Recently added, late February 2015

I've added a few books to my "to read" list the past week or so. I found them in the usual places - Goodreads recommendations, Edelweiss, publisher's catalogs. I pulled out a few in a variety of genres that seem interesting.

Lock In by John Scalzi was published in August, 2014 by Tor Books. It's science fiction, which is normally not my thing. I'm branching out though after reading The Martian by Andy Weir and The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey - two of the best books I've read recently. Lock In is about what happens when a virus sweeps the planet. 95% of the population is unaffected but 1% are "locked in," fully aware but unable to interact with the outside world. Technology is developed to allow for some interaction and this ability is used for both good and bad purposes. Sounds interesting.

 

I added The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows more because of the author than the plot of the book. I really enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which Barrows co-wrote with her Aunt. When I saw that she had a new novel coming out in July, I added it to my "to read" list. The description mentions "small town charm" and "great eye for character," both of which I like in a story. Unlike Guernsey, this is not an epistolary novel, which is one of the things I really enjoyed.

 I came across Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime on Edelweiss. Available in July, 2015 from Grove Press, it was written by fiction crime writer, Val McDermid, who has learned about all facets of forensics while writing her many novels. This was the sentence that made me want to read it: "Along the way, McDermid discovers how maggots collected from a corpse can help determine one’s time of death; how a DNA trace a millionth the size of a grain of salt can be used to convict a killer; and how a team of young Argentine scientists led by a maverick American anthropologist were able to uncover the victims of a genocide." It appears to be wide-reaching and comprehensive. And a little creepy.

A week or so ago I read an article about Justine Sacco, who a year or so ago, tweeted something offensive on her way to Africa. By the time she got there, she was trending on Twitter and had been fired from her job. The article was about the rabid public shaming that takes place on social media where the shamers never face the people they're targeting, rarely have the full story, and face no consequences for what they do. The shamed are often guilty of something, but in some cases, the punishment far exceeds the crime. When I read the article, I didn't realize it was a book until I came across So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson on Goodreads. Ronson describes meeting "famous shamees, shamers, and bystanders who have been impacted." This book will be published March 31, 2015 by Riverhead Books.

Lucky Alan and Eleanor Marx

There are two books coming out the week of Feb. 23rd that have been on my radar for a while - Lucky Alan by Jonathan Lethem and Eleanor Marx: A Life by Rachel Holmes.

 Lucky Alan by Jonathan Lethem is a short story collection. This collection is described as both humorous and scintillating. I like short stories that are well written and have good, well thought out characters. This has been on my to-read list since September so I'm hoping it's worth the wait.

I first read about Eleanor Marx: A Life by Rachel Holmes on Edelweiss last July. Biographies appeal to me because I love learning about people, about their lives, their histories, their families, pretty much everything about them. I especially enjoy biographies or memoirs about strong, interesting women. The first line of this book's description, "Unrestrained by convention, lionhearted and free, Eleanor Marx (1855–98) was an exceptional woman." caught my eye and piqued my interest. She sounds as fascinating as her famous father.

New direction

I've been thinking about this blog (that nobody but me is reading) and I'm going to change things up. I already post reviews on Goodreads and also on our staff blog. It's repetitious to just add the same thing here and I'm not that great at writing reviews. What I'm going to do instead is write about books that I want to read, mainly forthcoming books. I put a lot of time into keeping up with what is coming out, both for work and personal reasons. There are always books popping up that sound really interesting and that I'm excited to add to my "to read" list. I'm not sure how I'm going to choose which books to post about. It will be a work in progress.

The People in the Photo by Helene Gestern

I love epistolary fiction, and this book did not disappoint. I came to care about the characters and wanted to find out more about the people in the photo. I thought the author did a good job developing the characters throughout the book and I found myself hoping they would discover what really happened.

4 stars

I Love You More by Jennifer Murphy

This book sucked me in from the start, and I felt that I had to keep reading to find out what happened and how it happened. I hope to never meet any of these people in real life, but they were compelling characters. A few of the situations and characters seemed a little implausible, but that didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. 4 stars

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Journeyman by Sean Pronger

“Journeyman” is the story of the ups and down of Sean Pronger’s hockey career. He bounced around from minor league to NHL so many times I lost count. Despite all the ups and downs, Pronger never seemed to lose the sense of humor that made this book so entertaining. Well, maybe he lost his sense of humor in Germany, but in his situation you can’t blame him. There were times when he was more serious, such as the birth of his daughter. He also discussed the effect his many career moves had on his family, as well as the effect his family had on his career decisions.

My only complaint, and it's a tiny one, is that he seems to downplay his skill throughout the book. I've never seen him play, but if you make it to the NHL, you've got to be among the best. Sometimes his description made him seem mediocre, and I'm sure that wasn't the case.

The accessible tone of this book made it read like a friend relating his experiences over a few beers. I loved it and am a little disappointed that this is the only book he’s written.

5 stars

The Opposite of Maybe, Maddie Dawson

This book followed Rosie, the main character, as she dealt with a slew of life-changing events. At times it was frustrating to see her just floating along and making big decisions almost in a cloud, or not making decisions and going along with what other people want or expect her to do. I felt that Tony did that as well - going along with what his ex-wife wanted even when it involved his son who he obviously loved. Rosie did call him out on this, not seeming to realize she often did the same thing.

Most of the characters were likeable and believable, including Rosie. I cared about what happened to her and her baby and was rooting for her to make the right decision. Soapie was one of the characters that I didn't care for. She seemed to abrasive and too dismissive of Rosie, and it sounded like that was how she had been to her all along, quick to tell her she didn't want to be saddled with raising her.

I thought this was a well written book that I wanted to keep reading because I had to find out what happened.

4 stars
 
I received an advanced reader copy of this book.

Will Not Attend, Adam Resnick

I enjoyed this collection of humorous essays about author Adam Resnick's life. They spanned his life from school-age in Pennsylvania to adulthood in New York. The stories of his childhood were amusing, but also a little sad. Maybe I'm a bad person for finding humor in his anxiety-inducing childhood, but that's definitely why he was telling those stories.

4 stars

I received an advanced reader copy of this book.

Back at blogging

I've been very lax at posting here, but I'm reading more and reviewing on Goodreads, so I thought I'd add those reviews here.