Children of Blood and Bone Movie, Little Women Trailer, Quote of the Day, The Lady in the Coppergate Tower by Nancy Campbell Allen, Dragonfly by Leila Meacham, The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind by Jackson Ford, and The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

It has been a rough week and a half, due to a Crohn's flare and problems with my insurance coverage, among other things. Crohn's disease just takes the wind from my sails, and that is after I've taken pain medications and am out of pain. So the bright side is that I get a lot of reading done when I'm sick, but then I don't have the energy for writing reviews. But, today I decided I wouldn't let the day end without giving it a shot. So here are the latest tidbits and 4 book reviews. 

I loved this book, so I am thrilled that Disney is adapting it into a movie. I hope it will be as popular as the Black Panther movie was (for all the right reasons, BTW.)

Movies: Children of Blood and Bone

Disney "is giving a full embrace" to Children of Blood and Bone http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41510619 the film based on Tomi Adeyemi's bestselling novel that originated as a Fox 2000 property, Deadline reported. Kay Oyegun (This Is Us) is making a deal to write a new script adaptation with Rick Famuyiwa, who will direct.

The project "caught the fancy of Lucasfilm and ... its chief Kathy Kennedy is in the process of making this the first feature property to be produced by Lucasfilm since the Disney acquisition that isn't Star Wars or Indiana Jones," Deadline wrote.

This is another movie adaptation that I'm looking forward to, because it is based on a book that I've loved since childhood.

Movies: Little WomenTrailer

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41563300>A trailer has been released for Greta Gerwig's (Lady Bird) highly anticipated adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel Little Women http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41563301, which hits theaters on Christmas Day, Entertainment Weekly reported.

"We wanted [the trailer] to feel like the movie feels, which is both classical and fresh," Gerwig said. "We wanted it to feel light on its feet. And even though it does take place in the 19th century, we in no way wanted it to feel like it was something that was past. We wanted it to feel like it was present right now."

EW added: "Good luck not being knocked over by the very present emotion of seeing Meg (Emma Watson), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Beth (Eliza Scanlen), and Amy (Florence Pugh) brought to vivid life in the joyous, colorful footage, with glimpses of gentle Marmee (Laura Dern), stern Aunt March (Meryl Streep), and the wonderful, almost-irresistible Laurie (Timothée Chalamet).""It's like their hearts are as big as the landscape," Gerwig said.

This is an excellent quote, and very true! Bookstores always make me feel at home.

Quotation of the Day

'This Is a Place for You to Feel at Home'

"I've been hearing for the past ten years that print is dead, that books are dying, and that independent bookstores are simply a thing of the past. Funny, things look pretty great from our perspective! In all seriousness, I'd like to chat a little about the value I see in local bookstores, not just my own, but those all over the country and the world. It's true, it may be easier to order a book online, but that doesn't make this space any less loved, used, or needed. I do not hate the way books are sold now or the fact that some people just order them with a click of a button on their phone. What I care about, what I truly deeply care about, is that books are being loved, read, and discovered.

People are reading more now than ever before, here you are reading this! I believe we are having a reading revival and if it's from a tablet, a phone, a book you bought online, or a book you discovered in an independent bookstore, I celebrate the reading that is happening--no matter the form. So I welcome you to come on in, find a gift for your friend, a new set of stationery for your cousin, a new book for your dad, and a new journal for yourself. I invite you to join our book club, meet a visiting author, purchase an autographed copy, or simply browse the racks. This is a place for you to feel at home, and that's something we hope to have in common with books!"

--Bridgeside Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41566870, Waterbury, Vt.

The Lady in the Coppergate Tower by Nancy Campbell Allen is a lovely steampunk fantasy/romance that adds elements of famous fairy tales, among them Rapunzel, to create a truly engaging story. This book was recommended to me by the people on the Gail Carriger author page on Facebook. The prose was precise and elegant, while the plot moved swiftly along, like an automaton on wheels! I loved the connections to Dracula and the fearlessness of the protagonist Hazel and her employer (and paramour) Dr Sam. Here's the blurb:

Hazel Hughes has spent her life believing she is a Medium someone who can talk to ghosts. But as of yet, that skill has remained frustratingly elusive. She is also suffering from a reoccurring childhood dream of someone who looks almost exactly like Hazel, but this dream version of herself is slowly going mad.
Sam MacInnes is a talented surgeon who runs in the highest social circles thanks to his family s position and history. When Sam hires Hazel to assist him with his medical practice, he is immediately drawn to her intelligence, wit, and beauty. Their potential relationship is derailed one evening when a mysterious count arrives in London and reveals to Hazel the truth about her past: she was abducted at birth and her twin sister has fallen dangerously ill.
Hazel agrees to travel to Romania with Count Petrescu in order to save her sister, and Sam insists on accompanying her. The count has secrets, though, and the journey grows more sinister with every mile that draws Hazel closer to her homeland. Even as her feelings for Sam become deeper and more complicated, she fears she might not survive the quest to save her sister with her heart intact, not to mention her life. She must learn to draw on gifts she doesn t know she has if they are going to ever return home again.
Hazel and Sam must fight their way past dark magic, clockwork beasts, and their own insecurities as they try to reach her sister in the impenetrable Coppergate Tower before time runs out.

I was swiftly engaged with this book and couldn't stop reading, though I knew I was losing sleep over it. A real page turner like this deserves an A, and I'd highly recommend it to fantasy romance readers and Gail Carriger fans.

Dragonfly by Leila Meacham is a whopper of a novel. Though I realize that my large print edition adds at least 300 pages due to font size, I still imagine the regular type editions clock in at a hefty 500 pages or so. This book was 850 pages and I had trouble lifting it with my arthritic wrist. Still, after the first 50 pages, the book really begins to move, and once the plot started moving it was full steam ahead for this enchanting WWII story. The prose was straightforward, if a bit simplistic, and the plot, as I said, was a juggernaut. The 5 main characters were likable and represented a generation of Americans who proved to be the kind of people we all want people around the world to think Americans are like. Here's the blurb: 

From the New York Times bestselling author of Roses comes a gripping new novel about five young spies embedded among the highest Nazi ranks in occupied Paris

At the height of World War II, a handful of idealistic young Americans receive a mysterious letter from the government, asking them if they are willing to fight for their country. The men and women from very different backgrounds-a Texan athlete with German roots, an upper-crust son of a French mother and a wealthy businessman, a dirt-poor Midwestern fly fisherman, an orphaned fashion designer, and a ravishingly beautiful female fencer-all answer the call of duty, but each for a secret reason of her or his own. They bond immediately, in a group code-named Dragonfly.
Thus begins a dramatic cat-and-mouse game, as the group seeks to stay under the radar until a fatal misstep leads to the capture and the firing-squad execution of one of their team. But...is everything as it seems, or is this one more elaborate act of spycraft? 

Though I found it hard to believe that there were two high ranking German SS officers who were against Hitler and wanted to help the Allies win the war, (and were willing to die for their cause and for allied spies that they knew of but didn't turn in), I still enjoyed the intricacy of the background of Nazi occupied France, of how people survived, of the way that cruelty and murder became commonplace, and love and sacrifice were also the order of the day for people. The mural and the joy that it brings in a dark time was also touching. This is one of those books that would make a great Netflix series. At any rate, I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who wants some insight into WWII spycraft and the greatest generation.

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind by Jackson Ford sounded like a fun contemporary sf/fantasy novel, and so it was. The prose was punchy and tough, and the plot had plenty of twists and turns. That said, there was a real "the bad parts of real life in LA" kind of vibe in the book, and if you find bad language/swearing and gruesome murder/murderers objectionable, this is not the book for you. Still Teagan is a hoot, a sassy and pugnacious telekenetic young woman who is hard on the outside but has a marshmallow heart. Here's the blurb: Full of imagination, wit, and random sh*t flying through the air, this insane adventure from an irreverent new voice will blow your tiny mind.
For Teagan Frost, sh*t just got real.
Teagan Frost is having a hard time keeping it together. Sure, she's got telekinetic powers -- a skill that the government is all too happy to make use of, sending her on secret break-in missions that no ordinary human could carry out. But all she really wants to do is kick back, have a beer, and pretend she's normal for once.
But then a body turns up at the site of her last job -- murdered in a way that only someone like Teagan could have pulled off. She's got 24 hours to clear her name - and it's not just her life at stake. If she can't unravel the conspiracy in time, her hometown of Los Angeles will be in the crosshairs of an underground battle that's on the brink of exploding. 

