First the bad: Upheaval is an academic book pitched at a popular audience. The narrative can be very long and detailed for a popular book. (But at the same time lacking in details for an academic book.) The audiobook narration further emphasizes the dryness. The author from the outset states that it is not a comprehensive analysis, but just a focused view of case studies of modern upheaval in a few countries that he is familiar with.
With the bad out of the way, the book has a nice story to tell. Countries and people got through periods of significant "stress". Sometimes this comes from the outside. Other times it is purely internal. It may happen in response to a single event, or it may be something that happens gradually over time. Using a "crisis framework", he analyzes the different ways that they react.
Finland shares a very long border with Russia and has a language and culture very different from the Russian and Scandinavian neighbors. When attacked by Russia, Finland did not give in, but fought back against overwhelming odds. This allowed them to remain independent (even as other Baltic States were subsumed by Russia.) After the war, Russia demanded reparations and trials of Finnish leaders for "war crimes". Finland acknowledged their week position relative to Russia and complied. (By charging the leaders with war crimes, they were also able to dictate the "punishment") The reparations paid to Russia were a sacrifice that benefited the country by forcing industrialization. Finland was further able to maintain good relations with Russia and western Europe by self censoring. They willingly sacrificed some democratic principals in order to maintain freedom and democracy. This seemed an anathema to many in the west, but it served Finland quite well.
Other countries did not have such a positive experience. Chile was one of the most stable democracies in South America. However, democratically elected Allende moved too far to the left for his military, thus setting the position for a coup and the rise of Pinochet. He stayed in power longer than expected and killed a large number of leftests. However, he still allowed for a peaceful transition, even though only a narrow majority voted to not extend his term. The new government allowed for Chile for all Chileans and kept many of Pinochet's positive reforms. The country had to go through the challenging experience to realize that compromise is the best policy.
Similarly Indonesia found itself ripe for a dictator after the leader became too involved with external affairs at the expense of internal needs. Unlike Finland, Indonesia had very little national identity, and needed to foster one. Corruption was a big problem and needed to be reined in.
Australia had a national identity tied up in England. Despite being in a totally different part of the world, Australians thought of themselves as British. Only after the fall of Singapore in World War II, did Australia realize they had to depend on themselves more. They gradually moved away from the "white Australia" to a more cosmopolitan, independent country. (They there was a shock of policy changes that were carried out at the start of one government.)
Japan had change thrust upon them. After Perry sailed in, Japan was no longer isolated. The leaders realized they could not compete with the western powers, so they spent time trying to learn what they could from them. They picked and chose to adopt the best policies. They realistically knew what they were capable of. However, by World War 2, they had built up a significant military and the new "young guns" lacked they global insight of their elders. Thus, they went on a multi-front war that would be difficult to win, and ended up being defeated. Today, Japan still has some trouble with introspection. History courses treat Japan as a "victim" in World War 2 (due to the nuclear bombs) without regarding that they were the aggressor. This has lead to weaknesses in relationships with its neighbors. (Germany, on the other hand, has apologized profusely and done much to prevent the Nazi past from resurfacing.) Japan also faces on oncoming demographic crisis with a very low birth rates and almost no immigration.
Countries and individuals got through many crises in their lifetime. Being honest in the approach to them can be the difference between a positive growth experience and a long struggle.
Black Prism is set in a fantasy world where colors are very important and have some special powers. We follow the goings of a fat boy who watches his village destroyed. We later learn that he is the illegitimate son of the "Prism", the sort of Emperor over the kings. However, we later learn that the Prism is actually the brother of the Prism in disguise. The society values people that can identify minute differentiation in color. It also has some practices that we would find abhorrent. The government servants participate in a "release" when they have reached the end of their service. They get to talk with the leader, and are then executed by him, "releasing" them from this life. Individual Kings have power to do whatever they so desire. However, the Prism also has some similar power, giving some means of balance. The book goes on for a while, and also follows the path of a girl from the same village who was the daughter of a disgraced general. Things seem to gradually come together at the end, though it takes a long time to get there.
Ten Lessons to Transfrom Your Marriage provides detailed analysis of conversations by couples in different situations. Each utterance by one of the partners is graded with a "plus" or "minus" with reasons why. On eof the kye points is to let each other express their feelings with empathy before jumping into problem solving. There is a tendency to behave in ways with somebody that you have spent time with in ways that you would not behave in polite conversation. One common problem is attacking the person rather than the problem or situation. Trying to focus on building each other up can be much more productive than trying to "win". It also pays to understand that there are some "unresolvable differences" Those do not need to be dealbreakers. We just need to understand that they exist and find ways that both sides can be happy.
