What are you reading?

Araminta Hall's Our Kind of Cruelty — quite disappointing, mainly because the blurb made it out to be something completely different from what the story really is.

Daisy Johnson's Everything Under — beautiful story, beautiful language and writing, quite rightly shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

I recently finished:

A Man for All Seasons: Lamentable in quality. I wasn't that impressed.

The Wealth of Nations: Adam Smith sure wrote a dense economic treatise. Still, I found it worthwhile.

The Signature of All Things: This was great! Romantic, heart-wrenching, and true to its soul. The book was a beauty, for sure.

Next up:

Rhinoceros- Eugene Ionesco
Angels in America- Tony Kushner
The History of the Peloponnesian War- Thucydides
Poetry Collection- Robert Browning
The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown

I'm currently reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales. It is a wonder. Irving sure knew how to write!

Lakey said:

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, apart from the chilling title story, a funny little collection of uplifting feminist fantasies in which men listen to, support, and respect women.

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I wrote an analysis of "The Yellow Wallpaper" back in college. The story of a new mother reverting to an infantile state because she's treated like a child really gives insight into how Gilman felt when she suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter. I absolutely adore that story and all of its creepy symbolism.

Not quite a month, but procrastinating again...

Recent Reads:
Artemis (Andy Weir, SF, Nook via Overdrive): Saudi-born Jazz has lived on the moon for twenty years, since her welder father brought her at age six to Artemis, the first and only lunar city. Only instead of becoming the brilliant student (or scientist, or inventor, or anything) her father dreamed she'd be, she scrapes a living as a porter while running a small smuggling ring on the side. When one of her wealthy clients offers a huge bonus for a sabotage job, she decides to stretch her skill set - and finds herself on the run when things go wrong, her client murdered. Clearly, she's in way over her head. The only way out may be a heist even more audacious than the one that landed her in this mess... one that may endanger the few people she calls friends, not to mention every man, woman, and child living on the moon.

I loved Weir's debut novel The Martian. This novel bears similar hallmarks, particularly the reliance on real-world (or at least well-theorized) science. Unfortunately, Jazz comes across as an immature, unlikable jerk more often than not; more than a little of her troubles come from her own attitude, which doesn't really change much through the course of the book. Not terrible, and fast paced, but I never really enjoyed my time stuck in Jazz's head.

The Flaw in All Magic (Book 1 in the Magebreakers series, Ben S. Dobson, fantasy/mystery, Kindle): The human Tane spent four years at a magical university, studying the forces that power so much of the modern world... and he did it without a drop of magic in his veins. His graduate thesis that revealed his deception did not, as he'd hoped, opened the doors for other nonmagical students, but got him expelled and disgraced. So he's surprised when one of his teachers calls him back to campus years later to help with a problem that has the staff utterly stumped: an impossible, magic-defying murder. Complicating matters, the victim was working on an airship that the Lady Protector is deeply invested in; the possibility that someone might sabotage its debut adds urgency to Tane's task, not to mention a tight deadline. He's always prided himself in being able to find the flaw in all magic, but this case might just best him - and, if he fails, many more people may die when that airship launches.

I enjoyed Dobson's Scriber, so I gave this one a try. Unfortunately, despite some good elements, it never quite clicked together for me. The characters aren't bad, but feel... expected, I suppose is the word. The culprit's a bit obvious, too. Mostly, I felt Dobson overexplained his world, to the detriment of the story and the pacing. Not a bad fantasy/mystery hybrid, but in the end not a great one, either.

The Vital Abyss (An Expanse novella, James S. A. Corey, sci-fi, Kindle): As a boy on an overpopulated Earth, Paolo Cortazar could only watch helplessly as his mother died of an incurable disease, medical science offering nothing but shrugs and palliatives. He was determined to do better, fighting his way off basic income and into an advanced degree... a path that ultimately leads him to where he sits now, imprisoned on a space station far from Earth with no apparent hope of release or parole. No hope, that is, until the Martian arrives with tantalizing hints about the state of his last project...

Chronologically slotted between Books 3 and 4 (though some readers think it works better between 5 and 6), this side adventure fills in details of the alien protomolecule at the heart of the Expanse series. Having watched the show, I'd already met Cortazar and had some idea of what he'd been through, though the story still has poignancy. It's less action oriented than other entries in the series, more a character study of how good intentions went horribly and unexpectedly wrong, ultimately leading him to sacrifice the very thing that drove him so far and so hard. A good read.