I loved that Teagan was friends with the homeless community, and that their king, who knows all, is named Africa. I also loved that the head of their small CIA-like cell is a handicapped woman in a wheelchair who kicks ass, even when she's forced out of her chair. What I didn't love where that the guys in the group were asshats. And I didn't love that the serial killer was so easily manipulated, and the person pulling his strings somehow justified what he was doing as being for the common good. Blech. Still, I enjoyed this story and it kept me entertained until the last page. I'd give it a B,and recommend it to anyone who likes "realistic" modern sf/f with lots of gore and swearing.

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal was one of those books that I was going to purchase, because it sounded, from the blurbs, like it was right up my alley, so I wasn't sure I wanted to wait for it to get to me via the hold system at the KCL. Now that I read it I am glad that I decided to wait for the library copy instead of buying it. This was a very disappointing novel about three sisters, Rajni, Jezmeen and Shirina who are forced to go on a trip to India together to fulfill their bossy mother's last wish after she dies. These young women were born in England, and all are somewhat spoiled and set into their roles within the family dynamic in such a way that they don't seem to be able to get out from under everyone's expectations. Rajni is a hard-ass and rigid in her role as the sister who tells everyone else what to do and how to behave, Jezmeen is a shallow idiot who only seeks fame, but after a meltdown that includes her kicking a rare species of fish to death (which she really doesn't seem to regret, she's just pissed off that she was caught on camera doing it) she's become infamous and is losing possible acting jobs, and Shirina is a lemming and a weak pushover who allows her evil MIL and her wimpy and cruel husband to try and force her into aborting her pregnancy because they want her to have a boy first (because boys are more important than girls in India, apparently, which is backward and disgusting). Here's the blurb:

The British-born Punjabi Shergill sisters—Rajni, Jezmeen, and Shirina—were never close and barely got along growing up, and now as adults, have grown even further apart. Rajni, a school principal is a stickler for order. Jezmeen, a thirty-year-old struggling actress, fears her big break may never come. Shirina, the peacemaking "good" sister married into wealth and enjoys a picture-perfect life.
On her deathbed, their mother voices one last wish: that her daughters will make a pilgrimage together to the Golden Temple in Amritsar to carry out her final rites. After a trip to India with her mother long ago, Rajni vowed never to return. But she’s always been a dutiful daughter, and cannot, even now, refuse her mother’s request. Jezmeen has just been publicly fired from her television job, so the trip to India is a welcome break to help her pick up the pieces of her broken career. Shirina’s in-laws are pushing her to make a pivotal decision about her married life; time away will help her decide whether to meekly obey, or to bravely stand up for herself for the first time.
Arriving in India, these sisters will make unexpected discoveries about themselves, their mother, and their lives—and learn the real story behind the trip Rajni took with their Mother long ago—a momentous journey that resulted in Mum never being able to return to India again.
The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters is a female take on the Indian travel narrative. "I was curious about how different the trip would be if it were undertaken by women, who are vulnerable to different dangers in a male-dominated society," Balli Kaur Jaswal writes. "I also wanted to explore the tensions between tradition and modernity in immigrant communities, and particularly how those tensions play out among women like these sisters, who are the first generation to be raised outside of India."
Powerful, emotionally evocative, and wonderfully atmospheric, The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters is a charming and thoughtful story that illuminates the bonds of family, sisterhood, and heritage that tether us despite our differences. Funny and heartbreaking, it is a reminder of the truly important things we must treasure in our lives.

I didn't find this book funny or heartbreaking, it just made me angry that none of these women could really be mature enough to get it together and move forward with their lives. They were too mired in tradition or fear. The prose was workmanlike and sometimes dull, while the plot was easily unraveled and stalled in spots. After reading how women are treated in India, I never want to step foot in such a horribly sexist country. So I'd give the book a C, and only recommend it to women who find Indian travel narratives told from a woman's POV fascinating. Take my advice, though, get the book from the library if you are unsure whether or not you will enjoy it. It will save you money better spent on much better books.

 

Reading With JMS, Riggio Helps 100 College Students, Plot Twist Bookstore Closing, RIP Toni Morrison, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman, The Woman in the Water by Charles Finch and River of No Return by Annie Bellet

This is my first post of August, and it's a long one because of some fascinating bits of information on writers like JMS, who wrote one of my favorite science fiction TV series, Babylon 5, and the obituary of the great Toni Morrison, who died on Monday. Also, August 1 would have been my father's 87th birthday, and this will be the first time I haven't been able to call and wish him a happy birthday and see how he's doing. But I know that wherever his spirit is now, he's happy to not be stuck in a body that doesn't allow him to remember anyone, to eat or move or laugh or talk, all things he loved in his long and garrulous life. At any rate, on with the fun stuff, gleaned from Shelf Awareness.

Reading with... J. Michael Straczynski

J. Michael Straczynski http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41368857 has written hundreds of hours of television shows; comic books for Marvel and DC that have sold more than 13 million copies; and screenplays of movies that have grossed over a billion dollars. Becoming Superman is his first memoir (Harper Voyager, July 23, 2019).

On your nightstand now:

Rereading A Coney Island of the Mind by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. I believe that an appreciation of poetry is essential for any writer in any field. That economy of language reminds you of the importance of choosing exactly the right word, not the word next to the right one on the shelf. On a conceptual level, I admire Ferlinghetti's writing which comes at you from a right angle with a huge impact, so I reread his work every couple of years to keep my brain flexible.

Favorite book when you were a child:

The Mad Scientists Club by Bertrand Brinley. I liked this series because it showed kids who got away with making trouble in a small town, one of the few to actually applaud mischief. But their hearts were in the right places, and they approached everything from a perspective of (well, close to) actual science in their methodology.

 

Your top five authors:

Norman Corwin was the country's premiere radio dramatists in the '40s and is still considered a writer's writer, inspiring such folks as Ray Bradbury, Rod Serling, Walter Cronkite, Charles Kuralt and many more to become better writers. I briefly studied under him at SDSU and still can't figure out how he did some of what he did.

Harlan Ellison was an inspirational figure because like me, he came from the streets, he was a scrapper and a troublemaker and didn't have the best grades, but he kept honing his craft and succeeded. I'd been raised to think that writing was an ivory-tower profession, populated by writers from good New England families who wrote while wearing smoking jackets and reclining on macassar fainting couches. Knowing he could make it helped keep me going, and in time we became friends.

Richard Matheson was the quintessential fantasist: his stories and scripts were brilliant in their use of the tropes of fantasy but were also and always grounded in emotion. Whenever I think I'm getting too smart and facile for my own good, I reread his stuff to be reminded of the importance of just writing honestly and from the heart.

Rod Serling was the best of us (along with Paddy Chayefsky) and reading any of his scripts or watching any of his Twilight Zone episodes is like taking a master's class in writing. I have a tendency to over-write, and as much as Serling may be known for long monologues, the construction of those pieces is laser-sharp, not a single wasted word in there anywhere, the result of a clockwork mind clicking along at 10,000 revolutions per second.

Mark Twain was someone I discovered as a young writer, and though some contemporary readers may consider him old-hat, there's an energy and canny intelligence in his work that survives the ages. For construction of narrative, humor and most particularly a way of looking at action in a fresh or unusual way that enlivens the narrative, there's nobody better.

Book you've faked reading:

Ulysses by James Joyce. The first time I tried to read Ulysses was when a friend in college bet me 20 bucks I couldn't finish it. I lost that bet. I've probably tried half a dozen times over the long years to finish the triple-damned thing, but I just can't get there, so I lie. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Land of Laughs, Jonathan Carroll. That Carroll's name is not more widely known is unfortunate because he is a superb craftsman and a surrealist thinker and a damned fine writer. Land of Laughs was the first book of his I read and remains one of the best in his canon. It's creepy and smart and populated with rich, interesting characters and definitely needs to be more widely read.

Book that changed your life:

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (collection) Harlan Ellison. As someone who was largely self-educated as a kid, my sense of what constituted science fiction came from the ranks of classic SF: Ray Bradbury, E.E. "Doc" Smith, Arthur Clarke, Isaac Asimov--stories that wrote from the technology out to the characters. I Have No Mouth was one of the breakthrough books of the New Wave of SF and turned that motif absolutely upside down. It was like nothing I'd ever read before, and it spun my head around 180 degrees both as a writer and a fan of the genre.

Favorite line from a book:

"For the love of God, Montresor!" --from "The Cask of Amontillado," Edgar Allan Poe. I can't even tell you why. It just so perfectly encapsulates the dilemma faced by the character, and embodies the story's theme of revenge that it sticks with me always.

Five books you'll never part with:

Mark Twain's Speeches because the man knew how to put together a talk that was entertaining and informative and challenging and boy howdy do I need that.

