With no control and no means of escape, this made the first 122 seconds of flight the most dangerous part of any mission aboard the shuttle.

There is something so monumentally heartbreaking about the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Even though it happened many years ago, the grief surrounding it still lingers. Seven bright souls, who gave so much to be on the front lines of science and space, had their lives extinguished in a moment's eye.

Going into this book, my technical knowledge around the explosion was fairly scant—I knew there was a malfunction in an O-ring, a cheap piece of rubber meant to seal something vital in the solid rocket booster. But as it turns out, that was just part of the story, and maybe not even the most important part.

When you look at an undertaking like the Space Shuttle program, it's not an exaggeration to say that it's unbelievably complex, not just technically, but also the sheer scope of the project, the timeline, the numerous moving parts, and all the people involved—the engineers, the managers, and of course, the astronauts. Adam Higginbotham took this intricate, convoluted, often perplexing pile of information, and carefully and methodically broke it down, bringing this tragedy and its entire series of precipitating events to clarity.

This is narrative nonfiction at its best. Such a topic is not easy to tackle without it turning dry, but it never does so in the author's capable hands. Though this is as comprehensive as you can get, every page, every chapter, every moment of this story felt riveting. In fact, if you asked me, this was as exciting and thrilling and ultimately horrifying as the best of its counterparts in fiction, and the fact that it really happened only adds to the appeal.

One thing the book highlights is that when it comes to catastrophic failures like this, it is never just a one-time thing. It is often a series of mistakes, any one of which if examined and taken seriously and mitigated, would have likely led to a very different outcome. But instead, each mistake and the warning it carried of impending doom was allowed to stand, incorrectly assessed as safe and acceptable, until we reached the point of no return.

The hubris of NASA and Morton Thiokol laid down in these pages was hard to take. The managers at these two organizations viewed each lucky escape (and there were many of them when it came to the O-rings) as yet another sign of their wisdom in pushing ahead with the missions, instead of what it actually was, which is a harbinger of larger problems to come. We obviously know what is going to happen and they do not, yet we must follow along as they blunder and congratulate themselves, all the while inching closer and closer to disaster.

The mechanical tolerances between each segment of the rocket were so tight that the smallest contaminant caught between the O-ring and the metal faces of the joint—a fleck of lint, a single human hair—could cause a leak.

But it is not all hopeless. Even in this toxic environment, there were engineers who did the right thing. They spoke up and went against their colleagues and management, they worked hard to find solutions to the O-ring problems, and when the crucial moment came, they sounded the alarm and did all they could to try to call off the launch. I am glad, at least in these pages, that they are given the recognition they deserve.

Maybe the biggest thing that stands out to me here is that this tragedy felt inevitable. If not this instance, then it would've happened to a different shuttle and a different mission and a different crew somewhere down the line. Because the underlying issue wasn't technical, it was human. The insidious attitudes of the people calling the shots, the callous disregard for safety, the complete and utter breakdown in communications, those are all things that are hard to fix, even after the O-rings no longer pose a problem.

The book closes out on a note of hope but also a warning. The Space Shuttle program after the Challenger explosion proceeded safely for 17 years, before Columbia blew up on reentry in 2003, yet again plagued by the same sort of miscommunication, complacency, and management brushoffs that brought down its sister ship so many years prior. The point of history is so we don't have to repeat the same mistakes again, yet we do.

And so as we look towards a new era of space exploration with Artemis and beyond, the crux of this book and its cautionary tale within remains—have we really learned our lesson?

"The crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God."

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

Mercury brought us into the skies, Apollo took us to the Moon. But what about Gemini, the important but often overlooked middle child? Hardly anyone remembers the achievements and dangers of its two-year, twelve-mission program that paved the way for all that followed. Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon hopes to right that wrong.

Immediately from the prologue, this book had me hooked. We open onto the spacewalk of Gemini 9 which had come perilously close to fatal. From there, we step back in time to the beginning of NASA and to President Kennedy's pledge to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. It was a gutsy and ambitious pledge, but once made, NASA took it as a promise and proceeded to run with it.

