2022: In my humble opinion, not worth the effort required.

I think I would have been better served if I had started with a biography of John Muir first, to sort of get the timeline of events here under my belt. This collection instead is basically a series of journal entries that jumped around time and space without identifying where we had gone. I would have appreciated a little effort from the editors to just let me have SOME indication of where the next essay was taking place! The book was very cumbersome to navigate.

It was also full of scientific names of plants that I have never heard of, which certainly didn't help. I get that I don't quite have the biology or botany background that Muir did, so I guess I can take some of the blame here. But I really didn't enjoy this read and this didn't help!

I did super appreciate the forward from Indigenous Women Hike founder Jolie Varela, because by the time I got to Muir's most egregiously racist essays, I sure was done with this guy. It was giving me big "these kids wouldn't let me play with them, so I took my ball and went home so no one could play" vibes. Except instead of taking his ball home, Muir was referencing shooting the Native Americans and stealing their land. So there's that.

Muir does go on some adventures, but if that's what you came to this book looking for, go pick up [b:Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster|1898|Into Thin Air A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster|Jon Krakauer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631501298l/1898._SY75_.jpg|1816662] instead.

2022: A charming and cute easy read

This was a total random find of mine in a used bookstore's Translated Fiction section, and it was a great purchase! The premise here is that a housekeeper is assigned to a professor, who has sustained a brain injury, rendering him incapable of remembering anything for more than 80 minutes. It was honestly such a sweet book, and I'd highly recommend it.

It was a pretty original take in my opinion. I can think of a couple of plot holes with the concept of forgetting everything after 80 minutes, and lots of questions are never answered (what is the real relationship between the professor and the sister-in-law? Did the professor have a kid of his own?) This story really only works in the window before the internet was invented (can you imagine losing your memory before the internet and then trying to survive in a world that has it?!)

This book would be great for any fans of mathematics and proofs, as well as baseball. It reminded me very strongly of both [b:Wit|171201|Wit|Margaret Edson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327908183l/171201._SY75_.jpg|2206] and [b:Proof|150720|Proof|David Auburn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417605435l/150720._SY75_.jpg|1632], plays about extremely smart professors who come from dysfunctional families and bonds that are tested due to health issues. I'd recommend this book if you liked either of them, and I'd recommend both of those plays if you liked this book!

2022: I mean, I loved this book, but I also HATED this book.

If you enjoyed (or well, not *enjoyed*, but you know what I mean!) [b:Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith|10847|Under the Banner of Heaven A Story of Violent Faith|Jon Krakauer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356441391l/10847._SY75_.jpg|1723947], you will definitely enjoy (see above) this book. There were several times where I wanted to vomit while listening to this book. Here's the deal: white people SUCK. We especially suck when there's a literal flip in our perceived social order–for example, when the Native Americans in the community are wealthier than the white people. And we did some terrible things to try and "righten" that perceived social order.

I ended up listening to this audiobook, but I'd recommend getting your hands on a copy of the book if you can. The pictures add such a visceral element to the story, and the maps make it easier to follow. It was easy to get lost in the drama of the mystery and the horrific events of the book, that I needed to constantly remind myself that this was an actual historical event.

Mark your calendars for November 2022 for the Scorsese / DiCaprio movie release!

2022: Wow, this book did nothing to endear me to Bourdain.

Thank goodness I had respect for the man going into this book, because I certainly didn't have much coming out of it. I have always regarded Bourdain in the same boat as [a:José Andrés|1019700|José Andrés|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], an advocate and man of the people. He portrays *himself* as an arrogant, coked-up asshole in this book. I will cut him some slack; this book is over 20 years old and he was younger then. BUT I really did not jive with most of what he was espousing here.

Mostly, it's hard listening to his bullshit after living through a pandemic. His primary philosophy is that if you don't show up to work every single night, on time and ready to go every single day, 7 days a week, you're a "worthless piece of shit" (direct quote). Bourdain openly praises his employees who show up to work with a slight fever over those who call out sick "because they are wimps". Um, no thank you! I would much rather them stay home rather than sneeze on the food I am about to eat. Also, life happens. I am so sick of people prioritizing their work over their lives.

I'll be the first to admit, I've never worked in a kitchen. And it does sound like the environment Bourdain trained in was hellish. My takeaway is that he kept a lot of things black and white that should have been gray. For example, he goes on a really long tirade about how people who use pre-chopped garlic or a garlic press "imbeciles". I'm sorry, some people have disabilities that make chopping their own garlic impossible! Also, some of us are young mothers who don't have the time to make a gourmet dinner every night! Ease up, Bourdain!

All in all, it's terribly sad to read this after knowing how it ended for Bourdain. After all, it doesn't seem like it was really worth it in the end? The story about how he sent away his sous chef to go and get stitches and "90 minutes later he was back in the kitchen" and Bourdain says "aahh loyalty" NO NO NO NO go home and rest! Give your body a break! And then there's another terrible story about his friend committing suicide, and Bourdain basically shrugs it off. Ugh. It's just unfortunately not surprising the toll that 40 years in such an environment would take on someone.

Lastly, every time Bourdain mentions any chefs or influences or people he looks up to, with the sole exception of Julia Child, they are all guys. Really disappointing. And basically his answer to that is "buck up, this is how it is" which is just infuriating. Overall, this book made me mad and sad.

