Sink

A gut wrenching memoir about trying to find familial love and acceptance despite a toxic and turbulent upbringing. Often ditched at his "grandparents" house because of his mother's crack addiction, Joey was forced to mature early and make space for himself in a household filled with toxic masculinity, hunger, drugs, and sexual activity. With roaches invading every conceivable space, the fridge nearly always empty, and vitriol being thrown his way; Joseph retreated into the worlds of anime and video games - trying to make sense of his life through their fantasy. Sink is told through a series of poignant vignettes - each more unsettling and upsetting than the next. It's a brutal, violent, deprecating childhood that will shock many listeners, yet nestled within the book there is hope and humor. Joey managed to survive and eventually thrive despite the odds being stacked against him as a poor, young, Black boy in Philadelphia. Narrated beautifully by the author himself - this audiobook may be a painful listen but it's necessary. Sink is fantastically written and eloquent in its despair and dysfunction; a rose amongst the thorns. The language and writing style elevate the story into a memoir that is truly a work of art.  

The End of October

This book reminded me so much of the first part of Stephen King's The Stand. It was riveting! Even though it was very science heavy, I really enjoyed this book. After living through covid - it felt very real and possible. A microbiologist dismisses one of his colleagues findings about an odd virus that played itself out in an internment camp in Indonesia. Henry Parsons decides to make a quick trip out there himself to see what's going on. What he finds instead is a hot zone - a hot zone that will soon cripple the whole world and bring the super powers close to launching all out war. The story follows the spread of the virus and the escalation of war. It gets a little slow towards the end and I had no idea how the book would finish it - but I enjoyed it. Listening to suspenseful music while reading this - definitely help put me on edge!

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

I picked this title solely because one of the narrators is Robert Forester and I am obsessed with anything he narrates. The Outcasts of Poker Flats is a collection of short stories and poems set in the wild west. An unlucky party caught in a mountain blizzard, an orphaned baby in an all male camp, Tennessee's partner and more. I was not overly impressed with any of the stories glamorizing, miners, gamblers, and lawless men. This collection was written in the nineteenth century which explains the machismo and degradation of women, but doesn't excuse it. Some of the narrators did no favors to this audiobook. I honestly may have enjoyed it more had I actually read it. 

The Book Hater's Book Club

My assumption (based off the title and the cover) was that this would be about a book club. It was not in fact about a book club, rather it was about a bookstore. Irma, has demanded that her both her daughters and her partner's spouse attend a meeting. At the meeting they are blindsided when they discover that their mother has sold the beloved bookstore that she opened with her partner nearly 30 years before. Not only has she sold it, she has sold it for a pittance and now her daughter, Bree, will have to find a job. Laney has lived far away from Minnesota for twenty years, but Bree never left and worked in the store. Why is their mom doing this? The sisters decide to get to the bottom of this horrible deal and partner up with Elliot's spouse to get to the bottom of it. A story about family, friendships, grief, and finding that perfect book. A quick read that is witty and wholesome. 

Elsewhere

In the same vein as Shirley Jackson and Margret Atwood, this dystopian novel has a lot to say about motherhood and identity. High in the mountains lay an isolated community where every so often a mother would disappear. It was quite common, in fact it was expected. Some mornings the women all woke up and felt themselves pulled along until they came to the house of whomever had disappeared. A father clutching his children would come outside and the women would go in and remove every trace of her, all her personal items would be taken to the op shop - all her photos and anything written in her hand would be burned. Soon she would be forgotten. When Vera is young, her mother is one of the ones who disappeared. She settled into a solitary routine with her father and two friends until one day a stranger came to town. Not once in her lifetime had someone other than Mr. Phillips (their supplier) come to town. Can the stranger be trusted? What does it mean. For Vera, everything will change. Weird, unique, and affecting. 

Discover Your True North

While this book isn't super relevant to me or my career - it did give me good ideas for leading where I am. I am no CEO, but there is good advice in here and there are plenty of examples of professionals who readers can learn from. From failures to successes, Bill George includes great examples of some of the best leaders in the world. I am not even a middle manager and I have only managed interns, so a lot isn't applicable to my career. But maybe someday that will change and I will remember the lessons learned from this book. I will definitely keep this book on my book shelf and hope to refer to it again someday!

Stone Cold

I think I mostly love this series because the narrator (Robert Forester) is so compelling. He could read a dictionary and I would be enthralled. Stone Cold is the fourth novel in the Jesse Stone series. Personally, I have only read the third one and the fourth one but these really do act as standalone novels so I don't feel like I am missing out on anything. Jesse Stone tackles his most challenging case yet - tracking down a pair of serial killers that love to kill together. As the murders keep rising in Paradise - the pressure mounts on Jesse. Can he find them? Can he stay sober? Compelling, but not surprising - the characters are more important than the plot. I am even more intrigued to check out the movie adaptations now.