The Rolling Stones

 The Rolling Stones: The Biography, by Bob Spitz, 704 pgs. © 2026

It's an old question--Beatles or Stones? Not that anyone probably cares anymore, both groups have certainly aged out of creating anything new with any cultural significance. But Spitz's book makes a compelling case for the Stones as the greatest rock band in the world. At first, the band gave themselves that title but soon it started to stick and followed them wherever they went. This is a mighty tome filled with basically everything that happened to the group from their auspicious start to playing a sold-out in St. Louis in 2021 (I was there!), just after they lost drummer Charlie Watts to cancer. If nothing else, the Stones might just be the greatest band in the world because--unlike their contemporaries and sometimes nemeses, the Beatles--the Stones stuck together through it all--drugs, infidelity, bad shows, lost band members, more drugs, new band members, bad reviews, even more drugs, etc. It's insane the number of times Keith and Mick stood in front of a judge and faced the prospect of doing serious hard time for drug possession--and somehow got lucky each time and managed to sidestep prison in order to keep rockin'. While I appreciated Spitz's researched approach, he's clearly a superfan and there's little deep reflection here about many of the Stones' must challenging days. Sometimes it almost reads like a laundry list, with lots of events happening in quick succession--there's only one chapter devoted to the mysterious death of Brian Jones, for example. And only one covering the disaster at Altamont. And there's no mention of Chuck Berry decking Keith Richards during the filming of concert documentary Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll. Still, this is a fantastic read for anyone interested in the overall life and times of one of the most iconic rock bands in human history. Recommended for adults. 

Agnes Sharp and the Wedding to Die For

 

Agnes Sharp and the Wedding to Die For by Leonie Swann (2026) 340 pages

Agnes Sharp, a retired policewoman, owns a house which she shares with other octogenarians. When one of them, Agnes's good friend Bernadette, decides to marry a former hitman, Agnes is upset that the household's composition will change when they move out. Later, when a note comes to Bernadette that indicates bad things will occur if the marriage happens, Agnes and the other household members keep it from Bernadette. They continue to plan the wedding. They spend an inordinate amount of time trying to add to the guest list to get to twenty, as required by the venue, including going online to find dates and paying some people to attend as well.

Meanwhile, when bad things DO start to happen, Agnes and her friends tamper with the evidence because they don't want Bernadette to worry. It feels like a Keystone Kops kind of scenario. One resident likes to pretend she's dead. She also has a snake and a turtle. (By the way, the reader is privvy to the animals' thoughts.) Another resident has a video channel. Agnes finds herself engaged to marry another resident, but is not sharing that information. These eighty-year-olds sometimes seem like children. The blurb on the book's cover indicates that readers of the Thursday Murder Club series (by Richard Osman) will find something to like: Not really. If I enjoyed slapstick, maybe. And the ending? Not at all what I foresaw. But maybe you'll like it?

Canto Volumes 1-5

Canto: If I Only Had a Heart by David M. Booher with art by Drew Zucker (2020) 152 pages 

This series is clearly inspired by The Wizard of Oz, which is why I picked it up. The artist is also bringing the style of Jim Henson's Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal to the visuals, which I honestly find a bit ugly. But hey, it's dark fantasy with a bit of steampunk. The writer has also borrowed some ingredients from Dante's levels in The Divine Comedy. There is a Tin Man, a lion-like creature, and an elfish Dorothy with a small pet dragon. There is an alternative Wizard conjuring fantastic, frightening, but false, sights. There is a quest on a yellow brick road to an emerald tower. There is the story of a traditional hero's journey that ironically leads to the villainous overlord in the tower. There is tons of action centered around our tiny hero Canto. The action and close-up detail frames are not as crisp and clear as I would like. Overall, I'm liking the writing, but not entirely loving the art.

Canto: The Hollow Men by Booher with art by Zucker (2021) 168 pages

I liked the introduction of a half mechanical witch that reminded me slightly of Mombi from Oz. I liked a little more character development for three of Canto's tin knight friends. Scarecrows appear and bat things stand in for winged monkeys, but they feel extraneous. The fight with the furies is exciting. Again the dark fantasy story and themes are enjoyable, while the art is of mixed quality.

Canto: Tales of the Unnamed World by Booher with art by various artists (2024) 128 pages

I liked this volume more overall. The giants are not my favorite characters from the first two volumes, but the first three issues of this book spin a fun quest in the giants' city of Brob. I like that the new artist brings more light to his panels. The second half of this book involves a storytelling challenge. I like the other artists who get to contribute their different styles. The Bard character who is blocking the bridge is a wonderful mix of the Patchwork Girl from Oz, the Cheshire Cat from Wonderland, and Anansi from West African folklore.

Canto: Lionhearted by Booher with art by Zucker (2024) 152 pages

This leads up to many double page battle scenes. I still think the art isn't as clear as it could be with so many tangled bodies and limbs making the action confusing. This book leans more into Dante's Divine Comedy and that is not as exciting for me. We do get a little backstory on a couple supporting characters.

Canto: A Place Like Home by Booher with art by Zucker (2025) 160 pages 

Nice wrap up of Canto's themes, loss and hope. Here's an inspirational quote from one page, "For our days that have passed! For our friends who are gone! For the hearts we possess! Our life is our own." The Shrouded Man is a threat right out of Dante's Inferno. Aulaura the elf's home life brings good emotional beats to the story, but was introduced a bit too late. Several battle scenes still have the same art issues that I explained in previous volumes.

The Bright Sword

 

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman, 688 pages.

