Books of 2017- Installment #20

96. The Bride and the Beast by Teresa Medeiros
I had set out a reading challenge for myself this year to read a book by someone with my name. Turns out that's kind of hard. The T(h)eresas I found typically write romance, so romance it is. My friend had told me that Teresa Medeiros was a good writer. And she is... but in the swirl of sexual harassment/sexual assault/sexual misconduct that is prominent in so many conversations I found the depiction of sexual attraction in this novel problematic at best. It also made me unable to "rewrite" the parts of Joplin's Ghost that I disliked un-ignorable. Reading books by women with such romanticized notions of sexual contact without consent disturbs me and reinforces the notion the we are products of our environments and that we have work hard to not be blind to the damage it does and to not perpetuate it. Challenging times...

97. The Dorenstein Icon by Janet Louise Roberts
I saw this book in Palm Springs and had to get it for my friend. Then my husband had the crazy idea I should read it out loud for her. Well, I tried, I really did... The best laid plans of mice and men... So... this is a crazy book. The woman is abducted by a man, falls in love with said man who drugs her and marries her while drugged. He then "consummates" their marriage while she is drugged. She vacillates between loving him and fearing him. He constantly tosses out gems like, "You belong to me." She also can't decide if she loves him or if he's hypnotized her into thinking she loves him. And yet... and yet... though no time passes between her being drugged and terrorized and questioning her sanity, she decides it's a wonderful marriage despite having been kept a prisoner, drugged, forced into marriage and loses her virginity under the influence. Such a treat! A great primer on how not to get consent!

98. Murder on a Midsummer Night by Kerry Greenwood
This is book 17 of the Phryne Fisher murder mysteries. After all the strange romances I've read recently and Thanksgiving madness I just went through, I felt a need for some of Phryne's cool. Turns out it was a perfect antidote but she was oddly out of sorts for great swaths of the book as well. Amazing how her mood matched mine...

99. Agents of Dreamland by Caitlin R. Kiernan 
This is an amazing short book. It's clearly inspired by HP Lovecraft. but for me it was a great X-Files-esque book. It also reminded me of the podcast Steal the Stars.

100. Martians, Go Home by Fredric Brown
I found this book for a buck in town at a record store (yeah, a record store). It was supposed to be hilarious and I could use a good laugh. It was an interesting read. Not my fav and didn't make me laugh. But what would aliens be like? Could we understand them even if there wasn't a language barrier? These are questions asked by this book.

Books of 2017- Installment #19

91. The Trouble with the Twelfth Grave by Darynda Jones
Oh, how I love Charley!!! I love her like I love Harry! I love her so much that I put the book I was reading (Joplin's Ghost) down to read this one!! This book could conceivably complete my Halloween reading as it came out on Halloween... But since I leap-frogged over Joplin's Ghost, that one will probably complete my Halloween reading... or not! AT any rate, Charley makes me laugh when so few other things do. So thank you, Charley! Thank you, Darynda!

92. Joplin's Ghost by Tananarive Due
Okay so Halloween was still around the corner when I decided I had to read this book! It's a ghost story by an author I first encountered in an amazing short story (that was also in Dark Matter). I really couldn't wait to read this!! So not only is it a super engaging story, but it also is a ghost story about a historical figure and therefore super informative. I really loved the bulk of the story. The writing is wonderful. The characters are super engaging. I just had a problem with the ending. Actually it's a rather significant problem, but I've basically rewritten that part in my mind (sorry, Tananarive Due!) because I love the rest of the book so much!!

93. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan
This book is a loving look at some rather traumatized people and how they come together and impact each other. Their secrets unfold in a slow dance, with much tenderness. I adore this story. I really couldn't tear myself away from it!

94. Death of an Avid Reader by Frances Brody
I was standing across from the register at my local bookstore- Avid Reader- and felt that was a rather ominous title but in a titillating way! I joke with the cashiers about it. Then about a week later I decided I really wanted to read it! Based solely on the juxtaposition of the title and the bookstore. Then I learned that there was apparently a haunting at the library! Sign me up! It does not matter to me that this is box 6 in the Kate Shackleton series!

95. Jade Dragon Mountain by Elsa Hart
This was a really engaging mystery novel set in China in the 1700s. The story unfolds with a sweet gentleness. Elsa Hart manages to tell an interesting mystery with full characters all while painting a vivid picture of China. She clearly loves China and that translated into a beautiful novel.

Books of 2017- Installment #18

86. Vampire Winter by Lois Tilton
It's October and I love vampire stories, so I thought this one was a natural. It's about a vampire that finds himself able to move around in the day because of a nuclear winter that has descended on the Earth. What happens when the vampire is faced with such freedom? It is an interesting idea but it plays out with some pretty awful consequences. And well, let's just say with Trump as president (still feels surreal) talking to North Korea like that, nuclear war sure looks a lot more possible than it did at this time last year. And let's just say, I didn't miss all my childhood worries about nuclear war...

87. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
I have heard so many great things about this book that I had to check it out. It reminded a bit of The Stars are Legion because of the apparent all-female characters. But it turns out that it's not exactly an all-female book. For various reasons the main character uses the she pronoun unless someone indicates he would be more appropriate. The upshot is that you'll meet a character and think the character is female and then turns out to be male but you're never quite sure because the main character will revert to she again. It's fascinating what that does to your mental image. This book also takes on the concept of empire. The absorption of others to further the empire and the way that that is done (and it's in no way bloodless...). It's a very interesting look at culture.

88. A Walk in Wolf Wood by Mary Stewart
When I was a child, I read Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave and The Hollow Hills, which I loved. So when I was at Goodwill and saw this book for a $2, I decided I had to get it. It's a sweet fast read about two British kids on vacation with their folks in Germany. A spell from medieval times pulls them into the past to right a wrong.

89. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin
A man whose dreams change reality... It's a pretty exciting premise. It didn't even remotely start the way I thought it would. I thought the book would follow him through his life and experiences with this amazing ability. Instead we learn about about a world that seemed entirely plausible in the early 1970s, one plagued by environmental problems and different sexual mores than the 1950s could have imagined. We also follow a psychiatrists manipulations of the main character for his own ends.

90. My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
Still keeping with my Halloween reading... Now, I had never heard of Grady before this year, but then I read Horrostor. Well, it might be more accurate to say devoured it. So when I saw this totally rad cover, I knew I had to read it! Ohmygawd! It's to die for!! Color me impressed!!! A mixed tape of my high school soundtrack!!Seriously, it's awesome! His writing style is utterly effortless to read. It just flows into my brain, making me want to gobble it up to know what's going to happen next. It wasn't my high school experience but it's oh-so 80s and that definitely was my experience.

Extra! Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora edited by Sheree R. Thomas

This is a really great collection of chock full of amazing short stories, and it took forever to get it from the library. I really enjoyed reading it, but I couldn't finish reading it before it came due at the library. I read quite a lot of it but not all of it and can't really say I read it without feeling like a liar. But I still want to recommend it!! 

Books of 2017- Installment #17

81. Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix 
I heard about this book on a podcast (Geek's Guide to the Galaxy). It sounded interesting and so I decided to check it out (from the library). It is billed as a horror comedy, and it is. I liked the premise that this big box stores, like IKEA, are designed to mess with your mind. So is the IKEA knockoff in this story haunted or just a product of design? There is an answer to this question in the book, so I won't spoil it for you, but I found myself thinking a lot about what I read about ghost stories in America in Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey. I enjoyed it and was grossed out by it, not quite in equal parts. I didn't get grossed out until I had gone beyond the point of no return. I had to finish the book!!!

82. Cosmic Powers: The Saga Anthology of Far-Away Galaxies edited by John Joseph Adams
I also heard about this book on the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. As I understand it, John Joseph Adams used to co-host the podcast until he became such in demand as an editor. He still appears regularly and spoke about this anthology. John Joseph Adams (That's a lot to type. I guess we say it that way so we don't confuse him with the second president. But seriously I'm talking about a Sci-Fi anthology, I don't think anyone's going to be confused!) talked about his process for choosing stories, and I was deeply impressed. Then he talked about who he got, and I was deeply impressed. Then he talked about an author I had never heard of and that author talked, and I was sold! I couldn't get this one from the library, so I hemmed and hawed and eventually bought it. Let me tell you, the story by Becky Chambers (author of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet) made me cry! And that story alone was worth the price of admission!

83. The Black Cat Sees His Shadow by Kay Finch
It's October and this book is set in October at a pumpkin festival. This mystery novel is a pleasant seasonal read. Unlike A Tangled Yarn, the black kitty on the cover (aptly named Hitchcock) is very important in the story.

84. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
To continue my Halloween reading list I added this book to my list! I love ghost stories, and Neil is such an interesting writer. I found this book to be a charming tale about growing up.

85. Dreams of Distant Shores by Patricia A. McKillip
I read a collection of short stories by Patricia A. McKillip last year (Wonders of the Invisible World). There were a couple of stories that I couldn't let go of and the more I thought about one in particular (Hunter's Moon) that I sought out something else by her and found this one at the library. It's a delightful read, and my favorite by far is Something Rich and Strange. Hunter's Moon is in the woods and Something Rich and Strange is on the coast. It soothed my soul.

Books of 2017- Installment #16

76. The Colorado Kid by Stephen King
I'll admit it. I watched the show Haven and loved it, so then I found my way to this story. This is a great short novel. I really enjoyed it! That said, it's fascinating to think that the creators of Haven took this story and went where they went with it.

