The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth

By Josh Levin

How do you take one unusually disturbed individual and turn her into a stereotype to satisfy your political gains? Linda Taylor was portrayed as the Welfare Queen, and indeed she cheated the system on multiple occasions. But she also did much worse things than that, but those aspects of her crimes did not end up being hugely featured in newspapers, did not lead to cuts to welfare programs, and rarely even got her arrested. One wonders if she still would have hurt so many people if she grew up in a more welcoming environment, if she were allowed to go to school, if she didn't have to take her life in her own hands from early childhood. [non-fiction, 418 pp. including notes and index]

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The Goldfinch

By Donna Tartt

I went through the 771 pages pretty fast, considering I was reading other books in between! It was a very engrossing book. I am amazed at the amount of research that must have gone into writing this book: about art, antiques, drug use, crime (white-collar and otherwise), etc. [Fiction, 771pp.] 

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Tomorrow Is Yesterday

Life, Death, and the Pursuit of Peace in Israel/Palestine

By Hussein Agha and Robert Malley

Interesting and insightful writings by two people who were deeply involved in the negotiations in this area. I am amazed how well they integrate their ideas - there is no clear division - you can't really tell who's been writing a certain paragraph, it's like the two are one. Pretty amazing, I think. I found the two penultimate chapters a little harder to get into than the other ones. Perhaps because they were more focused ideas and speculation, as opposed to stories and facts. The outlook is not hopeful (we've been trying this one things over and over and it's not working, yet we keep trying it again). But it wants us to consider alternative options that may now be viewed as impossibilities and non-negotiable. So yes, doesn't seem hopeful, but maybe one day... [non-fiction, 260pp.]

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Jesus and the Disinherited

By Howard Thurman

Philosophical thoughts about what it means to be a part of a persecuted, disadvantaged group, and what it means live in a society that creates such groups, all through a compassionate lens for teachings of Jesus. [nonfiction, 106 pp., not including 2 forwards and a preface] 

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The Backyard Bird Chronicles

By Amy Tan

A delightful book about the writer's journey as a birder, complete with pages from her bird journals and beautiful drawings. Really inspiring in terms of observations, curiosity and dedication. [non-fiction, 288pp.]

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Some resources listed at the end of the book:  John Muir Laws: Laws Guide to Drawing birds; David Sibley: What It's Like to Be a Bird; Jennifer Ackerman: The Bird Way, The Genius of Birds 

The Black Angels

The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis

By Maria Smilios

This was so interesting. It tells the history of tuberculosis in the first half of the 20th century by following the lives of a few of the nurses, some of the patients, and a few scientists and doctors who were involved in the search for cure. The focus is on Seaview hospital in Staten Island, the nurses who were recruited from the Jim Crow South, and the struggles to fight racism and hospital segregation in the north. [non-fiction; 428pp. including notes and index]

My Friends

By Fredrik Backman

A novel about 2 artists, a generation apart, one who is just starting her journey, and the other at the end of his. Their chance encounter serves as the beginning of a cross-country adventure young artist and the friend of the belated-artist, as they each remember their friends. [fiction; 436pp.]