This book covers every Mercury and every Gemini mission, and it's fascinating stuff. Every crewed outing (six for Mercury, ten for Gemini) carried enormous risks for the astronauts and contained objectives that must be met in order to move the program closer to its boots-on-the-Moon promise. And in almost every single mission, something went wrong. The combination of quick thinking, ingenuity, and plain luck that kept everyone safe made for a thrilling tale.

Kluger's a terrific writer. His style is very zippy and engaging, so it pairs well with nonfiction, really bringing history to life and keeping the reader riveted. He's faithful to the technical stuff, but he also understands that this story isn't just about that. The human parts are just as important, and he is able to bring to life all the key players and every astronaut that made the Gemini achievements possible.

Kluger also has an eye towards humor, and when you have bureaucracy, posturing on the national and international stage, and good old human folly all mixed in together, there is sure to be some unintended funny moments. The space race with Russia was particularly predisposed to being droll, even if inadvertently so, and Kluger's take on it added a lot of zing to the whole thing.

When it comes to nonfiction, one of the most important factors is whether there is enough content to fill out a book, and that's a resounding yes over here. In fact, it's quite a task to distill a dozen missions and the history leading up to them down to just 300 pages, so Kluger is able to pick and choose the most interesting bits, and as a result, every page of this book comes across with urgency and insight.

What an exhilarating read, especially at this moment in history when the Artemis program looks to be on the verge of bringing us to the lunar surface once more. What is old shall be new again, and so we're right back on the stepping stones to the Moon.

If you're a space buff like me, or just a nonfiction fan in general, I don't think you'll regret picking this up and learning all about Gemini, And in case you're wondering, the correct pronunciation is "gem-min-ee" according to NASA.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

This is not planet Earth as we found it. This is a new place—a fire planet we have made.

A detailed investigation into all that transpired during the record-breaking Fort McMurray Fire, in which almost 100,000 people were forced to flee in a single afternoon, as well as a historical and scientific exploration of how we got to this point and where we will go from here, Fire Weather is as essential as it is eye-opening.

Going into this, I'd like to think I was fairly well-versed on current events, especially on anything weather-related. And of course I knew about global warming and climate change; I don't live under a rock, after all. But when it came to grasping the nitty gritty of exactly what all that entails, I admit I was a little bit hazy.

So this book is exactly what I needed to become crystal clear on this topic. It sits right at the intersection of current affairs, science, and history, all topics that interest me about our world. And I found it to be an absolutely engrossing read, one that as it went on, became harder and harder for me to put down.

We start off with a brief look into the history of fossil fuels, as well as how Fort McMurray became a petroleum boom town surrounded by boreal forest. Then the book shifts into a deep dive of the Fort McMurray Fire, and let me tell you, it is as harrowing and thrilling of a tale as any I've ever read. The mechanics of this fire were almost heretofore unseen, its destructive properties so vast and ferocious, it spawned its own weather systems and was not truly extinguished for more than a year.

The city and the surrounding landscape had become something akin to a fire planet—not a biome but a “pyrome” whose purpose was not to support life but to enable combustion.

But the irony is that Fort McMurray would not have existed as a city if not for its industry of extracting and producing fossil fuels. And while it's this industry that had made it into a boom town, it also simultaneously helped to shape the climate into one that supported and sustained the fire that eventually razed the city to the ground.

But the author doesn't just stop at reporting on the fire. He takes that event and ties it to history and science, and shows us the future in store for us if we choose to continue our destructive love affair with fossil fuels. The amount of research that went into this book must have been staggering, as is the author's vision and ability to tie it all together into a cohesive narrative that both informs and astounds.

Reading this book often left me in chills. Vaillant has a way with words that is not only illuminating in the way of nonfiction, but also evocative and emotionally resonant in the way that only the best of fiction can achieve. And the result is nothing short of remarkable and sobering.

It is almost unbearable to consider that our reckoning with industrial CO2 is only in its infancy, and that future generations will bear this burden far more heavily than we do now.

