Last Night in the OR: A Transplant Surgeon's Odyssey

Last Night in the OR: A Transplant Surgeon's Odyssey by Bud Shaw, 291 pages.

Bud Shaw trained under Theodore Starzl, the father of liver transplants (I want to say "liver transplant surgery", but that seems to imply that there's some non-surgical form of liver transplant. Also, liver transplant is how the author puts it), beginning in 1981, and became one of the top, if not the top, liver transplant specialists. He recounts many of the memorable episodes from his career in nonlinear chapters that read more like essays or short-stories. There are stories about learning his craft from Starzl, who comes across as a harsh and somewhat unforgiving teacher. And there are stories from his time as an established surgeon in his own right. Most of the stories in this collection that are from an earlier time deal with a much younger Shaw and his parents and the tales revolve around his grief over the loss of his mother when he was thirteen, and the evolving relationship with his father, a general surgeon, and a man Shaw admired and whom he feared disappointing.
In these essays, Shaw holds on tightly to the traumatic failures in the operating room. Liver transplants were exhausting and lasted hours and hours, and even when the operation was going well, things could go suddenly and inexplicably wrong. Shaw gives much less space to the larger number of successes, indicating that at some point in the past the group photo at the annual reunions for survivors had to be broken up into many sub-groups. The author also gives few personal details outside of those about his mother and father. His three wives are mentioned, but little information about them is given. His first marriage dissolved into a celibate separateness, and his second marriage lasted twenty-five years, and his third is ongoing. Odd details are given, but then the story around those details ignored. It is also a bit  jarring when the step-mother who appears in one vignette -- training him on the procedure for scrubbing in to the OR--  is dismissed as a drunk in another essay, with no context given. Overall a well-written, but somewhat melancholy and defensive account of an interesting life.

The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld

The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld by Jamie Bartlett,

Bartlett explores the use of the Onion Router (TOR -a system that enables users to communicate anonymously on the internet) and shows how the use of TOR and unindexed webpages facilitates everything from pro-anorexia groups, to illicit drug marketplaces, to bitcoin proponents, to suicide support  and child porn websites. An interesting look under the hood of the internet with interviews by the author of all sorts of people caught up in their own section of the dark net; trolls, programmers, drug dealers, and those with extreme views.
An interesting read.

Loving Day

Loving Day / Mat Johnson 287 pgs.

Warren Duffy is newly divorced and back in his home town after his father passed away.  He inherited a run down "mansion" that his father never rehabbed. By far the biggest change in his life is the discovery of a daughter who was conceived during a short affair in his teen years.  Talia is now a teenager and has been raised white despite Warren identifying as black.  Tal's mom is dead and her grandfather is sick so Warren is a new dad and trying to figure out fatherhood, why his marriage failed and how to describe his relationship with his best friend Tosha.  Add to the mix, a bit of poverty, figuring out how to get Tal to graduate from high school (she dropped out) and how to handle the crack heads who hang out on his property.

Parts of this book are hilarious, parts will make you think, and Warren is a wonderful character who is working on a lot of issues.

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King of the Vagabonds

King of the Vagabonds: The Baroque Cycle #2 by Neal Stephenson  282 pp.

The second book in this series introduces two new characters: Jack Shaftoe aka Half-Cocked Jack aka King of the Vagabonds and Eliza, prisoner of a harem. Jack meets Eliza after stealing a Turkish Vizier's horse to chase an ostrich to steal its feathers to make some cash. He frees Eliza from her captors and they flee the siege of Vienna. Together they travel around Europe. Eliza is the shrewd one and Jack is the muscle. Much is discussed about the business practices of the French and Dutch during the era as Jack and Eliza attempt to make money through various "investments." However Jack is also suffering the effects of last stage syphilis and his mind wanders into fantastical episodes that may or may not be real. Throughout the story they encounter many figures known to history including Winston and John Churchill (ancestors of the 20th century Prime Minister), William of Orange, William and Mary, and many others. Evidently the next book ties together the characters of this book with Daniel Waterhouse and others from the first installment. There is a lot more action in this part than in the first book but the audiobook takes a lot of concentration to keep from getting confused.

All My Friends Are Superheroes

All My Friends Are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman, 145 pages

In this short novel, Tom is a regular guy, but everyone he knows has super powers--his wife is The Perfectionist, who makes everything perfect; his best friend is The Amphibian, who has the ability to live in water or land; his ex is Someday, with the dual powers of big dreams and procrastination. At the wedding of Tom and The Perfectionist, the bride's ex-boyfriend Hypno hypnotizes her into believing that Tom is invisible/doesn't exist, placing both of the newlyweds in agony.