The Oxford English Dictionary (bookshelf edition) because it's endless fun browsing through not just the words themselves but the Indo-European word derivations provided for many of the definitions, tracing back the work through many iterations, each adding new and unexpected shadings of meaning.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, because she was one of the best of us, because her storytelling skills were impeccable and because there are some nights when apparently sleep just isn't a priority for me.

The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, William S. Baring-Gould. I'm a big Sherlock fan and love to reread this for the details behind the creation of those stories. I learn something new every time.

The Literature of England, edited by George K. Anderson and William E. Buckler, because I fell in love with classical English literature in college, and this was one of the best texts I ever came across for a generalist view of that period.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury, just to experience that sense of wonder all over again.

Favorite poem:

Ulysses by Tennyson because of what it says about the raw, naked courage required to keep going under the worst of circumstances, and to then go one step forward to reinvent oneself, to push off into new possibilities; that there is hope, even at the end of all things.

I desperately wish that more extremely wealthy men, titans of industry and the internet included (I am looking at you, Jeff Bezos!) would do this, thus ensuring that a generation of young adults coming out of high school would be able to get a college education and join the workforce without hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt hanging over their heads. It only takes one measly million, which is pocket change to the very wealthy, to get 100 students through college with paid tuition (and one hopes paid textbooks as well, as they are expensive).

B&N's Riggio Donates $1 Million to 100 College Students

Len Riggio, executive chairman of Barnes & Noble, which will soon be sold to private equity company Elliott Management, recently showed a great deal of generosity to a group of students who are mostly from poor and working-class families: he has donated $1 million http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41422863 to the "100 Strong Scholarship Fund," which will provide full tuition for 100 recent high school graduates who are beginning studies this fall at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, N.Y., according to the Brooklyn Paper. Riggio announced the donation after giving the keynote address at the college's commencement ceremony on June 13. Claudia V. Schader, president of Kingsborough Community College, the only community college in Brooklyn, said the scholarships would help students focus on education and not worry about finances. "Many of our students are the first in their families to go to college," she continued. "Many work full- and part-time jobs, and care for their children and parents. Mr. Riggio's very generous gift will allow these students the opportunity to focus on their academic success and lifelong learning, without concerns of how they will fund their education."

Though I am sorry to see them go after only a few years, I have already advised family and friends in Iowa to take part of my book list to The Plot Twist and see if they can score some books for 50 percent off! 

Iowa's Plot Twist Bookstore Closing

Plot Twist Bookstore http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41483817, Ankeny, Iowa, which opened in 2016 http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41483818, is closing at the end of August http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41483819, the store announced.

"Thank you for your support of Plot Twist and please know I am so glad to have had the opportunity to serve you and share my love of reading," owner Mary Rork-Watson wrote. "I encourage you all to support our local businesses." The 1,400-square-foot store sold new books and gifts for all ages, and hosted community events.

  

I've not been a huge fan of Morrison's, but I am still cognizant of her contribution to the world of  words, books and wise speeches. She was an amazing woman. RIP.

Obituary Note: Toni Morrison

Celebrated author Toni Morrison, who became the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, died August 5. She was 88. In a statement announcing her death "with profound sadness," the Morrison family said "our adored mother and grandmother... reveled in being with her family and friends. The consummate writer who treasured the written word, whether her own, her students or others, she read voraciously and was most at home when writing. Although her passing represents a tremendous loss, we are grateful she had a long, well lived life."

Morrison was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for Beloved. Her many other honors include the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature, with the Swedish Academy recognizing her as an author "who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality"; the National Book Foundation's Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 1996; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented to her in 2012 by President Barack Obama.

Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was released by Holt, Rinehart & Winston in 1970, and Knopf published her other novels, including Sula (1973), Song of Solomon (1977), Tar Baby (1981), Jazz (1992), A Mercy (2008) and God Help the Child (2015).

Morrison's nonfiction works include Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (1992) and What Moves at the Margin: Selected Nonfiction (2008, edited by Carolyn C. Denard). In October, the University of Virginia Press will release Morrison's Goodness and the Literary Imagination, featuring her celebrated 2012 Ingersoll Lecture at Harvard University. Morrison also wrote several children's books with her son Slade, including Please, Louise (2014), Peeny Butter Fudge (2009) and The Book of Mean People (2002).From 1967 to 1983, Morrison worked as an editor at Random House--the first female African-American editor in company history. "She was a great woman and a great writer, and I don't know which I will miss more," said Robert Gottlieb, her longtime editor.

The New York Times noted that Morrison "was one of the rare American authors http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41506638 whose books were both critical and commercial successes. Her novels appeared regularly on the New York Times bestseller list, were featured multiple times on Oprah Winfrey's television book club and were the subject of myriad critical studies. A longtime faculty member at Princeton, Ms. Morrison lectured widely and was seen often on television."

In her 1993 Nobel lecture, Morrison said: "Be it grand or slender, burrowing, blasting, or refusing to sanctify; whether it laughs out loud or is a cry without an alphabet, the choice word, the chosen silence, unmolested language surges toward knowledge not its destruction. But who does not know of literature banned because it is interrogative; discredited because it is critical; erased because alternate? And how many are outraged by the thought of a self-ravaged tongue?

"Word-work is sublime, she thinks, because it is generative; it makes meaning that secures our difference, our human difference--the way in which we are like no other life.

"We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives."

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman wasn't what I was expecting, (from the title and blurb) but turned out to actually be something surprisingly refreshing and different. Nina is a somewhat stereotypical introverted bibliophile who works in a bookstore, has a disastrous history with dating and has a cat named Phil. Into her well-ordered OCD life comes news that she's the daughter of a wealthy lawyer who just died and left her "something" in his will, along with a family of siblings, nieces and nephews that she's never met (or even heard of). What follows is a funny and often poignant story of a woman learning to embrace life and all it's surprises. Here's the blurb: Meet Nina Hill: A young woman supremely confident in her own...shell.

The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.
When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?

Nina considers her options.
1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

It's time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It's going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.

Rarely have I read prose that is so fully described as effervescent, so light and bright and bubbly that it nearly tickles your nose. The plot is straightforward and easy, providing a nice framework for this delightful beach read. Though I am not an introvert, I could empathize with Nina's desire to escape the chaos of her newfound family, and I felt for her in her frustration with her Aussie mother's abandonment, leaving Nina to be raised by a housekeeper, who was, thank heaven, up for the task. I'd give this page-turning novel an A, and recommend it to anyone seeking a light and satisfying read.

The Woman in the Water by Charles Finch was recommended to me because I love Sherlock Holmes remakes and reboots, and I enjoy certain types of cozy mysteries as well. This is a prequel to the Charles Lenox series, and I was told it was a good place to start to see if I would enjoy delving more into this series of 19th century mysteries. Unfortunately, though well written, I found the novel too "talky," with lots of paragraphs that aren't really germane to the story blathering on about every feeling of uncertainty and emotion that young Lenox has while trying to solve the mystery of who murdered two young women and threw their bodies into the Thames. This clogged the plot and slowed the story to a crawl, which made it boring. Here's the blurb:

A chilling new mystery in the USA Today bestselling series by Charles Finch, The Woman in the Water takes readers back to Charles Lenox’s very first case and the ruthless serial killer who would set him on the course to become one of London’s most brilliant detectives.
London, 1850: A young Charles Lenox struggles to make a name for himself as a detective…without a single case. Scotland Yard refuses to take him seriously and his friends deride him for attempting a profession at all. But when an anonymous writer sends a letter to the paper claiming to have committed the perfect crime―and promising to kill again―Lenox is convinced that this is his chance to prove himself.
The writer’s first victim is a young woman whose body is found in a naval trunk, caught up in the rushes of a small islet in the middle of the Thames. With few clues to go on, Lenox endeavors to solve the crime before another innocent life is lost. When the killer’s sights are turned toward those whom Lenox holds most dear, the stakes are raised and Lenox is trapped in a desperate game of cat and mouse.
In the tradition of Sherlock Holmes, this newest mystery in the Charles Lenox series pits the young detective against a maniacal murderer who would give Professor Moriarty a run for his money.

The prose was crisp and British, similar in style and tone to that of  Conan Doyle, of course, but all the minutia created logjams in the plot, and put me off this series forever, I'm afraid. So though I didn't figure out who the murderer was until the last 1/3 of the book, I can't give it more than a C+, and recommend it to those who like fussy and stuffy mysteries with a somewhat boring plot and protagonist.

