Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries

 Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, 354 pages.

Emily Wilde is much better with faeries than people. The curmudgeonly Cambridge professor much prefers study to socializing, which means field work alone in remote Ljosland is a perfect last research trip before the publication of the encylopaedia she has dedicated her life to. Unfortunately, her carefree coworker (and sadly only friend), Wendell Bambleby, joins her without notice or permission. Nevertheless, he will be a useful co-author on her current paper, and as the weeks wear on she comes to appreciate his company more and more (despite herself).

This was a very cozy book, although I'm sure it's absolutely not for everyone. I always like an epistolary novel, and I like fiction with footnotes, so those were points in its favor for me, but I know that isn't the case for everyone. While I didn't particularly love either of the protagonists individually, I found their contrast interesting, and their relationship compelling. I also thought that the world-building in this novel was both thorough and fascinating, which is in my experience a bit of a rarity in fantasy romance books. The weirdest thing about this novel is that the prose feels like it would be off-putting to anyone who doesn't enjoy historical fiction, while the book itself (despite technically being in a historical setting) feels like it has very little that would satisfy historical fiction readers. However, if you enjoy historical fiction but are currently looking for more of a cozy fantasy novel, this could be a great choice!

Station Eleven

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, 336 pages.

This strange, quiet book is a little hard to describe. It swings back and forth between the life of famous Hollywood actor Arthur Leander, who dies on stage the same night that the world changes forever, and Kirsten Raymonde, a young woman performing in a traveling Shakespeare troupe twenty years later in the early days of the new world. There are a few other perspectives included, but these two characters serve as the anchors to guide us through their respective worlds. Arthur sits at the middle of a net of connections that exist invisibly in the world that remains after a plague wipes out the majority of humanity. 

I found this novel completely immersive. Once I started reading I found it difficult to put down, and I found the author's prose deeply moving. This is a quiet, reflective book, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly. 

The Next Best Fling

The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez (2024) 376 pages

Marcela Ortiz is a librarian who has been in love with Ben, a guy she met 9 years ago. They dated in college for a short time, and when he broke up with her, she thought it was because her body isn't perfect. When he wanted to stay friends, she chose that alternative because she didn't want to lose him completely. Now he's engaged to Alice, so Marcela is quite upset. At an engagement party for Ben and Alice, Marcela discovers that Ben's brother Theo is upset, too: Theo's in love with Alice, and would like to break up the couple. It turns out that Marcela and Theo have a lot in common.

Where can this lead? The novel is chock full of emotional pitfalls.  The brothers have issues, their parents had issues, and Marcella has issues, too: her continuing love for Ben, the abandonment she has felt since her father left when she was a child, her negative feelings about her body, and now her budding interest in Theo. One of my favorite characters in the book is Marcela's best friend, Angela, who lends some good gut-checks to her friend. Some of the plot points seem unrealistic, but the emotion is real.

Another selection of graphic novels read in Feb.

 Queenie: Godmother of Harlem by Elizabeth Columba and Aurelie Levy (2023) 160 pages

I was very intrigued by this history. Art in black and white is very realistic. Very traditional and symmetrical panels. The flashbacks to Stephanie St. Clair's childhood all deepen who she was as a person. A shadowy death always waiting for her is a great dramatic device. Astericks appear multiple times leading to a glossary in the back with historical context or translations of French at the bottom of the page. I love when Queenie and Bumpy, her right hand man, are in a movie theater and an indigenous character on screen breaks the fourth wall to address one asterisk right away. He explains a quote by James Baldwin. Black history is violent and often terrifying.

Ms. Marvel by Saladin Ahmed Omnibus by Saladin Ahmed with various artists (2021) 403 pages

This combines volumes 1-3. I had previously read volume 1, which is issues #1-6. The rest of this run by Saladin Ahmed felt like a smooth transition from G. Willow Wilson's series for this superhero. I love the further development of Kamala's family and high school friends. #7-18 had pretty good villains/monsters and fun uses of Ms. Marvel's powers to overcome the obstacles.

Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki (2023) 443 pages

Second book I've read by Mariko Tamaki. This time she is working with her cousin Jillian Tamaki. Two friends and a new classmate, who are all in their first year of college, have different ways of being tourists in NYC. Over five days I love the way the story moves and how movement is illustrated across the page. The four tone color scheme works well. The relationship drama, the symbolic butterfly, the playfulness is all great and engaging.

