The People of Sand and Slag   Paolo Bacigalupi

Short work by an author I love about a future of people who live on sand and slag who find a biological dog. Bacigalupi’s usual good prose and acid view of our future. Short, but a good distraction.

Cleaning the Gold   Lee Child and Karin Slaughter

Novel with Child’s Jack Reacher and Slaughter’s Will Trent teaming up to investigate espionage occurring at Fort Knox. Brief, but interesting enough to be a distraction. Always like Reacher and Child’s prose. Read it on my phone.

The Christmas Scorpion   Lee Child

A Jack Reacher story I read on my phone. Very short, almost nothing to it. What’s here is fine, brief hunt for an assassin, written in Child’s crisp prose, but there isn’t much. Almost not worth the $1.99 it cost. Disappointing because more would have been nice.

Neon Prey   John Sandford

Most recent book in the Lucas Davenport Prey series, nearly all of which I have read. As always, the star is Camp’s prose which is a pleasure to read, followed closely by the interplay of the characters, especially the cops. A good plot with murder, cannibalism, betrayal, and a snake bite. Well executed and interesting. An excellent distraction, wish it had gone on a little longer.

Metropolis   Phillip Kerr

Latest and last of the very enjoyable Bernie Gunther series, it takes place in 1928 Berlin. Kerr uses a framework of German cinema for this murder mystery, specifically Metropolis and other Fritz Lang films, but Bernie’s struggle to stay honest and free of political pressures as he solves the case is once again a fundamental component of the plot. Like the other books in the series, it is historically accurate, Bernie is flawed, but good, and no one gets out unscathed. Wish there were going to be more. Thank you Mr. Kerr.

Exit Strategy   Martha Wells

Fourth, and I think final, book in the murderbot diaries series. Like the previous three, in this book murderbot must protect and save stupid humans from themselves and other threats. But now it finds itself  doing similar stupid things as it develops emotional connections, which it hates, and becomes more of a person. Very well imagined and executed, and very enjoyable. Wish there were more.

Rogue Protocol   Martha Wells

The third book in the murderbot diaries. Another adventure where murderbot must protect and save stupid humans from themselves and other threats. A little more complex plot and emotions as murderbot continues her quest to get evidence against GreyCris and as she develops personally. Very enjoyable.

Artificial Condition   Martha Wells

The second volume in the murderbot diaries series. While it takes a little while to get going, it is just as well-imagined and entertaining as All Systems Red. Murderbot is once again involved with a group of endearing and frustrating humans that it likes as it continues to develop as a persona. Really enjoyed it.

All Systems Red   Martha Wells

Short, surprising, and very entertaining novel about a Security Unit robot (actually a cyborg) that turns off its governor, and acts and thinks for itself. Good action, very interesting interactions with humans, and augmented humans, and its developing personality is delightful and hilarious. Really enjoyed it.

Breaking and Entering: The Extraordinary Story of a Hacker Called “Alien”   Jeremy N. Smith

Non-fiction account of Elizabeth Tessman’s education and work as a “hacker.” Unfortunately, the book seems written for teenage girls, there is far more detail on her clothes, hairdos, and boyfriends than the work she does, which is fine if you are a teenage girl, which I’m not. Also, Smith repeatedly describes technical problems that Alien locates, but then provides no information on solving the problems. Disappointing, even frustrating read. Too bad.

A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition   Ernest Hemingway

I have read the original version of this book many times. The prose was exquisite, and I loved reading Hemingway’s first-hand accounts of this artistically crucial period of his life that were posthumously assembled by his last wife Mary. This new edition includes a number of unfinished, never-before-published sketches revealing experiences that Hemingway had with his son, Jack, and his first wife Hadley. I found it less readable, and less powerful, but no regrets reading it.

A Farewell To Arms   Ernest Hemingway

Re-read this novel after about 40 years, and loved it even more than the first time. Especially liked the recounting of Henry’s war experiences, the camaraderie with the other soldiers, the long , dangerous retreat, and Henry’s escape and decision to desert. Contains two of the greatest paragraph’s in all of American literature. This is the ending of the second one:

“If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.”

Underground Airlines   Ben H. Winters

Well-imagined, very readable novel about a present-day, alternative history United States where slavery was never abolished. Though the prose is good, this book was hard to read because of the subject, and there are scenes on a modern corporate plantation that are like a horror novel. Complex human dramas throughout, and unbearable tragedies. Glad I read it, and glad I’m done. Winters is a very interesting writer.

In The Galway Silence   Ken Bruen

Latest in Bruen’s always entertaining and emotionally brutal Jack Taylor series. This time his nemesis is Michael Allen, and as always, everything that matters to Jack is taken from him. I’ve read all Bruen’s books, and I am still astonished by what Taylor causes, and even more by the losses he endures. As always, the best part is Bruen’s sharp, quick prose wound as tight as Taylor himself. Really enjoyed it, if that’s the right word. Couldn’t put it down.

The Foreigner   Francie Lin

Novel about a Chinese-American man who goes to Taiwan to inter his mother’s ashes and gets involved with local human traffickers. I found the character of Emerson, the protagonist, very dislikable. Not sure if that is intentional, or just a mistake by the author. There is nothing masculine about him, and the one sexual encounter is embarrassingly unconvincing. Also, what progress he makes toward freedom from his past and awakening turns back on itself at the end. Lin’s prose is beautiful, but the preponderance of emotional nuance is completely out of place against the narrative action. Didn’t like it, too bad.

The Histories   Herodotus

Herodotus’ (484-414 BCE) histories of Persia, Egypt, and Ionia covering religion, social traditions, politics, geography, and wars, especially the Persian empire that dominated the period. Really the first work in what we in the western world consider history. Divided into nine sections named for the muses. MacAulay’s translation, though from the 19^th Century, is clear and readable. An important and impressive work, and not just because it may originally have been presented orally. Trying to fill in another gap in my education.

Thin Air   Richard K. Morgan

Complex mystery novel that takes place on a far-future, colonized Mars. Murder everywhere, intricate political intrigue, staggering violence and brutality, and a very well developed future described in great and convincing detail. The technology is impressively thought out and believable. Became completely immersed in it, a very enjoyable distraction. Didn’t want it to end.

Schopenhauer in 90 Minutes   Paul Strathern

Very short introduction to Schopenhauer, though not much about his actual philosophy. Primarily covers his life, his bitter relationship with his mother, and his many affairs. Too bad, his ideas influenced Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, and Wittgenstein, among others. While I enjoyed it well enough, and I learned about Schopenhauer’s life, I don’t understand the elements of his thought any better. One good thing about the book is that it really did take only 90 minutes to read.

Ship Breaker   Paolo Bacigalupi

Young Adult novel about a dystopian America caused by the effects of global warming. Nailer is a ship breaker who gets involved with a swank girl and the corporate intrigue of her family. The same world of Bacigalupi’s adult novels, which I loved, and like them very well written, enjoyed it well enough. Disappointed that the two following novels focus on a different character. Not a bad read at all.

The Maples Stories   John Updike

A one-volume collection of all eighteen stories about Richard and Joan Maples Updike wrote throughout his career. As always with Updike, he explores the rich emotional complexity and nuances of a relationship in highly intelligent, luminous, exquisite prose. Humorous, and at times, deeply moving. I really miss Updike’s writing, wish he were still alive. Loved every word.