River of No Return by Annie Bellet is book 9 in her twenty-sided sorceress series, and this one's a real corker. Jade and Alek are once again called on to save their friends and shifters from a diabolical scheme to get ahold of the heart of an evil sorcerer that Jade keeps as a tiny jewel around her neck. At first it seems there are several bad guys going after the crew, but it turns out that there's really only one evil vampire behind it all. Bellet's prose is clean and clear as quicksliver and her plots faster than a bullet train. Here's the blurb: Supposedly, nature abhors a vacuum. I'm finding this is true in the worst way...  Defeating her evil ex-boyfriend hasn't exactly been the reprieve from trouble that Jade hoped for. When Alek's mentor shows up with an injured Justice and government agents start asking questions she doesn't want to answer, Jade's problems are just beginning. Enemies new and old make their moves as a war looms on the horizon in this exciting ninth book in the Twenty-Sided Sorceress series.

Bellet's Twenty Sided Sorceress books are always a treat because she never wastes a word, and most of her novels, like this one, are barely over 200 pages long, so you can finish them in an afternoon. Like Seanan McGuire, Jade always ends up bloody and near death, having to battle sorcerers, shifters, vampires and everything inbetween while her white tiger boyfriend Alek has to fight to stay alive as well. Usually at least one minor character dies, and Jade feels a crap ton of guilt over losing her friends and also over not telling them what is going on as a way to protect them from harm, which always backfires. Still, other than the cover illustration, which has beautiful Jade looking like a salt-sucking alien from Star Trek, or a neanderthal of some kind (why? What is wrong with the publisher that they'd let this ugly illustration go by?), I liked this book and would give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who has read any of the other books in this series.

Watchmen TV Reboot, Secret Garden's Scott Retires, The Right Stuff TV Show, Socery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang and The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair

This quote made me laugh, because it's so true, though I don't see bookstores as menacing, so much as awesome. 

"Aren't bookshops strange? Sitting there with quiet menace as if they were just a shop and not an entry point to 30,000 different universes?"  Matt Haig

A reboot of The Watchmen is coming out, and though my husband, who is a true comic book fan, is skeptical, I am looking forward to seeing this great cast in action.

TV: Watchmen

HBO's latest trailer for Damon Lindelof's upcoming series Watchmen http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41365163, based on the comic book epic by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, marks a debut for fan favorite Doctor Manhattan. Entertainment Weekly reported there "are still a lot of questions about how (and when) the world in Lindelof's Watchmen operates, but news footage sees Doctor Manhattan flaunting his abilities on the planet Mars. This is where Regina King's character, reportedly named Angela Abar, says he's been living. Only now, it would appear he's back on earth."

The trailer also features Jeremy Irons (reportedly playing an older version of comic character Ozymandias), Don Johnson, Jean Smart, Tim Blake Nelson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Also featured in the series are Louis Gossett Jr., Hong Chau, Andrew Howard, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing and James Wolk. Watchmen premieres on HBO this October.

I became a fan of the Secret Garden bookstore back in the 90s, when we first moved to Seattle. The booksellers there were always friendly and fun to talk to and they managed to cram a lot of wonderful genres of literature in a small space (after they moved into their shop on Market street in Ballard). I wish Ms Scott only the best in her retirement.

Seattle Bookseller Susan Scott Retires

Secret Garden Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41368831, Seattle, Wash., recently celebrated the retirement of shop manager Susan Scott after a 40-year career in bookselling. Although she worked in retail in college and spent several years as an advertising copywriter in New York City and later Seattle, her long-term future in bookselling was set with her first job, shelving books at the Seattle Public Library in 1967. She began her bookselling career at Books & Co. in New York City in 1980, continued upon her return to Seattle at Queen Anne Avenue Books, working with its original owners back in the '90s, and joined Secret Garden in 1996.

"Susan wanted her last Saturday to be a big (sales) one for the shop, so we invited dozens of past and current booksellers, publishers reps, and, of course, customers, most of whom went home with purchases," events manager Suzanne Perry said.

I loved Tom Wolfe's book and the movie that came from it back in the 80s. I am looking forward to the television series because it has a stellar cast and it's the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, which I watched with my brothers on our black and white console TV when I was 8 years old. 

TV: The Right Stuff

"As America basks in the 50th anniversary celebration of the first moon landing," National Geographic has released the first trailer for its upcoming

series The Right Stuff http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41368848 "which uses Tom Wolfe's book as its starting point," Deadline reported. The project is from Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way and Warner Horizon Scripted Television.

Patrick J. Adams stars as John Glenn and Jake McDorman as Alan Shepard. The cast also includes Colin O'Donoghue, Eric Ladin, Patrick Fischler, Nora Zehetner, Eloise Mumford, Shannon Lucio and Josh Cooke.

"Subsequent seasons of The Right Stuff will carry through to the epochal Apollo Space Program, where humankind saw one of its greatest achievements--man setting foot on the moon--and missions beyond," Deadline wrote.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson is an utterly delicious YA steampunk fantasy that is reminiscent of Gail Carriger's Finishing School series of YA fantasy, in that it is brimming with wit and charm and young women who refuse to sit on the sidelines of life. The prose is spotless, and the plot bubbles and sparkles and flows fast, like river rapids in the summer sunshine. I honestly couldn't put it down, and read the whole book (over 450 pages) in a day. Here's the blurb: From the New York Times bestselling author of An Enchantment of Ravens comes an imaginative fantasy about an apprentice at a magical library who must battle a powerful sorcerer to save her kingdom.

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.
Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.
As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined. 

I loved Elisabeth and her spunky, smart room mate the aptly named Katrien Quillworthy, and I loved the fact that they were both apprentices to great libraries, which were the foundations of their world. The books and grimoires had personalities, and talked to Elisabeth, as well as becoming deadly creatures when provoked. The fact that Elisabeth was a foundling who was raised in the library from infancy, and has "ink in her veins" made me identify with her even more, as I've been a bibliophile for 55 years (having learned to read at age 4). I loved this book so much I can only hope and pray for a sequel. Of course, it has earned a special place in my heart and an A, as well as a recommendation to my fellow Steampunk-loving friends, and those who enjoy a well told tale with a solid female protagonist.

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff also sports a strong young woman as a protagonist, in what could only be seen as a YA science fiction/fantasy with romance woven in, because, it is inevitable that there is a love triangle in this type of YA fiction. That said, there was a science fiction comic book/graphic novel feel to this book that made it easy to read fast, and made the plot run on an FTL engine. You find yourself nearly done with the book before you know it. The snarky phone was a fun addition to the pages, as he was able to dole out information in a fun way in chapter headings that didn't feel dull as an info-dump. Here's the blurb: The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch . . .

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass tech whiz with the galaxy's biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger-management issues
A tomboy pilot who's totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem--that'd be Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler's squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

NOBODY PANIC.

The POV rotates from one squad member to the next throughout the book, which takes a little getting used to, but manages to not be as confusing as it sounds. SPOILER: I know that it is inevitable that one person dies in such epic tales, but I was rather disappointed that it was the awesome female pilot, who was sacrificed on the altar of the love triangle between Auri and Tyler and the hot alien Kal, who is caught in something like a Vulcan Pon Farr, where he is hormonally required to choose a mate, and has chosen Auri. Though its a tired trope, it doesn't fare too badly here, and I enjoyed all the pop culture references and science fiction classic references in the text, as well. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes Avengers or Justice League comic books, or YA science fiction involving a group of misfits who make good.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang is a sprite of a romance novel, with an interesting premise that kept me turning pages into the wee hours. The prose is stellar and the plot dances along on light feet. Here's the blurb: A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.
Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases—a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice—with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan—from foreplay to more-than-missionary position. Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he's making her feel. Their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic.

The set up of an autistic young woman paying a male prostitute to help her become adept at sex isn't really new (Pretty Woman has basically the same plot with a reverse of gender) and the fact that they inevitably fall in love isn't new, either, but somehow Hoang manages, via steamy sex scenes and character vulnerability, to make it work anew, like a Star Trek reboot full of lens flares. I really enjoyed this A-worthy novel, and would recommend it to anyone who likes diverse/different protagonists and stories about them adapting their lives in new and inspiring ways. Kudos to Hoang for breaking new ground with this delightful tale.

The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair was a historical mystery has gotten tons of good ink, with rave reviews, interviews and all kinds of press and blurbs from famed authors and reviewers. Usually, books on bestseller lists leave me cold, as they're rarely worth all the hype. The Right Sort of Man, however, was worth every ounce of good ink and press swoonage, and then some. The prose was sublime, the plot fresh and fast, and the characters utterly fascinating. The British charm is in full force here, as our heroines Iris and Gwen, who have their own matchmaking business, take to the streets to solve the mystery of who killed one of their female clients. Here's the blurb:

First comes love, then comes murder.
In a London slowly recovering from World War II, two very different women join forces to launch a business venture in the heart of Mayfair―The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Miss Iris Sparks, quick-witted and impulsive, and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, practical and widowed with a young son, are determined to achieve some independence and do some good in a rapidly changing world.
But the promising start to their marriage bureau is threatened when their newest client, Tillie La Salle, is found murdered and the man arrested for the crime is the prospective husband they matched her with. While the police are convinced they have their man, Miss Sparks and Mrs. Bainbridge are not. To clear his name―and to rescue their fledging operation’s reputation―Sparks and Bainbridge decide to investigate on their own, using the skills and contacts they’ve each acquired through life and their individual adventures during the recent war.
Little do they know that this will put their very lives at risk.

