Project Hail Mary

 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, 476 pages.

This was my third time reading this sciencey space adventure (and my second time reading it for a book club) and I continue to be surprised at how well it holds up to further scrutiny! I first wrote about this book in 2021 here, and I still stand by most of those first impressions. However, to keep things fresh I decided to try the audiobook this time! I found it remarkably well-done. Grace's sense of humor comes across well with the audiobook narration, and the addition of sound added some really interesting elements to communication with Rocky. My book club ended up chatting about this book for nearly two hours, which proves to me that there's quite a lot to chew on for such a fun book. Definitely check out the book before the movie comes out next month!

Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea

 Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomey, 596 pages.

This book, originally published in 1908, has been a favorite of mine for a long time; and although I'm not quite as fond of the sequels, I do still quite enjoy them. For anyone who hasn't read these books in the 120 years they've been popular, they follow Anne Shirley, an orphan who is adopted into a small Canadian town and has a talent for getting into scrapes, imagining things, and seeing the beauty of the world. This time I'm listening to the books as read by Mary Kate Wiles and a full cast of her friends, mostly other actors from her Shipwrecked Comedy group. They do a great job bringing the characters to life, and I highly recommend this if you're looking for an audio version of this classic! (It's also technically a podcast, meaning that these are free on Spotify)

The Murderbot Diaries #4-5

 

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells (2018) 163 pages

Network Effect by Martha Wells (2020) 350 pages

As I mentioned, I'm continuing with the GraphicAudio editions on Hoopla narrated by David Cui Cui and a full cast. Book 4 Exit Strategy is my favorite so far. Instead of constantly introducing new episodic characters, characters from Book 1 return. Murderbot, the Sec Unit, has grown in his ability to maintain relationships somewhat. He's still anxious and cynical though. The book still has the same formula with action and futuristic corporate maneuvers. It feels good to check in with Dr. Mensah and her Preservation crew of non-corporate scientists. On audio the first four books are all under three hours. Book 5 Network Effect is over eight hours. The first full-length novel continues to have the Preservation crew working with MurderBot and developing deeper bonds together. Dr. Mensah's daughter is a major character. Plus ART, the AI of a spaceship, who might be "in love" with MurderBot, returns. More pages allow for more twists and turns in the plot with alien remnants and the constant threat of evil corp GrayCris. It is enjoyable, but doesn't quite reach the heights of Book 4.

The Murderbot Diaries #1-3

All Systems Red by Martha Wells (2017) 152 pages

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (2018) 159 pages

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells (2018) 150 pages

I really like the GraphicAudio dramatized adaptations available on Hoopla. They are narrated by David Cui Cui with a full cast of actors providing the other character voices. I'm going to make my way through the whole series because they are each short and that works for my commutes. Murderbot is an unnamed construct (part robot, part organic) Security Unit. Corporations are still very much in charge in this future. He was contracted for Security on a certain planet and under mysterious circumstances he murdered many people. After an attempted memory-wipe and going rogue, he is a free-agent Sec Unit with a lot of guilt. Murderbot is what he calls himself. No one else does. As a character, he is coded as being neurodivergent. He is always anxious and prefers watching media, particularly sci-fi serials, to in-person interactions. Each of these three novels contain some futuristic corporate intrigue and a couple scenes of laser gun action. Murderbot has a quirky way of looking at the world. He is the only recurring character. These three all feel a bit expositional. There is a larger hinted corporate conspiracy that may have major reveals in the fourth book, and characters from book one may return.
 

Little Gods

 

Little Gods by Meng Jin  280 pp.

This is one of those books that I kept expecting to get better but it never did. It's not bad, but it just didn't grab me. The story revolves around the life of Su Lan, a brilliant Chinese physicist whose personal life goes off the rails after the birth of her daughter and the abandonment by the father. Su Lan emigrates to the U.S. but works randomly and moves around a lot. When she suddenly dies her daughter, Liya, takes her ashes back to China and meets the widow who helped care for her when she was an infant. She also discovers the name of her father and begins the search for him. There is nothing wrong with the story, or the writing but I was barely compelled to finish it. YMMV.

blink

blink: the Power of Thinking without Thinking / Malcolm Gladwell, 277 p., read by the author

Covering many of the same concepts as Michael Lewis' The Undoing Project, which features the research of Israeli psychologists Kahneman and Tversky, and Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow, which I hope to be able to blog about very soon.  Here Gladwell contextualizes the concepts methodically laid out by Kahneman involving the fundamentally distinct types of human thought processes that impact decision-making.  As always, Gladwell entertains while he informs, and applies his ideas to real-world problems.  In this case, he makes a lengthy exploration of the killing of Amadou Diallo by four New York City police officers, and how the principles of fast and slow thinking might be used to change police training and behaviors.  Powerful and at times painful listening, this was very worthwhile.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling, 341 pages.

