drneutron's (Jim's) Reading and Eating in 2019 Part 5

I'm Jim, 57, husband of 34 years, father of a son in a PhD program in Comp Sci, who reads pretty much anything. We're in central Maryland with roots in Louisiana. I like to read (obviously), cook, want to learn to fly fish, and trail bike riding/kayaking with mrsdrneutron. Of course, LT is a big time sink, but mrsdrneutron seems to have come to terms with my LT addiction...8^}

How civilized people have breakfast!

First Batch:

The Man Who Couldn't Stop by David Adam
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
Legion: the Many Lives of Stephen Leeds by Brandon Sanderson
Revival by Stephen King
Spying on Whales by Nick Pyenson
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss
The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
The Re-Origin of Species by Torill Kornfeldt
In Search of Mary Shelley by Fiona Sampson
Hell Divers by Nicolas Stansbury Smith
Black Skies by Arnaldur Indridason
Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab
Hell Divers II: Ghosts by Nicolas Sansbury Smith
Atlas of a Lost World by Craig Childs
The Void Protocol by F. Paul Wilson
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levinson
Nightblind by Ragnar Jónasson
Underground by Will Hunt
Crucible by James Rollins

Second Batch:

Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews
Faithful Place by Tana French
Ghettoside by Jill Leovy
Out of the Dark by Gregg Hurwitz
Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth
The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless
Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
The Crocodile by Maurizio de Giovanni
Border Son by Samuel Parker
These Truths by Jill Lepore
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
How Long til Black Future Month by N. K. Jemisin
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender
Heir of Novron by Michael J. Sullivan
Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston

Third Batch:

The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
The Bastards of Pizzofalcone by Maurizio De Giovanni
Superior: The Return of Race Science by Angela Saini
The Debatable Land: The Lst World Between Scotland and England by Graham Robb
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
Too Close by Natalie Daniels
The River by Peter Heller
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
Autocomplete: The Book by Justin Hook
A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab
The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo
The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War by Joanne B. Freeman
The Gameshouse by Claire North
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Darkness for the Bastards of Pizzofalcone by Maurizio De Giovanni
Wicked Baltimore by Lauren R. Silberman
The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
The Mansion of Happiness by Jill Lepore

The 2019 Stats (So Far!)

Total Books: 60

Author Gender
Male: 34 (56%)
Female: 27 (44%)

Author Status
Living: 58 (95%)
Dead: 3 (5%)

Publication Medium
Hardback: 12 (20%)
Trade: 17 (28%)
Mass Market: 0 (0%)
eBook: 31 (52%)

Category
Fiction: 40 (67%)
Nonfiction: 20 (33%)

Source
Library: 49 (82%)
Mine: 11 (18%)

ARC: 5
Re-Read: 3
Series: 26
Group Read: 7

And open for business!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Jim!

Happy new thread Jim.

Happy New one, Jim!

>1 drneutron: Excellent breakfast photo!

I'm thinking hard on taking on Words of Radiance, Sanderson's second volume in the Stormlight Archive. I really enjoyed the first one, on audio, but it was a big commitment. My excitement is rising at the prospect.

Happy new thread, Jim!

Happy new thread! What's in that bagel?

>1 drneutron: ...except for the poor choice of reading matter...

Happy new thread, Jim!
>1 drneutron: Just give me the black (and strong!) coffee early in the morning. A few hours later I might be interested in that bagel ;-)

Happy new one

Happy new thread, Jim!

Happy new thread, Jim. I'll just take the coffee, please.

>1 drneutron: Mmm....I agree. That looks like a perfect breakfast, although I'd probably skip the sesame seeds, just in case.

Happy New Thread, Jim!!

Happy new thread, Jim. Mansion of Happiness looks interesting.

So what's up with the gadget beside the plate with the bagel. Is that some sort of rocket scientist show-off? :-) Just kidding a little, sir.

To celebrate Apollo 11, a binge-watched Buzz Aldrin cold-cocking the flat-earth-type flake who charged up and yelled at him for lying about having walked on the moon. What a hoot!

Happy new thread, Jim! I fully approve of the bagel sandwich.

Happy new thread, Jim!

>7 quondame:, >8 Carmenere:, >9 johnsimpson:, >11 mstrust: Thanks!

>10 brodiew2: I really need to get back to those! Got kinds sidetracked with the Wheel of Time reread. Thanks for the reminder.

>12 jessibud2: Scrambled egg, bacon and horseradish cheddar on an everything bagel is my standard order. The owner of Mad City Coffee roasts in the store, so there's always something a bit different there. Monday was a nice Italian Roast. I think that pic was Guatemalan in a medium roast (City+ for those in the know).

>13 richardderus: Well, if you look close, that was actually a post on Litsy. 😀 Haven't read any Tolkien for a while.

>14 FAMeulstee: I'm usually not a breakfast person, but once a week I stop by this place, have a leisurely breakfast before work, then skip lunch. I tend to be a two-meal-a-day person.

