My review: I have grown fond of the Penric and Desdemona series, and I particularly liked Nikys' story arc started in Penric's Mission. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a new instalment was out. I was not disappointed: the story is definitely entertaining, but I am starting to fell like it's time for the author to move on and let these characters go...
In The Physicians of Vilnoc, a mysterious plague breaks out in the army fort guarding Vilnoc, the port capital of the duchy of Orbas. Temple sorcerer Penric and his demon Desdemona are called upon by General Arisaydia to resurrect Penric's medical skills and solve the plague lethal riddle. In the grueling days that follow, Pen will find that even his magic is not enough to meet the challenges without help from dedicated new colleagues and the god of mischance. (★★★)
Started: Dec 24 2020 Finished: Dec 31 2020

My review: A cute short story, covering some of the events skipped over in In an Absent Dream.
The author introduces the story as follows: In the course of every great adventure there are multiple side quests. All too often these go unreported perhaps because the adventurers in question fail to return to the main narrative due to death or other distractions, and sometimes because the chronicler of the events decide to edit out that part of that particular history for reasons of their own (historians are never infallible) but occasionally we get another window into our heroes' world. In Juice Like Wounds we once again get to meet Lundy, and some of her companions. Lundy's main adventure is detailed in In an Absent Dream (a Hugo Awards finalist!) and you should definitely read that. Before or after this tale is up to you. Remember: side quests are fun. For the reader, at least... (★★★)
Started: Dec 22 2020 Finished: Dec 24 2020

My review: I read this book many many years ago, in 1990, translated to Italian. I did not really remember much of the plot, so reading it again after so many years really felt like reading it for the first time.
As you may already know, the book is about the world's end: it ends with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death. The book is also, and mainly, about what happen next, about the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides or are chosen. A world in which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abigail and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.
King is indeed an incredibly talented storyteller, able to keep as interested and enthralled for thousands of pages. This said I found some aspects of the plot disturbing. This is a story of good vs Evil. The evil is not subtle: he is a dictator that tortures and kills people on crosses. The evil is so extreme that it should not be hard to justify the "good" side actions... but instead of justifying the good side actions on morality, they are justified with a blind, uninformed faith. The heroes are actually taking a stand without any evidence of evil beyond confused dreams and the words of a prophet. This is what crusaders, fundamentalist extremists, and conquistadores did, not what a hero would do. This is what led me to rate it only 3 stars, despite the good storytelling and the interesting worldbuilding. (★★★)
Started: Mar 16 2020 Finished: Dec 23 2020

My review: Years ago I read Every Heart a Doorway as part of my Hugo Award finalist read-a-thon. Since then, every year, I continued to red more and more instalments of this series. While the settings is not my favorite, the author is talented, and her books are always at a minimum enjoyable, and sometimes little masterpieces (e.g. Middlegame).
This fifth instalment of the sage focuses back on Jack and Jill of the Moors. When Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister, whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice, back to their home on the Moors.
But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome... (★★★★)
Started: Dec 06 2020 Finished: Dec 21 2020

My review: I read Gideon the Ninth few months before, and I loved it. Because of it, I could not wait to read this sequel... that was NOTHING of what I expected it to be. Tamsyn Muir did it again, she managed to surprise me at every page, taking the story in places I would have never imagined it.
Harrow the Ninth is a mind-twisting puzzle box of mystery, murder, magic, and mayhem. Nothing is as it seems in the halls of the Emperor, and the fate of the galaxy rests on one woman's shoulders. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. Side by side with a detested rival, Harrow must perfect her skills and become an angel of undeath... but her health is failing, her sword makes her nauseous, and even her mind is threatening to betray her.
Sealed in the gothic gloom of the Emperor's Mithraeum with three unfriendly teachers, hunted by the mad ghost of a murdered planet, Harrow must confront two unwelcome questions: is somebody trying to kill her? And if they succeeded, would the universe be better off?
This is definitely a strongly recommended read and most strong contenders for next year Hugo award. (★★★★★)
Started: Oct 30 2020 Finished: Dec 04 2020

My review: I am a big fan of Yoon Ha Lee's work (in particular I loved the Machineries of Empire series). Because of that I was quite eager to read this latest novel. I confess I was not sure what to expect: the author's novels tend to be very complex and intricated, but this latest one was targeted to a YA audience. I was quite curious to see how Lee's style would adjust as a result. I was not disappointed: while the story does not have the depth and complexity of his previous space opera, it still have the rich world building and interesting characters. Also the book is quite a pleasure to read.
The book is set in a universe with many inhabited worlds, but where supernatural beings walk among humans. For example the main character, thirteen year old Min, comes from a long line of fox spirits. But you would never know it by looking at her. To keep the family safe, Min's mother insists that none of them use any fox's magic, such as Charm or shape-shifting. They must appear human at all times.
Min feels hemmed in by the household rules and resents the endless chores, the cousins who crowd her, and the aunties who judge her. She would like nothing more than to escape Jinju, her neglected, dust-ridden, and impoverished planet. She's counting the days until she can follow her older brother, Jun, into the Space Forces and see more of the Thousand Worlds.
When word arrives that Jun is suspected of leaving his post to go in search of the Dragon Pearl, Min knows that something is wrong. Jun would never desert his battle cruiser, even for a mystical object rumored to have tremendous power. She decides to run away to find him and clear his name.
Min's quest will have her meeting gamblers, pirates, and vengeful ghosts. It will involve deception, lies, and sabotage. She will be forced to use more fox-magic than ever before, and to rely on all of her cleverness and bravery.
I really enjoyed the story, and I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★)
Started: Nov 08 2020 Finished: Nov 22 2020