Trollhunters is essentially a children's version of del Toro's Strain series. There are a bunch of supernatural beings that are much more powerful than humans. However, they have limitations to their power and can use human assistance to carry out some tasks. They have lived in relative peace with humans. However, one of them decides that is enough and is going to destroy humanity. Luckily there are others working with humans to prevent that from happening. The tone of the two works, however, is much different. Trollhunters is much more bright and fun. The protagonists are two geeky kids. They like to sneak through the San Bernadino historical society. They notice a new bridge being assembled. They later learn about trolls. The bridge can enable trolls to do even more badness. They meet a lost uncle who became a troll fighter after the last "milk carton kids" epidemic. They have an epic battle and team up with the good trolls to defeat the bad ones. And in the process discover that the class bully is a troll in disguise. And even better, they discover that his "crush" is actually a troll hunter also. They are all able to live happily ever after.
The Fall is the middle book in the Strain trilogy. New York is becoming invested with Vampires. We learn of the plan for world domination. A rich guy had been helping out with the plan with the hope of vampiric immortality. He uses his nuclear power plants to help prepare the world for vampires, but the vampires have no need for him. We do get clues as to ways the vampires can be stopped. However, this book is about the vampires wrecking mayhem. We see some key characters die, while others seem to be prolonged longer. Vampires don't really care for humans. The war is really a war of vmapires for domination, with humans as mere pawns. The vampires chose humans to befriend based on their needs, not on the desires of humans. The powers that be could have ended this pandemic early on. However, they were influenced by those that wanted destruction and did too little too late.
The collection of audio short stories from the lightspeed anthology. The stories are hit or miss. Many of them are very dark. (In one, space traveler eats the entire crew of his ship, only to be eaten by natives once he arrives.) There were a few that stood out positively. In one, there was a secret message from aliens that technology will lead to the downfall of civilization. In another, elephants came in to a town. They eventually knocked over some bad architecture. But people felt a little bad that they lost control. 
The Strain starts with an airplane that lands in New York City and then just stops. All power goes out and there is no sign from anybody. They call in many government agents, including the CDC. Everyone appears dead - ecept for 4 people. They are taken to the hospital, and seem to have a full recovery, even though there body is showing some weird vital signs. The government tries to bury the news by having it released just before a total eclipse over Manhattan. An old man who knows about the vampire tries to talk to the CDC man. We learn that this has been a vampire infestation and part of a battle among vampires where humans are mere pawns. The dead passengers wake up and attempt to go to their homes, vampirizing everybody, including the UPS guys. They have plenty of vampire battles. We also have the human interest side. The CDC guy is trying (unsuccessfully) to get custody of his boy. He misses an important court date to attend to the plane. Later he warns his ex to get out of town with his son. However, her boyfriend doesn't want to go and they say. Eventually both die, but the son remains. (How convenient!) Our "heroes" also come really close to getting killed by vampires. However, they manage to always escape just in time. (Wouldn't it be interesting if the main guy died in a book and then it had to switch over.) 
Terminal Alliance would be a good source book for a cheesy B-movie that would by made fun of by MTK3000. An alien species came to earth. Humans were mostly destroyed. The alien species revives humans with some quirks in their interpretations. Humans adopt names of famous humans from history, though they may or may not match the gender or personality. The action starts when one ship looses all of its alien crew and most of the human crew goes feral. Some low ranking human janitors assume control and discover that a virus was the cause. They go on an adventure and discover they are pawns on a battle between alien species. They eventually win out with some janitorial tricks. It is written in a somewhat lighthearted fashion and just not very good.
Will West is raised as somewhat of a nomad. His parents move about every 18 months to some new location. His father is a nuerobiology researcher and always is switching to new projects. They instruct him to live under the radar. He loves to run, but has to control himself to not be the fastest. He also intentionally does less than his best academically. Then one day, he accidentally aces an intelligence evaluation test and has a boarding school seek him out and offer a big scholarship. At the same time a bunch of secretive agents also try to catch him. He manages to evade them with the help of a taxi driver who later assists hi remotely. He makes it out to the boarding school where he makes friends and gradually learns more. There are bits of supernatural in the process. He learns that previous inhabitants of earth had gained too much knowledge and power and were banished. However, they are using manipulatable humans to get back to earth. He is to help get them back. His mother has been controlled by some of these bad guys. 