Currently reading:
My Diary from the Edge of the World (Jodi Lynn Anderson, MG fantasy, paperback): In a world where the annual dragon migration drives people underground a few weeks out of the year and sasquatches were pivotal in the American Civil War, a girl observes omens of death.. omens that point to someone in her family being in terrible danger.

I literally just started it, but it looks like an interesting and fun alternate world.

The Yellow Wallpaper is an amazing story IMO. Powerful and chilling.

Reading Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Love it so far!

I'm reading three books right now:

A novel, Laurie King's The Game (Book 7 of her Mary Russell series),

A book on the craft of writing (I liked Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! so much, I got Jessica Brody's Save the Cat! Writes a Novel), and

Ursula K. Le Guin's No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters. Published in December 2017, it's a distillation of the posts from the blog she started in 2010. I'd had it on my Wish List for most of this year and I finally bit the bullet and bought it. And it's a treat, wise and witty, and a fascinating look into the mind that conceived Earthsea and "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas", particularly "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas". Few stories have stuck with me over the years like that one has.

Ursula K. Le Guin on the absurdity of denying your age: “If I’m ninety and believe I’m forty-five, I’m headed for a very bad time trying to get out of the bathtub.”

On cultural perceptions of fantasy: “The direction of escape is toward freedom. So what is ‘escapism’ an accusation of?”

On breakfast: “Eating an egg from the shell takes not only practice, but resolution, even courage, possibly willingness to commit crime.”

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Hard to say why her way of looking at the world appeals and resonates, but it does.

I'm on the last volume of Conn Iggulden's War of the Roses series. They're a lot of fun (although I don't quite agree with his version of Richard III ).

I'm reading Sue Grafton's Alphabet series. I wanted to read something different then I usually do and I thought I'd give detective/crime a whirl. I'm enjoying it. Though I wish the leading character Kinsey Malhone was a little more fleshed out. I only have the first three novels (A,B,C), so maybe that happens later on in the series.

Just finished "Damsel" by Elana K. Arnold (great, great book) and I've moved onto Ruth Ware's "The Death of Mrs. Westaway."

The Raven Cycle I'm just starting book three, Blue Lily, Lily Blue. these books are so good! I love the narration style

Been nearly a month, feel like procrastinating again...

Recently Read:
Everything All At Once (Bill Nye, autobiography/science, Nook via Overdrive): The Science Guy talks about the "nerd" mindset, and how to harness it to create a better future, using examples from his own life and how he got bitten by the science bug.

An interesting read, if perhaps a slight bit too optimistic about how willing humans are to change. I also enjoyed the autobiographical parts; I remember Nye from the local comedy show Almost Live! (in some small corner of my mind, he'll always be Speedwalker to me), so I liked seeing how that part of his life fit into his overall story. We need more people like him bridging the gap between scientists and the average citizen...

The Secret Hour (Book 1 of the Midnighters trilogy, Scott Westerfield, YA chiller/fantasy, paperback): When new sophomore Jessica Day arrives in Bixby, Oklahoma, it seems like the epitome of nowhere, especially after a childhood in Chicago... but there's something strange about this town, and not just the odd-tasting water. Ever night at midnight, time freezes - and only a handful of teens, including Jessica, experience this secret hour and the monsters who dwell there.

It has a decent premise with some suitably scary beasts, and many of the cast members have a little more to them than is initially apparent, but the story falls down by making Jessica Day too much of a cliche, then making her the focus of the story. She's even a green-eyed redhead, to show she's Special... talk about the low-hanging, obvious fruit. Add in the expected family/high school trappings one would expect from a YA series, and ultimately it failed to hook me into reading Book 2.

Everyone Loves Bacon (Kelly DiPucchio, illustrations by Eric Wight, CH humor/picture book, hardcover): Bacon becomes the star of the diner breakfast menu, and the fame goes to his head.

A fun cautionary tale about the fleeting nature of fame (and the downside to popularity), it made me chuckle during some down time at work. Fun details in the illustrations add to the humor.

