June 2017 Reads, part 2

(Continued from Part 1)

Honeybee Democracy - Thomas Seeley (2010)
"One valuable lesson that we can learn from the bees is that holding an open and fair competition of ideas is a smart solution to the problem of making a decision based on a pool of information dispersed across a group of individuals."

This both reads like a textbook and manages to be fascinating. Seeley, with a keen observer's care, goes over, in detail and supported by studies, various aspects of aspects of social bee behaviors like swarming and choosing an ideal nesting site. You'll learn a lot. It does get a little repetitive by the end, and some of the conclusions about what humans can learn from bee behavior seem like a stretch, but it's interesting nonetheless. A must-read if you're at all interested in beekeeping.

Related Reads:
(See sources cited throughout book)

Everland - Wendy Spinale (2016)
"What more is left here for you but faith?" Pete says, extending a hand to me from the open window.
..."And a little bit of pixie dust," Bella adds, pouring the rest of the gold into my hand.

This Young Adult fiction book is basically a Steampunk retelling of Peter Pan. I liked the overall premise and setup of the book - it's similar to the fantasy-fiction that I liked to read and write as a teen. But I came away with the feeling that the idea was better than the result here. And since this is the first of a as-yet-incomplete trilogy, there were some pieces in the story that seemed to be left hanging.

Everland's point of view switches between two characters (the main protagonist and main antagonist) throughout, but there really wasn't much difference between the character's voices. I found myself wishing that it wasn't written in the first person; I think the only thing this adds is that it makes the book a bit more distinct from the original story. One of its stronger points is interesting descriptions and the sometimes-clever integration of steampunk elements. Overall, though, the main thought I came away with was that this story would work better - and seem fresher - in graphic novel form.

Related Reads:
Ella Enchanted
Girl Genius comic series
Peter Pan

The Art of Neighboring - Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon (2012)
"We all need to get back to the basics of what he commanded: love God and love others. Everything else is secondary."

This book has been lingering on my to-read list for years. I was somewhat disappointed that the focus was more on why we should be good neighbors (because Jesus teaches that we should) rather than teaching how to best connect to people in various situations. There were some good insights and a few specific suggestions, but it wasn't as helpful as I was hoping, though I'd allow that it's still a fine starting point.

Related Reads:
(See resource list in the back of book)

The Road - Cormac McCarthy (2007)
"He knew only that his child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke."

In reading this, I continued my Post-Apocalyptic genre trend as well as started my sub-goal of reading more by McCarthy. The tone is harsh, stark, and much more individualistic than the others of this genre I've read in recent months - though the ending was a bit more hopeful than I was anticipating. McCarthy's poetic, stream-of-conscious style, imagery ("By day the banished sun circles the earth like a grieving mother with a lamp"), and descriptions serve to make this an absorbing and emotionally-wrenching read.

Related Reads:
The Postman (Brin)

June 2017 Reads, part 1

June's mix of books was another varied one, though it leaned a little heavier on the SciFi side. I ended up having to return a number of the books to the library before I had a chance to fully go back through them and jot down my thoughts - one unfortunate aspect of having a limited amount of time with most of the books I read.

The Postman - David Brin (1985)
"Where is it written that one should only care about big things?"

This was one of the more hopeful of the Post-Apocalyptic books I've read, which I have no complaints about. Any specifically SciFi aspects of it felt fairly light. Probably the main thing that bothered me was the several instances of Deus ex Machina, and I'm still unsure how I feel about the gender roles as presented. Still, it's engaging and interesting despite the number of related books I've read recently. And once I learned that the book was first published in several parts in novella form (not uncommon for the genre), I felt that the structure made more sense.

Related Reads:
Alas, Babylon (Frank)
Earth Abides (Stewart)
The Philip K. Dick Reader ["The Turning Wheel"]

The Three Body Problem - Cixin Liu (2006)
(Translated from Chinese to English by Ken Liu in 2014)
"Sometimes I thought life was precious, and everything was so important; but other times I thought humans were insignificant, and nothing was worthwhile."

