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

"Decide, Violet. Are you going to die a scribe? Or live as a rider?"

Oh, this is good. I see now why y'all love it so much.

If Fourth Wing were a drug, I'd be an addict. It grabbed me so thoroughly from the very first moment and refused to let go. I was fully immersed, I didn't want to sleep, didn't want to eat. I just wanted to inhale it as fast as I could. And honestly, isn't this why we read, for this exact feeling?

The action begins right on the first page and never lets up. There was no onerous worldbuilding, no endless backgrounds or introductions. We just seamlessly slip into the world of Navarre and Violet Sorrengail. Every time I get the itch to read fantasy, the one thing that holds me back is how much worldbuilding I would have to endure just to get to the good parts. But no such issues here. The good parts start right at the beginning.

Is this the most original story? No. Is this the most well written? Also no. (Don't kill me for saying that, all you rabid fans.) In fact, the dialogue has me cringing at times, with its penchant for f-bombs as emphasis and its often basic but slightly pompous back-and-forth that only teenagers can pull off. I guess in that way, it is true to its characters since they're all not much older than teenagers.

But slight criticisms aside, this story is executed to perfection. It takes several well-trodden tropes and not only cohesively blends them together, but also manages to squeeze every ounce of entertainment out of them along the way. And I'm not above being entertained.

This is my first real foray into the romantasy genre that's got everyone aflutter. And I can see the appeal. Fantasy is a bit of an adrenaline rush and so is romance, so blending the two together is really the perfect symbiosis. Of course you'd want your hero to fight hard in a war between good and evil. And it totally makes sense that they would love hard too if they could die any day. And if the object of desire is one's enemy instead of one's friend? Even better.

I'm a little late to the Fourth Wing party, and there's good reason. I was certain this was a duology (don't ask me why I thought this), so I figured if I just held off a little bit, I could bam my way through both books without having to stop and deal with the inevitable anguish of waiting for the next book. Well, the joke's on me because this is actually a five-parter. So lots of waiting will be had by me. As a consolation, at least I can dive straight into Iron Flame.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

"There's always something just out of reach. . . . Everyone chasing the thing they don't have. Going mad until they get it."

My favorite Thursday Murder Club to date, The Last Devil to Die gave me so many emotions and a riveting mystery to boot.

In this installment, murder hits close to home when a friend of Stephen's is killed. With their trademark forthrightness and humor, Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim stick their noses where they don't belong, and are soon caught up in the world of heroine dealers, antiques, and fake art.

I usually try to bam my way through murder mysteries like nobody's business. After all, I want to pick up clues as fast as I can, put it all together, and get to the whodunnit pronto. But this series feels like one to savor, and this installment is especially so. I read it slowly, immersing myself in these characters who over the course of four books now feel like friends rather than just characters on a page.

This was an entertaining mystery, with more chaos and mayhem (hehe) than you'd expect old people to get themselves into. We see Joyce really come into her own here, stepping in for Elizabeth who is otherwise indisposed. I feel like all the side characters were particularly charming, and I even started to like Connie if you can believe it. We also have a little side mystery going on to catch an online scammer, just to add a bit of extra zing to the whole thing.

I can't talk about the series without talking about its humor, and that's on full display here. Humor is subjective, and what one reader finds funny may not click with another. But for me, it completely works. Richard Osman has this gentle way of poking fun at the folly of human nature and growing old. It's cheeky and lighthearted, and it never comes at the expense of the characters' humanity.

I have to warn you though, this book feels like the series' most intimate and emotional one yet, so get the tissues ready. Osman doesn't shy away from talking about growing old and dying. In fact, couched in all that humor and sleuthing is the ever-present specter of death coming for everyone, especially when you are of a certain old age.

And yet, reading about these four friends who take life by the horns when it would've been much easier to just coast and fade out is so inspiring and invigorating. As Richard Osman puts it wisely via Joyce, "The urgency of old age. There's nothing that makes you feel more alive than the certainty of death."

I suspect I come back to this series again and again because it fills me with hope that I can still have a life worth living when I reach the twilight of my years. To have it be filled with friendship and intrigue and purpose, what more could I ask for?

I am a little bummed that Richard Osman is taking a break from this series to start another one (though I'm excited to see what he comes up with). Visiting these septuagenarians has become a highlight of my fall every year. But don't worry, for whenever the next book comes out, I'll be right here waiting to be reunited with my old friends.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!