The Snow Queen (Book 1 of the Snow Queen Cycle, Joan D. Vinge, SF, paperback): The planet Tiamat has two suns and two peoples, locked in a three-hundred-year Cycle. For half that time, the Winter people reign in the ancient capital of Carbuncle, enjoying the technological fruits of the interplanetary Hegemony that arrive through the Black Gate in nearby space - fruits traded for the "waters of life", distilled from the blood of a native species, that extends the natural lifespan apparently indefinitely with regular infusions. But when a rogue star moves too close to the Gate and the equatorial regions become inhospitably hot, the Hegemony takes their tech toys and leaves, as the rustic Summer People take over Carbuncle and the planet drops back into the technological Stone Age. Arienrhod, the current Queen of the Winter people, has extended her own life through the whole century-and-a-half reign of her people, but has grown tired of Tiamat being exploited by offworlders and her own race being reduced to primitives with their departure. She does not intend to see them lose power again at the Cycle change, and if she can't do it herself, she has taken extreme measures to see that the next Summer Queen does it for her... a plan that starts with seeding her own clone among their population. But the girl Moon, sole surviving fruit of that endeavor, is nothing like the cold and heartless Arienrhod - heeding the call of the holy Lady of the Seas, she becomes part of much greater machinations.

This 1980 SF treatment of the fairy tale "The Snow Queen" won the Hugo, and I can see shades of why, but ultimately it hasn't aged well. What was likely a progressive (even ahead of its time) attempt at gender balance and feminism - the struggles of women to determine their own destinies in the face of interplanetary misogyny form a very prominent theme - feels somewhere between browbeating and stale now, undercut by how the motivations of nearly all the strong women ultimately boil down to the love (or lack thereof) of a man. The writing also tries too hard to be Writerly (I should not have been almost snickering at some of the dialog...), though Vinge does present some nice ideas and descriptions. Unfortunately, it just can't escape its age.

Currently Reading:
Babylon's Ashes (Book 6 of The Expanse series, James S. A. Corey, SF, hardcover): The sixth installment of the series picks up in the chaos after the rogue "Free Navy" crippled Earth, and as new threats arise beyond the ring gates that the solar system is too busy to notice, let alone combat.

I literally just started reading this last night, but I'm already anticipating a wild ride.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (Neil deGrasse Tyson, science, Kindle): The famed astrophysicist distills the universe for the average armchair reader.

Interesting, though I'd be lying if I said the concepts - even simplified - aren't sometimes just too vast to wrap my tiny little undereducated brain around.

Heartstone (Book 1 of the Heartstone series, Elle Katharine White, fantasy, Nook): A fantasy riff on Pride and Prejudice sees headstrong Aliza confronting an arrogant dragon Rider who has come to rid their land of predatory gryphons who already killed one of her sisters.

So far, it's a lighthearted and fast read. Some of the Pride and Prejudice elements look a bit shaky in the world White has created, though; there appear to be many options for women other than marriage to better themselves, so Aliza's mom's obsession with marrying off daughters to Riders feels a trifle out of step. But 'tis early yet, and so far I'm still turning pages.

Contact by Carl Sagan, first time reading it and I must say I'm loving it so far.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djeli Clark. A novella I picked up after reading a summary about a sequel to it off of Tor.com's website. A kind of cyberpunk (Art Deco punk? Is that a thing?) type novel set in Egypt.

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, read it before, in the mood for some comfort reading.

Do you know I'm rereading some Gately parts of IJ. It holds up.

If you're looking for an Italian intellectual, I recommend Giorgio Agamben's latest What Is Real?

Also dug the latest issue of the Jokes Review out of San Bernardino CA.

For whatever reason I really haven't done much reading the last six months or so. I decided to get back to non-fiction since that is my preference.


Bullies - Ben Shapiro

I really liked The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix and have always enjoyed the story it's based on, ever since I saw the original movie from the sixties. (For all the other Canucks out there, remember Saturday Night at the Movies with Elwy Yost?)

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the novel by Shirley Jackson, and I love it so far. My one quibble is the way the 4 main characters talk to one another. They're so... I think "twee" is the best word to describe it. Ever so witty and charming and playful. It's just a bit much. But like I said, I love the story itself and the writing overall.

Round about another month, might as well procrastinate by updating...

Recently Read:
Embers of War (Book 1 of the Embers of War series, Gareth L. Powell, SF, paperback): After a devastating attack that destroyed a planet and its sentient jungle, the self-aware war ship Trouble Dog resigned her commission, gave up her weapons, and joined the House of Reclamation, an interstellar outfit dedicated to saving lives, not destroying them. Her crew are also damaged veterans of conflict, who sought atonement in the House and its mission. But her latest mission, to a luxury liner downed in disputed space, will bring her to what may the flashpoint starting an even worse war than the one she survived... a mission where she may have to learn once again how to kill.

