en-US Thu, 24 Apr 2025 06:53:02 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7504541986 Thu, 24 Apr 2025 06:53:02 -0700 /review/show/7504541986 Thom gave 4 stars to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Hardcover) by Gabrielle Zevin
bookshelves: fiction
Finished reading this love letter to Shakespeare on his birthday. The 3 decade friendship at the core of this is realistically portrayed, though at times you want to throttle the two main characters while yelling "just talk to each other!"

This is largely because the reader has an omniscient point of view as chapters bounce between main characters. Each is complicated, and grows throughout the book. I've seen reviews talking about this as the story of a startup, but I disagree - it is very character focused, and the game company is only relevant through them.

There were many software and media references dropped, and the computer game industry has come a long ways in thirty years. There are a *lot* of references to the Bard also. The plot was played out in our world, with historical events also incorporated into the narrative. I think the story would also be accessible to folks who haven't played all these games, but I can't be sure. Like one of the game worlds, I can see some folks lost to politics, but seriously, open your eyes people!

This was a hard book to put down, but it was also hard to read straight through. Chapter breaks were at good spots and I ended up using them to stop for a time. I'm glad I didn't read it in the middle of the late 2022 hype storm. For now, I'll rate this 4 stars out of 5, but am still post-processing. ]]> Review6822075083 Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:10:46 -0700 /review/show/6822075083 Thom gave 5 stars to How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen (Hardcover) by David Brooks
bookshelves: non-fiction
A book with analysis and anecdotes, this is more self growth than self help. The advice given here seems simple, but implementing it may take a lot of practice. Focusing on the stories of other people is wonderful, and could be a worthy solution to our recent divisions.

Added this to my to-read list after a friends wonderfully long review. This book is all that and more, and this will be one I regret returning to the library. ]]> Review1494292014 Sun, 20 Apr 2025 15:17:35 -0700 /review/show/1494292014 Thom gave 3 stars to Science of the Magical: From the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Superpowers (Hardcover) by Matt Kaplan
bookshelves: non-fiction
Breezy pop science with interesting bits, this book looks specifically into potions and prophecies, magic and myth. A fairly personal approach, with the author many times referencing how he had to convince his editor to back a particular story. It seems likely that many chapters are articles stitched together, but the topics are pretty solid and the seams don't really show.

This casual approach isn't thorough, and the author has caught some flack for oversimplifying autism and transgender topics. The book is light and readable, and overall likeable. Probably I would enjoy reading his blog. ]]> Review7464290946 Sun, 20 Apr 2025 11:47:20 -0700 /review/show/7464290946 Thom gave 4 stars to Small Gods (Discworld, #13) by Terry Pratchett
bookshelves: fiction-series
With a plot that hinges on an examination between the differences between faith and religion, this thirteenth Discworld novel is contains less outright humor than previous books I have read and a lot more wry observations. This is a thinking reader's book.

My favorite character? Probably the copper roofed library, haven to philosophers and proof against random thunderbolts. Okay, if it has to be a speaking part, I choose Didactylos. "It's a funny old world, and doesn't contain enough to drink.�

Book club choice, read as an audiobook. Bill Nighy narrates the author's footnotes (there were maybe 6 in the whole book?) and Peter Serafinowicz voices Death (a somewhat minor part in this story). That leaves the majority of the book to Andy Serkis, the famed motion capture portrayer of Gollum and others. He also has a pleasing voice and used a variety of accents for the various characters.

I really enjoyed the story, and can hardly believe it's been more than two years since my last Discworld read. I was planning on reading Feet of Clay, to continue the City Watch series, and may return to that plan soon. ]]> Review4003069791 Sun, 20 Apr 2025 08:45:41 -0700 /review/show/4003069791 Thom gave 4 stars to Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games (Game Histories) by Jaroslav Å velch
bookshelves: non-fiction
Survey of 8-bit computing and the society around it, centered in Czechoslovakia. Details the equipment and methods, and also the political environment. Details events from the early 80s until the Velvet revolution, with connecting information about events before and after.

Much of the first part of the book is around availability of hardware by comparison with the west. Probably the most interesting chapters were about cracking and coding. This volume contains more than 100 pages of chapter notes, timeline, bibliography and index.

At times the writing was a little dry. This is more than made up for by an ultra-complete website by the author, with photos, epherma, and downloads of some of the games discussed. I've read a few books in the MIT press gaming history series and haven't been seriously disappointed yet. ]]> Review7083062629 Sun, 13 Apr 2025 06:52:07 -0700 /review/show/7083062629 Thom gave 4 stars to Real Tigers (Slough House #3) by Mick Herron
bookshelves: fiction-series
Released six years after the first novel in the series, this is the first time the Slow Horses officially "go live". I didn't enjoy this one as the second novel in the series.

The beginning of this novel also has a drift through introduction to the building, which is wonderfully replicated at the end. The writing is very poetic - the reader can feel the oppressive heat of a London summer. Many different focuses here, which feels broader than the previous books' focus on Lamb and Cartwright. We also see the friction between Taverner and Tearney more clearly.

