The Birds of Pandemonium by Michele Raffin

3/5 stars

What's it about? Michele Raffin details her journey from animal lover to conservationist, as her California home evolves into Pandemonium Aviaries, a sanctuary for abandoned and endangered birds. A cozy read about compassion that will warm your cold human heart.

How’d I find it? I spent a year living in my spouse’s grandmother’s home in rural Virginia, and she generously left behind a wall full of books. This book was among them.

Who will enjoy this book? Helen Macdonald fans and those who liked The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery will want to pick this up.

What stood out? The stories of individual birds make up the most compelling sections of The Birds of Pandemonium. Take Sweetie, a joyful quail saved from becoming dinner by being forgotten in a supermarket produce section. Or Amigo, a red-headed Amazon parrot who survives a series of bad homes to fall in love with Michele’s son. The book is impactful in its urging to be better stewards of the natural world and to take responsibility for the lives that depend on us.

Which line made me feel something? Raffin shares a list of poetic flock names, of which I found particular delight in “an ascension of larks” and “a lamentation of swans.”

Liberation Day by George Saunders

3/5 stars

What's it about? George Saunders tinkers with technology, absurdity, and amusement parks in this collection of nine short stories.

How’d I find it? You know when you go into a bookstore on a Tuesday when the fresh titles are laid out, and you see not only a new book from a favorite author, but also that it’s signed? I had that experience at Solid State Books.

Who will enjoy this book? If you like the work of Karen Russell or Stephen Millhauser, these stories strike similar notes.

What stood out? As usual, Saunders brings wit and playfulness to the page, and his writing sparkles. “Mother’s Day” and “Elliott Spencer” were the book’s most successful stories. Much of Liberation Day reads like retooled versions of past powerhouses; the title story recalls Tenth of December’s “The Semplica Girl Diaries,” while “Ghoul” shares elements with “Bounty”. Having recently finished CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, I received this collection as an entertaining echo.

Which line made me feel something? I related cosmically to the narrator of “The Mom of Bold Action,” whose deluge of thoughts seems to keep her from ever actually writing: “‘The Discontented Dog.’ The Discontented Dog was never happy. No matter how many peanut-butter thingies he was given. When he was in, he wanted out. When out — She grabbed another peanut-butter thingie from the box. ‘The Peanut-Butter Thingie Who Sacrificed Himself So the Other Peanut-Butter Thingies in the Box Could Live.’”

March by Geraldine Brooks

3/5 stars

What's it about? Geraldine Brooks found a surefire win in this Little Women spin-off that follows Mr. March as he serves as chaplain and teacher in the Civil War. A story about the price of one’s ideals and the miscommunications in a marriage.

How’d I find it? My husband recommended this read, and I found my own copy in a Little Free Library in Capitol Hill in DC. A walk from where I worked to a bar to meet friends, and an offering of books along the way that held me up a little, just enough. I need a bigger backpack.

Who will enjoy this book? Little Women fans, of course. Those who seek historical fiction along the lines of Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell will also like March.

What stood out? The book reads like Water for Elephants, the kind of bestseller that goes down smooth and easy. We hear Marmee’s voice at a crucial moment in the book to tease out the climax, a device that lifts the curtain on how differently one partner can experience a relationship. Despite our protagonist’s abolitionist tendencies, the language used for characters of color can shock in 2024, and I found myself wincing a few times, particularly in scenes involving Grace, who reconnects with Mr. March during the war. The allusions to the famous little women disappoint in their lack of invention; Amy is merely vain with blonde curls, and Jo is clumsy and dark.

Which line made me feel something? As a former DC resident, this warning from the ever faithful Mr. Brooks stirred in me a chuckle: “I am afraid that Georgetown in particular has an unfortunate reputation. I have been informed that drinking places are ordered closed at a half past nine, and they say there can be, well, a good deal of unseemly behavior on the streets at that hour.”

Billy Summers by Stephen King

3/5 stars

What's it about? Veteran Billy Summers has one last job as a hired assassin before he gets out of the game. Of course, it’s his messiest assignment yet, and Billy starts to question how to tell the bad guys from the good. A well-written crime novel with momentum and heart.

