The Art Forger

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro, 360 pages

Three years ago, painter Claire Roth became a pariah in the Boston art scene, thanks to her role in a scandal that called into question exactly who created a buzzy new painting. Since then, she hasn't been able to exhibit or sell her own work, and is instead working for an online company that creates reproductions of famous works for its clients. But while she's doing this, she gets an offer that's as dangerous as it is incredible: can she duplicate a long-lost Degas painting so that one copy can be sold to a foreign collector and the original can be returned to the museum from which it was stolen?

Loosely based on the 1990 real-life theft of 13 paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, this novel gives insight into Gardner and her antics, Degas and his techniques, and the world of contemporary art, both legitimate and forgery. I loved learning about the ways in which forgers make paintings pass authentication tests (though they have certainly changed since this book was published in 2012), as well as the techniques artists use to create different effects. And I especially enjoyed learning about a few real forgers from history, whom I may have to research more (especially the guy who fooled Nazis with his forgeries). There were a few "I don't buy it" moments, but all in all, this was fun.

A Question of Belief

 

A Question of Belief (A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery) by Donna Leon 262 pp.

Venice is in the throes of a heat wave and all the Commissario wants to do is go on a vacation with his family to the mountains where it is cool and he can relax. But first he has to deal with a suspicious pattern of increased inefficiency in a court system that is inefficient at best. And Brunetti's colleague, Inspector Vianello, has a personal concern about his aunt who has suddenly expressed an expensive interest in astrology. These two problems get rudimentary attention before vacation time arrives. Brunetti and his family board a train for the mountains while Vianello sails off to his holiday in Split, Croatia. Brunetti manages to get half way to his destination when he is called back to Venice for a murder investigation while his family continues on. Vianello also returns and the two battle the heat while trying to find the murderer. 

The Irregulars

The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington by Jennet Conant 416 pp.

Before the U.S. entered World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was doing his best to convince President Franklin Roosevelt to join the cause against Hitler. Part of Churchill's efforts included establishing the top secret organization called British Security Coordination, a branch of the SIS/MI6. These were spies tasked with finding German spies in the U.S. and countering the influence of the anti-war "America First Committee". The fact that one of our closest allies used such a spy network is somewhat disturbing. One of the early recruits was Roald Dahl, a pilot who had suffered career ending injuries in a crash. One of Dahl's main tasks was to infiltrate the social lives of the movers and shakers in Washington, D.C. where he became a popular guest at parties, people's homes, and even the White House. Dahl, in his pre-James and the Giant Peach days, along with others in the BSC spread fake news, passed rumors through whispering campaigns, forged documents, and used every method available to vilify Nazi Germany. Dahl accomplished most of his work through wining, dining, and illicit romances with notable women, including Claire Boothe Luce, powerful Congresswoman and wife of Henry Luce, the publisher of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated magazines. Author Ian Fleming, also a BSC agent, later used some of these exploits as a basis for his character James Bond's way with the ladies. The last chapter of the book continues Dahl's biography through his fame as an author of popular children's books and his marriages to actress Patricia Neal and Felicity Crosland. I listened to the audiobook version because, to be honest, I probably would not have finished it otherwise.

Rationality

 Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scares, Why It Matters by Steven Pinker, 412 pages

If it snows, it's cold. That is a true statement, right? But think about that in reverse. If it's cold, it snows. Is that always true? No, because there are a multitude of reasons why it could be cold but also not snowing. Welcome to the wonderful world of logic! If you were in a freshman logic course, this might be the first logic puzzle you encounter. Logicians swap the nouns for letters (if A, then B) and try to turn statements like these (and longer) into a mathematical equation to be proven true or false. This is where the book Rationality gets started. 

In this text, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker makes his case for the importance of rationality, a concept as old as Greek civilization, but no less important, especially in our modern time. Pinker discusses how rationality, more than anything else, predicates most of what we do and what we achieve as individuals and as a society. If you've felt like the world around you is descending into chaos, Rationality is a good book to offer some hope about the world while improving your own critical thinking skills. Some of the best parts of this book involve Pinker's descriptions of informal fallacies, arguments labeled as straw man, ad hoc, ad hominin, bandwagon and more. But he not only writes of rationality as a basic paradigm for better understanding, but illustrates how some of our unseen biases can hinder that understanding in ways you've never considered. 

Pinker dives into probabilities and statistics and gives a laypersons understanding of how each works and how one might apply such thinking to everyday scenarios. One such scenario that had me testing it at the dinner table involved a logic problem dubbed the Monty Hall Dilemma, which, based off an old television show called "Let's Make A Deal," indicates that a contestant should always switch doors when given the option of winning a prize (at the time this was confirmed by Marilyn vos Savant in 1990, widely considered to be the world's smartest woman due to her inclusion in the Guinness book of World Records for the highest score on an intelligence test). 

I will admit, that, at times, Pinker singles out "woke" culture, which gives me the impression that he's of an older generation railing against the youth today, but he does list some concerning instances of college culture becoming too protected and too politically correct--so much so that it conflicts with rationality as Pinker sees it. However, this book doesn't really go into a political diatribe for one side or another. Pinker's devotion is to critical thinking and furthering the main principals of the enlightenment for a new age. 

Recommended for adults interested in math, probability and critical thinking. 

Bomb

 

Bomb: The Race to Build -- and Steal -- The World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin, illus. Nick Bertozzi 262 pp. 

This is the graphic novel adaptation of Sheinkin's 2012 book Bomb focuses on the development and building of the atomic bombs during World War II and the spies who stole vital information that made it possible for the USSR to develop their own nuclear weapons shortly after the end of the war. There is also a brief account of the Norwegian soldiers who sabotaged the Heavy Water plant and caused a massive delay in the Nazi development of a similar bomb. Other aspects of the Manhattan project were touched on including the selection of Captain Paul Tibbets to lead the training of the air crews designated to drop the bombs on Japan and the Trinity test of the first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, NM. Of course, it is impossible to include everything about this slice of history in a 260 page book but this was nicely done. Now I need to read the book this was adapted from.

