Author blurbs aren‘t always reliable but I‘m hoping Patrick Ness is right about this one…

This book is a powerful & compelling look at the merging of politics, religion, & big money—we‘re talking BIG money (coming from a handful of very rich people)—in building a decidedly undemocratic, illiberal movement that seeks to redefine what the US is, identify exactly who is an American, & to shape the country‘s future by dragging us into the past. I can‘t even imagine what it was like for the author to immerse herself in this world. Scary.

Time to start my irl book club book—although this isn‘t a book I‘ve had any interest in reading, everyone else is excited about it. I‘ve heard only good things so hopefully I‘ll be pleasantly surprised.

I enjoyed this atmospheric mystery set in India which occasionally moved a little slowly but which always gave you reasons to turn the page. A young girl is murdered in quiet, predominantly Hindu village. An itinerant Muslim man falls under suspicion & tensions rise as the villagers look to exact revenge. Racing to find the truth before it‘s too late, Ombir Singh delves into the lives & secrets of villagers. Well-written, entertaining read.

This was my Saturday…this was another super fun LoTR set. My only complaint is that the build was over too fast! But that‘s really more of a me problem….😬

Makes me want to reread the books…

#Two4Tuesday

1. I was the student that actually liked doing homework…and then I decided I liked school so much I went to graduate school. So yeah, a pretty good student.

2. The tagged book is one of my all time favorite YA books by one of my all time favorite authors with one of my all time favorite covers (which I once had a very memorable conversation about with Dan Santat).

@TheSpineView

Starting this one tonight…

I didn‘t love it…which honestly, comes as a surprise because everything else I‘ve read by Russell I really enjoyed. It has the right ingredients—interesting setting (Dust Bowl), a witch, a sentient scarecrow, a mystery, but…BUT, it‘s ponderous & slow moving, told in multiple POVs which aren‘t all that distinctive, & somehow (impossibly) devoid of emotional depth. I really should have cared about these characters & I just didn‘t. Just a so-so read.

It‘s a good day when “work” means you get to read about shipwrecks. Today‘s work is focused on a shipwreck in the Java Sea—60,000+ glazed bowls, spice filled jars, objects in gold and silver, bronze mirrors, and more discovered in a vessel that sunk over 1,000 years ago.

There is nothing more horrific than the violence humans can inflict on each other, something Jones understands well. Good Stab is a Blackfeet Indian of unnaturally long life & from the moment he starts telling his story to the Lutheran pastor of a church in Montana, this tension filled, violent story wends its way towards an inevitable, heartbreaking end. As the dust jacket says, this is an American Indian revenge story & it is a fantastic read.

Another informative read. This one discusses how institutions within our system of government—such as the Electoral College & lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court—advantage minority rule & are undemocratic. The chapter “The Banality of Authoritarianism” describes how easy it is for democracies to backslide, how laws/loopholes are taken advantage of & how you can see it happening today. Lots more, plus ideas on how to protect our democracy.

A fast, informative read that speaks to the way in which we describe, label, & investigate political movements/actors & how the media covers them. What is most interesting is the argument we don‘t have the right vocabulary to accurately describe what we see happening in the US (and other places too) and because we don‘t the media inevitably risks normalizing things. It‘s a sobering look at the importance of language & reporting on current events.

Next…

This book doesn‘t know what it wants to be—a memoir? a love-letter to K-pop? a critique of K-pop?an indictment of politics, religion & fandom?—with the result that it is repetitious, surface level in its commentary, & ultimately, for me, disappointing. The author has a lot of opinions & offers them freely without any obvious knowledge of (or doing research on) what she is opining on which distracts from what could have been an interesting memoir.

Awesome book mail day. Very excited about the tagged book, Jones is an “automatic buy, drop everything and start reading the new book” author for me. I‘ll Love You Forever is a memoir about being a K-pop fan and it‘s blurbed by Alexander Chee so I‘m expecting an interesting read. Omniscient Reader‘s Viewpoint is a fantastic manhwa about the only reader of an online book discovering that the world has been plunged into the world of that novel.