I missed the boat on reading this a few years back when it was at a popularity peak. The story is fairly math/physics/computer-science heavy, but uses language that the average non-STEM-field reader can generally follow. I did feel that someone in related fields would find more to appreciate here. China's Cultural Revolution and surrounding history also plays a fairly big role; an overall knowledge of it would be helpful, although their are footnotes in the English edition that offer brief additional insight. Wresting with certain difficult philosophical questions is also major part of the book.

There were definitely differences between the structure and tone of this book and what I'd normally expect from a book written by an American author - I had envisioned the book going a completely different way at the beginning than where it ended up. The translator's note about quality of translation gave a bit more explanation here. I'm not sure I'm invested enough to say I'll definitely find and read the sequels, but I wouldn't rule it out, either.

Related Reads:
Ender's Game (Card)
Ready Player One (Cline)

It's Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too) - Nora Purmort (2016)
"I fought the urge to try to feel things before they happened and instead tried to feel what was actually happening."

The author went through several devastating events within a period of a few short weeks, and she writes about her experiences and emotions with unflinching clarity and surprising humor. Even though I'm pretty sure Nora and I have very dissimilar personalities, the book reads like a conversation with a friend, and I kept finding pithy and relatable quotes. It's a book to pick up if you've "gone through some shit" or want to better understand the thought processes and coping mechanisms of someone who has.

Related Reads:
There is No Good Card for This (Crowe & McDowell)
Bossypants (Fey)

(continued in Part 2)

Books read in May 2017

This past month's reads were pretty varied in terms of subject, and all were written within the past decade or so. I currently have a pile of library checkouts that are waiting for me now that I've finally finished the monster that is The Heir Apparent.

Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders - Neil Gaiman (2006)
"The map was gone, and the mapmaker, but the land lived on."

If you're familiar with Gaiman and/or enjoy a mix of macabre/horror/fantasy/humor/sci-fi/nostalgia in stories (think elements of H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Bradbury), you'll find the 30-odd pieces included here a nice collection and appreciate seeing short stories that were forerunners for later books. However, if you find Gaiman a little too edgy in general or don't care for stories that are designed to evoke strong, sometimes negative emotions, you'll probably find a number of the stories included disturbing and/or offensive. Stick with Trigger Warning for a milder short story collection from Gaiman.

Personally, I liked this collection as a whole and appreciated the general vibe that Gaiman doesn't take himself too seriously. I really enjoyed a handful of particular pieces, including "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire", "Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot", and "How to Talk to Girls at Parties".

Related Reads
Smoke and Mirrors (Gaiman)
Trigger Warning (Gaiman)
Switch Bitch (Dahl)
Skin (Dahl)
Neverwhere (Gaiman)

Nothing is True and Everything is Possible - Peter Pomerantsev (2014)
"For when I talk to many of my old colleagues... they might laugh off all the Holy Russia stuff as so much PR (because everything is PR!), but their triumphant cynicism in turn means they can be made to feel there are conspiracies everywhere: because if nothing is true and all motives are corrupt and no one is to be trusted, doesn't it mean some dark hand must be behind everything?"

First off, a couple of negative thoughts: I noticed several typos when reading, and the book felt somewhat uneven in that it spends chunks of time dedicated to specific stories (that, while interesting, don't seem that well integrated into the book as a whole). Despite those complaints, I found the book genuinely fascinating, and there are sections that demonstrate dizzying prose and real lyricism. If you're interested at all in modern Russia, especially in terms of media or politics, this is a good, albeit disturbing read - though perhaps somewhat dated already.

Related Reads
(See back of book for the author's recommendations)

Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean - Richard Logan & Tere Fassbender (2010)
"'How did they die?' A simple question that was simply profound. Tere had never been asked. So she answered."

