Books of 2017- Installment #6

26. Ink by Sabrina Vourvoulias
This book was written in 2012 and is about immigration. In this world immigrants are tattooed. One review I read said it's not a dystopian novel and that's what makes it haunting. With that said, I don't like the cover or how the word ink is transformed in this book into something horrible. They make me uncomfortable. There's a lot that makes me uncomfortable in this book, not least of how all too possible this policy feels in today's political climate, which is the point. Which is the point.

27. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
I was looking for something light after reading both Ink and The Essence of T'ai Chi, and I thought about the book The Girl Who Chased the Moon and thought I'd check out another book by Sarah Addison Allen. It wasn't quite as light as I was expecting, but it did deliver the happy read I was looking for. Bonus there's a sequel! I'm excited to read that too!

28. The Essence of T'ai Chi by Waysun Liao
I really wanted to get a little different perspective on life and this seemed like a good one to read. I learned a lot about the history of T'ai Chi which was really interesting.

29. Theodor Seuss Geisel by Donald Pease
I've been trying to branch out and read things I don't normally do. One of the things I rarely read is biographies, and since I have long adored Dr. Seuss, as have most Americans, I thought I would try a biography about him. It was definitely an interesting and quick read. There are some interesting analyses of his books. There is a fascinating discussion about his racist propaganda work during WWII and how he regretted it and tried to make amends and even eradicate that. There was also some very interesting information given about his wives and his first wife's suicide. Dr. Seuss will always be my favorite children's author. His books have always meant a lot to me in particular The Lorax.

30. The First Frost by  Sarah Addison Allen
This book continues the story of the Waverley family started in Garden Spells. I don't usually start a sequel so soon after having read the first, but I've just needed some lightness in my life right now. Love it!

Books of 2017- Installment #5

21. The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson
This book oscillates between two worlds, the real one and a dream one. Both are equally vivid. It actually bears some resemblance to The Original Dream that I read earlier this year. And to be quite honest, neither one of these novels was really my cup of tea.

22. The Djinn Falls in Love edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin
I have long had a fascination about djinn/jinn. I had been working on the misapprehension that jinn were genie. But it is not so. The vast majority of my Muslim students incorrectly believe that jinn are what we call ghosts. Again not so. Through conversations with three of my beloved students (Ghassan, Faisal, and Abdulrahman), I learned gobs and gobs about jinn, but this did not slake my curiosity.

23. Best of All Worlds by Karen Lord
I don't know how this book made it into my consciousness, but it is really good! I really like the story and the world-building she did. And Karen Lord introduced me to a Ray Bradbury short story I'd never read before, so all around a wonderful experience! Plus- she's from Barbados and I've never read any Barbadian Science Fiction before!

24. Tamsin by Peter Beagle
I love The Last Unicorn, so I saw that Peter Beagle had written a ghost story with cats? Oh, I was all over that!!At first I was a little nervous because I didn't like the narrative choice he was making. But by the end of the first chapter I was hooked, and then somewhere early on I actually really liked his narrative choices. With that said, this is definitely exactly my kind of ghost story and my kind of cat story! Doesn't hurt that the cat in the story looks like my little baby, Phryne (named after Miss Phryne Fisher herself!).

25. 100 Best-Loved Poems edited by 
I was interested in finding some new poems, but I wanted to try a collection of poems. This one sounded promising! Best-loved! I did find some new ones that I like- like this Emily Dickinson one.

Books of 2017- Installment #4

16. Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood
It's been a rough time for me with Trump as president and all. I can't express all the pain and anguish I feel. I look for solace in my books, and that's what led me to the world of Phryne Fisher!!

17. Grief is the Thing with Wings by Max Porter
This interesting book is about the loss of the mother in a family. While I was quite fascinated by it, I think you would have a deeper understanding if you know about poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Path. It's quite clearly inspired by Ted Hughes' book the Crow. Unfortunately for me, I had never heard of it until I read this book. I might have to read some Ted Hughes...

18. The Great Silence by Ted Chiang
This is really not a novel. It is a very brief short story but oh so good!! Right up my alley!! It's about the idea of intelligence in the universe and how well would we be able to identify it. I highly recommend this story!!!

19. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
I loved this book!! It was so sweet and happy and such a perfect complement for my mood. Love it!!!

20. Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman
I admit, I wasn't sure for the first chapter or two if I wanted to read this book. But I stuck with it and all I can say is, "Wow!!!!" I love it!! It's definitely one of my favorite books!!! LOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!!!!! Now, when I picked it up, I didn't realize it was the most recent of a series of books. I have a strong desire to go back and read the first one- Halfway Human, but I have no idea how dependent they are on each other.

Books of 2017- Installment #3

11. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
I read this book because it was mentioned in The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. I thought, that's a good book and they say this is a good one too. Well, they were right!! Amazing book!! I love it! It's set in Russia and at the intersection of the old gods and Christianity. That makes it sound heavy, but it's not. It's sweet and magical and a joy to read.

12. Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by Darynda Jones
I loooooooooooooooove this series!!! And I am so happy to get the next installment!! Charlie!!! This book made me so happy!!

13. Dusk Or Dark Or Dawn Or Day by Seanan McGuire
I really enjoy reading Seanan's books and this one has a ghost theme. Right up my alley!!! She does some things with the genre, I didn't see coming and really enjoyed. I won't say more, but it's good!

