booksrockcal's reviews
532 reviews

Reflections: Rebuilding the New MFA by Sir Norman Foster

informative inspiring fast-paced

3.75

beautiful book by and about Norman Foster ostensibly about the redesign of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston but also about his views on art and architecture. I wish there was more text but his views on light, steel, and glass and open and light filled spaces come through loud and clear through the text and amazing photos.

Timeless: Classic American Architecture for Contemporary Living by Patrick Ahearn

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

This is a coffee table book but I thoroughly enjoyed reading the text about reviving and expanding historic properties and building new homes that includes historical elements. The author is an architect responsible for reviving Faneuil Hall in Boston and designing renovation and new homes throughout New England. I read the book while visiting one such home which made it particularly popular 

We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence by Becky Cooper

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.75

This book has been on my TBR for a very long time and I finally read it on a plane to Boston, where it takes place (actually Cambridge is the setting). In the book, Becky Cooper, a Harvard undergrad, hears the story of a Harvard anthropology graduate student bludgeoned to death in her apartment near Harvard Square, a murder that remains unsolved after 40 years. Cooper sets out to find the killer. Is it the professor she may have had an affair with? her boyfriend? her fellow grad student neighbors? Other members of the Harvard Anthropology Dept?  This is a well written and engaging story about the crime and also about the student who wouldn’t let the case die. It is a portrait of Harvard and academia is the 60s- a tale of gender inequality in academia, a 'cowboy culture' among empowered male elites. It’s the story of a venerable institution. seeking to protect its own.  This book is a bit too long and sometimes the memoir part is overly dramatic in places and also long but otherwise interesting and thought provoking 

The Berlin Wall: A World Divided by Hope M. Harrison

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

We are going to Germany and I was interested in learning about the Berlin Wall when I saw this audiobook referenced. It is an excellent book- comprehensive yet concise- detailing the political, social and cultural aspects of the Berlin Wall and the development of East Germany. 

Bookshop Tours of Britain by Louise Boland

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

oh my gosh I loved this book so much because it made me dream about planning a trip to my favorite travel destination- the UK- with visiting bookstores as the main activity. UK countries are so literate. People on the UK value books and reading. Even small towns have multiple bookstores. I loved reading about the bookstores, their histories, and their connections with their communities. I want to leave for The UK today so I can visit these bookstores. A completely happy and uplifting read in an otherwise dark time. 

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

i read this book for Zoom with Mindy. It is a beautifully written and amazingly evocative book about South Africa. Written in 1948, its precepts are applicable today. In this book a minister’s son living in Johannesburg is convicted of killing the son of a white reformer. The book explores the relationship between these events and the people impacted as a way to explore the conflict on a larger level in South Africa. The book is 76 years old but still relevant today. Unfortunately I read this book in a difficult and fraught time at work when I should have been reading a light rom com or a propulsive thriller and I just could not absorb and appreciate all the details and nuances of what is clearly a brilliant and groundbreaking book 

Scandinavian Design & the United States, 1890-1980 by

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

i saw this exhibit at LACMA a couple of years ago and have been waiting for the catalogue to make its way to our library. The exhibit was comprehensive and so is the catalogue. It details the history of Scandinavian and American design interactions beginning in the 19th century into the late 20th century.  The catalogue contains essays by art and cultural historians focusing on paintings, textiles, architecture, decorative r arts, furniture, silverware-  the book is comprehensive and the discussion detailed and punctuated by excellent and representative photos 

Yellow Butterfly: A Story from Ukraine by Oleksandr Shatokhin, Олександр Шатохін

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A wordless picture book portraying the war in Ukraine as viewed through the eyes of a girl who at first sees bleakness and barbed wire but then yellow butterflies. The yellow butterflies against the background of a pure blue sky makes the colors of the Ukrainian flag.  Oleksandr Shatokhin has created an emotional response to the conflict in Ukraine. The book is wordless but the picture create a narrative made up of visual metaphors showing the devastating effects of war but with hope a  for peace and restoration. This is a beautifully drawn book with an amazing theme but without the author’s note I would not know what it was describing. 

Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I read this book for the 2025 Book Riot Read Harder challenge- a graphic novel in translation. I picked it based on a NYPL recommendation and took it out of the library. About a quarter of the way into it I felt like Inwas reading a sequel and sure enough I was- the first book, Aya, follows the characters a year earlier. i will request that one at the library also. In the meantime I enjoyed the book, the story of teenaged girls in 1970s West Africa- the Ivory Coast. Aya is bookish and smart and hangs out with her friends Bintou, who has a new boyfriend, and Adjoua, who is the mother of a baby whose paternity is an issue. Meanwhile Aya’s father has employment shifts that reveal secrets from his family. It’s a sweet story that ends with a twist suggesting the need for a sequel- which the author appears not to have written. I enjoyed this story and would like to read more from the author 

In Open Contempt: Confronting White Supremacy in Art and Public Space by Irvin Weathersby Jr.

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

 heard about this book from Traci Thomas on the Stackspod where the author was a guest. It sounded from the discussion that this book would be similar to Clint Smith’s How the Word is Passed.  I loved that book and I picked this one up thinking how could it be different- Weathersbey even discusses Clint Smith on his trip to Monticello, which is a seminal location for How the Word is Passed.  The book is similar but different enough in its own way to make it an interesting and thought provoking read. The author teaches art history, and this book is focused on art objects as the context for examining cultural, political, and historical racism in America. I particularly enjoyed the passages about Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument, the Confederate monuments, and the Kara Walker exhibit in Brooklyn. The author’s thoughtful analysis rendered in art history speak (formal analysis ) juxtaposed against his own experiences and interpretation provided an interesting and nuanced way to look at an issue that others have covered in a new and different way.