As utterly engrossing as this book was, I was a bit put out by Sparks being so cavalier about having an affair with a married man. Still, it all came out right in the end, and I hope that there are at least a dozen more of these mysteries in the offing, so that I might pine for them in the future. The world of Sparks and Bainbridge beckons! I'd give this lush and immersive mystery novel an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes well written post WWII mysteries set in England.

 

American Master Ursula K LeGuin, Storied Life of AJ Fikry Movie, Quote of the Day, The Great Unexpected by Dan Mooney, The Last Word by Samantha Hastings, Waisted by Randy Susan Meyers, and Dungeon Crawl by Annie Bellet

I've been an Ursula LeGuin fan since the early 70s, when I discovered her amazing science fiction and fantasy novels. I had the chance to meet her twice, once at a book event that used to take place in one of the warehouses on the pier in Seattle, and then later at another book event in Bellevue. Both times I was stunned by her insights and intellect and her ferocious feminism. Now that she's gone, they're doing shows about her life and work, and I can hardly wait to see them...this one in particular sounds marvelous.

TV: American Masters--Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin

American Masters--Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41283411 will premiere on Friday, August 2, on PBS, pbs.org/americanmasters http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41283412 and the PBS Video app. The film had its world premiere at the Sheffield Documentary Festival and has been shown internationally at dozens of festivals.

Produced with Le Guin's participation over the course of a decade, American Masters--Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin explores the personal and professional life of the notoriously private author through conversations with Le Guin as well as her family, friends and the generations of writers she influenced, including Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Michael Chabon and David Mitchell.

The film also illustrates the dramatic real-world settings that shaped Le Guin's invented places using original animations over her own readings of her work.

American Masters--Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin is a production of Arwen Curry in association with the Center for Independent Documentary and THIRTEEN's American Masters for WNET. The film is directed by Arwen Curry, who is also a co-producer with Jason Andrew Cohn and Camille Servan-Schreiber. Michael Kantor is American Masters series executive producer.

I enjoyed reading this book when it first appeared on shelves, and then again with my library book group. I sincerely hope that the movie version captures the great characters Zevin created in the novel. 

Movies: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Naveen Andrews (The English Patient, Lost) will star in The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41337291, based on the 2014 novel by Gabrielle Zevin. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Zevin adapted her own screenplay, and her frequent collaborator Hans Canosa will direct. Canosa told THR it was a priority to stay true to the novel and cast an actor of South Asian descent in the lead role.

It has been scorching hot outside for the past couple of weeks, and right now they're experiencing higher than normal temps all over the east coast and midwest. So this quote is particularly apt. I know that I have been staying inside where there is AC and plenty to read.

Quotation of the Day

"Let's pretend it's not a million degrees. Hope everyone survived the heat this weekend. Remember to stay hydrated and not to over exert yourself... read a book instead http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41337238.

Love, Spiral.--Posted yesterday on Facebook by the Spiral Bookcase Philadelphia, Pa. 

The Great Unexpected by Dan Mooney was recommended to me by someone who knows that I enjoy books, like A Man Called Ove, about spunky curmudgeons who live and learn to love their fellow humans through extraordinary/hilarious circumstances. While I've enjoyed books by Mitch Albom and Elizabeth Berg (the latter wrote The Story of Arthur Truluv, which I read, and loved, twice) about older gents and ladies, I find that the more such books proliferate, the more the quality of that particular type of book tends to decrease. Fortunately, Mooney won me over from the start with the irascible Joel and the flamboyant Frank. Mooney's prose is elegant and strong without being melodramatic or preachy, and his plot was surprising and poignant. Here's the blurb: A curmudgeon and his eccentric new roommate join together to plan an epic escape in this charming, poignant tale.

Joel lives in a nursing home, and he’s not one bit happy about it. He hates being told when to eat, when to sleep, when to take his pills. He’s fed up with life and begins to plan a way out when his new roommate, a retired soap opera actor named Frank, moves in and turns the nursing-home community upside down.

Though the two men couldn’t be more opposite, a fast friendship is formed when Frank is the only one who listens to and stands up for Joel. When he tells Frank about his burgeoning plan, they embark together on a mission to find the perfect escape, and along the way will discover that it’s never too late for new beginnings.

Filled with colorful characters, sparkling humor and deep emotion, The Great Unexpected is the story of friendship, finding oneself later in life and experiencing newfound joy in the most unexpected places.

This novel had it all, a page turner that I couldn't put down with characters that I fell in love with and situations that had me roaring with laughter one moment and sobbing the next. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well told tale full of the universal truths of aging, friendship, life and death.

The Last Word by Samantha Hastings is an almost-steampunk YA novel of romance and a fiesty female protagonist whose love of stories forces her into an adventure that will change her life. Here's the blurb:

Set against the smoky, gaslit allure of Victorian London, this sweetly romantic historical debut is full of humor and stars a whip-smart female heroine ahead of her time.

Where one story ends, another begins.
1861. Miss Lucinda Leavitt is shocked when she learns the author of her favorite serialized novel has died before completing the story. Determined to learn how it ends, Lucinda reluctantly enlists the help of her father’s young business partner, Mr. David Randall, to track down the reclusive author’s former whereabouts.
David is a successful young businessman, but is overwhelmed by his workload. He wants to prove himself to his late father, as well as to himself. He doesn’t have the time, nor the interest, for this endeavor, but Lucinda is not the type to take no for an answer.
Their search for the elusive Mrs. Smith and the rightful ending to her novel leads Lucinda and David around the country, but the truths they discover about themselves―and each other―are anything but fictional.
Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads, The Last Word by debut author Samantha Hastings is a fun yet intellectual romp through Victorian London―the perfect book for book-lovers.

Spirited Lucinda is one of those heroines who stays with you and worms her way into your heart early on. The prose is delightfully light and airy while also keeping the complicated plot grounded and on track. I was able to read this book in an afternoon, and it provided a much needed respite from the more serious books I'd been reading that left me with a bit of a dark cloud over my head. A well deserved A here for this inspired story, and a recommendation to fans of Gail Carriger and Lilith Saintcrow's Bannon and Clare series to give it a shot.

Waisted by Randy Susan Meyers, a Seattle 7 author, was a book I anticipated reading because it was purported to be about body size acceptance, women, dieting and weight, all subjects near and dear to my larger lifestyle. I've become, like so many women in society, an expert on diets and exercise and loathing myself for years because I was too big to fit into what society's definition of a "normal" female form (I have learned to love myself just as I am in the ensuing years). Never mind aspiring to the ridiculous beauty standards foisted on every girl the moment she is old enough to hold a womens/teen magazine in her hand. So I was expecting great insight and that the female protagonists would come to accept themselves no matter their size. I was stunned and disappointed when that didn't happen, and instead, these women are brutalized into a program that starves them, forces them to exercise for 9 hours a day and take 'diet pills' (amphetamines) which were taken off the market as they had significant side effects detrimental to the health of the woman taking them. Of course, the participants dropped weight, but once they broke away from this prisoner program, they all loved that they were thinner and tried to find ways to stay slender for their crappy husbands or so they could fit into smaller clothing or be accepted by society. Here's the blurb: In this provocative, wildly entertaining, and compelling novel, seven women enrolled in an extreme weight loss documentary discover self-love and sisterhood as they enact a daring revenge against the exploitative filmmakers.
Alice and Daphne, both successful and accomplished working mothers, harbor the same secret: obsession with their weight overshadows concerns about their children, husbands, work—and everything else of importance in their lives. Scales terrify them.

Daphne, plump in a family of model-thin women, learned only slimness earns admiration at her mother’s knee. Alice, break-up skinny when she met her husband, risks losing her marriage if she keeps gaining weight.
The two women meet at Waisted. Located in a remote Vermont mansion, the program promises fast, dramatic weight loss, and Alice, Daphne, and five other women are desperate enough to leave behind their families for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The catch? They must agree to always be on camera; afterward, the world will see Waisted: The Documentary.

The women soon discover that the filmmakers have trapped them in a cruel experiment. With each pound lost, they edge deeper into obsession and instability...until they decide to take matters into their own hands.