How’d I find it? My aunt passed this along as “a good one.” She was right.

Who will enjoy this book? The HBO series Barry is the perfect companion to Billy Summers. Certain similarities make me wonder if King was inspired by the show.

What stood out? Billy’s alias as a writer provides the frame to learn more about his horrific childhood and deployments in Iraq. The novel within a novel schtick makes the timing in this book perfect. The arrival of Alice, who contributes much of the aforementioned heart, steers the story into sentimentality, but King is, as always, an able navigator. A nod to The Shining that comes out of nowhere gave this fan much joy.

Which line made me feel something? This had never occurred to me: “Billy thinks of telling her that dead, like unique, is a word that cannot, by its nature, be modified.”

The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier

3/5 stars

What's it about? After a terrifying bout of turbulence, Air France flight 006 touches down at JFK with all 243 passengers unscathed. Or does it? This speculative thriller runneth over with ideas about fate and the soul.

How’d I find it? This book was on the frontlist table at Solid State Books, and I heard positive feedback from readers that inspired me to get my own copy.

Who will enjoy this book? Those who appreciated Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility or How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu will enjoy the interconnected stories and gigantic cast.

What stood out? Le Tellier crams in everything but the kitchen sink. There’s child abuse, interracial relationships, a hitman for hire, closeted sexuality, suicide, terminal illness, and on and on. The first 150 pages are pure character introduction, with most chapters ending with the arrival of a federal agent, but the anticipation is worth the reveal. I recommend reading the English translation by Adriana Hunter, as she ably smooths over Le Tellier’s awkward attempts at relating American culture. Macy’s is not a supermarket, sir.

Which line made me feel something? At the point in the book where I’d simply had enough of new characters, Le Tellier drops this disarming bit of self-awareness: "He surrenders to the fascination of lives other than his own. He’d like to choose one, to find the right words to describe this creature, and succeed in believing that he has come close enough to it not to betray it. Then move on to another. And another. Three characters, seven, twenty? How many simultaneous stories would a reader consent to follow?"

Shit, Actually by Lindy West

3/5 stars

What's it about? Lindy West compiles her reviews of cinematic favorites both beloved and awesomely bad, scored in copies of DVDs of The Fugitive. Spot-on, irreverent, and hilariously petty.

How’d I find it? I loved Shrill and had to read West’s movie takedowns.

Who will enjoy this book? Fans of the podcast How Did This Get Made?

What stood out? I reread the reviews of Love Actually, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Twilight several times to enjoy the laugh out loud moments. While West is talented and sharp as always, the quips about our current social/economic/political climate didn’t work for me in this book. Sometimes, I just want to read about movies.

Which line made me feel something? From “Never Boring, Always Horny:” "Of all the weird shit Stephanie Meyer wrote in this series, ‘all vampires love baseball’ is absolutely the weirdest. Did you know a vampire can smell a drop of baseball in a million gallons of old growth forest?"

Everything You Ever Wanted by Luiza Sauma

3/5 stars

What's it about? Iris is losing her lifelong battle with depression. Her career as a digital brand strategist? Meaningless. The tense distance from her family? Overwhelming. Feeble attempts at love? Unfulfilling. There’s a way out: the reality show Life on Nyx is offering 100 Earthlings the chance to live on another planet for the rest of their lives. A wry and devastating book about how the trappings of civilization obscure what really matters.

How’d I find it? This bookstagrammer in the UK has the absolute best recommendations. She gets my taste exactly.

Who will enjoy this book? No book can overshadow my admiration for Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis, but Everything You Ever Wanted is certainly in the same family of novel with its reality TV in space backdrop.

What stood out? This narrative slipped in and out of realities in a way that left loose ends and kept me guessing. My interpretation of Iris’s fate may just be a reflection of my mood at the time, and I appreciate any book that immediately demands a reread. While hard to put down, Everything You Ever Wanted has its flaws. The mother trope pushed Iris’s story into clichéd territory, and we get too few breadcrumbs about the mystery of Nyx (what a setting though). The chapters titled “These Are the Things” and “Things,” which catalogue what Iris misses on Earth, offer sweet interludes.

