Looking for Your Next Book

At the end of each year I take a look back on the books that I’ve read and try to determine the best books I’ve read in each category and the best book I read during the year.  This is a best of those I’ve read and reviewed in 2021, not necessarily the best books published in 2021. While I read more than I was expecting or planning to read, I have been consciously reducing my reading load.  I'm trying to catch up on a backlog of ARCs as well as making more time for other, personal projects.  I hope to reduce my number of books read in 2022 as well. I have added a new 'best of' category this year ... best reprint or reissue.  This includes new translations of classic works or new compilations of older works (such as a graphic novel collection of older comics).  I noted that I read a few different reissues and new translations this past year and I can see that I have a few coming up in 2022 as well. *** Mysteries: I started with this category last year and I may ...

"The Lost Generation."  Following World War I a group of friends try to find some meaning in their lives as they hang out and party and drink in Europe.  I read and reviewed this book a little over five years ago, and I'll use a lot of that review here because my thoughts about this book haven't changed.  This was one of the first books I read in college that made me realize that the 'classics' weren't all dull because they sure seemed that way before I read this. In 2016 I had this to say: Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises is a novel of the 'Lost Generation' -- a generation that came of age during World War I. it is the story of a group of friends, British and American, who seem to have very few cares in the world other than one another. The men look to be as masculine as they can be, and the women flirtatious and non-committal. The main character, Jake Barnes, struggles with the loss of his manhood during the war, but harbors a passion for Lady ...

 Maria Vasquez prefers to be alone and currently has a dream job managing a lighthouse. It is the year 2717 and the Lighthouse is a supercomputer beacon that helps spaceships navigate through a turbulent area of space filled with wormholes. Maria oversees the lighthouse, along with her robot sidekick, Moses. When a ship arrives unexpectedly Maria is quickly on edge - and rightfully so.  A pirate ship has arrived and they hijack the lighthouse station. Fortunately, Maria knows a few ways in and out of her space and is able to stay ahead of the pirates. But the pirates aren't there just to take control of the Lighthouse.  They are there awaiting the arrival of another ship which they plan to send in the wrong wormhole. But Maria's past comes back to haunt her when she is recognized by the pirates.  Her military history has a dark side which she would rather forget. I am not familiar with Jules Verne's The Lighthouse at the End of the World  but it's good bet it do...

 If someone were to create a movie rating between an 'R' and 'X' (like 'R-21'), then this graphic novel would fit perfectly in that category. When it comes to making bad decisions, no one does it better than Lauren Thomas. She is currently suffering from a broken heart (due to a bad decision, of course) when she encounters a succubus, Merryl. Merryl is currently disguised as a human but for whatever reason (I don't think we're told just why, yet), Lauren can see her for who she really is. This is a turn-on for Merryl. Lauren is given the opportunity to put aside her sorrow and forget about her break-up and instead get it on with the god of desire. A pretty easy choice for someone desperately in need of some loving.  The only problem ... 'the god of desire' title is claimed by two different gods and now Lauren is caught in the middle of an eros and thanatos feud. This book took me pleasantly by surprise.   First, the artwork is really just stunnin...

 From award-winning children's author Gary Paulsen comes his latest (and last?) book, Northwind . Leif is a young boy who has survived a cholera outbreak in his village but is now facing a bigger challenge - finding a way to survive as he lives in a canoe with water giants (Orcas and Humpbacks and Blue Whales) all around him. Leif can't help but question whether or not he can go on, or even if it's worth the effort. Meanwhile, the natural world around him comes more and more into focus, putting his role in the world into perspective. In an odd and sad bit of kismet, I was only a couple of chapters into reading this book (as an ARC) when Gary Paulsen passed away. While I felt a pervading sense of sadness throughout the book, I can't help but think I may have been projecting some of my own sadness at losing such an icon in the literary world. While book does have a lot of the Paulsen hallmarks (boy against the wilderness), whereas books like Hatchet and Dogsong (two of ...

In this prequel to the popular Cork O'Connor series, Cork is twelve years old and takes an active viewing role watching his father, Liam O'Connor, the local sheriff, navigate between two worlds (the white man and the Native community) after Cork discovers the body of a man, hanged in an abandoned logging camp. This is a really fascinating addition to the Cork O'Connor series. We get here one of Cork's first looks at what it means to be the sheriff in such a rural community, as well as what it means to walk and work among the white man while having some Native blood (did we know that about Cork?  I am not familiar enough with these books to know if this was commonly revealed before). The theme that runs through this book is "on the edge." It constantly feels as though something is about to break - tensions between the Native and white communities; tensions between individuals. As controlled and steady as Liam is (and he's a model of implacability) there is ...