>15 figsfromthistle:, >16 katiekrug: Thanks!

>17 BLBera: Yeah, I'm pretty serious about my coffee. 😀 They do a really good medium roast, but unfortunately, the darker roasts aren't quite up to the full body I like in a dark.

>18 laytonwoman3rd: 😀 They have plenty of plain ones!

>19 ronincats: Thanks!

>20 Familyhistorian: It was good, but not as good as her recent one. Ok, frankly, her choice of subjects was a little odd at times. Still an interesting book and a good writer.

>21 weird_O: It turns out it's easier to read on the iPad while eating that a book. Less messy too!

Did you ever see the episode on Big Bang Theory where Buzz is telling everybody he went in space and being really obnoxious about it? He's a bit like that in real life. 😀 But I have to say punching out the flat earther made him my hero!

>22 kidzdoc: Thanks! Come visit and i"ll buy. 😀

>23 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

I like my dark roast, Jim.

Happy New One, Jim!

Not usually a breakfast person?! Our family would be agog. We all love breakfast, and have been known to have it at dinner time.

>25 BLBera: 😀👍🏻

>26 jnwelch: Oh, don't get me wrong, I love breakfast *food*. I just don't often eat it at breakfast time! 😀

Happy New Thread, Jim. I am also a breakfast guy, but the only one in my family.

THanks!

Happy new one, Jim. I'm not sure I would like >1 drneutron: this kind of breakfast. We are eating completely different breakfast in Switzerland.

Happy new thread Jim!

>30 Ameise1: I'd love to try a Swiss breakfast sometime!

>31 swynn: Thanks!

Happy new(wish) thread Jim!

Thanks!

Happy relatively new one, Jim.

I can't do bagels but do love breakfast.
Happy "new" thread Jim.

I have been enjoying a podcast about the moon landings - can't get over how young so much of the technical crew were - such a responsibility.

Happy new thread.

I'm the opposite of you when it comes to meals. I need at least three regular meals a day plus a number of snacks (by snacks I mean a piece of fruit or a small sandwich or something). I can't eat immediately upon waking up, but by the time I've washed up, done my makeup and put clothes on I'm near starvation.
And like >30 Ameise1:, I have a different idea of breakfast. What Americans call breakfast foods, I call lunch or dinner food (we 100% eat pancakes for dinner over here). Breakfast in my world is porridge or cereal and yoghurt, or possibly sandwiches.

Happy new thread, Jim! That breakfast looks fine to me. . . any time of day.

>35 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

>36 charl08: Thanks! I got an advance copy of Apollo 11 (touchstone not right...) at ALA in June - can’t wait to dig in. They were really young, for sure.

>37 PawsforThought: i’m Not one for porridge or cereal, but when I was in Italy, I really enjoyed a bit of prosciutto and bread for breakfast with some cheese. I could get used to that! 😀

>38 tymfos: 😀

Update!

61. The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian

Zoe is a 400 year old alchemist who’s put aside her work for a couple of centuries. Lately, she’s been wandering around the US, but has decided to settle in Portland, where she’s found by a living gargoyle with a problem and a dead body in her front yard.

Nice mix of fantasy and cozy mystery.

62. The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

Watching the Bosch series on Amazon Prime, so I thought I’d go back to the source. Not as good as I’d hoped, but pretty good. Will read more of the series to see how it develops.

>41 drneutron: #61 sounds like fun!

Happy weekend.

Yeah, I think you'd like it!

>43 drneutron: We'll find out soon enough. The ILL is incoming.

😂

>41 drneutron: The Accidental Alchemist sounds like a lovely book. Plus, I used to live in Portland, so I am sure I'll love it just for the local references. Thanks!

My pleasure!

Update time!

63. The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist

Everything you’ve heard about left brain/right brain people is wrong. Our brains really are asymmetrical, and the two hemispheres are different (and do different things), but really, the difference is in how the two half see and interact with the world. McGilchrist’s book goes deep into these differences and shows how these differences influenced philosophy and human history.

As I said, deep stuff. I’m not sure I buy all the philosophy and historical analysis. But the stuff about the brain was fascinating.

64. The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough

McCullough’s one of my favorite history authors. Here he tells of some remarkable people who settled in and built the Marietta, Ohio, area beginning shortly after the birth of our country. Fascinating people, interesting story. My only criticism is that McCullough glosses over in some ways the impact on and conflict with Native Americans who were already there.

65. The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough

Finished this one a while ago and forgot to post it. Title says it all. McCullough really knows how to tell a story!

>48 drneutron:

One reviewer of The Pioneers: The Heroic Story stated that McCullough classified the Native People as savages,
while praising the men who were exterminating them as heroes.

Can’t speak for the reviewers, but McCullough doesn’t express that opinion. On the other hand, his story starts well after the first encounters and only really lightly touches on conflicts that resulted in violence.