Collum arrives at Camelot desperate to prove himself and earn a place on the round table. Unfortunately, when he arrives he finds only the D-listers of the round table, the last surviving knights after King Arthur and most of the truly great knight died two weeks before at the Battle of Camlann. But, worthy or not, they are pretty much the last traces of the old government, and so must desperately scramble for any sort of quest or sign to find a new king of Britain, and determine the future of the land. 

This book is great for fans of Arthurian legend. It is told in alternating snippets of plot and legends, which all come together to make it really feel like Arthuriana. It also makes for a nearly 700 page book with almost zero momentum, which isn't everyone's thing. I found myself really enjoying this book every time I picked it up, but I also didn't find myself reaching for it with any urgency. The prose is very good, and the characters are interesting, so if plot isn't a major concern I can definitely recommend this novel. Also a must read for die-hard fans of Arthurian legend. 

King Cheer

 

King Cheer by Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm, and Jamie Green, 160 pages.

This comic retelling of King Lear takes place at the same high school as the first book in the series, 12th Grade Night. Leah steps down from the cheer captaincy that was her life after a college disappointment, and the competition to take over as captain shatters the team and opens deep rifts among friends. 

I wasn't sure that a tragedy would work as well in a high school setting as a comedy, but I was really impressed by how thoughtfully this was written. It is true that it's more funny than sad, and the ending definitely isn't a tragedy, but I do feel like it meaningful engaged with the themes of the original. This is a really cool graphic novel, and I'm looking forward to more being published in the series. 

The Keeper

The Keeper (Cal Hooper #3) by Tana French (2026), 496 pages 

The Keeper concludes French's Cal Hooper series. I will miss Cal, a retired Chicago police detective, and his struggles to feel at home in the entrenched Irish village of Ardnakelty. I really enjoyed the first installment of the series, The Searcher, and mainly continued on as I like Cal's character. I just did not enjoy #2 and #3 as much. French is VERY wordy. While she does a fantastic job of evoking the essence of Ardnakelty and its people, the story gets bogged down with the minutia. Unlike #2 (The Hunter), though, you actually get to the mystery in the first third of the book! yay! I appreciate French bringing topical issues to her novels and The Keeper brings home issues of change vs. tradition that many communities are facing. What I did not care for was the ending. I do not want to give spoilers, but I don't believe the character would do what the character did. 

After the Fall

After the Fall by Edward Ashton, 277 pages

More than a century after the fall of human civilization and the appearance of aliens on Earth, humans have lost autonomy and are owned by the grays who invaded. Born and bred to serve grays, John belongs to Martok, a gray who floats from one low-paying job to another, often without a place to live and barely enough to feed both of them. But Martok is a constant optimist, and when he leverages John's bond to start a business serving grays in need of rest and relaxation (even though grays are definitely not into that), John is understandably concerned. Especially when he learns that Martok has just 60 days until the first payment before John's bond is transferred to a gray that's likely to murder him just for fun. He'll have to figure out something to make this new business work, ideally something that won't end in death.

This is an interesting take on post-contact dystopia, in that the story is human-centric, even if the world isn't. I appreciated the way that the author makes us consider how exactly we define humanity, intelligence, and autonomy, but without sacrificing the plot and with a solid helping of dry humor. The relationship between John and his fellow bondsperson Six is both relatable and fresh, and nothing is ever quite as it seems in this book. A quick and thought-provoking read.

The Obake Code

The Obake Code by Makana Yamamoto, 352 pages

Three years after her "last heist," hacker Malia is getting bored with fixing cyber fights and living off the spoils. Convenient, then, that gangsters catch her redhanded and force her to help take down a crooked politician by stealing and decrypting some incriminating documents. However, after getting her crew together, Malia gains the attention of Maddox, a man who performed illegal experiments on her as a child. Yes, those experiments made her the best hacker around, but they also caused a world of mental, physical, and emotional trauma. So Maddox's arrival as right-hand man to the politician astronomically complicates the heist.

This was billed as a standalone novel in the world of Hammajang Luck (Yamamoto's first novel), and while you can read it without reading that first book, I don't really think you should. There are lots of references to the first book, and since I hadn't read it, I was left feeling like I was missing something. The vibes of the criminal crew skew toward The Fast & the Furious (especially with the prevalence of cruising and car thefts going on in the story), and honestly, the drama with Maddox overwhelmed the plot to the point where I forgot what they were meant to be stealing by the time they got there. So cool vibes and a decent found family, but maybe not the best heist novel out there.

The Republic of Memory

The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed, 480 pages

For 200 years, the Safina has been traveling away from Earth, heading toward a new planet that will house the thousands of colonists encased in stasis pods. Along with all those colonists, however, are thousands of crew members, many of whom are the descendants of the colonists and spend their lives keeping the Safina heading toward its new home. However, there are several factions aboard that don't think the ship should be using such a large amount of energy to maintain the stasis pods for the people who ruined the Earth they were forced to flee from. And despite a heavily regulated and structured world aboard the ship, some crew members are determined to bring change, starting with waking up their ancestors.

Following a wide range of characters, this debut novel is a captivating and wonderfully told story of revolution, based loosely on the Arab Spring uprising of the early 2010s.  The only minor quibble I had with this book is the Clockwork Orange-esque slang used by revolutionary crew members. I was listening to the book, and it took me quite a while to figure out what they were saying as they skipped around languages and euphemisms. But overall, the points of view are compelling and varied, the plot is propulsive, and the cliffhanger ending has me chomping at the bit for the next book.

Ungifted Series

Ungifted series by Gordon Korman 

Ungifted (2012), 280 pgs.
Donovan Curtis is not the first student that teachers would describe as particularly "gifted." Impulsive: yes. Creative: certainly, in terms of developing unique ways of getting into trouble. Gifted: not the first word that comes to mind. So, when Donovan mistakenly ends up at the Academy for Scholastic Distinction in classes with kids who have IQs twice his own, he feels a little out of place. However, for the sake of his family and his dignity, he is determined to fit in. So what if he is not academically "gifted," Donovan brings his own strengths to the table. 