This book is a detailed account of the 1961 sinking of the sailing yacht Bluebelle and the miraculous survival of 11-year-old Terry Jo Duperrault (now Tere Fassbender). It's not written in first person, but Tere is a co-author and her thoughts and experiences are integrated into the book. Though I didn't love the writing style, I still found the book inspiring and gripping as it laid out the background of the event, the history of the players involved, and the facts of Tere's survival, recovery, and her struggles with the aftermath of trauma. For anyone interested in crime, mystery, and survival accounts, this is a solid pick.

Related Reads:
Surviving Survival (Gonzales)

The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, the Playboy Prince - Jane Ridley (2012)
"The dance between Bertie, his wife, and his mother was about to unfold."

Long, thorough, sometimes remarkably unflattering of Queen Victoria, and so chock-full of quotes that at times it reads like a gossip column, this book draws from the staggering multitude of surviving letters and documents to piece together a complete picture of the historically-maligned British monarch. Going into this book, I was not very familiar with Edward VII (referred to by his nickname Bertie throughout the book), but knew a good deal about several other contemporary figures like his nephew, czar Nicolas II of Russia. Some knowledge about the British royal family and/or contemporary world leaders is something of a must, as otherwise the huge amount of names and people referenced will quickly become overwhelming.

This book is a must-read if you're researching Edward VII or anyone closely related to him at all. It's also a fairly comprehensive, though broad, window into the politics, complicated royal family relationships, and world happenings of the late 1800's-early 1900's. As something of an aside, I also found the author's forward and afterword about the vast amount of research she was able to do fascinating.

Related Reads
The Romanov Sisters (Rappaport)
Sex With Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge (Herman)

The Secret Lives of Hoarders - Matt Paxton (2011)
"'Success' for a hoarder is not really a goal; it's more of a journey toward a better life, even if that's not necessarily a completely clutter-free life."

Two words come to mind for this book: helpful and realistic. The author draws from real-life examples as well as insight from a psychologist to discuss hoarding in terms of it being a mental health issue. Aside from providing thoughts on various possible causes, co-morbid disorders, and reasons for hoarding, Paxton outlines the necessary support elements that need to be in place in order to provide real, lasting help to someone who hoards. The book isn't all-positive; many of the various cases Paxton references had outcomes that were only slight improvements, if not outright relapses, and he's very realistic about the great difficulties that exist for those trying to overcome a hoarding disorder. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a hoarder in their life or who wants to know about the realities of trying to help.

Related Reads:
Dirty Secret (Sholl)

Books read in April 2017, part 2

(continued from Part 1)

Aside from the Bloody Jack series, I was able to work in a few more serious reads in April.

Earth Abides - George R. Stewart (1949)
"When the opportunity was at your hand, you did not dare to seize it. When the opportunity was lost, it became precious."

This classic post-Apocalyptic fiction novel is probably a must-read if you're into that genre at all. One element that makes this book stand out from others in its genre is that man-made structures, cities, and the earth itself are described throughout the book as they go through the various stages of deterioration and change after the near-annihilation of mankind. The main character of the book is a fairly brooding, analytical figure; some might find him (and thus the book in its entirety, since a lot of the book is dedicated to his thought process) depressing. Overall, I actually found the book strangely satisfying, at least as compared to similar books that I've read.

Related Reads:
Alas, Babylon (Pat Frank)
A Canticle for Leibowitz (Walter Miller)
Anthem (Ayn Rand)

Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (2002)
(Translated from Japanese to English in 2005 by Philip Gabriel)
"And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."

I'm fairly certain this is the first (translated) Japanese-language novel that I've read. I found the novel interesting as well as unexpected - it changes between narrators throughout, and I thought the overall story was going to go a completely different way when I started the book. In many ways it's quite different than your usual American novel; I think it's helpful to have at least a smattering of knowledge of Japanese culture, history, and overall philosophy going into it. By the end of the book, I was left with the feeling of having several unanswered questions, but this is almost certainly by design.