>50 drneutron:

Review by Andrew Isenberg in The Washington Post was one I read awhile back.

>41 drneutron: Well, the library has 5 of 5 copies available, but they are changing over softward systems and so no one has been able to activate any holds for the last weeks. Kind of gives me the same uneasy feeling as when LT is "temporarily down".

>52 ronincats: If all of the copies are available, can't you just go in and check one out?

>52 ronincats: I have always been a browser when it comes to bookstores and libraries, Roni. I will just pick up what takes my fancy on the day.

I use Book Depo for filling in holes in the catalogue.

Have a great Sunday, Jim.

Thanks, Paul!

Happy new thread Jim!

I absolutely have to start with breakfast - though it might be nearer lunch time by the time I get around to it. I've had pretty much the same breakfast for the past dunno-how-many decades, except the manufacturers keep cancelling my cereals on me.

>41 drneutron: The Accidental Alchemist sounds like fun. Is it set in my Portland (OR) or in Maine?

Breakfast can be anything and changes often. Today was waffles with sausage. Day before was fried egg with cheese on top and the day before that was porridge. I could go for toast and cheese!

Happy Wednesday, Jim. Nearly done, with Hollow Kingdom. What a trippy but totally engaging book. Both funny and thought provoking. Have you started it?

>57 Berly: Oh, sorry! Yep, Oregon. can't testify to the accuracy of the geography and such, since I've only been to your Portland once long ago. I'd like to rectify that someday!

>58 msf59: Haven't started yet. I'm nearly done with my last library book before diving in. Unfortunately, I got wrapped up in a fast-turnaround spacecraft proposal effort, so have been a little stalled reading-wise for the last week.

>59 drneutron: Aww! (with mild sarcasm). Too busy with spaceships to read!

You do have the coolest job...

Hi, Jim! Good luck with your spacecraft proposal . . . (yes, a cool job!)

>48 drneutron: McCullough is one of my favorite authors, too. Have you ever read his book about The Johnstown Flood?

>41 drneutron: I like the Bosch series, some installments more than others.

>60 jjmcgaffey: 😀

>61 tymfos: I think The Johnstown Flood is the only one of his that I haven't read - but it's on my Overdrive wishlist. 😀 I''m going to keep reading the Bosch series, Just not as quickly as I might if I'd loved the first one.

Update!

66. The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan

Really good fantasy/steampunk mix. Unusual early-industrial setting dealing with issues of resource over-exploitation, commerce run rampant, forces of nature that don’t always play nice. Here there be dragons!

67. The Girl in the Towerby Katherine Arden

Sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale and just as wonderful. Russian fairy tale turned into well written story.

Two in a row with great female leads!

>63 drneutron: #66 Dragons plus steampunk equals yes please.

>53 laytonwoman3rd: Sounds logical, doesn't it, but none are at the local branch so that would mean driving between 5 and 15 miles to the branches where it is on the shelves.

>63 drneutron: The first sounds interesting, Jim, and I really need to get to that trilogy someday because I know I'd love it.

>63 drneutron: Yay for The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower! I just need to find some time for The Winter of the Witch.

>65 ronincats: Ah....I see. I have 3 library branches that are "on the way" to places I go regularly anyway, but then, I probably do more driving around than I ought to!

>64 richardderus: Yeah, I think you'll like it.

>65 ronincats: Now I need to get my hands on the second - which my library doesn't have. ILL, I suppose..

>66 swynn: Me too. On my Overdrive request list now!

Thanks for the tip on The Girl in the Tower, Jim. I enjoyed the first one, and it sounds like this one is just as good.

Hi Jim... maybe I should post on your wall but here I am...
I thought I had starred "benitastrnad" thread, but I guess I never did. Is she missing from the thread book for 2019 75-challenge? Or am I just tired and should go to bed?

>70 SandyAMcPherson: She didn't start a thread this year, but she's been participating in other folks' threads.

>71 drneutron: Thanks. After I posted my question, I thought yeah, maybe she is commenting only.
All good. Thanks!

>72 SandyAMcPherson: I'm glad folks are looking at the Threadbook and letting me know when there are things that need to be fixed. It turns out my alphabetization has needed work on several occasions.. 😀

>73 drneutron: ...and this from an openly PhD'd actual rocket scientist....

Hey, I can calculus the shit out of it!

Unfortunately, that’s a skill not needed...

>75 drneutron: So....the trouble is...it's not rocket science?

>76 laytonwoman3rd: 😂 yup

Speaking of the Threadbook, I was just looking at it and realized I'd never starred your thread this year. How'd that happen? Anyway, that's been rectified and I'm glad to see you've been enjoying some good books. A lot of David McCullough's work is on my TBR, but I've only read the one about the Panama Canal and The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris so far.

If you need help with minor changes to the Threadbook, like alphabetising, drop me a line. I just added a space between my thread numbers (even though it looked pretty impressive that I was on my 23rd thread) (should have left it as it was ...)

