I finished Sherrod Brown’s Desk 88, about the progressive senators who once sat at his desk in the U.S. Senate. It’s pretty good. Any liberal Democrat, or anyone who likes U.S. history, would enjoy it. I have to say, it rings a little hollow after yesterday’s no-Blue-Wave election results, but it’s still worth a read.
I’ve now returned to an audiobook of A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America by Stacy Schiff, about Benjamin Franklin’s ultimately-successful 1770s mission to woo the French to help win the American Revolution. The research and writing is good, and I’m glad to have at last reached the point at which John Adams arrives in Paris, but the reader of this audiobook has an arch, cutesey tone that’s grating after awhile.
Finished The Return by Rachel Harrison. A woman goes missing for two years, then shows up again with no memory of what has happened to her. Then she is reunited with her three best friends for a girls’ weekend at a quirky hotel. They can see right away that something is very wrong…
You may not know it from that description, but this is a supernatural horror novel. Most of the book is about the friendship of the women, the décor of the hotel, and every bite of food or sip of alcohol they consume. Then weirdness! The chase! Gore! Resolution. And I said, “Huh.”
This is another book that passed the time, and I didn’t hate it, but wouldn’t recommend.
I came to this book having read Sal and Gabi Break [and Fix] the Universe–Hernandez’s two delightful children’s books. These earlier, more adult stories are just as delightful. Seeing Sal and Gabi in incarnations simultaneously earlier and more mature was a shock, but a lovely expansion of their characters. What a joy!
I’ve just finished an absolutely ridiculous book called ‘Zombies and Shit’ by a certifiable nutcase called Carlton Mellick III. It’s basically Battle Royale meets The Walking Dead. It’s crazy, trashy, gory as fuck, and hands down one of the most relentlessly entertaining books I’ve ever read. There’s not so much as a single boring paragraph in the whole thing, and there’s a hilarious twist at the end which I absolutely guarantee no-one will see coming. 10/10!
Started today on David Wong’s newest in the Zoe Ashe series, Zoe Punches the Future in the Dick. Wacky sci-fi; how you feel about that title is probably reflective of how you would feel about the books. I’ve been laughing since I first heard about it.
I’m taking a break from my audiobook of A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America by Stacy Schiff, about Benjamin Franklin’s wooing of the French to help win the American Revolution. I’m less than halfway done and the alliance has already been formed; I think I’ve probably heard the best part of the book already, and I’m not sure it’d be worth putting up with the annoying reader for another twelve-plus hours.
Just started From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming, the next book in the James Bond series, which I’ve been reading through over the past few years. Good so far, and not too far off the (very good) movie.
Not so a much a history of the city, but a series of essays and sketches of important events and themes surrounding Byzantium / Constantinople / Istanbul.
Ms. Hughes is clearly very knowledgeable, although her prose style can be a little too complicated. At times I had to reread sentences to make sure that I followed what she was saying. But I read 600+ pages of it, so obviously it wasn’t too bad.
Hella David Gerrold*
Told from the 1st person perspective of Kyle Barnes who is a young, neurodivergent (autistic, although the novel doesn’t use the term) man growing up in a human colony on the planet Hella. Hella is a planet of extremes danger - intense climate and giant dinosaur-like creatures. But, he may find that the small town politics are even more of a threat…
Nothing earthshattering, but certainly an enjoyable book.
*Famous, on infamous, as the creator of the tribbles in Star Trek
After several days away from Stacy Schiff’s A Great Improvisation, I realized I didn’t miss it and had no particular yearning to return to it, so I’ve given it up.
Just started Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings by Ingo F. Walther and Rainer Metzger, a thick, lavishly-illustrated book on the great but greatly-troubled artist. Amazing to see the progress he made in just nine years of painting in his entire all-too-short life.
Jst finished reading Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, a gift from my daughter, with whom I watched the Netflix series.
Now I’m reading Meet me on Lake Erie, Dearie!: Cleveland’s Great Lakes Exposition, 1936-1937 by John Vacha. It’s about the virtually forgotten Depression-era quasi World’s Fair held in Cleveland It’s a fascinating story, and it’s also background material for one of my next books.
On audio, I’m listening to The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, a true crime story. This was supposedly a world-famous Jack-the-Ripper-like killed in the 1970-1985 time frame. But, I confess, I never heard of it.
Finished Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick. Another five-star read! David Wong is as sharp and funny as ever, and Zoey is the most lovable crime-syndicate boss of all time. P.S. - This is a work of fiction. No dicks, real or imaginary, were harmed in the making of this book. Recommended (but maybe start with the first one in the series).
Started this morning on Wonderland by Zoje Stage, about a family of city folk who move out to the haunted woods.