My review: I am fond of the Star Wars fictional universe: I have a nostalgic attachment to it, and despite some drops in quality along the way (e.g. The Phantom Menace), recent installments like Rogue One, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi were even better than the original series. Because of this fondness, I started reading some of Star Wars books during my commute. The quality is not always great, but they are usually at least enjoyable.
I usually skip the books written for a younger audience, but I recently read and loved Star Wars: Pirate's Price so I decided to give this one a try. It was enjoyable, but that's it.
The book features Chewbacca the Wookiee. When he finds out that a job he thought was just ferrying tooka cats is actually much more, he's excited to have something to do. But when he, a young bounty hunter/librarian, and a droll cargo droid (who, unbeknownst to the others is rebel spy droid K-2SO) land in the middle of a blue forest that emits a fear-causing mist, Chewie realizes the job may be too dangerous for his liking. He and his companions will have to fight off snarlers, sniffers, and their own fears as they try to recover a sacred book... and rescue Han Solo in the process! (★★★)
Started: Oct 31 2020 Finished: Nov 08 2020

My review: I am fond of the Star Wars fictional universe: I have a nostalgic attachment to it, and despite some drops in quality along the way (e.g. The Phantom Menace), recent installments like Rogue One, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi were even better than the original series. Because of this fondness, I started reading some of Star Wars books during my commute. The quality is not always great, but they are usually at least enjoyable.
I confess I had little expectations for this particular story: I assumed it was aimed at very young riders and I was not expecting something too complex and enjoyable.
I was wrong.
This was one of the funniest star wars book ever. The story is centered around Hondo Ohnaka that is now became my favorite Star War character ever. Yes, the book won't provide any new insight or depth to the story we know already but... it will make you laugh quite hard.
I hope to see more by this author in the future! (★★★★)
Started: Oct 19 2020 Finished: Oct 31 2020

My review: I had read and enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale, and I was quite curious to read this booker prize winner book by the same author. The book definitely earned the award, Atwood is clearly a master of the craft, adroitly waving a complex, multilayered, story-within-a-story-within-a-story masterpiece.
While the book refuses an easy genre classification, the book is, among other things, a mystery novel, with clues and hints cleverly spread along the way to prepare for revelations / plot twists. Some of those clues are adroitly crafted so that, while true, they will misdirect you.
The book starts with a death: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge." They are spoken by Iris, one of the main characters and the main point of view of the entire book. After her sister Laura's death in 1945 an inquest report proclaims the death accidental. But just as the reader expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist...
It's hard to say more or to comment without spoiling the story, so I will just say that this book proves once again that Atwood is one of the most talented, daring, and exciting writers of our time. (★★★★)
Started: Sep 29 2020 Finished: Oct 28 2020

My review: Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning is a ruthlessly honest, emotionally charged exploration of the psychological condition of being Asian American. How do we speak honestly about the Asian American condition, if such a thing exists? Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong fearlessly and provocatively confronts this thorny subject, blending memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose the truth of racialized consciousness in America. Binding these essays together is Hong's theory of "minor feelings". As the daughter of Korean immigrants, Cathy Park Hong grew up steeped in shame, suspicion, and melancholy. She would later understand that these "minor feelings" occur when American optimism contradicts your own reality, when you believe the lies you're told about your own racial identity. With sly humor and a poet's searching mind, Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness in America today. This intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language, to shame and depression, to poetry and artmaking, and to family and female friendship. A radically honest work of art, Minor Feelings forms a portrait of one Asian American psyche, and of a writer's search to both uncover and speak the truth.
I found the book quite eye opening and interesting. Weirdly enough, it even helped me better understand my immigrant experience. A great book and recommended reading for everyone. (★★★★)
Started: Oct 05 2020 Finished: Oct 18 2020

My review: I read this book as part of Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. It brings together the entire book community (librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types) in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.
For the past few years I have been participating to the event reading some of the most challenged books in the previous year.
The book won the 2015 Stonewall Book Award, and it is a honest look at the life, love, and struggles of a diverse set of six transgender and gender neutral teens. Portraits, family photographs, and candid images grace the pages, augmenting the emotional and physical journey each youth has taken. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful or heartbreaking, is completely different from the other because of family dynamics, living situations, gender, and the transition these teens make in recognition of their true selves.
A really beautiful read, a great resource to better understand our non-cis siblings, and to be inspired. (★★★★)
Started: Sep 22 2020 Finished: Sep 26 2020

My review: Years ago I decided to read the complete work of this author, a choice that I came to regret: while Lovecraft's contribution to the field is indisputable, and while a small number of his stories are good, the vast majority of his work is mediocre at best, and often marred by horrifying xenophobia. I thought I was done reading his work, but I keep I coming across short stories that I had previously missed. This one is a collaboration, it was written by Wilfred Blanch Talman, but H. P. Lovecraft added some small touches (in particular the use of the dialect of one of the characters), so this is probably why I had missed it so far.
In an isolated town a priest starts giving very unusual sermons scaring all his parishioners away, then he dies. His nephew visit the town and the church and he discover that something very sinister is happening, including devil worshipping and witchcraft.
As a story goes, it's ok. There is nothing remarkable or outstanding, but it is enjoyable enough. I would not recommend it, but to the Lovecraft's completists. (★★)
Started: Sep 13 2020 Finished: Sep 14 2020

My review: Years ago I decided to read the complete work of this author, a choice that I came to regret: while Lovecraft's contribution to the field is indisputable, and while a small number of his stories are good, the vast majority of his work is mediocre at best, and often marred by horrifying xenophobia. I thought I was done reading his work, but I keep I coming across short stories that I had previously missed. The latest couple of them (this included) were full of humor, something I had never noticed before. It makes me wonder if I missed the sarcasm on the ones I had read, or if these two are really unusual. Either way, the humor made them more enjoyable.
This story is a collaboration with a fan, R.H. Barlow. The two communicated only via (snail) mail and Lovecraft had no idea his collaborator was a 14 year old boy. It's rather amusing to think of it.
The Hoard of the Wizard-Beast is a (cynical) fantasy story sprinkled with sarcasm targeting organized religion and the fantasy genres tropes.
(★★★)
Started: Sep 12 2020 Finished: Sep 12 2020

My review: Years ago I decided to read the complete work of this author, a choice that I came to regret: while Lovecraft's contribution to the field is indisputable, and while a small number of his stories are good, the vast majority of his work is mediocre at best, and often marred by horrifying xenophobia. I thought I was done reading his work, when I came across this short story that I had previously missed. The story is very short and completely unlike any other story by this author I had ever read: it is a funny and ironic take to the romance novel of the time. It turns out to be one of Lovecraft's most enjoyable stories I have ever read!
It will not change your life, it's not something unusually funny or interesting, so while I do not recommend it, it is still good to read to relax and boost someone's mood. (★★★)
Started: Sep 10 2020 Finished: Sep 10 2020

My review: I *LOVED* Gideon the Ninth, and when I discover that there was a short story set in the same universe I looked for it left and right. It turns out you can get it for free online.
The stort story focuses on two of the characters in the novel: Palamedes Sextus and Camilla Hect, age thirteen. Each of the Empire's houses keeps secrets, even from themselves. For the bookish academics of the Sixth, every secret is a mystery, and every mystery is a puzzle to be solved or a paper to be published. Deep in the bowels of their house, one such secret is about to reveal itself. The study of the famed academic Donald Sex, sealed since the moment of his death, is about to open, and archivists are ready to dissect what he left behind. They are not ready for the macabre surprise that awaits them.
I found it a very enjoyable read, and it made me even more eager to read Harrow's the Ninth next! (★★★★)
Started: Sep 08 2020 Finished: Sep 08 2020

My review: I read this book for a book club, and I was looking forward reading it after my (amazing) colleague Nishkala strongly recommended it. I was expecting a book full of humor that also offered insight on the horrors of apartheid, but the book is more an autobiography of sort, shining light on horrors of xenophobia, apartheid, domestic abuse, and violence. The horrors are mitigated by the cheerful disposition of the author and, at times, by some humor.
Born a Crime is a memoir of one man's coming of age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed. Trevor Noah's unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents' indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa's tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries long struggle. Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man's relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother... his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.
Also interesting are the parallels between South Africa and the United States, of the challenges of an oppressed minority to rise up and get a sit at the table.
This is a great book, I am glad I got to read it. I am looking forward discussing it at the book club. (★★★★)
Started: Aug 29 2020 Finished: Sep 07 2020

My review: Years ago I decided to read the complete work of this author, a choice that I came to regret: while Lovecraft's contribution to the field is indisputable, and while a small number of his stories are good, the vast majority of his work is mediocre at best, and often marred by horrifying xenophobia. I thought I was done reading his work, when I came across this short story that I had previously missed. The story is very short and probably once of the worst I have read by this author. It seems unpolished, unfinished, and written by a very young kid attending elementary school.
If you have never read anything my Lovecraft, do NOT start with this one. If you did... you may want to skip this one, and read something better instead. (★)
Started: Sep 07 2020 Finished: Sep 07 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category.
I confess I judged the book by its cover: while the cover is quite nice and very appropriate for the book, somehow I was not intrigued by it. I started reading it and... I was blown away. This book is really really good!
This is the story of Roger and Dodger. Roger, is skilled with words, and languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Dodger is his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math. Roger and Dodger aren't exactly human, though they don't realize it. They aren't exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.
This is the story of Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He's not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own. Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn't attained, at least not by him.
What's not to like? This book has everything: a great world building, interesting characters, very original plot. It does not hurt that it is set in the place where I lived half my life so far.
Two small critiques: (1) while you can walk easily to the Sutro's bath ruins, you do not need to climb down as they do in the book. (2) while the world building is detailed and deep, some aspects are a little glossed over.
Definitely one of the best finalist for this year Hugo award, and a strong contender to the title. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 11 2020 Finished: Aug 28 2020

My review: It's rare for me to like a non-fiction book as much as this one. It's extremely eye opening and informative. I heard about it before of course, seldom does a book have the impact of this one. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Yet, I assumed I knew already about the subject, about the dire injustice in the law enforcement and justice systems. I decided to pick it up, and how wrong I was, how little I knew! I strongly recommend this book to everyone, it should be a required reading in school. It helps understanding the history of this country, and the current events. I strongly suggest picking up the 10th anniversary edition. It has a (many chapter long) new introduction by Michelle Alexander that discusses the impact the book has had and the state of the criminal justice reform movement today. (★★★★★)
Started: Jul 04 2020 Finished: Aug 23 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I was looking forward reading this story because I loved previous books by this author. I was not disappointed!
I would describe it as a hard science fiction piece, but with interesting characters. My reaction to the story was similar to Rendezvous with Rama: the science in both books is solid and wonder inspiring. This one though is also interesting because of the characters, that have depth and fell real (this is not true with Clarke's book I have to say).
The story is set in a future in which, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the solar system instead transform themselves. Ariadne is one such explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does. Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their mission: to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home.
I really hope the author will expand this into a full book or write a sequel. Another amazing piece of work for this year Hugo awards. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 08 2020 Finished: Aug 11 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I had just read and loved a short story by the same author ("Do Not Look Back, My Lion"), and I was looking forward it.
This is a fantasy portal story, that is usually not my cup of tea. Despite that, I really enjoyed the book and its subversion of the misogynistic and xenophobic tropes and themes that used to be associated with the genre.
This is the story of January Scaller, a girl with an uncommon in-between-ethnicities skin tone, living in a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own. (★★★★)
Started: Jul 24 2020 Finished: Aug 08 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I was quite eager to read it, because a lot of people told me how much they loved it. I was expecting to be disappointed after setting my expectations too high, instead I REALLY LOVED it. What an incredibly fast paced, entertaining, impossible to put down book. It kept me up really late more than one night in a row because I had to see what was going to happen.
The book is set in a world were space travel is possible, and (some) people has conquered death and become the amortal Emperor and his saints. The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and cannot wait to leave the planet were she grew up. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead...
This is definitely a strongly recommended read and most likely winners of this year Hugo award. (★★★★★)
Started: Jul 07 2020 Finished: Jul 24 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I was quite eager to read it, because I have been a big fan of Charlie Jane Anders since I read her incredible short story Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue.
This story is set in the future, when humanity had to escape Earth after destroying it, and ends up on a tidally-locked planet that they name January. Humanity clings to life on a planet divided between permanently frozen darkness on one side, and blazing endless sunshine on the other. Two cities, built long ago in the meager temperate zone, serve as the last bastions of civilization, but life inside them is just as dangerous as the uninhabitable wastelands outside. Sophie, a young student from the wrong side of Xiosphant city, is exiled into the dark after being part of a failed revolution. But she survives with the help of a mysterious savior from beneath the ice. Burdened with a dangerous, painful secret, Sophie and her ragtag group of exiles face the ultimate challenge and they are running out of time.
Another great finalist to this year Hugo Award. It will be really hard to pick the winner. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 21 2020 Finished: Jul 06 2020

My review: I have never been attracted by autobiographies. This is why I had not picked this book up before despite the raving reviews. Eventually a friend convinced me to give it a try... and I am glad I did. I knew relatively little of the former First lady. I knew and admired her for being an embodiment of the American dream, as a somebody that worked hard and despite her relatively humble origins got a Harvard degree and an impressive career. I knew she was smart and down to Earth. This book really provided a more rounded picture. I loved it.
In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America, the first African American to serve in that role, she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare. In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her, from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it, in her own words and on her own terms. Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations, and whose story inspires us to do the same. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 07 2020 Finished: Jul 04 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category.
I am usually not into the military science fiction subgenre, and I had really low expectations going in, but I was quite blown away by the book. I was expecting something full of action, but with not so much depth. Instead it has tons of action AND depth.
The book is set in a future where corporations have taken more and more the role of States over time during a time of conflict. Soldiers can now be broken down into light in order to get them to the front lines on Mars. The main character believes in the cause of the war and enlists to fight.and to be counted among the heroes who give all a better world.
The Light Brigade is what soldiers fighting the war against Mars call the ones who come back… different. Grunts in the corporate corps get busted down into light to travel to and from interplanetary battlefronts. Everyone is changed by what the corps must do in order to break them down into light. Those who survive learn to stick to the mission brief, no matter what actually happens during combat. Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don't sync up with the platoon's. And Dietz's bad drops tell a story of the war that's not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on. Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness? Trying to untangle memory from mission brief and survive with sanity intact, Dietz is ready to become a hero or maybe a villain; in war it's hard to tell the difference. A worthy successor to classic stories like The Forever War, this book describes a chilling future that we are already moving towards. This is one of my favorite books of the year. (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 14 2020 Finished: Jun 21 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novela category.
The origin of this story is very interesting: it is an adaptation of a (Hugo nominated!) song produced by the rap group Clipping for the This American Life episode "We Are In The Future". The adaptation extend and revisit the original relatively thin plot, and expands it. The result is remarkably good.
In the deep the water breathing descendants of African slave women tossed overboard have built their own underwater society and must reclaim the memories of their past to shape their future. Yetu holds the memories for her people who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one, the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu. Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities, and discovers a world her people left behind long ago. Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past. and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they'll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity, and own who they really are.
(★★★★)
Started: Jun 08 2020 Finished: Jun 13 2020

My review: 日本語を勉強しますから、いい友達のチエリーさんは　この本を　くれました。本は　とても　かわいいですよ！チエリーさん、ありがとうございました！ (★★★★)
Started: Apr 18 2020 Finished: Jun 08 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novela category. A lot of friends had read and loved this book so I was looking forward reading it. I was not disappointed.
This is the story of two time traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters... and falling in love. What began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war. That's how war works.
This is definitely a strong contender for the award!
(★★★★)
Started: Jun 07 2020 Finished: Jun 07 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novela category. I previously read and loved A Dead Djinn in Cairo, and I was looking forward reading this book, that returns to the same alternate history Cairo, where humans live and work alongside otherworldly beings.
This is the story of Hamed al-Nasr, senior agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities handles the issues that can arise between the magical and the mundane. Agent Hamed shows his new partner Agent Onsi the ropes of investigation when they are called to subdue a dangerous, possessed tram car. What starts off as a simple matter of exorcism, however, becomes more complicated as the origins of the demon inside are revealed.
I really enjoyed it, and I hope to get to read more books by this author set in the same world in the future. (★★★★)
Started: May 25 2020 Finished: May 31 2020

My review: What a beautifully intriguing and entertaining alternative history novelette!
The story is set in a 1912 Cairo (Egypt) where somebody has perforated the wall between our world, and the supernatural one, opening the gates for djinns and angels to enter in our reality. The Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine. What starts off as an odd suicide case for Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha'arawi leads her through the city's underbelly as she encounters rampaging ghouls, saucy assassins, clockwork angels, and plot that could unravel time itself. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): May 22 2020 Finished (first time): May 25 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I am a big fan of N.K. Jemisin, and I was looking forward reading this story. I was not disappointed, this is probably the strongest contender to the award in this category.
The story is set in our future, after we are done exploiting our planet beyond what it can sustain, and some lucky few are able to escape its slow agonizing death. An explorer returns to Sol, the home planet, to gather information from a climate ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet's finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out eons ago. After all this time, there's no telling how they've devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.
The story is a great example of how message fiction can work and be remarkably good. And I love how despite so much destruction, green, and death, the book is so full of hope.

Merged review:

Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I am a big fan of N.K. Jemisin, and I was looking forward reading this story. I was not disappointed, this is probably the strongest contender to the award in this category.
The story is set in our future, after we are done exploiting our planet beyond what it can sustain, and some lucky few are able to escape its slow agonizing death. An explorer returns to Sol, the home planet, to gather information from a climate ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet's finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out eons ago. After all this time, there's no telling how they've devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.
The story is a great example of how message fiction can work and be remarkably good. And I love how despite so much destruction, green, and death, the book is so full of hope. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): May 21 2020 Finished (first time): May 21 2020

My review: This review is for The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye by Sarah Pinsker.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category.
The story follows Zanna, a famous mystery writer who is renting a remote cabin to work on her next mystery novel and her assistant Shar that is staying nearby. The next morning, the fuses blow and Zanna decides to go looking for the cabin owner to ask for repairs, and finds him dead. He has apparently fallen and hit his head on a rock. She calls 911 and Shar that quickly show up to see what's going on. While the police work, Zanna's mystery writer's brain goes over the clues and determines that something is off...
Sarah Pinsker is an excellent writer, and it is always a pleasure to read her work. This novelette is quite good, even if I confess the ending was not as satisfying as I would have liked. (★★★★)
Started: May 17 2020 Finished: May 20 2020

My review: This review is for The Archronology of Love by Caroline M Yoachim.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category and is, in my opinion, one of the strongest contender to the title.
Dr. Saki Jones arrives at the colony planet New Mars to find that a mysterious plague has destroyed everyone who lived there, including her lifelove, M.J. To find out what happened, Saki must dig through the Chronicle, a recording of the time that was, through layers of time, slowly revealing the past. The result is a bittersweet story of aliens and human exploration; mystery and memory; and, of course, love. (★★★★)
Started: May 14 2020 Finished: May 16 2020

My review: I am fond of the Star Wars fictional universe: I have a nostalgic attachment to it, and despite some drops in quality along the way (e.g. The Phantom Menace), recent installments like Rogue One, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi were even better than the original series. Because of this fondness, I started reading some of Star Wars books during my commute. The quality is not always great, but they are usually at least enjoyable.
This one is a little of a mixed bag. It is a collection of fables, myths, and folklore from world of Star Wars. Some are better than others. General Grievous's short story is the most remarkable one, giving an interesting glimpse of the prequel character. (★★)
Started: May 05 2020 Finished: May 14 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category.
This is the story of a cat, Jeoffry, living in the insane asylum. His human companion is Christopher Smart a nineteenth century poet that has been committed to St. Luke's Hospital for Lunatics. Smart believes God has commissioned him to write The Divine Poem. Unfortunately years earlier, he made a bargain with Satan and the devil has come to collect his due: a poem that will bring about the apocalypse. Jeoffry is the only hope left to save Smart's soul, and the rest of the world. Good thing that Jeoffry's is a demon fighting cat and a creature of cunning Satan would be a fool to underestimate...
Humorous and funny, this novelette is quite a joy to read. (★★★)
Started: May 11 2020 Finished: May 14 2020

My review: Lightspeed destroy was annual initiative focusing on the writings of traditionally underrepresented minorities. After three years focusing on women, LGBTIQ, and people of colour, lightspeed stopped the series. Soon after Uncanny magazine picked it up to cover differently abled authors. Disabled People Destroy Fantasy! special issue exists to relieve a brokenness in the genre that's been enabled time and time again by favoring certain voices and portrayals of particular characters. It brings forth a very diverse set of talented authors, some very well-established, and other very new from around the globe to present fantasy that explores the nuances of disability. Disabled People Destroy Fantasy! is 100% written and edited by disabled people. It features original, never-before-published short stories, plus classic reprints. It also includes an array of nonfiction articles, interviews, and personal essays from disabled people discussing their experiences as readers and writers of fantasy.
Before reading the entire issue, I had previously read "Away with the Wolves" by Sarah Gailey, a finalist of the 2020 hugo award for best novelette. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Dec 22 2022 Finished (first time): Dec 25 2022

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category.
The story falls in between multiple genres: horror, historical fiction, and urban fantasy. It is set in the South, during the horrors of slavery, before the civil war. A young girl, a slave in the South, is presented with a moment where she can grasp for freedom, for change, for life. She grabs it with both hands, fiercely and intensely, and the spirit world is shaken. Her act of violence to free herself has consequences well beyond this world.
This is a very well written and interesting story, one of the strongest contender to this year award.

Merged review:

Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category.
The story falls in between multiple genres: horror, historical fiction, and urban fantasy. It is set in the South, during the horrors of slavery, before the civil war. A young girl, a slave in the South, is presented with a moment where she can grasp for freedom, for change, for life. She grabs it with both hands, fiercely and intensely, and the spirit world is shaken. Her act of violence to free herself has consequences well beyond this world.
This is a very well written and interesting story, one of the strongest contender to this year award. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): May 08 2020 Finished (first time): May 09 2020

My review: This review is for Do Not Look Back, My Lion by Alix E. Harrow.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category and is, in my opinion, one of the strongest contender to the title.
Eefa is husband to one of her country's greatest, most celebrated warriors: Talaan, also known as the Lion. She performs all the domestic needs a soldier could have. Eefa raises their children, shines Talaan's armor, and keeps house for them. She is a safe haven when Talaan comes home from battle. Talaan, herself, is a fierce warrior. She bears the scars of battle, a mark beneath her eye for each and every victory. She has born many children, all of them vaunted warriors as well. The constant war and bloodshed ultimately becomes too much for Eefa. Her conscience pricks her, she cannot continue to support this endless bloodshed. She cannot support the taking of slaves, the killing of children. She cannot support Talaan bringing yet another child into this war. And so, she runs.
The blog Black Forest Basilisks adroitlydescribes Do Not Look Back, My Lion as a heart-wrenching tale of love and sacrifice. The author uses gender, title, and reader expectation to create a society that's both foreign and familiar. Husband has become a role divorced from gender, even as wife has remained a status limited to women. Women are not only the givers of life, but also the takers. Harrow explores motherhood, matriarchy, and gender through the lens of disability and nonconformity. Quite an incredible achievement. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★★)
Started: May 05 2020 Finished: May 07 2020

My review: Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category and is, in my opinion, one of the strongest contender to the title.
The story is set in a near future in the only country to have ever experienced the damage and the death of a weapon of mass destruction on their territory. The survivors decide to make the usage of those weapon harder in the future, requiring the president to kill a chosen child to unlock their use. The book is the story of Nyma, one of those chosen children, during a time of war.
The story is beautifully written and moving. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★★)
Started: May 07 2020 Finished: May 07 2020

My review: I am fond of the Star Wars fictional universe: I have a nostalgic attachment to it, and despite some drops in quality along the way (e.g. The Phantom Menace), recent installments like Rogue One, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi were even better than the original series. Because of this fondness, I started reading some of Star Wars books during my commute. The quality is not always great, but they are usually at least enjoyable.
I was quite curious about this book, since it was written by the same author that wrote Dread Nation, a book that has received rave reviews. It was a nice story, targeted at younger readers, entertaining, but not life changing.
The story follows Rey, Poe, and Rose as they get a distress plea goes up from the isolated planet Minfar. Together they end up facing down a First Order battalion, terrifying flying creatures, and a weapon that could change the course of the war... (★★★)
Started: Apr 25 2020 Finished: May 05 2020

My review: This review is for Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island by Nibedita Sen.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category.
Remarkable story, with a very interesting and deeply original storytelling style. The short story is a collection of quotes from various (fictional) scientific essays and letters. Each one provides a small little piece of the puzzle, and all together they form a very interesting story.
This is a solid piece of work that definitely belongs among the finalists. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★)
Started: May 02 2020 Finished: May 03 2020

My review: I had enjoyed the previous installment of the series, and i am loving the TV adaptation, so I decided to catch up a little (yah I know I am really behind). While the story had some huge plot holes at the beginning and while Holden is turning a little into a boring handsome-hero-no-one-can-resist, the book is definitely tons of fun to read. I will definitely read the next instalments!
At the end of the last book the alien gates had opened the way to thousands of habitable planets, and the land rush has begun since then. Settlers stream out from humanity's home planets in a vast, poorly controlled flood, landing on a new world. Among them, the Rocinante, haunted by the vast, posthuman network of the protomolecule as they investigate what destroyed the great intergalactic society that built the gates and the protomolecule. But Holden and his crew must also contend with the growing tensions between the settlers and the company which owns the official claim to the planet. Both sides will stop at nothing to defend what's theirs, but soon a terrible disease strikes and only Holden, with help from the ghostly Detective Miller, can find the cure. (★★★)
Started: Mar 21 2020 Finished: May 02 2020

My review: This review is for "A Catalog of Storms" by Fran Wilde.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category.
I definitely enjoyed the story, the world-building in particular was quite remarkable. It reminded me a little of Miyazaki's Nausicaa: both works share the post apocalyptic settings, and the nature turning into a source of mortal dangers theme.
It's a solid piece of work that definitely belongs among the finalists. (★★★)
Started: May 02 2020 Finished: May 02 2020

My review: What an incredible book! No wonder it won all those prices! I confess I was expecting a sappy love story, instead I got an incredibly nuanced story that focuses on immigration, bullying, and the PTSD of Vietnam War's soldiers. What a great story, I strongly recommend it to everyone.
This is the story of Aristotle and Dante. Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 09 2020 Finished: Apr 24 2020

My review: I enjoyed the books of the expanse series so far, and I was looking forward reading more of it. The Churn is set on Earth, in Baltimore, now a slum. Most citizens live on basic government assistance, but some have used criminal enterprise to rise above that level of existence. In the shady underbelly of organized crime, a young man named Timmy takes a job with a boss named Burton. He may have a future in the family, but he might not have what it takes to follow the most unpleasant of orders...
The Churn give a glimpse of what life on The Expanse's Earth is. A nice touch of word building and interesting back story. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 17 2020 Finished: Mar 20 2020

My review: Lightspeed is a very well-known science fiction and fantasy magazine. Even in science fiction, supposedly the genre of limitless possibility, where everyone is invited to the adventure, minorities are often underrepresented. Back in 2014 Lightspeed started the "destroy science fiction" series, a yearly program focusing on underrepresented minorities to give them a voice, and to see what they have to offer and to contribute to the genre. In 2014 they focused on sci-fi and women. While sci-fi is considered by many the more open of the literary genres, heterosexual men are considered the default, to the extent that everything else is "deviation," and must be eyed with suspicion. But all science fiction is real science fiction. Science fiction is vast, and incredible fascinating in all its facets. It is inclusive. Science fiction is about people, and women are part of the genre. They always have been. It could even be said that women invented science fiction; after all, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is considered by many to be the first science fiction novel. Yet some readers seem to have this funny idea that women don't, or can't, write science fiction. Some have even gone so far as to accuse women of destroying science fiction with their girl cooties. So to help prove how silly that notion is, Women Destroy Science Fiction! showcase the richness and variety of women science fiction writers contributions. The issue features original fiction by Seanan McGuire, Charlie Jane Anders, N.K. Jemisin, Carrie Vaughn, Maria Dahvana Headley, Amal El-Mohtar, and many more. All together there's more than 180,000 words of material, including: 11 original short stories, 15 original flash fiction stories, 4 short story reprints and a novella reprint, 7 nonfiction articles, and 28 personal essays by women about their experiences reading and writing science fiction. They are just sometimes harder to see.
This is a great and important initiative, a very enjoyable and interesting read. I am looking forward reading the next "destroy" issue! (★★★★★)
Started: Feb 07 2020 Finished: Mar 15 2020

My review: I am fond of the Star Wars fictional universe: I have a nostalgic attachment to it, and despite some drops in quality along the way (e.g. The Phantom Menace), recent installments like Rogue One, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi were even better than the original series. Because of this fondness, I started reading some of Star Wars books during my commute. The quality is not always great, but they are usually at least enjoyable.
I had previously read another Star Wars books by the same author (Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel) and I did not like it at all. Because of it, I was hesitant to read this one, that turned out to be quite enjoyable instead.
The book focuses on one of the most intriguing figures of the original trilogy: Moth Tarkin. Tarkin, the scion of an honorable and revered family, a dedicated soldier and distinguished legislator, is a loyal proponent of the Republic and trusted ally of the Jedi Order. Groomed by the ruthless politician and Sith Lord who would be Emperor, Governor Wilhuff Tarkin rises through the Imperial ranks, enforcing his authority ever more mercilessly... and zealously pursuing his destiny as the architect of absolute dominion.
Rule through the fear of force rather than force itself, he advises his Emperor. Under Tarkin's guidance, an ultimate weapon of unparalleled destruction moves ever closer to becoming a terrifying reality. When the so called Death Star is completed, Tarkin is confident that the galaxy's lingering pockets of Separatist rebellion will be brought to heel by intimidation . . . or annihilation.
Until then, however, insurgency remains a genuine threat. Escalating guerrilla attacks by resistance forces and newfound evidence of a growing Separatist conspiracy are an immediate danger the Empire must meet with swift and brutal action. And to bring down a band of elusive freedom fighters, the Emperor turns to his most formidable agents: Darth Vader, the fearsome new Sith enforcer as remorseless as he is mysterious; and Tarkin, whose tactical cunning and cold-blooded efficiency will pave the way for the Empire’s supremacy... and its enemies' extinction. (★★★)
Started: Feb 20 2020 Finished: Mar 15 2020

My review: I am fond of the Star Wars fictional universe: I have a nostalgic attachment to it, and despite some drops in quality along the way (e.g. The Phantom Menace), recent installments like Rogue One, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi were even better than the original series. Because of this fondness, I started reading some of Star Wars books during my commute. The quality is not always great, but they are usually at least enjoyable.
I had previously read and enjoyed other Star Wars books by the same author that I liked, including Black Spire that is the sequel of this book (I did not realize at the time it was not a stand alone book). I enjoyed it enough to decide to read the Phasma afterwards (even if Black Spire spoiled part of it). And what a treat! Phasma is one of the best Star Wars books I have read so far. It is not only entertaining, it also has a original narrative structure (two different narrative threads woven within each other, one set to the present, and one in the past, slowly converging in the final chapter).
One of the most cunning and merciless officers of the First Order, Captain Phasma commands the favor of her superiors, the respect of her peers, and the terror of her enemies. But for all her renown, Phasma remains as virtually unknown as the impassive expression on her gleaming chrome helmet. Now, an adversary is bent on unearthing her mysterious origins, and exposing a secret she guards as zealously and ruthlessly as she serves her masters.
(★★★★)
Started: Jan 31 2020 Finished: Feb 19 2020

My review: I have grown fond of the Penric and Desdemona series, and I particularly liked Nikys' story arc started in Penric’s Mission. I was looking forward reading this latest installment. The story is definitely entertaining, but not one of the best in the series. It was strange to realize how Penric has grown and aged from the first novella to the latest one... somehow making it feel more real.
In The orphans of Raspay Temple sorcerer Penric and his resident demon Desdemona are captured by Carpagamon island raiders while traveling by boat. They find their life complicated by two young orphans, Lencia and Seuka Corva, far from home and searching for their missing father. Pen and Des will need all their combined talents of mind and magic to unravel the mysteries of the sisters and escape from the pirate stronghold. (★★★)
Started: Feb 01 2020 Finished: Feb 06 2020

My review: This "review" is for two of the stories in this issue.
Helicopter Story by Isabel Fall.
I have a small group of friends that share similar taste in books. We often discuss books and once in a while, when one of us discover a great book, we share recommendations with each others. Last month one of them sent a link to this story, telling us how good it was. I was very busy with work and I could not jump on it right away, but one after the other, each friend that read it started commenting how good it was. I confess I initially recoiled when I saw the title (that employs a common transphobic meme), but I was reassured that the author actually own the meme and turned it on its head. This said a big controversy erupted around this story: some people read it as transphobic trolling, while other read it as an attempt to reclaim and own a transphobic meme on its head. It may sound strange, but I do see how people can perceive the same story in such opposite ways, since the author is subtle in messaging the moral of the story. I am really sorry that after working so hard, the author ended up requesting the story to be unpublished, and I am really sorry that people got hurt by the discussion around this story. I hope the controversy did not scared her away from writing, because Isabel is incredibly talented, and I really hope to read more from her.
Monster by Naomi Kritzer
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I have read some short fiction by this author before, and I was looking forward reading this story.
The story is told via alternating timelines: the "present", where a scientist devoted to genetics is traveling to China on a mission to locate a childhood friend, and (via flashbacks) a near past, when the narrator and her friends met and grow together. I do not want to say more to avoid spoiling the story.
I will say though, that it is tremendously enjoyable, and one of my favorites for the Hugo in this category for the year.
(★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): May 18 2021 Finished (first time): May 18 2021

My review: I read many good reviews of this book, and I have been wanting to read it for a while, and I was quite happy when my book club selected it. It was definitely different from what I expected, definitely groundbreaking in its unusual narrative style, but definitely a pleasure to read and very interesting.
The story unfolds in a graveyard over the course of a single night, narrated by a dazzling chorus of voices, Lincoln in the Bardo is a literary experience unlike any other. It's February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln's beloved eleven year old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. "My poor boy, he was too good for this earth", the president says at the time. "God has called him home". Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returned to the crypt several times alone to hold his boy's body. From that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a thrilling, supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself in a strange purgatory, where ghosts mingle, gripe, commiserate, quarrel, and enact bizarre acts of penance. Within this transitional state (called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo) a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie's soul. Lincoln in the Bardo is an astonishing feat of imagination and a bold step forward from one of the most important and influential writers of his generation. Formally daring, generous in spirit, deeply concerned with matters of the heart, it is a testament to fiction's ability to speak honestly and powerfully to the things that really matter to us. Saunders has invented a thrilling new form that deploys a kaleidoscopic, theatrical panorama of voices, living and dead, historical and invented, to ask a timeless, profound question: How do we live and love when we know that everything we love must end? (★★★★)
Started: Jan 21 2020 Finished: Jan 31 2020

My review: I am apparently one of the few computer scientist / math and science enthusiast that had not heard of this book before. My book club was reading it, and I was expecting a quite boring treatise on cryptography. Cryptography is a field that I enjoyed as a kid and then as a formal field of study in college, but I expected a quite heavy textbook like tome... how I was wrong! This is a (surprisingly) very entertaining and hard to put down book, explaining the role of cryptography in history and explaining the most complex and convoluted ciphers in a easy to understand way. I am glad to have read it, and I am considering looking into the other books by this author.
In this book Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption, tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes have had on wars, nations, and individual lives. From Mary, Queen of Scots, trapped by her own code, to the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the Allies win World War II, to the incredible (and incredibly simple) logistical breakthrough that made Internet commerce secure, The Code Book tells the story of the most powerful intellectual weapon ever known: secrecy. Throughout the text are clear technical and mathematical explanations, and portraits of the remarkable personalities who wrote and broke the world’s most difficult codes. Accessible, compelling, and remarkably far-reaching, this book will forever alter your view of history and what drives it. (★★★★)
Started: Jan 14 2020 Finished: Jan 30 2020

My review: I am fond of the Star Wars fictional universe: I have a nostalgic attachment to it, and despite some drops in quality along the way (e.g. The Phantom Menace), recent installments like Rogue One, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi were even better than the original series. Because of this fondness, I started reading some of Star Wars books during my commute. The quality is not always that great, but they are almost always enjoyable.
I had previously read and enjoyed another Star Wars book by the same author (The Perfect Weapon), hence I was looking forward reading this one. I was not disappointed, I just wished it was made clear to me that this is a sequel of Phasma: I would have loved to have read that book before.
This book is set after the Last Jedi: after devastating losses at the hands of the First Order, General Leia Organa has dispatched her agents across the galaxy in search of allies, sanctuary, and firepower and her top spy, Vi Moradi, may have just found all three, on a secluded world at the galaxy's edge. A planet of lush forests, precarious mountains, and towering, petrified trees, Batuu is on the furthest possible frontier of the galactic map, the last settled world before the mysterious expanse of Wild Space. The rogues, smugglers, and adventurers who eke out a living on the largest settlement on the planet, Black Spire Outpost, are here to avoid prying eyes and unnecessary complications. Vi, a Resistance spy on the run from the First Order, is hardly a welcome guest. And when a shuttle full of stormtroopers lands in her wake, determined to root her out, she has no idea where to find help. To survive, Vi will have to seek out the good-hearted heroes hiding in a world that redefines scum and villainy. With the help of a traitorous trooper and her acerbic droid, she begins to gather a colorful band of outcasts and misfits, and embarks on a mission to spark the fire of resistance on Batuu... before the First Order snuffs it out entirely. (★★★★)
Started: Dec 15 2019 Finished: Jan 20 2020

My review: Ellen Klages is the author of one of my favorite books, Passing Strange, so I was quite excited to learn she was going to speak at a local bookstore. It was very fascinating to learn about all the historical research the author did to write the book. While there I decided to also buy another one of her book with similar historical grounding. I finally got to read it... and what a treat it was!
The book is set in 1943. An eleven-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is en route to New Mexico to live with her mathematician father. Soon she arrives at a town that, officially, doesn't exist. It is called Los Alamos, and it is abuzz with activity, as scientists and mathematicians from all over America and Europe work on the biggest secret of all... "the gadget." None of them, not J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project; not the mathematicians and scientists; and least of all, Dewey, know how much "the gadget" is about to change their lives.
A fascinating YA novel exploring the life of the young kids living in the Los Alamos secret facility where the Nuclear Bomb was invented. (★★★★)
Started: Dec 30 2019 Finished: Jan 14 2020