Hailed as one of the best books of 2016 by many sources, Karen Mahajan’s the association of small bombs, had been on my to-read list for a while. And, even though this was a quick read that I liked, I didn’t love it. The story is how small bombs detonated in Dehli not only have repercussions with those involved (victims and perpetrators) but also tie many people together. While the book was interesting and different, moving along at a good clip, it was too quiet and flat. That said, though, I’d give it a go, especially since so many people really like it, but for me, it wasn’t a top pick.

With spring break on the horizon, I was really ready for a good juicy story. The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor kept coming up because of other books I have read and enjoyed. The book is told in varying points of view – Maggie, the “main character” leaves Ireland to emigrate to America on the Titanic, Harry works on the ship, and Grace, Maggie’s great grand-daughter learns Maggie’s story at a low point in her young life. There are some other minor characters whose point of view we learn and some of the story is “told” by Maggie’s diary entries. It’s fast-paced and page-turning, just what I was looking for.

While I like Bruce Springsteen, I wouldn’t say I am a superfan or anything. But, I read that his recently published autobiography, Born to Run, was worth a read and I decided to take it on. I had low expectations, not because he’s not an interesting guy, but I wasn’t expecting him to be a particularly good narrator – I didn’t think that’s where his genius would lie. And, while I would say it was not the most well-written piece, it was certainly compelling and I read the rather long volume in fairly short order. My only complaints are that it could have been pared down significantly (a good editor would have helped), there could have been less detail about each and every song release, and could have been more about his personal life as an adult. I felt there was a lot of detail about his early home life, and then not much in the 70s and 80s. It would have been more interesting for me if those details had been in there. If you are a big Bruce fan, I would pick this one up. If not, I would give it a skip.

I grabbed A Really Good Day by Ayelet Waldman on the recommendation of a “Great Books of 2017” list. It’s an autobiographical account of Waldman’s experimentation with microdosing of LSD, which I had never heard about and found quite intriguing. While the narrative was interesting, the book was filled too much with the description of drug research and the illegalization of drugs. While I wanted to skip those parts, I worried that I would then miss some of the story. Ultimately, while this book was interesting, I didn’t really walk away with any practical knowledge and was left kind of hanging about how the one month experiment affected Waldman’s after the fact.

Henna House by Nomi Eve was another recommendation by my former colleague who always has stellar recs. I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. While about Yemen, not India, it was in the vein of those I loved (The Orphan Keeper, The Secret Daughter, and The Rent Collector, among others), but it fell a bit flat by comparison. Henna House is the story of Adela whose family is desperate to find her a husband before she is collected by the Confiscator. Her prospects are bleak, but her life is transformed by the arrival of her aunt and cousins who teach her the art of henna tattooing. Overall, this book was too tedious for me; I didn’t get sucked in the way I wanted to until the last 50 pages (which were very good). If it had been 100 pages shorter on the front end, I would have liked it much more.

I am not sure what all the hype is about with Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. If you ask me, it’s people trying to seem like they are superbly intellectual by saying this was a pleasurable read. For me, it was one of the strangest and least satisfying books I have read. While it went quickly because there was not much to each page, since it all took place in one night, not much happened. The basic gist is a graveyard where Lincoln mourns his son, Willie. Chapters are either ghosts making observations or historical tidbits surrounding the Lincolns and Willie’s illness and death. I could absolutely have given this one a miss, though I am OK with discovering that it wasn’t worth the hype.

I loved Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline and, though it had a slow start, I liked a piece of the world as well. It’s the fictionalized account of Andrew Wyeth’s Christina of the painting, Christina’s World. Christina lives in rural Maine with an unnamed crippling disability, is disappointed that she can’t continue in school as a teenager because she has to work on the farm to help her family, and is unlucky in love. All these factors explain why Andy paints her the way he does in the painting. I liked how Kline weaves Wyeth and Christina’s lives together and wondered throughout the book what was fact and what fiction. This is a relatively quick read and an enjoyable one.

After a non-starter (People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks – I just couldn’t get into it), I chose a fluffy read, The Hypnotist’s Love Story, by Liane Moriarty to get through quickly at this hectic time of year. I enjoyed The Husband’s Secret and Big Little Lies (and I am liking the mini-series on HBO too). The Hypnotist’s Love Story is about Ellen, a hypnotherapist, who begins dating Patrick after several failed relationships. Patrick is pretty much perfect and they hit it off right away, but his ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks this is intriguing at first, but it becomes a big problem. This is not a deep story, but it was an enjoyable read and one that I had trouble putting down.

**FULL DISCLOSURE: I am trying something new. I have joined the Amazon Associates program. This means that if you click on the book link in the text of any of my posts moving forward, you will be taken to the Amazon page for that Kindle book. If you choose to purchase it, I will receive a tiny portion of the proceeds. Win-win for the blog and thanks in advance!

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, by Bryn Greenwood, was, on the surface, a disturbing story about a young girl and the man who basically raises her because her parents are abusive meth addicts. However, it was much more than that, and, a completely addictive read that I plowed through in a day. It was intensely readable and fascinating. All the hype about this one was deserved. I’d grab it if you are looking for something page-turning.

Small Admissions, by Amy Poeppel, was a light and funny read which was perfect for this hectic admissions time of year. It is a comical look at NYC private school admission wrapped around the story of Kate who has been in a funk since her boyfriend unexpectedly dumped her the year before. The book explores Kate and the people who surround her before and after her first year working in an admission office. I liked the whole story, but, frankly, would have enjoyed learning more about the families from the admission files perspective (each part of the file is teased out throughout the story). The family element was particularly amusing – I am sure more so because of the work I do. While Small Admissions was nothing deep or earth-shattering, it was a fun read.