Hunted

Hunted by Abir Mukherjee, 382 pages

With just a week to go before a hotly contested presidential election, the whole country is on edge. A suicide bomber at a mall in Los Angeles, specifically a Middle Eastern young woman, makes everything even more precarious, with the ranting right wing candidate spouting more "close the border" and "ban Muslims" talks at his final rallies before election day. FBI agent Shreya Mistry is convinced that more attacks are coming, and is determined to do anything she can to track down the cell responsible for the bombing, even if it means ignoring everything her superiors tell her to do.

There's something very reminiscent of 24 about this book, with a tight timeline, escalating terrorist plots, and conspiracies galore. I appreciated that the points of view managed to encompass people on all sides, including the radicalized young women and men of the cell, the FBI agents, and the parents of the radicalized young adults who are just trying to find their children before it's too late. Were there some things that were completely unbelievable? Absolutely. Was it tough to read right after our own tight presidential election? Definitely. Was it better than I expected anyway? You bet.

Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win

Charlotte Walsh likes to win / Jo Piazza, read by Tavia Gilbert, 310 pgs.

Charlotte Walsh worked her way out of her small town, blue collar beginnings and is a big wig at a California tech company.  She decides that her ability to fix problems is enough of a reason to return home to Pennsylvania and run against the long-time senator of the state.  Surprised by just how quickly the race gets down and dirty, she doubles down and puts her marriage and family at risk.  A timely story of a woman's ambition and politics, Piazza does not shirk from the personal.  Tavia Gilbert does a wonderful job with the audio book making it hard to stop listening.

Run for something

Run for something: a real-talk guide to fixing the system yourself / Amanda Litman, 239 pgs.

If you are running for office, you should check out this guide book that puts it in very simple terms the things you have to do to run a successful campaign.  And not all campaigns end in victory and the author is very clear about that reality.  After all, she worked on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and is now the co-founder and executive director of Run for Something, a PAC that helps newcomers who are deciding it is time for them to get involved.  Highly recommended to anyone who is considering running or even volunteering to help someone else run.  Be prepared to work hard and be exhausted but also have a chance to change the world.

What happened

What happened / Hillary Rodham Clinton, 494 pages.

Talking to a friend, we decided that if Hillary would have won we now would be complaining about how she was disappointing us, how she wasn't getting enough done, how we wanted MORE. But we wouldn't be afraid of a nuclear war, horrified at degradation of American world influence and lack of leadership.  Here Clinton is brutally honest and open about mistakes she made, mistakes others made and how things ended up so poorly.  I don't know how else to say it, but there is a lot of pain and suffering yet Clinton is still gracious and appreciative of those who support her.  I'm not sure why I chose to read this book now, it seems too soon, but I'm glad I did and would recommend it to anyone interested in politics, women leaders or tragic endings.

Conclave

Conclave / Robert Harris, 286 pgs. Read by Roy McMillan

The pope has died so it is time for an election.  Nobody does politics like the Cardinals! I smugly figured out the inevitable outcome of the election early on. We only get details on a few characters and a broad overview of the 118 voting members so there aren't a lot of options and I'm so damn smart.  Regardless, I could NOT stop listening to this book.  The narrator does a great job of conveying the parts that hold a little humor and the pacing is fantastic.  I was fascinated by the rituals and requirements of the conclave.  The story itself keeps you invested...and then, the twist comes.  No, I'm not going to even give you a hint but it is not that they break out a dance party when the election is settled.  Harris is a not a new author but this is the first I've read of his and it is good enough to seek out more.

Insane clown president

Insane clown president: dispatches from the 2016 circus / Matt Taibbi, 350 pgs.

Taibbi covered the 2016 election for Rolling Stone magazine. This compilation of reports through the primary and general election shows many times where he was insightful and many times where he missed the boat.  He is very honest about both.  Taibbi has a sense of the history being made (nothing to be proud of) and predicts the long term result.  I've always liked his perspective and often appreciate the words he chooses. I wonder how long it will take before reading about the election is not hard.

Infomocracy

Infomocracy / Malka Older 380 pgs.

In the future, elections only occur once every ten years so there is time for governing.  In this new order, countries don't exist anymore and the world is broken into "centenals," or groups of 100,000 voters.  Each area elects a party, most of which are corporate backed. The "microdemocracy" election is run by Information, a company that is Google-like providing information and services to citizens mostly through their handheld devices.  Ken is a political operative for Policy1st and Mishima works for Information. Their paths cross and after an attack on the election debate, they work together to figure out if there is election fraud afoot.

Maybe a bad book to be reading during this election season, maybe a great book to read now.  I'm really not sure.  I leave you with this quote from page 291 "...but democracy is of limited usefulness when there are no good choices, or when the good choices become bad as soon as you've chosen them, or when all the Information access in the world can't make people use it."

Smek for president

Smek for president / Adam Rex 245 pg.

In the followup to "The true meaning of Smek day" we find JLo and Tip on earth and life sort of returning to normal.  But JLo is worried about his roll that left him "public enemy number 1" to his people.  Tip and JLo decide to take a trip to New Boovworld and clear JLo's name.  For the first time the Boov are going to elect a leader and Smek is the obvious choice until he is uncovered to be an unethical creep.  He imprisons JLo to further his own agenda and it is up to Tip to save the day.

Do yourself a favor and listen to the audio version of this book.  The incomparable Bahni Turpin narrates and is so good you don't even have to care about the outcome.  Maybe we can get her to narrate our election?

I Am A Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want To Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb

I Am A Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want To Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb, 305 pages, Young Adult.
A seemingly hopeless and friendless seventh-grader, who is also the third richest man in the country, (and of course the title character) teams up with the meanest girl in school to finagle, manipulate, and steal the school election. Oliver is ruthless, conniving and willing to steal a priceless Star Wars collectible from an African Dictator, so you know he will stop at nothing. Tatiana is mean, alluring and likes the color pink. A lot of fun to read, this is an hilarious book that Christa had recommended. As usual, she was right.

Knuckles and back rooms

Knuckles and back rooms: my life in American politics/Ed Rollins 366 pg.

I chose this to get an inside view of election campaigns. - Susie

Game Change

Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin and the race of a lifetime/John Heilemann & Mark Halperin 448 pgs.

Sex! Lies! Drama! and did I mention sex? This book has it all, oh yea, also an election that was an important collection of firsts. If you paid any attention at all, this book is better than anything you remember. Sometimes I shudder at the reality of politics, other times I relish it. -Christa