Although I'd say I found the book an intriguing read and I'm interested in reading more by the author, there were a few content notes that I feel should be mentioned. First (related to the Oedipal nature of the main plot point), there are a handful of fairly explicit sex scenes. Second, there's one chapter in particular that fairly graphically details the torture and murder of animals (cats), made worse by the fact that one character can communicate with cats like people. Both of these points are related to the overall story and plot and are designed to evoke emotion, thus they don't offend me by their mere presence or strike me as unnecessary. It's just that reading such scenes make me uncomfortable, personally - but your mileage may vary.

Related Reads:
The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)

American Gods - Neil Gaiman (2001)
"All your questions can be answered, if that is what you want. But once you learn your answers, you can never unlearn them."

Early on in the book, I found myself thinking that I wasn't finding the read very enjoyable. It's fairly dark in overall tone and doesn't have a lot in the way of humor or even lighter moments. However, I did like the book more as it went on and ended up finding it compelling and surprising and studded with pithy quotes. The novel also rekindled my interest in greater America and its landmarks/sacred sites. I wouldn't really recommend it to a first-time reader of Gaiman, since I felt that my having read most of his other books first lent a lot of context to the story.

I'll note that there are a couple of fairly explicit sex scenes, which I found personally uncomfortable rather than thinking them out of place in the story.

Related Reads:
Norse Mythology (Neil Gaiman)
Anansi Boys (Neil Gaiman)

Books Read in April 2017, Part 1

This past month, I read the entire Bloody Jack series (mostly on my Kindle) along with a few other separate books. I figured it'd be easiest for me to just share my thoughts on the Bloody Jack series as a group rather than on the books individually.

Bloody Jack - L. A. Meyer (2002)
Curse of the Blue Tattoo - L. A. Meyer
Under the Jolly Roger - L. A. Meyer
In the Belly of the Bloodhound - L. A. Meyer
Mississippi Jack - L. A. Meyer
My Bonny Light Horseman - L. A. Meyer
Rapture of the Deep - L. A. Meyer
The Wake of the Lorelai Lee - L. A. Meyer
The Mark of the Golden Dragon - L. A. Meyer
Viva Jacquelina! - L. A. Meyer
Boston Jacky - L. A. Meyer
Wild Rover No More - L. A. Meyer (2014)

This Young Adult Historical Fiction series is set within the years 1797-1809 and takes place mostly in England and America, but also in France, Cuba, India, and various other countries, islands, and territories. The main character, Mary "Jacky" Faber, runs into a gamut of historical, literary, and legendary figures throughout her travels (aside from the expected historical figures, there are sly nods to the crew of the Pequod from Moby Dick and Fagin's gang from Oliver Twist, for instance, and one book finds her interacting with American frontier legend Mike Fink, King of the River). The historical events and figures are interwoven in such a way that they never seem to get in the way of the main story and characters, though, which I feel is one of the series' strengths.

As for Jacky herself, I appreciated her as a plucky strong-yet-flawed female lead whose ability to get herself out of scrapes is matched only by her ability to get herself into them. Her character does tend to be a little uneven depending on what was needed for the overall storyline, but a lot of the overall changes in voice and tone are understandable just given that the series follows her from age 8 to age 19.

One quibble I had was that there are a lot of characters introduced throughout the books. Sometimes it felt like there wasn't enough space to fully develop all these interesting characters, and occasionally I had trouble remembering exactly who was who, especially for characters who disappeared and then popped back up several books later. I also felt that some of them were used a little too much as deus-ex-machinas, especially Higgins, the intelligent, rarely-ruffled, not-so-secretly-gay steward-turned-butler. But the books overall don't take themselves too seriously and even take on a sort of legendary-storytelling feel by design, so even obvious plot points and completely-out-of-nowhere events are forgivable.

