Uncommon Type - Tom Hanks

Typically when you see a book with an famous non-author as the author, you are expecting a memoir or essays or something. Imagine my surprise to find out that Tom Hanks, in Uncommon Type, has put together a collection of short fiction. And he does a Yeoman's job of it. Each story includes some kind of typewriter that serves to tie all the stories together. 

If you're looking for edgy subjects and delivery, you probably forgot Tom Hanks wrote these. But they are definitely entertaining. One set of recurring stories follows four friends, the narrator, who's name I don't remember, an energetic driven woman, Anna, and two Home Depot employees MDash, who's just become an American citizen, and Steve Wong, possibly the best bowler on the face of the planet. These were possibly my favorite stories in the collection and I loved that two more stories turned up after the first I enjoyed so much. 

I also enjoyed, "Go see Costas" a story of an immigrant from war-torn Bulgaria making his way to America on a Greek ship and trying to absorb into the backdrop of New York City. There was also an amusing story of an eccentric billionaire venturing to the backroads and finding a motel with a lot of vacancy but two very funny managers. 

Technically sound, these stories come from someone who probably thinks about stories all day long and has had a huge part in making characters come to life. That he was able to do so in this collection is no real surprise after you get over the initial shock that he spent his time doing it.

3.57/5 Stars. 

The Pagan Lord - Bernard Cornwell

My fictional love interest Uhtred is now 50, and guess what? I'm still into him. But this is exceptionally old for someone living in the 800s. So the fact that he's still holding his own in the shield wall is starting to stretch even my generous belief in his abilities. 

This time around in The Pagan Lord (that's Uhtred, duh), Mercia and Wessex have been in relatively peace for 8 years. Uhtred has been farming the land granted to him by Alfred in the last book and everything is quiet and boring. But that doesn't make for a good Uhtred book. So you know the Danes are gonna be starting something. Cnut and Sigrid were left alive after the last encounter. As was Haesten. 

But people always seem to be underestimating Uhtred. At the beginning of the book, we find Uhtred hunting down his recently ordained first born son, disowning him, and killing a monk in the process. This in turn, gives the local Bishop something to crow about and Uhtred's farm and homestead is burned down. Uhtred is forced to leave and what better time to assault Bebbanburg? His second son, Osbert, is renamed Uhtred, much like his father was, and the band of loyalists to Uhtred very nearly succeeds in taking the fortress. 

But in the meantime, Mercia is in trouble. Again. And Uhtred must save everyone. Again. Maybe this time they'll be grateful. 

You can sense in this book that Uhtred's age is catching up with him. Since Cornwell wrote himself into a corner early in the series making Uhtred the narrator from a long off hall and old age, you never really fear for Uhtred's life, but now, since the series is so good and successful, we need a younger protagonist to carry the banner (literally). I have a feeling Uhtred Uhtredson (the new one) is going to be just the man for the job. 

4/5 Stars. 

The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited - Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Carey Pietsch

What can I say? There's a gorgeous synchronicity between The Adventure Zone podcast and the graphic novel. The graphic novel manages to take the whimsy and sweetness of the McElroy brothers and carry it into a visual medium. 

Murder on the Rockport Limited follows Magnus, Merle and Taako as they try to recover a second grand relic. A Bureau of Balance reclaimer, Leeman Kessler, has gone missing after checking his luggage onto the Rockport Limited. In the luggage is the relic, and our three adventurers must get it back. But nothing is that easy and the Ruff Bois have to work hard to get it back. And solve a puzzle at the same time - with a strong assist from kid detective Angus McDonald. 

It's a lovely way to relive the more than 70 hours of audio the McElroy's created. I know that's not much for a review but it's hard to really grasp all the things of a graphic novel. 

5/5 Stars. 

Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World - Michael Lewis

When Lewis was busy researching what would become The Big Short, he ran across a Dallas investor who seemed so outlandish that Lewis brushed him off. Governments, the guy told him, would be the next domino to fall due to the economic crisis. But this idea seemed so absurd as to likely be false that Lewis gave it little other thought, until it looked like governments were going to fail. And since he already had that good good background in his pocket from The Big Short, he was able to continue to watch the fallout through governments. 