This is a cleverly-written fable about the abilities (both good and bad) that people have, and that make them stand out from others. The 10th anniversary edition, which is what we have in our collection, features short bios of other superheroes that either don't show up in the story or are mentioned only in passing. It's smart, it's quick, and it's infinitely relatable.

The Eyre Affair

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, 374 pages

Before you start reading what I wrote about The Eyre Affair, click that link above and read the subject headings associated with this title in our catalog. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Do you see all the disparate topics there? And do you realize that there could be about a dozen more, including (but not limited to): paranormal fiction, time travel, murder, kidnapping, inventions, extinct animals, police work, veterans, and Shakespeare?

Perhaps taking all of that into account, it becomes apparent why this book is so hard to describe, but I'll try: Set in an alternate-universe 1980s England, Detective Thursday Next hunts down those suspected of high crimes and misdemeanors related to literature. When the original manuscript of a Dickens novel is stolen without any trace of the culprit, Thursday is pulled into the investigation, which involves a demonic criminal bent on wreaking havoc on classic literature, purely for the sport of it, as well as some slimy war profiteers from the Goliath Corporation who wish to exploit an innocent invention by a pottering old man.

That probably makes no sense, but it's a great book, at the beginning of a great series. It's smart, it's silly, it's a bibliophile's dream. I've read it more times than I can count, and I love it more every time.

Bream Gives Me Hiccups

Bream Gives Me Hiccups: & Other Stories by Jesse Eisenberg, 273 pages

In his first short story collection, Eisenberg (better known for his acting work in The Social Network, Adventureland, etc.) offers up a range of high-brow and low-brow humor. The titular story is a series of restaurant reviews from a 9-year-old child of divorce, and is one of the longest in the book. My favorites focused on an overbearing mother explaining the ballet to her son; an uncle taking his young nephews neverending "why" WAY too seriously; the final conversations in Pompeii; and Eisenberg's thesaurus- (and tongue-) friendly "Manageable Tongue Twisters." Really, the only weak spot in this collection was "My Roommate Stole My Ramen," a series of letters from a naive college freshman that went on WAY. TOO. LONG. But the rest is fun, smart humor.

You too can have a body like mine

You too can have a body like mine / Alexandra Kleeman 283 pgs.

Not an easy book to summarize, I can say that there are many issues that are featured including consumerism, body image, roommate relationships and disappearing dads.  The dads are disappearing then reappearing a town or 2 away with no memory of their previous family but often living with a new one.

B is A's roommate, C if A's boyfriend.  Both relationships are a little fraught.  A seems in love with C but they mostly spend time together watching TV, porn or having sex.  B is slowly becoming A by cutting her hair in the same style and using A's make-up.  She is a bit needy and always wants to know where A is spending her time and what she is doing.

Kandy Kakes is a product that is often being advertised throughout the book while A is watching TV or grocery shopping.  However, there is a shortage of Kakes when it becomes apparent that someone is emptying all the boxes before they are delivered. A ends up in a cult-like religion that exclusively consumes Kandy Kakes.

Why is any of this important to the story?  I'm not sure I know the answer. This was certainly a unique book and I'm still trying to decide what to think about it.

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Seriously...I'm Kidding

Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres, 241 pages

In her third book, Ellen DeGeneres offers up more of her trademark be-nice-to-people humor.  This isn't for people that want an in-depth, warts-and-all memoir, but if you're a fan of Ellen's (c'mon, we can't call her by her last name. It just doesn't sound right, does it?), you'll probably enjoy this book. It's light, it's hilarious, and the audio book, which is read by the author, is definitely worth a listen.

Muse, by Jonathan Galassi

A very clever book by a long-time publisher at Farrar, Straus and Giroux.  As an insider in publishing, the author knows all about the personalities the players of various “literary” publishing houses, their competition for best-selling authors who will also garner significant prizes (National Book, Pulitzer, even the Nobel), and their rivalries.  The novel is seen through the eyes of Paul Dukach, who has risen to second in command at Purcell & Stern, whose head, Homer Stern, is larger than life in all respects.  Their closest competitor is the patrician house of Sterling Wainwright, who is the publisher of the most notable female poet of her time, Ida Perkins.  It helps that Ida is also Sterling’s cousin, but Homer and she have also shared “a thing” in the past (one of many such liaisons the notorious poet has engaged in).  Paul is not only entranced with her poetry but with all aspects of her long and eventful life and becomes close to Sterling despite his employment with Stern.  Literary references and in-jokes abound.  And the poetry Galassi has written as Ida’s is pretty good too.  Fun for those interested in the publishing scene, and a good book even if some, or many, of the references go over the reader’s head. Comes complete with a bibliography of Ida’s work.  258 pp.