While Meyers has her characters set up a program to help young women/girls learn to love themselves as they are, and they all seem to want to help future generations become less obsessed with weight and self image, there was still the underlying message that they'd all become happier with their "new" figures, though they'd gotten them in a dangerous and completely unhealthy way, through unsustainable rapid weight loss. The reality is that 95% of diets fail, and that number comes perilously close to 100 percent when you track weight loss over a period of 5-10 years. Then there are the health factors, such as medication side effects, menopause, PCOS and thyroid deficiencies that plague many women, that create weight gain that can't be addressed by simple diets or exercise. There were also points that Meyers didn't address, such as why it is socially acceptable for a man to want to separate or divorce his wife if /when she gains weight, while he's allowed to become bald and fat and abusive, and still be seen as desirable. I felt that Alice's husband was a jerk, and obviously not perfect himself (no one is, but men are allowed imperfections women are not), but she was willing to do anything to get him to have sex with her again and see her as desirable, which I found to be pathetic and weak and needy. In the words of vocal artist Lizzo, "If he don't love you anymore, walk your fine a** out the door." Anyway, the prose was smooth, and the plot dramatic and transparent, but I didn't really love the characters or their superficial views of life. I'd give this book a B, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes weight loss reality TV shows.

Dungeon Crawl by Annie Bellet is the 8th book in the Twenty-sided Sorceress series. I've read all of the previous books, and I had assumed the series was over and done. Much to my surprise, there is yet another book after this one that I also didn't know about, and now have on hold at the library. This particular novel starts while Jade and Alec have almost completely rebuilt their comic/gaming store, and are hoping that life lets everyone heal up and relax for awhile. Of course, it doesn't and this tale goes into necromancer and zombie territory in a big way. Here's the blurb: New Rule: Never owe a vampire a favor... Nearly a year after defeating her evil ex, sorceress Jade Crow has found some peace running her comic book store and gaming with her friends. Until the vampire who helped her win against Samir comes knocking and wants the favor repaid. The Archivist's request looks simple on its surface. Go into an empty house and check for magic items. There's just a tiny problem: simple is not Jade's forte. There are lies around every turn and soon she's neck deep in undead. Not all quests are what they seem and laid to rest doesn't mean the dead stay buried... Dungeon Crawl is the eighth book in The Twenty-Sided Sorceress urban fantasy series.

As usual, Bellet's prose is bouncy and full of vigor as it zooms along an acrobatic plot. AT nearly 260 pages, it doesn't take more than an afternoon to read, and yet it is one of those books that once started, you can't put it down, even if you have other things to do. I'm really looking forward to the next adventure in the series, and I'd have to give this one an A, though I hate zombie stories. I'd recommend it to anyone who plays Dungeons and Dragons and likes kick-butt female protagonists.

Dracula's New TV Adaptation, They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Kinokuniya Merger, Because of Winn Dixie on Stage,The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay, The Light Over London by Julia Kelly, Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass,The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall

Good day to all book lovers on this cloudy Amazon Prime Day! I find it ironic that that the huge online retailer, which started out as a book seller, now offers no discounts at all on physical books on their biggest sales day of the year. After all that we've spent over the years on Amazon, both from me as a bibliophile and my family for nearly everything else, I figure YOU OWE ME, Jeff Bezos! LOL, just kidding....sort of.

Sherlock and Doctor Who writers/creators/showrunners Moffat and Gatiss have decided to produce a Dracula mini series, which is exciting news for those of us who enjoy well told vampire stories. 

TV: Dracula

BBC One revealed a photo of actor Claes Bang (The Square, The Girl in the Spider's Web) from the new Dracula http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41199666 miniseries, which it is co-producing with Netflix. Entertainment Weekly reported that the project, "a new take on Bram Stoker's classic character," is from Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, who will write and executive produce. Dracula will make its debut on Netflix outside of the U.K. and Ireland.

Additional cast members were also announced, including Lyndsey Marshal, Chanel Cresswell, Matthew Beard, Lydia West, Paul Brennen, Sarah Niles, Sofia Oxenham, John McCrea, Phil Dunster and Millicent Wong. They join John Heffernan, Joanna Scanlan, Dolly Wells, Lujza Richter, Sacha Dhawan, Jonathan Aris, Morfydd Clark, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Catherine Schell, Youssef Kerkour, and Clive Russell.

"I am thrilled to be taking on the role of Dracula, especially when the script is in the hands of the incredible talents of Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and the team responsible for Sherlock," Bang said. "I'm so excited that I get to dig in to this iconic and super-interesting character. Yes he's evil, but there's also so much more to him, he's charismatic, intelligent, witty and sexy. I realise that there's a lot to live up to with all the amazing people that have played him over the years, but I feel so privileged to be taking on this incredible character." 

This sounds like a beautifully written graphic novel memoir, and I laud George Takei for working so hard to put this story into the limelight right now, when so many Mexican families are being incarcerated and separated from their children in camps at the border of the US. This is a shameful part of American history that is being repeated right now, and though we currently have more media outlets to show us what is happening, all of us seem powerless to do anything to stop it, other than being outraged at the racist Trump administration.

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott and Harmony Becker (Top Shelf Productions, $19.99, 9781603094504)

Best known as Sulu on Star Trek: The Original Series, George Takei spent several years of his childhood in two Japanese-American internment camps during World War II: the Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas and Tule Lake Segregation Center in California. Takei's experiences previously inspired the Broadway musical Allegiance, and now his graphic memoir brings renewed focus and attention to the lives and experiences of the 120,000 Japanese-Americans relocated during WW II.

Recommended for young and adult readers alike, including fans of Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration During World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference, Farewell to Manzanar and Snow Falling on Cedars.

This is an exciting merger, and I hope it will mean good things for Kinokuniya, which is one of my favorite bookstores in the International District of Seattle.

Kinokuniya U.S. Merges with NBC Stationery & Gifts

Effective June 1, Kinokuniya Book Stores of America http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41223846 has merged with NBC Stationery & Gifts, which operates seven Mai Do http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41223847 stationery shops in the U.S. The two companies are now doing business as Kinokuniya America and NBC America, respectively. Kinokuniya America has inherited all rights and obligations of NBC America.

According to Kinokuniya, the merger provides an "opportunity to enhance the vibrant atmosphere of its stores. NBC America has been providing highly designed stationery and gifts gathered from every corner of Japan and America, and could potentially increase Kinokuniya America's ties with popular Japanese companies and brands. In-store events related to the surrounding communities will be held regularly as well, in continued efforts to attract local customers."

Masashi Takai, chairman and president of parent company Kinokuniya Company Ltd., said that as a result of the merger, the number of stores directly managed by Kinokuniya America has increased from 12 to 19, while the number of Kinokuniya Book Stores in other countries has increased from 29 to 36 stores.

I loved this book and the movie made from it, so now I'm thrilled to see that there is musical stage adaptation.

On Stage: Because of Winn Dixie

The musical adaptation of Kate DiCamillo's novel Because of Winn Dixie http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41255161 "has leaped off the page and come to life at the Goodspeed http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41255162 in East Haddam, Conn., now playing through September 1," Playbill reported in featuring a highlights video. The production is directed by John Rando, with music from Tony winner Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and lyrics and book by Tony nominee Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde).

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay is one of those "bookstores changing women's lives" stories that I am usually eager to read and enjoy. Unfortunately, one of my hard and fast rules for enjoying any book is that there has to be a character that I identify with, who I find to be a good/honorable person (not that this person needs to be perfect, they just need to be endearing and not reprehensible and stupid) who learns and grows throughout the novel. Our protagonist here is Madeline, who is a high powered attorney and a real piece of work. She inherits her aunts house and much beloved community bookstore, and instead of being gracious about it, her main concern is how fast she can sell both buildings so that she can buy more prestigious antiques. Blech. The two women who currently run the bookstore are Janet, who is snide and bitchy when she really has no right to be (she was recently divorced because she cheated on her husband, and is somehow surprised that her adult children want nothing to do with her), Claire, who is distant from her family and has a really nasty teenage daughter who apparently drinks behind her mothers back and (SPOILER) decides to destroy the bookstore with friends by urinating on the books and vandalizing the interior of the shop so badly that it is a wonder the place is still standing. For this, the girls father is only concerned with keeping her out of jail so that she won't have a record and can proceed with her life as if nothing has happened! Seriously crappy parenting there, where they don't want her to be responsible for her actions, when she should spend time in jail, and she definitely should name the others who took a baseball bat to the valuable letters that gave the bookstore its name, that will never be replaced. But none of this happens, and because she is a minor by a couple of months (!) she basically gets off scot free, which is shameful. Here's the blurb:

One of Madeline Cullen’s happiest childhood memories is of working with her Aunt Maddie in the quaint and cozy Printed Letter Bookshop. But by the time Madeline inherits the shop nearly twenty years later, family troubles and her own bitter losses have hardened Madeline’s heart toward her once-treasured aunt—and the now struggling bookshop left in her care.
While Madeline intends to sell the shop as quickly as possible, the Printed Letter’s two employees have other ideas. Reeling from a recent divorce, Janet finds sanctuary within the books and within the decadent window displays she creates. Claire, though quieter than the acerbic Janet, feels equally drawn to the daily rhythms of the shop and its loyal clientele, finding a renewed purpose within its walls.
When Madeline’s professional life falls apart, and a handsome gardener upends all her preconceived notions, she questions her plans and her heart. Has she been too quick to dismiss her aunt’s beloved shop? And even if she has, the women’s best combined efforts may be too little, too late.