Surrounded: America's First School for Black Girls, 1832 by Wilfred Lupano with art by Stephanie Fert (2025) 144 pages

Another great historical graphic novel for Black History Month! I'm not sure who is responsible for lettering, but it was tricky reading this font at times. Especially on my phone screen, but also on a desktop monitor, I had to really squint to make out some of the speech. I loved the way the story was told and the art. I could not find evidence that Stephanie Fert worked on the animated films Wolfwalkers or The Secret of Kells, but her art style reminded me of  those. The beauty of nature, the ugliness of racism, the promise of uplifting education are all explored. Crossing paths with Crandall's School for Girls is a young "feral" boy and a "witchy" woman who offer clever storytelling complications. There are pages with silent action, which work very well. And there are historical tidbits in an Afterword provided by the Crandall Museum.

Erased: A Black Actor's Journey Through the Glory Days of Hollywood by Loo Hui Phang with art by Hughues Micol (2024) 200 pages

This is a fascinating subject. Published in French first and translated. I just don't think the writer and artist were totally successful in delivering on the promise of the story. On one page director Josef von Sternberg, talking about exoticism, describes it as "a great big aesthetic shambles." I think that describes this graphic novel overall. It is trying to do so much tracing racism and politics in Hollywood. Maximus Wyld has Indigenous, African, and Chinese ancestry, so he is given many ethnic supporting roles. He is fictional, but he crosses paths with many real people who worked in Hollywood. He works on many real film projects. I didn't love the black and white art. Maybe the color scheme of the cover should have been used throughout. "Camera" angles change too abruptly and without the most logical flow. The likenesses of famous people aren't always recognizable. And sometimes the pages are too dark and cluttered. Writing-wise I wish there was more of a flow too. It is disjointed in attempting to cover so many faults in the way Hollywood operated. It is not always clear who is speaking, or what text bubbles are thoughts rather than speech. Purely non-fiction sketches of real people and films would probably have been more successful than this amalgamation of one guy linking all these different experiences.

Side Quest: A Visual History of Roleplaying Games

 Side Quest: A Visual History of Roleplaying Games, by Samuel Sattin and Steenz, 208 pgs.

This graphic novel takes a broad view of tracing the early origins of roleplaying games, going far back into global history to trace early origins of imaginative play, improv, and strategy games. Although I would argue that the authors maybe took on too wide of a scope, I did learn a lot of interesting facts about topics I wouldn't otherwise know much about, so I can't be too upset! The illustrations were easy to understand, and they whole book was extremely digestible. 

My biggest criticism is that while this book spends a lot of time on ancient history, there is proportionally way less time spent on the history of actual roleplaying games, and contains almost nothing at all after the 1980's (despite the current boom in the genre). I think I might have liked this book better if it billed itself as being on the origins of roleplaying games, rather than a history of a specific medium that it was ultimately a little sparse about. Still, it was an interesting little book, and if you are interested in the description of the actual contents of the book I suspect you would quite like it!

Erasure

 Erasure by Percival Everett, 280 pages.

Thelonious "Monk" Ellison is an English professor who writes impenetrable literary novels, which are frequently rejected not only for being impenetrable, but for not being "black" enough, a maddening criticism for Monk since they weren't meant to be addressing his race at all. The runaway success of the exploitative debut novel "We's Lives in Da Ghetto," his own stalling career, and a personal tragedy all push Monk to the edge, and in a fit of rage he writes a parody of the exploitative fake-ghetto genre that seems to be thriving. When the book turns out more successful than all of his other work put together (and being taken completely at face value), Monk is forced to reckon with his new place in the world, and the false identity he's constructed to reach it. 

I saw the movie adaptation of this book (American Fiction) last year, and when I found out it was based on a book I was instantly curious about it. I think this is another case (much like Cloud Atlas) where the book and the movie are very different, because each fully leans into the strengths of their medium. This is a complex, layered book. I feel certain I missed a lot of details of what Everett was doing, but even so there are elements that I will be thinking on for a while yet. The structure was sort of experimental and interesting, Monk was a compelling protagonist (if not necessarily a likable one), and the whole novel feels like it comes together into something greater than it's parts. It's easy to see why this author won the National Book Award for his most recent novel. I would recommend this thoughtful book widely. 

