Between Hope and Fear: A History of Vaccines and Human Immunity by Michael Kinch

I saw this book  on the shelves at the library and it jumped out at me. I have always had a fascination with infectious diseases, from the bubonic plague to smallpox and more current epidemics. Additionally, I am incensed by the current anti-vaccer movements and the resurgences of nearly eradicated diseases they have caused. Thus, …

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This book has been everywhere! I have seen it so many places, including in Reese Witherspoon’s book club, and was dying to get my hands on it. The library hold list was quite lengthy. I was immediately drawn to it because it dealt with America’s criminal justice system and its effects on marginalized populations. More …

One Day in December by Josie Silver

I got the idea to read this from The Stripe. I was looking for something light and escapist after the heavy things I read in March. On a gloomy winter night, Laurie makes eye contact with a handsome stranger through a bus window. Usually a skeptic of love at first sight, Laurie is besotted with …

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

I was inspired to read The Talented Mr. Ripley after reading this New Yorker article about the fraudulent activity of Dan Mallory. I had never seen the movie, and was only generally familiar with the plot, so it was all new to me. When Tom Ripley receives an opportunity to travel to Italy for free …

March Short Stories

What it Means when a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka I put this book on my list for Black History Month and because some friends had recommended it, but it didn’t come in time. I thought it might be a reprieve from the other sad books I read this month, but alas …

March Novels

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee My friend Jo recommended this book to me, saying she has recently been reading epics about women. This book was certainly an epic, following Sunja from her childhood in a Korean fishing village all the way to her old age in Japan. Although it stretched a long span of time …

March Non- Fiction

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson I heard about this book from lots of people when it first came out, but somehow just added it to my hold list at the library. It was so good! I cannot believe it took me so long to get around to reading it. Stevenson is a lawyer who defends …