Posts by Year
Archived in 2022
2025
Book Review: The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
Generally good, but one element ended up ruining the book for me.
Book Review: Beyond Knit and Purl by Kate Atherly
You can’t go wrong with an Atherly book.
Book Review: To Dye For by Alden Wicker
Sets up a huge, blinking, neon ‘HUBRIS’ sign for the human race.
Book Review: House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Of all of his books that I’ve read so far, I enjoyed this one the most.
Book Review: In Praise of Walking by Shane O’Mara
A worthy read, but I didn’t get as much out of it as expected.
Book (Back)Log
Logging all the books I’ve neglected to review since October.
2024
Book Review: The Mythic Dream by Various
I thoroughly enjoyed pretty much every story in this compilation.
Book Review: The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey
In general though, it was a solid piece of space opera.
Book Review: The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
I had a great time reading this one.
Book Review: She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor
A worthy prequel to an award-winning novel.
Book Review: The Book of Ile-Rien by Martha Wells
The two novels in this volume were good, solid stories.
Book Review: The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark
I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Clark, and TDCTA is no exception.
Book Review: Black Shield Maiden by Willow Smith and Jess Hendel
Nothing to write home about, but diverting enough for a pre-sleep read.
Book Review: Translation State by Ann Leckie
I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it. I was wrong.
Book Review: Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun
Formulaic yet still diverting enough.
Book Review: The Daughers of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai
DNF. It will return to the library only half read and quickly forgotten.
Book Review: The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu
I love me a jinn story. And a bot story. And, apparently, a jinn-bot story.
Book Review: The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins
I found it useful for inspiring me to think about some stuff and for framing those thoughts.
Book Review: Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera
The praise blurb of ‘A fearless, hallucinatory novel’ is accurate.
Book Review: The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman
DNF. The author lost all credibility for me.
Book Review: Sinopticon, translated & edited by Xueting Christine Ni
Reading the book was time well spent, and I’d love it if Xueting were able to put out new Sinopticon volumes every few years.
Book Review: Technocapitalism by Loretta Napoleoni
DNF. May contain interesting insights, but I knew I would be too irritated to reach them.
Book Review: Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Good right until the end, which I didn’t like.
Book Review: Jelly Roll Blues by Elijah Wald
A good book, but longer than needed.
Book Review: I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle
A good story told well.
Book Review: The Water Outlaws by SL Huang
DNF. This might make a fun TV show, but as a book it wasn’t working for me.
Book Review: Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
Entertaining enough, and no regrets for the read, but overall meh.
Book Review: The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
While I don’t feel it’s the strongest in the series, it’s still enjoyable.
Book Review: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
I closed the book at the end and found that I’d enjoyed it.
Book Review: Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
I’ll definitely be keeping Vo near the top of my list of ‘Must Read’ authors.
Book Review: You Can’t Market Manure at Lunchtime by Maisie Ganzler
An informative, useful, & inspiring book that ignores the teamwork & collaboration required to achieve the results.
Book Review: Kinning by Nisi Shawl
The story felt disjointed. Confused. Too many characters and voices and locations, all constantly and sometimes abruptly shifting.
Book Review: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
This is the first book in what looks like it’ll be a five book series about Amina and her friends, and after finishing it I’m already looking forward to the ...
Book Review: On Parchment by Bruce Holsinger
A good book, but too dry and dense for my tastes.
Book Review: Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo
The problem with the Singing Hills Cycle is that they’re all novellas, and therefore over too quickly.
Book Review: The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
Despite it being a (SFF) mystery, I ended up liking it.
Book Review: Dead Country by Max Gladstone
It was fine, but this first experience with the Craft Sequence universe didn’t convince me I need to run out and read the others any time soon.
Book Review: Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
It was a decent story, with familiar elements of coming-of-age and finding-oneself mixed in with action and adventure.
Book Review: Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
It’s not a bad book, and the story premise is interesting enough. It’s just that the thing was so s l o w.
Book Review: The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
Easily one of the most facinating and compelling stories I’ve read in the past year.
Book Review: Koji Alchemy by Rich Shih and Jeremy Umansky
More theory than practice. Will be a good reference.
Book Review: The Iliad translated by Emily Wilson
As she did with The Odyssey, Wilson has done a masterful job here.
Book Review: How Logic Works by Hans Halvorson
Halvorson has a learner-friendly approach to teaching formal logic.
Book Review: Getting Things Done by David Allen
You don’t need to follow Allen’s GTD method religiously to get a lot of benefit out of it.