The juxtaposition of the details of a wildfire side-by-side with a study of climate change is a masterful stroke, as is the choice to go with the Fort McMurray Fire in particular. This combination, which examines climate change from both the micro and macro levels, really hits home the symbiotic relationship humankind has developed with fossil fuels and underscores the positive feedback loop we have created, through negligence at best and willful greed at worst, that is currently propelling us towards a future none of us want to see.

The message isn't all negative though. Yes, we are past the point of no return and our planet will never go back to the way it was before, but our total annihilation isn't a foregone conclusion yet. There is still hope, if we can only make the hard choices now and pivot in time. And so this book, more than anything, is a warning and a call to action.

The current moment is the greatest challenge humanity has faced since we (almost) mastered fire. This time, it is not fire we have to master, but ourselves. If we fail this test, there will be another one, and another after that, but each time the stakes will be higher and the price of failure steeper.

Every once a while, I come across a nonfiction read so profound, so staggering in its scope and so clear in its view, I feel like I'm walking away with essential knowledge of the world. And so this book does exactly that. It is timely, insightful, and surely a must-read as we approach yet another hottest year of yet another hottest decade on record.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

At what point did I promise to stay seventeen for the rest of my life?

Growing up, I remember being fascinated by Britney Spears. Not only did I love her music—I'm a pop fan through and through—but at a time when I was an awkward teenager, she seemed to have it all: the voice, the confidence, the adulation of millions. Now looking back, I realize it must've all been a façade.

Reading Britney's words was so sad and heartbreaking. How is it that this girl had no one in her corner? Every single person she loved and trusted would go on to eventually stab her in the back in the most awful and exploitative ways possible. Let's enumerate, shall we?

Her father — Definitely a shoo-in for Most Awful Father of the Year Award. Took her money, committed her to psychiatric wards for no reason, kept her from her kids, gaslighted her, dictated every big and small thing in her life. The list goes on. And this went on for 13 years. What the fuck. How is this legal and why is this guy not in jail?

Her mother — Just stood by and watched it all happen. Tried to profit off of her name and fame.

Her siblings — Ditto.

Ex-husband K-Fed — The ultimate deadbeat. Took her kids from her and prevented her from seeing them. Clearly sought sole custody to squeeze as much child support money from her as possible. And apparently a judge went along with it.

Justin Timberlake — Made a big fucking deal out of her cheating on him and breaking his heart. Turns out, he's the serial cheater in their relationship. Also made her have an abortion because he wasn't ready to be a dad. Then went on to break up with her over text, paint her as a harlot, and profit off of her public shaming. Well, can't listen to his music anymore, that's for sure.

Over the years, there were things that puzzled me about Britney. But reading what she went through and what these people did to her, it all makes sense. I would've shaved my head too if it was the only way I could show some small amount of autonomy, that I wasn't just a body on display, a cash cow existing solely to make money for my parents.

Thirteen years is a long time to lose control of your life. How can she get back the time she lost, to have the relationship she wanted with her kids or the career she imagined? She can't. That's what's so heartbreaking about all this. She can only look ahead and move forward, hopefully without bitterness or regret.

The writing style is simple and straightforward. Even though Britney used a ghostwriter, it sounds very much like her real voice. There is a rawness and vulnerability that permeates the pages. Though the book never holds back on revelations, it does feel at times like it's just scratching the surface. Even though she talks about all the horrible things that have happened to her, it still comes across so polite, as if she's holding back, afraid to offend those who have done her wrong.

I had trouble getting through the book even though it isn't long. Parts of it were so gut-wrenching and horrible that I had to take frequent breaks. Especially when she talks about how her ex-husband and her family would keep her away from her young babies for weeks at a time, it made my heart hurt so bad for her.

This memoir is a long time coming. After enduring so much and keeping her silence, I'm glad Britney finally has a chance to speak out and tell her truth. Everyone has the right to live the life they want, and after everything, I hope she finally finds the peace and happiness she's been searching for for so long.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

I don't think I'll ever step foot on a Boeing MAX again after reading this.