Bless Her Dead Little Heart

 

Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James (2014) 280 pages

I happened across this book, the first of four Southern Ladies Mysteries, and found it charming. Two eighty-something sisters, An'gel and Dickce, are living a gentile life in the small town of Athena, Mississippi, happy it's August, when their duties related to various social committees are on hiatus. Immediately, trouble comes (literally) knocking on their door when an old sorority friend, Rosabelle, arrives from California, where she tells them that her children are trying to kill her. They take her in, and as soon as she's installed in one of their guest rooms, who should arrive but Rosabelle's son and daughter-in-law. Next come her daughters and two adult grandchildren. Several of these guests are rude and demanding, but the sisters' good breeding lead them to repay rudeness with kindness and they find room for all the family. When one of the guests dies in what at first looks like a freak accident, but actually isn't, then the sisters find themselves continuing to host the guests, including an unknown murderer, while the local police do their best to narrow down the suspects. I was in suspense until the very end, hoping against hope that the murderer wasn't one of the more likeable characters.

The Monsters We Defy

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope, 392 pages.

Clara Johnson has seen ghost, spirits, and Enigmas her whole life. Enigmas are powerful spirits that can grant a wish (called a Charm), but in return inflict a curse (known as a Trick). Due to her own deal, Clara is magically bound to broker these deals for anyone who comes to her for help. This trick ways heavy on her, as all tricks do, because almost nobody ever comes out of these deals better off. So when the Empress, the Enigma who holds Clara's debt, offers to cancel their deal if she steals a ring for her, she feels she can't help but accept. And soon she's got a whole team of people with Enigma debts of their own working under the same deal, but the whole job is tied to something much bigger and darker than any of them knows. 

This is a supernatural heist book set in the black communities of Washington DC in the 1920s, and it's extremely cool. It manages to keep the flavor of classic heist media, while expanding the scope of what is possible with a cast of really cool characters. It in fact kept the flavor so much, that at times it felt like it would really like to be a movie. The author did a whole lot of research, so it felt sort of transportive to a place I didn't know that much about. This is a really neat book, and I would definitely recommend it to fans of heists and black historical fiction.
 

The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings

 The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings by Dan Jones, 96 pages.

This short book is an adaptation of a real medieval ghost story that was originally written in Latin at an English monastery. In it Snowball the Tailor is accosted on the road by a spooky ghost that takes various forms and demands that Snowball go and complete the necessary tasks to send the ghost's soul to heaven, which is quite the trial.

I picked this book up because a reading challenge I am participating in wanted me to read a book based on the cover alone, and this book has a cool one. I'm really glad I did. While this isn't necessarily something I would have picked up on my own, it was really interesting. One of the things I found the most interesting, mostly because it's something that is under-represented in depictions of the period, is how truly woven into daily life religion was in the Middle Ages. And also, on a related note, how weird Christianity was during the Middle Ages. I would definitely recommend this one for anyone interested in the period, and also to enjoyers of campfire ghost stories.

The Spotted Dog

The Spotted Dog by Kerry Greenwood (2018) 272 pages

As Corinna, owner of Earthly Delights, and her bakery assistant are making breads for her shop early in the morning, an injured and distraught man approaches the back door with a scribbled note from a local helper of the poor, directing the man to Corinna's sweetheart, Daniel. The man, Sgt. Alastar Sinclair, had been beaten up and his dog Geordie, a trained bomb-sniffer from the Afghanistan war, had been stolen from him.

They work to help him, and after they see a video of the assault, they believe the assailants are from one of two violent Eastern European drug gangs. Meanwhile, two of the apartments in Corinna's building are repeatedly burglarized, in an apparent attempt to get some religious artifacts. Thirdly, a local Greek restaurant's computer is infected with malware. Corinna and Daniel try to find out if any of these problems are connected. Their primary quest is to find the dog and reunite him with Alastar, who is suffering from PTSD and feels hopeless without the dog.

Additionally, Greenwood's cast of quirky characters - friends, employees and residents of the building - make this a fast read, with a share of suspense as well as humanity. The Australian terms and idioms give the novel extra flavor.

The Woman in the Library

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, 265 pages

A mystery novelist attempting to find the muse in the Reading Room of Boston Public Library's main branch begins observing the people around her, concocting their intertwined stories. Suddenly, a woman's scream pierces the room and all of the room's occupants are ushered outside. Bound by the scream they overheard, the novelist and the three people she was observing start a fast friendship, based on discovering who screamed and what it has to do with a woman who was later found dead in the library. That's the kernel that starts the book within a book in The Woman in the Library. The rest of the book is epistolary, filled with emailed commentary on each chapter from the author's Boston-based acquaintance (the author is based in Australia, apparently).

While that description may not make sense, the book is well-structured and it's easy to tell if you're reading the book or the book within the book. Unfortunately, I felt like the structure was the most interesting element of the book. We know next to nothing about the author whose chapters we're reading, nor do we know much about her acquaintance, though we're able to pick up a bit as the book goes on. And the book within the book? It's interesting, but not deep. If you want a complex and twisty book-within-a-book mystery, stick to Anthony Horowitz. This one doesn't hold a candle to Magpie Murders, though it made me wish I was reading that again instead.

Lost in the Moment and Found

 Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire, 161 pages.

Things started going wrong for Antsy after her father died. But they went much more wrong after her mother remarried soon after his death. Her new step-father scares her. She can't quite pin down why, but she knows she doesn't like him, and she really doesn't like being alone with him. Soon something happens that makes Antsy decide she can't stay, so she runs away and ends up in The Shop Where Lost Things Go. The shop is completely magical, and full of magical doors that connect it to a seemingly infinite number of worlds that she can explore and bring things back from. But everything has a price, even if you don't know you are paying it. 

