The Time Tax by Annie Lowrey

THE TIME TAX by Annie Lowrey is subtitled “How the Government Wastes Our Time—and How to Fix It.” I think the colorful cover alone, plus the general annoyance about red tape will prompt readers to pick up this text. However, it has also been the subject of reviews at The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly (“Equal parts distressing and galvanizing, it’s a trenchant case for reform”), and, amongst others, Ron Charles (formerly with The Washington Post) in his Substack newsletter. Lowrey (a journalist at The Atlantic) argues persuasively that change is needed and her voice is a call to action: “Americans should be mad about the time tax. They should be angry about how unfair and how unnecessary it is. They should be furious at how it increases inequality, wastes money, diminishes public health, erodes political participation, degrades civic trust, and allows politicians to hide their policy goals behind reams of paperwork, …. We deserve better than the DMV. We deserve the services this country is capable of. We deserve to get our time back.”

Surely, we can all agree, for example, that “Enrollment forms are written in impenetrable High Bureaucratese and are loaded up with fine print.” Plus, we often have to repeat the effort annually (like requesting a mail-in ballot in Texas, even if it is based on age). Lowrey’s statistics are astounding, too; she references a report by The American Action Forum which estimates that filling out various government forms takes about the equivalent of six workdays per person, or roughly 12 billion hours a year. Lowrey also cites how the time tax falls disproportionately on the poor and people of color. Sadly, her examples, such as those across four types of administrative costs go on and on and on:

(1)   Learning or research costs (e.g., or varied impact of the 2022 Supreme Court decision regarding Roe v. Wade)

(2)   Compliance costs (time to actually fill out forms like Louisiana’s application for SNAP which asks about baptismal certificates and income from 24 possible sources)

(3)   Redemption costs (time and effort to exercise a benefit or use a right) and

(4)   Psychological costs – emotional burdens like waiting for your spouse to join you in the USA; these may be particularly high for people who are already ill, disabled, or traumatized and trying to navigate the system.

Read Lowrey’s book to learn more about this topic and about her thoughts on reform. THE TIME TAX is very well-researched. Notes comprise at least twenty-five percent of the text.

Cleanup on Aisle Five by Ann Larson

CLEANUP ON AISLE FIVE by Ann Larson is an eye-opening tale of “Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View from Behind the Supermarket Register.” We have all stood in line at the supermarket check-out, often frustrated with the wait and the poor quality of packing. Larson encourages readers to take another perspective by relating her own COVID-era experiences as a worker and those of her colleagues. She certainly made me feel more compassionate towards the frontline supermarket employees, standing in place for hours on end and repetitively swiping products past a scanner. Yet, it is worth pointing out that Larson takes an activist perspective and writes, “it was as an outsider that I saw how the supermarket as an institution is a window into larger social divisions and injustices.” She notes, for example, that “many grocery workers are food insecure” and “being perpetually too tired to cook was one of the ironies of working at the supermarket.” And her statistics on dental care, tooth pain, and missing teeth (“One-quarter of adults in the United States over the age of 65 are missing all of their teeth and our country has one of the highest rates of toothlessness in the world”) are surprising and class related. CLEANUP ON AISLE FIVE received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. This book deserves attention and could join others (e.g., Evicted, Nickel and Dimed, Maid, or even How May I Help You?) which have been part of our curriculum as students learn to appreciate the struggles of their neighbors. Extensive source notes (approximately fifteen percent of the text) are included.

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

THE CALAMITY CLUB by Kathryn Stockett (The Help) is set in 1930s Oxford, Mississippi and the beginning is quite disheartening as Stockett describes life in an orphanage for Margot Louise (Meg) LeFleur, an eleven-year-old whose asides to the reader are reminiscent of those from Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce. Meg is intelligent, but scarred by being abandoned by her mother, called Charlie. And Meg struggles to cope with the abusive treatment at the orphanage. Things are a bit brighter (literally) when she meets Birdie Calhoun, poor sister to Francis Tartt, one of the local volunteers. Birdie is in town in hopes of much needed funds from her sister and the wealthier family into which she married. Sadly, it is the Depression Era, and no one is spared the ravages of poverty; that means Birdie eventually meets Charlie and, in an act of desperation, the two form a business venture. A LibraryReads Selection, THE CALAMITY CLUB is a tale of betrayal and also of loyalty; of strict social standards and also of acceptance due mainly to necessity; of sexual mores and women’s health. Book clubs will find much to discuss from this lengthy (656 pages) historical fiction novel which does drag in parts. Readers will develop affection and concern for Meg as well as Birdie - who is an especially likeable character - but their circumstances and the “calamities” they face are not.

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

LADY TREMAINE by Rachel Hochhauser is an impressive debut, containing a clever retelling of the Cinderella story, this time focusing on its title character, the stepmother. Twice widowed and impoverished, Lady Ethel Tremaine struggles to provide for her two daughters (Matilda and Rosamund) and ungrateful, detached step-daughter (Elin), constantly hoping that a fortuitous marriage will improve their fortunes. With its themes of motherhood (“The love of a mother does away with scales and measurement altogether; It envelops and understands and embraces what is cracked along with what is beautiful.”), social standing, resilience, and feminism, this title would be an interesting and discussion-provoking choice for book groups. LADY TREMAINE received starred review from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus. It is both a LibraryReads selection and an IndieNext pick for March.

Love Me Tomorrow by Emiko Jean

LOVE ME TOMORROW by Emiko Jean is a young adult novel whose main character is high school senior, Emma. She is a violin prodigy, but resists following her dream of music school because she feels compelled to stay close to home in order to help her single Mom and grandfather. It is a bit difficult to reconcile that selfless view with her almost obsession with several boys in her life. Teen readers will likely enjoy the angst and the mystery about which boy is really right for her. There’s her longtime neighbor and quasi brother, Theo; her high school crush and fellow musician, Ezra;  and wealthy Colin whose parents are house cleaning clients of Emma’s Mom. The author weaves a mystery into the story due to a romantic letter Emma receives which is supposedly sent from the future. Can Emma and her best friend Delia discover who wrote it? What risks will it inspire her to take? Kirkus describes LOVE ME TOMORROW as a “charming, funny, time-traveling romance [which] weaves in themes of personal growth and shifting family relationships...” Booklist recommends for Grades 8 to 12 and a recent author interview indicates that a second book about Emma is in the works.

May Contain Murder by Orlando Murrin

MAY CONTAIN MURDER by Orlando Murrin is a locked room murder of sorts, set aboard a large yacht travelling across the Atlantic Ocean. A theft, a suspicious death and plenty of tension between the passengers contribute to an intriguing puzzle for Paul Delamare. He is a food writer and sometimes chef who is onboard to help his friend, Lady Hardcastle, write her memoirs. It seems there could be some blackmail and fraud involved, too, so readers will need to decide if each person – crew members included – are who they seem to be and whether Paul should be trusting the people he chooses. After all, “The yacht's countless mirrors … are one-way, and the intricate paneling that lines its corridors studded with spyholes and listening devices.” Plenty of opportunity for second-guessing and a little tarot reading thrown in for added fun. Recommended for fans of Nita Prose (The Maid), Benjamin Stevenson (Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone), and Jessa Maxwell (The Golden Spoon), MAY CONTAIN MURDER is the second book (after Knife Skills for Beginners) in the series, but can be read as a stand-alone. Several recipes are included.

The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar

THE MAGICIAN OF TIGER CASTLE by Louis Sachar was a Library Reads Selection for August 2025 and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly (“melancholy, heartfelt, and utterly immersive Renaissance-esque fantasy”). Yes, there is a sense of sadness and foreboding as a magician, Anatole, attempts to prevent unhappiness for two star-crossed lovers, a young apprentice scribe named Pito and a charming princess, Tullia. But the experimentation with various potions takes a long time and story dragged for me so it did not feel all that magical. Anatole was attempting to have the lovers lose the memory of each other and therefore their personalities seemed somewhat fragile, too, making it difficult to develop concern about their fate. This is Sachar’s first attempt at a novel intended for adults; some read-alikes that came up on the library catalog which I would heartily recommend include The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater and The Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett. Plus, of course, there are numerous fabulous books by similar authors (like Carl Hiaasen, Jack Gantos, and Richard Peck) that adults will enjoy even if they are primarily intended for younger readers.

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

THE LISTENERS is a mix of historical fiction, sprinkled with magic, and romance as well as being the adult debut from the best-selling young adult author Maggie Stiefvater (Shiver, The Raven Boys, All the Crooked Saints and many more). Set in the early 1940s during WWII, the focus is on a fictional West Virginian resort hotel called the Avallon (think The Greenbrier or The Homestead) where the extremely capable general manager is a young, local woman named June Hudson. Through compassion and understanding, she fosters the loyalty and affection of her staff and even many of the hotel guests: “June had long ago discovered that most people were bad listeners; they thought listening was synonymous with hearing. But the spoken was only half a conversation. True needs, wants, fears, and hopes hid not in the words that were said, but in the ones that weren't...” Friction ensues when FBI agents (Tucker Rye Minnick, Hugh Calloway, and Pony Harris) and State Department (Benjamin Pennybacker) representatives arrive because the hotel is ordered to provide lodging for an array of diplomats (German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese), their staff, and other foreign nationals (journalists, pilots) prior to their being repatriated. It is a big ask for locals, many of whom have relatives serving in the US military, but June facilitates the stay while also mourning the recently deceased hotel owner, navigating her own romantic feelings, and managing the magical waters associated with the hotel. THE LISTENERS, the Top Pick LibraryReads selection for June 2025, received a starred review from Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus (“A novel that will remind readers of why they fell in love with reading in the first place.”). In the author’s notes, Stiefvater suggests several other books to serve as “accessible starting points” about the background history. 

Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins

SPEAK TO ME OF HOME by Jeanine Cummins (American Dirt) is worth a read, but beware that the story is told out of sequence and from multiple viewpoints. The focus is on the lives of a Puerto Rican-Irish family across four generations from the 1950s to present day. The patriarch, Papamio loses his job in disgrace and the family is forced to modify its lavish lifestyle, with daughter Rafaela (Rafa) leaving private school and becoming a secretary on a Naval base. There, she meets her future husband, a white Irish Catholic, choosing security over her romantic interest in the son of the family’s former housekeeper. After several years of marriage (and accompanying tension) Rafa and Peter Brennan move to the States with their two children, Benny and Ruth. Benny is older and struggles to acclimate, but Ruth establishes friendships and begins speaking only English, thinking of herself as white. As an adult, Ruth also has a choice between a Puerto Rican man and an Irish one. Eventually she raises three children, Vic, Daisy, and Carlos, largely on her own. Ruth “wanted them to feel the kind of belonging she had always learned for and could never achieve. But she hadn't told them that. She had never explained.” The family members struggle with questions of class, ethnicity, and where to call home with Daisy moving to Puerto Rico where she is seriously injured in a storm, prompting a family reunion and revelation of a long-suspected secret. Book groups may enjoy this title, especially the emphasis on mother-daughter relationships.

Inflation by Mark Blyth and Nicolò Fraccaroli

INFLATION by Mark Blyth (Austerity) and Nicolò Fraccaroli focuses on a complex economic concept and certainly makes the surrounding debate more accessible for the educated reader. Fraccaroli, now an economist with the World Bank, studied with Blyth, an economics professor at Brown University. Their academic background is evident in the care they take to present and outline their arguments, saying that “identifying the causes of inflation was key to deciding on the next step: how to fight inflation.” They point to “four main stories …. Each of them identifies a different villain that caused prices to go up: the government, the workers, the disruptions from the Ukraine war and COVID-19, and greedy corporations.” They ultimately argue that “most of the time inflations are caused by supply shocks” with varying impact by class, race, and geography which means that some people ultimately benefit from inflation (hence, the subtitle: “A Guide for Users and Losers”). The first chapter looks at “five things they don’t tell you about inflation” and contrasts the use of rhetorical stories with (sometimes sparse) empirical evidence. Subsequent chapters question an overreliance on 1970s theory that interest rates should be main controller of inflation; others assert the low likelihood of hyperinflation. Reluctant to make predictions for the future, Blyth and Fraccaroli do point to possible contributors to why an inflationary future is the more likely outcome: climate change; de-globalization; and an aging population. Described by Publishers Weekly as “essential reading for anyone looking to understand current debates around rising prices,” INFLATION includes extensive Notes (approximately twenty-five percent of the text) and an Index. For a brief overview of Blyth’s thinking see the interview below from earlier this year:

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

THE LOST PASSENGER by Frances Quinn is a work of historical fiction set primarily from 1910 to 1916 and features a young woman named Elinor Hayward whose father, a self-made man, is known in the Manchester area of England as the “cotton king.” After a brief courtship, Elinor marries a local aristocrat, Frederick Coombes. She learns too late that the Coombes family wanted her money for their estate and the only way she can stay in their good graces and have time with their heir, her young son Teddy, is to submit to disheartening efforts to mold her in their image. Thus, she is excited for the brief respite of a trip with her father, Frederick, and Teddy on the Titanic’s maiden voyage. That disaster, confusion, and huge loss of life give Elinor and Teddy a chance to disappear in New York and “find” a new family amongst the diverse immigrants there as Elinor assumes a new identity and learns new survival skills. [Swedish proverb: “You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can stop them from nesting in your hair.”] THE LOST PASSENGER, billed as “the U.S. debut of an acclaimed British novelist,” made me think about another British author, Barbara Taylor Bradford, and her Harte family saga which began with the publication of A Woman of Substance over 45 years ago in 1979. That title is also a captivating story of a young, resilient woman who takes advantages of opportunities and makes a new life for herself. 

West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

Described as “witty, charming, and heartwarming” by Booklist, West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge is a work of historical fiction based on true events. The setting is 1938 and the title characters are quarantined in New York, having survived a hurricane at sea. Their destination is the San Diego Zoo and Rutledge imagines that journey (avoiding overpasses less than 12’ 8”) along the Southern route (called the Lee Highway) in the company of Old Man, Woodrow Wilson Nickel (“Woody”), and Augusta Red (she’s a young, adventurous photographer, hoping for a break with Life magazine). West with Giraffes is a coming-of-age story, a romance, and a travelogue. As they drive across the US (sometimes at a top speed of ten miles an hour due to the winding, hilly roads), Rutledge chronicles numerous encounters and those provide ample opportunity for reflection and commentary on honesty, good vs. evil, families, feminism, race relations, and poverty vs. privilege. This novel is highly recommended, although there are some very sad parts as all of the main human characters are hiding secrets. Interested readers should explore this absolutely wonderful Libguide with more background on the giraffes, the book, and the author. Enjoy!

A favorite passage:
In the years ahead, through the War and beyond, it was this quiet day moving through the unmoving land with Boy and Girl and the Old Man and Red that I returned to when I needed it most. Like the jolting joy of giraffes amid the traveling bird wave, its peace passed any understanding, any attempt at words. You only get a few of those in your whole life if you're lucky, and some only get one. If that be true, this was my one. When I remember it, I'm not eighteen in the memory. I am whatever age its comfort came to me, be it 33 or 103, and I am driving us all, through the timeless red desert, headed nowhere in particular, just someplace good. Together.

Rental House by Weike Wang

RENTAL HOUSE by Weike Wang (Chemistry and Joan is Okay) is another introspective and reflective look at the experiences of a young woman, Keru who generally felt, “these were her duties. To assimilate, work nonstop, make money, and provide.” She and her husband, Nate who is an academic, offer separate times at their Cape Cod rental house to their parents and that proves an instructive contrast between their families and even their worldviews; for example: “Expats left wealthy nations to humble themselves at the altar of the world, immigrants escaped poorer nations to be the work force of the rich. For Nate, the word immigrant sat closer to migrant or refugee, and though an expat did move overseas for work opportunities, much like immigrants, the term also seemed to imply vacation and adventure…” The couple clearly struggles to meet the expectations of their own parents and to form connections with their in-laws in the first part of the book. In the second, they are more established in their own careers and patterns, but something is still lacking as evidenced by the uncomfortable relationship with neighbors at a second vacation home in the Catskills. “They were co-dependent, she and Nate. Without her, he lost grounding, but without him, she could be relentless and too focused.” Despite the affection they show for their dog, Mantou, neither is prepared to have children, another aspect that feeds feelings of inadequacy.  Like Wang’s other novels, book groups would have much to discuss, including gender roles, white privilege, misogyny, and xenophobia. RENTAL HOUSE received starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly as well as praise from book reviewers at The New York Times (perceptively noting, “Even as you flee a family, you carry it along with you, in memories of how and who you learned to be in the past.”) and The Washington Post (“As in any good novel, the answers are few, but the questions multiply.”).

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

THE MIDNIGHT FEAST by Lucy Foley (The Guest List and The Paris Apartment) is a complicated puzzle with events spanning several years. Francesca (Frankie) Meadows and her architect husband Owen Dacre have recently renovated The Manor and are throwing an opening weekend extravaganza for pampered, privileged guests. All is not quite what it seems in this “horror adjacent” (per Booklist) and “grisly treat” (per Publishers Weekly) tale, however. The innuendo and strangeness in this mystery certainly kept me up at night, as multiple narrators provide plenty of motives for the death and destruction Foley describes. Time shifts add to the uneasy mix of secrets and lies in what NPR calls “an absolute bonkers delight." THE MIDNIGHT FEAST was a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection for June 2024.

The Fabled Earth by Kimberly Brock

THE FABLED EARTH by Kimberly Brock is a work of historical fiction set on Cumberland Island off the coast of Southern Georgia. Events in the story take place in two time periods: 1932 when a young debutante (Joanna Burton), an aspiring artist (wonderfully named Cleo Woodbine), and wealthy young men are staying at a Carnegie family retreat named Plum Orchard. One evening, too much alcohol and scary storytelling results in death and transformed lives. The other time period is 1959 amidst the struggle for civil rights and integration. Cleo, now older and reclusive, still lives near the island and is visited by Joanna’s daughter, Frances Flood, a folklorist, who forms a friendship with young Audrey Howell, newly widowed and running the local inn. History still resonates, and tensions exist between local families, including questions of class and race. Attraction and romance simmers, too, for all three women, as Brock includes a former railroad man (Tate Walker), a ghost tour guide (Rosey Devane) and an activist with native American roots (Will Tremmons). The publisher describes the book by saying, “Southern mythology and personal reckoning collide in this sweeping story…” – for me, the start was almost too slow (languid, like our stereotypes of the rural South), but I came to appreciate the haunting atmosphere and to care for the varied characters; plus, the audio book is fantastic.

The AUDIO BOOK is narrated by Cassandra Campbell who is a personal favorite and she did another excellent job with this story; evoking Southern drawls and a sense of place, time, and even social class. I highly recommend the audio book version.

The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal by Vohra

THE STICKY NOTE MANIFESTO OF AISHA AGARWAL by Ambika Vohra sets the perfect tone of what it feels like to be unsure of yourself in high school as you strive to complete AP classes, meet parental expectations, and somehow get the attention of a boy you like. Those goals are important to Aisha Agarwal, main character of this excellent, layered debut novel. Vohra says this was inspired by her own story and she evokes plenty of emotion while exploring fate (commenting on the butterfly effect and noting “God wills everything to happen for a reason”); class distinctions and privilege; race, immigration, assimilation, and compartmentalizing. There are insights on loneliness, romance, and family (“It's not easy untying the mental knots created by parents”), too. Aisha has a crush on her former neighbor and co-valedictorian, Brian. Helping her arrange a date with him and accomplish other items that appear as part of the sticky note manifesto are her best friend Marcy, and new friend, Quentin, a senior at another high school who is struggling with Math and the unexpected loss of his father. Aisha is – like many teens – pretty self-centered, but she grows throughout the story as she expands her experiences and shifts her attitude, finally asking, “What if all the stuff I wanted for so long isn't all that great?” At one point, Quentin remarks, “ultimately, people remember you for how you made them feel” and THE STICKY NOTE MANIFESTO OF AISHA AGARWAL is a feel good, coming of age story. Compared to Never Have I Ever, it would be fun to see on screen, too. Highly recommended.

Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand

Hearing that a “beach read” was enthusiastically recommended recently by the editor of the New York Times Book Review was a bit surprising. But so was learning that the prolific author Elin Hilderbrand (The Five Star Weekend) is going to retire after the publication of her latest book set in Nantucket, the aptly named SWAN SONG. This is a great, suspenseful summer read which features Coco, a young woman with all of the energy her name implies. In the hopes of getting her screenplay produced, she has bluffed her way into a personal concierge position with a wealthy investor, Bull Richardson and his wild, party-loving wife, Leslee. The couple is new to Nantucket and purchase a huge home and yacht as they try to get accepted at an exclusive club. As Hilderbrand’s narrative switches between the beginning and end of the summer, she employs some foreshadowing amongst her vivid descriptions of the excesses (imported Amalfi lemons, anyone?). With a touch of romance and plenty of mystery, SWAN SONG received a starred review from Kirkus and was a LibraryReads Hall of Fame title for June. If you are looking for a diverting summer read, add SWAN SONG to your to-be-read pile now.