>78 bell7: Welcome to the madness! I got to hear McCullough speak at one of the National Book Festival, maybe 2 years ago. Really good speaker, too!

>79 humouress: Heh. Sorry about that! Please fix any problems you find - wiki’s great for collaboration like that.

An update!

68. Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

S. T. Is a domesticated crow, raised by Big Jim in the ways of MoFos (humans). When something happens to Big Jim and the rest, S. T. and Dennis, the faithful bloodhound, take it upon themselves to free domesticated animals trapped in houses. But bigger threats are lurking now that the world has gone wild again...

Great characters, masterful voicing of the animals (though I’ve always suspected squirrels are really sexual deviants), funny, funny stuff. This one could easily wind up my favorite of the year - and a really lucky ALA find!

69. Run by Joseph Brett

No touchstones for this one as Joseph Brett is really our own blackdogbooks and a friend teaming up to write a pretty good post-apocalyptic story based around a group trying to survive after an environmental collapse. Interesting ideas on sustainability and political power applied to trying to keep a civilization running when there are fundamental flaws.

Mac kindly let me read a beta version, and I’m hoping to see how the refinement of the story progresses as they work it!

Have a good start into the new week with some letters ...

I love that one!

Thanks, doc. I’m so glad you liked our book, and it was a big help having you read it.

Hollow Kingdom: Postapocalyptic fun. *chuckle*

>84 blackdogbooks: My pleasure!

>85 richardderus: *chuckle* indeed. I’m gonna start referring my fellow humans as MoFos!

I suppose there actually is some fun to the apocalypse - for us, writing the book, it was the Western overlay because of the setting in a dusty, desert town reverted to it's Old West ways, even in a technologically advanced age. Anyway, I'm just really pleased Doc had fun.

Update time!

70. The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins by The McElroys

The Son got me interested in The Adventure Zone, a podcast of Griffin McElroy running an extended D&D campaign, with his brothers and dad playing a bumbling set of adventurers in a fantasy/steampunkish world. Really funny, occasionally crude, it’s become my go-to for commuting home every day as I catch up. (Typical quote - “Let’s turn this bugbear into a *hug* bear!”)

So along came Carey Pietsch to turn the adventure into a really well done graphic novel! Highly recommending both the podcast and the graphic novel.

71. Waste Tide by Chen Quifan

Mimi is a “waste girl” - a migrant from rural China to Silicon Island to work recycling the world’s waste in a not too distant future. Luo Jincheng is a clan leader exploiting the waste workers while trying to find a cure for his sick son. Scott Brandle has come from America representing a global company trying to revolutionize waste processing while eliminating the need for waste workers. Chen Kaizong is returning to Silicon Island as an interpreter and guide while trying to find the history he left behind as a young child. All these stories collide as a typhoon approaches. And what happens to Mimi changes everything.

Really good Chinese sf. The translator, Ken Liu, is rapidly becoming a fave of mine.

72. The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer

Re-read of the first volume of her History of the World Series as I found the others on Overdrive. Good writer, but is naturally limited by her focus on civilizations that left written records. She incorporates a bit of archaeology and such, but is something of a purist when it comes to her history. Still, interesting and enlightening volume.

>88 drneutron: #71 Ken Liu is a national treasure for his tireless work acquainting the apathetic, "oh it's {countryoforigin} stuff so, like, no" SF readers of the US with the extraordinarily vital and exciting world of China's SF culture. I think we should name a Hugo category for him. (Better him than Campbell, though that's been rectified...I love "the Astounding Award" as a title!)

Yup, agreed. Liu should have an award named after him, and Astounding Award is, Well, astoundingly good!

>90 drneutron: ...that pun though...

😂

>88 drneutron: Waste Tide sounds intriguing, and I echo appreciation of Ken Liu for his work making this stuff available to the English language market. How about a Liu award for spec fic in translation?

I think that would be great!

You should give this one a try - very well done.

Happy Sunday, Jim. I hope all is well. Hooray for Hollow Kingdom. It might be the sleeper hit of the summer.

>81 drneutron: Oh good, Jim. Thanks to Mark, I'm another fan of the bizarre (bonkers, to use Mark's much better word) Hollow Kingdom. She indicated that she may want to write some more about S.T. some day.

Definitely another fan here too! I’d love more of S.T.

And on another note - watching Carnival Row on Prime. Wow! This thing is seriously good!

>98 drneutron: Cool, glad you like it. We have it on the watch list but haven't started it yet. Too many shows to watch. :)

Now threee episodes in. This thing is seriously good! 😀

I do not need another show, I do not need another show...la la la.

Hi there!

Hi back!

Hmm, I have a colleague at work who was warbling about Carnival Row. Yikes! I'm with Kim^....

Sounds like I need to warble just a bit more to tip you over the edge!

Hi Jim!

