Here’s my list which includes older books as well as new ones. As you can see, I read nonfiction and fiction in several genres. Offhand, I’d say the only genre I don’t read is horror. Life is scary enough so I have no interest in reading horror, certainly not for fun. The links with each book title will take you to my review on Bookbub. Or you follow this link to all my reviews, not just the ones below.
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-shane?list=reviews
Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration and Homeland Security. Todd Miller. No doubt you know about how the ravages of climate change are leading to environmental refugees and warfare. Miller considers those ravages that will affect security not only on our borders but also INSIDE the U.S. Yes, have you ever considered borders within the U.S. that prevent the free movement of U.S. citizens affected by climate change?
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/610978983
Dangerous Books for Girls. Maya Rodale. A history of publishing based on scholarly research, with emphasis on what has come to be known as “romance.” This book is full of fascinating cultural data. For those of you with strong negative opinions about romance, and who probably have never read a romance within the last 30 years, start here. You’ll learn something.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2447367495
Eyes of the World. Marc Aronson, Marina Budhos. Robert Capa and Gerda Taro were two European Jews (Hungarian and German) who met in Paris in the 1930s, fell deeply in love, and embarked on careers in the newly emerging field of photojournalism. https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3493865829
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Kim Michele Richardson
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1850599419
The Giver of Stars. Jojo Moyes
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1211552781
These two books both address the Pack Horse Library Project initiated by the WPA during the Great Depression. However, the books are quite different. Book Woman is a dark tale of the “coloreds,” the Blue Skin people of eastern Kentucky. Giver of Stars, although it addresses some difficult issues, is a lighter book about two librarians in the Pack Horse Library project.
Love in the Time of Cholera. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A rich tapestry of a tale that, despite the title, is not about love at all. Obsession is a better word here.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2065929734
Mystery/Suspense Fiction:
Calculated Risk. K. S. Ferguson. mystery-suspense wrapped up in a sci fi setting with a spoonful of romance thrown in, too. https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2059853590
Flowers from the Storm. Laura Kinsale. All the romance tropes get turned on their head when the rich, arrogant math genius duke has a stroke early in the book and has to be rescued from an insane asylum by a Quaker woman. This book shows up frequently in the “best ever” lists.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1249165865
Welcome to Temptation. Jennifer Crusie. Sophie accompanies her filmmaking sister to Temptation, Ohio, where Sophie meets the mayor, Phin. Crusie wrote this book as a feminist response to criticisms of the romance genre. Lots of humor in this book.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2833665396
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction:
All Systems Red. Martha Wells. MurderBot, a corporate security android (SecUnit), is tasked with caring for a group of human scientists who come under attack. Winner of both Hugo and Nebula awards to a novella. This is clever and funny at times, but thought-provoking, too, when we consider how smart some of our devices are becoming. https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/109092955
The Fifth Season. N.K. Jemisin. This book is so wildly inventive with such fabulous world building that I’m not even going to try to describe it briefly. Winner of Hugo, Nebula and other awards.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1921622241