Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks, 405 pages

Loved. this. book.  I listened to it, read by the author, who also happens to be Tom Hanks, the actor. 

It's a collection of short stories, hence the title.  A handful of the stories feature typewriters, there are a couple sci-fi stories and the last story is more like a radio play production, with actor friends reading the parts.  Remember Peter Scolari from Hank's "Bosom Buddies" days?   Woe unto the reader who doesn't get to hear that one.

Hope, friendship, love and good people are featured throughout the stories.   What a treat!

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy, 640 pages

Women played a large role in World War II and many of their stories were never told because they were working on top secret projects.  The title of this book, Code Girls, says it all.  This is the story of the women who helped break and continually re-break the encrypted messages of the Japanese and German armies during World War II.

Seventy plus years after the end of the war and fiction and non-fiction writers have not run out of material yet.  My hope is that those stories continue well into the future. 

Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space by Margo Lee Shetterly, 240 pages

The hit movie "Hidden Figures" is based on the book "Hidden Figures" and I listened to the Young Readers Edition because that is what we had available through MissouriLibraries2Go.

A little known fact is that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics based in Langley, Virginia recruited women during WWII to work as mathematicians, known as computers.  NACA also recruited black women to be computers.

This is the true story of four of those black women, who were all brilliant mathematicians, and their journey at NACA, which became NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg, 402 pages

The Whole Town's Talking tells the story of the citizens of Elmwood Springs, Missouri, somewhere not too far from Joplin.

The story begins in the 1880s with Lordor Nordstrom, the founder of the little community of Swedish immigrants.  By the time the story ends it is 2021 and we've learned the life and death stories of generations of community members, along with the life and death of the community itself.

I am not often a reader of gentle fiction and I would put this book in that category, but I do enjoy Fannie Flagg.  I doubt someone less than 40 would enjoy the story, but since I breezed by that a decade ago, I was good.

Ego-tripping and Other Poems for Young People by Nikki Giovanni, 37 pages

The award winning poet, Nikki Giovanni, is visiting St. Joseph in April and will be offering a public presentation on April 6th, on the MWSU campus. 

I didn't want to miss this chance to meet Ms. Giovanni but wanted to brush up on her poetry so checked out some books from the library.  This book, originally published in 1974, is still relevant today and is about growing up black.  Race, and how we treat each other, is still an unresolved issue and that makes this book of poetry timeless, for now.

Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa, 312 pages

This is a well written and devastating fictional account about the protests at the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle.

There is Victor, the 19 year-old runaway who has returned home to Seattle to protest and perhaps, see his step-father the Chief of Police.  There is John Henry, the proponent of non-violent protest and his girlfriend, King, who struggles with rage.  We meet two police officers, Julie and Park, who battle in the protests.  Finally, we meet Dr. Charles Wickramsingne, who is a delegate from Sri Lanka and has a must-get-to meeting with President Clinton to ensure Sri Lanka's entry in the WTO.

This is a fast and unsettling book about one violent day and event.

America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, 587 pages

"America's First Daughter" is the fictionalized account of Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson.  The authors based the story on letters and other primary sources, as much as possible.

It is an enthralling and intriguing story about the life of Thomas Jefferson's oldest daughter, who was alive during the Revolutionary War and traveled with him to Paris when he became America's minister to France.  They were in France as that country's own revolution started.

Patsy was a wife and a mother of 11 children, but she was always foremost the daughter, companion and protector of her father.  Reading this makes me want to learn more about his other family as well, the Hemings. 

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family & Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance, 272 pages

I started this book thinking I know Hillbillies and their experiences because I had my own grandmother called Mamaw.  My dad was the oldest of seven, and the only one of his siblings to leave North Carolina.  But I did not live the life that J.D. Vance experienced.  I wasn't even exposed to it when visiting my family in North Carolina.

This is a book about broken families and a broken society that our government isn't able to fix, and is perhaps, making worse.  It goes a long way to explaining how our new president got elected.

How do we make the American Dream real and attainable for all Americans?  How do we heal broken families and break the cycle of poverty, abuse and lack of education?  Until we find those answers as a country and society, I fear we will continue to be divided.

Courageous Women of the Civil War: Soldiers, Spies, Medics, and More by M.R. Cordell, 256 pages

Local author, M.R. Cordell, wrote this non-fiction book about some of the many women who participated in America's Civil War.

Each chapter focuses on a different woman and provides a brief description of her life and role in the war.  Part of each chapter is also dedicated to sharing a snippet of information about the war itself.

The book has a glossary, an index, notes and an extensive bibliography.  It is targeted to a young adult audience.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It is full of interesting information, was easy to read and gave lots of hints on where to find additional information on all of the women who were included in the book.

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell, 274 pages

Sarah Vowell makes history interesting.  I listened to this book, read by the author, with a few other people assisting along the way.

Ever wonder why there are so many places and institutions, including a St. Joseph high school, named Lafayette?  The Marquis de Lafayette, a young french man, was instrumental in the American Revolution.  This is the story of Lafayette and the American Revolution and the role France played in helping ensure America's independence from England.

Thumbs up, especially for the audio version!

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald, 394 pages

Sara travels from Sweden to Broken Wheel, Iowa to visit her friend Amy who shares a love of books.  Only Amy isn't around and the town of Broken Wheel is broken down and dying and grieving.

Sara, who has had few friends and experiences in life, ends up being the glue Broken Wheel needs.  Except her tourist visa is only good for 3 months.  So the townspeople do what any of us would do, start conspiring to figure out a way to keep her there.