Additional thoughts -

1. The failure that caused the crashes is absolutely appalling. It was a series of bad engineering decisions made to shave a few dollars and some design and training time off of the MAX development. It absolutely boggles the mind that it was designed this way and no one foresaw it could lead to the failures that it did.

2. This is what happens when a company decides to focus solely on short-term gain (stock performance) instead of quality and innovation. Corporate culture comes from the top down. And it's just Boeing's luck that it had a string of executives who all slavishly subscribed to Jack Welch's philosophy. [start vent] Welch is pretty much the scourge of capitalism, single-handedly ushering in an era of business that exist solely for the purpose of boosting stock prices. Forget innovation, R&D, sustainability, the future of the company, being a positive force in the community, or any loyalty to its customers and its employees. None of that matters, according to Welch. And his influence was huge, as is evidenced by Boeing's executive team. [end vent]

3. So the FAA and Boeing were pretty much in bed together even though one was tasked with overseeing the safety and flight-readiness of the other? What a joke.

4. When hundreds of people die due to a company's willful concealment and negligence, how is it that no one ends up standing trial and going to jail for it? It seems like it would be a pretty good deterrent if we can throw CEOs in jail, especially when it's clear that they encouraged these decisions despite knowing the risks. Bet they would think twice before saving a few dollars at the expense of people's lives if their asses were on the line.

5. Only 3 stars because I had hoped for more about the plane crashes, but this book spends the majority of time on the history of Boeing. Recommend if you're wanting to learn more about Boeing's corporate history and how they run their business (terribly, as it were). 

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

I'll be right here. Until they drag me off the line. I'm not going anywhere.

Oh, Anthony Bourdain. The world lost a great chef and unmatched culinary ambassador the day you died.

Kitchen Confidential is the memoir that originally put Anthony Bourdain on the map. I never got around to reading it when it was first published back in 2000, but I've always been a fan of his, catching his No Reservations and Parts Unknown whenever I had the chance. So it's with no small amount of excitement that I've finally gotten around to his famed memoir.

Reading it for the first time more than two decades later, I can't help but feel as though a ghost has leapt off the pages. His voice is as vibrant as ever, his eye for the delicious and the shocking coming through on every page. To read his words is to experience his view of the world, and it is filled with food, drugs, profanity, and astonishing candor.

If you've ever been curious about how a professional kitchen is run, well, this will satisfy that curiosity. And what's in here is eye-opening, to say the least. Sprinkled with Bourdain's self-deprecating dark humor, it's sure to make you chuckle and cringe in equal measure. After having read this, I'm not sure I'm in a particular hurry to eat out, at least in the types of restaurants he highlights.

What makes Bourdain so special is clearly evident amongst the pages here, even from a book he wrote long ago. He has a way with words, building what would be mundane happenings at the hands of a lesser wordsmith into riveting and scintillating vignettes. And he does this again and again. I couldn't look away.

In particular, his chapter on his first visit to Japan has all the flavors of what would become his trademark later. His unabashed enthusiasm for trying new foods and experiencing new cultures, and his innate understanding that the two are inextricably linked. To read his words is to feel his emotions, and they are tinged with the bittersweet—wonder for new culinary adventures but also sadness for all that he wouldn't have the chance to experience.

I confess I'm a full-blown foodie. I love trying new restaurants, finding new things to eat that I've never had before. That moment, when you take the first bite of a never-before-tried dish and realize you've found a new favorite, it's one of the best feelings in the world. And Anthony Bourdain passionately embodied that. To read about his early days is an honor, and I'm glad I finally got around to it.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

This was a pick for my Book of the Month box. Get your first book for $5 here.

If I had a choice, I wouldn't want this life either.

What is it about Prince Harry's story that is so riveting to us common folks? Is it morbid curiosity about the royal life? Or is it that we can all relate to dysfunctional families and it's hard to look away when it plays out on such a public stage?

It must not be easy to be Prince Harry. He lost his mother when he was just 12 years old, and instead of being protected by the adults in his life, he was forced to parade through London behind her coffin in some sort of bizarre show of stoic grief. At a time when he needed abundant love and support, his family became ever more uptight and withdrawn, with their motto of "never complain, never explain." I'm not sure how any child growing up in such circumstances could hope for happiness or even normalcy.