Which line made me feel something? This cracked me up: “The other night, she dreamed she was in a corner shop, and as she unfolded a twenty-pound note it released a whiff of papery, cocaine bitterness. Did banknotes smell of cocaine, or did cocaine smell of banknotes?”

The Material by Camille Bordas

3/5 stars

What's it about? The Material follows an MFA stand-up program in Chicago as the students and faculty prepare for a set competing against Second City. A novel of rich inner monologues, the competitive nature of fame, and even a school shooter.

How’d I find it? An excerpt of this book in Harper’s assured me that I needed to read the whole darn thing.

Who will enjoy this book? A readalike if you appreciate an ensemble of characters and time in their psyches? The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty.

What stood out? I can’t help but applaud this novel’s ambition. Writing about the art of stand-up comedy requires crafting performances for the page, and Bordas does just this, delivering not only the sets of her famous and would-be comics, but also their riffing creative minds, the forge where jokes are made. She writes bits that work and others that flop, lending authenticity to the story. It seems Bordas composed her first novels in French, and if English is not her first language, I’m all the more impressed by her comedic ear. Dorothy, the professor who has a new special coming out, enticed me the most; her thoughts on aging as a single woman were memorable and well-written.

Which line made me feel something? As Olivia, one of our aspiring comics, approaches the microphone: “It was almost a game at this point, testing how many unrelated-to-comedy thoughts she could hold in her head up to the last second—the more there were, the greater the relief would be at seeing them fly away with her first line, like a flock of scared-off birds after a gunshot.”

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

3/5 stars

What's it about? Kaling's second collection of essays muses on fame, work, and love. A light-hearted, delightful read.

How’d I find it? I’m a millennial who has seen every episode of The Office more times than she can count.

Who will enjoy this book? The bottom line: if you like Mindy and celebrity memoirs, you'll enjoy this book. Looking for a read-alike? Try You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson.

What stood out? Kaling's essay on weddings (and why being a bridesmaid stinks) is a hilarious and touching reflection on female friendship. "A Perfect Courtship in My Alternate Life" imagines Kaling's life if she'd ended up as a Latin teacher at a Manhattan private school, told via email exchanges.

Which line made me feel something? A loud cackle escaped from me at the following description of a certain sorority: "Their finely toned arms replace a finely honed sense of irony."

God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas

3/5 stars

What's it about? Former army medic Joseph juggles doctoral work, family demands and worries, and the workplace drama of a fast-paced Philadelphia hospital in this stream of consciousness novel that follows Joseph through one seemingly neverending shift where people in his life are constantly showing up as patients. Can someone please get Joe some lunch?

How’d I find it? I have yet to read a review of a book as sparkling as this one in Kirkus Reviews and requested a copy immediately.

Who will enjoy this book? Though Thomas showcases a style all his own, similar themes and approaches to humor can be found in Jamel Brinkley’s A Lucky Man and in Bryan Washington’s work.

What stood out? Thomas’s debut novel feels contemporary in a way so few novels do: the language, the disillusionment with military service, the way systemic racism infects who and how people are treated in our healthcare system, and the complexities of American family life. It’s all there, though God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer is more snapshot than investigation. I could read a whole book just about Joe’s relationship with his mother or his best friend Ray. While jarring, the dips in and out of Joseph’s present align with breaks in his train of thought and maintain the lightning pace set on the first page. The hospital setting didn’t read wholly authentic to me, but I’m a nurse in Portland, Oregon and recognize that things may work differently in Philly.

Which line made me feel something? If this gorgeous sentence doesn’t draw you in, nothing will: “Folks online always thought he was older, though I could never see what they saw, his text always sounding the way he looked as a baby, his avatar, an older black woman with white locs exemplifying the too-familiar and impossible amalgam of mother and lover most of us longed for, coaxing it out of the women in our sphere or otherwise overrepresenting our imaginations as reality, a consequence of our unfinished forebears and that necessary love, that forceful love, that elegant and deeply painful love otherwise foreclosed to us by the world.”