This book is a great explainer for the drivers of poverty in America. It‘s a must-read.

This book is more like the movie “The Fugitive” than any mystery or cyber novel. At times, the drama felt contrived. Overall, I enjoyed listening to it.

How would folks behave if the moon suddenly turned into cheese? This book is told from a number of perspectives and tries to answer that question. As with all Scalzi, it is also funny and irreverent 😊

In case you needed any more confirmation that the leaders of Facebook/Meta were soulless, empty people willing to ignore the suffering caused by Facebook around the world, this book will finish the job. Oh and they are also pretty creepy. The story of Sandberg ordering subordinates to sleep in the same bed with her on private flights has gotten the most attention. However, remembering that they also developed tech to target vulnerable teens…ugh!

I am 35 years late to the party, but this book is amazing! I can‘t say enough. I love the vignette-structure of the story. I love the individual vignettes themselves. I love the characters. Just loved this book so much. I am looking forward to the sequels.

Another great post-apocalyptic Heller novel 😊 The main character, Hig, is seeking connection in a largely depopulated world. I especially enjoyed the fact that it was set in Denver, my neck of the woods.

This is a fun, quick read set in a Bahamian Resort when the sun explodes 😊 It had more depth than I expected, including a class warfare aspect.

What a cool book! It is, in essence, three separate stories about a deputy sheriff in small town New Mexico, named ‘Ogden‘. He‘s an interesting character, understated and sarcastic. Yet, the reader is left with some very complicated feelings about Ogden by the end. As always, it‘s difficult to feel one way when reading an Everett.

Another great Heller read. Different from previous books as it is set in a dystopia, similar to ours.

I am still processing this book. I already know that I didn‘t enjoy it as much as ‘Babel‘. However, there is still much to recommend. First, it feels somewhat apropos. Second, the costs of overriding hatred are on full display. Lastly, there are many enjoyable characters.

Another Peter Heller banger! It was fun to discover that the protagonist was one of the two main characters from The River 😊

I really enjoyed this book. It is largely a love story and has lots of interesting characters. Great read 😊

Man, I really love listening to a book by Peter Heller while wandering the neighborhood with my dog or working out at the gym. Cannot recommend it enough 😊

Another insightful and hilarious read from Percival Everett! I love this book for a number of reasons, not least of which is that both Ted Turner and Professor Percival Everett are significant characters and both are bubble heads! 😊

I didn‘t enjoy this book as much as “Cultish”, but it was a good listen 😊

2025

This is a quick enjoyable listen and it gets me setup for the series on Hulu 😊

A snapshot of humanity in all its wonder, insanity, banality, and grace, there is not an adjective that I could think of that would not apply to at least one character in this book. I have no desire to visit Macando, but I will miss it.

Martyr! is an absolute pleasure to read. Cyrus‘ struggle with his identity and history makes for truly compelling reading 😊

I enjoyed the final installment of the Noumena series. Honestly, the book felt strangely apropos with its mixture of bleak with a slight smidge of hope. Maybe I was just projecting onto it? 🤷‍♀️ Anyway, it was a pleasurable read 😊

I really had to read the prequel after reading “Legends and Lattes”! “Bookshops and Bonedust” did not disappoint. I greatly enjoyed it while walking my pup 😊

This book was, honestly, not what I expected. However, overall, that was a good thing. I liked exploration of the characters through time and the impacts of climate change and time travel.

This book is so much fun. I really enjoyed reading it. It was a nice break from some dark weeks 😊

I‘m sad this trilogy is over. I loved North‘s reimagining of the Odyssey. I loved that this book extends beyond the end of the Odyssey as well.

The characters were great too. Leartes was hilarious. I love that his signature move is to try to chop the other swordsman‘s fingers off 🤣 Absolutely perfect for the father of Odysseus…

I could hardly put this book down. The suspense was killing me. Also, I need more wilderness-based mysteries. Finally, Heller is a Denver-based author that appeals too.

