The Joy Luck Club is a modern classic about four women who met after immigrating from China to the United States. They meet, play mahjong and tell their stories. This is a beautiful story about strong women and the relationship between mothers and daughters. I liked learning each woman's story and how their past led them to their present. The stories were often sad or bittersweet, but the ending was hopeful. I am very glad I decided to read this book this month.

About a year and a half ago, I started my own travel business. A lot of other agents that I have spoken with said they use the profit first method for their business so I decided to read the book and see what it was all about. I found the book very interesting and plan to try to implement some of the things the author suggested. My business is fairly new and has not made any profit yet, so there were parts of the book that do not apply to my business right now, but may in the future. Overall, I think it is a good book to read if you are small business owner. Even if you ultimately decide the method is not the right fit for you, you may find some of the suggestions useful.

Mona is a fourteen-year old girl that works in her aunt's bakery. She is not like most other girls her age because she can do magic - but only on bread and dough. This skill makes her a talented baker, but does not do much else. However, when the magical people in her town start disappearing, Mona realizes that she must use her talent to help stand up for her community. This was a really fun book. I loved Mona and her magical talent - from dancing gingerbread men to a sourdough starter with personality. The book's message was a good one about what makes someone a hero and how it is all of our responsibility to stand up for what is right. It was a good reminder, especially in today's political climate. This was a great book that had a cozy fantasy feel, but with a touch of heft and darkness.

This is a tongue in cheek guide to birding and birds. The author uses humor to describe some common birds and to provide information on the hobby of bird watching. I was looking for a little bit more with the humor, which mostly consisted of giving them silly insulting names. I felt like there could have been more information on the ways birds can be "annoying." Overall it was a quick read that did make me consider starting a nature journal.

John Carreyrou's reporting helped expose the fraudulent activities by Elizabeth Holmes and her blood testing startup, Theranos. In this book, he goes into depth about the company - how Elizabeth Holmes became one of the major Silicon Valley superstar entrepreneurs and how it all fell apart. It was an interesting look at startup culture where plans and investments often get ahead of results. Carreyrou does a great job of capturing the moment in time and how much everyone wanted to believe in Theranos. The book does a good job explaining the science of what Theranos promised and what its reality was in a way that made sense to readers. I enjoyed learning about the world of investors and tech startups and how the culture of personalities and promises of the time could lead to this kind of large scale fraud.

John Carreyrou's reporting helped expose the fraudulent activities by Elizabeth Holmes and her blood testing startup, Theranos. In this book, he goes into depth about the company - how Elizabeth Holmes became one of the major Silicon Valley superstar entrepreneurs and how it all fell apart. It was an interesting look at startup culture where plans and investments often get ahead of results. Carreyrou does a great job of capturing the moment in time and how much everyone wanted to believe in Theranos. The book does a good job explaining the science of what Theranos promised and what its reality was in a way that made sense to readers. I enjoyed learning about the world of investors and tech startups and how the culture of personalities and promises of the time could lead to this kind of large scale fraud.

Furia is what Camila is known as on the futbol pitch. She is the star player on her team but she must keep it a secret from her family who doesn't think girls should play. Meanwhile, the boy she likes has returned for a visit from overseas where he is a professional futbol player in the European league. This book is a coming of age story that takes place in a poor neighborhood in Argentina. Camila is trying to make her way in a world that is not always kind to women and girls. I like how the author included some of the social issues in the poor neighborhoods of Argentina while still not being too grisly for a young adult novel. Furia is a strong young woman who knows what she wants in life and is willing to do what it takes to get there. The story started a bit slow for me, but it picked up about half way through. By the end I was invested in what was going to happen. Overall, if you enjoy young adult coming of age stories, especially those that take place somewhere new, give this one a try.

This book had some things that could have hurt my enjoyment of the story - a main character that was not very likeable, lots of descriptions of tennis matches. I not only enjoyed this book despite these things - I enjoyed it because of these things. Carrie Soto should not have been a character that I was rooting for, but I did. Each description of a point in the tennis match had me on the edge of my seat. Carrie had a complicated but beautiful relationship with her father. The author could have fallen into the trap of having her father be a stereotypical stage parent, but she avoided it. All of the characters are flawed people who evolve throughout the book. The book kept me reading to see what would happen. Taylor Jenkins Reid is one author who has made her way onto my must read list.

Set in the near-future, scientists discover that there are species of octopus that have intelligence and consciousness. As they try to communicate the the creatures, the consequences of the discover have international implications. This book is truly a study of the nature of consciousness and what it means to be human. We have evolving sea creatures, AI fishing boats, androids, etc. It gets a bit deep at times examining the nature of intelligence, but in a way that stimulates thoughts on the matter. I really like books that make me think and this one is no exception.