The second book in Rowling's famous series, we listened to this one on a road-trip as the last year ended and the new year began. The audio of the Harry Potter series are read by the incomparable Jim Dale and are a great delight to listen to. In this book, Harry begins his second year at Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione are back, but Harry has not heard from them all summer, due to the interference of a rogue house-elf, Dobby. Dobby spends a lot of time and effort trying to convince Harry to avoid Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, starts her first year at the school, and she plays a crucial role in the book. Tom Riddle makes his first appearance, and this years DATDA teacher is Gilderoy Lockhart. A fun read.

Noir

Noir: a novel by Christopher Moore  339 pp.

I'm a big fan of Christopher Moore's novels. His humor frequently leaves me laughing out loud. This is not his best book to date but Fool is pretty hard to top. However, he does have the film noir patois perfected. Sammy "Two Toes" Tiffin is a bartender in post-WWII San Francisco. He is enamored by a lovely blonde named Stilton (like the cheese) and is eager to put the moves on her. Add in an Air Force General, a UFO and a plane crash, a deadly poisonous snake, and Chinese opium den and you pretty much have your typical Moore novel. Sammy's conversations with a neighborhood kid sound like they were stolen from the Bowery Boys movies. Johnny Heller reads the audiobook version and occasionally lapses into a pretty good Bogart imitation. Not great literature but a lot of fun.

The Hundred-Foot Journey

The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais  245 pp.

A lively Indian family of restaurateurs emigrates to Europe after a family tragedy. They settle in a small French Alpine village where they open a restaurant in a mansion across from a classic French restaurant and it's owner/chef the indomitable Madame Mallory. Mme. Mallory is incensed by the popularity of the Indian interlopers and does her best to get rid of them. Then an accident causes a change of heart and she takes on young Hassan Haji as an apprentice. Under her tutelage he learns classic French cooking techniques and goes on to Paris to work as a sous chef and later open his own restaurant. The "hundred foot journey" represents the distance between and yet the closeness of the different cultures that clash and come together in the story. I have yet to see the film based on this book but plan to soon.

Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances

Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances by Leland Melvin, 241 pages. Narrated by Ron Butler.
Leland Melvin has lead an amazing and inspirational life. He has degrees in chemistry and in "materials science engineering," he played, briefly, in the NFL, and worked as a NASA astronaut, going on two shuttle flights. Along the way he also composed with Pharrell Williams, met the Obamas several times, and hosted a TV show.
He does a good job of sharing his inspirational story, emphasizing the roles of bot perseverance and serendipity in his life, and he gives a great deal of credit to his parents. A fun book to read or to listen to.

Trigger Warning

Trigger Warning: Short Fiction and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman  310 pp.

This anthology of short works includes a variety of sometimes creepy, sometimes disturbing, sometimes scary, and sometimes confusing stories. Some were published prior to this collections, others were new when this collection was published in 2015. Included is a lengthy introduction in which the author discusses the nature of "trigger warnings" and brief background information on the stories in the book. There is a novelized version of a "Doctor Who" episode written for the 50th Anniversary of the television show. There is also a story with characters from Gaiman's novel America Gods. Also included is "The Sleeper and the Spindle" which was later published as an illustrated stand-alone book. As with any collection like this, there are some I liked more than others. I can't say that there were any just I didn't like or that triggered me in any way. I bought this book when it came out and it has been sitting on my shelf every since. I chose instead to listen to the audiobook read by the author who I love listening to. 

The Reason You're Alive

The Reason You're Alive by Matthew Quick, 226 pages.

David Granger, a crusty, profane, and un-apologetically non-pc Vietnam Vet tries to forge a better relationship with his son after he, Granger, has surgery to remove a brain tumor. Somehow his relationship with his son is the least interesting and believable part of the book. It seems to me that if someone who has known you for their whole life thinks your a racist and an asshole, it's probably not just because of your colorful language; they would have seen your sensitive side at some point.  Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook, among other novels, has created a complex character in Granger. He's quick to anger, prone to violence, and though demonstrably (ehhh) not a racist, uses racially charged language. Quick shows him to be, as the story unravels, at his core a kind and loving man..It was a very enjoyable book, especially so in audio format; R.C. Bray does a great job reading this. He really became the character for me, so much so that when I started another audiobook immediately after this one and found that Bray was the narrator, it was so jarring that I had to put that book aside for later. Granger has to work on some other relationships besides the one with his son, and these subplots are more satisfying, making this a book worth reading.

I Hear the Sirens in the Street

I Hear the Sirens in the Street: a Detective Sean Duffy Novel / Adrian McKinty, read by Gerard Doyle, 256 p.

The second in the Detective Sean Duffy series; these audiobooks, wonderfully read by Gerard Doyle, have been my car companions for months now.

In this title:

Duffy and Crabby find a torso in a suitcase in an abandoned industrial park.    This would be OK, except that now they have to find out who it belongs to, how it ended up in the suitcase, and, well, where the rest of it might be.  Nothing is quite as it seems in Northern Ireland in the early 80s, not even John Delorean, whose car factory seemed for a time to promise salvation to the local economy.  And why isn't patho Laura Cathcart returning Sean's calls?

