When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi is one of the most powerful books I have read. While it was a quick read, accomplished in a few hours, I won’t easily forget either the beautiful prose or the thoughtful approach. Paul Kalanithi was in his last year of residency for neurosurgery when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. This book is the chronicle of his years in school as well as the last months of his life. My only (very minor) complaint about this book, other than the immense sadness in reading it, was the distant tone of the author. However, upon reading the ending, written after his death by his wife, we can understand why this distance is powerful and perfect. She writes, “Paul’s voice in When Breath Becomes Air is strong and distinctive, but also somewhat solitary. Parallel to this story are the warmth and spaciousness and radial permission that surrounded him. We all inhabit different selves in space and time. Here he is as a doctor, as a patient, and within a doctor-patient relationship. He wrote with a clear voice, the voice of someone with limited time, a ceaseless striver, though there were other selves as well. Not fully captured in these pages are Paul’s sense of humor – he was wickedly funny – or his sweetness and tenderness, the value he placed on relationships with friends and family. But this is the book he wrote; this was his voice during this time; this was his message during this time; this was what he wrote when he needed to write it. Indeed, the version of Paul I miss most, more even than the robust, dazzling version with whom I first fell in love, is the beautiful, focused man he was in his last year, the Paul who wrote this book – frail but never weak.” While this is a devastatingly difficult book to read, it is absolutely worth it. What an amazing legacy.

I really wanted to like H is for Hawk, by Helen McDonald. I read many good reviews and it was one of the NYT’s Book Reviews 10 best books of the year as well as on more than 25 Best Books of the Year lists. But, I just found it dull and struggled to get through it. While I felt for Helen, who lost her father, grieved, and recovered by training a goshawk, ultimately, I couldn’t get into the long descriptions of T. H. White (The Once and Future King, Sword in the Stone) and his hawk training coupled with Helen’s. If you are really into falconry, you might enjoy this autobiography, but it left me cold.

The Forgotten Room, by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig, was a delight from start to finish. In this unique novel, three authors weave together three stories of three generations of women and the house they live and/or work in. Each chapter, in order, furthers the story of one of the women. It’s a wonderful set of stories and was a pleasure in which to get lost. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Looking for a quick-read thriller that will make your heart pound? Those Girls by Chevy Stevens is it. I read it in about two hours. The premise is three sisters who are abused by their father, leave town in a hurry, and end up in another terrible situation. We then skip 18 years ahead to the sisters and how they are coping with their past. And then, the past begins to repeat itself. I posted about Stevens’ previous book, That Night here. And, honestly, I could have repeated that earlier post. It’s not great literature, but it’s good, keep you on the edge of your seat reading. Well worth a few hours.

I enjoyed Melanie Benjamin’s last book, The Aviator’s Wife, a novelization of the lives of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. In fact, it was 4.5 star-worthy. Here is my review. So, I was excited to pick up her newest book, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, a novel about Babe Paley and her friends’ relationship with Truman Capote. Unfortunately, this novel fell flat for me. While I enjoyed learning more about this time and these characters, it plodded along and never really held my interest. I was ready for it to be over 200 pages before it was. Pick up The Aviator’s Wife instead – you’ll be glad you did.

I put We Never Asked for Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh on my list on the recommendation of a colleague and I’m glad I did. It was an enjoyable read, much like her book, The Language of Flowers. We Never Asked for Wings is about a mother who had her children young and never really took care of them (her mother did) until she was forced to. When she does, she realizes that she’s not as bad as she thought, and changes her life and her priorities. It was a fast read – I was able to take care of it over a few hours – and a good one.

I read a number of negative reviews of My Name is Lucy Barton, and I almost returned it to the library without reading it. However, it was such a short book and I have liked Elizabeth Strout’s other books so much that I thought I would try it out anyway. Unfortunately, those other reviewers were correct. I really disliked this book. The character was unpleasant and I didn’t want to find out about her. The story teased and never really fleshed anything out. Give this one a pass for sure.

I have enjoyed all the books I have read by Joyce Maynard and Under the Influence was no exception. While depressing, and filled with foreboding, it was a good read. The characters were interesting and the story was surprising, if not entirely believable. Helen drinks after her son goes to bed and one evening, has to get behind the wheel after one of these evenings and loses custody of her son. A wealthy couple takes her under their wing during this difficult time and becomes the complete focus of her life. Friendships are at the heart of this novel. I’d put this one on your list if you are looking for a good, solid read.

My neighborhood book club chose Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler. I enjoyed learning more about Fitzgerald, but the book dragged a bit for me. I had trouble getting through the last 150 pages. I think Fowler could have been more succinct. Perhaps, however, in showing the repetitiveness of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s behavior, we can truly feel how Zelda must have felt living with him? It made me sad to read how her life was consistently subsumed under his, but then I remembered the times. If you like historical fiction, I think you will enjoy this one.

Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy was written by Lindsay Moran, the wife of a wonderful photographer I know. It sounded interesting and I thought I would give it a go. I enjoyed the book and it certainly enlightened me about the process of training to be a spy as well as the challenges presented by opting into this kind of life. I particularly enjoyed when Moran described meeting James (the photographer friend) for the first time. Blowing My Cover was a fun read, quick, not too deep, and engaging.