"Diversity Explosion: How New Racial Demographics are Remaking America" by William H. Frey

I read this for the same bookclub that did "The Next America."  In a clever twist, the club had taken four books on similar themes, and broken us up into groups, with each person picking one of the books to read.  We liked the titles, and the discussion, so much last time that we decided to rotate.  "Diversity Explosion" seemed like an extrapolation of "The Next America."  If you had taken a few chapters from the Pew Research book, and drilled down (really, really drilled down) into the numbers, the result would be "Diversity Explosion."  I like numbers, but even for me, this one was a bit much.  "The Next America" used the numbers to support essays on topics like interracial marriage, and Boomers vs. Millennials.  This book was nothing but data, and made more for skimming than reading, with a sense of the "big picture" coming through.  What I got was this:  The Sun Belt is "the" place to be now.  The word "minority" is no longer accurate.  There are distinct differences in generations of immigrants, so lumping in foreign-born with first generation can be very problematic.  The DC area is an outlier for almost every statistic in this book.  Even within culture and racial groups, there is tremendous diversity.  Am I glad I read the book?  Yes.  The information supported many of my assumptions, and challenged others.  It's good to keep these hard numbers in front of us -- it reminds the people of this nation that we are nothing if not about change.  As the grandchild of immigrants, I often think, this is the next wave of something that will help transform us.  It is worth the time to read these titles about the shifts taking place in this country.  Just, when it comes to this book, don't get lost in the graphs and charts.

"Boundless" by Kenneth Oppel

Kenneth Oppel returns to his very slight Steampunk roots in this action-packed tale of a boy, a train, a bunch of bad guys, a circus, and a monster or two.  Like "Airborn," the plucky young hero, Will Everett, has a spirit of adventure and a willingness to do what it takes.  Page-turning isn't enough of a phrase to explain the nonstop adventures, tied into a teensy bit of mystery, that you will find here.  It was the first book I've read in a while that I stayed up for -- reading into the night because I had to know what would happen next.  I like Oppel's writing.  This is the third book of his that I have gobbled up.  His characters are engaging and intriguing, his plots a little unexpected, and his prose is clean and accessible without being simplistic.  In fact, for the mature reader, there are little tidbits -- allusions to other stories, to real historical people and events, a kind of circular setup to the tale -- but it is all subtle.  Nothing hits you over the head.  The story, like the characters, is also not fully black and white, but very shaded with gray.  Reading Oppel's work is a real treasure.  I was glad to have another opportunity to explore this fun, interesting author.