Perveen Mistry, the only female solicitor in 1922 Bombay, takes on a case of a young ayah who is accused of having an abortion. The author examines the roles of women in early 20th century India from a number of different backgrounds - from Princesses and doctors to servants and the poor. We are shown how all of them suffer from the constraints that society puts on them. I really liked this book. I feel like I learn so much about the history of India when I read the books in this series. Perveen is a great, complicated character and the mystery was not too easy to figure out. Massey does a great job navigating complicated relationships between people and making all the characters feel real.

I really enjoyed reading this mystery/thriller. I loved the character of Frank. He is a flawed man, but felt really believable as a character. He makes mistakes, but is a good man at heart. I liked how the twist was revealed in such a way that the reader slowly realizes it before Frank does. Despite the trope of the evil rich guy, it felt like the author delivered it in a unique way. It was a great read that kept me turning pages and not wanting to put the book down.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was pretty light for a horror story which was perfect for my mood. However, if you are looking for something to really scare you, this may not be the book to pick. I liked the characters and the relationship between the various family members. I even liked the information about insects and archeology that the main character liked to share (she was an entomologist that worked on archeological sites). Her job sounded fascinating. Overall it was a short book that was horror light (is there such a thing as cozy horror?) that I really enjoyed reading.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I like all of the characters and was very interested in how they were going to deal with the problems that propelled the story. I also liked how there was an examination of what gentrification does to communities. While they had serious problems in their lives, the book kept a pretty light feeling. There were times I was concerned that the outcome of the story was going to go the direction of cliche, but each time I was pleasantly surprised by how the author took the story a different way. If you are looking for a light read about adult women in New York City that examines real issues, give this one a try.

Of the five books I read this month that feature the trope of a group of people go to an isolated island and someone starts killing them off (a la And then There Was None) this one was the one that I would describe as a thriller more than a traditional mystery. The mystery of who was responsible for the deaths and what happened in their past were pretty easy to predict. The book was more about the building tension and the psychological suspense that the characters were experiencing as they tried to figure it all out. There were some gruesome deaths and a long list of trigger warnings. If you like teen thrillers and don't mind a little blood and guts you may enjoy this. It definitely did a good job of building the tension and keeping the action going.

This was an interesting mystery book full of gothic elements. Both of the main characters were compelling, complex characters. The mystery itself was a little predictable and over the top, but that did not affect my enjoyment of the story. It was a really good, atmospheric story full of Victorian ghosts, secret passageways, and a lot of rain.

The Darker Family gathers to celebrate Nana's eightieth birthday. Nana lives on an isolated island that is inaccessible during high tide. Like other And Then There Was None inspired stories, people start dying one by one and they have to figure out who is killing everyone before there is no one left.

I enjoyed reading this variation on the trope. There were dual timelines. One was in the past where the main character reminisces about her life growing up and the family dynamics that may be contributing to the murders. The other is the present where the characters are being killed. There were some times when the flashbacks to the past were a bit slow, especially since the reader does not know how they relate to the present. There were a lot of unlikeable characters, as is common with this style of murder mystery. The twist did catch me off guard and made me want to go back and read it again to see the story in a new light. Overall, it was an entertaining book...if not that original.

I really enjoyed this mystery. I liked how logical the investigation was and I was interested in both the mystery on the island and the investigation of the previous case off the island. The author did a good job of building the tension as murder after murder takes place. Once the mystery is revealed, it felt satisfying. I believe I could reread the book with the knowledge of who the murderer was and pick up on the clues that I missed. It hit the sweet spot of not being so obvious that it was too easy, but also making sense once it is revealed.

This was a fun young adult murder mystery. The best part of the book was the characters. I really loved Bianca and Anderson was almost too awesome to be realistic. Even the characters with smaller roles were memorable and enjoyable. The mystery was a bit convoluted and ridiculous at times, but it was a fun adventure. The book does a good good with Bianca's struggles discovering her gender identity and the support she gets from Anderson's family was heartwarming. Overall, it was a fun mystery to read with great characters if you could suspend disbelief with the actual plot.

This was an interesting story about women pilots that wanted their chance at being astronauts. While the specific event and history were fictional, the struggles that the women faced felt all to real. I liked how the author did not ignore the racism and prejudice faced by the non-white supporting characters. I also liked how the author depicted a character that suffered from anxiety and the stigma that held. The characters were likeable and the story really kept my interest. Its ending felt a bit sudden, not really a cliff hanger but jarring nonetheless. There is a sequel that continues the story as well as a few short stories. I also enjoyed the notes the author included at the end including her inspiration for characters and events in the book.