Book Review: Miso, Tempeh, Natto, & Other Tasty Ferments by Kirsten K Shockey and Christopher Shockey
It’s a pragmatic book that I’ll be adding to my collection very soon now.
Book Review: Successful Independent Consulting by Johanna Rothman
Overall, it was a timely and valuable read for me.
Book Review: A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
The entire book was fascinating and more than once I stayed up too late just to learn more.
Book Review: Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken
Despite its complex and highly scientific topic, it was an engaging read.
Book Review: Seed to Harvest by Octavia E. Butler
I feel I’ve ended my journey with this series, enjoying the first half but not the final.
Book Review: System Collapse by Martha Wells
While I did like this one, of all the Murderbot books so far, this is the one I enjoyed reading the least.
Book Review: Swindled by Bee Wilson
‘The story of adulteration has been a story of the repeated failure of modern politics to value consumer interests above those of the market.’
Book Review: The Bright and Breaking Sea by Chloe Neill
It was an adequate way to pass the time, but I don’t feel compelled to seek out the next book in the series.
Book Review: How to Write a Grant by Meredith Noble
It was enough to give me a better idea of what’s involved in writing grants.
Book Review: Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler
It’s so rare I get the chance to read a work that’s both unique and brilliantly executed.
2023 Reading Summary
I read (or at least started and then set aside) 43 books in 2023.
2023
Book Review: The Bloodprint by Ausma Zenahat Khan
I read the first half, closed the book, and moved to one that would be a better use of my time.
Book Review: The Sewing Machine Master Guide by Clifford L. Blodget
Blodget knows his stuff and is eager to share it.
Book Review: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
Chambers is rapidly rising to the upper echelons of my preferred authors.
Book Review: Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi
In general I don’t feel reading this was time lost, but I’m not likely to chase down other works by Talabi.
Book Review: Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures by The National Museum of African American History and Culture et alios
This was a fun, revealing, and vibrant exploration of African American culture, past and future.
Book Review: The Core of an Onion by Mark Kurlansky
Overall this book was such a huge let down. The best I can say for it is that it’s short.
Book Review: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
Despite my biases, I gave this book a try and am glad I did.
Book Review: A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
I enjoyed this a lot, as well as the development of the characters.
Book Review: The World We Make by N. K. Jemisin
A good conclusion, but it felt like a bit of a race to the end.
Book Review: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
I thoroughly enjoyed it and was saddened to learn that my library doesn’t have the rest of the series.
Book Review: The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
Jemisin’s infused every page with her love for her home.
Book Review: The Sin in the Steel by Ryan Van Loan
A gender-swapped Sherlock set in a fantasy world ought to be my bag, but this one didn’t capture me in the least.
Book Review: Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
It was too gritty, too violent, too angry, and that’s exactly why I read it anyway.
Book Review: Graveyard of the Pacific by Randall Sullivan
I came here for history, not for rich men’s midlife crises.
Book Review: The Expert System’s Brother by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I didn’t dislike it like Spiderlight, but I didn’t love it like Elder Race.
Book Review: The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
Clark continues to entertain and impress me with his stories.
Book Review: Material by Nick Kary
I cut my losses and quit reading when I reached chapter three.
Book Review: Hacking Diversity by Christina Dunbar-Hester
The book is laser focused on an academic audience, not a practical one.
Book Review: The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
It was an OK book, and I don’t regret my time spent with it.
Book Review: Year of No Garbage by Eve O. Schaub
A vivid and horrifying picture of the trap we’ve built for ourselves.
Book Review: Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz by Garth Nix
It was a fun read with some concepts I’ve not seen in other fantasy books.
Book Review: In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
The entire work is completely charming, in the most magical sense of the word.
Book Review: Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows
On the list of books I want to revisit every few years.
Book Review: Feeding Each Other by Nicole Civita and Michelle Auerbach
Inspirational and unflaggingly optimistic despite the serious nature of the problem addressed.
Book Review: Our Fermented Lives, A History: How Fermented Foods Have Shapes Cultures and Communities by Julia Skinner
This book was a good read that I recommend to anyone who wishes to consume and create more mindfully.
Book Review: The Witch King by Martha Wells
It’s a solid story with well-rounded characters set in a meticulously crafted world.
Book Review: The Battle Drum by Saara El-Arifi
The story builds well upon the foundation laid in the first book.
Book Review: Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire
It was an entertaining read, worth seeking out if you’re lowercase-b-biblically inclined.
Book Review: The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi
By the end of it, I was grateful to know that I wouldn’t need to wait more than a few weeks for the second book to be available.