Overall, the series manages to stay strong throughout its entirety and wrap itself up fairly nicely in the end, which is no mean feat given all the events and character arcs going on. I think this would've been a fun series for me to collect and read (and reread) in late junior high/early high school and would recommend it for that age group in general, as well as to anyone looking for a fun and exciting but still surprisingly educational series. I'm only disappointed that I didn't get introduced to them sooner and thus don't have dog-eared copies of my own to revisit.

Related Reads:
The following list is just what occurred to me while reading the first few books - I stopped making mental notes eventually. I'd also have to just broadly recommend reading more about any of the historical/literary characters and events mentioned throughout the series.
Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)
Seven Daughters and Seven Sons (Barbara Cohen)
First Test (Tamora Pierce)
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Joan Aiken)
King of the Wind (Marguerite Henry)
A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
Johnny Tremain (Esther Forbes)
The Black Stallion (Walter Farley)
A Soldier's Secret (Marissa Moss)

(to be continued in Part 2)

Books Read in March 2017, part 2

(continued from Part 1)

The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart
"No one seems to realize how much we are driven by FEAR, the essential component of human personality. Everything else - from ambition to love to despair - derives in some way from this single powerful emotion."

This book is Juvenile Fiction and geared towards elementary school age, so my judgments are colored by that. With the intended audience in mind, I feel like I can't really fault it for certain style choices or plot points that I found a little too obvious - and I'll even note that there were a few things revealed as the plot went on that surprised me. I liked the first part (basically the setup) of the book the best, and was a little bothered by the fairly neat-and-tidy happy ending.

One of my main complaints is probably that I would've liked to see even more puzzles/creative solutions throughout the book. One thing that stands out [minor spoilers] was the treatment of teaching the group-of-special-children Morse Code. Rather than implementing a creative teaching method (as when the father in Cheaper by the Dozen teaches his children Morse Code by implementing a creative word-syllable association to match the patterns), it just says the children learned it quickly, which felt like a bit of a cop-out and not very "fun" or applicable. Overall, I thought the book was fine and definitely creative, but maybe not as unique as I was hoping. But I think it would be really interesting for elementary-school-age kids.

Related Reads:
All the Wrong Questions series (Lemony Snicket)
The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster)
The Westing Game (Ellen Raskin)
Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore (Robin Sloan)

Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett
"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."

This was my first Terry Pratchett novel (finally! hooray!). In the past I'd been overwhelmed trying to figure out where to start within the Discworld books, but eventually decided to just pick a story arc to read in chronological order (based on this handy fan-created chart). Apparently Equal Rites was one of Pratchett's earlier-written novels and perhaps not as refined as his later ones - but I really enjoyed it and felt his humor and riffs on the usual fantasy-novel stories worked well. I also think that it has a good balance of being appropriate for younger-than-adult readers without seeming like it's talking down to anyone. I'm eager to read more and will be definitely be scouring my local libraries for the next-in-line books.

Related Reads:
Seventh Son (Orson Scott Card)
Uprooted (Naomi Novik)
The Song of the Lioness series (Tamora Pierce)

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
"God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time."

To come right out and say it : I enjoyed this mashup. I've read a lot of Neil Gaiman works and just one Terry Pratchett book so far, but could parse out the styles of each author within the novel, which was fun. The book makes light of a lot of "serious" and much-debated topics, namely, the Apocalypse, prophesies, Biblical stories, and angels and demons. With my childhood background of strict Christian fundamentalism, I found the book oddly cathartic in its sometimes-blunt, sometimes-sly irreverence. It manages to be funny and hopeful even in the midst of its storyline of reluctant players and catastrophic events. Apparently Good Omens is going to be on Amazon Prime as a miniseries in the near future, and I'm quite interested to see how it turns out.

Related Reads:
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman)

Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman
"Whether we are gods or mortals, Odin is the father of us all."