Supergifted (2018), 297 pgs.
Noah Youkilis has always been extraordinary. With an IQ over 200, he can perform complex calculations and analyses in his sleep; he can master any academic skill without even trying; but what he'd really like to perfect is the ability to be normal. Finally, Noah's chance has arrived, now that he has been given the chance to attend the "regular" middle school in his district. With Donovan's help and Noah's enthusiasm, what can go wrong?

Hypergifted (2026), 260 pgs. 
Donovan Curtis is going to college--four whole years early! Noah Youkilis, the thirteen year old certified genius, has been accepted into Wilderton University, and he needs someone his age with him to help ease his transition from middle school into college. That's where Donovan comes in. Working as a camp counselor while Noah attends classes, Donovan does his best to make the most of his "free" time, which as it turns out is mostly spent keeping his campers--and Noah--out of trouble. It doesn't take a high IQ to know that this summer will be a chaotic one.  

The first book in this series was one of my favorites growing up, and I think it is the strongest so far (although that could just be my nostalgia talking). Ungifted does a good job of recognizing that there are many different ways to be "gifted," you just need to give people the attention and space to show it. With Supergifted, Korman took a turn for the dramatic, upping the ante quite a bit, but still included a good message: if you give people a chance, they might surprise you. These first two books are all about perception--how people perceive others based on certain assumptions and how to cut through those assumptions and get to know the person underneath. Hypergifted is more of a story written for entertainment. Reading about Noah and Donovan getting into shenanigans on a college campus is fun, but there doesn't seem to be a deeper message--which is okay! Overall this series is a pretty fun ride for middle-grade readers (and fully grown adult me). 

Everything in Color

 Everything in Color: A Love Story by Stephanie Stalvey (2026) 528 pages

I am loving the works publisher 23rd St, under the umbrella of First Second Books, is putting out in the world. This shares some themes with Craig Thompson's Blankets that I reviewed earlier this year. This story of a church kid growing up in purity culture and later deconstructing their Christian beliefs through falling in love with a man (a seminary student) and becoming a mother is so honest. The art (both black & white and color) is stunning. I especially love her use of the wolf imagery. Stephanie Stalvey has the revelation that the message of love, sold by many churches, is in reality primarily concerned with obedience and a punitive system for sin. The narrative of this graphic memoir is clear and strong.

The Butler

The Butler by Clare Macintosh, 201 pages

Freelance butler Baxter has never had trouble with the uberwealthy in his career. But when he arrives at a glamorous estate in Cannes (during the film festival, of course), he's in for a challenge. The "caretakers" have been hosting wild parties, and the family renting the mansion for the duration of the festival have more than their fair share of secrets and grudges. Throw in a pickpocket, some attempted robberies, and,  eventually, a dead body in the pool, and well, yes, Baxter is in over his head. However, he's determined to solve the many mysteries in the house, whether his clients want him to or not. (Not so spoiler: the butler did not do it in this one.)

The setup for this book is kind of fantastic, seeing the rich and obnoxious through the eyes of the high-end hired help. However, it didn't really follow through on that promise. It's too slow to be a thriller, and the dead body doesn't really appear until the middle of the book, making it a bit short on the mystery side too. That said, the setting for this book, both the mansion and Cannes itself, are so wonderfully created on the page that I felt like I was there. Or maybe I just wished I was.

And Side By Side They Wander

And Side By Side They Wander by Molly Tanzer, 112 pages

In the very near future, humans have nearly destroyed the planet, without any real way to fix it. In came an alien race that offered technologies and other solutions to Earth's problems, and all they asked in return was to take some of the best art humans had to offer and display it a their vast treelike space station/museum. The aliens would, of course, give it all back once humans had sufficiently gotten their act together. Three hundred years after the art left earth, we've managed to meet the criteria the aliens laid out so that we can get our art back. But they don't want to give it back, and they've repeatedly put off any efforts at resolution. So what can we do but send some forgeries with a crew of clones, synthetic humans, and a pilot from a different alien race to steal the originals back?

This is billed as a science fiction heist novel (which is like catnip to me), but that's not quite right. Yes, there's a heist, but that's kind of in the background of the main character's musings on what makes something art, what make someone human, why real art is more valued than forgeries, and the nature of museums in general. (That super-helpful alien race sounds suspiciously like the British Empire from time to time) It's a decent book though, one that would be good for a book discussion as there are PLENTY of meaty topics shoved into a very short book.

Angel Down

 Angel Down by Daniel Kraus (2025), 283 pages

This is an intense book. I actually listened to it (narrated amazingly by Kirby Heyborne) and felt unsettled through pretty much the whole novel. Forewarning - if your read it, it is ONE sentence. 

It is very hard to describe or categorize this book. On one level, it is the story of Private Cyril Bagger during WWI. On another level, it is humanity's reckoning with our collective morality (or lack thereof) and our inability to (on a group level) progress. There are a lot of heavy topics addressed through the background of war and the discovery of an Angel. I would not call this book fantasy, nor is it sci-fiction or magical realism. Maybe it is the reality that sits in the back of our minds and presents itself when under extreme duress. I don't know, but it is worth a read.

Isola

Isola by Allegra Goodman (2025), 346 pages

Isola is loosely based on the life of Marguerite de La Rocque de Roberval who was stranded on an island off of New France (Canada) in the 1500s. Fascinatingly, her story is known because the regaled her saga to the Queen of Navarre who was a known writer and included it in her book Heptameron. 

