A Breath of Snow and Ashes

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, 979 pages

In this sixth Outlander book, time-traveling doctor Claire is settled into life in the 18th Century Carolinas. She has her husband Jamie, their daughter Brianna, and various friends and family living around them on Fraser's Ridge. But when Brianna and her husband Roger came back from the 1960s (just roll with it, k?), they brought news of an article in a local paper, proclaiming that Jamie and Claire had died in a fire at their home in 1775, and that "prophecy" is hanging over their heads. Throw in the brewing political tensions leading up to the Revolutionary War, as well as some delicate relations with Native Americans, and well, there's a lot to tiptoe around here.

It's been a few years since I read the book leading up to this one (The Fiery Cross), so it took me a bit to get back into the swing of things, but once I did, the characters and their hard mountain living came roaring back in full swing. I'll be honest though — at this point in the series, the various kidnappings of Claire and Brianna are starting to wear thin, and by about 700 pages, I was ready for the book to end. It's not the best entry in the series, and it'll probably be a minute before I pick up the next one. Still, Gabaldon gets props for historical accuracy.

The Storyteller

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl, 376 pages

Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl is one of the great rock stars of the last 30 years, and this memoir is a collection of his fantastic stories. Ranging from his accident-prone childhood (and adulthood, because OF COURSE he regales us with his memory of a mid-concert leg-breaking accident that did not stop the show) to his days touring in a cramped van with punk icons Scream to meeting the absolute legends of rock and roll (Paul McCartney, Joan Jett, and John Paul Jones, to name a few), this is an absolutely wonderful collection of tales. As I do with most celebrity memoirs I read, I listened to the audiobook of this one, which Grohl reads himself, bringing that much more depth to these excellent, heartfelt, and unbelievably real stories. I'm not a huge Foo Fighters or Nirvana fan, but man, I could sit and listen to Grohl reel out these stories for ages. Encore!

(A short addendum: I finished listening to this book just hours before news came out that longtime Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins had died while the band was touring South America. Grohl's love and admiration for Hawkins is spelled out throughout the pages of The Storyteller, and made this celebrity death hit much harder for me than most do. Not that he'll ever read this, but Dave Grohl, I'd give you the biggest hug right now if I could.)

The Martian

 The Martian by Andy Weir, 384 pages.

After a million-to-one accident leaves Mark Watney stranded and alone on Mars he has to use all of his scientific training to survive. The thing is Mars doesn't seem to particularly want him to survive. The story is told initially in Mark's log entries, but later also from the perspectives of the people back on Earth trying to save him.

I'm sure this is old news by now, but this book is really good! I'm a little sad that I only now got around to reading it, but on that note I'm glad I finally did! Andy Weir does a really great job using real science (as I've heard from people who know more about science than me) in a way that is really accessible, which makes the book feel like a learning experience. It's also extremely fun with a great sense of tension. I really enjoyed it, and if anyone else hasn't read it yet I would definitely recommend it. It also definitely made me look forward to rereading Project Hail Mary for the Orcs and Aliens book club this month.

The Unkindest Tide

 The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire, 368 pages.

This is the thirteenth book in the October Daye series and it's selkie time. When the selkies were first created it was with the understanding that the Luidaeg would one day destroy them, and it's finally time for the debt to come due. Toby's debt is called as well, as her magic is necessary to turn all of the selkies into roane, the race that was slaughtered and whose skins the selkies wear to give them their magic. And if that whole situation isn't complicated enough, the big event is being held in the Duchy of Ships, where Toby gets pulled into unrelated politics of the undersea for the sake of old friends.

I think this is one of the weaker books in the series, although I still definitely liked it. The plot felt less tight than usual though, and I didn't feel like the threads quite came together. That being said, the Duchy of Ships is an awesome setting, and I love how much time we got to spend with the Luidaeg and the selkies. 

The Tuesday Club Murders

 

The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie 212 pages

A group of British people sit around one evening: a recently retired Scotland Yard commissioner, a doctor, a writer, an artist, and a clergyman. An old lady‒Jane Marple‒sits with them, clicking her knitting needles, every so often stopping to recount her stitches. It is suggested that they gather each week and take turns relating a mystery about which they have personal knowledge, to see if the others can guess what happened. The 13 chapters in this book are the result. (Midway through the book, some of the characters change, but the tales continue to be told in this manner.)

During the course of telling their stories, Miss Marple periodically asks the speaker a question or makes a statement that doesn't seem quite relevant; she is often reminded of situations that have occurred in her little village of Mary Mead. But of course she always comes up with the correct answer.

A fun trip down Agatha lane!