Long time no visit, did a bit of skimming and was happy when I saw how much you liked Hollow Kingdom. Somebody else mentioned it yesterday and I’ve requested it from the library.

Thank you for your on-going efforts as our Fearless Leader.

Glad you stopped by! I hope you like Hollow Kingdom, It was a boatload of fun for me.

Update time!

73. Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate: How the Alt-Right Is Warping the American Imagination by Alexandra Minna Stern

Part of my continued reading to figure out what the *heck* is going on in American culture and politics today. Stern discusses how the alt-right, and those righter than them, are mainstreaming their ideas and how that's affecting our culture and our governance. Scary stuff, indeed. And insidious, as well.

74. Zero Day: A Novel by Ezekiel Boone

End of the spiders-destroy-civilization trilogy I started a couple of years ago. The trilogy started strong, drifted into meh, then ended all happy and hunky-dory. Not bad, just don't expect much.

75. Do You Dream of Terra-Two by Temi Oh

British alternate history/sf centered around a set of teens selected to go on the first 23-year voyage along with a more senior crew to colonize another world that's an awful lot like Earth. Some teenage angst, some not too smart choices made by characters, some decent writing. If it had been a tad less YA and a tad more hard sf, it would have been great instead of merely good. One of my advance copies from ALA this year!

And with that, I've hit the goal!

>108 drneutron: Congratulations!

Thanks!

Congrats, Jim!

>107 drneutron: Congratulations on reaching 75, Jim!

Thanks, Katie and Anita!

Congrats on reaching 75, Jim!

Woot for 75!!

Way to go, Jim! Happy 75!

More congrats from me on thr 75 - I liked Do You Dream of Terra Two - maybe the sequel will be more SF?!

Congrats from me, too, Jim.

Thanks, gang!

>117 charl08: THere's a sequel coming? That would be great given the part of the journey where it ended. I'll definitely keep going.

Congrats on 75!

Proud Boys sounds very intriguing to me. I've added it to my neverending list.

Thanks!

It was an interesting one to me. I've started Republic of Lies that intersects with Proud Boys in the area of conspiracy theories. It's also a pretty well thought-out book.

Congratulations on 75!

I got hit by a BB in >88 drneutron: and have requested Waste Tide from the library.
I am currently reading History of the Ancient World. I agree with your assessment of the limitations of focusing on civilizations with written records, but I also find that to be my greatest frustration with reading ancient history. I am always questioning the validity of the modern interpretations of ancient cultures who did not leave a written record. I do like the chronological approach much better than the chunked up way we did history in school.

congrats on hitting 75 Jim.

Congrats on 75!

>122 nittnut: Thanks! I completely agree with you on History of the Ancient World.

>123 RBeffa:, >124 PawsforThought: Thanks!

Congrats on reaching 75 Jim.

Congratulations on reaching 75 Jim!

Congrats on the 75 Jim!

Well done, Jim

Thanks, folks!

Well done you!

>125 drneutron: Are you going to dip into her other volumes? I found her other histories very engaging and definitely liked the format.

>131 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks!

>132 Oberon: Yup. I've got them on my Overdrive wishlist. Will try to space them out, though. 😀

Congrats on reaching 75 books read!

Thanks!

>81 drneutron: I've just started Hollow Kingdom myself, and I'm really liking it. Such a clever set-up! Glad that you liked it--makes it even more likely that I will!

Karen O.

Congratulations, Jim!

Congrats!

>136 klobrien2: Awesome! Glad you like it.

>137 richardderus: That almost looks like a Super Bowl logo! 😀 Thanks!

>138 jessibud2: Thanks!

Congrats on 75!!

Thanks!

well done, with the 75 books :)

Thanks!

76. At the Existentialist Cafe by Sarah Bakewell

Sartre, Camus, Beauvoir, apricot cocktails, phenomenology and existentialism. What else could we want?

Seriously - a pretty good history, though relatively light on philosophic content, of phenomenology and existentialism in France in the pre/post WWII period through the lives of mainly Satre and Beauvoir. Fun and informative, nicely written.

77. Republic of Lies by Anna Merlan

I know it seems like everywhere you look, there’s a conspiracy to be had. And most of them seem to be coming from the far right. But in reality, American culture has always had its conspiricists on both sides of the political spectrum. What’s different today is the speed at which ideas are spread through social media and the internet. Merlan’s book is a pretty good analysis of where these ideas come from, why they resonate, and why we can’t seem to get rid of them. Recommended.

78. Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Fantastic. No other way to put it. Whitehead scores again.

I have Nickel Boys lined up in the TBR pile. Hope to get to it soon, though. Good to hear the enthusiasm for it.

It was a hard story, very well written. I’m now three-for-three with Whitehead.

Good to hear re The Nickel Boys. I got a copy, so I'll be reading it fairly soon. What was your third of his? I read The Intuitionist a few years ago and liked its weirdness.