As noted previously, I didn't really like any of these women, so I found the book difficult to get into, but after the first 60 pages things began to move along. The prose was workmanlike and the plot easy to follow, with the inevitable HEA ending. What I found most odd about the book, however, was the authors use of religion that suddenly found it's way into the three main character's lives through Bible quotes left to them by Aunt Maddie in letters after her death. Readers don't find out about this until page 230 or so, when the book is winding down to its conclusion. Suddenly, it's all talk of how God figures in their lives, which is weird at best, and an unwelcome interruption at worst.Therefore I have to downgrade this novel from a B to a C, and only recommend it to those who like religious redemption stories with female protagonists.

The Light Over London by Julia Kelly (any relation to author Martha Hall Kelly of Lilac Girls and Lost Roses fame?) is yet another WWII historical romance novel, this time revolving around the women who worked in the ATS dept shooting down enemy aircraft with big "ack-ack guns" on the roofs of  London during the Blitz. AS is often the case, the book goes back and forth from a modern day protagonist, Cara, who finds a WWII diary of Louise Keene, who takes the alternating chapters to tell her story. Here's the blurb: Reminiscent of Martha Hall Kelly's Lilac Girls and Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, this sweeping, entrancing story is a must-read for fans of remarkable women rising to challenges they could never have predicted.

It’s always been easier for Cara Hargraves to bury herself in the past than confront the present, which is why working with a gruff but brilliant antiques dealer is perfect. While clearing out an estate, she pries open an old tin that holds the relics of a lost relationship: among the treasures, a World War II-era diary and a photograph of a young woman in uniform. Eager to find the author of the hauntingly beautiful, unfinished diary, Cara digs into this soldier’s life, but soon realizes she may not have been ready for the stark reality of wartime London she finds within the pages.

In 1941, nineteen-year-old Louise Keene’s life had been decided for her—she’ll wait at home in her Cornish village until her wealthy suitor returns from war to ask for her hand. But when Louise unexpectedly meets Flight Lieutenant Paul Bolton, a dashing RAF pilot stationed at a local base, everything changes. And changes again when Paul’s unit is deployed without warning.

Desperate for a larger life, Louise joins the women’s branch of the British Army in the anti-aircraft gun unit as a Gunner Girl. As bombs fall on London, she and the other Gunner Girls relish in their duties to be exact in their calculations, and quick in their identification of enemy planes during air raids. The only thing that gets Louise through those dark, bullet-filled nights is knowing she and Paul will be together when the war is over. But when a bundle of her letters to him are returned unanswered, she learns that wartime romance can have a much darker side.

Though the prose was engaging and delved deep into the history of gunner girls, an area of women's history that has largely been passed by, I found that the plot dragged and snagged on various historical minutia. Louise seems to have the requisite horrible parent, as do all British characters, and Cara is also rather wimpy, until later in the book, when she finally grows a spine. So, while I enjoyed some of the story, I felt the characters were a bit too stereotypical for my tastes. I'd give this book a B-, and recommend it to those who enjoy Martha Hall Kelly's books, with a caveat that Julia Kelly's characters aren't as strong.

Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass is a cozy cat mystery of the type that my mother adores, because she's a huge fan of kitty cats and certain types of dogs, and she likes gentle mysteries to soothe her before she goes to sleep each night. This particular paperback involved a book mobile and a stray cat named Eddie, so I decided to preview it before I send a copy to my mom. Here's the blurb: With the help of her rescue cat, Eddie, librarian Minnie Hamilton is driving a bookmobile based in the resort town of Chilson, Michigan. But she’d better keep both hands on the wheel, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Eddie followed Minnie home one day, and now she can’t seem to shake the furry little shadow. But in spite of her efforts to contain her new pal, the tabby sneaks out and trails her all the way to the bookmobile on its maiden voyage. Before she knows it, her slinky stowaway becomes her cat co-pilot!

Minnie and Eddie’s first day visiting readers around the county seems to pass without trouble—until Eddie darts outside at the last stop and leads her to the body of a local man who’s reached his final chapter.

Initially, Minnie is ready to let the police handle this case, but Eddie seems to smell a rat. Together, they’ll work to find the killer—because a good librarian always knows when justice is overdue.
This was one of those books I like to think of as a "beach read" or palate cleanser between other more meaty texts. The prose is light and fun, the plot brisk and the characters funny, offbeat and generally cute. My only problem was that Minnie, as is the case with many cozy mystery protagonists, is more than a soft touch, she's nearly spineless and gives in to all the pushy people and bullies around her who want her to do things for them, often dangerous things, while they can't seem to muster the courage to help her at all. She needs to learn to say no, but of course she doesn't, otherwise we wouldn't have her get into trouble in the book. Still, I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to cat lovers and cozy mystery fans everywhere.

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall (who is, apparently, a guy) was recommended to me by a steampunk fantasy author whose work I enjoy, and who also has fans that enjoy Sherlock Holmes mysteries and all the modern permutations thereof. I don't know why, then, that I was surprised that the prose was 19th century Conan Doyle style, complete with long, drawn out sentences and odd word usage. The first 100 pages were difficult to read, as I had to acclimate myself to the dense, hyperbolic prose of the era. Still, once I got over the tufted velvet ottoman of each paragraph, the novel really began to steam ahead and become enjoyable. Here's the blurb: In this charming, witty, and weird fantasy novel, Alexis Hall pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a new twist on those renowned characters.

Upon returning to the city of Khelathra-Ven after five years fighting a war in another universe, Captain John Wyndham finds himself looking for somewhere to live, and expediency forces him to take lodgings at 221b Martyrs Walk. His new housemate is Ms. Shaharazad Haas, a consulting sorceress of mercurial temperament and dark reputation.
When Ms. Haas is enlisted to solve a case of blackmail against one of her former lovers, Miss Eirene Viola, Captain Wyndham is drawn into a mystery that leads him from the salons of the literary set to the drowned back-alleys of Ven and even to a prison cell in lost Carcosa. Along the way he is beset by criminals, menaced by pirates, molested by vampires, almost devoured by mad gods, and called upon to punch a shark.

But the further the companions go in pursuit of the elusive blackmailer, the more impossible the case appears. Then again, in Khelathra-Ven reality is flexible, and the impossible is Ms. Haas' stock-in-trade.

So Captain John, our Dr Watson stand in, and Shaharazad Haas, our female avocado Sherlock Holmes, go about wreaking havoc and wielding magic wherever they go in this dystopian science fictional Great Britain. I didn't really like Haas, who had all of Sherlock's vices and none of his charm, but prim and prissy Captain/Watson was a hoot, and the rolicking plot kept me glued to the last 80 pages until the wee hours. The tedious prose style might keep me from reading another book in this series, however, as I felt it took me too long to decipher it. Therefore I'm giving this short novel a B+ and recommending it to Holmes and Watson fans who like a lot of magic and dystopian dimensions in their mysteries, and who don't mind the old fashioned prose. 

The Flight Attendant on TV, Locus SF Awards, Costco Picks School of Essential Ingredients, Sandman Coming to Netflix, The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas, Shift and Dust by Hugh Howey and All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Though I was never a big fan of The Big Bang Theory, I am excited to see that one of its stars, Kaley Cuoco is going to be producing a series based on the book The Flight Attendant. 

TV: The Flight Attendant

Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) "is staying at the studio behind the blockbuster comedy series with an expansive new agreement at Warner Bros. TV Group that includes a series pickup by WarnerMedia's upcoming streaming platform of thriller drama The Flight Attendant http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41112662," based on the novel by Chris Bohjalian, Deadline reported. Cuoco will star and executive produce, with Greg Berlanti's Berlanti Prods. producing alongside Warner Bros.

Cuoco launched her Yes, Norman Productions company in 2017 with a pod (production overall deal) at WBTV, and the first project under that deal was The Flight Attendant, with Cuoco optioning the rights to the book before it had been published by Doubleday. Steve Yockey (Supernatural) wrote the adaptation. Filming is expected to begin this fall.