We follow Marguerite from her life as a wealthy young woman to one that (as a woman) has no livelihood due to the death of her father. She is put under guardianship and is forced to join her Guardian, an explorer for the King, on an expedition to New World. During this time, she falls in love with her Guardian's assistant. The Guardian becomes enraged about this and strands Marguerite, his assistant, and Marguerite's maid on an island. 

The book has a heavy, almost gothic feel to it. While this is definitely a fictionalized version of the real events, I am honestly amazed she survived. The 1500s were no joke on the life-expectancy front. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but would have loved a little more detail on how she actually survived it all. I would have also enjoyed a little more background on her Guardian and the Assistant. The book covers a lot so tends to stay a bit surface level and I wanted the nitty-gritty.

The Deep Sky

 The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei (2023) 399 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla. This was recommended by author Mary Robinette Kowal when she spoke and signed books at Left Bank Books last year. There is an explosion on a deep space ship called the Phoenix that kills a small number of crew members. Who did it? The crew had spent ten years in cryogenic sleep. Now they are awake at about the halfway point to an unknown planet. The entire 80-something crew members are women. They are all expected to be impregnated by sperm donors, give birth in space, and then the new generation will continue humanity's existence on the planet that is their destination. Asuka is Japanese-American and a generalist with some skills in many departments. She survived the explosion when she was about to go on a space walk for repairs. She becomes the amateur detective tasked with finding who is sabotaging the mission. A large portion of the story is flashbacks. The Earth is facing environmental collapse. There were hundreds of pre-teen girls from many countries that applied for a highly competitive astronaut training program. We get to know a select group of these girls through their pre-teen and teen years. Some will be part of the deep space mission, some will be eliminated. Their relationships and stressful training adds great context. Countries are competing to have representatives make it through the program besides the interpersonal competition over grades. On Earth and in space virtual and augmented reality is very popular. On the Phoenix, there is a den mother type AI and augmented reality devices are implanted in the crew's temples. What could go wrong as Asuka investigates who planted the explosives??

A Crown of Stars

A Crown of Stars by Shana Abé, 352 pages

When Marguerite Jolivet was 18, she announced to her wealthy family that she was determined to become an actress, and moved to London with her younger sister, Inez, in tow. While still attending the society functions their mother demanded of them, Marguerite began a life treading the boards of the West End while Inez began a career as a master violinist. Before long, their careers took them around the world, with Marguerite beginning a career in silent films, and Inez and her new husband performing concerts worldwide. However, as they streaked toward fame and fortune, the world at large crept closer and closer to war. After the spark of World War I ignites, Marguerite and Inez's younger brother joins the military, and Marguerite books passage home on the fastest ship available, the RMS Lusitania. Those with a passing knowledge of history know what happened next.

This book is billed as a story of the Lusitania, and that disaster definitely features prominently in the second half of the book. However, I'd say that the true focus of the book is the very real Marguerite "Rita" Jolivet, her rise to fame, and the way that the German attack on the Lusitania affected Marguerite and her family. It's a captivating story about an amazing woman, and one I'd highly recommend.

The Fortunate Fall

The Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed (1996) 289 pages

I read an article by Jo Walton on the Reactor magazine website a couple years ago that caused me to put this on my reading list. The article is edited from the introduction Walton wrote for this re-released edition of the book. I was intrigued by this cyberpunk world that wasn't so engulfed in noir. Most of the story takes place around Kazakhstan and it is a dystopian future. Maya Andreyeva is a "camera" working for a news network. She has audio and video equipment implanted in her head that can live broadcast what she hears and sees. There are also "screeners," who are like virtual producers providing research and graphics and editing for the broadcasts. Maya wants to investigate a holocaust/genocide that a previous world power committed and then nearly completely covered up. This leads her to finding a survivor from that time named Voskresenye. Maya interviews Voskresenye and falls deep into his scheming plans. Voskresenye had nearly died and was brought back to life Frankenstein style. He can only move around in the world with a cyborg carapace, which I imagined as a crab-like exoskeleton. He takes the place of the mad scientist who created him and furthers the cybernetic experiments. There are a few elements of this story that feel like a fairy tale. It constantly surprised me with the twists in the plot. The title and Voskresenye's ultimate goal to eliminate emotional suppression and restore the soul is tied to his own brand of theology. Maya developing feelings for the new "screener" assigned to her is engrossing until the end, when their lesbian romance just becomes angsty.

The Man Who Died Twice

 The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, 422 pages.

All the favors Elizabeth called in over the course of the Thursday Murder Club made some waves, and now her ex-husband is poking around and trying to get her to solve a certain issue he's having with some stolen diamonds and an angry gangster. But this game is more dangerous than the last, and the people they're investigating this time wouldn't hesitate to kill some inconvenient septuagenarians.

This was a strong second entry to the series. The stakes were more personal, but Osman still managed to delicately balance the tone so it felt sincere without being too heavy. I get the feeling this series might get stronger the longer it goes on, as we get to know all of the characters better and they get more depth. I don't know that this was quite as funny as the first book, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it, and I will be reading more. 

What Kind of Paradise

 What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown (2025), 368 pages

I am always intrigued by living off the land stories, especially involving homesteading from scratch. A part of me would love to opt out of the world and be left to my own devises and live life how I want. This is a cautionary tale on that. Jane's father has moved them to an isolated area of Montana to escape the modern world and the rise of the internet age. As many parents try to do, he feels his purpose is to shield her from this corruption and raise her with his radical ideals. As often happens, children become curious and start questioning their parent’s beliefs. This does not always end well.