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson, 599 pages

Artist, engineer, genius. All these words apply to da Vinci, the true definition of the Renaissance man, a man still known — more than 500 years after his death — throughout the world for his innovations, his renowned paintings, and his curiosity. In this biography, Isaacson places the greatest emphasis on the latter, drawing inspiration for this hefty book from da Vinci's crowded sketchbooks and notebooks, which were scattered with precise anatomical drawings (da Vinci performed autopsies to study musculature and internal systems of humans), sketches of theatrical and musical creations, detailed plans for constructing urban waterways, and thousands of to-do lists surrounding these various obsessions (and others, including "describe the tongue of the woodpecker"). Oh yeah, and plenty of preparatory sketches for da Vinci's many artworks. Like the man it profiles, this book is utterly fascinating, giving life to a long-dead genius and sparking creativity in those who read (or, as I did, listen to) it. Highly recommended for fans of art, science, creativity, history, and for those who are simply curious about everything.

Ice Blonde

 

Ice Blonde by Elaine Viets (2018) 156 pages

This novella by St. Louis native Elaine Viets features Angela Richman, a death investigator based in the fictional Chouteau County, Missouri, "ten square miles of white privilege about 30 miles west of St. Louis." Juliet, a sixteen year old with "future debutante" written all over her, didn't arrive home after a party (complete with alcohol) at her cousin's home. The housekeeper was in a panic and notified Juliet's parents, who flew home from a ski trip in their private jet, to prod the local authorities into action.

The parents arrive at Angela's home at 6:30 am, hoping that she has some pull and can get the more experienced police detectives out looking for Juliet. Angela is quite concerned when she learns that Juliet was likely out in the snowy, below-zero weather without a coat. She had been wearing just a strapless dress, velveteen jacket, and heels. As the physical search gets underway, Angela reaches out to some of Juliet's friends to learn where she could possibly be and whether she had a boyfriend (which Juliet's parents had too fiercely denied). These rich young people don't seem to understand the gravity of the situation, and it's all Angela can do to pull information out of them. Meanwhile, it seems that the rich, older people are more concerned about their families' reputations and whether their donations and their connections will net their daughters a coveted spot on the court at the annual Daughters of Versailles Ball.

This was a quick read, with more than a pinch of St. Louis flavor.

Something Rotten

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde, 385 pages

Thursday Next book 4 finds Thursday back in the real world, hoping her husband finally re-actualizes. However, the England she's returning to is not the one she left behind: uber-corporation Goliath is attempting to become a religion, a fictional character masquerading as a real person is in charge of the increasingly autocratic government, all eyes are on the playoffs for the ultraviolent croquet match SuperHoop (which Swindon is destined to win, thanks to a 13th-Century saint's prophecy), and there's a current of anti-Danish sentiment swirling through the country — which complicates Thursday's plan of bringing Hamlet out into the real world to avoid some pro-Ophelia activists in his play. Again, in typical Fforde fashion, these crazy elements are pulled together into a cohesive, funny, and fun novel. 

The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband

 

The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband by E.J. Copperman and Jeff Cohen (2015) 279 pages

Samuel Hoenig has a business called "Questions Answered." His sparsely furnished office is located in a space that used to be a pizzeria. This is not a detective agency; Samuel simply finds answers for people. He doesn't seem to have a lot of business, but one day a woman, who said her name was Shelia McInerney, comes in with a peculiar question: Could Samuel find out who is the man in her bed who calls himself her husband? She says the last thing she remembers is going to a costume party and then waking up with this man, Oliver Lewis, who told her that they were married.

Samuel takes the case, which seems to grow weirder and weirder, starting the next day, when Oliver Lewis himself barges into the office, demanding that Samuel stop conning his wife. Add to that the fact that Samuel has Asperger's syndrome, and you've got a very unusual mystery. I really liked how the story is told from Samuel's perspective; the reader learns how he sees the world and what coping strategies he has been taught to help him navigate in it, especially needed for unpredictable people and events. I thought the Asperger's details were handled very well.

The Well of Lost Plots

The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde, 375 pages

In this third Thursday Next book from Fforde (seriously, READ THE EYRE AFFAIR ALREADY) Thursday is waiting for her husband to be re-actualized and hiding out from vengeful criminals and shady corporations in the only place she can think of: the fictional world. Specifically, she's found an unfinished manuscript in the Well of Lost Plots, where all books are created, unbeknownst to their authors. As in Fforde's other novels, this one pulls together zany ideas and characters including a nursery rhyme character labor dispute, a mispeling vyrus that threatens to take out beloved characters, group anger management classes for the characters of Wuthering Heights, gradually-more-interesting generic characters as Thursday's lodgers, and a bit of ahead-of-its-time commentary on ebook rules for libraries (or at least that's how I read it). Gah, I love this series. It's so silly and fun and I get more jokes every time I read it.