Boomerang is a short little book that details big fiscal failure. Starting in Iceland where a lot of fishermen decided to try their hand as investment brokers, through Greece where austerity measures were crippling the bribery economy, to Ireland, Germany and finally California, Lewis finds a culture of easy money and the governments that spent it. 

The details are sad and overwhelming. How can governments behave so badly? How can the outspend so richly? How can they possibly not see this as a problem? Turns out governments were having a grand time bailing out banks who had made monumentally stupid gambles and passing that cost on to their citizens. But, to try to write of an entire national character based on a couple weeks of travel with carefully selected citizens may be a bit of a stretch and obviously unfair to the entire populace of these countries. 

Frustrating and full of gallows type humor, Boomerang made me feel that absolutely no one is minding the store. And we're all doomed.

3.5/5. 

Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigations of a Lifetime - Ron Stallworth

I'm definitely a "read the book before seeing the movie kind of person" especially when a movie is about real life events because I know Hollywood has a tendency to make things very "Hollywood". So I was very excited to see this book was available from my library.

Quick and to the point, Black Klansman tells the story of Ron Stallworth's undercover infiltration into the KKK in Colorado Springs in 1979. As a black man, this was an extraordinary feat, and the way he was able to quickly gain the trust of not only the local chapter but also David Duke himself is amusing and a testament to Ron's quick thinking and long range vision for where he wanted to take the investigation. 

Told by Stallworth himself, Black Klansman gives the details of Stallworth's involvement and the intricate politics walked in the police department in order to make this investigation a go. The reader gets to laugh along with Stallworth as the unwitting klan members enthusiastically support his taking over the local chapter and their sincere affirmations that they would absolutely know if they were talking to a black person on the phone (they clearly did not). 

I'm excited to see the movie now. Spike Lee is a master story teller, and while Ron lived the story of a lifetime, his livelihood doesn't rely on his story-craft.  It would all be a good laugh at these silly dum-dums if they weren't so ignorant but also evil. I had no idea that Colorado had such a racist history but there's likely politicians with klan connections in every state in the union when we look closely enough. 

In the face of such ignorant hate, Black Klansman is a good reminder that it's not enough to just not be racist. We need to be anti-racist.

3.5/5 Stars. 

Death of Kings - Bernard Cornwell

Death of Kings represents a huge change in the plot for Uhtred and The Saxon Stories. Alfred, the West Saxon king who Uhtred reluctantly attached to himself in desperation for protection from his uncle, is really and truly dying. While still young by today's standards, Alfred has always been ill and now it appears stomach cancer will end his reign. His dream of a unified "England" however, will not die with him, as his children, Athelflaed and Edward, are committed to continuing progress to this dream. 

And finally, Uhtred willingly throws his support behind this idea and abandons the ideas of a Danish ruled England. This comes about not just through assimilation by Uhtred, but by his final understanding of the superiority of Alfred's vision and war craft. While the Danes continue to unsuccessfully throw themselves upon the walls of Alfred's fortresses, the wealth of the West Saxons is safe behind the walls. And Uhtred knows a winner when he sees one. So he throws his support behind Edward, pledging his sword to Edward (and his heart to Aethelflaed, hubba hubba). 

In any case, Uhtred braces the country for an inevitable invasion following the death of Alfred and the divided loyalties and leadership of the Danes prevents this from happening for a full three years. This is also the first time we see Uhtred recognize that he's not quite the spritely 20 year old who killed Ubba by the sea. He's now 43, and is taunted by a Dane who deems Uhtred, "too old to kill." Ouch. 

Uhtred is still Uhtred however. Disgusted with the piety and sometimes hypocrisy shown by the Church in England. He's becoming outnumbered in his faith and he doesn't like it. He's still good with a sword, but Uhtred's strength has also lain with his ability to understand and plan for an enemy's motivations and tactics. And FINALLY he gets the respect he deserves from Alfred. It felt like a nice closure on that story line. We'll see what Uhtred does in his old age. But it will probably involve more sword swinging and lady loving. (Thank God :))

4/5 Stars. 