This book is pretty heavy. It's a very personal narrative for the author, and I think you can really feel that throughout. Like many of the standalone books in this series, this one is a tragedy. It is also very, very good. I feel like I have to go and reread Where the Drowned Girls Go now that I know Antsy, and that certainly isn't a hard sell for me. Another excellent addition, I can't wait to see what McGuire does next. 

P.S. It's sort of a pain to track down the song from the epigraph (which the title of the book is taken from) but I would say it's very worthwhile. I ended up buying the song on Bandcamp and I think I've listened to it at least a dozen times since I finished this book.

Words of Radiance

 Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson, 1088 pages.

This is book two of the Stormlight Archives and it's where things start to come together. All of our protagonists are in pretty much the same place now (albeit doing very different things) and it's interesting to see events from multiple perspectives (and from people who largely don't quite get along yet). Words of Radiance ties up most of the plots started in the first book and sets us up for a whole other kind of book for book three. 

I'm really loving rereading these books in anticipation for book five next year! As in book one, I caught a lot more things on a reread. I think this book contains some of the most iconic scenes in the series so far, and I'm hesitant to talk about them to much for spoilers reasons. I'll leave it at the fact that this book is a very worthy sequel to the first one and I think people should read it.

Spy x Family vols. 7 and 8

 Spy x Family vols. 7 and 8 by Tatsuya Endo, 416 pages.

I finally got back to finish up the currently available volumes of this series and it was, as always, a delight. Volume 7 was mostly short little stories and a lot of slice-of-life chapters, which was of course fun and cute. But I think volume 8 might be one of my favorites to date. The whole volume is focused on one story as the whole family ends up on a cruise ship. Lloyd and Anya won a drawing and Lloyd has to figure out how to turn off master-spy Twilight and just have a relaxing vacation. Meanwhile, we finally learn more about Yor's assassin work and get to see her and action (and finally learn something about the organization she works for!). The plot was engaging and fun, and it feels like the series is really hitting it's stride. Unfortunately, now that I'm caught up I'm going to have to wait for new volumes to come out, and if they keep going like this that's not going to be easy!

Ship Wrecked

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade, 403 pages

Peter and Maria had a steamy one-night stand before Maria mysteriously left without warning (Peter didn't even get Maria's last name). While both were ready to write it off as a fun, if short, experience, that becomes problematic when they're cast opposite each other in the popular epic TV fantasy drama, Gods of the Gates. Even worse, because their characters are shipwrecked on a deserted island, their entire storyline is literally just the two of them, and they must spend years on an isolated Irish island with simmering sexual tension between them, and between their characters.

This is the third installment in Dade's series focusing on the actors of Gods of the Gates (which is so obviously Game of Thrones that I can tell exactly who these characters are meant to parallel) and while I absolutely loved the first two, I think this one might be my favorite. Like the other books, this one puts fat characters front and center (still a rarity in romance), though unlike the others, these fat characters are the actors themselves, as opposed to their off-screen love interests. Also, this one has a beautiful story of finding family through friends and through adoption, which really resonated with me. I will enthusiastically recommend any of Dade's books in this series, as they're funny, sweet, and skewer Game of Thrones in the way that it deserves.

The Chiffon Trenches

The Chiffon Trenches by Andre Leon Talley, 284 pages

In this dishy memoir, the late Vogue fashion editor Andre Leon Talley discusses his days rising through the ranks of fashion journalism, from his early days working with Andy Warhol at Interview through stints with Women's Wear Daily into the pinnacle of his career as Anna Wintour's right-hand man at Vogue. Through it all, Talley's vast fashion knowledge and respect for creativity allowed him to befriend the biggest names in fashion (Karl Lagerfeld was once one of his closest friends, as was Oscar de la Renta). 

Yes, a lot of names are dropped in this book, but that does nothing but underscore the importance of Talley's trailblazing career as the first Black man in the upper echelons of high fashion. Even though the closest I've ever gotten to high fashion is looking at red carpet photos online and walking past the Louis Vuitton store at Plaza Frontenac, I still found this a fascinating story, and I'd love to learn more about Talley (who read the audiobook, which I listened to, himself). Thankfully, he produced a documentary and wrote an earlier memoir that I'll be putting on hold as soon as I click "publish" on this post.

The Collected Essex County

The Collected Essex County by Jeff Lemire, 512 pages

In this critically acclaimed Canadian graphic novel trilogy (presented here in a single volume), Lemire gives a glimpse into the world of rural Essex County, Ontario. The intertwined stories tell of an orphaned young boy who lives uncomfortably on his uncle's farm, a pair of long-estranged hockey-playing brothers, a rural nurse, a young nun, and a gas station owner. The quiet characters and their unspoken conflicts, both internal and interpersonal, are highlighted by Lemire's black-and-white illustrations. There's a lot to ruminate on, and it's understandable why this series is so lauded. My only regret is that it took me this long to finally get around to reading it.

Illuminations

Illuminations by T. Kingfisher, 272 pages

Rosa is the youngest member of the Mandolini family, who are known throughout town as being one of the best studios of magical painters around. All Rosa can do, however, is draw radishes with fangs, which she does ad nauseum. But when a bored day takes Rosa into the Mandolini basement, she manages to unleash a mischievous creature called the Scarling, who is bent on destroying the Mandolinis and their magical paintings.

I'll be honest: this isn't my favorite T. Kingfisher novel, as it's fairly similar to the better Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. But it's still a boatload of fun, particularly when you consider the wacky characters that make up the Mandolini family (they kind of remind me of Encanto's Family Madrigal), and the wonderfully flawed talking crow Payne. And, let's face it, I'll read and enjoy anything Kingfisher (AKA Ursula Vernon) publishes.