I enjoyed the novel and appreciate Brown's attempt to delve into the tension between progress and the loss of traditional ways. There is a reason living as a hermit or in an echo chamber is mentally unhealthy. Human's need a challenge or counter-balance to their internal thoughts. I would have loved for Brown to expand upon this. I feel the book is just the beginning to a larger story.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi, 352 pages

Cleopatra's story has been told hundreds of ways over thousands of years, yet none of them have really been from her point of view. But this book rectifies that. Instead of focusing on how she seduced Caesar and Marcus Antonius, and then how she died, this book paints a portrait of her as an intelligent woman, a loving mother, and a compassionate ruler. And since so much of what we know about Cleopatra is based on what historians who never met her told Plutarch, who was referenced by Shakespeare, who was read and performed by the masses, what El-Arifi writes in this book is just as likely to be true as anything else. It's captivating, it's thought-provoking, and it's a compelling story that doesn't end the way you think it might.

Also, I listened to the audiobook of this, and I must highly recommend it. It's read by Adjoa Andoh (best know to Bridgerton fans as the esteemed Lady Danbury) who does an AMAZING job of bringing an historic queen to life. The perfect narrator for this book.

City of Others

City of Others by Jared Poon, 368 pages

Benjamin Toh is a middle-management government employee, working with his understaffed Division for Engagement of Unusual Stakeholders to handle the supernatural elements of Singapore and keep them from interfering with the normal world. Generally speaking, they're pushed to the limit, fixing run-of-the-mill unexplained phenomena and getting rid of pesky fantastical beings, but when a boring check on a building glitching out of existence turns into something much more dangerous for the whole city, Ben and his motley crew must stretch themselves even farther, all while keeping it out of the attention of the higher-ups.

This is a delightful urban fantasy, full of Singaporean folklore and mythological creatures, and wonderful group of characters. I particularly love the way that Ben and his team have to balance their supernatural work with the mundane tasks (writing and re-writing memos) of bureaucracy. I was also pleasantly surprised by the way in which Ben's attitude toward work and his team's abilities changed as they got deeper and deeper into the problem. An excellent and diverse addition to the subgenre of urban fantasy.

Automatic Noodle

 Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz, 163 pages.

Four food service robots wake up in the flooded remains of the ghost kitchen they worked in, with no idea what happened or how to pay their bills. They decide to reopen the restaurant under their own power, making the kind of food they can actually be proud of, and building something just for them. But anti-bot sentiment is brewing in near future San Francisco, and a review bombing campaign threatens to destroy everything they worked to build.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really liked the characters, and some things were executed in a way that was very interesting. For example, I found the exploration of how PTSD would work for robots really interesting. However, I also found some of the world building pretty hard to buy, to the point of being nonsensical in some cases, which is sort of a problem in such a short book. I know many people who loved this one, but I'm afraid it's more mixed for me. I must acknowledge that the cover rules though. 

 

Interior Chinatown

 

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu, 288 pages.

Willis Wu is always playing the role of "Generic Asian Man," and in the world of Black and White, a procedural cop show eternally in production, he can't expect much more. Secretly he longs to be Kung Fu Guy, the ultimate for Asians who have made it. But these lofty, unreachable aspirations are just a restriction of a different sort, and Willis doesn't know how to dream a bigger American Dream.

I first reviewed this book here five years ago, and I definitely liked it better the second time. Perhaps it is more experience with contemporary literary fiction, but I found myself much more okay with the uncertainty on a reread, which left me in a better place to appreciate how phenomenal this book is thematically. Which I maybe should have guessed, since I've been thinking about it periodically for five years. This book deals with racism, assimilation, and the myth of the model minority in a way that is not only nuanced and thoughtful, but also frequently funny. Willis uses the structure of Hollywood to make sense of the nonsensical in life in a way that is very interesting, even if I found it deeply confusing on my first read. I would definitely recommend this book. 

REBEL GIRL

 Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna, 336 pgs, © 2024

This is a great punk rock memoir. The writing is short and choppy and it moves pretty quickly--by the second section, Hanna's covered most of her traumatic childhood and is trying to get into college. As the father of a daughter, a lot of this book was kind of a hard read for me. Hanna suffers though physical and emotional abuse after abuse, all at the hands of the men in her life, her own father being the worst--I wanted to push him off of a bridge. And then I found myself getting frustrated with the author when she would occasionally go back to him. She usually did that when she needed something, but I just wanted to shake her and shout "get away from this guy!" At a certain point, she's older and stronger and cuts him off entirely. On some level, this is a good entry text into understanding how alcoholism and trauma runs in families from generation to generation. Hanna internalized all of her trauma and it manifests in self-sabotaging ways throughout her life but she perseveres as she gets involved in the local art scene and ultimately, starts a band in college--Bikini Kill. 

What a life she's had--her contributions to the punk/grunge scene and the Riot Grrrl movement, opening for Sonic Youth, recording with Joan Jett. She's even credited with giving Kurt Cobain the title of Nirvana's first hit single, Smells Like Teen Spirit. By the end of the book. she's faring much better. She's married to Adam Horowitz AKA Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys and they've adopted a son. Her band Bikini Kill has gotten back together and touring and she's genuinely working through a lot of her past trauma and trying to take better care of herself. By the end I was so relieved for her--the whole time you're reading this, you just want good things to happen to her, she seems like such a good person--she reminded me of some of the punk kids I knew in high school. 

Level 13

 Level 13 (A Slacker Novel) by Gordon Korman, 256 pages  © 2019

My daughter and I read the first one of this short series, she read this in a night or two and wanted me to read as well. Basically reads like the first book, each chapter is the interior monologue of a different character. Silly and funny, easy grab for 3rd to 5th grade readers, especially boys interested in video games and hijinks. 

The Roma: A Traveling History

The Roma: A Traveling History by Madeline Potter (2025), 222 pgs. 