I am also thrilled to see that The Calculating Stars, a book that I read, enjoyed and reviewed favorably here on my blog has won a coveted Locus Award for best science fiction novel! Kudos to Mary Robinette Kowal and all the winners.

Awards: Locus Winners

The winners of the 2019 Locus Awards http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41112666, sponsored by the Locus Science Fiction Foundation, are:

Science Fiction Novel: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)Fantasy Novel: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (Del Rey)Horror Novel: The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay (Morrow)Young Adult Novel: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)First Novel: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)Novella: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)Novelette: The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com Publishing)Short Story: "The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" by Phenderson Djèlí Clark (Fireside 2/18)Anthology: The Book of Magic edited by Gardner Dozois (Bantam)Collection: How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US)Magazine: Tor.comPublisher: TorEditor: Gardner DozoisArtist: Charles VessNonfiction: Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing by Ursula K. Le Guin and David Naimon (Tin House)Art Book: The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition by Ursula K. Le Guin, illustrated by Charles Vess (Saga)Special Award 2019: Community Outreach & Development: Mary Anne Mohanraj

I've read and loved every book written by the delightful Erica Bauermeister, who was kind enough to let me interview her for different publications twice. Her first book, the School of Essential Ingredients is a delicious dream of a novel that stays with you long after you've turned the final page. I am so glad that Costco's book buyer has chosen this fine book as their July pick for readers.

Pennie Picks: The School of Essential Ingredients

Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco's book buyer, has chosen The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (Berkley, $16, 9780425232095) as her pick of the month for July. In Costco Connection, which goes to many of the warehouse club's members, she wrote:

"Life is made up of small moments, and Erica Bauermeister captures a collection of those moments beautifully in her novel The School of Essential Ingredients, this month's book buyer's pick.

"When eight strangers gather for a monthly cooking class they are all at different places in their lives. Over the duration of the class, readers learn about each character as the characters, in turn, learn about themselves.

"This book gives readers plenty to feast on."

 Another book that I read and loved years ago is actually a graphic novel series written by the incredible Neil Gaiman. I am thrilled that it will become a Netflix series most likely debuting next year. I can hardly wait! 

TV: The Sandman

Netflix has "given an 11-episode series order to The Sandman http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41138404>, based on Neil Gaiman's DC comic, from Warner Bros TV," Deadline reported. Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman, Grey's Anatomy) is slated to write and serve as showrunner on the series, with Gaiman executive producing alongside David Goyer.

"We're thrilled to partner with the brilliant team that is Neil Gaiman, David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg to finally bring Neil's iconic comic book series, The Sandman, to life onscreen," said Channing Dungey, v-p, original series, Netflix. "From its rich characters and storylines to its intricately built-out worlds, we're excited to create an epic original series that dives deep into this multi-layered universe beloved by fans around the world."

Gaiman, who will write the first episode http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41138405 with Heinberg and Goyer, noted on Twitter: "I'm hoping we can make something on television that feels as personal and true as the best of the Sandman comics did. Just set thirty years later than Sandman the comic."

The Guardian offered a project summary: "Moving between the dawn of time http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz41138406 to the eve of the new millennium in London and the Renaissance, the Sandman follows Morpheus as he comes to grips with the changes that have taken place in the world as he lay captive. It also tells the stories of his six siblings, the Endless, who include Death, Destiny and Desire."

The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas was one of those books recommended to me that at first blush looks like it would be right up my alley. Strong female protagonists and a science fiction/fantasy narrative set in England are all signs that a book will appeal to me. Unfortunately, the author wasn't able to create a cohesive plot or storyline, and her prose was erratic, while her characters were mostly reprehensible, evil and weak. The book jumps from different era to different era and various character POVs with each chapter, so readers have a hard time figuring out what is going on and whose story is being told. Even the ending was a disappointment. Here's the blurb: In 1967, four female scientists worked together to build the world’s first time machine. But just as they are about to debut their creation, one of them suffers a breakdown, putting the whole project―and future of time travel―in jeopardy. To protect their invention, one member is exiled from the team―erasing her contributions from history.
Fifty years later, time travel is a big business. Twenty-something Ruby Rebello knows her beloved grandmother, Granny Bee, was one of the pioneers, though no one will tell her more. But when Bee receives a mysterious newspaper clipping from the future reporting the murder of an unidentified woman, Ruby becomes obsessed: could it be Bee? Who would want her dead? And most importantly of all: can her murder be stopped?
Traversing the decades and told from alternating perspectives, The Psychology of Time Travel introduces a fabulous new voice in fiction and a new must-read for fans of speculative fiction and women’s fiction alike.

I wouldn't call this a must read for science fiction fans at all. It will only frustrate those who like well written and well told tales of time travel. From what I could discern from this confusing story, the main thrust is that the head of the time travel scientists, Margaret, is a narcissistic, cruel sociopath who lives to make herself more powerful and wealthy while making everyone around her miserable and dead or mentally destroyed. Her polar opposite is supposed to be Barbara, who has a nervous breakdown at their first press conference, and spends the rest of her life plotting ways to get back into the Conclave (Time travel business), though readers will know that she never will be able to get back in while Margaret is alive. The other time travel pioneers are complicit in the shunning of Barbara, and are also pretty awful people, until they become older and wiser, supposedly, though none of them struck me as particularly kind or moral creatures. Ruby, Barbara's grand daughter seems to be a halfway decent character, but she gets lost in the labyrinthine plot which is so weighted with superfluous characters that it collapses into incomprehensibility. I'd give this book a C, and I can't really imagine anyone without OCD wanting to read this book. 

Shift and Dust by Hugh Howey are the second and third books in his Silo trilogy, which began with Wool, an exceptional work of speculative dystopian fiction. I had high hopes for Shift and Dust, and though I was expecting a certain amount of 'sophomore slump' from Shift, I was not expecting to be so depressed by the lack of forward momentum in Dust. Shift is mostly backstory, with jumps backward and forward in time to let readers know how these politicians decided to destroy the world,kill billions of people and set up a select number of humans in 50 underground silos where their politician leaders sleep for centuries and only thaw out to work in shifts, to keep the other silo populations isolated, drugged and in line with a codified book of rituals and rules,available only to those who are brainwashed into the upper eschelons of silo society. Here are the blurbs, first for Shift: In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platforms that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate. In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event. At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened. This is the second volume in the New York Times best-selling Wool series.

Dust: Wool introduced the world of the silo. Shift told the story of its creation. Dust will describe its downfall.
Juliette, now mayor of Silo 18, doesn’t trust Silo 1, especially its leader, Donald. But in the world of the Silos, there is no black and white — everything is shades of gray. Donald may not be the monster Juliette thinks he is, and may in fact be key to humanity’s continued survival. But can they work together long enough to succeed? 

I liked Juliette in the first book because she was such a strong female protagonist who got sh*t done, and didn't know the word impossible. Unfortunately, the author seems to have believed that even strong women can't survive without a love interest, so Juliette has a weird sort of long distance relationship with Lukas, who inevitably dies, though we really don't get a sense that Juliette was deeply in love with him to begin with. Still SPOILER, I was glad that Juliette lead a small group of people to freedom on land that was unspoiled where they can rebuild society, but there was no indication of whether or not there were still people alive in the other silos that she could rescue from their scripted lives underground and free them to live above ground in the open air. I was also gratified to see that Donald gave his life to destroy the evil Thurman and the other frozen politicians in order to stop Thurman from killing everyone in the other silos for his dark vision of the future. Howey's prose is muscular and sharp, and his plots, at least for the first and third books, are swift and sturdy. That said,I felt that the second book, Shift, dragged in several spots and was just too long. I'd give the series as a whole a B+, and recommend it to those who like dystopian fiction with a lot of mechanical details, or who find engineering, mechanical, computer and social, fascinating.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells is a short science fiction novel that takes place on a distant planet, and delineates the story of an android (security) who has become self aware and self motivating. The prose is clean and sharp, and the plot moves along at a brisk pace.  Here's the blurb:

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.
But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.
On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.
But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

Murderbot doesn't seem to like most people, yet it works hard to save and protect them when it doesn't have to, because it removed its 'governor' module so that it has free will. This book was kind of like a murder mystery in space, with action, an odd android and a crew of misfit scientists thrown in for good measure. I loved that Murderbot had a penchant for soap opera style stories/videos,and spends its free time watching/reading them. Though the ending was open ended, I liked this short work, but I don't really feel invested enough in the main character to seek out more books in this series. I'd give it a B, and recommend it to anyone looking for a good short science fiction beach read.