What I've been reading.....
January 2025
I am homeless if this is not my home ~ Lorrie Moore (2023) novel (193 pgs)
I wanted to like this more, quirky ideas, nice style, but never really clicked for me.
Lanark ~ Alasdair Gray (1981) novel (573 pgs)
Amazing meta novel, two books in one, imaginative, wild ride the whole way. Loved it.
I Smell Esther Williams ~ Mark Leyner (1983) short stories (197 pgs)
Earlier works, the random wandering not quite as controlled here, so seems more gimmicky
February 2025
Version Control ~ Dexter Palmer (2016) sf (545 pgs)
Full of great throw-away ideas throughout the main story of the paradox of time travel changing everything.
Mr. Breakfast ~ Jonathan Carroll (20222) novel (251 pgs)
Carroll never fails to come up with a different interesting, fascinating read every time.
March 2025
Mustn’t Grumble ~ Joe Bennett (2006) travel (280 pgs)
Wonderfully snarky road trip through England, best line: "He is either incompetent or playing jazz."
Unlikely Stories, Mostly ~ Alasdair Gray (1983) short stories (294 pgs)
More brilliant writing and amazing ideas, must find more from him!
The Whore’s Child ~ Richard Russo (2002) short stories (225 pgs)
A couple of winners, a couple of yawners, might be getting too self-referential these days.
The Gameshouse ~ Claire North (2019) sf (409 pgs)
Got to pay close attention to who everyone is, but quite the page turner, and unique idea.
April 2025
Billy Bathgate ~ E.L. Doctorow (1989) novel (242 pgs)
World’s Fair ~ E.L. Doctorow (1985) novel (215 pgs)
Loon Lake ~ E.L. Doctorow (1979) novel (202 pgs)
Three book collection, first two straight forward narratives of life of characters in the 1930a, more interesting for how he gets details of those times. Last one, the earliest, a confusing mix of styles, narratives, time shifts, and failed attempts to be "literary".
How Not To Live Abroad ~ Shaun Briley (2004) travel (282 pgs)
Couple buys an almond farm in Spain, totally unprepared for everything that goes with that.
White Apples ~ Jonathan Carroll (2002) fantasy (304 pgs)
I am either amazed or disappointed by Carroll from book to book. This one seems like just making it up as he goes along.
May 2025
Golden Delicious ~ Christopher Boucher (2016) novel (323 pgs)
World where language is physically real, main protagonist has a pet sentence called "I am." Weird and wonderful.
The Book of Speculation ~ Erika Swyler (2015) novel (376 pgs)
Well written, but I never liked any of the main characters, too much over-the-top anguished reactions to events.
Ghosts in the Mind’s Machine- Creating and Using Images in the Brain ~ Stephen Michael Kosslyn (1983) biology/psychology (229 pgs)
Less about actual creative thinking, more about the mechanism of how images form in the brain.
The Last of the Incas ~ Edward Hyams and George Ordish (1963) history (263 pgs)
Lust for gold and religious fanaticism destroy another civilization, again.
Era of Ignition ~ Amber Tamblyn (2019) sociology, autobio (257 pgs)
Thoughts on feminism, gender and social awareness.
June 2025
In Our Time ~ Ernest Hemingway (1925) short stories (156 pgs)
First Heminway I’ve read, very impressed at the direct and subtle points being made in these tales.
The More Than Complete Hitchhiker’s Guide ~ Douglas Adams (1986) science fiction (624 pgs) RE-read
Omnibus collection containing:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979)
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980)
Life, the Universe, and Everything (1982)
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1985)
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe (1986)
All of it in one place. Wonderful sf humor that set the level for others to come. Reread every few years.
The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared ~ Jonas Jonasson (2009) novel (384 pgs)
Wonderfully weird mix of accidental murders now, and a past life where he met famous people around the world.
Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words ~ Randall Munroe (2015) science, tech (65 pgs)
Oversized volume crammed with detailed drawings of things and explanations of what they are. xkcd rules!
The Dead Beat ~ Marilyn Johnson (2006) history, society (244 pgs)
A look at the people who write the obituaries, as well as the people who follow them. Fascinating.
July 2025
Flawed Dogs ~ Berkeley Breathed (2009) novel (217 pgs)
Cute, great illustrations, but also way too much dark stuff about harming dogs, even with the happy ending.
You’re Never Weird on the Internet (almost) ~ Felicia Day (2015) autobio (260 pgs)
Quick fun read of the first few decades of Day’s interesting life.
Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom ~ David Neilsen (2016) kids book (230 pgs)
Great cover over murky interior illos and a story that feels like just padded out a short story idea.