Everything Anxiety Ever Told You is a Lie

Everything Anxiety Ever Told You is a Lie by Dr. Toni Lindsay (2024) 167 pages

In a book geared towards young adults, Toni Lindsay gives strategies for managing anxiety. She makes a case that the more we give in to anxiety and avoid activities that make us uncomfortable, the harder it is to keep it from dictating our lives. On the other hand, the more we learn to confront our anxiety and then learn not to focus on it, the better off we are.

I think this book would be helpful for people of any age.

Greenteeth

Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill, 320 pages

Jenny Greenteeth has been minding her own business at the bottom of her lake for hundreds of years when her watery home is disturbed by the arrival of a witch, who was bound in irons and thrown in to drown. To her own surprise, Jenny rescues the witch, Temperance, and soon joins forces with her and a nomadic goblin to seek out the tools that will allow them to defeat the ancient evil that has taken over Temperance's town and is threatening Jenny's lake.

This is a lovely fantasy tale that plays with the folklore of the British Isles and presents it in a fun new way. I'd heard of Jenny Greenteeth in passing, but this is the first book I've read where such a character gets top billing, and it's absolutely delightful. I loved Jenny and her thorny ways, and I look forward to reading more from O'Neill in the future. Highly recommended for fans of T. Kingfisher's fantasy novels.

Respect Yourself

 Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon, 480 pgs. 

This book was a hoot! I’ve been listening to some of these records and artists for so long but had no idea the kind of cultural relevance they had—the twists, the turns—Atlantic records stabbed them in the back and stole their back catalog! Zelma Redding co-wrote Dreams to Remember! (I’ve always been partial to the Toots and the Maytals version). Aretha Franklin was almost a Stax artist?! Unreal.

This was the second book for our 2025 Rhythm n' Books group and it was well-received by everyone who read it. It covers the very beginning of Stax in Memphis and follows their tumultuous and rapid growth during the civil rights movement. As much as it is about the bands and the music, it also reads as a great business book--at one point, Stax artists were so popular that the company had visions of being a major competitor to CBS--but bad business decisions kept that dream at bay. Check out the 4-part mini-series on HBO to watch it all come alive. 

Book and Dagger

Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II by Elyse Graham, 400 pgs. 

       For being dense subject matter, this was a really fun read that basically covers the beginnings of the CIA. At the beginning of World War II, America wanted to get into the spy game but had no history prior to draw from. As a result, the government leaned heavily on academic institutions--professors, archivists, and experts--to help them develop a knowledge-base about the world and its potential enemies. Some became spies, some set-up clandestine divisions overseas, some joined the newly developed Research and Analysis division (at a certain point, they were known as the 'Chairborne Division'). R&A laid the groundwork for the techniques and protocols that America would gather intelligence in the decades to come. The way the book starts is similar to the way a traditional spy novel begins--with a mild-mannered hero, being approached by a government spook and being asked to meet in a secret, shadowy place. The author does great research highlighting some of the most important names to have a hand in major operations against the Nazis. Adele Kibre is one of the only female heroes that stands out. She was a PHD archivist with a talent for finding rare books and was sent over to Europe to hunt down useful texts that would help the Allies fight the Germans. I was additionally surprised to learn the amount of planning that happened prior to the Normandy invasion, all conducted by the R&A team and followed by a "ghost war ," which was the Allies' attempt to make Hitler think that the invasion was going to happen elsewhere in Europe. It's a great book that reminds you why we, as a society, rely on experts and scholars (and librarians!) to make the world a better place. 

Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder

Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy Rose, 256 pages

Spoiled heiress Pomona Afton is living her best socialite life — attending galas, racking up charges on the credit card that her grandmother pays off, club-hopping with her friends Opal and Coriander, etc — when the rug is pulled out from under her. Her aforementioned grandmother, head of Afton Hotels, has been murdered, and recently added clause in her will stipulates that none of her beneficiaries get anything until her murder is solved. So with the help of her new roommate, Pomona is out to catch the killer, while she also learns how to live without a penthouse and service staff.

As I read this, I felt like I was experiencing some weird Gossip Girl episode where Serena and Dan cosplayed as private detectives. While she's supposed to be a vapid socialite at the start, it took a bit too long for her to become a likeable character, for me to really care about Pomona getting her life back. It was OK, but nothing to write home about.

*This book will be published March 18, 2025.