Seen and Unseen

 Seen and Unseen by Elizabeth Partridge 124 pp.

The subtitle of this book "What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Mitatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal about the Japanese American Incarceration" tells exactly what this book is about. It begins with a brief explanation of how the Japanese living on the west coast were rounded up and sent to camps after the war with Japan began. Partridge goes on to explain how Dorothea Lange was hired by the government to photograph the camp at Manzanar for the U.S. Government and how many of her photos were censored by a Major Beasley in a very arbitrary manner. Toyo Mitatake had a photo studio in California before incarceration and, with home built camera he secretly took photos in the camp until he was made an "official" photographer for special events. Ansel Adams, known for his landscape photography, was also hired to photograph the camps. Unlike Lange who opposed the incarceration, Adams thought it was necessary. He used his photographs to show the beautiful surroundings of the camp's location. This is an interesting and accessible look at one of the dark periods of American History.

Drunk on All Your Strange New Words

Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson, 275 pages

Lydia is the translator for the Logian cultural attaché, an alien she refers to as Fitz. Logi do not speak the same way humans do; instead, they speak telepathically, and the humans that are able to understand them experience a sensation similar to drunkenness while communicating with the Logi. This makes Lydia's job of translating Fitz's words during his packed schedule of conferences, cultural events, meetings, and summits particularly difficult. But when Fitz turns up dead in his study, Lydia is suddenly trying to clear her own name, find out who killed him, and deal with some Logian communications that she doesn't quite understand.

Robson creates a world that is so well mapped-out and functional that it's absolutely believable, despite the presence of extraterrestrial intelligent beings. I was completely hooked by the Orwellian surveillance, the ubiquitous social media (LOVE the idea of a truthiness rating), and the complex conspiracies swirling around Lydia. I'd read Robson's previous novel Hearts of Oak, so I knew he could be creative, but the mix of political intrigue, science fiction, and murder mystery here is so well balanced. Highly recommended.

Without a Summer

Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal, 364 pages

This third book in Kowal's Glamourist series finds married magical muralists Jane and Vincent taking on a new commission in London. Because the Napoleonic wars have left suitors in short supply in the countryside, the pair decides to bring Jane's younger sister, Melody, along to experience the social season. But once there, Jane and Vincent discover labor protests, unfounded anger against the young coldmongers (glamourists who have the ability to manipulate cold in small doses, but are being blamed for a snowy spring), and manipulations by Vincent's estranged father. As they get more comfortable in London, they suspect that all three elements may be intertwined.

I love this series, which is probably best described as "Jane Austen with magic." What really makes it fantastic, however, is Kowal's attention to detail. For example, in an afterword about the history, she notes that in 1816 (the year in which this book is set), there really were unseasonable snows, and she makes sure that the days in which it is snowing in the book are days that recorded snow in the annals of history. Knowing that she has so carefully created the historical elements makes it so much easier to fall into the relationships, plots, and magic. I can't wait to read the next one.

God is Red

God is Red: A Native View of Religion by Vine Deloria, Jr. 344 pp.

This book was originally published in 1973 and then reissued a number of times with changes added by the author. The latest version is the 30th Anniversary edition published in 2003. The Audible version was issued in 2022 with award winning actor Wes Studi (Cherokee Nation) as the narrator. In this controversial book, Deloria (Standing Rock Sioux) presents a history lessons and multiple arguments about the differences between the multiple forms of Native American religious practice and Christianity and why the descendants of European Christians will not/cannot fully comprehend the Native view of spirituality no matter how much they try to assimilate it into their own religion. While there were a few things I disagreed with, on the whole, Deloria presents a perceptive and relatively balanced perspective.

The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (2020) 355 pages

I often start reading mystery series out-of-order, so after first reading the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series, I went back to read this first book. Four senior citizens from a senior living community gather to look over cold cases to see if they can bring anyone to justice. Elizabeth is the instigator, and has a mysterious background that she doesn't really talk about, but we can guess. Ron was a labor union official, and is still always ready to confront issues. Joyce was a nurse prior to her retirement, and Ibrahim is a psychiatrist.

Always looking to further their information, the group finds a way to meet some friendly police officers so that they can share (and receive) information. Meanwhile, the owner of the senior community, Ian Ventham, wants to expand the community and make himself even richer. He was sharing some of the profits with the builder, Tony Curran (a man with a violent past), but now wants to cut him out and use a different, cheaper builder instead. When more murders occur, the Murder Club moves into action, taking on the new cases.

The chapters in the book are written from different points of view, and vary from serious to funny to informative. Really enjoyed this story.

Earthly Delights

Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood (1992) 239 pages

Earthly Delights is the first book in Kerry Greenwood's Corinna Chapman Mystery series, and is also the name of a bakery in the story. As much as I love the elegance of Greenwood's heroine Phryne Fisher, Corinna Chapman is every bit as loveable in her non-elegant ways. Corinna is in her upper thirties, somewhat overweight, and prefers wearing sweats. She has left her well-paying career as an accountant ‒ as well as her self-centered husband ‒ to open a bakery in a somewhat seedy Melbourne neighborhood. She lives with her three cats above her bakery, in a building filled with interesting tenants, including a witch, a retired professor, a geek squad, young ladies with ever-changing hair who are hoping to become actresses, and more. 

Someone is sending threatening notes to the women in the building, as well as spray painting threats on the outside walls. Meanwhile, there is a rash of drug overdoses in the area, including a number of deaths. Corinna saves the life of an overdose victim in the alley outside her bakery and is drawn into a group of people who are trying to help the addicts and feed the hungry. I loved the interplay between the characters, and enjoyed watching some of their relationships evolve. I've got the second book of this series already queued up.

Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning

 Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning by Gary Marcus, 261 pages

A great violinist finished playing a moving piece. Afterwards, an audience member came up to him and said "I would give my life to play like that." And the violinist replied, "that's exactly what I did." As a child, the violinist woke up at 5 a.m. every day to begin working on his craft, lasting until the evening hours and he did that for most of his young life. 

While most of us listen to an accomplished, versatile musician and think to ourselves, wouldn't it be nice to be able to play like that, the reality is that we can still develop some musical capabilities during our lifetime, regardless of age or abilities. Guitar Zero is not just a book for guitar players, but a book for any readers who have an interest in what it takes to become a musician. Marcus, a professor of psychology and the director of the NYU Center for Language and Music, decides on this 40th birthday to begin following his boyhood dream of learning to play the guitar. On the way, he investigates the way musicians learn and what happens to the brains of musicians as they're learning their craft. As we follow along with him trying out lessons, signing-up for a kids band camp, and interviewing heavy hitters like Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and jazz phenom Pat Metheny, we learn more about the science behind becoming a musician--how learning music triggers similar parts of the brain that utilize language, the various theories that debate whether music was a byproduct of our evolution, and finally, how talent is not innate. Yes, dear reader! You too can learn an instrument today, even if you've told yourself your entire life that you have no musical talent. Marcus' book demonstrates that true musical talent is a direct by-product of countless hours of practice and dedication. And while you don't need to dedicate your life to it necessarily and wake up every morning at 5 a.m., Marcus reminds us that there are no shortcuts. You've just got to get started. By the end of his journey, Marcus has learned his instrument, can play chords easily and transition between them. He even writes a personal song for a family member who is dying of cancer. While this book does focus on guitar and how it differs from other instruments, Marcus touches base with other instrumentalists as well. This is an easy read for anyone looking to know a bit more about the science behind music education and how it can impact your life in a positive way. Older teens and adults. 

Let's Not Do That Again

Let's Not Do That Again by Grant Ginder, 336 pages

Nancy Harrison is a longtime New York Congresswoman running for the Senate, just weeks away from Election Day, when her daughter, Greta, is photographed destroying property during a political demonstration in Paris. Nancy sends her long-suffering son, Nick, to France to retrieve his sister, while she focuses on managing the scandal back home. But as Nancy's campaign team starts to investigate Greta's actions and friends, the situation becomes much more complex.

I love dysfunctional family stories (they make mine seem so normal!), and Ginder has a gift for telling dysfunctional family stories, which should make this a home run for me. For the most part, I loved not knowing how straight-laced Nancy and loose cannon Greta would interact, as well as how mediator Nick would deal with these two stubborn women. But then something happens about 3/4 of the way through the book that took the story past the point of believability and unfortunately, it never came back. I won't spoil it here, as some may have a completely different take than I do, but the ending just didn't work for me. If anyone else reads it though, I'd love to chat about it!

City Spies

 

City Spies by James Ponti  378 pp.

Sara Martinez gets caught hacking the New York foster care system to prove her foster parents were cheating the system for the money. When she gets caught, she faces juvenile detention until she is rescued by a mysterious man who convinces the court to release her into his custody. The man, known as "Mother" (reminiscent of the 1960s tv show "The Avengers"), is an agent with MI6, the British Secret Service. He introduces her to a group of adolescents from all over the world who form an elite spy unit. Each one has a special talent and the group needed a computer whiz as it's last member. The kids, each named for their hometowns - Sara is now Brooklyn, are trained for their mission to attend an international youth summit in Paris and thwart the disaster planned by a villain known only as "The Purple Thumb". This was a selection for my Treehouse Book Club. This is the first book in a series that is now up to four books. 

The Spare Man

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal, 357 pages

Tesla Crane and her new spouse, Shal Steward, are honeymooning aboard the Lindgren, an intergalactic cruise liner, when they witness the death of another passenger. They're first on the scene, and Shal is arrested for the murder, leaving Tesla angry, confused, and determined to clear her new spouse's name, whatever the cost — and fortunately, she has plenty of resources to do so. What ensues is a classic murder mystery set on a spaceship that defies most laws of physics (Kowal even notes in an afterword that nobody but a cruise line would build this ship). It's a fun caper, full of intrigue, nods to golden age detective stories, classic cocktails, and the support cutest dog in the galaxy. I loved it, and I would love to read more about Tesla, Shal, and Gimlet (the aforementioned dog).

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, 488 pages

After joining an expedition to hunt down the mysterious "monster" that is destroying ships around the world, Professor Arronax is shocked to discover that the creature is instead a submarine piloted by the unpredictable Captain Nemo, a man who has made the sea his home. When Nemo sinks the ship they're traveling on, Arronax, his servant Conseil, and Canadian whaler Ned Land are taken aboard Nemo's Nautilus, with no hope of escape. But Nemo does give them a grand tour of the world's oceans, exploring and interacting with thousands of sea creatures and geological formations.

Let's face it: everyone is familiar with this book, and anyone who knows anything about it knows there's a giant squid attack (heck, it's depicted on the cover!). But the squid attack happens REALLY late in the book, after way too much scientific description of every type of fish, mollusk, sea mammal, and coral in the ocean. I appreciate the role this book (originally published in 1870) played in introducing people to the oceanic realms, and the role it played in helping establish the science fiction genre. However, I really could have done without the lists of scientific names, as well as the gleeful slaughter of various sea creatures and the depiction of any non-white people as "savages." So this one gets a "meh" from me.

