The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
I agree with all the mixed reviews I’ve read so far. This one has some fun stuff, but also some aggravating stuff, and not nearly enough comeuppance. The good: The true crime lovers banding together to start their own offshoot book club after the overly persnickity neighborhood book club is … [Read more]
Walk the Vanished Earth by Erin Swan
I’m drawn to climate catastrophe and dystopian novels the same way some people are drawn to horror or crime stories: seeing fictional representations of my worst fears are somehow calming to me. Walk the Vanished Earth by Erin Swan was compared to Station Eleven and Severence on its Goodread page, … [Read more]
Recipe for Disaster: 40 Superstar Stories of Sustenance and Survival by Alison Riley
Recipe for Disaster starts so well. The first recipe is Samantha Irby's Rejection Chicken. First things first, you gotta get dumped." The whole recipe is the story of heartbreak, self soothing, and chopping and cooking. I like to slice them on a severe angle because it looks cool and chef-y, but … [Read more]
History, Disrupted: How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past by Jason Steinhauer
In November I attended the American Association for State and Local History Virtual Conference. On each day (there were three) it opened with a plenary, and day two featured Jason Steinhauer author of History Disrupted: How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past. His presentation … [Read more]
Penric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold
Penric and the Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold
Penric’s Fox by Lois McMaster Bujold
Bothari43 has been singing the praises of Lois McMaster Bujold for some time and she, and a couple of other people, have given me various Bujold books, which I have not read. I don’t know why. I believe Bothari43 when she tells me I will like the books, but some part of me, I don’t know, hates joy? … [Read more]
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
"Yours is a lucky generation.” “I wouldn’t say we were so lucky,” Phuong said. “You’ve never appreciated what you have.” Her father waved his hand over the meal and Phuong squeezed her glass, bracing to hear the stories of her parents one more time. ....... "Phuong was bemused at how … [Read more]