The Third Gilmore Girl

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop, 244 pages

In her new memoir, veteran actor Kelly Bishop recounts her life in show business, from her early days as a ballet dancer and chorus member in stage musicals to her more recent roles as formidable matriarchs in movies and TV shows. Along the way, she won a Tony for her role in A Chorus Line (a role that she also inspired the creation of) and became known in households across the country as the exacting Emily Gilmore in the WB show Gilmore Girls. This book covers all of that, as well as her personal life behind the scenes, including her marriages, her longtime love of animals, and her dedication to feminist causes. It's a lovely book, and the audiobook (read by the author) made me feel like Bishop was sitting beside me, just chatting about her life. It's nothing groundbreaking, but as a longtime Gilmore Girls fan, I loved it.

Joe Hustle

 Joe Hustle by Richard Lange (2024) 255 pp
Another pseudo-memoir of a Gulf War veteran, a page turner and gritty without being maudlin. Joe Hustle has had a few difficulties over the years. A terrible family life with a dysfunctional mother and a missing father. He tried the Marines — deployed to Iraq — and was drummed out after not being able to stay sober. Back in his hometown of LA he flounders. Bartender jobs (usually ending with drunken brawls) and piecework as a painter/handyman (usually end due to issues with drink). And I almost forgot the prison stint (booze-fueled car theft). Lange employs an oft-used, oft abused technique of tossing in autobiographical details thanks to Joe being “interviewed” by a wanna-be screen writer neighbor. These one page blurbs don’t interfere with the broader narrative. The novel revolves around a romantic entanglement with Emily who takes Joe to new heights of intimacy. Ultimately this falls apart after a wild misguided trip to Austin — based on Emily’s bi-polar delusion that she has a daughter there—she doesn’t. Back in LA Joe settles back into a lonely life of mediocrity, dead-end jobs and ceaseless churn, but through it all there doesn't seem to be any animus toward the life he has been dealt.

The Brutal Telling

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny, 372 pgs.

The sleepy Quebecois village of Three Pines wakes early one morning to a shock: a stranger's corpse has been found at the local bistro. The villagers are grateful that it was not one of their own found lying in this hub of connection and sustenance, but initial shock and relief give way to dread as Chief Inspector Gamache uncovers more questions than answers. Who was the dead man? Who killed him? and Why was he discovered in the bistro of all places? While there are many unique things about this case, at its root it is like any other, blooming from an emotion. What rotten, corrosive emotion is behind this one?

Armand Gamache is a steady, comforting presence, even in these deeply unsettling times. However, my appreciation for this book's central character does not entirely sway me to liking the story. Despite being the longest book of the series thus far, this novel feels a bit unfinished. Like a painter hoping to mix the perfect shade, Penny adds new colors to this book by asking many questions, introducing new and interesting characters, and uncovering many shiny things. Each of these colorful additions is beautiful and interesting on its own, but once all mixed together, the story painting loses its brilliance in a muddy, brown mess. I am still looking forward to reading the next one, though!

Kills Well With Others

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn, 368 pages

In this follow-up to Killers of a Certain Age, semi-retired assassins Billie, Mary Alice, Natalie, and Helen have once again been targeted by someone from their past. This time, they're being tracked by the surviving child of a crime boss they killed 45 years ago, and evading the hit is going to take every bit of their wits (and several disguises) to pull off. Traveling the world by boat, train, airplane, and even an occasional car, the quartet of killers must kill or be killed.

This was a fun sequel, though I don't know that it brought anything particularly new to the story. That said, it does give everyone who was hankering for it (AKA everyone who read Killers of a Certain Age) a second helping of the senior assassins. Read only if you've read the first one, but settle in for a fun caper when you do.

*This book will be published March 4, 2025.

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.
 

Apprentice to the Villain

Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer, 358 pages

In this sequel to Assistant to the Villain, the action picks up right where the first book left off — with the titular Villain in the king's custody, his assistant, Evie, seemingly dead, and all hope for an evil future lost. However, Evie isn't dead, and is instead adopting the Villain's cunning evil ways to save him, and thwart the king's plans regarding magic and their homeland of Rennedawn. 

Really, the book makes very little sense if you haven't read the first one (or if you've forgotten most of the first one, like I did), though if you look past the plot (which has Evie and the Villain traipsing all over the place in search of Evie's magical mom while also dealing with awkward encounters with their families), the characters are fun and funny, especially Evie's sister Lyssa. There's also a LOT of romantic tension between Evie and the Villain, to the point that I wanted to reach into the book and slap them both upside the head. Romantic tension is all well and good, but I think this took it too far. Will I read the third book when it comes out? Yeah probably. But I won't be looking for highbrow literature when I do.