And yet, against all odds and with many missteps along the way, he grew up to be a soldier and dedicated public servant, and eventually found happiness with Meghan. But through it all, his family seemed determined to keep him silent and in his place, even at great personal cost to him and his wife.

Here finally is his chance to tell his story in his own words.

And the result is everything I could want in a memoir: heartfelt, reflective, and bracingly honest. Prince Harry doesn't shy away from talking about the mental and emotional toll of his unresolved grief for his mother nor addressing the controversial events of his life. But if you're hoping for jaw-dropping revelations or juicy gossip, this isn't it. I only follow royal news in passing, and there's nothing in here that really took me by surprise.

In approaching this, I'd heard a lot of commentary around why Prince Harry felt the need to write this memoir at all, especially when he and his wife have been so expressive about wanting privacy and peace for their family. But after having read this, it totally makes sense.

In psychology, there's this concept of the Real Self vs. the Ideal Self, which states that the bigger the gap between who we present to the world and who we really are on the inside, the more cognitive dissonance we feel; whereas the more aligned the two are, the happier we are. For so long, Prince Harry has been toeing the family line while being forced to keep silent about every mischaracterization and abuse printed about him and Meghan. Thus, the version of him that he showed to the world is not his authentic self. I imagine the mental anguish at having to pretend must wear one down, and it is freeing to finally show the world who he really is.

This memoir also has a heck of a love story, and I'm always up for one of those. I've very much respected Prince Harry ever since his deployment days and then seeing all the good that he has done for veterans with the Invictus Games. And while I didn't watch Suits, everything I've come to know about Meghan seems to indicate she is also worthy of my respect, using her fame to support women's rights and social justice. Every time I see them interact, it's clear their love for each other. So to read their love story is a joy, despite all the ugliness that was going on at the time.

For me, my personal philosophy has always been to live the life that is most authentic to who I am, and I certainly couldn't begrudge others doing the same. And so I must applaud Prince Harry for having the courage to live his best life and to share his story, even in the face of overwhelming opposition. Good for him.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

Sometimes I think I've seen it all. Certainly as a reader of fiction, I think I've read it all. But then a nonfiction book comes along, and the true tale within is so gripping, so abhorrent, as to blow all those made up stories out of the water.

I'd previously read a few books and countless articles on the Opioid Crisis, so I'm not new to the subject. But Empire of Pain approaches from a different angle, focusing on the Sackler family who owned and ran Purdue Pharma. Through their insatiable greed and morally repugnant actions, they got millions of people addicted to OxyContin and hundreds of thousands killed. This is an unflinching look at their history and their legacy.

From the very first page, I was riveted. The central story here is a well-known one at this point: how the Sackler-owned Purdue Pharma, at the behest of the family, aggressively marketed OxyContin as the non-addictive drug of choice for pain management. When evidence started emerging of its highly addictive properties, the family went on to obfuscate this knowledge from the public and the government, effectively contributing to the emergence of the Opioid Crisis.

But this is more than just a story about Purdue and OxyContin. The book captures three generations of Sacklers, going all the way back to when the three brothers Arthur, Mortimer, and Raymond first started making money and building up the family name. To see how they approached their early businesses and their philosophy towards profit and philanthropy is to understand how Purdue eventually became the monster it did.

But the fault doesn't reside entirely with one family and the book is careful to provide a nuanced portrayal of that. No doubt there was plenty of blame to go around. They had help from many different corners, including the FDA who gave their seal of approval on OxyContin, shady salespeople and doctors, and plenty of government officials who looked the other way.

This easily could've become a story bogged down in the weeds, with too much detail and not enough interest. But it didn't. It was a fascinating read from beginning to end, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. It really speaks to the author's abilities that he was able to take such a complicated and convoluted narrative and turn it into a tale that is both cohesive and intensely compelling.

