New Releases - May 4, 2021

The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel

5 stars

I have enjoyed all of Bechdel's work but I don't think that I have connected to it as much as I connected to this.  She chronicles her relationship to exercise, the outdoors and transcendentalism throughout the years of her life.  How it has helped with anxiety, created an escape or made her feel close to superhuman.  But it is not just about exercising, it is about figuring out what works to get through this life successfully or sometime not so successfully.  Bechdel is two decades older than me but I related to so much of what she relayed here and found it to be a useful blueprint for the future.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

4.5 stars

I haven't read any of Maggie Shipstead's other books but in looking over the reader review,  I noticed that several said that her stories could easily be 200 pages longer in order to add depth.  Well, in what may be her magnum opus, she has written an epic story of over 600 pages.  Marion Graves is a twin, woman pilot, survivor and definitely her own woman born in the years of World War I.  She is such a fully fleshed out character that I feel that I know her down to her bones.  There are other perspectives in this book as well, including Marion's twin brother, Jamie, but it is Marion who comes to life on the page.  This book also has a current day timeline, narrated by the young actress who is playing Marion in a movie about her life.  I was torn about these sections, while it does add to the historical mystery of Marion's life, Hadley herself is a sometimes grating character.  I look forward to when more people are talking about this book in the month to come.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

The Nine: The True Story of A Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany

by Gwen Strauss

4 stars

This is a well written account of nine European women who were part of the resistance during World War II.  Mostly following their time in concentration camps and a daring escape, it is a good addition to the nonfiction works about the war.  For some reason, I had trouble keeping the women and the individual backstories straight but that didn’t seem to distract from the reading experience.  Many thanks to NetGalley and St’Martin’s Press for a complimentary digital ARC of this book.

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser

Publication Date - May 4, 2021
4 stars

Thea's husband destroyed their marriage by having an affair with one of her friends.  Bereft and at a loss, her sudden inheritance of her great uncle's stately home has her fleeing to Scotland.  A trip that is supposed to be temporary turns more permanent as she makes new friends and finds a job at a used bookstore owned by a grumpy ex-aristocrat.  I loved Thea and found her funny and full of common sense.  She deserved to have a happy ending and while Edward didn't seem very worthy at times, I ended up rooting for them in the end.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

3.5 stars

When Andy Weir's first book, the Martian, came out, I inhaled it.  I literally sat down one evening and did not stop reading until it was done.  Since then, I have eagerly picked up his books wanting the same experience, which may or may not be fair.  This book definitely came closer.  Ryland Grace is a scientist whose controversial work cause him to leave academia and become a middle school science teacher.  When an alien organism arrives in the solar system to drain energy from the sun, he is recruited to help solve the problem.  As a result, he is thrust into a coma for a long term space mission that leaves him with amnesia when he wakes up.  As he attempts to recover his memory and save humanity, he also deals with alien beings and catastrophic space emergencies that put his science to the test.  This was a fun book with lots of science and an amazing friendship.  At times, the science was way too detailed (an honestly, just way too skimmable)  but I enjoyed it enough to keep picking up Weir's books in the future.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.