The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children - Ross W. Greene

When our first child was a baby, he was impossible to soothe to sleep. We'd walk and rock and shush him and peering over at his face, his eyes would be wide open and alert. So on and on we'd walk, changing hands every 30 minutes when the frustration built and we were sure the lack of sleep was going to ruin our days. 

But as a toddler, he slept better and things were off to a good start. But when we signed him up for his first soccer season, it was evident that his emotional maturity was not quite those of his peers. He would refuse to be on the field, weep at the thought of being late, and lash out in frustration when told he would have to do something he didn't want to do. It didn't start at soccer, but it was the first aha moment that maybe the immovable object we encountered at home (literally he would become stiff and not move) was a sign of a greater issue that just stubborness or shyness. 

We started taking him to an excellent therapist prior to the start of his kindergarten year. And some of the coping techniques she taught him, and us, were extremely helpful. And yet, there remained moments, mostly centered on doing Kumon math worksheets, where his level of rage or frustration was beyond what we would or had expected. It was during a waiting room visit at a therapy session that I saw The Explosive Child sitting in a "lending library" of the therapist's office. "Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible"? Was there a camera in this waiting room to see if I picked this up?

Within the first few pages of reading, I felt something I didn't know I'd tightened in myself start to loosen up. "The reason reward and punishment strategies haven't helped is because they won't teach your child the skills he's lacking or solve the problems that are contributing to challenging episodes." 

There are so many times that we feel like we are failing as parents. If we can't get them to just behave and comply isn't that a reflection on our lack of skills? This entire book gives parents grace in abundance so they can in turn show their children grace. This should be obvious, but yet it's not. And I realized, ashamed, that I had been developing bad habits regarding conflict with my child, and was probably doing more damage to our relationship than missing a few worksheets was worth.

Okay so reset. Move to what Greene calls, Plan B, because clearly our Plan A wasn't working. And you know what, it requires you to have open and considerate communication with your child, to really show them you care about their concerns and their opinions. Are you still the boss? Yes, but your child is trying to learn skills that make them able to handle frustrations and disappointments. And yelling at them and imposing parental will isn't going to assist in that. 

It's harder than it sounds, but that's okay. Because "We can do hard things." And that lovely child of mine is worth it.

5/5 Stars.

The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith

It has been a very long time since I read Cuckoo's Calling, the first Cormoran Strike novel by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling). I didn't remember much about it other than I had enjoyed it and there was a private detective, a dead model or something and the detective was an amputee. 

The Silkworm picks up in the aftermath of CC, in which Cormoran finally has paying clients and is a little more financially stable. All of the private detective novels I've ever read have described the razor thin budgets in which these folks work, why do they do this to themselves? I was so concerned about this that even after I finished the book, I kept wondering if Cormoran was even paid for the work he does in The Silkworm.

The fact that the events of The Silkworm involve a missing author and his weird publisher and agent are pretty delicious as Galbraith gets to turn "his" eye on the very industry in which this book is going to be published. 

But in essence, an author who has produced mediocre work and was of questionable character has gone missing. His wife has hired Cormoran to find him, which he does, but in a very disgusting and mutilated form. So then Cormoran turns his attention to catching the killer. Along for the ride is Cormoran's secretary, turned novice gum-shoe, Robin and Cormoran's knee, which is mentioned so much it should be considered another character. (Actually it was mentioned a bit too much - he goes on and on and on about the pain and discomfort and inconvenience of a prosthetic leg but never mentions to visit the damn doctor). I digress, because it really is this issue that makes the book feel overlong.

There are portions that move a bit slowly through the narrative but Galbraith's solid prose keep it interesting. I did figure out a few of the plot points ahead of time although I wasn't completely sure about how the entire murder worked out until the end. I'm glad J.K. Rowling is continuing to write these stories amid her massive Fantastic Beasts and HP fortunes, because they are entertaining mysteries even if this one ran a little long.