Hell is Empty

 

Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson  312 pp,

This is another in the Sheriff Walt Longmire series. In this episode, the transport of a group of dangerous criminals to be transferred to Federal agents is sabotaged. Longmire and others are forced into a chase with a "last man standing" scenario. Eventually it is Longmire against psychopathic killer, Reynaud Shade. To complicate matters they are in the wilderness in the Bighorn Mountains as a winter storm increases in intensity and prevents backups from getting to them. The seemingly indestructible Longmire is guided by the enormous Virgil White Buffalo who may or may not actually be a spirit guide. Intense. Impeccably narrated by George Guidall.

Jar City

 

Jar City: A Reyjavik Thriller by Arnaldur Indridason 278 pp.

Inspector Erlandur Sveinsson and his team investigate the murder of a man in his home. The more they dig into the man's history in hope of a clue to the murderer, the more awful things they learn about the victim. The least of the awful things is his history as a rapist and the consequences of those rapes on his victims. In addition to the murder investigation, Erlandur is unofficially investigating a runaway bride who happens to be known by his daughter. There's a lot of sordid stuff in this well written mystery. I've read a couple others by this author and will seek out more.

Junkyard Dogs

 

Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson  306 pp.

This is my favorite so far in the Sheriff Walt Longmire series. In spite of ever increasing body count, there is more humor in the dialogue and situations that the Sheriff finds himself in than in the previous books. That's not to discount the whodunit aspects of the story where just when you think you've figured out who the murderer is, he becomes another victim. It's just not often in reading about murder investigations that you find yourself laughing out loud. The verbal "abuse" he gets from his staff is only part of the fun. And yes, there is a junkyard with dogs. George Guidall does his usual excellent job of narrating the audiobook.

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng

 

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng: A Pendergast Novel by Douglas J. Preston & Lincoln Child  400 pp.

This latest from the Preston/Child duo sees the enigmatic Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast in an uncharacteristically low state of being. His ward, Constance, has undertaken a dangerous mission involving time travel to find her lost siblings and deal with the evil Dr. Leng who killed her sister and sentenced her to a life of immortality. Pendergast undertakes his own mission to retrieve Constance. The second storyline involves the murder of a curator at the Museum of Natural History in New York, the site of many strange and dangerous episodes in previous Pendergast novels. Pendergast's old friend Detective D'Agosta is once again investigating. A third storyline sees the return of FBI agent Coldmoon who is investigating the murder of a Native American artisan and the disappearance of an important Native artifact. This 21st volume in the series is not my favorite which is not to say it is bad. It's just that all the different stories seem crowded together.  

The Leavers

 The Leavers by Lisa Ko, 396 pages

Two stories told from the separate experiences of a mom and a son, about a seemingly single event (that one day the mom doesn't come home) which completely changes each life. Both characters are courageous and determined, and both do their best to carve the Self despite so many forces against them and far beyond their control. I really enjoyed this book.

A Heart That Works

A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney, 180 pages

 A grieving love letter to Love, about losing his young son. Funny, angry, sad and dark... and really, funny--the kind of funny that makes you laugh through tears.

 

Heaven is a Place on Earth

 Heaven is a Place on Earth by Adrian Shirk, 352 pages.

It is hard to give this book a fair review, because it is mostly not the books fault that it isn't what I thought it was. I thought this was a book on the history of American utopia movements, which sounded like an interesting topic that I didn't know very much about. What is actually is is a memoir of the author traveling and doing research about utopian movements, and then using them as a framework to look at her own life (which is why she qualifies a Waffle House as a utopia). 

I'm afraid I found this book extremely tedious, and I don't feel like I know much more about utopian movements than when I started (Shirk has a tendency to go "and it went pretty much like all other utopian movements" without really getting into details about what that means), but I feel like if I was a person who liked memoirs more it may have been a better experience. I would definitely only recommend this book if your looking for a memoir of a millennial struggling for a sense of connectedness, and not if you're looking for an informational history text. 

Passing

Passing by Nella Larsen, 141 pages.

Irene Redfield, who normally lives in the thriving Harlem of the 1920s, is on a trip to Chicago when she meets her childhood friend, Clare Kendry, by chance at a hotel. Clare has been passing as white for decades, even marrying a racist white man who doesn't know her secret. What follows is a meditation on race in early 20th century America.

I'm afraid I was pretty disappointed in this book. I found the prose pretty stiff and hard to get through, and Irene's mind a pretty unpleasant place to be. I also found the entire last act confusing and abrupt, and the ending even more so. This won't be making my list of favorite books I'm afraid.

The Way of Kings

 The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, 1005 pages.

This book is truly epic fantasy (if the thousand pages wasn't enough of a hint). The first book follows (mostly) three story lines. It is difficult to describe the story lines because they are all tightly tied to the very elaborate world Sanderson creates, but most of them involve strange powers that haven't been seen in millennia, since the Knights Radiant betrayed humanity. 

This is actually a reread for me, but it had been more than five years since I read the book, and I caught so many more things the second time (I was highlighting up a storm on my ebook). I love these books because in a way they feel like a sort of ideal of high fantasy (multiple plot lines, alien landscapes, magic baked into everyday life) but it also feels very fresh and new. Part of that freshness is from how character driven it is. All of the characters are very three dimensional, and most are struggling under heavy loads. I wouldn't necessarily have expected one of the best depictions of depression I've ever read to come from a high fantasy novel. I hadn't been planning on rereading the whole series all in a row, but after finishing this one I couldn't help myself from starting in on book two. There are currently four books in the series, and the fifth book (which is supposed to be the end of this arc) is anticipated next year (hence the rereading for things I've forgotten). I strongly recommend this book for anyone who likes fantasy and has a bit of time on their hands!

After the Party

After the Party by Lisa Jewell (2010) 442 pages

Jem and Ralph have been together for eleven years, parents for three. In the years since they started their family, stresses have turned their once-loving relationship into a more perfunctory one. Ralph didn't really want children at the time, and agreed to it reluctantly, not putting much of himself into the day-to-day needs of the family. An artist by profession, he mostly retreats to his studio to paint, smoke, daydream. When Ralph tells Jem that he wants to travel from their home in London to visit his friend in California, she's outraged that he would leave her alone with their newborn and three-year-old for a whole week. She finally agrees to his trip, because she can tell he's as unhappy as she is: something's got to change.