A Slave No More ~ David W. Blight (2007) history (264 pgs)
First person accounts of being slaves by two men, and the history around them. Amazing read.
Working Stiff ~ Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell (2014) medicine, autobio (255 pgs)
Personal story of training to be a forensic pathologist, holds no details back. Fascinating read.
August 2025
We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier ~ Celia Rivebark (2004) humor, society, essays (272 pgs)
More funny observations about life, and specific Southern Americans.
Cloud Cuckoo Land ~ Athony Doerr (2021) novel (625 pgs)
Brilliant, multi-line story, past present and future, touching and surprising. Loved it.
The Gravedigger ~ Peter Grandbois (2006) novel (255 pgs) Unfinished, read half then skimmed
I think I just expected/wanted more from the concept, but it was just… there.
Pint-Sized Ireland ~ Evan McHugh (2006) novel (2001) travel (280 pgs)
Looking for perfect Guinness results in excellent travel book through Ireland.
Crosstalk ~ Connie Willis (2016) sf (498 pgs)
Usually enjoy Willis’ work, but this should have been only half as long.
Edison’s Conquest of Mars ~ Garrett P. Serviss (1898) sf (168 pgs)
Very early sf, definitely of it’s time, lots of disturbing under currents of attitudes towards others.
September 2025
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland ~ Catherynne M. Valente (2012) YA fantasy (258 pgs)
Some interesting characters and nice scenes, but just series of events, not much story.
The Invisible Parade ~ Leigh Bardugo and John Picacio (2025) picture book (56 pgs)
Stunning, detailed, amazing illustrations by Picacio bring the story to amazing life.
My Sunshine Away ~ M. O. Walsh (2015) novel (322 pgs)
Coming of age mystery novel, kept me not wanting to put it down to see where it went.
The New Yorker Book of All-New Cat Cartoons ~ (1997) cartoons (88 pgs)
The New Yorker Book of True Love Cartoons ~ (1999) cartoons (102 pgs)
The New Yorker Book of Literary Cartoons ~ (2000) cartoons (105 pgs)
Three selected collections of wonderful New Yorker cartoons.
Dave ~ David Miller (1994) comic strip collection (144 pgs)
Interesting style, short lived newspaper strip, more smiles than actual laughs
Pearls Before Swine: BLTs Taste So Darn Good (2003) comic strip collection (128 pgs
Pearls Before Swine: This Little Piggy Stayed Home Stephan Pastis (2004) comic strip collection (128 pgs)
First two PBS collections, weirdly funny and dark, strip is still going strong today.
Brewster Rockit: Space Guy! ~ Tim Rickard (2007) comic strip collection (128 pgs)
Lots of parodies riffing off of SF movies and tv, rough at times, but mostly lots of fun
October 2025
Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods! Interviews with Science Fiction Legends ~ Richard Wolinsky (ed) (2025) history (246 pgs)
Look back at history of sf from series of radio interviews with people who were there.
The World of Edward Gorey ~ Clifford Ross and Karen Wilkin (1996) art, bio (192 pgs)
Great essay about, and interview with, the artist. Plus lots of samples of his work.
The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man ~ W. Bruce Cameron (2014) mystery (334 pgs)
Well written, good characters, but in the end, and a nice twist on talking to the victim.
The World of George Price ~ George Price (1988) cartoons (250 pgs)
Retrospective of 50 years of his New Yorker cartoons, wonderful and weird.
Once Upon A Crime~ Ed Gorman and Martin J. Greenberg (eds) (1998) short stories (416 pgs)
Mixed bag mystery stories based on fairy tales, some interesting, some kind of boring.
November 2025
The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street ~ Susan Jane Gilman (2014) novel (505 pgs)
Fiction mixed with history of ice cream in America, fun read.
Epitaph ~ Mary Doria Russell (2015) novel (577 pgs)
Fiction novel of the lead up to, and results of, the gunfight at OK Corral that is probably more factual than most histories written of the event.
Love by the Morning Star ~ Laura L. Sullivan (2014) novel (312 pgs)
Unlikable characters acting stupidly is not Wodehouse, as much as they want to pretend it is.
December 2025
The Mating Season ~ P.G. Wodehouse (1949) novel (246 pgs) RE-read
Just finished a weak “Wodehouse style” book, needed to get some of the great original!
Towing Jehovah ~ James Morrow (1994) novel, fantasy (371 pgs) RE-read
A second reread, wonder when they are going to make this into a movie?
Sarah Canary ~ Karen Joy Fowler (1991) novel (290 pgs)
Undefinable tale of strange characters in historical setting having things happen. Good read.
The Chrysalids ~ John Wyndham (1955) novel, science fiction (207 pgs)
End of the world and religious fundamentalists still causing problems.
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