Month: December 2021

The Immeasurable Corpse of Nature by Christopher Slatsky: A book of horror short stories. They do the job and do it well.

Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future, edited by Ed Finn and Kathryn Cramer: Some pretty good stories by some pretty great writers. I do think it’s tough for people to imagine better futures these days. I definitely felt a bit of strain in these stories.

Tools for Conviviality by Ivan Illich: Food for thought. A solid critique of the technosocial systems we find ourselves in. The path forward, not so clear.

Quietus by Tristan Palmgren: What if aliens arrived, but it was medieval Europe? This book was delightfully weird.

The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman: My kid and I both cried while reading this.

Ballistic Kiss by Richard Kadrey: Book 11 (?) in the Sandman Slim series. These books are so fun. Hard to believe they’re almost done. Even harder to believe they haven’t made tv or movies out of this yet.

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland: Time travel! A fun read. I could definitely tell which was Galland and which Stephenson, though. She brought some warmth, which isn’t always there.

Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism by Barry M. Prizant: Along with Neurotribes, I’d recommend this to anyone who wants deeper insight into this thing we call autism. Bottom line: you need to meet people where they are, autism or no.

The Wild Birds by Emily Strelow: A novel written by a college chum of mine. Not what I was expecting! Some truly exceptional nature writing in this one. Really tops. Led to a great book club conversation.

False Hearts by Laura Lam: A strange sci-fi thriller about separated conjoined twins who grew up in a cult. I wanted it to be weirder, haha.

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard: The point that stuck with me is that the historical gossip, in essence, about the Roman emperors distracts from history about empire itself. Also, that there really isn’t much to admire about ancient and inperial Rome, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from them.

Death or Glory by Rick Remender: A comic that’s got some real Mad Max vibes. The death count is sky high in this one, but the hero’s got some charm.

One for the Books by Joe Queenan: A book about reading by a guy who reads more than I do. I got some great recommendations from this one. Also, I appreciated the time I spent with this fellow reader.

The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World by Patrick Wyman: The story of how a set of interrelated systems and innovations led to Europe’s domination of the world. An excellent work of history.

Coda by René Belletto: A strange little novel about a perpetual motion machine, a small mystery, and the end of time. I dug it.

Bubble by Jordan Morris: I didn’t realize this was a comic when I put a hold on it at the library. Science fantasy, post-apocalypse, plus Uber-as-monster-slaying. Light but fun.

Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler: So funny. Really nails the vacuousness of social media. I didn’t throw my phone into the sea after reading it, but it’s not an unreasonable impulse.