Who We Are and How We Got Here by David Reich: Reich goes over the history of the human race and its migrations, based on the latest techniques for harvesting and analyzing DNA. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing, and I was especially interested to see that modern studies are confirming what 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus argued: that the Clovis culture people were not the first to settle the American continents. The takeaway from this book is that different human populations (and almost-humans) have been mixing and remixing for hundreds of thousands of years, far more often than we thought.
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan: Sullivan's debut novel is about a bookstore employee who witnesses a favorite customer's suicide; when she learns he left clues in a number of books for her, she starts a quest that forces her to confront her traumatic past. It's an engaging read with interesting characters, but be warned: the book is much darker than its title sounds.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne: This is the enemies-to-lovers trope on steroids, and it was lots of fun to read. Lucy in particular was an endearing character, and I greatly enjoyed watching her and Josh get to know each other.
Here by Richard McGuire: this is an expansion of McGuire's original 6-page comic, showing the history of a corner of a room over millions of years. It's an amazing feat of imagination, and an unusual demonstration of life and humanity over the ages. I adored it.
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart and Carson Ellis: A cute middle-grade adventure involving puzzles, bullies, and a dastardly plan to take over the world. Beadboy2 wasn't interested, but maybe Beadboy3 will be in a couple of years.
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