As You Wish

 As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride by Cary Elwes, 259 pages.

Elwes' very focused memoir follows the making of the cult classic film The Princess Bride from it's earliest stages through to the twenty-fifth anniversary reunion of the cast. To give a more complete picture, many of his former cast members also offer their own memories and thoughts of the makings of the film. In the excellent audiobook, which I listened to, most of these cast members also offered their voices to tell their own stories. 

Although the making of this movie honestly didn't sound particularly wild, I quite enjoyed this book anyway. There was something very relaxing about a group of people gushing about how much they liked each other and how much fun they had making a movie I love. This is a very kind book, and I found it very soothing to listen to. I would recommend it for fans of the movie, or for people interested in the movie making process generally, as Elwes does a very good job covering pretty much every aspect of the making of the movie. 

In the Lives of Puppets

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune, 420 pages

Rather than summarize again, I'm going to make you click this link to my previous post about In the Lives of Puppets. Generally speaking, I agree with what I said back in 2023 when I first read it, though I'll admit that chatting about this with the Orcs & Aliens last night made me consider it more critically. That's why I love discussing stuff with this group! If you read and like this one, I highly recommend Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which I'll be posting about one of these days.

Rhythm of War

 Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson, 1230 pages.

A year after the events of Oathbringer, the war between the god Odium's forces and humanity is in full swing. Dalinar and the coalition forces are scrambling for a way to force Odium into a contest of champions, because a war of attrition favors the side whose warriors are continuously reborn. On that note, even immortal soldiers grow weary after thousands of years of war, and one of said immortals is looking for any way to end the war for good, a quest she pulls Queen Navani into. Meanwhile, Kaladin struggles to accept that staying busy forever isn't a sustainable way to deal with his depression and Adolin and Shallan venture into Shadesmar in a desperate attempt to convince more spren (spirits of the world) to join the fight on their side and create more Knights Radiant.

It is hard to give a concise summery of any book this size, and even more difficult when it is the fourth in a series of books this size. I am glad that I decided to reread this book before starting the recently released fifth book in the series, because it is absolutely full of detail that I didn't remember from the first time I read it three years ago. This book definitely feels like it is building to something, building on existing foundations until they reach the climactic conclusion of the next book. It also made me cry, which is not all that easy for novels to do. I continue to strongly recommend this series, don't be intimidated by the page count. 

The Serviceberry

 The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 128 pages

In this short book Robin Wall Kimmerer, best known for the fabulous Braiding Sweetgrass, examines the potential for a more gift-based economy in place of the current scarcity-based economy. While Kimmerer is the first to admit that she is not an economist, she does do an admirable job bringing together sources who are experts in the kinds of things she is writing about, with a special emphasis on the developing field of ecological economics. She also relates many economic issues back to principles of resource distribution observed in nature. 

I got the feeling about halfway through this short book that it was an expanded version of an essay or article, which turns out to be exactly the case. This book is short and digestible, and provides a lot of food for thought. That being said, I do think it suffers a little for being so far outside of Kimmerer's area of expertise. This book feels like a good jumping off point for thinking about different possible economic models. 

Definitely Better Now

Definitely Better Now by Ava Robinson (2024) 341 pages

Emma, a young woman working in the marketing department of a financial consulting firm, has been going to AA meetings three times a week. She's ready to mark one full year of abstinence from alcohol and is now trying to figure out how to navigate the next part of her life. In her crisis years, she needed alcohol in social situations. Since she's been in recovery, her social life equals AA. The only people who really know her are her mother and her AA sponsor, Lola. She has been mostly estranged from her father, who is an alcoholic himself.

Emma feels split between being "Work Emma," the responsible employee who shares only selective bits of her personal life and who does not go to Friday Happy Hours with her coworkers versus becoming a person who shares her life, opening the possibilities of honest conversations and gaining real friendship.

I find this story to be a thorough telling of the trials of recovery, concerns about backsliding (as well as dealing with others who fear that you may backslide), and the difficulty in dealing with people, especially when one's self-doubts continually resurface.