The concept was great, but the story just didn't keep me absorbed. Characters seem a little shallow, prone to rehashing their hurts in repetitive manners, and though there's a lot of action and some nice ideas and moments, once the sheen wore off I didn't feel any lingering awe or sense of wonder - there was almost a "been there, done that" to even the most clever twist. Not a bad space opera, but not a great one.

The Ballad of Black Tom (Victor LaValle, horror, Kindle): In 1924 New York City, a Negro's only chances to survive are crime or backbreaking manual labor that's more likely to bury you by your forties than earn you a living. Twenty-year-old Charles Thomas Tester chose the former, using his guitar and an innate sensitivity to the arcane to run small-time hustles a little to the side of the ordinary. But his latest job, for an eccentric old white man, leads him to dangers - and opportunities - he never imagined.

It was a freebie through Tor's ebook-of-the-month club, so I figured I'd try it even though I don't normally enjoy Lovecraftian horror. LaValle uses the ugly racism of Prohibition-era NYC to add new layers to the subgenre, using Lovecraftian imagery to give tangible form to the hate and desperation and utter impossibility of living as a nonwhite in a white-ruled world. The climax is drawn out and gory, and it's ultimately a depressing tale of one man driven over the edge to a place he can't come back from. Not quite my cup of cocoa, but it does linger in the memory and is worth a read if you like horror.

Alice: From Dream to Dream (Giulio Macaione, MG fantasy/graphic novel, Nook via Hoopla): Coming back to her home town, where her best friend Jamie lives, should've been the highlight of Alice's year, but it's the beginning of everything going wrong. She's bullied mercilessly by the popular girls at school, her parents are too wrapped up in money and employment problems to listen to her... and, since she's stuck sleeping in the same room as her teenage brother, she's stuck experiencing his nightmares every night. Nobody believes her, when she says she involuntarily experiences the dreams of anyone sleeping near her; the only one who does is Jamie, but suddenly even he starts pushing her away. When Jamie's hit by a car and falls into a coma, Alice thinks maybe her gift can help heal him - unless it traps her in a coma, too, chased by memories Jamie's willing to die to hide from.

Not a bad graphic novel, with decent characters and a nice, if somewhat predictable, arc. It could've explored Alice's powers a little more; there was a blunted-corner feel to how it was ultimately handled, especially as she finds a believing and helpful ear in the school counselor at a critical time. But the dreams are nicely played and it wraps up decently.

Jade City (Book 1 of the Green Bone Saga, Fonda Lee, fantasy, paperback): With the help of their island nation's unique jade that grants superhuman powers to wearers, the "green bone" warriors of Kekon managed to throw off generations of foreign rule. As they rush into modern times, though, the clan system that was once their salvation could spell their ruin, as the two most powerful clans duel for power and, ultimately, the future of Kekon.

This novel improbably mixes martial arts, mob, and modern family saga into an absorbing, original epic fantasy with a unique flavor. I don't even like mob movies and am indifferent to martial arts, but Lee's world and characters completely pulled me in. Kekonese jade gives life to some of the incredible powers one might be familiar with from old kung fu movies, but at a cost: foreigners and those who aren't trained in strict mental disciplines can succumb to addiction and the ultimately-lethal condition known as the Itches, marked by jade craving and self-mutilation. The only drawback is the wait for Book 2, not due out until about mid-2019.

Currently Reading:
Rebel of the Sands (Book 1 of the Rebel of the Sands series, Alwyn Hamilton, YA fantasy, paperback): Facing an unwanted marriage, young Amani needs to escape her backwater home. But an outsider complicates her plans in unexpected ways, drawing her into a wild adventure.

I just started this the other night. Heard good things about it, and so far it's decent, but it's very early yet.

Wanted: A Western Story Collection ("The Western Writers Group", anthology/western, Kindle): A collection of Western shorts by modern writers.

Just what the title says. I enjoyed the first story well enough, at least, which is all I've managed to read so far.

2019 Pushcart Prize anthology. Not the best year this year, but still some good stuff in here.

I am reading 'The Hydrogen Sonata' by Iain M. Banks and I'm finding it as enjoyable as his other 'Culture' novels. I was particularly delighted by 'The Player of Games' and would recommend it to anyone who wants something a little different from their Sci-Fi reading experience

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus