Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

     This book was fun to read and at times caused me to laugh out loud. A bit quirky but very much faithful to the time portrayed. The status of women was painfully revealed and I think not overstated. Our heroine was feminist in the highest sense of the term. There were several lovable characters, even the dog, who was deftly described and plausibly involved, if not with the linguistic genius attributed to him. The dialogues with Mad, the daughter, were delightful. The ending was somewhat surprising and satisfying.

The Man who Solved the Market by Gregory Zuckerman

     About mathematical stock trading. A waste of good mathematical talent. Men getting very rich and being very unhappy in the process.

Bill Stern's Favorite Sports Stories by Bill Stern

    I read this in the sixth grade (1960) and thought it was great and always wanted to find it. Reading it now I am less impressed. I thought it was more baseball stories about the most famous players. It has some of that. The writing is, of course, from a different era and a lot of fighting occurs. It was interesting historically.

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz

 (read aloud)

    Another Hawthorne murder novel, very clever and somewhat different. Again almost recursive and nuanced with a delightfully done misdirection and twist ending that is not overdone but nicely consistent with the plot but still surprising.

The Math Inspectors: Story One - The Case of the Claymore Diamond by Daniel Kenney and Emily Boever

     Kids' story, well-written but not much math.

Bad Therapy by Abigail Shrier

     A well-written, very thought-provoking book. Names names and takes no prisoners, very courageous and I think largely spot on. Brings to mind the old book Dare to Discipline. One seminal indisputable point is that therapy can have adverse effects, like all treatments. Dwelling on feelings intensifies them. Parents are in the best position to know what is best for their child. Experts are overrated and easily escape accountability. Treatments often fail but the diagnosis lives on and on. A must read for anyone with a child or occation to interact with a child; in short, most everyone. Our language has been taken over by Therapy-speak, once accurately known as 'psychobabble.'

Stoner by John Williams

     A real novel that captures the reader's interest by creating a scene of an altogether ordinary college professor in an ordinary university experiencing the difficulties common to people. The writing is direct and concrete and as such beautiful. For drama and fireworks look elsewhere. Stoner has a single time of real happiness all the more precious for its brevity.