This is investigative nonfiction at its best. It goes behind the scenes and lifts the veils to one of the biggest tragedies in modern American history. Though it was hard to read and stomach at times, I couldn't look away.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

My heartfelt thanks for the copy that was provided for my honest and unbiased review.

I'm always excited to learn a little bit more about the universe. And while This Way to the Universe does do that for the parts I understood, I feel like a lot of it went over my head.

The book takes us on a journey through the highlights of all that science has discovered and yet to discover about the universe, from its origin all the way to now and where it might go from here. It's a fairly technical journey, bound in theoretical physics and math, and my understanding of the book definitely reflects that.

For me, where this book works best is that it tries to tie all the information together into a cohesive narrative. It was satisfying to walk through the history of scientific progress and to check in at its pivotal moments. Along the way, Dine pays homage to many scientists, including women and those from non-Western countries whose impact may be lesser known to the world.

However, the book lost me for a big chunk in the middle once it started going into subatomic territory with mesons, pions, gluons, and symmetry, to name a few. There's just not enough depth here. The book tries to tackle these fairly complicated topics without the necessary background or details. So if you don't already know the topics covered, it would be hard for you to glean anything from what's in the pages.

It's not entirely the author's fault. I can see that he didn't want to get mired in the technical details in a 300-page book. Otherwise, it would soon resemble a textbook. But without any technical explanation, it's just impossible for me to make heads or tails out of the whole thing. It almost feels like this should be a companion to a graduate-level course rather than a standalone book for the layman.

Too bad. The topics in here are fascinating and the parts I could understand worthwhile. But I just can't rate it higher than 3 stars when I didn't understand half the book.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Those in the dominant caste who found themselves lagging behind those seen as inherently inferior potentially faced an epic existential crisis. To stand on the same rung as those perceived to be of a lower caste is seen as lowering one's status. In the zero-sum stakes of a caste system upheld by perceived scarcity, if a lower-caste person goes up a rung, an upper-caste person comes down. The elevation of others amounts to a demotion of oneself, thus equality feels like a demotion.

Coming across the passage above was a eureka moment, a lightning strike going off in my head. It immediately made me think of the now-famous quote that showed up around the time of Trump: "Equal rights for others does not mean less rights for you. It's not pie." I had long puzzled over the necessity of stating this obvious fact, and why it was that a significant portion of the American population did not seem to agree with it. And the paragraph above, along with this entire book, has finally given me the answer, a comprehensive explanation for all that has confused me for so long.

Going into Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, I had never thought about racism as a form of a caste system. Yet, the book makes an articulate and thoughtful argument for why one is really a manifestation of the other. It refers to India's famous caste system to explain America's racial structure, but it also spends a good amount of time comparing them to Nazi Germany. Through it all, it provided answers to so many discrepancies that racism alone could never quite fully account for.

This book is unflinching in its analysis and chilling in its comparisons. To see racism in America as being equal to, or even at times worse than, the Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews, is horrifying and eye-opening. For example, in one of the passages around the formation of the Nuremberg Laws, the book talks about how the Germans learned from the Americans. They actually studied U.S. segregation laws and were impressed with their ability to keep black citizens powerless, all within a legal framework.

The book doesn't just talk about history, but also what is happening today. In particular, it addresses the backlash that formed following Obama's election to the highest office in the land, the seemingly confounding actions that Trump supporters took in voting against their own self-interest, and the fanatical fever of white and Confederate pride that have overtaken so many citizens and towns.

One of the unintended side effects of this book is that it helped me understand my Chinese heritage and culture. There were so many verbal and nonverbal cues I had picked up throughout my childhood, which had shaped me into the quiet and passive person I'd been in my early adult years. That, combined with the personality differences I have seen among my Chinese peers, all seem to tie into Chinese's implicit caste system of favoring sons over daughters. Even though there is nothing about China in this book, everything that is said about the psychological effects of a caste system can still apply (though to a much lesser degree).