I've read The Nickel Boys, Underground Railroad and Zone One, one of the most interesting zombie stories of recent memory - though like all his books, it's really about the characters. The Intuitionist is next on my list of his.

>148 drneutron: Hollow Kingdom was about as interesting a zombie story as I've encountered, but then I tend to avoid rather than seek them!

😀

Belated Congratulations on reaching 75 Jim!
I wish you can read a lot more good books this year - many good years with a lot of good books.

Thanks!

Congrats on reading 75 and beyond, Jim. I got hit with a few BBs catching up with your thread but you are stronger than I for reading a book like Proud Boys.

Thanks! I figure I’d rather be aware of what’s out there than be blindsided by these ideas creeping into the mainstream. Proud Boys was an easy read on a hard subject.

Update time!

79. Moonheart by Charles de Lint

Re-read of one of my favorite fantasy novels of the 80s. Good to know it hasn’t been visited by the suck fairy. 😀

De Lint mixes Celtic and Native American myth and magic into a stew of urban fantasy goodness.

80. Barnum: An American Life by Robert Wilson

He probably didn’t say “there’s a sucker born every minute”. He freely admitted his humbugs, but insisted it was only to entertain. Consummate promoter and money-maker, he was both generous and a campaigner against alcohol. An abolitionist later in life, he once briefly owned a slave.

P. T. Barnum was a fascinating, complex man, in some ways quintessentially American. Wilson’s bio is a great way to get to know him.

81. Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Four kids and a dog solve the mystery of a lake monster in a small Oregon town on the Zoinx River. Except maybe the masked man wasn’t the real villain, and 13 years later, after all their lives falling apart, the team reunites to find the real solution to what’s buried under the lake.

Scooby Doo-esque, Lovecraftian, at times creepy, I loved this combination of humor, nostalgia, and tentacly eldrich things.

82. The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèli Clark

In an alternate world, a Sufi mystic breached the barrier between our world and the world of the djinn. So Egypt, using this new magic, became the dominant world power.

In this world, two agents for the bureau governing magic and spirits have to cleanse a tram car, of all things, from a haunting by an evil spirit. Except the simple sounding job is, of course, more complicated than it should be.

Great novella from this new-to-me author.

>155 drneutron: #81 Oh my heck! Doesn't that sound like fun.

#82 I love the Tor.com list for precisely these discoveries.

>156 richardderus: He's got another one on Overdrive that I want to read soon that's set in New Orleans, so ought to be fun!

Wow...you went past 75 like a freight train passing a hobo! Congratulations.

And "tentacly eldrich things." Sounds like RD must read that one.

>158 laytonwoman3rd: 😀 Got some things done at work that we’re keeping me from reading!

>157 drneutron: He does?! Cool! I can't wait to hear if you like it or not.

>158 laytonwoman3rd: Now, c'mon...that's a "gimme" in the guessing sweepstakes. I've got it winging its way to me via ILL!

Glad you re-read the de Lint! Always a favorite.

>160 richardderus: Cool! Glad to hear you're jumping on it.

>161 blackdogbooks: Yup! Still is.

Congrats on 75!

Thanks!

>154 drneutron: Ah, yes blindsiding - reminds me of the supposed Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times". Things are definitely interesting these days.

So. I’m gonna have an interesting week. I’ve started working on a study to figure out how to get a spacecraft outside the solar system. As in 100 billion miles within a 50 year lifetime.

Anyway, this week is a meeting with scientists to narrow down on science objectives and mission requirements. At the Explorers Club in midtown Manhattan. As in the people that sent explorers to the Arctic. And Antarctic. And, like, all over the planet.

So yeah, folks following my reading may have picked up on the fact that I *love* reading about explorers. I’m having a hard time suppressing the fanboy reaction...

😀

>166 drneutron: Oh my gosh, that's amazing on so many levels (the Explorers Club?! I mean, WHAT.)! Congrats - and good luck!!

>166 drneutron: Wow!! just WOW!

>166 drneutron: - That's so cool!

>167 scaifea:, >168 RebaRelishesReading:, >169 katiekrug: Hoping to take a few discrete pics and post them. 😀

Quick update before umping on a train tomorrow. This batch was a bit of a disappointment...

83. The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone

Two guys go off in the woods to create the next big tech company. Then one splits, only to lose out on a fortune and genuinely screw up his life. Now the other wants him back to fix the next-next big thing in a mansion built on the old property. Except maybe the place is haunted...

So I really enjoyed Boone's previous series - you know, the one with the spiders destroying the world. This is his follow up and really, only one way to put this... It sucks. Big time. Dude needs to not try to rewrite The Shining and he is definitely no Stephen King. Don't bother.

84. Lotharingia: A Personal History of Europe's Lost Country by Simon Winder

Lotharingia is that area of Europe between Germany and France, areas that have been kicked back and forth for centuries. This one's not a history, which was what I was hoping for. Instead it's a mishmash of historyish travel experiences that use came across as a mess. Again, don't bother.