Eccentric characters, lots of good will and a book about books.  This little charmer charmed me. 

The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas by Anand Gridharadas, 319 pages

This is not the kind of book I typically read. If I read nonfiction it is normally either related to either World War II or is a memoir.  This book is about a Texas man, Mark Stroman, who killed two people he presumed to be Muslim shortly after 9/11and he wounded a third.

It is the story of how Mark Stroman got to the point in his life where he felt like he was being a patriot by hating and killing people that didn't look or sound like him.  It is also the story of the man he wounded, Rais Bhuiyan, an immigrant from Bangladesh who ends up trying to help Mark Stroman's kids break the cycle of poverty they've known their whole life.

The author, Anand Giridharadas, recently spoke at a conference I attended and I came away from that talk wondering if and hoping it is possible to create a more merciful America. 

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown, 416 pages

While this book tells the wonderful story of the Washington University rowing team who made it to the Berlin Olympics in 1936, it mostly focuses on one of those boys in the boat, Joe Rantz. 

The book also shares a lot of information about the Depression, the Dust Bowl and the lead up to World War II in both the US and Germany.  It was an incredibly informative and spectacular book. 

I learned a lot about rowing, but I also learned a lot about what people overcame to survive in America in the 1930s.  I also learned about the nine boys in the boat and their coaches and their varied stories and what it took to reach Olympic glory.

A+, 5 stars, thumbs up!

The Fixer by Joseph Finder, 376 pages

This was my first Joseph Finder book.  In this story former investigative journalist, Rick Hoffman finds lots of money hidden in a wall in his father's house.  His father had a stroke 18 years ago and cannot speak to tell Rick why the money is there.   Rick asks a few questions and alerts the wrong people and his life is suddenly in danger.  The story is set in Boston, and the money ends up being related to the Big Dig, the huge construction project in the 1990s that took forever and involved lots of corruption.

This was a good book, but I never fell in love with the characters.  It was a fun, quick adventure with a satisfying ending.

American Gods, 10th Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman, 522 pages

Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller.  This proud-to-be-an-Englishman-thank-you-very-much wrote a rollicking tale about America.  The original text won several literary awards from Science Fiction to Fantasy to Horror.

Shadow has been in jail for three years and three days before he is supposed to be released gets tragic news that gets him released early.  Shadow is at loose ends and gets hired by the mysterious "Mr. Wednesday" who somehow knows him, even though they just met.

Shadow travels America with Mr. Wednesday gathering other mysterious figures for a potential epic battle.  Crossing, double crossing, gods and adventure ensues.  I'm not doing it justice but if you haven't read the book, read the 10th anniversary edition like I did, because it is expanded and is the author's preferred text.  If you like to listen to books - even better.  The audiobook features a full cast of different readers.

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, 504 pages

Elizabeth Gilbert is known for her memoir "Eat, Pray, Love."  This is is a very readable and enjoyable, epic novel about the life of character, Alma Whittaker, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1800.

Her father, Henry Whittaker, was a self-made millionaire who was born to a poor family in England.  The novel goes from Pennsylvania to England to Peru, to Tahiti to Holland and spans the lifetimes of Alma and Henry.

I wouldn't call it a fast paced novel, but it was engrossing and intelligent and I'm happy I read it.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, 278 pages

I eagerly awaited my turn to listen to this book and was rewarded by having it read by Reese Witherspoon, who has a wonderful southern drawl.

I really enjoyed this book.  Yes, yes, there is the controversy of Atticus.  How could Harper Lee have changed him?  Well, this book was set in the 1960s during desegregation and I think Ms. Lee did a good job of portraying how many (especially older) southern white middle class people felt at the time. 

Scout is now known as Jean Louise and has lived in New York for five years and is just as shocked as the rest of us to learn how her father feels about desegregation.  Was it really written by Harper Lee?  I don't know.  All I know is, I'm glad I read it.

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, 320 pages

Not surprisingly based on his track record, David McCullough has done it again.  He has written an interesting and completely readable (in my case, listen-able) story about Wilbur and Orville Wright. The men who solved the mystery and question of the possibility of flight.

The Wright family lived in Dayton, Ohio.  Wilbur was four years older than Orville and they had two older brothers and one younger sister, Katharine.  Wilbur and Orville never married and owned a bicycle shop together.

How did these two non-college attending men go from bicycle builders and sellers to airplane pioneers?  Through hard work, determination, inquiring minds and perseverance.   Put this on your to be read or listened to list!

The Fall Of The House Of Forbes by Stewart Pinkerton, 270 pages

“The Fall Of The House Of Forbes” is written by Stewart Pinkerton, who was a writer and editor for Forbes for over twenty years. From Pinkerton’s point of view, the reader gets an inside look at the empire that B. C. Forbes built from the ground up.

The story begins with the death of Malcolm Forbes who inherited the Forbes Company from his father, B.C. Forbes.  With Malcolm’s death, the longevity of the empire becomes vulnerable; due to Malcolm’s extravagant lifestyle, four sons (Kip, Tim, Steve, Bob) all fighting for their share of power, and the world of journalism being reinvented by the internet.

I couldn't help but think the story reminded me of the fictional story, “The Great Gatsby”. The author actually mentions this himself in the book. If you are interested in how the publication world is changing, finance and journalism stories, or just how the other half live and lose, then you might enjoy this book. I found the Forbes story very interesting.