The story initially flips from the starting point, back in time a year, and then catches up, showing their history, alternating between their points of view. The book is a full-length rendition of "Can This Relationship Be Saved?" Mulling over the trajectory of the book, is it reasonable? In some ways, it's spot-on. In other ways, I wonder.

Beartown

Weird picture, yes, but when your phone matches
your book, you have to show that off.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman, 418 pages

Beartown is a hockey town through and through. And for the first time in 20 years, the Beartown Bears junior team is heading to the national semi-finals, success riding on the shoulders of 17-year-old phenom Kevin Ehrdahl. If the juniors can win it all, the slowly dying Beartown may finally see some growth led by a new hockey academy. But while the team secures a place in the final, the post-game celebrations take a violent turn, removing Kevin from competition and pitting his word against that of the club manager's 15-year-old daughter, Maya. In a town where team loyalty is king, everyone from players to coaches to sponsors to fans are now trying to sort out their next move, and whether to believe the star athlete or the girl who had a crush on him.

This book was recommended to me because I love hockey, and while that's true, I don't think that's the selling point here. I can think of many books that celebrate hockey (and I'm happy to hand out recommendations), but this isn't one of them; it's merely the frame upon which sports fanaticism hangs in this book. What this book does is create an uncomfortably familiar and realistic situation and explore the many facets of it, from those of the victim and her family to the perpetrator and his family, from the cowed teammates to the fans who loudly protest that their star athlete would never do such a thing (if only because admitting so would also throw away their chances of winning). The residents of Beartown are nuanced and very real — I promise that you'll recognize someone among these characters — and Backman's handling of a delicate subject is excellently handled. An excellent novel.

The Second First Chance

The Second First Chance by Mona Shroff (2022) 347 pages

Riya and Dhillon lived next door to each other and were best friends while growing up. Their parents came from India, making close connections between the two families. When Riya and Dhillon were fifteen and starting to date, tragedy struck: A fire broke out in their townhomes, killing Riya's brother and Dhillon's father. The book begins 15 years in the future, as Riya, a paramedic, is undergoing training to become a firefighter, hiding this information from most of the people she knows, thinking that they won't understand her need to keep others from suffering the fate of her brother. Dhillon is a veterinarian, trying to get by in an old facility he bought, hoping to upgrade it someday. It's clear that he and Riya have been estranged for all of the years since their shared losses in the fire, but in spite of their estrangement, they both seem to be in love with each other, but afraid to approach each other.

One has to accept the idea that these longtime friends fell apart after the fire, while still pining for each other, which was a hard sell for me. Other than that, it was a nice story, with a fair share of Indian culture, as well as firehouse culture, permeating the story.

Axiom's End

  Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis (2020, 384 pages)

In 2007, whistleblower Nils Ortega is launched into fame when he publishes a top-secret CIA memo revealing the existence of aliens on Earth (California, even!). While his estranged sister Luciana, ex-wife, and children try to avoid him and lead normal lives, his daughter Cora has no choice but to face the extra-terrestrials -- literally. The book opens with Luciana's co-worker committing suicide suddenly, a series of unexplained meteors and power surges, and... is Cora being followed?

By placing it in the recent past, Ellis didn't need to establish culture or government. We all know what George Bush and the CIA were like, and she could focus on speculating their response to visiting aliens. I couldn't put it down because there was no way to know what an alien was going to do next or how it would play out.

The best way I can describe Ellis' writing style is thick and juicy (sorry), which was exacerbated by the audiobook reader's incredible acting. It has thoughtful relationships, but I feel like the dialogue is heavier than the character development. The first quarter or so is stumbling through Cora's confusion and life on the run, which made me want to read more but also made me worried I missed something. Stick with it, though!

While it touches on alien biology and technology, the focus is more on conspiracy, government workings, and alien relationships with each other on Earth and with the few humans who know of them.

Thank you Kara for recommending it to me (read her reviews here and here), and you can also read Regan's review here.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

 

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937) 238 pages

I listened to the audiobook through Libby. Ruby Dee is amazing at performing and narrating the story. She makes every other skillful audiobook narrator I've heard seem like they are only giving a 70% effort. The various character voices and emotive delivery are stellar. Hurston's story feels like a legend about the founding of the black town of Eatonville, Florida, where she grew up, and where she did anthropological studies in college. We follow the life of Janie. As a child she is raised by her grandmother and married off young to a much older man. She is raised to be obedient and stays put for years. Later, she runs off with a smooth talker who has dreams of being the mayor of a new black town. As the mayor's wife she is treated with respect, but is caught in a sort of gilded cage. As a still young widow, Janie meets perhaps her great love, and starts life anew again. She begins to enjoy life and find her individuality for the first time. The ending crashes through fairly rapidly with a hurricane hitting Florida, a rabid dog bite, and a brief courtroom drama. Hurston really masters the language in a poetic way with the dialect of blacks in the south in the 1930s.

Plum Rains

Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax, 389 pages

In near-future Tokyo, Filipina nurse Angelica is struggling to make ends meet (and pay off the loan shark from whom she and her brother both borrowed) while caring for Sayoko, a cantankerous Japanese woman who is approaching her 100th birthday. Just ten days before the birthday celebration, however, Sayoko's son sends her a prototype caretaker robot, with whom Sayoko quickly bonds and to whom she begins telling decades-old secrets. Angelica is highly suspicious of this robot, who she fears is an attempt to replace her, but can't help admitting is helpful as a Sayoko-sitter while Angelica tries to sort out her own issues.

With its setting in 2029 and a focus on some very real issues from the past, present, and future — including the exploitation of "comfort women" during World War II, immigration, climate change, artificial intelligence, Japan's aging population, and our increasing reliance on technology — this book is an odd mix of science fiction and historical fiction. But it presents a lot to ruminate on, and I can't wait to discuss it with the Orcs & Aliens next week.

The Man Who Died Twice

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman (2021) 355 pages

I am grateful to the colleague who recommended the Thursday Murder Club Mystery series. What a lark as four retired seventy-somethings—Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim—have quite the mystery set in their British laps. Douglas, a man from Elizabeth's past, slips a letter under her door inviting her to visit. As it turns out, he made a miscalculation when he broke into the home of a man who acts as a banker for major crime gangs. Douglas was caught on camera and ID'd, and with 20 million pounds worth of diamonds missing—diamonds belonging to a mafia member from New York—his life is in danger. Douglas asks that Elizabeth and her friends help keep him safe until the fuss shakes out.

The friendships and character development are excellent: for the four septuagenarians, police officers (Chris and Donna) whom they got to know during the events that were covered in the first book of the series, and even for some of the minor characters. The point of view changes with each chapter, and I have to say that Joyce's chapters are quite the trip! Elizabeth is more serious; her career experience with MI5 has kept her level-headed and calm. Ibrahim is a somewhat nervous psychiatrist. It's harder to describe Ron, but suffice it to say he's always game. Even when things sometimes look bleak, humor lightens the mood, and the strong bonds of friendship are heartwarming. I do want to read the first book of the series, as well as the later ones, but popping into the series in the middle didn't detract from my enjoyment at all.

The Silence of Bones

 

The Silence of Bones by June Hur, 336 pages

This young adult historical mystery takes place in 1800 Joseon (Korea). Seol is an orphaned teenager, indentured to the capital's police bureau. As men are forbidden from touching women they are not related to, damos like Seol are used to investigate crimes against women. She gets involved in the murder investigation of a noblewoman found with her throat slit, and forms a friendship with the lead investigator, Inspector Han. But the murder of the woman is only the first, and both Seol and the inspector have secrets in their backgrounds that may or may not have bearing on the case.

June Hur's prose is beautiful, and I loved all of the period detail she put into this novel. I had no idea that Korea had such advanced techniques for solving crime in 1800, and about how the introduction of Catholicism from China influenced many of the events during this time period. It really shone a light on a place that we do not study here in the West, and I always appreciate broadening my historical knowledge. I really liked that Seol is the narrator of this story, and we can hear her thoughts and observations of the world around her. I actually cried at the end (and not just because the book was over). I have two more of June Hur's books at home to read, and am really looking forward to being immersed in Joseon-era Korea again!

The Q

 The Q by Amy Tintera, 352 pages

You're probably thinking--why in the world would I want to read a novel about a horrible pandemic right after a horrible pandemic? Well, I love dystopian science fiction, so that doesn't bother me. However, if you do not want to read about people getting sick and dying, skip this one for now!

This young adult novel takes place in what used to be Austin, TX. It is now known only as "The Q," the quarantine zone where a horrible virus first started spreading, and the United States reacted by walling everyone in the city inside. No one can leave, and no one can enter. The citizens inside who survived the virus have limited immunity, but most of them stay alive due to artificial organs. The main characters are Maisie Rojas, a daughter of the family who controls the South Q, and Lennon Pierce, the son of the Democratic nominee for president. He is kidnapped and dropped into the middle of the quarantine zone at the beginning of the book, and Maisie is tasked with helping him cross the North and escape through the only exit.

This novel was fast-paced, sometimes violent, and blessed with two likable main characters. I especially liked Maisie and her fiery personality. The world they inhabit is not black-and-white, but there is always a reason behind their actions. I'm also a big fan of banter in my young adult novels, and this one had some great moments. I actually would have liked for it to be longer, because I wanted to know more about this place and these characters, but the ending was satisfying. If you are a fan of young adult dystopia, then give this title a chance!

Magnolia Flower

 

Magnolia Flower by Zora Neale Hurston, adapted by Ibram X. Kendi, illustrated by Loveis Wise, 40 pages

This is a gorgeous adaptation of the folktale by the beloved Ms. Hurston. National Book Award winner and bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi adapts the tale for young readers, aided by the lush artwork of Loveis Wise. This picture book tells the story of Magnolia Flower, the daughter of an escaped slave and an indigenous woman who fled the Trail of Tears. After the Civil War, a man of letters comes to their community, and Magnolia falls in love with him. However, her father does not approve and so the couple run away, only to return many years later.

What is unique about this tale is that it is told by the River that Magnolia grew up around. It is a tale of love and resilience, and the connection between the land and the people. It also shows the connection between Black and Indigenous people--how some of them were able to build community together, in spite of the United States trying to destroy and subjugate them. And the illustrations! This book is large, and I was so glad because the pictures needed that space. The art bursts with life and color, and I think children will want to stare at them for hours. Highly recommended for all ages!

Gibberish

Gibberish by Young Vo, 40 pages

This adorable picture book is about Dat's first day of school in a new country. His mother warns him that he won't be able to understand anyone because of the language difference. This is quickly proven to be true, as all Dat hears is gibberish! He feels very isolated, until a girl in his class decides to befriend him. She uses pictures in order to teach him English words. The day ends on a high note, as he introduces his new friend to his mom after school!

Young Vo took a creative approach to illustrating what it is like when you cannot understand anyone around you. The gibberish is written in a Wingdings font, and everyone except Dat looks like a Cuphead-like monster instead of a human. They are also in black and white, whilst Dat is in color. I think this is a unique way to show how isolated Dat feels, which will spark empathy in the children who read this book. I know the author took his personal experience moving to the United States as a child to write and illustrate this book. Definitely share with your kids!