Knife Skills for Beginners

Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin (2025) 313 pages

Paul is a chef who has been contacted by an old friend, Christian, a well known TV chef who is also known for restaurants he has operated. Christian is also involved in a cooking school that brings in small groups of people to learn to cook various types of foods. However, Christian has a problem: he has injured his arms and cannot teach the class, and he asks Paul to fill in for him.

Paul's not that keen on the idea, but decides to go ahead, with the proviso that Christian will be there to help manage the class. The class has 8 participants who are to live in the mansion that houses the school for the intense week of classes. When Christian doesn't show up for the first class, Paul is steamed but handles it the best he can.

A day later when someone is found dead, with his head almost chopped off with a cleaver that Paul used the day before, things look bad for Paul. Paul decides to learn all he can about Christian—whose life has some details Paul has never known—as well as the students, in order to save his own hide.

Paul is a relatable character in many respects. As a benefit, he gives the students—as well as the reader—cookery tips. The book is written by a British chef with a writing style I found unique and enjoyable. (A second book featuring Paul is set to be released this year.)

Railroading Economics: The Creation of the Free Market Mythology

Railroading Economics by Michael Perelman (2006) 224pp

A fascinating (albeit somewhat tedious – this is hard-core econ) look at 19th century industrial development and all the chaos that that includes. Although written 20 years ago, the concepts Perelman details apply today. The idea that the free market is self-regulating is demolished with numerous examples and remarkably clear writing. The title argument tackles the incredibly high capital costs of “creating” a railroad. Simply put, there is no way for a company to exist in a competitive market facing this level of indebtedness. Hence the large number of railroads that went bankrupt and were eventually combined into a very few entities – think J.P. Morgan – industrialist/financier supreme. Sounds simple and intuitive, but the author skillfully and excruciatingly describes the complexity of the various economic theories that railroad builders tied their fantasies and fortunes to. David Ricardo, Adam Smith and a pantheon of economists are featured as are the various schools of economic thought -- laissez-faire, corporatists, socialists, monopolists, Marxists, etc. The trick for me was seeing how the dilemma of high fixed capital costs relate to our current service and finance-based economy. I am sure Perelman would be writing about crypto currencies if he were writing now.

A selection of February graphic novels

 Marie Curie: A Quest for Light by Anja C. Andersen and Frances Andreasen Osterfelt, with art by Anna Blaszczyk (2018) 136 pages

The writing is succinct. The art on every page looks like collages with paper cut outs of different colors and textures. Diary entries and letters make this biography very personal. I really enjoyed the creativity of this one.

 

 

 

 

Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman (2018) 288 pages

I'm working on the Hoopla challenge for 2025 while focusing on reading more graphic novels this year. February is Romantic Reads.  I flew through this first volume in one day. There is a lot of space between the panels on many pages and not much text in speech, thought, or mobile texts. Very creative how it tells the story visually as often as it does. I have not seen the TV series yet, and I'll probably wait to continue this comic series.

 

 

 

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell (2019) 289 pages

Compared to the one above, I liked the art and writing a bit better. The pages are denser with emotive visuals. Freddy Riley has her group of queer friends in high school. Laura Dean doesn't see their relationship as monogamous. Laura has so much extrovert energy and doesn't seem to care that she discards Freddy so easily when she wants attention from others. Freddy is so enamored with Laura's brief moments of attention that she doesn't notice her other truly good, close friends, or the new girl working several part-time jobs in town to pay for college. Freddy's eye opening journey is pretty special.

 

 

The Puerto Rican War: A Graphic History by John Vasquez Mejias (2024) 112 pages

I appreciate the timeline and interview with the author that is included at the end. It is a short story of Puerto Rican history that I was not familiar with before. The author makes prints from woodcuts. The text is challenging to read at times, but with concentration it could all be understood. The unique style is visually expressionistic and very detailed.