 From PM Press's Outspoken Authors series comes Norman Spinrad's Raising Hell . The titular story (perhaps a novelette) is a humorous and biting commentary on the role of union's in the workplace. A union organizer is sent to hell where he first organizes a strike against the working conditions and pain enforced by the devil's demons.  Constant pain is constant pain, after all, and what can the demons do when everyone just refuses to do the endless, pointless work?  Inflict more pain? But after he successfully deals with the devil, he goes to work on the demons, suggesting that they could have better working conditions as well. The story is amusing and a quick read.  It definitely has a dated feel to it (1970's or early 1980's?) though I can't quite put my finger on why other than the idea that unions and union-busting was a topic of conversation (for me, anyway) at that time. (Interestingly, I can't find a date for when this story was written - not even...

J. P. Morgan was looking for someone to curate and oversee his the library he was building - a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork. He hired Belle de Costa Greene - a woman of Portuguese descent. She had all the knowledge necessary of the important rare works, and with Morgan's finances and support she became fierce competitor in the rare antiquities market, intimidated by no one (other than Mr. Morgan). But Belle had a secret.  She was not of Portuguese descent.  She was black.  A negro. And in the 1920's a black woman was not allowed to be so educated or rubbing elbows with the rich and famous (unless it was as a servant).  But Belle's light shade of skin allowed her to pass as a white woman. To do so, however, meant turning her back on who she really was, as well as constantly being wary of saying or doing the wrong thing or having someone uncover her secret. I am quite new to the world of historical fiction books, but I've really come to appreciate...

 The Emperor is dead and there is chaos and catastrophe everywhere. But petty criminals Fings, Myla, and Seth don't much care - the Emperor's never shown any interest them, and likewise, they've never had much interest in the Empire - other than what they could steel in order to stay alive. Good fortune comes to Fings, Myla, and Seth (members of the Unrulys) when the gang is commissioned to steal and unusual item. Unfortunately, that item puts them smack in the center of a battle for the throne and every side trying to lay claim to the Crown wants what the Unrulys have. Somehow, this group of people who have known nothing but mistrust and looking out for ones self must work together to stay alive. There's a bit of adventurous fantasy here, though nothing is particularly unique. Unwilling and unwitting hero protagonists. Thieves Thieves thrown into a fight for the throne. Rough characters who have to suddenly work together. Throwback to the middle ages world. And everyth...

 Ten year old Byron "Boon" Barnett is heading to the moon with his family and his robot, Jose Ignacio. Boon has a wild imagination and strong sense of adventure. He'll do just about anything to sneak out of his house, away from his parents, to explore. This is constantly putting him in danger, of course, and his parents are quite explicit with him about his behavior at Cosmopolis on the Moon. But Boon can't change who he is at heart and he gets into even worse trouble on the moon because he's often needing rescuing. But Boon's constant exploring may finally come in handy when everyone in Cosmopolis - everyone on the moon! - is facing a sudden death of an interstellar origin. It is thanks to Boon's exploration that not only will a small group manage to survive when their air tanks run out of oxygen, but the entire moon will be saved. This reminded me a lot of the old sci-fi/adventure books that I read as a middle schooler - books I was delighted to find in ...

In Pulaski, Tennessee, high school football star, Odell Champagne, has almost everything he wants - the adoration of an entire community, a series of "W's" in the score column for his high school football team, thanks to his running, and most of all, Brittany Crutcher, the talented voice behind Pulaski's most popular local band, as his girlfriend. But Brittany has been spotted by a talent scout who convinces her that she can live the life of a pop star if she moves out of Pulaski and heads to the city ... without her band and without Odell. She lets her bandmates know and she breaks up with Odell on the eve of his greatest high school football game. He doesn't take it well - especially after learning that she's been sleeping with her newly-acquired manager. But when Brittany is found dead and Odell is just yards away, clutching her sweater and the murder weapon, the town turns against its rising athletic star to mourn the loss of its talented vocal star. Odell...

 Sybil Ludington was a teenage Revolutionary War hero. Sometimes referred to as the "female Paul Revere." In Jenni L. Walsh's By the Light of Fireflies, we come to know Sybil's story in this Middle Grade/YA  historical fiction novel. When Sybil was a child, her father would tell her that fireflies were magical and would help her in a time of need if she called for them to help.  Sybil's father, Henry Ludington, is a Loyalist helping the Patriots spy on the British. As his workload grows, he enlists his daughters, Sybil and her sister Rebecca, to join him in his spy work.  They work deciphering code written in invisible ink. These messages have important information about British troops and their locations and plans. As the British step up their plans to take control of the Colonies, the Ludington work also picks up. One night, in the middle of the night, Henry asks his daughter to ride on her horse for 20-40 miles to warn the rural militias of impending British ac...

Nature writer, environmentalist, essayist, educator, conservationist, and former president of the National Parks Association, Sigurd F. Olson had a long career working in wilderness areas. For some, such as myself, he is best remembered for his gentle, thoughtful reflections of nature found in books like  Listening Point , The Singing Wilderness , or Runes of the North (among others). Editor David Backes has previously written a biography of Olson and put together a collection of Olson's notable quotes, but with this book we get our best, most intimate look at Sigurd F. Olson, the man, the dreamer. As I only know of Olson from his published books of nature reflection, what struck me here was how much he agonized over his desire to be a writer - to be able to quit his other work (primarily, early on, as a college teacher) and just be outdoors and writing. And when he wasn't waxing on about his desire to just focus on writing, he was wondering and worrying about what to write. I...

 When I was a kid my favorite books were Robert McCloskey's Homer Price books in which the young boy, Homer Price, "somehow gets involved in a series of outrageous incidents, such as tending an inexplicably unstoppable doughnut-making machine in his uncle's diner, or caring for mystery plants that turn out to be a giant form of allergy-inducing ragweed." (Source, Wikipedia.) Betsy Bird's Long Road to the Circus reminded me a lot of Homer Price. Suzy Bowles is a twelve-year-old girl in rural Michigan who desires to see the world but is stuck in Burr Oak.  The world comes to her, however, when first her uncle moves back to the farm but tends to skip out on the chores for mysterious reasons.  Suzy follows her uncle to discover that he's working for the legendary Madame Marantette and her flock of ostriches. Suzy becomes almost obsessed with the birds and takes a special liking to one named Guacho. Madame Marantette allows Suzy to help her uncle take care of t...

 Every time Zax Delatree falls asleep, he is taking a risk because every time Zax wakes up, he is in a new reality. He has no control over where he goes, and he has never been to the same world twice. He has to be prepared for anything - from wildly, technologically advanced worlds, to worlds of death and ruin, to worlds of idyllic nature - and he must survive by his wits and be ready to take sedatives to quickly advance to the next world, or stimulants to stay a little longer in a place that is comfortable. Only those items that are immediately on his person or clutched in his arms travel with him, and he has found that this can include people if they are unconscious when he falls asleep. He travelled with someone early on, but it has been some time since that had happened.  But when he meets Minna, a woman from a farming planet, he finds he has a new travelling partner. The constant battle of waking up in a new world and trying to ascertain as quickly as possible if it ...

 Lee Rogers is a governor, now running for a Senate seat. He has a history of infidelity. And like any politician who manages to be successful despite some checkered behavior he has a good political fixer working behind the scenes.  For Lee, that's Barton Brock. Brock is currently working hard on Rogers' campaign when the Senator runs into an old flame and her stunning 18 year old daughter who wants to get experience as a videographer and would also like to work on Rogers' campaign. Barton doesn't think it's a good idea, for some obvious reasons (it'll likely make his job much more difficult), but Rogers will get his way. Brock Barton will have his own interactions with a beautiful young woman when he meets Elizabeth deCarlo in a McDonald's and he takes her away from the fast food franchise as he suspects she's better suited to political machinations. A couple of double-crosses proves him correct. Things don't bode well for the women in this politica...

 The peaceful afternoon in the Boston Public Library by the terrified scream of a woman. Library security guards quickly work to contain the scene and have everyone currently in the library remain where they are. Four strangers at a library table strike up a conversation while they wait and they develop a strong friendship that will grow beyond the library. Each of them has a reason for being in the library the day that the woman was killed, and one of them is a killer. In a secondary story, the author of the story about the murder in the library sends each chapter of the book to a reader in Boston (Leo) who sends back comments and suggestions. Leo gets quite bold as time goes on and he begins to offer some inappropriate advice as well as actual crime scene photos from recent murders in the Boston area (to help the author with her authenticity). Leo's comments and suggestions are included in the second half of each chapter until it is evident that the author is concerned and has sh...

  Not too long ago I reviewed a different book in the Urban Sketching Handbook series and I was very impressed with it. I am equally impressed with this volume. Artist and author Katie Woodward focuses on light in this volume with an emphasis on 'portraying light effects' as the subtitle indicates. In her introduction, Woodward writes: The objective is to strengthen our observation skills and learn hot to translate those onto the page. While urban sketches absolutely do not have to be realistic (and it would be boring if all of them were!), this book is more geared towards realism as we try to understand what the light in front of us is doing. The book is liberally illustrated, mostly with urban sketches and often by Katie Woodward, giving example to the topic. There are a few "Observation Checklists" and I found these quite helpful. One of my favorite sections was on Reflected Light. Woodward writes: "Explore how much color and detail can be found in shadows!...

 Erich is a seventeen year old German sailor during WWII who is a prisoner of war in Canada, working in a logging camp in Northern Alberta. He's not a fan of Nazi Germany (his father forced him to enlist) and he speaks fluent English (taught to him by his English grandfather) and so his fellow prisoners don't trust him. But of course, neither do the Canadians in town. In fact some blame Erich (and the other prisoners) for the deaths of local boys fighting in the war. Max is a twelve year old boy living in a nearby town. Although born in Canada, Max is the son of German immigrants and faces hostile discrimination from the other students at his school. Thanks to a work release program, Erich is able to spend some time in town where he meets Max and the two become fast friends. Erich is protective of Max and wants to help him, especially when he hears of how much Max is being bullied, but as a prisoner of war, he's limited by what he can do. When there is trouble in the POW ca...

Lynette Tarkington is a final girl. In horror movies the 'final girl' is the one left standing. The one who fought back and defeated the killer who just brutally murdered everyone else in the film. The 'final girl' is the one people tend to forget about after the movie is over.  The madman, the killer, people remember. Lynette Tarkington is a final girl for real . Twenty-two years ago she survived a massacre and every day since then her life has been defined by this one event. By surviving. And she's not the only one. For many years now, Lynette has been joined by final girls Marilyn Torres, Adrienne Butler, Dani Shipman, Heather DeLuca, and Julia Campbell in Dr. Carol Elliott's Final Girl Support Group. Meeting for years, that is, until one of the girls missed a meeting. Lynette is sure that this is the first sign of more horror to come - that someone has found out about the support group and is going to take them down, one by one, until there is only a final, ...

Scarlett Josephine McCain, of unknown age (but probably somewhere between 15 and 18 years old) is wanted by the militias of twenty Surviving Towns. She has robbed banks across Wessex, Mercia, and Wales. She has prospected for gold in the Menai Hills; and she killed the outlaw Black Carl Nemaides.  To say that she is able to take of herself is putting it mildly. She doesn't need anyone else looking out for her and certainly she doesn't need to be responsible for anyone else. Enter Albert Browne. A young boy that Scarlett happened on in a bus crash and he was the only survivor. But surviving the crash was only the beginning. As dusk approaches the dangers increase - from wild animals to The Tainted - and Scarlett grudgingly allows Albert to tag along as she continues on her wayward journey. But Albert isn't an ordinary teen/pre-teen boy and the bus accident maybe wasn't an accident.  But could a quiet, unassuming boy have anything to do with it?  Scarlett and Albert becom...

It is the year 2000 and Los Angeles P.I. Mickey O'Rourke, 78 years old, thought he had seen and done it all in his very long career as a private investigator. He's planning to retire after this, the last case he plans to take. But this is one case that will really test his detective skills as heads to porn studios in the San Fernando Valley where an 18 year old porn starlet hires O'Rourke to look into the disappearance of her boyfriend ... porn's male mega-star, Jeffrey Strokes. His search will take him many places, including the dangerous streets of Compton, California. I don't want to say too much about this book because part of the enjoyment of a book like this is the journey and the reader should go in as fresh and open as possible. This is the second book in a series - at least a trilogy I'd guess, based on the cliff-hanger ending - but the only thing that made it seem like there was something before this book was the recognition of some of the characters t...

Yes, yes, yes! I recently read and reviewed a classic children's book ( Pinocchio ) and I was reminded of growing up reading the very familiar fairy tales of the brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson which had me thinking that we've done a disservice to some of the younger generations by Disnefying the classics and publishing so many new children's books every year. Of course every children's book author hopes theirs will become a future 'classic' - and some have, such as Jan Brett. But we really can't ignore what I consider to be the origins of children's stories.  And just as I am thinking that we've turned our collective backs on the classic fairy tales, we get this beautifully illustrated children's picture book. Right off the bat, I love the title for this book.  Adding the prepositional phrase "for brave children" is really perfect. If you've read many of the fairy tales (specifically Grimm's), you know that they can ...