I was able to snag a copy of this book at a recent Neil Gaiman event. It's written in fairly simplistic, straightforward language, I think in the tradition of oral storytelling and due to the nature of the basic story lines Gaiman wanted to uphold. Hearing Gaiman read the chapter "Freya's Unusual Wedding" at the event I attended was a real treat and made me feel that these stories are almost better when read aloud.

Going into the book, I was already familiar with the basics of Norse lore and knew some of the stories and characters already (though I haven't been exposed to the Marvel comics or films). I think someone who was completely unfamiliar with Norse mythology would find this collection of stories (glossary included in the back) a very approachable read. Gaiman filters the swaths of fragmentary tales and stories that still exist into a compact, good starting point for any reader.

Related Reads:
Beowulf
The Hobbit  (J. R. R. Tolkien)

Books Read in March 2017, part 1

This month, I decided to start a "Related Reads" section for each book blurb - this will just be a short list of books I've read before that I feel are related or similar in some way to the reviewed book.

Shantaram - Gregory Roberts
"I don't know what frightens me more, the power that crushes us, or our endless ability to endure it."

This epic is long (over 900 pages) and a bit of a slow build. Mostly set in India, with the final portion set in Afghanistan, it's based on the life of the author - a heroin addict who escaped from prison - and written in the first person.

There were a few things that annoyed me about the book - mostly the author's tendency to foreshadow in the "if only I knew then what I knew now" sort of way - but overall, I thought the book was gripping and interesting, despite its sometimes-messy prose. It's packed full of enough events to strain credibility, but down-to-earth enough to be achingly realistic. I'll note that there's a good bit of violence and torture interspersed throughout the story.

Related Reads:
The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (T. E. Lawrence)
Catch Me if You Can (Frank Abegnale)
The Valley of Amazement (Amy Tan)

Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
"Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities."

I must admit that I was expecting this to be a self-help sort of book; thus, I was a little disappointed. While the book is well-written and the information is interesting, I found myself thinking things like, "That's all very well for Canadian hockey players born in January, but what does that have to do with me?" I had also heard many of the stories cited in the book before, so there wasn't a lot of new data or extrapolations made for me. I still think I'd recommend it as an interesting read (especially for those that like statistics or history), but I personally only took away a few practical things (the principle of "practice makes perfect" and the importance of having meaningful work, mostly, which aren't principles unique to this book).

Related Reads:
The Happiness Project (Gretchen Rubin)
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat (Oliver Sacks)

The Mint (Complete, Unexpurgated Text) - T. E. Lawrence 
"If only I could sleep solidly! but desert experience taught me to hover through the nights in a transparent doze, listening for the threat of any least sound or movement: and in a hut of fifty strong fellows there is not one minute of night-silence."

This book is hard to find in physical form, but I picked up a copy in a used bookstore last year. If you're a fan of T. E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia) and/or interested in accounts of RAF (Royal Air Force) experiences, I'd recommend this book as almost a necessity to round out your knowledge. However, I wouldn't really recommend the book if you're not at all familiar with the author; in my opinion, context matters a lot here.

The Mint, Lawrence's account of the years during which he joined the RAF under an assumed name, is frequently punctuated with strong language, passing references to the author's past, and the everyday physical goings-on of military life that both repulsed and attracted Lawrence - a juxtaposition that was common throughout his life. The style is uniquely Lawrence's and the chapters are short and chronological, tending to read as journal entries or stand-alone short stories in style. As someone who's read a good bit of things by and about T. E. Lawrence and who considers him a "favorite historical figure", I found the book very interesting, even profound. But those who have no context for the book or reasons behind its writing will probably be puzzled at best, and offended at worst.

Related reads:
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (T. E. Lawrence)
A Prince of Our Disorder (John E. Mack)
Going Solo (Roald Dahl)
All Things Wise and Wonderful (James Herriot)