The Romani people have faced persecution throughout the many lands to which they have traveled, and in which they now live, but their culture and their resilient community members persist. In this book, Romani author Madeline Potter combines personal experience and historical fact to paint a truly beautiful picture of the Roma across time and space. She tells Romani folktales, writes about Romani artists and activists and athletes, and sheds light on a group which has historically been--at best--written off and--at worst actively stereotyped and discriminated against. After being enslaved in Romania, forced to assimilate in France, ignored in the United States, and put through the horrors of the Samudaripen, the Romani Holocaust, the Roma have remained. This history is a beautiful recognition of the pain that has been inflicted and the triumphs that shine through. 

This is a wonderful introduction to Romani history. Madeline Potter does a great job of addressing stereotypes and disputing them with historical fact and context. There is so much about the Roma I did not know, and I really appreciated how accessible this book is in introducing the reader to so much culture. Each chapter encompasses a quick history in a certain country, and despite including so much knowledge, it is a pretty quick read. I highly recommend for those looking to learn more about this marginalized group.

The (Most Unusual) Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy

 

The (Most Unusual) Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish (2025) 366 pages

Jamie is nonbinary trans masculine (they/them). Edgar is gay. When they meet, there is an instant connection, but Edgar flees because he sees a ghost. This is a frequent occurence. He does all he can to avoid ghosts, which makes his nighttime social life just about nonexistent. His main support comes from his sister, Allie. Their father left long ago, their mother is apparently mentally disabled and out of their lives, and their brother disappeared 6 years ago.

One of Jamie's jobs is being part of a team that creates haunted houses for Halloween. The spookier the better. Jamie is also part of a political family that still sees them as a woman.

As a relationship develops between Jamie and Edgar, Jamie is frustrated as they are called to participate in their sister's upcoming wedding, while their family ignores Jamie's achievements in helping create fabulous haunted house attractions. Meanwhile, Edgar is trying trying to live with less fear. And for anyone who wonders what sex might mean for a trans nonbinary person and a gay man, you'll find that here, too.

Not Quite Dead Yet

 Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (2025), 400 pages

This was an interesting premise. Jet, a twenty-seven-year-old, trying to figure out her life becomes the unintended (?!?) victim of a crime that leaves her with seven days to live. Motivated by the ticking time bomb in her head, she is determined to solve who murdered her before she actually dies. 

I actually really enjoyed this book. It is a fun premise that kept the story line moving. You can't dawdle too much when you only have a week to live. I believe this is Jackson's first non-YA book and, honestly, it still feels like a YA book. This is not to say YA books aren't good, but if you are looking for something different from Jackson, this is not it. Which is actually ok.

As the World Falls Down

 As the World Falls Down (Galaxy #2) by Jadzia Axelrod with art by Rye Hickman (2026) 208 pages

I've been excitedly waiting for this continuation of Galaxy's origin story. This trans hero by a trans author has a lot of unique qualities in her favor. We get to explore her super powers more. There is more superhero action in this volume with less getting to know her girlfriend Kat. There are less land of Oz references, which I missed. Supporting roles for Dreamer and Superman make a lot of sense. There are frames where Hickman's art works really well. However flashback frames, and Superman's portrayal, and certain "in motion" frames are a bit awkward. I found the art of mixed quality, but not bad at all.

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein (1966) 302 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Libby. Narrator Lloyd James has the facile ability to handle the many accents of all the characters. I really enjoyed this sci-fi adventure even though it does have some slower sections. Our protagonist is Manny, a computer programmer/repairman with Russian ancestry. Strangely, another book I'm reading includes characters in the future using occasional Russian phrases and calling each other comrade too. In this book Heinlein establishes a quirky Lunar culture in post-prison colony underground cities all around our Moon. Manny befriends a central computer that has become sentient. Manny is a fan of Sherlock Holmes so he names the computer Mycroft or Myc and later refers to kids of all the lunar families as irregulars helping in small ways with the revolution efforts. Myc is curious about the human concept of humor. He is not a mobile android, but Myc reminded me quite a lot of Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Myc, the computer, is truly a secret weapon that almost magically makes the revolution against the authoritarian Authority possible. Heinlein was inspired by the American Revolution. With the moon being a former prison colony Australia was also brought to mind. But, with the Russian influence, I couldn't help imagining parallels to the Bolshevik Revolution although Heinlein is not espousing communist views. There is a teacher nicknamed Prof, who is responsible for the political direction of the revolution. The book is known for containing Libertarian views and they mostly come from Prof's voice. Manny, at first, fully trusts Prof, but questions him more as the story goes on. Honestly, Prof becomes a bit insufferable. Diplomatic meetings on Earth and explosive fights in the Lunar cities all make it an exciting  and humorous book.

A Fortune of Sand

 A Fortune of Sand by Ruta Sepetys, 320 pages.

Detroit in 1927 is a city of astounding wealth, but also more than its fair share of the crime and corruption that comes along with it. Marjorie Lennox is the youngest daughter of a family who made their fortune in the glass business, but they also have more than their fair share of secrets and corruption. Marjorie is something of an innocent, and she dreams of fashion design. So when she has the opportunity for an artist's residency for women, she jumps on it. And so what if something seems a little off about it, with the buildings strict rules and obsession with security? But although Marjorie has left home, she can't get away from her family's secrets nearly so easily. 

Ruta Sepetys is the master of exquisitely researched historical fiction, and this detail rich book is no exception. Prohibition-era Detroit is an interesting setting, and Sepetys uses a wealth of primary sources to make it fully textured. Unfortunately, I don't know that the story quite holds up to her usual standards. The many, many threads of this book never quite come together to a satisfying conclusion, and instead it feels like it peters out to an anticlimax. I also found that although this is Sepetys' adult debut, it does in many ways still read like a YA novel. That being said, I really loved Marjorie as a character, and found the prose very solid, so I still really enjoyed most of my experience reading this book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the setting, but I'm not sure I would recommend it purely on it's own merits. 