14.The Original Dream by Nukila Amal
Set in Indonesia, this interesting book switches back and forth between a dream world and reality. It's also mostly in the second person! It really got me thinking about my dreams. When I was younger, I used to remember my dreams pretty well. But over the last decade or so, I remember them less and less well. They're still vivid and engaging, and when I'm in them or first waking from them, I'm convinced I'll remember them. Alas, they are ephemeral and disappear with the opening of my eyes. With that said, I don't know that this book gave me any insight into dreams, but it definitely did give me insight into Indonesia and into Islam. Though, that would not be a reason to read this book. It is mostly the dream world and not overtly about Indonesia or Islam.

15. You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day
I don't really read memoirs. I've only ever read a handful. While I find Felicia Day funny, I didn't really get into the memoir until it was about the part of her life I knew about- eg The Guild. Then it was super fast and engaging.

Books of 2017- Installment #2

6. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
I looooooooooved her first book In a Dark, Dark Wood, and she was an EFL teacher!!! So of course I totally wanted to read this book, and apparently so did the people of my library!! I had to wait more than 3 months for this book to become available!! It was great! A real thriller!! And a needed respite from all the horrors Donald Trump is setting loose on us.

7. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
This is a delightful book for a reader looking for a cheerful, feel-good book. A love of books and people fill the pages of this book!! :) There were so many times when I was like, "Yes!! Exactly!"

8. Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor
I was so excited to read this sequel!!!

9. Time Travel by James Gleick
This is a really interesting look at the concept of time and of time travel. It looks at the science, philosophy, and stories around time and time travel. It definitely made my head spin in a couple of places. Such a great read!!!

10. Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey
I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this book. Was it going to be hard-core belief in the paranormal or more of a dry recitation of facts about various places. Either way I was willing to give it a shot. I found it to be neither. He's not obviously a believer in paranormal phenomenon. Instead he categorizes type of haunted places and looks at them not only for veracity (and more often a lack thereof) but for a place in history. How does this place fit into our history? I quite enjoyed this and learned a few things as well!

I am an American

I don’t have to be Jewish, black, indigenous, Muslim, Japanese, immigrant, descended from the Pilgrims, gay, transgendered, or Latina to be afraid. I am an American. And I am afraid. Donald Trump is ripping through and destroying hard-won rights. Not privileges, like corporations have, but basic rights. Mere days into his term as President, he is signing executive order after executive order. Orders that hurt American after American. We suffer when he signs orders to damage the environment. We suffer when he signs orders that damage the indigenous people of our country. We suffer when he gags scientists and government officials. We suffer when he bans people from coming here. We suffer when he guts regulations. We suffer when he appoints incompetent people to high level and far reaching posts. We suffer when he appoints people who are diametrically opposed to the very purpose of the department they’ve been appointed to. We suffer every time Donald Trump tears at the fabric of our society to create a society for him and his rich cronies alone. Poor huddled masses yearning to be free have made us the country we are. Refugees, immigrants, slaves, indigenous people are the ones that created this nation. We need all of us to build our future. I am an American and I am afraid of what Donald Trump is doing. Stand up to him. Do not let him rip apart our rights. Our basic rights. Rights to a good education, rights to science, rights to the environment, rights to know people from other parts of the world, other religions, the right to be people from other parts of the world and of a religion or an atheist. I am an American and that means I get to be Jewish, black, indigenous, Muslim, Japanese, immigrant, descended from the Pilgrims, gay, transgendered, or Latina. But I don’t want to be afraid. I want a nation that stands for truth and justice. I want to be in a nation that affords everyone basic rights regardless of race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. I want a nation that respects others even as it disagrees with others. I am an American and I want a good and just nation for all.

Books of 2017- Installment #1

1. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
I had heard of this amazing collection of short stories by Ted Chiang and immediately tried to get it from the library. Apparently everybody else had too because I was wait-listed. Okay, fine, I've got plenty of other books. Off I read and waited and read and waited. Then I heard there was going to be a film adaptation of one of the stories in the book. Ohh!! Okay, library!!! I want to read it before I see the film! Oh, the film's out and I keep hearing good things. Okay, I'll watch the film because 1) the book is almost always better than the film/TV show (notable exception the Sookie Stackhouse books are nowhere near as good as the True Blood series....) and 2) it's a collection of short stories and the film is only about one of the stories.... Okay, so great film, but when am I going to get the book??? Ah, 2017! So this is my first book of the year! And it's hard sci-fi! Love it!! Bring it on!!! :)

2. The Dark Forest by CiXin Liu 
This is the second in the Remembrances of Earth's Past trilogy. This book spans more than 200 years and grapples with interesting issues of how humanity would react to an extraterrestrial threat. I'm not sure I agree with all of the various ideas put forth (and really don't like the scene where they point the Hubble II space telescope at the Earth and take a clear picture of people standing on a building), but it is a very interesting epic. Plus it's always fascinating reading another culture's view on big topics!

3. The Reader by Traci Chee
This young adult book is an adventure story set in a world where reading is magic... literally magic! It was a wonderful story and I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series!

4. By Gaslight by Steven Price
This Canadian-written tome is about a couple of Americans in England during the 1880s (with some bits in other places and times, like South Africa in the 1870s). I found that a very weird choice but okay... It is deeply, deeply, shockingly long. I don't think I have a short attention span, but it's a long book that doesn't feel like it needs to be that long. It took me a good 100 pages to feel actually engaged in the story.

5. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
This book was something I was really intrigued by despite the fact it is nonfiction- or rather because it is nonfiction! Women in science and NASA in the 40s!! Yay!! So exciting!! I'm so happy that Margot Lee Shetterly got this story out into the world and that the movie (#1 at the box office) propels it even further!! Now, I had to wait for more than two months to get this book from the library, but I'm so glad I got to read it!!