Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances

Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances by Leland Melvin, 241 pages. Narrated by Ron Butler.
Leland Melvin has lead an amazing and inspirational life. He has degrees in chemistry and in "materials science engineering," he played, briefly, in the NFL, and worked as a NASA astronaut, going on two shuttle flights. Along the way he also composed with Pharrell Williams, met the Obamas several times, and hosted a TV show.
He does a good job of sharing his inspirational story, emphasizing the roles of bot perseverance and serendipity in his life, and he gives a great deal of credit to his parents. A fun book to read or to listen to.

A Reunion of Ghosts / Judith Claire Mitchell 382 pp.

I am enthusiastic about 90% of this book.  Lady, Vee, and Delph Alter, three sisters descended from the Nobel-prize winning chemist responsible for the development of chlorine gas used during WWI, are burdened by the weight of their family history.  The chlorine gas was bad enough; what's worse is that their ancestor's innovation was later used in the creation of Zyklon B.  On the last day of the 20th century, they decide to bring their family history to a permanent close in their claustrophobic Manhattan apartment.  What follows is their suicide letter, the long, tragic and hilarious story of the Alter family.

This is great dark comedy, told with beautifully developed characters and fresh voices.  It's great, that is, until the author decides to conclude with an event that, in life as in fiction, demonstrates the ultimate failure of the imagination.