A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."

In A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway captures a fascinating picture of a long-gone moment in time, a place that still exists but will never exist in this exact way again, and a talented group of writers honing their craft and breathing in the creative life in Paris of the 1920s.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The audiobook of Ready Player One wowed me. The story beautifully wove together a tale of friendship, courage, love, and yes, '80s trivia. It added in evil corporations and the many ills facing society and the planet, ramped up a good bit.

It was heavy on '80s video game references, which isn't something I'm normally all that interested in, but the way it played out in the book worked for me. I was alive and well in the '80s, but was never that interested in games, and we were way too poor to have a home system. I did hit the arcade a few times, though, and was all about the Pac-Man and Galaga. That's about as deep as I go into '80s video games. And yet this story, based largely around games, worked for me.

The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I couldn't help thinking as I read that this book is like Little House on the Prairie for grownups. In some ways. Ok, yes, that sounds nuts, but let me explain. The Little House books focused on Laura's wonder at the world and in little things around her, but you could also see the hardships of her life – told gently. They depicted tough times, certainly, but never got too nitty-gritty. They softened the edges of that life to make the story suitable for children.

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride tells it like it was. It's a fascinating history lesson about life in the 1840s in general, and in specific about life for families journeying a long distance across North America to settle elsewhere. It helps you understand what that trek would be like day in and out, and the dangers wrought by passing through vast areas where there was no possibility of buying supplies or obtaining medical help.

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

From Goodreads:

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan. 

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

The book Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid blew me away, so of course I wanted to pick up more of her work. The current global turmoil decided me in favor of reading something that sounded light and sweet, so I wound up with one of her earlier novels, Maybe in Another Life, in my hands.