I almost didn't finish this book, though. For all of its insightful breakthroughs, I almost stopped reading because I found the beginning chapters to be dull, indulgent, and flowery. It spent so long telling me what the book will be about instead of just getting on with it. It was full of metaphors for what racism is, like it's an old house, or a virus, or a play. And each metaphor is stretched to its limits, filled with pages and pages of comparisons. It wasn't until the middle of chapter 4 that the content finally starts to become cogent. If you are considering this book, do try to power through the initial muddling pages to get to the rest of this powerful and worthwhile book.

We cannot hope to bridge the divide that has so fractured this country if one side cannot understand the other. So for me, this book is of the upmost importance. It has done more for my understanding of US race relations than any other book I have read. Looking at race through the lens of a caste system is the only explanation I've come across that is both logical and comprehensive.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

The first volume of Barack Obama's highly anticipated presidential memoir is everything I'd expect it to be—intelligent, thoughtful, illuminating—and reading it makes me miss even more this hopeful time in our history.

Clocking in at more than 700 pages, A Promised Land details Obama's political rise, his 2008 presidential campaign, and what his administration achieved in their first 2.5 years in office. Not only did it vividly portray all that they had accomplished, but it also didn't shy away from sharing all the ways they fell short.

There is so much information in here. I followed current events pretty closely during this time, so everything he talks about—the financial crisis, bailout of the banks and auto industry, healthcare reform, climate treaty, Frank-Dodd, the middle east, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Arab Springs, repeal of DADT, raid on bin Laden—were all things I was pretty familiar with already.

This isn't all dry politics and policies though. My favorite parts of the memoir were definitely the ones where Obama shares personal anecdotes about himself and his family and their dog Bo, along with observations about what it's like to be president. But those were just small bits of the whole thing. If you're looking for more of these personal stories, Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming is a fantastic companion.

Going in, I did think (and hope) that there would be some surprises in store. Since Obama is no longer in office, he can now freely say what he might've not been able to before. But alas, no such bombshells were forthcoming.

Still, even though there were no shocking revelations, this was a fascinating read. Obama is a skilled writer, and he's great at explaining and summarizing fairly complex ideas in a few short paragraphs. It's interesting to see his take of the events that transpired under him and his process in coming to the decisions that he ultimately made.

Even with the high page count, this book didn't feel overly long. It covers a lot of content, so we move along at a snappy rate and never get bogged down on any one topic. This is only the first volume of Obama's presidential memoir and more is on its way, though at this point, I'm not sure if/when that would actually happen.

Oh, one thing to note if you're considering this. I started out with the hardcover version of this book, which has beautiful pictures, but it's extremely heavy. I couldn't get comfortable with it in my hands, so I quickly switched over to the ebook, which I stuck with for the remainder of my read. I've also heard that the audiobook is absolutely stellar as it's read by Obama himself, so definitely keep that in mind if you're trying to decide between formats.

I think, at the end of the day, what makes Obama's memoir so special is that it takes us back through memory lane to the optimistic and buoyant years of his presidency. During that time, Obama elevated discourse and gave us the hope of not just a better America, but also a better democracy. To read his words is to relive the history of this nation during its heyday, when it felt like we were on a trajectory of limitless possibility and progress.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

The Rural Diaries is charming and joyous, a celebration of family and community and simple living. Hilarie Burton and her husband left the Hollywood lifestyle and moved to a small town in New York to raise their family, starting with a cabin in the woods and then moving onto a working farm with cows, donkeys, alpacas, chickens, ducks; you name it, they have it.

While I never watched One Tree Hill, I grew up during that era and had seen bits and pieces of the show just flipping through the channels. Burton's character Peyton always seemed so driven and strong at a time when I was a floundering teenager trying to figure out my passion and place in life. Then this book comes along and I find out she married the Winchester dad from Supernatural. So my curiosity was definitely peaked.

Often with celebrity memoirs, you hardly learn anything about the person after reading them. But that's not the case here. You can hear Burton's voice shine throughout. She is so genuine and open in the book, sharing not just her triumphs but also her challenges and heartbreaks. She speaks candidly of her experience with motherhood, the difficulties of making a marriage work, every day life on the farm, her struggles with infertility, and so much more. And it's clear her love for her town, and how thankful she is to have finally found a place to belong and a community that embraces her.