Wynn-Williams‘ memoir may not tell you anything you couldn‘t already guess about Zuckerberg, Sandberg, & Facebook but the story of her years at FB, going from naive idealist to disillusioned, is still entertaining, informative, & maddening. Growth at all costs, admiration for weaponization of Facebook in 2016 election, acquiescence to everything China wants as they try to get FB into the country, Myanmar, and much more…it‘s all there & it‘s ugly.

Time to reread the book I recommended for my book club before we meet on Monday…😬😂

Entertaining start to my day with this graphic novel, a collection of stories about the mayor, & his family, of Muderburg—a quaint little town where nothing much happens…unless you run afoul of the town‘s residents & then watch out. It caught my eye because of the Addams family vibe & I was not disappointed. Murder, mayhem and shenanigans abound. The art is fun, the characters quirky, and the mysterious fog…quite mysterious. A fun read. 👇

And…I now interrupt all in-progress reading to start this one. Russell never disappoints, always entertains. Look forward to a great read.

Started this morning…

As always, Isaka knows how to write interesting characters & this one features another assassin who you can‘t help but root for (even when you know you shouldn‘t). I didn‘t enjoy this one as much as the other Isaka books I‘ve read—the assassin spends most of the book more afraid of his wife than the potential repercussions of his job & he has a lot to say about her which definitely gets old. So, it‘s okay & I‘ll read the next but not my favorite.

A UC Berkley sociologist spent 5 years conducting research in Louisiana as she sought to understand political divisions in our country & why people vote the way they do even in the face of seemingly obvious contradictions. One thing that becomes apparent is the tension between economic and emotional self-interests & the profound impact of the former in recent elections. A fascinating, even-handed, accessible, & thought-provoking read.

A little quiet reading time to start the day…

This series just keeps getting better and better…and it‘s not done yet. This fantasy series might be marketed as YA but it‘s a great read for anyone—fantastic world building that draws inspiration from a wide variety of sources, flawed interesting characters easy to root for and against, and a plot that has all the twists and turns and SURPRISES you could want. The wait for the next one is going to be difficult…

Decided I wanted to do more reading to try and understand where—waves hands around—we find ourselves today. Klein‘s book is an eye-opener that examines, among other topics, the role of identity, the desire to be a winner (in politics like in sports), the psychology behind why people vote the way they do, media & the press, the difference between Democrats & Republicans and how to manage polarization going forward. A fascinating, informative read.

Sometimes the decision about what to read next is really easy…

Another quick, fun Cork O‘Conner mystery. The premise of this one gets a little out there but it doesn‘t really matter because you get to spend more time with Cork and his family and, most of all, Henry Meloux. As always the story starts fast and then Krueger keeps cranking up the tension…and then in this one the ending hits hard too. If you love mysteries and haven‘t started this one, I can‘t recommend it highly enough. Another good read.

Another reread for me—with books two & three sitting on the shelves—so I can continue the series. I enjoyed it this time just as much as I did the first time. Interesting story about a girl who hides the fact she can see the dead (because that will get you killed where she lives) only to find herself caught up in political intrigue in the most dangerous place possible for her. Interesting magic system in a complex, dark fantasy world.

My reading is all over the place these days—very hard to settle on something but I was really entertained by this story. Ken Kaneki is excited when a girl he likes asks him out. His excitement turns to horror when he discovers she‘s a ghoul & is mostly interested in eating him. 😬 And then he wakes up half human/ghoul & what that means will change everything for Ken. Dark manga at its best & an interesting take on the ghoul/zombie story.

Going with another reread today since the sequel is languishing on my shelf and third book is also out… I don‘t remember how I got my hands on an ARC but I remember enjoying it when I read it the first time. We‘ll see if it holds up.

This second book offers more of everything—more POVs, complexity, twists & turns, people & gods to hate & fear and at the center of it all, Cahan Du-Nahere, a man desperately fighting against what he is destined to become. Barker‘s writing is occasionally denser than it needs to be, but the world building is top notch, the magic system strange & compelling, the characters flawed and intriguing. Another good read. Finale should be awesome!

Reread of first book is done so now it‘s on to the second in The Forsaken trilogy.

