User Profile

Brian Plunkett

plunkettb@books.theunseen.city

Joined 2 years, 3 months ago

I got back into reading at the end of 2021 and it has been really fun. Once again, books are a big part of my life. Historical fiction, literary fiction, science fiction, etc., etc. Interested in politics, feminism, climate change, TV, movies, birding, biking, music, forest preserves, art museums, travel. UC Davis law grad, now in Chicago suburbs.

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2025 Reading Goal

25% complete! Brian Plunkett has read 4 of 16 books.

Téa Obreht: The Morningside (Hardcover, 2024, Random House Publishing Group) 4 stars

There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one you can’t. Welcome to …

The Morningside (4.5 Stars)

4 stars

A very engaging and well-written book that's part dystopian novel and part YA thriller, with some magical realism and a little humor thrown in as well. I really enjoyed the folklore aspects of the story and the relationship between the great protagonist, Sil, and her mother.

Anne Tyler: Three Days in June (Hardcover, 2025, Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House) 4 stars

A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother …

Three Days in June (4 Stars)

4 stars

I decided to read this after seeing Anne Tyler's recent interview in The Guardian, where she said: “How we handle day-to-day life as we go through it, with its disappointments and its pleasures, that’s all I want to know.” But also, she's already working on her next novel, and apparently she's done with trying to avoid politics in her books: "It seemed so wrong to have any character going about normal life after that horrendous election." Can't wait to see what she comes up with.

As for Three Days in June, it's Tyler's usual bittersweet and amusing focus on a semi-dysfunctional white family, this time in the context of a wedding. Anyway, what can I say? I'm a fan.

Esi Edugyan: Washington Black (Paperback, 2019, Vintage) 4 stars

George Washington Black, or "Wash," an eleven-year-old field slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, is …

Washington Black (3.5 Stars)

3 stars

It's well-written, and Wash's journeys (both physical and psychological) are engaging for the most part, but overall I felt a bit disappointed. I think my expectations were probably too high due to some of the rave reviews.

Richard Powers: Playground (2024, Norton & Company, Incorporated, W. W.) 3 stars

Four lives are drawn together in a sweeping, panoramic new novel from Richard Powers, showcasing …

Playground

4 stars

OK, I was pretty annoyed by the ending. Also, there was some stereotyping that I could have done without, and some parts were a bit clunky. Overall, though, this was a very engaging reading experience. I liked the multiple perspectives and the jumping between Chicagoland and French Polynesia. There were some remarkable scenes, especially on Makatea and in the water during Evie's dives. The parts focused on the manta rays and other marine life really conveyed a sense of wonder. There was a chapter about half-way through the book when it shifted to the perspective of "the Queen" as she made her way around Makatea, talking to various people, thinking about the past, recalling songs and stories, and I enjoyed that. It's an ambitious book (tackling so many issues concerning the ocean, AI, pollution, science, sexism, art, democracy, "play," colonization, memory, etc.), and I guess for me it mostly succeeded …

Leif Enger: I Cheerfully Refuse (Hardcover, 2024, Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated) 5 stars

A storyteller “of great humanity and huge heart” (Minneapolis Star Tribune), Leif Enger debuted in …

I Cheerfully Refuse (5 Stars)

5 stars

One of my favorite reads of 2024. So good in every respect ... and just great storytelling overall. It made me glad that I've spent time in Duluth and other places around Lake Superior, including the Apostle Islands. The audiobook narration by David Aaron Baker was excellent as well.

Timothy Snyder, Nora Krug: On Tyranny (Paperback, 2021, Ten Speed Press) 5 stars

On Tyranny (Graphic Edition) - 4 Stars

4 stars

I had been meaning to read this for a while, but it took on greater urgency after the 2024 election. It's an eye-opening book that provides essential historical context and important insights into how tyrants rise to power. Since this is the graphic edition, there's a note at the end by the illustrator, Nora Krug, explaining some the choices she made with the artwork ... very interesting.