77. Time Loves a Hero by Allen Steele
When I was in high school, I bought a book called Timescape by Gregory Benford. The guy at the register told me that the author would be there the next day for a book signing. I could come in and have the author sign my book. Well, I didn't know anything about the book or the author; it had just sounded interesting. Still the next day, my parents kindly took me to Tower and I got to go to the signing. I handed my book to the author, who promptly told me he wasn't Gregory Benford. Well, I was confused. I looked around and discovered that the book tour was for a book called Heart of the Comet written by Gregory Benford and David Brin. David Brin talked to me for what now in my memory was hours while my parents waited outside. Well, I didn't like Timescape, but I did like Heart of the Comet and just about everything else David Brin has written. So here it is some 30 years later, and I'm reading Time Loves a Hero and who should appear in the book but Gregory Benford! Timescape, Heart of the Comet, and David Brin all get discussed. So a book I was already enjoying- it's a time travel story!!!- goes from good to delightful! It's a whole little inside story that means so much to me!

78. Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories by Naomi Kritzer 
I read the eponymous title and was hooked. I had to go get this book. It's still one of my favorite stories in this book, but I can honestly say I loved most of the books and thought they all were excellent!!

79. Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
I was so excited to read this adult version of Scooby Doo!! It was good, really well written, and engaging.... but it is a tad darker than I wanted and I don't know how they could have physically done all the things they did....

80. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal
I love the premise of this book. We have a long history of not looking at animals in an intelligent way, so we can't understand animals well. Our biases deeply impact how we try to understand animals. I would have liked it to be a little tighter and a little less repetitive, but I was on board and it was clear he was trying to get people on board...

Books of 2017- Installment #15

71. Fen: Stories by Daisy Johnson
I first heard about this author from LeVar Burton. He has a podcast called LeVar Burton Reads and he read one of the stories from this novel. I can't say I liked every story in this collection, but none of them were boring! It was especially interesting to read this book after having just read The Wake which also takes place in the fens of England.

72. Unnatural Creatures edited by Neil Gaiman
This is a fun collection of stories. My favorite by far was the one by Nalo Hopkinson. She is amazing! I've been interested in a couple of her books and now am even more interested!!

73. The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything by John McDonald
I loved the TV movie with Robert Hayes and Pam Dawber when I was a kid. Then I read 11/22/63 and Stephen King referenced it a couple of times and filled me with a thrill. Surely, the book would be a delight! Well, some things are best unvisited, and stop calling me Shirley. Honestly, the treatment of women in this novel is so unacceptable to me that I can't even pretend to think this book is okay. I'm now unwilling to rewatch my beloved little movie because I'd rather think it was sweet than risk learning it closely follows this book...

74. Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
Oh, how I love Ray!! I feel like I came to Ray late in life even though I had read Fahrenheit 451 when I was young and maybe some other stories. But it was only with the last 5 years or so that I started digging into his work, reading lots of his stories and what a joy! This collection of essays of his thoughts on writing is no exception. His joy at life is so clear in this book. It put a smile on my face and some tears as well!

75. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
This was a book I decided I needed to reread this year. I don't think I have read it since 6th grade which now is such a long time ago. It's such an interesting thing to revisit a powerful book after so many decades. The things that I remembered and the things that I forgot. The lessons that as a society we still haven't learned. I've been reading so much Bradbury lately that I'm seeing the ideas that sunk their teeth into him and wouldn't let go so much more clearly than I ever did before. And that's fascinating as well.

Books of 2017- Installment #14

66. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
An orphan boy at an monastery finds the name of a fabulous city ripped from his mind. He is left with the mysteries of this city, now known only as Weep. I found this first book in a series a delight to read. I was instantly transported to this place and wanted to solve the mysteries of Weep as well!!

67. Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn

This is a fun story about a San Francisco that had demons stage an invasion. It didn't work, but a bunch of humans got some super and not so super powers out of it. Of course just because the initial invasion didn't work doesn't mean the demons are done trying!

68. Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin
This is a really interesting look at reincarnation, in particular those children that remember their previous lives. It focuses on one particular four-year-old boy and his mother's quest to help him. He doesn't have the ability to explain to her what's happening so she doesn't have an easy time of it. The doctor/researcher that does try to help her has his own memory issues...

69. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
This is a really, really good book. Amazingly good! It's super engaging and full of fascinating insights into the American psyche. I've not read much Stephen King, but it's my favorite for sure. But... it is long and you need to be in it for the long haul. Even reading about 200 pages a day it takes a week, and I couldn't read 200 pages every day. But it's an amazing book and I highly recommend it. As you might guess from the title it's about Kennedy's assassination. The main character, Jake, gets a mission from his friend Al to save Kennedy, and while we go on that journey, it's about so much more!

70. A Tangled Yarn by Betty Hechtman
Okay, so this book was an impulse buy because of the cover. The cat was not at all important in the story, so false advertising there... It was a mystery set in a fictional town on the Monterey Peninsula- Cadbury by the Sea, but it was really a mix of Asliomar and Pacific Grove. I miss Monterey and I loved being back there- even in a fictional version of it so, that's the best I can say about this book. It made me think of my beloved Monterey.