4/5 Stars. 

Behind Her Eyes - Sarah Pinborough

I finished Behind Her Eyes on a flight to California this week and after I shut the book, I couldn't quite get the final images out of my head, the bad bad thoughts, the worry about future events (helllllo! the characters aren't real, their fates end with the last page - but man I was really worried about them). 

This book is filled with a lot of cool twists and turns and comes at the reader from two points of view. Louise, a part time secretary at a psychiatry office is out at a bar after work and meets a handsome man who she chats with and ends up kissing. They have great chemistry and she's really into him. 

But, when he shows up to the office the next day as her new boss, with his WIFE, she's mortified and hides in the bathroom. Knowing she needs to confront him she eventually does and agrees it meant nothing and that she can remain professional at work, but oh the chemistry is still there. So as she's thinking all this through she literally runs into another woman outside her child's school. 

Well this other woman happens to be the boss (David)'s wife, Adele. A shockingly beautiful woman, Adele invites Louise to coffee and they strike up a friendship which is super awkward for Louise. 

Then we switch to Adele's voice and we realize she KNOWS! How she knows, we don't know yet, but she KNOWS. And therein lies the mystery as we try to figure out what game Adele is playing at. Because she is planning something. And as we get more of her backstory, we realize there is something very off about Adele.

But listen, David and Adele have a crazy marriage and Louise is content to put herself right in the middle and try to be a hero all the while not recognizing this may put her SIX YEAR OLD son in danger. So, no girl, this is just bad bad. And I got a little judge-y of Louise about this. I got a lot judge-y actually. 

In the end, this book has a lot of twists and turns and there's an element of supernatural (reminiscent of Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger). But it's well written and moves well. I enjoyed reading it and didn't think too hard about who did it so I could maintain surprise for the end. A good summer read.

I can't say much else without ruining all the surprises, but it's getting a 3.5/5 rating because it went to a place that always makes me feel some things I don't like feeling, but I can't really say much about that because it's part of the ending. 

3.5/5 Stars. 

November Road - Lou Berney

November Road started out a little uneven for me. The opening chapter introduces us to Frank Guidry, who runs some of mob boss Carlos Marcello's small time business in New Orleans. We encounter Frank in one of his Bourbon Street bars making deals and turning on a friend. We learn that Seraphine is looking for Mackey and Frank is quick to sell him out after Mackey begs Frank for protection. The first chapters with Frank come out uneven as characters are introduced and discarded without knowing just who will be an important player and who is part of the disposable set up of Frank's character arc. 

Then comes a chapter with Charlotte, a woman dissatisfied with not quite meeting her potential in her marriage to her alcoholic husband Dooley and her misogynistic boss, Mr. Hotchkiss. Charlotte has two daughters, the precocious Rosemary, and the almost silent Joan. After a particularly awkward dinner with Dooley's parents, Dooley runs out to get a drink and Charlotte packs the girls into the car and hits the road.

In the meantime, John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Frank realizes he had been in Dallas setting up a get away car for the assassin. And it turns out that all of the pawns in Carlos' scheme to assassinate the president are turning up dead (most at the hands of Paul Barone - Carlos' heartless and indiscriminate killing machine). So Frank realizes he's likely next and starts to run.

Well you can't have two story lines involving Frank and Charlotte and not expect them to get intertwined, so they do when Frank realizes hiding as part of a family may make more sense than continuing to run on his own. So he gently ingratiates himself to Charlotte and they begin travelling together. 

Now the whole thing might be an annoying story deeply cliched in the story of redemptive love (because Frank needs redeeming) except that there is something ultimately likable about Charlotte. She grows in her own strength and confidence and is smarter than 99% of the other characters give her credit for. And for that, Charlotte brings this up to a 3-star read for me. 

We never really get what made Frank into the person he was at the beginning of the book, although it's hinted at. The stakes never feel very high for any of the likeable characters and the ending felt forced and predictable, but not very realistic. And the epilogue seemed overly contrived. So it was a fine quick read, but not necessarily memorable.

3/5