Starting the weekend with a reread since the second book in the series has been sitting on my shelves for more than a few months. I remember liking this the first time I read it. I think I‘m enjoying it even more this time!

🌅📖☕️

I didn‘t enjoy this one quite as much as some of the others in the series but I was nevertheless entertained. And as the narrator promised, lots of gruesome, horrible things unfolded over the course of the story. Kosuke Kindaichi is a great character and I look forward to reading more books in the series.

In other book to the small/big screen news, there is going to be a LoTR cast reunion panel at C2E2 in April. Beyond excited about this—good thing I got my tickets early. Love the books and I also really love Peter Jackson‘s movies. Thrilled to have an opportunity to listen to these actors talk about the movies and bringing the characters to life.

We‘re going on an adventure!!!

Please let this be good…because Murderbot deserves only the best and so do we!

Hands down one of my favorite series ever and I‘m really curious to see what it will look like on the small screen.

MURDERBOT!!! 🤖

Started this last night and have to say, one of my favorite thing about the books in this series is that they almost always start with the narrator telling you they can‘t believe all the horrible things that they are about to tell you about…and then they proceed to tell you about all sorts of horrible murders. It‘s awesome how the narrator is always “I don‘t want to tell you about these bad things but here we go!”

While reading this, I could tell it was from earlier in Wells career but even so, it was a fun and entertaining read. Wells knows how to write great characters, create intriguing magic systems, and build fascinating worlds. This one proved to be no exception and, needless to say, I‘ll keep working my way through her backlist.

Actually the second issue—and two issues in, this comic is proving to be a compelling mystery set in the Dust Bowl. An intrepid photographer, a sheriff haunted by WWI, a family looking for a better life, & town residents who are just trying to survive. Good story, even better art—this is a gorgeous comic rendered all the more compelling by a muted color palette as dusty as dirt. Rated teen plus & so far, a fun & interesting read.

I‘m slowly working my way through Wells‘ backlist. Haven‘t been disappointed yet so I‘m expecting this will be another great book!

Likely an unpopular opinion but I thought this one was just okay. Entertaining enough but I found myself skimming in places and never really got attached to the characters. Is it a good read for a flight or a lazy afternoon? Sure. Is it particularly memorable? Not so much. I typically like Hazelwood‘s stories but this one was just so-so for me.

As always, Shusterman asks a very interesting question in his latest YA science fiction story. What if there was a pandemic, one with a mortality rate higher than Covid, caused by a virus that, if you survived, left you feeling content…happy…unburdened by negative emotions, a need for money, a new found wonder for the world… How would you react? Would this be good for the world? Or bad? Really, really interesting story & a lot to think about.

Have to go with Shusterman to start the weekend…

Loved it—this was absolutely fantastic! The second Detective Galileo mystery, featuring a detective and his best friend who is a physics professor, was every bit as good as the first. While you know, more or less, very quickly who the culprit is, it is the investigation of the “how” that drives the narrative. A seemingly impossible crime, preconceptions, betrayals, secrets…all the ingredients come together in a very satisfying story. Excellent.

A gorgeous graphic memoir, aimed at young readers, about the author‘s middle school & high school years. Loewinsohn often lets the art tell the story (notes that look like they were ripped out of a spiral notebook are interspersed amongst the comic panels) which means that the narrative meanders, something I didn‘t mind because there is so much to see. A memoir about friendship, art, & finding your way. Contemplative & visually entertaining.

Yay for Tuesday and some new books ahead of a couple of days of snowy weather…

❄️📚

Going with another mystery for tonight‘s reading…

Ohh, this was good. I think I liked this one even better than the first—and while the story seems to be wrapped up for now, it looks like there will be more sometime in the future. Which is good because Corland knows how to tell an entertaining story. This one has all the right ingredients—friendship, love, danger, lies, secrets, loads of action, more than a little tension, & betrayal. Fantastically flawed, interesting characters too. A good read.

Today‘s book haul…

Hot cup of tea + a new book = the best way to handle a rainy Friday in January. It‘s a gorgeous edition. Hopefully this one is as entertaining as the first one was.

🌧️🫖📖