Evil spy school is a very good book.

A series of short stories from the past and present told from the viewpoints of some of Strout’s familiar characters. Most of the stories connect to others in this book, tales of love, life, and forgiveness. Great for fans of Strout, but not an ideal book to introduce her characters.

It interesting to learn

A fiery flight attendant clashes with the NHL’s resident “bad boy” hockey player on their team’s private plane, sparking an undeniable attraction despite their professional boundaries and personal baggage. As a Chicago native, born and raised in the suburbs and having spent a decade living in the city post-college, it will always be my home and one of my favorite places. Chicago is synonymous with sports. So many of my cherished memories are tied to its teams: celebrating three Blackhawks Stanley Cup wins, witnessing Michael Jordan and the Bulls dominate with six championships, and both the White Sox and Cubs clinching World Series titles. I’ve also lost count of the games I’ve attended with friends and family over the years. Given this deep connection, I was so excited to dive into this Chicago sports romance book series. I went into Mile High with high hopes, especially since I’m heading back to Chicago next week (wrote this before) and was eager for some nostalgic vibes. Unfortunately, it simply fell flat. The characters felt largely one-dimensional. Stevie, the FMC, frequently mentioned her weight and body insecurities, but little else truly defined her. Zander, the MMC, came across as primarily interested in material possessions and money, bringing them up entirely too often. With such limited character depth, their instalove connection just didn’t feel genuine, leaving me largely uninvested in their love story, which spanned a lengthy 17 hours on audiobook. It could have been done in 8! The Windy City series includes 5 interconnected standalone books. I’d recommend experiencing Mile High as a physical read. My personal experience with the audiobook fell flat due to the narration, which, unfortunately, lacked the enthusiasm and personality I usually enjoy, especially right after finishing a book with a highly animated narrator. Even for a duet narration, it just didn’t engage me. Despite my lukewarm experience with this one, many readers whose book tastes align with mine absolutely rave about this series. Because of that, I’m definitely giving the next book a chance before I decide whether to dive into the rest of the series or not. Rating: ??????

This was a good story walk book pick. I liked it. -Diana

Funny book

Detective agency at the back of a cafe replicates recipes from clients’ long ago memories. Too bad this isn’t a “scratch ‘n sniff” book because some of the dishes sound amazing!

Super good book, very deep topics, would recommend...

An unexpected ginseng page turner, I especially enjoyed hearing about american ginseng and the stories of those who grow it as I genuinely had no idea the US was a big producer of ginseng let alone that we had a native species of it--what a hole in my knowledge! Craig Thompson has been consistently making good stuff since Blankets and I can certainly say this is not a subject I thought he'd be tackling but it's a good one.

It was a very good book for teens and older kids