Great book to listen to while walking the dog, riding a bike, or mowing the lawn. This one has a slightly rougher edge than the first one. Gay even says that it is sort of a book of “despites”. Well worth the time.

I am not sure that I really liked the elegiac structure of this book. Didn‘t really work for me.

As always, I greatly value Ta-Nehisi Coates‘ thoughtfulness and perspective.

I decided to read my first Stephen King at long last. It didn‘t disappoint 😊 This book is fun and propulsive! Trying to figure out my next King 🤴

Wow. This book is…..interesting and bleak…powerful and wretched. I enjoyed the construction on the book but I didn‘t enjoy reading it, really. Not sure what else to say 😊

Fun read, but it doesn‘t stand on its own. You really must read the series. Onward to the “Queen of Sorcery”!

This book is a trilogy all rolled into a single package 😊 It is long but worth every page. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and dragons. I loved how flawed they all were. Great book 👍

This is yet another Scalzi that I enjoyed. In some ways it was pretty typical of his work and in others it has some interesting differences. Good read 👍

I ended up enjoying the trilogy quite a bit. Fun story and interesting characters.

I loved this story. I loved the idea of this story. The characters, Tress included, can be normal, mundane even, and yet be heroic through acts of bravery, self-discovery, and kindness. It‘s just a fresh and welcome premise. 😊

“Shorefall” hardly takes a single breath from “Foundaryside”. The story of Sancia, Gregor, Orso, etc continues to be exciting and fast paced. “Locklands” is next and I am certain that it doesn‘t take a breath either.

Generally fun little YA book that was a decent listen while walking the dog.

Per the usual for Everett, this book is amazing. It is so strange how he can make you laugh out loud about such difficult topics. This is one his earlier titles and it seems readymade for a movie adaptation; it is sprawling and the characters are always on the move. However, Dirt Marder might be a tough pill to swallow for many. I suppose that is why it hasn‘t made it to the screen.

I loved “More Perfect”. The characters are complicated and so are their motivations. There are real stakes and costs. The technology is both frightening and exhilarating. Just a great read.

Decent ideas, corny writing. The writing about computers is downright painful. I read this one for my book club.

This book is in my top 5 non-fiction books of all time. It is manages to be both very expansive and compact at the same time. It tells the big picture of pathogens and their effects on human history going all the way back to Homo sapiens tenuously coexisting with Neanderthals. Tuchmans “A Distant Mirror” is also in my top 5 and is a great companion piece for this book; its focus is much tighter: The Black Death. “Pathogenesis” is truly remarkable.

What a lovely read “Babel” is! It is a fantastic vehicle for discussing colonialism, racism, misogyny, and inequality. Kuang is so thoughtful about her characters and the story. Couldn‘t recommend it enough 😊

This was another reread for my book club. I loved it as much as the first time. I also found some more to the story than before. Such an amazing book

This book is a history of witchcraft trails over the last 450 years. It contains lots of contemporary material and connections as well. Not surprisingly, whether 1600s or 2000s, witchcraft accusations are rooted in misogyny, control, hatred, and abhorrence of those in poverty.

“Foundryside” is fast-paced and exciting to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I‘ve ordered “Shorefall” 😊

Another great road-trip audiobook listen 😊

I‘m still recovering from this one. I really enjoyed it, but it is wrenching. Great book 👍

This is a great road-trip audiobook! Silly enough to make you laugh and wild enough to keep your attention 😊

I loved Trees! It amazes me how Everett can tackle such a topic while maintaining a level of humor. Also, the chapter that is told from Trump‘s perspective is pure gold 😊

This was the third book I‘ve read from Percival Everett. I loved it so much! I was a little sad when I finished. I love reimagining old and cherished stories and James does not disappoint.

This book is great. It is not a list of animals considered to be pests. It is about how humans create pests through definition, expectations, inaction, and carelessness. That perspective showed up almost on the first page and the author takes her time making her case.