Divergent is set in a dystopian futuristic Chicago. Everybody is divided into factions based on their personality traits. At 16, they are tested and can chose the faction they would like to join. Though if they don't make it in, they become "factionless" Beatrice Prior starts out in the selfless "Abnegation", but decides to join the brave "Dauntless". There she must pass through a series of sadistic initiation rites just to get in. They have to jump from trains, fight each other and participate in brutality. 
Plutarch's Lives presents the biographies of Romans and Greeks. The translation is freshly well done. However, the audiobook narration is dry and of low quality. This work is really long - and is only volume one. He presents complete biographies of important Roman and Greek people. There would be bits of similarity and repetition. (There seemed to be a ancient desire to watch people get killed. Has our media violence now satiated that morbid desire?) He compares the different people with a good amount of opinion. (Somebody was described as a great leader, though he would have been greater if he were not a drunk.) This is not the best book to read through. However, it would serve as a good source for research on important figures of antiquity.
Two postdocs are sent to a small southern town to do a genetic study. The town seems to keep its population, with even those people that leave coming back. The budding scientists want to do a genetic study to determine if there is a gene that influences this "homing" behavior. They will need to take DNA and personal information from nearly all the residents. In the process, the scientists both become attached to the town, each finding a partner. The town itself has an odd division. There are two nearly identical Episcopal churches. They divided nearly a century before over a Christmas pageant. Each wanted a different baby to play the role of baby Jesus. The members of the two churches had intermarried before the split, but now do not associate with each other. In the end, the scientists push to have their study finding published, even though they don't fall in line with the goals the funders were looking for. They also marry their partners found in the city and uncover the "dark truth" about the split.
I remember watching a movie once where every every movie previewed was about the eminent end of the world. Only one ordinary random person could save us from utter destruction. Reading Armada, I could see it fit directly into that genre. It is a CGI-fest in the making, complete with a hard-hitting soundtrack, one-dimensional characters, and a bit of requisite sappy drama. It is also a nerd fest with references to numerous classic games and 80s music. 
A boy in Harlem has his older brother murdered. He copes with it by building a giant lego city. He gradually befriends an autistic girl who also likes to build with legos. They have a contest to build a 10 foot tower. However, both of their towers fall. They end up building a big city together. Hers is a realistic model of New York buildings (including their projects). His is a fantasy world with heroes and monsters. He also makes a game with it to help people learn. In the end, they discover that the "wasted" legos that his mom's girlfriend is bringing are actually stolen. The criminal experience helps him to chose not to try to use a gun to attack thugs that have jumped him.
Truly Devious takes place at a boarding school because boarding schools always make good places for books. This rural Vermont school takes the "best", but has no strict admission standards. You just ask to get in, and they decide if you should get in. Attending are a budding novelist, an actor, an engineer and an artist. The protagonist feels a little out of place. Her skill is "solving mysteries". And she is drawn to the school for the unsolved kidnappings and murders from the 1930s. (And it also gets her away from her parents who are employed by a right-wing senator)
A teenage girl lives with her family in Oregon. One day they go on a car trip in snowy conditions. Her parents die immediately. Her brother dies in the hospital. She is alive, but barely. If I Stay is narrated from the girls perspective. She "sees" what is going on. She can wander around in the hospital to see the people that are working there and those that come to visit. She gradually unfolds her history. She comes from an artistic family. Her dad was a punk drummer before becoming a school teacher. She, however, "rebelled" against punk and became an accomplished cellist. She managed to fall for a punk boyfriend. They seemed nothing alike. However, they shared a common love of music. The boyfriend went through great effort to be able to see her in the hospital. (He even involved a famous musician to try to district people.) Eventually, a friendly nurse showed up and let him in. He finally convinced her that it was worth it to keep on living. The book does a good job of providing the traditional coming of age love story from a very different angle.
The recording of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight included both a verse translation and a reading of the original version of the poem. In the original, bits and pieces are understandable, but it is only a little more understandable than Dutch to the native English speaker. The tail centers around Arthurian knights a duel and a quest with a lady.