Giant Days vol. 1

Giant Days vol. 1 by John Allison, 112 pages

OK, so I read this about a month ago, and my memory of the details are foggy at best, so here's a VERY vague description: three girls are new at college and they're getting into the mischief that college freshmen get into. What I do remember is that it was lovely, and I definitely want to read more of this series. Also, that I'd been meaning to read this for AGES and I'm glad I finally did.

It Happened One Summer

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey, 397 pages

This romance novel was described to me as "Schitt's Creek with fishermen," which is pretty accurate. The main character is basically Alexis Rose, while her love interest is a mix between Mutt and Luke from Gilmore Girls (at least, that was my reading). In fact, in a foreword, the author says that she wrote the book to give Alexis the happily-ever-after she deserved. I love Schitt's Creek, and I *so* wanted to love this book too, but to me, it pales in comparison. 

Baking Bad

 Baking Bad by Kim M. Watt, 312 pages.

The murder of the vicar in the small village of Toot Hansell greatly disturbs the local Women's Institute, partially because all the police around are making it a little hard to keep their local dragons a secret, and partially because they're the prime suspects. Leader of the WI (and retired RAF wing commander) Alice Martin, her psychic friend Miriam, and the two dragons are on the case trying to solve the case before the police investigation causes any more of a fuss.

I'm afraid cozy mysteries may not really be a genre for me. If dragons and baking weren't enough to keep me interested, I'm just not sure there's a better option. That being said, I imagine that if you are a fan of cozy mysteries this would be a solid entry.

The Merciful Crow

 The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen, 384 pages.

In a society divided into magical castes, each with their own birthrights granted by the thousand dead gods, Crows are at the bottom. They have no birthright of their own, but are the only ones immune to the Sinner's Plague, meaning that their role is to burn the bodies and give a quick death to those dying a slow one. They are universally mistreated and often literally hunted and tortured, and the life of a Crow is generally a short one.

Fie is a Crow Chief in training, which means that she has the power to draw on other people's birthrights through their bones (generally teeth), and also that she abides by the same rule as all Crow Chiefs, look after your own. Which is hugely complicated when her people get intertwined with the Phoenix Prince Jasimir and his bodyguard Tavin, who are fleeing Jasimir's stepmother's assassination attempts. They strike a deal that will protect her people if he survives to make it to the throne, but if they fail his stepmother will give the Oleander Gentry (essentially a KKK analog) free reign to hunt them.

I read Little Thieves by this author earlier this year and really enjoyed it, so I was excited for this one. It also hit on a lot of weirdly specific things I like in a story (crows, dead gods, teeth magic) so I was really excited. And it lived up to my expectations! The plot was exciting, and I'm really into all of the world-building we got this book (although there's still huge swathes of the world we know very little about because it was so plot focused, and I hope we get more in the second book of the duology. I also really appreciate that Prince Jasimir is gay, which handily circumvented the inevitable love triangle of a young woman traveling with two handsome young men. Owen dedicated Little Thieves to "the gremlin girls" and that definitely seems to be the type of protagonist she likes to write. Fie is complicated and messy, and I really really like her as a character. Owen's prose is strong, sometimes poetic, always extremely readable, and this book is definitely worth a read.

The Space Between Worlds

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson, 336 pages

This was my second time reading this parallel-universe, social-commentary-filled science fiction novel, and I still very much enjoyed it, so I'll direct you to my first review instead of rehashing everything here. I will say that there is a LOT to mull over during the reading of this book, even the second time around. The Orcs & Aliens will be discussing this on Monday, and I can't wait to see what everyone thinks of this.

Hold Fast Through the Fire

Hold Fast Through the Fire by K.B. Wagers, 405 pages

This sequel to 2020's A Pale Light in the Black takes the tight-knit, highly competent team of Zuma's Ghost and throws them into another action-packed conspiracy mission. As one of the top ships in the Near-Earth Orbital Guard (NeoG to those in the know), Zuma's Ghost has been chosen to participate in a task force...but there's more to the task force than meets the eye. The mission is a front for the NeoG intelligence branch, though this is known only to a handful of players, placing a lot of mental stress on the relationships of Zuma's Ghost's crew. It's an excellent follow-up to Pale Light, and I'll happily keep reading about this crew for quite some time.

