These are the books I read in March 2020 with a rating reflecting my opinion on them. I am leaving books not in English out for your convenience. At the bottom I will be sharing some recommendations that fall under the category fiction, non-fiction or non-fiction political. These recommendations are books I have not read myself, so proceed with caution as I cannot speak to their actual quality.
Read
Interview with the Robot by Lee Bacon
Eve appears to be a normal 12-year-old girl when she gets arrested for shoplifting. As an unaccompanied minor with no ID, she gets interviewed by Child Protective Services. That interview is the vehicle for a fantastical story of robots and AI while also dealing with serious issues in an accessible way, for children and adults alike.
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
Read for VC Book Club, this book was more of a chore than a joy. Meant to be a self-help guide, the genuine pearls of wisdom are drowned in waves of words, the viewpoint narrow and cynical and very subjective.
Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr.
Read for VC Book Club, this story was one of the most intense I have ever read. The writing style as well as the age of the book made it a little hard to get into, but I was soon engrossed by it. The characters slowly descend into addition and misery while encountering utter contempt and abuse by their surroundings, condemning them to abhorrent living conditions.
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
A short Victorian-style ghost story set in a small English village. Atmospheric with an over-emotional protagonist, this story has some tricks up its sleeve.
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
A delightful story of an aging writer who goes on a journey around the world to find himself. Not merely through the vast amounts of locations visited, but through the time covered, this book feels large and mysterious, much like life itself. It is complex and tragic, funny and simple. It has one of the most unique narrators in recent memory. A treat to read!
The Trump Survival Guide by Gene Stone
This little book is a quick guide to about a dozen different political issues as well as resources regarding them and different courses of action one can take. A bit over-sensational in its title and certain not unbiased, it is easy to read and engaging.
Recommendations
Fiction
The One by John Marrs
“A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner—the one you’re genetically made for.
That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.
How far would you go to find The One?”
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
“Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom – the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it – somehow.”
Political
The Votes That Counted: How the Court Decided the 2000 Presidential Election by Howard Gillman
“The struggle over the outcome of the 2000 presidential election inspired countless books, most of them hasty political critiques. However, with this book, Howard Gillman had different aims from the beginning: to create a lasting, authoritative document of the 36 days between the election and its legal resolution, to offer an accessible overview of the legal strategies and debates, and to assess the influence of politics and law on the judges who shaped the outcome of this historical controversy.”
The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt by Jill Watts
“In the early 20th century, most African Americans still lived in the South, disenfranchised, impoverished, terrorized by white violence, and denied the basic rights of citizenship. As the Democrats swept into the White House on a wave of black defectors from the Party of Lincoln, a group of African American intellectuals–legal minds, social scientists, media folk–sought to get the community’s needs on the table. This would become the Black Cabinet, a group of African American racial affairs experts working throughout the New Deal, forming an unofficial advisory council to lobby the President.”
Nonfiction
A Man On the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin
“On the night of July 20, 1969, our world changed forever when two Americans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walked on the moon. Now the greatest event of the twentieth century is magnificently retold through the eyes and ears of the people who were there. Based on the interviews with twenty-three moon voyagers, as well as those who struggled to get the program moving, journalist Andrew Chaikin conveys every aspect of the missions with breathtaking immediacy: from the rush of liftoff, to the heart-stopping lunar touchdown, to the final hurdle of reentry.”
Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics by Simon Blackburn
“Writing with wit and elegance, Simon Blackburn tackles the basic questions of ethics in this lively book, highlighting the complications and troubling issues that spring from the very simple question of how we ought to live.”
The Congressional Report 