Review: The Glass Hotel

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't read many descriptions before reading The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel but for some reason I thought it took place in the future.  It doesn't.  With few exceptions, it is firmly set in the 2000s.  It turned out to be nothing I quite expected.  We follow the lives of multiple characters, including a pair of half-siblings who anchor much of the activity because all of the other characters cross paths with them at some point.  It's also a ghost story.  I'm not quite sure who the narrator is although I got the feeling at times that I should know. That I missed a clue.  I've broadened my definition of "ghost."  There's a lot happening in this book.  Some mysteries are solved and others are left open to your interpretation.  And while I felt sometimes that there were too many stories going on at once, the beautifully crafted writing kept propelling me forward.  Read this if you want to know about Ponzi schemes but don't want all the technical details.  I think Emily St. John Mandel's books are also great for music lovers because they always contain some element of musicality.  

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Review: Exhalation

Exhalation by Ted Chiang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Exhalation is a collection of short stories by Ted Chiang.  I had read and enjoyed the story, The Great Silence, before which is what led me to pick up this book.  These stories are very accessible to people who aren't big into science fiction.  I happened to be reading it at the same time I was watching the new season of Black Mirror.  It was a great pairing!  Definitely had me in a whole mood about the future.  Plenty of fodder here for thought exercises and moral ponderings.  As an animal lover with animist tendencies, I was really intrigued by the story of a community of people with digital pets.  How far in the future before we start having the same debates about A.I as we do about animal cognition and emotion?  You could be asking yourself these same types of questions if you read this book!

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Review: City of Bones

City of Bones by Martha Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of City of Bones by Martha Wells from Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley.

This version of City of Bones is an updated and revised edition to reflect what Martha Wells originally wanted the book to be.  The first version predates her Murderbot series.  If you read that version, you could still read this one and might be interested in the changes.  For those who haven't read it and know Wells from the Murderbot series, it is a very different type of book.  This is more fantasy than science fiction.  The sharp humor is still there although not as plentiful.  The great writing and developed characters are there.  It is more of a slow burn with plenty of world building.  If you like Indiana Jones-type stories, give this one a read.

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Review: The Mystery Writer

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley.

I was excited to get an advanced copy of The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill.  I really enjoyed The Woman in the Library, and this had the promise of more of that.  It certainly met my expectations.  Murder, mystery, a shadowy corporation, and conspiracy theories, oh my!  I could read a whole book just about the QAnon-type group.  In fact, I felt like there was enough there for a sequel or at least, another book in this universe.  While this is fiction, it is not hard to believe in a near future where agencies control every aspect of their clients lives in exchange for fame and fortune.  Even now, we can't be sure celebrity social media posts aren't crafted by publicists.  At least not the ones that are carefully done.  I could say more, but I don't want to give anything big away.  Check this out if you like reading about writers, like a mystery, and/or enjoy a good conspiracy theory!

Bonus points for Horse.  Love a good boy, and Horse is one of the best!

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Review: A History of Fear

A History of Fear by Luke Dumas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A History of Fear by Luke Dumas is a terrific epistolary novel.  This is the story of a young man convicted of killing his friend told through his own writing interspersed with articles, interviews with people who knew him, and notes from his psychoanalyst.  From there, you can draw your own conclusions about whether the Devil made him do it. 

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Review: Experimental Film

Experimental Film by Gemma Files
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was serendipitous and a bit creepy to read Experimental Film by Gemma Files right after finishing The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington.  Files references Carrington and other Surrealists when talking about experimental films.  While it makes sense, I wasn't thinking Surrealism when I picked up this book, so the connection was a surprise.  I love a good mystery, and I can appreciate falling down a research rabbit hole.  Lois formerly teaching at a diploma mill was genius.  Who ever fesses up to that?  But also, just because someone goes to one, doesn't mean they don't have talent.  For some people, it may be the only option.  I enjoyed the ghostly mystery and all-around spookiness.

Bonus points for realistically depicting the highs and lows of raising a child on the spectrum.  Every experience may be different, but Clark has a lot in common with my brother.  Seeing even a fictional someone deal with all the emotions, self-doubt, and sometimes guilt, reminds us we aren't the only ones feeling a certain way.   

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Review: Demon

Demon by Matt Wesolowski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Demon is the sixth book in the Six Stories series by Matt Wesolowski.  If you haven't read the other books, you could start here.  But, there is a twist at the end that pays off a bit more if you have read the other books.  This series is one of my very favorites, and I hope this isn't the last in it although it could be.  For those not familiar with these books, Six Stories is a (fictional) true crime podcast that tells the story of the crime in six episodes with each episode an interview with a different person related to the crime.  The crimes often have a spooky, supernaturally feel to them.  The podcast host is a bit of a mystery himself.  

Demon brings up a lot of questions and fodder for thought.  Are some people born monsters or are they made?  Can someone who commits a terrible crime be rehabilitated?  Should people be given a second chance?  Do we ever know the full story?  I appreciated the warnings about violence against children and animals.  I was able to skip a paragraph because of it that probably would have haunted me.  

In summary, READ THESE BOOKS!

Bonus points for Jip!

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Review: The Hearing Trumpet

The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went with my friend to see a Remedios Varo exhibit at the Art Institute in Chicago.  We both love Remedios Varo so much! Her art is a mix of science, fantasy, and feminism.  Truly extraordinary. While there, my friend asked if I had ever read The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington because Carrington and Varo were good friends and The Hearing Trumpet evokes similar images to Varo's work.  As it happens, we went to a book store later and she bought me a copy.  The cover alone makes it worth having.  

The Hearing Trumpet is very much like reading a Surrealist painting.  The story is wild and you never know quite where it is going, but the imagery is fantastic.  Among the many ideas you could takeaway from The Hearing Trumpet, I like to think that the story chastises us for how we treat the elderly while reminding us that you can still live a vibrant life at any age.   

Bonus points for all the cat love!

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Review: Fugitive Telemetry

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fugitive Telemetry is the sixth book in the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells.  If you are new to the series, you could start here, but I would go back and start from the beginning.

This particular story is like a locked room mystery.  Murderbot gets pulled into helping solve a murder mostly to prove they didn't do it in the way that only they can and with plenty of snark!

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