Who knows where I got Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. Perhaps the Little Free Library? But, boy am I glad I did. It was a wonderful book. It’s a post-apocalyptic tale told from the perspective of a man and girl stranded in the Arctic and then in alternating chapters a group of astronauts coming back from a two-year mission to Jupiter. It’s desolate, but hopeful (kind of) and a really well developed story. One of the best books I’ve read in a while.

I am not sure when I got a copy of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, but it’s been on my shelf for a while. I have made dents in my TBR bookshelf this summer, both by culling and by reading. This slim volume is a classic and I’m surprised that I haven’t ever read it. I’m glad I did, though at first all the characters were confusing, but it turned out that a good mystery is a good mystery and, for me, this one held up. I am not going to be running out to grab any other Agatha Christie’s, but it certainly was gripping and I didn’t guess the ending by a long shot.

I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman was recommended all over the place. I’ve also read multiple other books by Waxman: Garden of Small Beginnings (loved), Other People’s Houses (so-so), and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill (liked). It’s the story of a mother and daughter who go on a college trip. It was pretty fluffy and not too good at first, but it won me over about 3/4 of the way through. It’s definitely a summer read with not much to it, but it’s funny if you have a teenager in the house.

The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi Laskar was a challenging read for me. Many of the characters are referred to as their role, rather than by name, but then sometimes by name. In addition, I kept having to reread sections and chapters to be sure I understood what was happening. But, because of the short chapters, it was a relatively quick read otherwise. It’s the story of Mother who has moved her family to the suburbs of Atlanta, but it’s a lot like the small Southern town where she grew up. Her anger rears up one morning during a police raid on her home. As she is lying in her driveway thinking about her childhood, she thinks about an alternate reality to her present. I really wanted to like this story, but it wasn’t for me.

I must have received Lush by Kerry Cohen as a free author giveaway, because it’s signed. It’s been on my shelf for a while (this summer has been one to try to clear off the shelves since the library has been closed). It’s a memoir of a period in her life when she was in an unhappy marriage and smoking and drinking far too much. It’s a decent memoir, and eye-opening, but not amazing. It’s a quick read, though, and an interesting take on moderation management to cure addiction. It also made me curious about another of her books, Loose Girl.

Marisa de los Santos’ I’d Give Anything is the fourth in a series of four. I think I have read all of them, but two of them perhaps before I started keeping this blog (Love Walked In, Belong to Me, and I’ll Be Your Blue Sky). In any event, any of you who know me know that even if I did read them all, I can’t remember them! You do not have to have read any in the series to enjoy any of the others. This was the back and forth of Ginny’s high school years (told in journal form), where tragedy struck her best friend in their senior year, and her current life, told from her perspective and the perspective of her daughter. It’s a good story and keeps you wondering until the end. Some of the characters could have been developed more thoroughly, but overall, it’s a decent summer read.

Well, I gave Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson a go a few months ago – from the library on audiobook. And, I listened to the first four hours and was fascinated. It was my era, after all, when Apple started and took off. And, while I really enjoyed what I heard, when I learned that there were 20 hours (!!) left, I gave up. I requested it two more times from the library, but there were podcasts to be listened to (Nice White Parents – SO interesting) and books to be read, and I couldn’t face all that time ahead of me. Perhaps I will pick this one up another time, but for now, I abandoned ship.

Mindy Mejia writes decent thrillers and Strike Me Down, her newest, was more than decent. The books run at a breakneck pace and are quick and easy reads. This one is about a boxing company that hires a financial investigator to discover where $2 million in missing funds have gone. There were a few plot twists, but nothing incredible here. I wouldn’t run out to grab it, but if it’s sitting around, it’s not a terrible choice.

Life After Life was recommended when I added McCorkle’s newest book, Hieroglyphics, to my wish list. So, I got Life After Life from the library. It’s the story of an assisted living facility and the residents and caregivers.One in particular, a social worker named Joanna, chronicles the lives of residents (and non-residents before) when they pass. It’s told in alternating threes – a chapter about a character, then a journal entry about a recent individual who has died, and then a snippet from the perspective of the dead person. It’s an interesting read, but wasn’t a favorite. I wish I had known that both this book and my last read (The Book of Summer) had only garnered three and a half stars on Amazon, as my usual threshold is four. And, these two selections confirmed that good impulse.

I didn’t read Elin Hildebrand’s Nantucket book this summer (was there one?), but I replaced it with The Book of Summer by Michelle Gable. I’m not sure where the book came from, but it’s been on my shelf for a while. And, it’s not Hildebrand, but it had that same summer vibe, so it worked for me. “For the first time in four years…Bess…visits the compound her great-grandparents built almost a century before, but due to erosion, the once-grand home will soon fall into the sea. Bess must now put aside her complicated memories in order to pack up the house and deal with her mother, a notorious town rabble-rouser, who refuses to leave….In the midst of packing Bess rediscovers the forgotten family guest book.” Was this book amazing? No. Was it a decent diversion? Yes. It was a bit too long, but wasn’t a terrible read.