Deep Cuts by Kyle Higgins and Joe Clark with various artists (2024) 312 pages

I loved this! #1 in New Orleans 1917, the art and story are amazing, looking at the roots of modern jazz. #2 in Chicago 1928, a novice Broadway songstress has an adventure that references The Wizard of Oz. You begin to see that there are threads that connect the stories. #3 in Kansas City 1940, Alice, a young black girl, tries to solve the mystery of why her dad stopped his music career. This includes research at her local library! #4 in New York City 1956, is documentary-like looking at the jazz scene and the influence of harder drugs. #5 in Los Angeles 1968, shows threads connecting some of the previous stories, but is more countercultural and the art took me longer to embrace. #6 in multiple locations 1977, ties all the issues together. Characters and themes return. Jazz history comes full circle. Oh, and the lead sheets at the end are a cool bonus. I, too, wonder if there are audio tracks somewhere of this music.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi, 336 pages

Everything is going along hunky-dory when suddenly the moon turns into cheese. That's the basis of this silly yet surprisingly thought-provoking new novel by John Scalzi. Each chapter is a day in the lunar cycle, and follows a wide-ranging collection of people, from NASA astronauts whose moon missions are suddenly "on hiatus" to evangelical Christians who assume that the moon's sudden cheesiness is the result of the devil to feuding brothers who own rival Wisconsin cheese shops to a billionaire playboy who's determined to be the first person to eat moon cheese. It's frivolous fun, full of weird (and strangely believable?) science and lots of fictional insanity, which makes it an excellent distraction from real-life insanity. Highly recommended for fans of Scalzi's Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain, as well as anyone who loves cheese and astronomy.

*This book will be published March 25, 2025.

Dungeon Crawler Carl

 Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, 450 pages.

It's sheer dumb luck that finds Carl outside in the middle of the night, chasing his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend's prize-winning cat in too-small slippers and boxers, when every structure on the planet's surface is smashed flat in an instant. His only option now is descending into a planet-spanning dungeon freshly constructed under the planet's surface. He's on TV! Dungeon Crawler World is an intergalactic gameshow modeled on classic dungeon crawling video games, and survival is winning. 

This book was astoundingly fun, and honestly the official blurb does a better job selling it than I did. This first book in the series covers floors one and two of the dungeon, and does so in a way that's both fast-paced and very funny. What impresses me more, as a sign of good craft, is that Dinniman managed to write a character who doesn't disrupt that furthers the comedy aspects while being effected like a normal human being by the frankly staggering death toll of what is realistically an ongoing extinction event. I had a very hard time putting this book down, and "one more chaptered" myself late into the night multiple times while reading it. I'm very excited to get my hands on the second book in the series. 

A Rule Against Murder

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny, 336 pgs.

It's a beautiful summer at the Manoir Bellechasse, and Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is taking a much needed vacation. Murder, however, knows no time off (*dun dun dunnnn*)! In this fifth book of the Three Pines series, familiar characters are plucked out of their typical setting and sent deep into the Montreal woods, where a family reunion turns into a murder investigation. The Manoir attracts all kinds of eccentric characters, and each one brings their own baggage. The question is, then--whose baggage is heavy enough to kill?

I expected not to enjoy this one as much as I had previous books in the series, simply because it is the first to switch the setting away from cozy, dreamy Three Pines. Despite that change, I ended up loving it. Although I did miss a few key characters from the other stories, the distance from the town in this book allowed for a much deeper analysis of the people of the Manoir, especially the family at the center of this mystery. I was particularly struck by Penny's examination of the concept of self. This book is actually not about murder at all; it is about misunderstanding and being misunderstood. Penny guides the reader to consider questions like Are you the person that you think you are, or are you the person who others perceive? and readers must confront the truth: you are both.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire, 146 pages

Until she was 9, Nadya lived in a Russian orphanage, where she was often overlooked by prospective parents because she was missing most of one arm. But she was OK with that, devoting her time to helping her orphanage "siblings" find adoptive parents instead. However, she was eventually scooped up by a missionary family from Colorado, who were intent on giving her the best life possible, complete with a prosthetic arm that she didn't really want or need. Nadya's affinity for turtles eventually leads her to the neighborhood pond and a door to an incredible world filled with giant turtles and an underwater society unlike anything she's experienced on Earth.

I'm not even sure which installment of the Wayward Children series this book is, but I can tell you that once again, it's excellently written, with kindness and care toward its protagonist, and creativity galore with the portal world. Even though this is well into the series, the way in which the series is written makes it possible to pick up this tale on its own, and explore the series (which started with Every Heart a Doorway) or not as you wish. Highly recommend this quiet story, and the series to which it belongs.

January Totals

 

Annie: 2 books, 640 pages

Byron: 6 books, 1156 pages

Jan: 7 books, 2177 pages

John: 1 book, 291 pages

Kara: 24 books, 8504 pages

Kevin: 4 books, 905 pages

Regan: 10 books, 3168 pages

Totals: 52 books, 16,201 pages