Review: The Woman in the Library

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Full Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley.  

I'll admit I wanted to read this book based on the title alone.  Could have been in any genre and would have read it.  That it is a locked room mystery of sorts was a real bonus.  I thought this book was insanely clever.  It is essentially two stories in one.  It alternates between one story told in correspondence and the other story in the chapters of a new mystery novel as it is written by one of the correspondents.  You get caught up in wanting to know what will happen in both.  It's the kind of book that is hard to put down.  If you like mysteries, thrillers, rabbit holes, and/or epistolary novels, you'll want to read this.  

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Review: Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love

Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Over The Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness, JVN questions whether people will still love someone if they know all their deepest, darkest secrets.  The answer is yes, Jonathan.  Anyone who doesn't isn't worth the atoms they are made up of.  Thank you for sharing your story, warts and all.  

Growing up in a smaller town in Illinois than Quincy, I have a sense of what JVN is talking about.  I wasn't queer but I was tomboyish enough to be called a lesbian many times.  I was fat and that led to plenty of terrible things.  I didn't do drugs, but I did have an adopted brother born with HIV.  He died just before his 9th birthday because we hadn't made the medical advances that now make it possible to live a long life with HIV.  I do remember the horrible way people talked about HIV/AIDS, and the way they acted or treated you if they thought you were the one with it.  I am so proud that Jonathan can speak that truth now when we felt we had to keep it a secret to avoid being run out of town.  Keep shining your light.

Bonus points for Bug the first, an unsung hero.  Whether they know it or not, they make our lives so much better.

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Review: Roko's Basilisk: A Roko Event Short Story

Roko's Basilisk: A Roko Event Short Story by Michael Blackbourn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Roko's Basilisk is the first novella in the Roko Event series by Michael Blackbourn.  I haven't read the next book yet, but I think you will want to read them in order.  I would like to thank Mr. Blackbourn for sharing his writing with me.  

You don't need to be familiar with the Roko's Basilisk thought experiment to appreciate this story.  But, you may be tempted to learn more about it afterward.  Let's just say this story encapsulates the experiment perfectly.  Then, good luck sleeping at night.  It's a quick read with fast pacing.  I read it in one sitting.  This is a good one for people who like thinking about the future of artificial intelligence.  I'm definitely one of those people.  

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Review: Victorians Undone: Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum

Victorians Undone: Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum by Kathryn Hughes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Victorians Undone: Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum by Kathryn Hughes is an unconventional take on history.  It is essentially five biographical essays of some rather famous figures focusing on body image and body parts.  Body image, beauty standards, and such change with time and society.  It would never have occurred to me that having one hand bigger than the other might cause people to question my morals.  Nor have I ever put much thought into why philosophers so often seem to have beards.  Yet at certain times and places, these were big deals.  If you like your history fun and with just a hint of salaciousness, give this book a read.   
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Review: Baudolino

Baudolino by Umberto Eco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reading Umberto Eco's Baudolino is like eating a very expensive multi-course meal.  You have to take your time and savor the richness of each dish.  Like any Eco novel, expect to spend time chewing on the language and concepts.  This is not a story that can be rushed.  While ultimately you will be full and satisfied, it was always about the journey.  Baudolino is quite the journey!

Baudolino, a self-described liar, recounts his fantastical life to a new friend.  How much of it can or should we believe?  I guess that's up to you.  His story is a mix of history, philosophy, religion, love, and friendship.  It's epic in its scale and embellishment.  

Bonus points to the cow that is beloved as much as any child and goes on to save a city.     

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Review: The Stolen Bicycle

The Stolen Bicycle by Wu Ming-Yi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Stolen Bicycle by Wu Ming-Yi was recommended to me by a friend a few years ago.  This was pre-COVID times when a year actually had a reliable, set value.  You could still measure time with it.  Now, not so much.  That is my very long way of telling you it took me a very, long time to read this book.  By now my friend has probably forgotten why they recommended this book to me in the first place.  I'm going to speculate it was for one of the following reasons:  

The book is mainly set in Taiwan and intersperses Taiwanese, Japanese, and Mandarin along with history of those countries.  My friend and I both speak Chinese, so that would be a good reason.  It did bring back a lot of memories.  

The second possibility is the bicycle reverence.   The main character collects and restores bicycles.  Almost every character's story relates to at least one bicycle.  Bicycles, as the title suggests, are the bond that holds the story together.  I've been known to love my bicycles.  I still have my first bikes.  Having my favorite bike stolen was devastating.  It had been to several countries with me.  Parts worn out and replaced because I didn't want to give it up.  Then, it was gone much like the titular bicycle.  

The third reason might be the elephant and other animals.  Although if that was the reason, it is questionable as some really terrible things happen with many of the animals and my friend knows I can't stomach that, even a little bit.  I had to skim, skim, skim to avoid the horror.  I do love elephants though and this reminded me of my own experiences with them.  Elephants always seem to like me.  

Maybe it was none of those reasons, but if any of that sounds interesting to you, you might want to pick up this book.

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Review: Battle of the Linguist Mages

Battle of the Linguist Mages by Scotto Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to Battle of the Linguist Mages written by Scotto Moore and narrated by Justis Bolding because the library only had the audiobook.  My only regret about listening to the book was that I couldn't take my time reading over the descriptions of the game mechanics of Sparkle Dungeon, a game I would love to to play IRL.  Isobel, the main character, has just the right amount of cocky to be at the top of her game.  She is Queen of the Sparkle Dungeon after all, a title I would certainly want to claim.   At the same time, she has a heaping dose of compassion, just not for feral baby rainbows.  Who can blame her?  Nasty buggers.  And since I am exactly the kind of person who created a vegan character in World of Warcraft who didn't use any gear, weapons, potions, or food made from animal products and would only kill humanoids to level up, I can appreciate trying to beat a game with a level one kaleidoscope.

Bonus points for coming up with a game that sounds like Elder Scrolls mixed with Dance Dance Revolution and Rock Band after a mountain of glitter is poured on top.  

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Review: Machine Learning: New and Collected Stories

Machine Learning: New and Collected Stories by Hugh Howey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Machine Learning: New and Collected Stories by Hugh Howey is a collection of short(ish) stories, some from the Wool universe.  Wool was the first thing I read by Hugh Howey, and I was eager to see what else he had in mind for that world.  No spoilers, but OOF.  So good, so dark.  All of these stories were new to me.  I found them all really enjoyable in different ways, especially anything about a video game or a virtual world.  When I was younger, I would have skipped over the in-between bits about how the story came about.  I didn't care as long as the story was good.  As I get older, I find these parts, what brought a writer to this story, are almost more interesting to me than the stories themselves.  You can learn so much about a person from what they manifest from an experience.  I  also learned that the next time Hugh Howey needs someone to sail around the world with him, sign me up!  

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