The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

 Confession time! According to the receipt I found in this book, I purchased it all the way back in 2005 - yes, FIFTEEN years ago - ! I remember buying the book, and I remember starting to read it, but for some reason (not lack of interest) I never got around to finishing it, and it ended up on my TBR pile. So much time had passed that I just started over and have finally finished this book. 

After all this time, I guess this book has held up. The premise - “How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” - makes perfect sense, and the author’s description of people who are “connectors” and “mavens” is definitely relatable - I’m sure we all know people like this in our daily lives. And of course, he mentions epidemics and pandemics, which is definitely relatable these days. To be honest, I am not sure what, if anything, I can add to a discussion about this book, but I did enjoy reading it. 

Behold the Dreamers - Imbolo Mbue

Yet another fortuitous Library Sale shelves find! I really enjoyed this book. It was a deceptively fast read that had a lot of depth. I really liked how all the characters were capable of doing good and bad things, just like real people. It was fascinating to see the immigrant experience through the eyes of people seeking the current version of the American Dream, and a bonus to see the reflection of those who seem to be living this dream. What’s also striking about this book is the reality behind these dreams - how much it costs, on a psychological level, to attain what we seem to think of as this dream, and how few people can truly bridge that gap without losing SOMETHING. Recommended. 

The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton

OK, so you know how in my 6-month recap, I mentioned that my library was closed? It was, but it recently reopened in a limited fashion. One of the ways they are trying to get books to people who want them is a service where you tell them a couple of your favorite and least favorite books/authors and they choose a book for you based on this background information. Isn't that a neat idea?? If you think I could resist that, I have some bridges, tunnels, and monuments for sale at great prices (ha ha).

So it is that I ended up with this book, which I really enjoyed. Yes, it could be hard to follow at times, because as readers we are figuring things out at the same time as the narrator, but that's part of the fun. Having read the book, I kind of wish I had the time to re-read it right now, when I could pay attention to the details to see what I would pick up on now that I know why-, how-, and whodunnit. Recommended.

Orphans of the Carnival - Carol Birch (Spoilers)

The review below contains information that might constitute spoilers for this book. 


This was yet another dollar store book find, destined to become mine due to the title and the arresting cover design (side note, this will be my choice for Yellow in the Color-Coded Reading Challenge):

I didn't realize until I read the Afterword that this book was based on a true story, and a real person, Julia Pastrana, who was part of the burgeoning "freak show" circuit in the mid-1800s. The author makes her come alive in the book, and she is a very sympathetic character. Her manager/husband Theo not so much, although he is humanized a great deal as well. Both characters are given complex motivations for their actions. I will say that the author sometimes shifted the third-person point of view from Julia to Theo very quickly, so that a few times it was initially hard to follow whose mind/point of view we were eavesdropping on.

One thing I felt unsure of was the tie-in story set in the 1980s. On the one hand, it kept me guessing - the slight misdirection was well done, and I didn't figure it all out until the end. On the other hand, it took a fair amount of time to get where it was going, and I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters. The end result, however, brought tears to my eyes and was singularly heartbreaking. So in the end I guess it was worth it.

All in all, a fast read that has left me with mental images I'll likely never be rid of. Recommended.