85. Shades: The Gehenna Dilemma by Eric Dallaire

Interesting idea: folks who incur debt in life are re-animated as zombies (a la real Haitian zombies as opposed to the Walking Dead zombies) to work off what they owed when they die. And for those whose families don't want to give up their loved one's body, there are IRS agents (AKA ghouls) that collect them, by force if needed. Now mix in conspiracy, a ghoul with a conscience, yadda yadda,

Should have been good - it wasn't. There were so many comical tech blunders and use outright bonehead mistakes that it was comical. And I just didn't buy the premise that so many would try to keep family members from shade status. Plus I didn't appreciate being beaten over the head with such a blunt instrument as this allusion to modern day debt crises and cultural consumerism. Once again, don't bother.

86. Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw

Third in the Greta Helloing series, and just as good as the first two. Things get really apocalyptic in this one!

Bother

>166 drneutron: *fanboy SQUEE* How ultimately cool!! My grandson might see the results and how fine a legacy is that to leave. Humanity did this one thing right, Quinn. Don't despair.

>171 drneutron: #86 Pretty good tempter. STrange Practice awaits me, right here on the TBR...can't really understand why I haven't dived in.

Yes I can, who'm I kiddin, they keep puttin out shiny new near occasions of bibliosin.

>172 richardderus: I feel your pain... bibliosin-wise.

Yay, you're reading Halloweenie books!

Yup!

Hi Jim!

>166 drneutron: That is absolutely fantastic. Congrats on being part of such an exciting group and at such a historic venue.

Thanks! It's been pretty cool so far!

>166 drneutron: Adding my voice to the fanboy jealousy. You have the coolest job.

>166 drneutron: Wow, that sounds like sci-fi but it’s reality. So cool!

It was a great meeting, but I’ve got a boatload of work to do over the next few months to sort out all the engineering challenges. Fortunately, I’ve got a great team to work the problem!

>180 drneutron: I missed congratulating you on 75 way back there, so hurray for 86!! Also congrats for your new work project, but where are the pics from the Explorers Club? ; )

Also I loved Nickel Boys, too.

Unfortunately, most didn’t turn out all that well - most of the items were in cases under glass. I did see

- a flag that flew on Apollo 13 and a letter from Jim Lovell apologizing for not getting the flag to the moon due to their “little mishap”.

- an original photo of Teddy Roosevelt from his Amazon River coloration that was featured in The River of Doubt.

- a dogsled from the first expedition to make it to the North Pole.

- Radio equipment from Perry’s South Pole expedition.

A bunch more!

An update!

87. A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab

Third in the Colors of Magic series. It ends as well as it began!

88. The Legend of the Red Specter by M A Wisniewski

Joy Fan is a journalist who’s been blackballed for fighting back against workplace sexual harassment in this near-Earth steampunkish world. As a last resort, she takes an assignment from a scandal rag to interview The Red Specter, a legendary hero from the recent war. Except the Red Specter is a comic strip hero, not a real person. Or is he? Or she? Or maybe not a person at all...

Interesting combo of steampunk heroine and The Shadow from an indy press and unknown author. I just happened to come across it on my library’s new book shelves and am glad I grabbed it!

89. The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind by Barbara Lipska

Barbara Lipska, a researcher in brain disorders like schizophrenia at NIMH, found herself with cancerous tumors in her brain. This is the story of her treatment and recovery, but also how she learned what it’s like to have a serious mental illness through the symptoms she experienced. Her unique point of view allows us go along with her and see her perspective as well as tap into her knowledge of neuroscience in a fascinating look at what is usually mysterious.

>183 drneutron: I enjoyed The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind quite a bit!! Look at you on #89. I see 100 in your future.

Happy weekend.

>183 drneutron: #88 *ow*ow*ow* Book-bulleted me, drat you!

>183 drneutron: Ooo, adding The Neuroscientist Who to my WL! Thanks, Jim.

>184 Berly: Thanks! I hope yours is good too!

>185 richardderus: Turn-about and all that! 😀

>186 jnwelch: Great! Looking forward to your thoughts about it.

Thanks for the warning about Lotharingia, which caught my eye as it came through my department. I'll give that Someday Swamp space to better books. Like the Lipska book.

Glad you enjoyed the Colors of Magic series! I recently read Schwab's "Monsters of Verity" series and liked it too.

Haven't been here since the last day of August; how bad is that.

But the reward of finally clicking on the good doctor's thread are several recommendations for my wish list. I already have Hollow Kingdom on my list. Nickel Boys too. But now I must add:

Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate: How the Alt-Right Is Warping the American Imagination by Alexandra Minna Stern
Republic of Lies by Anna Merlan
Barnum: An American Life by Robert Wilson
The Legend of the Red Specter by M A Wisniewski
The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind by Barbara Lipska

Sincere thanks, Jim. And congrats on blowing past the 75 milepost. I'm running neck-and-neck with you on reading, but I ain't doing anything else. You're leading a team wrasslin' with the bolts and nuts of actual space exploration! Kudos!

