She Wouldn't Be Broken

This tiny book packs a big punch, (or kick?) in its concisely written style. Kathryn Scanlan did a masterful job of teasing out these stories from the indomitable Sonia. A natural horse trainer, Sonia's life quickly went from loving horses to a career in all aspects of the intense world of horse racing. She is a pithy character, full of colloquialisms and track lingo. There's a lot to laugh at, but she will bring your laughter to a full stop a time or two, and one has to assume these moments were more common maybe than the book lets on. This racehorse of a book will captivate you and before you know it, the race is over.

It Will Creep You Out

This is a book about all manner of bad behavior. Not burping in public, or forgetting to thank someone for a gift . . . nope, this is the real deal. In a series of loosely connected chapters, Myriam enlightens the reader regarding some well-known creeps, tells her own personal stories of creeps who have had a deep impact on her life, and the plain old creepiness of culture. Her writing style is unique and took me a while to grasp, but her intellect is sharp as a stiletto. You definitely need another book to lull you to sleep, but this one is worth a read.

A Titanic Tennis Tale

Who knew? This book tells the story of Dick Williams and Karl Behr, both passengers on the Titanic and survivors of the disaster. Both rising tennis stars, they met briefly on the ill-fated ship, again after they were rescued on the Carpathia, and much later as opponents on the court. I'm sure there's some literary license at play here, but the author did her research also and includes the angst of restlessness, guilt, and depression, all in a time prior to the realization that feelings are not flaws. The book moves right along and was quite heartwarming, along with the heartbreak, of course. Theirs seemed to be a friendly kind of rivalry, as they had played a game together with much higher stakes, after all. I loved it.