Fangirl follows Cath, an introverted uber fan of Simon Snow (a Harry Potter-like fantasy series.) She is also one of the most popular fan-fiction authors, with a large following for her series. She grew up with her extroverted identical twin sister and bipolar father in Omaha, Nebraska. (Their mother left them when they were in elementary school.) The story follows her in her first year of college at University of Nebraska. She tries to avoid people, yet has a super outgoing roommate that forces the issue. Her roommates's hometown boyfriend, Levi hangs out there a lot and is super friendly towards Cath. Her twin sister Ren also goes to school there, but seems to spend most of her time partying. Cath is taking a writing class where she excels. She partners with Nick to do a lot of writing. She has almost all As. Then her world starts to turn upside down. Her writing teacher gave her an F on an assignment because she turned in a fan fiction story in the Simon Snow universe. She gradually does more stuff with Levi and helps read Outsiders to him. (He has a reading disability.) They kiss. Then she goes to a party and sees him kissing somebody else. Her father suffers from an episode and is hospitalized. Nick decides to turn their story in as his. She hardly talks to her sister. Even her mom tries to reappear in their life. She goes home and decides not to go back to school. However, she is convinced to go back and things end up happily ever after. (She talks to mom. Her sister is hospitalized for drinking, is forced to go sober. The novel then has a whirlwind end. Cath gets back together with Levi, re-ups for next year with her roommate, reconciles with her sister, shames Nick, and finishes her writing. It seems that the author just ran out of steam and tied everything up. The ending destroys the book. Cath's heartless rejection of Nick's proposed co-writing credit invalidates much of her growth. The hook-up with Levi was telegraphed from the first time they met, so it had to happen. However, it would be nice to see some more growth in his character. The book had potential, but did not quite deliver.
John Gottman did an extensive study on couples and how their relationships succeed or fail. The majority of marriages fail. However there are a number of signs of success. One key is to have 5 times as many "good" interactions as bad. A bad sign is when even initial memories of the marriage are recalled negatively.
John Gottman had made extensive study of what makes marriages succeed and fail. This book focuses on one of the key "stress points" of a marriage - the birth of a child. Children throw a knot in even a well-calibrated marriage. They provide joy but also stress. (3 AM feedings and diaper changes are never easy.) They also alter mom's hormones and dynamics in a relationship. this book was appropriately written with his wife who is also a psychologist. (Perhaps they will have a follow up written with their child?) 
Next details some of the drastic societal changes caused by the internet. It was written 18 years ago, and thus provides an interesting insight into where we thought things were going. Amazon would continue on its path to dominate retail. Ebay is still around, but it was Craigslist that played a bigger role in sucking the gas out of local newspapers. The financial markets recovered from the dot com bubble, only to hit the housing bubble and now are on their way to the next bubble. Many old school careers have died away. However, there is almost a greater clinging to "credentialism". Lawyers are still needed to perform legal activities, even if most of it can be done by a computer or somebody in India. Doctors still need to prescribe medicine, even if the diagnoses can be found on the internet. However, people are taking much more of this into their own hands.
I've thought of Stan Lee as the person always willing to take credit for other people's work. This book doesn't dispel that. However, it does show that the business side really is what matters. They were the ones that have made a killing. There have been many people that have contributed to the various characters in the marvel universe. Very few received anything more than small payments for their work. However, they helped contribute to the overall value of the product. The value would have been less if each character had an individual owner. Also, without the correct moves on the business side, the value would have disappeared. (The many poor moves made by the business nearly did evaporate the value.)
Descendants of Sherlock Holmes and Watson meet at an easy coast boarding school and become involved with a murder mystery. James Watson narrates and comes across as a normal teenager. Charlotte Holmes is pure fiction. Watson admits to fantasizing about her, and this helps justify the narrative. However, as a young teenager, she is just too good and deductions - and too worldly. (She is a drug addict, can seamlessly pose as anybody, runs a poker club and has been raped while high.) The story was engaging with a nice growth arc with the main characters, even if their lives seemed a little too vulgarly mature. The parental relationships, on the other hand, were a little on the odd side.
Easy access to sugar was once limited to the upper class. However, with new world sugar plantations and alternative sugar sources (such as sugar beets), it has become well used by all classes of people. This has lead to multiple public health issues. The author begins with the story of his World War II upbringing. Despite rationing, sugar was a regular part of everyday life. Many people would have their teeth removed at a young age. It was cheaper to have fake teeth then to maintain them in face of abundant sugar consumption.