Adult

Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine by Ibtisam Barakat is a memoir about Barakat’s struggle to finish school and become a writer while growing up in the West Bank.  It is about her search for an identity as a Palestinian, a people without a country, and her … Read More

Have you ever had a dream where you felt like you were running down an endless corridor? Well, that is what the middle of Dark Matter by Blake Crouch was like. A little boring and frustrating. Fortunately, the endless corridor feeling was surrounded by some engaging suspense in the beginning … Read More

Trevor Noah, host of the Daily Show, has written a powerful book about his South African childhood.  This book is by turns fascinating, horrific, funny, heartbreaking and hopeful.  As excellent as the book is, the audiobook is even better.  Mr. Noah narrates it; not only is he a brilliant reader, … Read More

The Yid takes place in Stalin’s Russia shortly before his death in 1953 and is a brilliant work of “reimagined” historical fiction.  Solomon Shimonovich Levinson, a former actor with the State Jewish Theater, is about to be arrested.  Realizing that his life is in peril and that he has nothing … Read More

Me: (holding a copy of A Man Called Ove): Hey, you really need to read this book.  It’s great! Other Person: Thanks, I need a book. What’s it about? Me: A man who is trying to commit suicide.  It’s really funny! Other Person: Uhhhhh, that’s okay. Actually, I don’t need … Read More

The Fifth Season is a compelling and multifaceted story set on a geologically unstable and volatile “Earth”.  Earthquakes and volcanoes are a constant threat and if severe enough can cause a fifth season, or extended winter, due to the amount of dust and ash sent up into the atmosphere.  Tsunamis … Read More

Children of the New World is a collection of 13 short stories, each taking place in a different, though future, place and time.  I’ll start off by admitting that I’m not usually a fan of short stories.  If I’m really enjoying a book, I like to stay with it for … Read More

Dark Matter is a fast-paced science fiction/mystery/thriller of a book.  It is the story of Jason Dessen, a physics professor who had the possibility to make it big but decided to marry his girlfriend when she became pregnant with his child and settle down.  His life is good, if a … Read More