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Michael Lewis’ classic sports book holds up almost twenty years later. Scott Brick does a fantastic job narrating Moneyball (2003), keeping the pace moving and the subject engaging.

I picked up Strange Weather by Joe Hill because I often turn to collections of short (horror) stories when I need a little pick me up. Something to take the edge off put the edge on. I’m sure Joe Hill is tired of people saying it by now, but for anyone who hasn’t read Joe Hill before, the apple does not fall far from the familial tree and I hope Stephen King is a proud papa.

Although novelist Mary Beth Keane received strong reviews for her previous publications, The Walking People (200

An immigrant memoir that will pull at your heart strings, House of Sticks is an eye-opening tale of suffering and survival. 

The stories shared by comedian Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar are hilarious and heartbreaking, unbelievable and yet unsurprising. Their personal and professional experiences and those of their parents demonstrate systemic racism experienced from Omaha to Chicago and New York City. Yes, this book is funny. More importantly, it provides valuable insight on the experiences of Black women in modern America–the daily injustices, the casual ignorance, and the obstacles faced.

In My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies (2017),  New York Times best-selling author and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem explores, according to the publisher, “the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of trauma

Rosemary Harper, the main character of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, takes a job as a file clerk on a rundown spaceship called the Wayfarer in order to escape her painful past. When the Wayfarer is hired for an incredibly dangerous mission, Rosemary and her new crewmates—a ragtag mix of humans and aliens—must learn to trust each other with their lives, and soon she grows to consider them family.

Mo Rocca expands on his podcast of the same name in this engaging and wryly humorous collection of biographies. In Mobituaries (2019), Rocca writes obituaries for those who were not appropriately celebrated upon their death—or whose actions have been forgotten by history.

Richard Osman’s debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, came to me as a recommendation from a friend who hadn’t read it, yet heard about it and thought of me. I’d take recommendations from a dirty shoe, so I went for it, and I had a great time.

Written as an oral history of a fictional punk rock duo in the 70’s, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev draws a lot of comparisons to 

The Ex Talk, set at a fictional Seattle public radio station, is a romantic comedy featuring Shay Goldstein. a longtime producer at the station who’s always dreamed of being on the air, and Dominic Yun, a hotshot young reporter fresh out of graduate school. Their instant dislike for each other is obvious to everyone, but when financial troubles force the station to come up with new programming ideas, they are told they will be laid off if they don’t agree to host a show together. The show?

Ever since she was a small child, August Landry, the main character of One Last Stop, has spent virtually all her free time helping her mother investigate a family member’s unsolved disappearance. As a result, she’s never really had friends before. That all changes when she transfers to a college in New York City, where she has to share an apartment with three roommates who forcibly befriend her and help her find a job waiting tables at a 24-hour diner.