Reading this book felt like talking to an old friend, one who is insightful and funny. At the heart of it, Burton distilled her life down to its most important parts, and wasn't afraid to take the leap nor of the hard work that followed. She takes the bad moments one day at a time while remembering to celebrate all that life has to offer. She lives the life we all want, one that is authentic to who is she, and I respect her so much for that.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

These days, nothing get our collective attention quite like an epidemic, and Ebola is about as terrifying as they come. Not only are the symptoms gruesome, but the way it propagates via touch as people care for their sick loved ones sounds like something straight out of dystopian sci-fi.

In Crisis in the Red Zone, we follow the horrific 2013-2014 Ebola epidemic that engulfed Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia and eventually went on to infect almost 30,000 people. The book focuses on the Makona Triangle, where the virus first grabbed hold and exploded, and also on Kenema Government Hospital as it quickly became overwhelmed as the only hospital in Sierra Leone with a functional infectious disease unit that could handle Ebola.

What's so riveting about this book is that the virus's effects on humans and its vicious propagation methods are more horrifying than any fictional epidemic/pandemic book I've ever read. During the initial outbreak, the international community did not take this very seriously, and so very little aid arrived. These three relatively poor countries had fragile medical infrastructures which quickly reached their limit and became swamped by the deluge of sick people.

It's one thing to understand a catastrophe from the macro level, another altogether to see it from up close. And that's what Richard Preston aims to achieve with this book. He takes a disaster happening far away and brings humanity to it by telling the story through the eyes of the people on the ground—the doctors, nurses, and scientists fighting on the front lines. Their courage is awe inspiring and their terror is visceral as they battle against this virus that's spreading faster than they can contain it and could possibly kill them in the process.

The book delves into the epidemiological roots of the virus, its current mutations, and where it can go from here if we are not careful. It also explores the ethical implications around who to treat if there are limited resources available or if the only potential medicine is unproven and untested against humans.

I found this whole read to be captivating and informative. It's as gripping as a thriller, but more real and horrifying because it isn't fiction. It's easy to feel a sense of distance when something bad is happening on the other side of the world, to feel as if it could never touch us. So to read this book is to understand the minds and emotions of the medical professionals battling Ebola and to see their fight come alive. These people are the real heroes, and I'm glad their story is being told.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

Whatever was coming next, this was a story we could own.

What an extraordinary and formidable undertaking it must have been, to be the one standing next to the first black President of the United States. And it was made all the more so because Michelle Obama was scrutinized and held to a bar far higher than any previous First Lady. And yet, she came through it with grace, intelligence, and humor, and in the process, inspired an entire generation of women and people of color, including me.

Becoming feels like I'm not just reading the words of one woman's incredible journey from lower middle class to being one of the most respected women of our time, but also the potential story of what could be for so many women of color. Michelle makes clear that her life was able to take its remarkable trajectory in large part due to the influence of her parents, extended family, teachers, and mentors, who all loved and invested in her through her crucial formative years.

Reading this, I'm struck by how honest and forthright she is. She is open with all the difficulties and struggles she has gone through, both public and personal. She talks about how she tries to balance her drive for a career in public service with her husband's political calling, all while raising two young children. It must have been extraordinarily challenging, yet she handled it all with enviable poise.

One of the things I most enjoyed about this book is its message of optimism and hope. She's incredibly resilient and driven, even in the face of so much opposition, criticism, and disparagement of herself and her family. She accomplished so much during her time as First Lady, and reading her words in this memoir is a true inspiration.

Michelle Obama encompasses all that I admire: authenticity, kindness, and resilience. And this book is not just a candid self-reflection, but also a hopeful call for us all that we can do better and can achieve anything we put our minds to, as long as we aren't afraid of hard work.

I'm so glad I picked up this memoir of a truly exceptional woman. There's a lot in here to digest, and I will be taking the time to think over all that I've read in the coming weeks and months. I know her words will stay with me for a long time.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!