A beautifully written, haunting near-future dystopian story about two amazing young sisters. The surveillance state can disappear you for any reason aA beautifully written, haunting near-future dystopian story about two amazing young sisters. The surveillance state can disappear you for any reason at any time, and yet there are still miraculous things like horses in the world. If your nervous system is up for that given *waves arm at everything*, this is a great read. ...more
What if Huck Finn was an anti-slavery book, but not written by a white guy? It ends DIFFERENTLY.
It ends (spoiler) violently. The level of violence madWhat if Huck Finn was an anti-slavery book, but not written by a white guy? It ends DIFFERENTLY.
It ends (spoiler) violently. The level of violence made me very introspective. I am very uncomfortable with almost any level of violence, and I read this in the middle of a lot of the glee about Luigi Mangione shooting the healthcare CEO, and I was also very uncomfortable with that. I wish there were never any violence. I also wish chattel slavery and all the horror that it perpetuated never existed. But it did. James does some stuff. I don't know when I might be pushed to do some stuff, or at what point, if any, I would feel justified, and if that is a different point than the one where I would actually be justified. If all of us could just agree to not exploit, abuse, or mistreat other people, then we could avoid this whole messy ethical conundrum about how people with no power should rightly confront egregious wrongs... that would make things easier for me. Until then, we've got James, and our response to his response, to deal with. Mark Twain didn't know what to do either, so he pulled a little deus ex machina and a kind-hearted white person saved the day. Everett doesn't let us off so easily. ...more
A quiet, lovely book about the kinds of thoughts one has (presumably) while gazing down at earth from the space station. It is a beautiful, fragile, cA quiet, lovely book about the kinds of thoughts one has (presumably) while gazing down at earth from the space station. It is a beautiful, fragile, complicated place where every single human exists, except for you and a few other people floating along up in space. It's an unusual circumstance that lends itself to contemplation. ...more
Smuttier and racier than my usual fare, but one of the NYT five best books of the year, and apparently all the middle aged ladies can't stop talking aSmuttier and racier than my usual fare, but one of the NYT five best books of the year, and apparently all the middle aged ladies can't stop talking about it, so... gave it a try. A middle aged lady gets real honest with herself about a lot of things, mostly by indulging all of her feelings and whims. She spends a wild amount of money on a bizarre remodel of a cheap motel room where she holes up for two weeks and has an affair with a much younger man. I am highly allergic to people dealing with their disappointments with the life they have created by blowing it up and failing the people (spouses, but children especially) that they are responsible to. When men do this I am repelled by it, and so are most people, as the term "midlife crisis" (especially if it involves a sports car) reflects a good bit of disdain, and when women do this, I reject the idea that it is empowerment. You created a life and relationships. They are restricting and disappointing. Now it's time to deal with them. I do not think it is always wrong when things end or change, but I was so uncomfortable and embarrassed by this lady's indulgence that I couldn't even enjoy the racy bits. Also, the two weeks in the hotel room are only the first part of the book. Then she goes home, and her marriage falls apart as she and her husband are enlightened and honest about things and I felt sad about it. ...more
This was a pleasant little sci-fi book that has a very optimistic outlook on how inter-species interactions play out. It turns out that maybe there arThis was a pleasant little sci-fi book that has a very optimistic outlook on how inter-species interactions play out. It turns out that maybe there are a lot of really interesting and diverse species out there, that are different than us in some ways, but also very similar in many ways, and there is a strong bias towards cooperation and peace. May it be so. So a motley crew of these folks set out on an voyage together, and have themselves some adventures. Honestly that's kind of the plot, and the real treasure is the friends we make along the way.
One interesting thing is that this is set in the far, far future, and there is an AI character, and there is quite a bit of tension about the ethics surrounding that "person." And honestly, that is us in six months to three years from now. It was interesting that a book published in 2014 seems to imagine having a relationship with an AI bot/person as something way in the future. Yet here we are, confronting the questions that inevitably arise (embodiment, rights, personhood, etc) before intergalactic travel is even faintly on the horizon of possibility....more
It doesn't always work for me to have "the object/text/place existing through time" thing in a book, but I loved it here. I thought Mason did a brilliIt doesn't always work for me to have "the object/text/place existing through time" thing in a book, but I loved it here. I thought Mason did a brilliant job of using it to illustrate the intensity, variety, and meaning of human life, love, loss, longing, and loneliness as different people occupy a New England home over several hundred years, and also to highlight the fleetingness of their existence, how relentlessly time marches on, and how briefly a human life gets to be part of the massive biological enterprise and serendipity that is always happening around us. I really loved and cared about the huge cast of richly-imagined and interesting characters that show up on the scene. I even liked the supernatural elements that come into the story. I thought the way certain elements circled back into the narrative was interesting and didn't seem too forced, and I enjoyed the large variety of narrative techniques. Just really enjoyed the ride, and several times was completely stunned by the plot twist that just occurred. You'll know when you get there. Also, North Woods includes the steamiest, and probably best, beetle sex scene you're ever going to read. ...more
A fun modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion (which I have not read). This isn't a deep work of literature, but it was a fun rom-com with some fA fun modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion (which I have not read). This isn't a deep work of literature, but it was a fun rom-com with some funny and clever dialogue and scenarios, and I enjoyed reading it. We all know how it's going to turn out, but it pulled me along and I read it in two days. ...more
Interesting character sketches of eight teenaged girl boxers at a national tournament. It doesn’t really come together into what some might call a “plInteresting character sketches of eight teenaged girl boxers at a national tournament. It doesn’t really come together into what some might call a “plot�, but each girl is richly imagined, both her history and future. I liked it. I am not a boxing fan, and this didn’t make me like the sport any more, but it did seem to get inside the intimacy and physicality of it, and the different motivations and life experiences that drew the girls to it. I also thought it did a nice job of putting youth sports into perspective - the all-encompassing importance of a match or game in the moment, and the relatively minor blip it tends to be in the arc of a life. ...more
A really enjoyable book about what the point of space travel even is (and she offers some very compelling and beautiful thoughts about that), and the A really enjoyable book about what the point of space travel even is (and she offers some very compelling and beautiful thoughts about that), and the ethics surrounding it, and what costs are appropriate to be born, and by whom. There's not really a plot, per se, but very interesting things happen, and there are intriguing interpersonal dynamics, and there is plenty to contemplate. ...more
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