Pakistani immigrant in Canada. I have become such a sucker for memoirs, so I wonder how I would like a memoir by an author who is truly distasteful. Would I just eat it up, or would I detect something off?

Anthology of comics of native american tales. Some of them had morals, some tied into how the world was made (e.g."& that's why the constellations were made"), but my favorites were the non-sequiturs. I was kind of surprised at the variety of figures who played the trickster in these stories. I didn't know at all that the rabbit is a common trickster. This anthology is suitable for kids, so maybe I'll give it away to a kid who is suitable for it.

Solid mystery from JK Rowling. Has her trademark downer elements, and down-and-out characters all packaged in a Mystery novel format. Looking forward to reading the next one.

Art & style reminds me of Adrian Tomine & Daniel Clowes, but is much darker & more depressing than anything I've read by either of them. Alternate title could have been "isolation." The visual characterization took a little getting used to; it was a bit like looking at faces without my glasses. Since it's a story about isolation, it makes sense that everything is indistinct visually. Can't wait to read the next one!

Interesting overview of India's role in the Great War, and the war's role in the development of modern India & Pakistan. Sheds some light on Gandhi's anti-war stance during WW2. An interesting aspect is the obscurity of primary sources about the Indian soldiers' experiences in the Great War. The writing was a little dry, and there were some sentences that didn't make sense, so (like my goodreads reviews) this book could have used some more editing.

Nonlinear memoir told in the form of essays about times the author almost died. I think the most intense stories were the ones at the end, dealing with nearly deadly sicknesses, although almost all of them are times she genuinely came very close to dying. For some reason, the stories about sickness resonated the most with me, even though I don't think I've ever been that sick, & I've probably been almost killed by vehicles like O'Farrell has. In one of the stories, O'Farrell recounts her childhood habit of heedlessly running out into the street, how she found herself drawn to wander out of the house and off into the world, and I wonder if her urge to go into the Ocean (and her resulting close calls) as a teen & adult is related to this. Perhaps it was just the way she described the experiences that drew out the similarities. I now feel very lucky that I have never been accosted by would-be murderers on any of the hikes I have gone on. Contrast to Sabrina by Nick Drnaso, where they say "the real animals stay in hotels. We'll be fine camping".

Collection of essays from the Bush era from the author of City of Quartz. A good reminder that I'm not crazy when I'm remembering those years. Depressing in that none of the issues covered by the essays (militarism, environmental destruction, inequality, corporatization, legal political corruption, etc) have been addressed in the course of the 11-18 years since they were written.