January 2022
        The Man Who Would Be God ~ Paul Ruffin (1993) short stories (155 pgs)
Low key, off beat, odd little tales of strange people and goings on in East Texas.
        Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet ~ Andrew Blum (2012) science, history (271 pgs)
A look at the actual physical core that makes up the internet, and how it grew and grows.
        Calypso ~ David Sedaris (2018) essays (259 pgs)
More of the Sedaris view of life. More personal, and somewhat darker work this time, but still a treat to read.

    February 2022
        The Science Fiction Century ~ David G. Hartwell (editor) (1997) sf short stories (1,005 pgs)
Huge volume with 46 authors spanning the entire 20th century of science fiction, back to 1895!
        Take the Cannoli ~ Sarah Vowell (2000) essays (219 pgs)
More great, thoughtful, funny work from Sarah—and Tony Millionaire illustrations too!
        Floating Worlds: The Letters of Edward Gorey & Peter F.Neumeyer (2011) biography, art (252 pgs)
Gorey and author exchange letters around 1968. Interesting bits, love his work, but probably not been a friend with Gorey.
        The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup ~ Susan Orlean (2001) essays (311 pgs)
Quick looks into the varied lives of people, famous and not, all around the world. Engrossing and fascinating.
        From the Teeth of Angels ~ Jonathan Carroll (1994) novel (212 pgs)
Carroll’s style is always a joy to read, though I think this was more of a short story idea pushed out to make a novel.
        The Last Days of New Paris ~ China Mieville (2016) fantasy (205 pgs)
Short one as heroes battle both Nazis and surrealist paintings come to life in an alternate Paris. Weirdly wonderful.

    March 2022
        Emperor of the Air ~ Ethan Canin (1988) short stories (179 pgs)
Essence of modern short stories- well written, low-key slices of life, often no real beginning or ending. Interesting.
        Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception ~ Charles Seife (2010) math, society (260 pgs)
How numbers can be used as propaganda, to prove pretty much what you want, if no one is paying attention.
        Proud Monster ~ Ian MacMillan (1987) novel (140 pgs)
Gut-wrenching look at Eastern front in WW II, through a series of tight vignettes of people on all sides of conflict.
        The Sugar Frosted Nutsack ~ Mark Leyner (2012) novel (247 pgs)
When you go meta on your meta-novel about a meta story that goes meta. “Bizarre” does not begin to cover this!
        The Old Man and Mr. Smith ~ Peter Ustinov (1990) novel (261 pgs)
God and Satan show up on Earth and are confused by people. Fun if a bit obvious at times about how wacky we are.

    April 2022
        Shady Characters ~ Keith Houston (2013) history, typography (250 pgs)
The origin stories for ampersand, hyphen, interrobang, and more odd punctuation marks—I love this stuff!
        Marvel Comics: The Untold Story ~ Sean Howe (2012) history (432 pgs)
In depth history of the company, fascinating behind the scenes details of creative versus business ideas.
        Sitting in My Booth: One Husky Man Selling His Art ~ Chris Paulsen (2019) humor, art (252 pgs)
Starts as funny stream-of-consciousness observations of people at art festivals, and gets even odder. Great fun.

    May 2022
        The Shadow of the Wind ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafon (2001) novel (487 pgs)
Well written, but more of a gothic romance than the fantasy strangeness I had hoped it would be.
        Everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too ~ Jonathan Sun (2017) cartoon book (304 pgs)
Simple cartoons and simplistic “lessons” of life. Have seen better on both levels.
        A Twister of Twists, A Tangler of Tongues ~ Alvin Schwartz (1972) word play (118 pgs)
Most of these didn’t strike me as that much of a tongue twister, I think he cast his net too wide to collect these.
        Luke Skywalker Can’t Read, And Other Geek Truths ~ Ryan Britt (2015) pop culture (205 pgs)
Funny series of essays taking deep dives into strange fan theories about popular sci-fi and fantasy culture.
        Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling ~Ross King (2003) art, religion, history (318 pgs)
Wonderfully detailed account of the painting of the Sistine Chapel and all that that entailed.