The Invisible Library

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, 341 pages.

I read this book during vacation on the recommendation of Kara, who wrote a review of it here, and I quite enjoyed it.
It starts out slow as the author world-builds in that sort of "well you know how it is with dragons" way, where she is letting you know that there will be dragons, magic, steampunk, and fairies sprinkled throughout the "alternates" we'll encounter, without letting you know exactly what the rules are. It seems a little coy and contrived at first, and maybe gives the story a slower pace at the beginning, but the convoluted story does sort itself out and the author's well-drawn characters deliver a very good story.
Irene, a newish librarian, is sent out into one of the many alternate worlds to find a unique copy of
Grimm's Fairytales. Being given this task at this time strikes Irene as a little strange since she has just returned from a mission and is due some downtime. Stranger still, she is assigned a student with some secrets and this is increasingly looking like a dangerous mission. When the many complications, from decapitated vampires, fairy ambassadors, private detectives, to renegade librarians arise, Irene has to be both resourceful and lucky to see the mission to its end. Sticking with the book through the unwieldy beginning is worth it.

The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook

Salma Hage, 272 pp.

I've checked this out and returned it so many times I've almost forgotten it doesn't belong to me...
Definitely my favorite cookbook of 2016, this is a very comprehensive and straightforward collection of recipes.  The results are delicious, the instructions accurate and clear, and the photographs illustrative and appetizing but not stage-y.  I've had success with so many of these recipes: avocado tahini dip, chickpea kibbeh, freekeh, pomegranate and feta salad, roasted squash with spicy tahini dressing, quinoa stuffed peppers, and more.  Worth it for the recipe for Lebanese 7-spice mix alone, now a permanent fixture in my pantry.

My Name Is Lucy Barton: a Novel

My Name Is Lucy Barton: a Novel / Elizabeth Strout, 193 pp.

A rich, brief novel written in deceptively simple prose.  Like Moonglow, this is another story that takes place at the bedside of a sick person.  In this case the patient is Lucy, a young mother recovering from a long illness, who is visited by her long-estranged mother.  Over the course of a several days visit, the reader learns why they are estranged, and how far Lucy has traveled to make a new life for herself.  To be read in one intense, satisfying sitting.

If You Ask Me

If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't) by Betty White, 258 pages

In this short book, everybody's favorite elderly actress collects anecdotes and musings on everything from fan mail to stage fright to various animal interactions. There are a few gems (her stories of meeting Cocoa the gorilla and receiving honors from the National Park Service were my favorites), though most of the book is fluff. But when you're as old and charming as Mrs. Ludden (as Betty White prefers to be called, in honor of her late husband Allen), you get a pass.

A side note: I listened to the audiobook, which the actress read herself, and I highly recommend it as a format. Her anecdotes came to life in her voice.

Things that can and cannot be said

Things that can and cannot be said / Arundhati Roy & John Cusack, 125 pgs.

This slender volume is the record that exists of a meeting of the authors, Edward Snowden and Daniel Ellsberg.  Arranged by Cusack, he and Roy knew each other from other meetings and he felt she would be the best addition to the meeting that he wanted to witness between Ellsberg and Snowden.  This meeting was not recorded so the evidence we have is this book which summarizes earlier discussions between Cusack and Roy.  The content here will make you think, is at times, upsetting and the use of footnotes and sources is well done but I can't help but want more details of their fascinating trip to Moscow.  Also, I need to go back and review the history of the Pentagon Papers since it has been years ago that I read about them and Ellsberg.

Why I Am Not a Feminist: a Feminist Manifesto / Jessa Crispin, 151 pp.

A highly readable critique of contemporary feminism, which, for Crispin, has become fully intertwined with capitalism and a me-centered self-actualization movement.  (While reading I kept thinking of the full-page ad in the NYT on March 8 which consisted of a squishy aspirational pro-woman poem, with a Lululemon logo at the bottom. Hooray!  Women are great!  And buy our yoga pants.)

I enjoyed Ms. Crispin's direct style.  The reviews practically caution the reader that Crispin is wildly combative; I don't think the writing bears this out, maybe because I am older and grumpier than she is.  She warns against the Twitter-fueled emphasis on individual acts of misogyny rather than on attacking root exploitation and violence; her example is an important male academic whose errant comment (which may or may not have been taken out of context) cost him his career.  She is at pains to say that her concern is not with an individual man's fate but that such rage and quick 'satisfaction' consume a lot of energy and accomplish little except to make everyone afraid.
Great food for thought.  I look forward to reading more.

Fables vol. 9-11

Fables: Sons of Empire [vol. 9] by Bill Willingham, et al, 200 pages

Fables: The Good Prince [vol. 10] by Bill Willingham, et al, 228 pages
Fables: War and Pieces [vol. 11] by Bill Willingham, et al, 177 pages

These three volumes comprise the final build-up-to-war section of the Adversary arc in Fables. The first focuses on two father-son combos: Gepetto and Pinocchio, and the North Wind and Bigby. These pairings are somewhat fraught (particularly Bigby and his estranged father), but how they are handled is excellent. The Good Prince is almost entirely Flycatcher's story, which includes plenty of King Arthur parallels, as well as a hefty dose of biblical metaphors. That said, it's presented well and it's nice to see a peaceful bit in the midst of all the war preparations. Finally, War and Pieces. The war between Fabletown and the Adversary has finally come, and it's great to see how all of the fables' powers and plans come together. The narrative for this volume is split between two of my favorite characters, Cinderella and Boy Blue, which makes it plenty of fun for me.

St. Louis noir

St. Louis noir / Scott Phillips (ed), 269 pgs.

A collection of gritty stories set in St. Louis, some of these are absolute gems and others area bit forgettable.  A bakers dozen stories with a poetic interlude from U City's own Michael Castro.  If you like noir, there will be something here for you.

Born a crime

Born a crime: stories from a South African childhood / Trevor Noah, 288 pgs.

Being the host of the Daily Show, proves that Trevor Noah has "made it." This book gives you a sense of how far he has come.  Born in South Africa, the pairing of his black mother and white father was literally illegal.  His birth, a crime.  Arpatheid was extreme segregation, and the goal was to deny rights, power, and economic success to a majority of the citizens.  How do you succeed in a situation like that?  Trevor's mom was not having any of it.  She was going to do her thing no matter what system of oppression was in place.  She is really the most amazing part of this story.  Of course Trevor gets some credit too.  His mom a great influence, he also knew his father.  During his teen years, he lived with a step-father and lost touch with his biological father.  The step father was also an influence on Trevor but not a positive one.  Regardless, all of our experiences make us who we are and Noah must have needed it all to become himself.  This book is really a great love story between mother and son.  I found it inspiring.

The Last Shift: Poems / Philip Levine, 79pp.

I may have finally found my poet.  I am able to say that I enjoyed this volume, from start to finish, Levine's last.  He was born in Detroit in 1928 and worked in industry there, which experience is never far from the surface of his poems.  Yes, he was US Poet Laureate, but he was a working man and a midwesterner, and to my ear it's that which makes this writing special.  Take these lines, from "The Angel Bernard:"

...How can the life
 of an angel include a Ford plant
where new life is tortured
 into things? You saw the girl Mary
in a rose gown shyly bowing 
               before a dazzling Gabriel, his pale
                                     wings furled..................................
                                     ......................................................
                                     ...........................When Bernard
                                     bows to dip bread in his coffee
                                     his mother lays one hand down
                                     on his bare nape as though she knows
                                     he will die eleven years from now.......

Both completely accessible and very wise.