This was an interesting story about women pilots that wanted their chance at being astronauts. While the specific event and history were fictional, the struggles that the women faced felt all to real. I liked how the author did not ignore the racism and prejudice faced by the non-white supporting characters. I also liked how the author depicted a character that suffered from anxiety and the stigma that held. The characters were likeable and the story really kept my interest. Its ending felt a bit sudden, not really a cliff hanger but jarring nonetheless. There is a sequel that continues the story as well as a few short stories. I also enjoyed the notes the author included at the end including her inspiration for characters and events in the book.

The Memory Police is a unique book about a young woman living in a dystopian world where things are randomly forgotten. There is no explanation given for how the disappearances work, just that they do. If you are someone that can still remember, the Memory Police will come to take you way. This is one of those books that I felt like I was missing a lot of the symbolism of the story. But despite that feeling, I really liked the characters. They were well written and the the story of an oppressive government snatching people off the streets and from their homes resonates with what has been going on in the world lately. I would recommend this book for readers that don't mind it when things are not explained and strange things just happen.

The Names asks the question of how someone's name can change the path of their life. When Cora takes her newborn son to register his name she is torn between the name her husband insists upon, the name she likes, and the name her daughter suggested. The book tells the story of the boy in three alternate timelines, one where he is given each name. The book was a unique story that exams the affects of domestic violence on families. At times it was hard reading about the abuse Cora suffers, but it does a good job showing how abusers manipulate everyone around them to keep control. It was not an easy read, but I found myself caring about the characters in all of their iterations.

The Names asks the question of how someone's name can change the path of their life. When Cora takes her newborn son to register his name she is torn between the name her husband insists upon, the name she likes, and the name her daughter suggested. The book tells the story of the boy in three alternate timelines, one where he is given each name. The book was a unique story that exams the affects of domestic violence on families. At times it was hard reading about the abuse Cora suffers, but it does a good job showing how abusers manipulate everyone around them to keep control. It was not an easy read, but I found myself caring about the characters in all of their iterations.

This was an interesting book. In addition to telling the story of the soldiers, the author includes historical information about spiritualism in the late 19th/early 20th century, history of mental institutions, and confidence men in general. It learned a lot of information and I like it when an author brings attention to stories such as these.

This was a unique story with a lot of details from World War I. Kowal does a good job of making you care about the characters in the story. It is also interesting to glimpse parts of the War you don't hear about as often, such as the troops made up of the soldiers from the various British colonies such as the West Indies and India. Overall it was a fun read with an interesting mystery that kept me guessing and characters I enjoyed reading about.

In the Big Four, Hercule Poirot battles an international conspiracy of supervillians, the big four, that want to take over the world. He and his friend Hastings risk their lives to take down the evil group. While this was an OK story, it felt like a Poirot was transported into a James Bond movie. I prefer it when he solves crimes with more realistic perpetrators. The book also relied on racial and national stereotypes that took me and my modern sensibilities out of the story. I think I prefer to leave my evil conspiratorial villains to Sherlock Holmes and have Poirot expose the evils of ordinary people.

This was a light humorous story with great characters. The humor was funny without resorting too much to crude language and potty jokes. I liked how the characters were developed as the story went on and appreciated the found family aspect of the story. The audio book was excellent. The narrator really brought many different characters to life and made each one's voice distinct. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a light listen that doesn't take itself too seriously.

This was a fun light mystery. There were a lot of fun characters, although I found Dante himself a bit annoying. I liked the partnership of Jazz and Dante and see a lot of potential for future books featuring the duo. I feel like the author did a good job of capturing the culture of Palm Springs and the people who live and vacation there. The mystery itself was OK. I didn't figure out who did it before the reveal, but I really didn't care too much about it either. Overall, it was a fun book to read by the side of the pool during pride month.

I actually liked this one more than the first one in the series. The characters were great and the story was fun and satisfying. The imagery of the defective items was great and I appreciated how Derek grew throughout the short novella. It left me looking forward to more in the series.

This was a very interesting take on the Titanic story. The author does a good job of blending the true history of the event with her fictional story. We saw characters such as Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, who are fully realized characters that are involved in the plot, not simply bystanders to add to the historical accuracy. I did find myself struggling to find a character that I liked and could root for in the story and knowing the outcome of the Titanic and the Britannic, it felt like you knew the fate of many of them already. The story dragged a bit and there were some subplots that seemed to just be dropped once the boat started to sink. Overall, it was an interesting melding of two genres with a creepy atmosphere. I definitely want to try more of Katsu's novels. (less) [edit]