January 2018
        Midnight Riot ~ Ben Aaronovitch (2011) fantasy (298 pgs)
Fun, clever urban fantasy, magic on the police force in London. Lots of historical referencing, a good read.
        No Way to Treat a First Lady ~ Christopher Buckley (2002) novel (288 pgs)
Another winner from Buckley, skewering both politics and the legal system in a hilarious satire of the worst of both.
        Frank R. Paul, Father of Science Fiction Art ~ Stephen D. Korshak (ed) (2009) bio/art book (127 pgs)
Wonderful collection of the work of classic sf artist Paul. When you think of early sf images, it will often be his work!
        Zeitgeist ~ Bruce Sterling (2000) novel (280 pgs)
Often not sure what was going on, but always having a good time on the ride with this one.
        Bossypants ~ Tina Fey (2011) autobiography (284 pgs)
Funny, smart writing-- plus she nails what it is to be able to do good improv/collaboration in only two pages!
        Vernon God Little ~ DBC Pierre (2003) novel (278 pgs)
Huck Finn meets Catcher in the Rye, with much more cursing, in this pointed satire of modern justice system.
        Why Evolution is True ~ Jerry A. Coyne (2009) science, evolution (276 pgs)
Presents the clear, obvious evidence of the evolution of life, and the process of discovering this fact. A good read.
        Robots versus Slime Monsters ~ A. Lee Martinez (2013) short stories, fantasy (201 pgs)
Ten wonderful new short stories based off of characters from his ten previous novels. Another great Martinez read.

    February 2018
        The Apocalypse Codex ~ Charles Stross (2012) science fiction (355 pgs)
More bizarre advetnures of the agents of the super-secret Laundry, scary love-child of Ian Fleming and HPL. Great fun.
        Pretty Monsters ~ Kelly Link (2010) short stories, fantasy (404 pgs)
Wonderful voice, subtle but engrossing, creepy ideas hidden in everyday observations of people, a great read.
        The Men Who Stare At Goats ~ Jon Ronson (2004) technology, military (259 pgs)
The truth truly is stranger than you think, or even want to know. Military experiments with woo, and the men who did it.
        Riding Rockets ~ Mike Mullane (2006) autobiography, science (360 pgs)
Memoir of space shuttle astronaut, lots of behind the scenes, the science and the emotions involved.
        (Not that You Asked) ~ Steve Almond (2007) essays (288 pgs)
Wonderful collection of essays, good snark, good depth, best one is looking at Kurt Vonnegut as his inspiration.

    March 2018
        Non-Stop ~ Brian Aldiss (1958) science fiction (241 pgs)
Early Aldiss, hard-core sf as people discover they are inside of a giant damaged starship. Fun read.
        That's Not Funny, That's Sick ~ Ellin Stein (2013) history (423 pgs)
A detailed history of The National Lampoon, the people involved, and offshoots like Sat Night Live. Good stuff.
        Mort(e) ~ Robert Repino (2015) science fiction (358 pgs)
Sentient cats and dogs at war with giant mutant ants over the last few humans on the planet. Weirder than that sounds!

    April 2018
        Odysseus Abroad ~ Amit Chaudhuri (2014) novel (204 pgs)
Dustjacket blurbs promised: “stunning prose.. surreal comedy..wry, self-mocking, often hilarious sex.” Contained none of that.
        The Wisdom of the Bones ~ Alan Walker and Pat Shipman (1996) Anthropology, history (301 pgs)
Fascinating look at the history of discovering and analyzing evidence of human past evolution
        Looking for Jake ~ China Miéville (2005) short stories, fantasy (303 pgs)
More wonderful writing, this time in smaller bites. Even a touch of satirical humor in one. Always loving me some China!
        The Last Testament: A Memoir by God ~ David Javerbaum (2011) humor, religion (364 pgs)
God sets us straight on all that stuff we got wrong reading the Bible, the Koran, and some new info as well. Funny stuff.

    May 2018
        The Sirens of Titan ~ Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1959) science fiction (319 pgs) RE-READ
Loved the novels of Kurt Vonnegut, and decided time to re-read, in order! (After finished, found out this was his 2nd one.)
        The Littlest Hitler ~ Ryan Boudinot (2006) short stories (215 pgs)
Unclassifiable odd tales, slightly surreal, kind of fantasy, just plain wonderfully low-key weird. Loved them all.
        Anna Karenina ~ Leo Tolstoy (1877) novel (836 pgs)
He managed to work in thoughts on just about everything at some point in this massive novel.
        Shipstar ~ Gregory Benford & Larry Niven (2014) science fiction (415 pgs)
Been a while since I read any new real hard-tech, big-idea sci-fi. Quite fun, even if I'm not following all the science.

    June 2018
        The Book of Strange New Things ~ Michael Faber (2014) novel, sf (500 pgs)
How do you bring religion to aliens as your own life breaks up? Engrossing and well-written sf.
        The Library At Mount Char ~ Scott Hawkins (2015) novel, fantasy (388 pgs)
ibrary At Mount Char ~ Scott Hawkins (2015) novel, fantasy (388 pgs) Dark, violent, and very inventive fantasy tale of god-like beings in the contemporary world. Hope he writes more.