Reviews
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Book Review: The Goodnight Agency by Tyler Tork
Tyler Tork is another author I have been blessed to meet through Narrativity. Just based on the amazing cover, I was excited to read The Goodnight Agency, and it did not disappoint. Ever since her parents went to prison, Ruby Park has bounced around among her aunts, looking for a place to call home. But Ruby is not interested in being the kind of girl her aunts expect her to be, and finally, she is sent to live with her Uncle Simon. Simon Goodnight tells people he is a financial advisor, but in reality, he helps his clients with whatever they need. That in and of itself is not strange. It…
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100 Word Book Review: A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney
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100 Word Book Review: Index, a History of the – A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age by Dennis Duncan
The first index was devised to let a busy ruler know what parts of a book he could skip. Later, indexes were used to provide snarky commentary (“Let no damned Tory index my history”). And throughout, just like with every new technology, people were afraid it would turn the youth into lazy, less serious citizens of the world. If any of this sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend Index, a History of the by Dennis Duncan. I will, however, suggest reading the book versus listening to the audiobook. Index entries do not always make for the most interesting listening.
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100 Word Book Review: Unbelievable True* Stories from Ancient Greece by Anna Werner
I fell in love with Greek mythology in 4th grade. This book would not have been appropriate for me to read at 1o years old. But if you are over 18, have ever found yourself thinking “Are you fucking kidding me?” while reading Greek mythology, and still want to read more Greek mythology, then Unbelievable True* Stories from Ancient Greece by Anna Werner is the book for you. Anna’s research and deep understanding of the subject are obvious, but it is her humor that shines through as she expresses the thoughts many of us have had while reading these stories.
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100 Word Book Review: G.H.O.S.T. Teams Book 1- Magic by Bobby Brimmer
If you’re lucky enough to have met Bobby Brimmer, then you have a good idea what reading G.H.O.S.T. Teams Book 1 – Magic is like. It’s his personality on the page – an action romp with a wise-cracking hero. There are fight scenes and chase scenes and unsuccessful flirting scenes. There’s not a lot of deep introspection, though there’s enough character development to show the hero isn’t perfect and has plenty to learn. But the best part of the book was that it was FUN. This was an easy read, and I will definitely be reading more of the series.
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Book Review: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Marketing material for Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow describes it as YA Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale. The author’s website has a “Bonus Summary for Weebs” that pulls on even more pop culture references to describe the book. And while you may need these comparisons to sell the book, and I have no doubt the author was influenced by all the media she referenced, Iron Widow stands on its own as a great coming of age story where the hero is a girl you can both love and hate. However, to go continue with comparisons for one brief moment, it ranks right up there with Naomi Novik’s Uprooted…
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Book Review: The Dying Sun by LJ Stanton
Last summer, I attended Narrativity, a convention (vaxxed, masked, socially distanced) for storytelling. While there, I became friends with LJ Stanton. Because of that friendship, I purchased a copy of her first book, The Dying Sun, when I got home. I finally got around to reading it in January. If I had not met LJ, there is a good chance I never would have picked up this book, mostly because I would never have heard of it. But the book, a fantasy set in a desert empire, is totally up my alley, so I was excited to read it. My favorite thing about the book were the characters. They all…
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100 Word Book Review – Some things I still can’t tell you by Misha Collins
The point of poetry is to speak directly to another’s heart, and that can be done regardless of whether or not the poems are technically good. I say this because I do not think that Collins is a technically good poet, but his poems did speak to me. Each one was a small piece of everyday life. There was no big philosophy, the things he still can’t tell are not the secrets to love or what happened after we die, but instead mundane pieces of his life he is not quite ready to share and perfect in their own way.
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100 Word Book Review – Stacked by Joe Saul-Sehy and Emily Guy Birken
Stacked bills itself as a Super Serious Guide to Modern Money Management, which should let you know that this is not a book that takes itself seriously. Or, I should say, it takes its subject matter seriously but understands we all learn better when we are having fun. I am not a beginner when it comes to personal finance, but the information in the opening chapters was still useful. I love the idea of the pages to print out and hang on the fridge to track progress. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed Joe and Emily’s personalities shining through.
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Book Reaction: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
The thing is, I do not want to talk about race. I want to talk about culture and heritage. I want to learn about the people around me. I want to connect over little things like strict mothers and escaping into books and being obsessed with horses. I want to learn about different traditions and celebrations. I want my country, its people and institutions, to recognize the harm that was done to black people by slavery, to Native people by land grabs, to Japanese people in internment camps. I want us to admit this. I want us to own this, to teach it to our children in all its awfulness…