Book Review: Danger and Other Unknown Risks: A Graphic Novel by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
There’s magic! And dimension hopping! And a talking dog!
Book Review: The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
Liu’s writing remains as skillful here as in his short fiction
A weighty tome
A recent acquisition got me wondering, ‘Of all the books that I own, which one is the heaviest?’
Book Review: The Sword of Midras by Tracy Hickman and Richard Garriott
If you’re looking for the usual fantasy fare, then this will fit the bill in an inoffensive and diverting enough way.
Book Review: The Language of Food by Dan Jurafsky
If you’ve ever wondered about the relationship between macaron, macaroon, and macaroni, then this is the book for you.
Book Review: Digger Unearthed by Ursula Vernon
I enjoyed every single nibble of this work and was sad when it was finally over.
Book Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Jack Zipes
If you like the comparative literature thing, or folk tales, then you’ll probably enjoy this book.
Book Review: Rethinking Thin by Gina Kolata
A valuable work that I want to hand to everyone who mentions they’re on a diet
Book Review: Noor by Nnedi Okorafor
It’s a Nnedi Okorafor book. Of course I enjoyed it.
Book Review: Set Phasers on Stun by Steven Casey
This book was a great read. I’m glad I got to it more than ten years after my initial deep dive into failure.
Book Review: How to Slay a Dragon by Cait Stevenson
It’s obvious that the author really knows her stuff and is capable of writing an engaging book, but this one was too burdened by her trying to make her writi...
Book Review: The Seed Detective by Adam Alexander
There are people whose interests intersect more closely with the author’s botanical inclination who will enjoy this book. I found myself largely bored and le...
Book Review: So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane
The story is fine, but the pacing really didn’t work for me.
Book Review: Move the Body, Heal the Mind by Jennifer Heisz, PhD
A good read and a lot of good current science about the many ways that the body and mind cooperate to keep everything operating well.
Book Review: Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky
From the very start, this book put me off. Even the ending was disappointing, except that it signified that I was nearly done reading the thing.
2022
Book Review: To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
It’s a thoughtful piece of work and, while it doesn’t shy from difficult situations and questions, I feel it’s an optimistic one as well.
Book Review: The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris
If you enjoy well-researched books about the history of science, don’t pass this one by. Just maybe don’t read it after eating.
Book Review: Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari
This book still had me asking myself a lot of questions for which I still don’t have answers that I feel I probably should find.
Book Review: Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 195
Title: Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 195 Author: Various ISBN: n/a
Book Review: Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics by Dan Harris, Jeff Warren, and Carlye Adler
If you’ve been considering trying meditation—to help you focus, or sleep, or alleviate stress, or whatever—but are turned off by the new age/religious/etc re...
Book Review: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
I hope the author fell as deeply in love with the world as the rest of us did and can’t help but explore it in more books and stories.
Book Review: The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling by Stephen Denning
I have to assume that this book is a good fit for some people, but I am not one of them.
Book Review: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
I’m very glad I have the second book in the series handy, and already sad that there are only two of them so far.
How to make yogurt
There’s not much to making yogurt and it’s easy to do in any home with little to no special equipment.
Book Review: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November/December 2022
This was my first ever FandSF issue and if it’s at all representative of the rest then I’m looking forward to the next issue in January.
Book Review: The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
This book is much more “mystery that happens to be set on a spaceship” than “spaceship where there happens to be a mystery.”
Book Review: Shady Characters: The secret life of punctuation, symbols, & other typographical marks by Keith Houston
Houston steps through the evolution of several different forms of punctuation, and does so in an engaging and friendly way that makes you want to keep reading
Book Review: Fantasy Magazine Issue 85
Title: Fantasy Magazine Issue 85 Author: Various ISBN: n/a
Book Review: The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
What if djinn returned to the world in the late 19th Century, settled down, and transformed Cairo into the most modern and innovative city in the world?
Book Review: The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall
While I didn’t get what I was expecting out of my time reading this book, I still think it was valuable and enjoyable time spent.
Book Review: Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 194
Title: Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 194 Author: Various ISBN: n/a
How does this work, again?
The decline of this blog directly tracks the increase of my Twitter usage. Now that the Man-Child King has put that into a nose dive, I have to keep remindin...
Book Review: Make It Clear by Patrick Henry Winston
If I had no experience either doing or training people in public speaking then I may have found this book useful. With my background, it ended up not being a...
Preserved lemons
A friend asked for the preserved lemon recipe I use, so I figured it’s as good a reason as any to finish fixing up this site. Gotta put the recipe somewhere,...