Despite the events of that previous novel, the Horses feel less like a team at the start of this. Maybe that's on me, expecting an Impossible Mission Force. There are certainly more guns in this book. I liked the second novel (Dead Lions) better, but that may be the historical aspect. Aspects of this novel feel like a setup for a larger confrontation in a future novel.

All that said, I can't rate this book (or series so far) less than 4 stars. Herron's next novel in the series was published just a year later - a year of breakout success for the author. At this point the series runs to 9 novels and a collection of stories, with no sign of slowing down. ]]> Review7454522723 Tue, 08 Apr 2025 08:12:44 -0700 /review/show/7454522723 Thom gave 5 stars to Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection (Hardcover) by John Green
bookshelves: non-fiction
Covers the social evolution of Tuberculosis, from fashionable affectation to malady for the downtrodden. Details the various treatments, many recently locked behind pharmaceutical price barriers, and how this has compounded the problem of this disease.

This is a very personal story, and you won't see illustrations of the tubercle bacillus or photos of suffering patients. Instead, this covers the rest of Tuberculosis, including the impact on history and our society - and vice versa, the impact of society on the disease, which should mostly be eradicated by now. It pains me to think of a later release of this book with an added epilog on the impact of 2025 on the disease.

How to rate this? I compared to Green's other non-fiction release, The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet. It too was a very personal focus on the world, and though I liked that volume slightly better, I still think this book rates 5 stars for me. A lot of libraries preordered this title - go check it out! ]]> Review7450850096 Sat, 05 Apr 2025 14:14:28 -0700 /review/show/7450850096 Thom gave 3 stars to Heaven's River (Bobiverse, #4) by Dennis E. Taylor
bookshelves: fiction-series
Book #4 is complete, the story really isn't. Book 5 (or even a follow-on novella) would be an excellent opportunity to have a The Bully of Barkham Street moment, showing this story from the other side. Alas, it was not to be.

Fewer characters than the previous 3 books to watch, and one main story - a heist, or at least an RPG adventure. The tech is greatly improved from the previous 3 books also. No particular explanation, but that's fine - roll with it. I liked the story.

What didn't I like? First and foremost, the blurb. I understand civil war is exciting, but it doesn't even start until halfway through the book - and definitely isn't the main story here. I try to avoid blurbs that give away the story, but that was freaking difficult when "civil war" was the first two words, and often in caps.

The rest is likeable enough, though the characters are awkward at times. Would definitely make for a fun film. Overall rating - somewhere closer to 3 than 4. The series so far has two 3s and two 4s -

Was prepping for book 5 due to a friend suggesting it may be the next book club book - but he relented (another friend has only read the first book - that's a lot of catch up!). Will read book 5 sometime in the future, and probably not as an audio book. ]]> Review7209157678 Sun, 30 Mar 2025 08:53:01 -0700 /review/show/7209157678 Thom gave 4 stars to Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water (Paperback) by Marc Reisner
bookshelves: non-fiction
A journalist extremely complete examination of both water in the west and the pork barrel politics associated with it. I wanted more from the 2017 update, but the original was pretty good - if a bit long...

Water and the politics associated with it is really the main focus here. This book lays bare some of the awful decisions made. One of the worst, repeated time and again, is draining aquifers far more quickly than they can refill because "the next generation will find something to replace it". The 2017 update here is great, discussing how we can see the land settling with satellites. Awesome tech!

Dam building is the author's main focus on poor decisions, with a bit of hope at the end of the original text. The salination of farmland was eye opening, and will be expensive to correct - if it is even possible.

The book is, if anything, too thorough. Perhaps keep to the narrative and move some of the details into an appendix? The other quibble is the author's perspective. As a journalist, he reports on the facts and shows the changes made, but doesn't explore alternatives. There is a definite feeling of "maybe we just shouldn't live or farm in the west".

The US is a big country, and this perspective can be examined here - but there are plenty of small countries which don't have any options. Israel is mentioned a few times, using drip irrigation because the American style is water wasteful.

A PBS miniseries was created from this book; it doesn't seem to be generally available. An updated series, with new information and satellite visuals, would be awesome. The book is thought provoking and recommended. ]]> Review359769748 Fri, 28 Mar 2025 10:53:37 -0700 /review/show/359769748 Thom gave 4 stars to Blood Music [novel] (Paperback) by Greg Bear
bookshelves: fiction
Expanded from a short story, this novel adds a bit before and a whole lot after. Nominated for many awards and on several best lists.

The short story is basically genetic science body horror, and works really well. It was also nominated for several awards, and won the Nebula for best novelette. What the characters verbally remember in the short story is expanded into narrative in the story - I think it was better as a flashback. The story ending is pretty final, and this occurs less than halfway through the full novel.

After this point, the author moves on to what is essentially a new novel, and this starts a little slowly. New characters are brought in, which irritated other reviewers. Sticking with it was rewarding, though.

There are a lot of similarities between the second half and a recent read, The Last Canadian. Both books have an active Soviet Union that tries to take advantage - a scenario that is less dated today. I've seen the ending compared to Steven King also. I liked it, especially the last few pages.

I liked the short story better - it was published in Analog Science Fiction, June of 1983, which is available on the web after a cursory search. I really liked the book, though - a solid 4 stars out of 5. ]]>