>189 weird_O: I am twenty pages from the end of Hollow Kingdom: A Novel and I have to work today! I'm planning to finish at break time, so it's not as sad as it could be. Loving this book, and the wonderful characters and the plot. I'll never look at a crow in the same way again!

Karen O.

>188 swynn: Good choice on Lotharingia. And yeah, planning to read more Schwab.

>189 weird_O: Thanks! Glad you found some things of interest!

>190 klobrien2: Or squirrels either! 😀

Looks like you are moving along at a rapid pace on your reading, Jim. I'm disappointed your photos didn't turn out--it sounded like a fascinating experience.

>182 drneutron: Sounds like a great exhibit.

Good luck with the engineering challenges: how exciting though!

Hey, Jim. Just checking in. I hope you had a good weekend. Looks like the books are treating you well. I am gladly reporting the same.

>192 ronincats: Thanks! I'm mostly happy with the reading pace, though the slowdown in late August/early September was disappointing. Seems to happen every year.

>193 charl08: It's going to be a hard one - communications at those distances are really tough, mostly because of antenna pointing accuracy needed. And of course the scientists want gigabit speeds. 😀

>194 msf59: It turned out to be a tough weekend. One of my very good friends had a heart attack and died Saturday afternoon, We've been heavily involved in the aftermath. But books are treating me well!

One I forgot!

90. The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Gyre is a wanna be cave explorer on another planet, where cavers are the scouts to find mineral deposits for mining companies. Lying her way into a job, she's been hired to explore a cave system for a wealthy, secretive client without the experience needed to really do it. And the job's not really what was advertised...

In spite of the sf setting, this one's a classic horror story - stuck underground, dealing with sensory deprivation and physical challenges, maybe even a haunting. It's well written and definitely left a chill!

>195 drneutron: Oh Jim, so sorry for your loss!

>195 drneutron: I'm so sorry for your loss, Jim. Unexpected deaths are extra sharp pains.

Sorry for your loss, Jim.

Thanks, everyone. He was a good friend, taken too soon. I'll miss him.

Jim, I'm so sorry about your friend. That's tough.

Oh man, sorry to hear about your friend, Jim. My condolences.

>195 drneutron: So sorry to hear about your friend's death.

Very sorry to read about the loss of your friend, Jim.

I am so sorry to hear about your friend, Jim. How awful. My condolences, my friend.

Thanks, everyone. It’s great to have a caring community like this in my life.

JIm, I am so sorry!

I am sorry to hear the bad news.
My condolences.

I'm keeping you in my thoughts and my heart, Jim. I'm so sorry that you've lost a friend.

Thanks, everyone. Visitation is today, funeral service is tomorrow. Thoughts and prayers over the next few days would be appreciated.

>210 drneutron: ((Jim)) The thoughts and prayers will be heading your way.

>210 drneutron:

More good thoughts and comforting prayers to you.

Hi Jim, so sorry to read that you have lost a good friend mate, thinking of you and thoughts and prayers are winging their way over to you from Yorkshire. I hope that your friend has a good send off and his life celebrated.

Thanks, everyone. The funeral was wonderful - about 300 people came, it was a great celebration of his life.

>214 drneutron: Good to read many came to say goodbye to your friend and to celebrate his existance.

I'm adding my condolences to your loss of your friend. He was obviously a great loss to many people.

Thanks! It was a good experience. But I’m glad the week’s over. 😀

Condolences on the loss of your friend, Jim. I dread funerals, but often do feel uplifted by them. I wish calling them a "celebration of life" would become the norm, because that is what they should be.

>195 drneutron: I am sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend, Jim.

I'm sorry about the loss of your friend, Jim.

Thanks, folks. This week was better, but still helping the widow with financial stuff, etc. not quite so much an emotional rollercoaster.

I'm sorry you lost a good friend Jim.

Hope all is OK, Jim. Losing a good friend is a hard experience to go through.

Sorry for the loss of your friend.

Happy Sunday, Jim. I hope you are getting back on track. How are those books treating you? I just finished an excellent true crime book, People Who Eat Darkness, if you ever get in the mood for one of these. I am also really enjoying my ALA books, past and present. I have not stumbled on a dud yet.

Hi Jim! Dropping a star since I've lost track of you since I haven't made it to many (if any) LT meetups recently. Hope all is well with you and your family. In addition, thank you for maintaining the 75 books group year after year. As you know, it's the life blood of the TIOLI challenges which will be going into their eleventh year in 2020. Imagine! :D

Thanks for the good thoughts, everyone!

>226 msf59: That one looks pretty good! Traveling this week for work, will get The Luminous Dead out Friday when I get back.

>227 SqueakyChu: Yeah, I’ve missed seeing you these last few get-togethers. We should plan to meet up sometime!

Come oin me on my new thread!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/312867