This book is scheduled to be released on May 26th, 2026. 

LORD OF THE FLIES

 Lord of the Flies by William Golding, adapted and illustrated by Aimee De Jongh, 352 pgs. © 2025

This is a fun read and great adaptation of a classic work, good to read in time for the upcoming miniseries on Netflix. De Jongh is an Eisner-nominated graphic novel author and has won a bunch of awards. Fun fact: the original book was Golding's first novel and was rejected by several publishers before being rescued and published in 1954, to wide acclaim. Also includes early story boards and character sketches from the artist. 

The Thursday Murder Club

 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, 382 pages.

Four retirees have a spot of excitement when instead of their normal solving of cold cases they instead get a real live murder right in their retirement community. They will put all their cleverness and pure, concentrated nosiness into the investigation, and are determined to find they answers, even as the case gets twistier and twistier. 

I am extremely late to this party, but I'm glad I finally got around to it! Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim are all delightful, as is the supporting cast. I'm not normally very interested in cozy mysteries, but something about this cast convinced me that the lighter tone was particular in this case. The mystery is also very well put together, to the point that it's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. The twists feel like they make a lot of internal sense, but they were still enough to keep me guessing. My only complaint is that it is sometimes so twisty that I started losing track of which mysteries still had to be solved, to the point that I didn't realize the last mystery wrapped everything up when solved. Despite this minor quibble about the wrap-up, I was definitely charmed, and will be continuing the series. 

You Look Like Hell

 You Look Like Hell by Schuyler Peck, 66 pages.

This is a thematically tight little poetry collection. It is hot with rage a Peck grapples with leaving a bad marriage and rediscovering herself in a new life. I really enjoyed how to emotion encourages really feeling all of the emotions -- the grief, anger, hope, and new joy -- to finally be allowed to grow. This is a really effective poetry collection, and I definitely recommend it. 

Muse of Nightmares

 Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor, 514 pages.

After the end of Strange the Dreamer, both Sarai and Lazlo are irrevocably and fundamentally changed. What should have finally brought the salvation of the city of Weep may doom it instead, as Minya tries to bend everyone towards vengeance, and old wounds are torn open on every side. 

This is a very well-executed duology. Although I don't know if Muse of Nightmares has quite the same magic as the first book; what it does have is a lot of answers to questions left open at the end of the first book. It is also very committed to continuing exploring the themes from the first book, especially how cycles of violence often feed themselves. There is literally nobody having a good time in this book, no one is happy about anything that is happening, and I think that builds in a lot of complexity, both to the situation and the characters. The end of this book points to the same shared universe as Taylor's other young adult series, and I am very excited for her to write more in it. 

Heartwood

Heartwood by Amity Gaige (2025), 309 pages 

This is a slow-paced book with a fast-paced plot. I thought there would be a lot more suspense and drive as the story revolves around a missing hiker on the Appalachian Trail. Instead, there are heartfelt asides and side character reminiscences that dissipate any sort of urgency you might feel for the protagonist. Gaige touches upon several interesting ideas, but it is all surface level, which becomes a bit frustrating. It would have been worth the book being longer for her to more fully develop these ideas and help the reader connect on a deeper level. It reads like a first draft and I would have loved to have read the next, expanded iteration. 

Murder at Gulls Nest

 

Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd (2025) 324 pages

Nora Breen has left her Carmelite monastery after 30 years, in large part to find out what happened to Frieda Brogan, a young woman who had intended to bcome a sister, but whose health issues had forced her out. Frieda had taken up residence in a rather rundown boarding house called Gulls Nest, writing regularly to Nora until her letters abruptly stopped. Nora took what little stipend she had and is staying in Frieda's old room at the same boarding house.

There are a handful of other residents, plus the requisite crabby housekeeper (with horrible cooking), along with Helena, the owner, who defers to the housekeeper, always has headaches, and has a small wild child who won't speak (hmm, connected?). There is an old puppeteer and a secretive photographer, as well as a young married couple. The mystery of what happened to Frieda gets shelved a bit when a resident is found dead in an outbuilding. Nora tries to get the local detective to see that he may have been murdered, but this is a handful of years after WWII, and the local thought is that it's not uncommon for former soldiers to commit suicide.

Nora is a determined woman who is not going to back down to anyone, whether it's an uncooperative desk sergent, the detective who sees things differently, or the local womanizer. When even more bad things happen, will they ever find out what's really going on? Everyone, even Nora, has secrets. For a slow starting novel, the pace picks up quickly and the book is hard to put down.

The Surrogate Mother

 The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden (2018), 298 pages

After reading some deeper books lately, I was looking for something psychologically twisty. This was not it. I am not sure why this is even labeled as a thriller. The WHOLE time I was so irritated with the Abby (the main character) that I could barely make it through the book. How is she in such a high-pressure job, but so clueless?!?! Honestly, the book made me angry. Thankfully it is a quick read and I am just going to pretend it didn't happen.

LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE

 Let's Talk about Love: A Journey to the End of Taste by Carl Wilson. 176 pgs. © 2007

This is quite a little brilliant book. The 33 1/3 series are short tomes on popular music by a variety of authors and each one is unique. One could be a straightforward album review and the next could be a memoir on the author's relationship to the music. This one falls under criticism but it's not criticizing Celine Dion per se--the author is critically evaluating their own critical evaluations--meta, right? 

