Start Without Me by Joshua Max Feldman

No pressure - it's just Adam's first holiday with the whole big family since he got out of rehab. He probably won't disappoint them in any new and dramatic fashion, right?

Meanwhile, an exhausted flight attendant ponders her own impending Thanksgiving celebration with the insufferable in-laws. Marissa and her husband are already arguing and it's probably not going to get better over dinner. But spending the day with her own family would be even worse.

The intersection of these two characters makes for a funny, sad, and completely engrossing story. You'll relate if you've ever made a snowballing series of poor decisions. These are people trying to do right, failing, and then wondering if it might be easier to just quit.

Catalina by Liska Jacobs

Elsa's life is a slow-speed trainwreck. She got fired after an affair with her NYC boss, so she's returned to California to spend every severance penny while popping pills, swilling drinks, and dragging everyone along for the shitshow.

I enjoyed the tension created by the band of walking disasters that includes Elsa, her ex-husband and his girlfriend, best friend Charly and her husband, and a rich asshole friend Tom who owns a boat. The gang decides to sail to Catalina for the jazz fest.

You know Elsa's going down in flames ... or can she be saved? She'll probably take somebody down with her - but who? There are several likely candidates.

It was a quick read, and highly enjoyable: A flit from drunk to stoned, from smash to crash to bellyflop.

Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan

Telling the story of one family and two generations of siblings, this novel flips back and forth in time between the 1950s when two sisters immigrate from Ireland and the modern-day as the family deals with the sudden death of an oldest son.

It's a story full of secrets and the way secrets rarely stay hidden. As a naive girl in Ireland, Nora makes a hasty decision (to marry the neighbor boy) that sets in motion everything that comes after. But as often happens, she's daily reminded of those decisions and sometimes feels like a martyr for the sacrifices she's made.

In the next generation, the kids are a tight bunch but are holding their own secrets. Coming together in the wake of Patrick's death brings them closer and also offers an opportunity for change.

The book is engaging and very well done. While satisfying, the ending is left open and unfinished, with the rest of the story for you to imagine. I highly recommend it!

Tenth of December by George Saunders

Designer drugs, human slaves as yard art, a returning soldier with anger issues, and an attempted suicide - what a collection of short stories!

After having LOVED Lincoln in the Bardo, I was excited to dip into a bit more of Saunders' oeuvre. I enjoyed this post-modern collection of stories: there's a sci-fi bent, a bit of absurdity for satire, and a very dark look at modern society.

This is another book we read for the library's discussion - and another one I enjoyed that they all hated! Although the more we discussed it, they at least came around a bit on some of it.

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

A quartet of adult siblings about to come into a substantial inheritance get a big surprise when their mother decides instead to drain the fund in a bail-out of the eldest. What they're each hiding is that all could use a bail-out.

It's another family book - another look at sibling relationships and the roles we take over and over within the family framework. Another book where they're all a bit contemptible, yet realistically so. I wonder if we would like ANYONE if we knew their secrets?

We read this for book discussion at the library, but I missed the discussion. It could be a good one, too: How does the mere idea of money spoil each character? Does the grief motivating Tommy's bad decision make it more honorable than any of the Plum siblings bad decisions?

I enjoyed the book immensely - although the end is a bit pat for me. I felt like most of the ends tie up a bit too neatly. I listened to the audiobook, read by Mia Barron, and it was very well done.

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

A boy and his mother flee the Carribean at the start of World War II, but their boat is hit by German submarines. Phillip ends up injured and afloat with an elderly black man - the start of their survival adventure.

This 1969 children's book was recommended to me by a former librarian who cited it as a forgotten favorite. I read online it has been criticized as racist - and while there are spots of racism, they're included to show how Phillip grows and learns. How the experience allows him to overcome perceived differences and learn what even his mother didn't know.

The book moves quickly - despite the fact it covers quite a bit of time, it's only 140 pages. To keep kids interested and engaged it's dramatic but doesn't dwell overlong on the machinations of life marooned on the island. I found it interesting and well told. 

Essential History of American Art by Suzanne Bailey

Rarely could I say I've read an art book - they're the kind of thing you dip in and out of, skimming a lot and reading just the interesting bits. This one, however, was different.

It doesn't try to be definitive or all-inclusive (although it covers a fair bit of territory). Also, artists are included if they were born elsewhere but worked in the US, or were born here and worked mostly elsewhere. There's a wiggly, loose definition of "American" art.

And, strangely, the artwork used to illuminate an artist is almost always NOT their best-known piece. I did a lot of Google image searching while I read to view other work and get a better career overview.

But what fascinating text! Brief bio and description of style and influences, with many artists shown with more than one piece of art.