2022: Another gem of a Julia Whelan-read audiobook!

I swear, that woman is everywhere nowadays. I thought she did a great job here, but it was also hard to keep [b:The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue|50623864|The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584633432l/50623864._SY75_.jpg|46895612] out of my head while listening to this one. Also, did you know she was an author?! I will have to check out her upcoming book...

The best part about this novel is that Emma makes the CORRECT choice in the end. That's it, that's all I have to say about it, if you want a NICE SATISFYING ENDING, this is a good one for you! Otherwise it was a little predictable, but in a nice way. There were enough twists and turns to keep you interested, but not complicated. Add it to your beach read list!

TW re: grief, dead spouses (but spoiler alert {that's not really a spoiler because it's literally in the first line of the synopsis} he's not really dead!)

2022: Not my most favorite Picoult ever

Maybe I'm just out of practice from reading Picoult novels, but this was an especially confusing one to start out with. There is just a LOT that happens in the first 50 pages! None of the several storylines continue for more than a couple of pages before I am either whisked away to another continent or timeline or characters or WHEW it was just a lot to jump into.

Picoult's novels tend to have hyper-specific subjects that her characters know a lot about, and there seemed to be several competing subjects in this one. It was jarring to jump from Egyptology to being a death doula to Brian's knowledge about quantum physics. So much info!

I think I agree with Dawn's choice in the end, but it was REALLY hard. If we hadn't discovered more information about some genetics, I would have had even more to grapple with in this book. That being said, this was a toughie. Not as light of a beach read as you might think going into it!

2022: I went into this keeping my expectations low and was subsequently very impressed!

I was thrilled to finally get my hands on a copy of The Great Believers. It had been on my list since it was published in 2018, and I would argue that it should definitely be on yours as well. Believe the hype! The two main timelines are 1985 and 2015, but Makkai weaves together many references outside of those two years into a cohesive and thought-provoking novel.

It's impossible to not compare this book and [b:A Little Life|22822858|A Little Life|Hanya Yanagihara|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446469353l/22822858._SY75_.jpg|42375710], or call this the Chicago version of ALL (without the trauma porn). However, the work that Makkai does here to draw the parallels between The Lost Generation of WWII and the gay men who grew up during the AIDS epidemic is incredible. I enjoyed every subplot and thought they all worked well together. Even Claire running off with a cult seemed to fit.

The ending has a quote from [b:Hamlet|1420|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1351051208l/1420._SY75_.jpg|1885548] in which one of the characters compares their experience, of being the final surviving member of the AIDS-plagued friend group to Horatio. If you recall, everyone dies in Hamlet (sorry not sorry for that spoiler) and the one left to carry the story (the truth, if you will) into the future is Horatio. It was a beautiful thru line that was finally acknowledged, that all of these characters were dealing (in different ways) with being the one who survives and remembers.

2022: A lovely father-daughter tale.

This novel is a true ode to New York City from Straub. I would caution anyone who is dealing with aging parents to tread carefully here, as the book focuses a lot on the grief Alice is experiencing as her father dies over the course of the book. I loved the only child rep that was in this book (same as my comment from reading [b:All Adults Here|51907346|All Adults Here|Emma Straub|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589295428l/51907346._SY75_.jpg|72932775]) and really connected with the weight and pressure of having to care for your parents all by yourself.

I was, however, 10 years too young to read this novel. Alice is 16 in 1996, which was when I was 4. I did not get half of the references, which made me a little sad and felt like I was missing out on probably one of the best parts of the book. What I did love, however, is that there are two characters named Sarah T and Sara N who are best friends, because that was SUPER true to my life experience! It was also kind of fun to be reading this over the course of the weekend where I turned 30, to share in Alice's experience of another milestone birthday.

There were a couple of plot holes that were distracting. For example, the very first time Alice goes back in time, she is so anxious to talk to her father and spend more time with him, that she....curls up to watch a movie and falls asleep instead? It didn't make sense at all. Also, I know I'm not a cat person, so cat people, tell me if I'm wrong, but it was like distracting thinking about how old Ursula the cat is. Like if she was already an established cat in the household when Alice was 16, and she's still kicking when Alice is 40....that just seems really impossible!

2022: An important chronicle of a decisive moment in our nation's history

I thought that reading this account almost five years after it happened would bring to light facts and information that I had forgotten about the story when it broke in October of 2017. Turns out that was more of a flashbulb memory than I had originally thought, and there wasn't really anything new that this book provided if you can remember the original article. I have an extremely vivid memory of reading it aloud to my father while we were in the middle of a cross country road trip.

One thing that I did not know going into it was how much Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's story would contribute to this book. I thought we would wrap up before the Kavanaugh hearings, but it really wasn't that long after the Weinstein story broke. Reading this account did make me cry on behalf of the optimism that 25 year old me held in her heart, thinking that Dr. Ford's testimony would actually help. Hah! Here we are now, and with Amy Coney Barrett to boot.

I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed with the lack of regard for Tarana Burke and her work with #MeToo in this book. I know that not every book can cover everything, and that the focus of the investigation was really more on the women coming forward in regards to Weinstein specifically, but this book wasn't published until 2019. That was certainly enough time to acknowledge how influential Burke's work was in the #MeToo movement. That was really a white woman blindspot that I would have liked to see acknowledged more in this book.