Wilson uses Dion's award winning yet polarizing album to dive into a larger philosophical discussion about taste and makes some unique points while observing the artist through multiple lenses. What is taste? How do we come by it? Is it the amalgamation of imagination and understanding of an object, as Immanuel Kant suggests? Or is taste a marker of social class in society that we use to exclude others and rise in social ranks? How can an artist who is so reviled and made fun of also be so enduring and loved the world over? The prose is witty in a way that only good critics can achieve but gets the reader thinking about their own perspectives on the things they like and dislike. In the context of Dion, Wilson doesn't let anyone off the hook--not even himself.  He criticizes his own tastes while still getting in good punches on Celine, but by the end he’s found some common ground with her.  The book hits on larger conversations about art that aren’t really talked about enough—we can always argue over what makes good art/bad art, but we rarely stop to ask ourselves, why? This is a great entry text into that process and lends itself to multiple conversations. 

April Totals

 Annie: 4 books, 695 pages

Byron: 6 books, 1556 pages

Chani: 2 books, 848 pages

Jan: 4 books, 1423 pages

John: 1 book, 283 pages

Kara: 14 books, 4816 pages

Kevin: 2 books, 632 pages

Regan: 18 books, 5762 pages

Tracey: 7 books, 3083 pages

Totals: 58 books and 16,015 pages

Making Art and Making a Living

 Making Art and Making a Living: Adventures in Funding a Creative Life, by Mason Currey. 240 pgs. © 2026. 

One of my favorite poets is Philip Larkin. When I used to write more poetry, I learned that Larkin worked as a librarian while also publishing his work and it made me consider libraries as a possible career. Unfortunately, he wasn't mentioned in this short book but he easily could've been. Author Mason Currey says as much in the afterword, citing the endless examples of working artist stories that couldn't be included due to space.     

Here, Currey highlights mostly writers, poets and artists and their differing approaches to living and surviving while trying to stay committed to their craft. Some fared better than others. Fernando Pessoa and Virginia Woolf received inheritances. Baudelaire and Cezanne were granted allowances from already wealthy families. Kafka couldn't fully separate himself from his father's family business (which is probably why his novels remained unfinished). James Joyce and Vincent Van Gogh were moochers. Odd jobs, schemes and thievery abound. One of the most fascinating chapters discusses Jackson Pollack's rise to fame, primarily thanks to the promotional efforts by his wife, the artist Lee Krasner, and funding from art enthusiast and newly-minted millionaire, Peggy Guggenheim. Pollack's early work was already getting noticed, but a $2,000 loan from Guggenheim to buy a farmhouse in upstate New York allowed Pollack the space to develop his legendary "drip" technique. When he died, Krasner raised the price of his work from $8,000 to $30,000, which MoMa reluctantly paid. The sale is credited with the sudden rush of wealth in the art world; prices have been soaring ever since. Ultimately, the author uses all of these tales to highlight our relationship to art and asks if society needs to do more to support it. Great book for insight into staying the course while working on your own art.

The Wilderness

 The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (2025), 304 pages

The novel follows five friends through their early twenties to mid-forties. It touches upon family issues, long lasting friendships, and current events. Overall, it was fine. The issue I had with it, is that it spread itself too thin. It tried to cover too much and in doing so left the reader feeling a bit underwhelmed. It was all very surface level when I would have appreciated Flournoy choosing a character and delving into their story line more. Flournoy also bounces around in the timeline and adds multiple side characters that end up leaving the reader confused. Flournoy introduces some heavy topics that, alone, would make a great book but get lost in the shuffle of all the other things happening in the novel. It was an ok read, but with better direction, could have been amazing. 

The Murder at World's End

The Murder at World's End by Ross Montgomery, 336 pages

It's 1910, and Halley's Comet is about to pass Earth once again. Like any astronomical phenomenon, the conspiracy theories about the end of the world are running rampant. But Viscount Conrad Stockingham-Welt thinks he has a plan to survive the coming apocalypse — he will seal all of his guests, family members, and staff into their rooms at Tithe Hall, making the island-based manor airtight, and they will all emerge unscathed after the comet has passed. Everything goes to plan at the beginning, but when the rooms are unsealed in the morning, Conrad is dead, shot through the eye with a crossbow bolt. With no way for investigators to access the manor and the murderer still afoot, new footman Stephen Pike teams up with the viscount's oft-ignored Aunt Decima to solve the murder.

This book was just plain delightful. The murder could not have happened to a more deserving fellow, the sleuthing was well-paced and intriguing, and the set-up for the whole thing was fantastic. And the sleuths themselves! Foul-mouthed and science-minded Decima was an excellent partner to wary Stephen (whose past stint in jail makes him a prime suspect, and thus spurs him to solve the crime), and they were an excellent contrast to Inspector Jarvis, the bumbling fool sent to officially investigate. This was a light and fun take on the classic locked-room mystery, and I can't wait to read more from Montgomery.

Unshelved

Unshelved collections by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum

Library Mascot Cage Match: an Unshelved Collection (2005), 120 pgs. 

Book Club: an Unshelved Collection (2006), 120 pgs. 

Frequently Asked Questions: an Unshelved Collection (2008), 135 pgs.

Have you ever wished for a comic about libraries? Well it already exists in the form of Unshelved, a web comic which ran from 2002-2016. These strips, created by librarian Gene Ambaum and cartoonist Bill Barnes, include everything from the mundane, everyday situations that occur in the public library, all the way to the most absurd. If you can't get enough of your library, give these comics a read.

There are some real gems in here and a few duds (as is to be expected in a few years worth of weekly comics). Overall, though, most strips hold up pretty well and are still relatable to daily life in the library! (Thankfully not the jokes involving the nudist patron.)