★★★★☆ Our society glorifies those who ultra-specialize in a field and celebrates them as smarter or more talented than others. We tend to believe a wrist surgeon is better and more qualified to operate on our carpal tunnel than a general surgeon. Using data and the personal stories of musicians and athletes, such as Tiger Woods, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein tackles why this conventional wisdom isn’t necessarily true.
Tag: book blogger
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
★★★☆☆ Fallon and Ben meet on November 9th, the day before Fallon is scheduled to move from Los Angeles to New York City. Despite an instant connection, they are both in a place, especially Fallon, where it doesn’t make sense to be together. The two hatch a plan to go “no contact” except for reuniting on the anniversary of the day they met for the next five years.
Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood
★★★★☆ Loathe to Love You is a collection of 3 romance novellas, each featuring a brilliant young, single woman in STEM who meets and falls in love with a guy in some variation on the enemies-to-lovers trope. Despite the formulaic nature of these stories, the collection worked for me.
Home Front by Kristin Hannah
★★★☆☆ With its portrait of a stoic woman enduring terrible circumstances, Home Front is a difficult read. Just as her marriage begins falling apart, Jolene Zarkades, a mother to two girls, is deployed to active duty as a helicopter pilot in Iraq. Jolene, her husband, Michael, and their daughters are each tested in different ways while she is away and again when she returns.
The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee
★★★★☆ This memoir gives insight into what it was like to be a young woman born and raised in North Korea and the challenges she faced after impulsively crossing the border into China as a teenager.
Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks
★★★★☆ Colby Mills takes a break from running the family farm to play a few gigs in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida. While relaxing during his working vacation, he meets Morgan Lee, and the two have a nearly instant connection. Meanwhile, in a seemingly disconnected storyline, Beverly, with her young son in tow, goes to great lengths to flee an abusive husband.
We are the Weather by Johnathan Safran Foer
★★★☆☆ We are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast discusses the impact of what we eat on the climate. I came into this book believing the climate crisis is real and urgent and that large-scale changes in human behavior are our best hope in solving the challenges. This book identifies what one of those changes needs to be to reduce our negative impact on the planet.
Wildland by Rebecca Hodge
★★★★☆ When breast cancer survivor Kat Jamison finds out her cancer has returned, she heads for the hills to decide what to do next. Before she can spend much time reflecting, Kat ends up with a cabin filled with two dogs and two children, Lily and Nirav. When lightning strikes and ignites a wildfire, Kat, the children, and the animals are forced into the wilderness on foot to escape the deadly situation.
The Coworker by Freida McFadden
★★★☆☆ Dawn Schiff is an accountant at Vixed, a nutritional supplement company. While a little quirky and turtle-obsessed, she’s a reliable employee. One day, the always-punctual Dawn doesn’t show up for work.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
★★★☆☆ This book was complete fluff and escapism wrapped in a brainy package. The action starts when Stanford Ph.D. Candidate Olive Smith randomly kisses Professor Adam Carlsen in the hallway to convince her friend Anh that she is dating someone.