In all Detective Sean Duffy novels:

• checking under the BMW for mercury tilt bombs
• a fabulous supporting cast, including Sergeant Crabben (Crabby), Duffy's dour Presbyterian sidekick, and attractive neighbor Mrs.Campbell, perpetually horny because her husband is either away or depressed
• an encyclopedic display of musical knowledge
• an shocking amount of alcohol consumption, even for Ireland
• hilarious dialogue
• a terrific sense of place

The Cold Cold Ground

The Cold Cold Ground: a Detective Sean Duffy Novel / Adrian McKinty, read by Gerard Doyle, 320p.

The first in the Detective Sean Duffy series; these audiobooks, wonderfully read by Gerard Doyle, have been my car companions for months now.

In this title:

It's 1981, and Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland is in the thick of 'The Troubles.'  Sean Duffy is the lone Catholic officer at his station and the only Catholic in his housing estate on Coronation Road.  But he has his massive LP collection, his vodka gimlets, his ciggies, and his wicked sense of humor to keep himself sane(-ish).  His case involves an apparent homophobically-motivated serial killer who makes arcane classical music references and commits unfortunate acts with severed body parts.  Still, it's hard to believe any murder in greater Belfast is wholly unconnected to those Troubles, which greatly complicate matters.  Add to that the attractive patho Laura Cathcart and Detective Duffy has a lot to deal with.

In all Detective Sean Duffy novels:

• checking under the BMW for mercury tilt bombs
• a fabulous supporting cast, including Sergeant Crabben (Crabby), Duffy's dour Presbyterian sidekick, and attractive neighbor Mrs.Campbell, perpetually horny because her husband is either away or depressed
• an encyclopedic display of musical knowledge
• an shocking amount of alcohol consumption, even for Ireland
• hilarious dialogue
• a terrific sense of place

Pax

Pax by Sarah Pennypacker, 276 pages.
When his father goes off to war, young Peter agrees out of necessity to return his pet fox, Pax, to the wild, but immediately regrets his decision. Left with his grandfather, a man who seems to have no love for him, Peter decides to run away, after Pax, and then back home. He embarks on a quest to recover his best friend without too much planning, and runs into trouble fairly soon. Vola, a wounded war veteran, grudgingly offers assistance. Despite injury and delay, Peter is determined to be reunited with Pax. Pax, who is telling his side of the story, tries to stay alive and deal with the wild world as he waits to be reunited with Peter.
A bit didactic, and though it is lacking in wizards, mythological creatures, or vampires, Pax is a decent story.

Soon I will be invincible

Soon I will be invincible / Austin Grossman 288 pgs.

Dr. Impossible is due to take over the world...and this time, unlike the 12 previous attempts, he is confident it will work.  In the meantime, Corefire has been defeated and The Champions reunite to try to figure out what happened to Corefire.  Fatale is the newbie on the team, a mix of robotic enhancements on a woman's body, she is still trying to find her place in the world.

I've read this book at least three times now and still find new ways to look at the super grudge match that starts with middle school rejection.  Mostly the story of Dr. Impossible and Fatale, nobody makes it out unscathed by their neurosis or made-up origin story.  Great stuff and probably my favorite audiobook.

M is for Magic

M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman, 260 pages. One of Gaiman's best collections, it includes "October in the Chair", and "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" among others. Hearing Gaiman read the audio is always the best part.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling, 759 pages.
The last volume of the original Harry Potter septet has been a yearly favorite for our vacation travels for several years. It's still an exciting read. It may be a few years before we listen to this long tale that culminates in the Battle of Hogwarts again. Some of us are getting too old (maybe) and one of us might not be old enough yet. We'll see.

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex, 423 pages, fantasy.

My 2011 review (we listen to this every year or so):
I read this a couple of years ago and loved it. It has taken me a long time to get my kids to agree to listen to it. I'm glad that we listened to the audio, because Bahni Turpin does a fabulous job and has become one of my favorite readers. She does a great J-Lo (the invading Boov have unpronounceable names and may take common Earth names to put us at our ease). Twelve-year-old Gratuity "Tip" Tucci writes a school essay about what Smekday means to her in the post-invasion days of 2013-2014. She recounts her adventures with J-Lo and their Booved-auto, "Slushious," as they travel across the land, avoiding Boov and Gorg, and trying to find Tip's mom.
Layered, weird, and funny, Smekday is great. Since we first listened to it, it has become a family favorite. It has also been made into a less-than-stellar movie.

When Breath Becomes Air

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, 228 pages. Read by Sunil Mulhotra and Cassandra Campbell.
Brilliant neurosurgical resident (and professor), Kalanithi, finds himself diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer just as his career is about to begin. His priorities shift, naturally enough, and there are many thoughtful, sad moments. That's to be expected, of course. The unexpected sorrow comes when he discovers that in his drive to be the best, and then in his decision to keep his own medical concerns to himself, he had almost destroyed his marriage. He and Lucy must find a way to see some sort of future together even as their options become more and more limited.
 A very moving account of one doctor's illness.