Midnight in Washington

 

Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could by Adam Schiff (2021) 483 pages

House of Representatives member Adam Schiff looks into the Trump presidency and the numerous constitutional red flags and ethical issues that emanated out of the White House during those years, along with the falsehoods that continue to be promoted even now.

The thorough look at the actions that drove the first impeachment—in which Schiff had a leadership role—are especially timely now. We get a close look at the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, when he was first inaugurated, and the interactions he had with Trump's administration, in Trump's attempts to get Zelensky to announce he was looking into Joe Biden and the energy company Burisma (on whose board Hunter Biden sat) in regard to corruption, in return for security assistance to protect Ukraine from Russia.

If you pay attention to the news, you have heard most of this information. It is well-written and thorough in regards to background information and Schiff's role in the impeachment trials. I especially found it fascinating to read about the changing relationships between the Democrats and Republicans in Congress over these years, as well as the relationships and information about the Democrats with whom Schiff worked.

The Space Between Worlds

 The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson, 336 pages.

Kara wrote about this book back in December of 2020, so you can read all about that here.

I really liked this one! It did a really phenomenal job laying out the clues for the plot subtly enough that I only caught most of them in hindsight, but consistently enough that I felt like I could have seen most of these twists and turns coming. It's also a setting that gives you a lot of space to think outside of the story, which is something that I always enjoy. This is definitely worth the read, and I'm really looking forward to discussing it with Orcs & Aliens next week.

Alias Grace

 Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, 482 pages.

This novel by Atwood takes the life of historical murderess Grace Marks as inspiration to explore her story and world. Grace was 16 and working as a maid in 1843 when she and James McDermott were convicted of the murder of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper and mistress, Nancy Montgomery. Grace was sentenced to life in prison, although she claimed to have no memory of the murders. When this book picks up, ten years later, a number of people have been campaigning on her behalf and have hired an up-and-coming expert in the new field of mental health to evaluate her and determine her sanity. Most of the novel is Grace telling this Dr. Simon Jordan her story, which is a very full account of the life and choices of a poor young woman in the 19th century.

I thought this was a good book, but also found it a little underwhelming. As always, Atwood has things to say and writes a detailed, rich book, but I'm afraid there wasn't all that much here that wowed me, although I did find it very interesting the way that she seamlessly wove together historical fact and fiction. 

Fun Fact: This is also a limited series on Netflix! Which is actually how I came to read it, and the novel definitely cleared up some ambiguity the show left me with.

February totals!

What's that? We have new team members?!?!? Welcome to the UCPL blogging team, Erin and Kelly!

Christa  2/573

Erin  1/341

Jan  3/943

Kara  11/3573

Kelly  1/471

Regan  11/3393

TOTAL  29/9294

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlyn Doughty, 272 pages

In From Here to Eternity, mortician and self described "Death Enthusiast" Caitlyn Doughty travels the world to answer her own questions about funerals and funerary rights. 

In Indonesia, we find families who care for their loved ones for years after their deaths. Spain shows us familiar, but distinctly different funerals where families put walls of glass between themselves and the dead. In America, a graduate student researches how best to return us to the earth from whence we came. From digital Buddhas to candle lit cemeteries, the author continuously challenges the reader to look toward their own mortality and decide for themselves what they consider a "Good Death".

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

 The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections / Eva Jurczyk, read by Hannah Cabell, 323 pgs.

Liesl returns from sabbatical when a health issue puts the boss out of commission. He is a well-respected and dynamic leader who excels at fundraising. Closer to retirement than a burning desire to take the helm, Liesl immediately discovers a very rare and expensive Plantin Bible set has gone missing. Is it misplaced or has there been a silent heist? Next a librarian goes missing. Are these events related?   The story has enough personal detail that the characters, their interactions and history are as intriguing as the mystery. The end result reveals the exciting life of librarians and is a study on leadership. Narrator Hannah Cabell does a great job conveying Liesl’s frustration, stress and exhaustion while voicing other characters with equal aplomb.  

The swimmers

 

The Swimmers / Julie Otsuka, read by Traci Kato-Kiriyama, 192 pgs.

The swimmers are a dedicated crowd who love their basement pool to the point of alienating their loved ones.  They have built an important social system as they fly through their laps. When a series of mysterious cracks appear, concerns for safety lead to the pool closing.  The dedicated natators are kicked out and left treading no water.  The story flips to focus on Alice who is showing signs of disintegrating memory. She finds herself pulled into her past including a childhood in a Japanese internment camp. Less free, she moves to a memory care center and flutters in and out of the present while her daughter is pulled into the story.  The key relationship between mother and daughter reveals the decline of Alice through the eyes of her daughter who is, herself, dealing with the shortcomings of their relationship.