I Want to go to a Stanley Tucci Dinner Party!

 

    I enjoyed Lindsay Ellis's book, Axiom's End, so much that I eagerly dove into the second in her Noumena series, Truth of the Divine. Unfortunately, it was not as good. It was ambitious. She contends with the idea of what makes a "person" in a thoughtful way, making me seriously consider should Outerspace aliens be given full rights as humans. Is there some kind of real-world application that Ellis is pointing towards?

Digression: Science fiction, at its best, can address cultural, moral, and ethical issues that are difficult to see because we are invested in our own tribe. I remember watching an original Star Trek series episode where the Enterprise crew is caught up in the conflict of two black and white aliens fighting to the death. They looked similar, but one was black on the right side, and the other was black on the left. ("Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," Star Trek, Season 3, Episode 15) I remember thinking, who would fight over something so silly?

 Truth of the Divine also addressed post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in ways that felt oppressive. Perhaps the writing was so realistic I internalized Cora's pain? The book was long--I think over-long--and dark. I don't regret reading it and will probably read the third book in the series. Ellis has created engaging characters and an odd, contorted plotline that has me curious about the ending. How is it going to land? 

    I wanted something lighter after Truth of the Divine and Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci was perfect. It is a memoir that made me hungry and wish my parents were Italian. I listened to the audiobook read by Tucci, and now I'm his secret BFFs. So I watched his movie--at his recommendation--The Big Night.  It has many big names: Tony Shaloub, Isabella Rosselini, Minnie Driver, Ian Holm, and more. I enjoyed playing one of my favorite games of what-else-have-I-seen-you-in that drives Dear Husband crazy. I found it on Amazon and gladly paid $3.99 to watch it. 

You're welcome, Stanley. 

Tucci is married to Felicity Blunt, Emily Blunt's sister. They met at the Krasinski/Blunt wedding and were married at George Cluney's Italian estate. He is good friends with Ryan Reynolds.  Many recipes, stories, and cocktails make the book both mouthwatering and jaw-dropping.

I found the book fun and crisply written. It was delicious. 🍝 

I am Confused by What I'm Reading

This week I read a book by William Kent Krueger. I have read another book by him, This Tender Land, and I considered it excellent literary fiction. I thought that's what Krueger writes. This made Northwest Angle puzzling to me. I kept thinking, this is reading like a murder mystery of an extremely unlucky family. Several family members had died violently before this book even started. I was surprised to find out Krueger also has a mystery series centered around Cork O'Connor. In this book, he is a retired sheriff. I started reading at book eleven, and now everything is ruined. I might go back and start at the beginning because Krueger writes exciting, twisty plots with distinctive characters. Though I have to brag that I guessed an evil perpetrator. This is rare.

Also, Beloved Husband is a geography nerd. When I told him about the book title, I had to, got to watch several Youtube videos about this geographic oddity. watch

 

Beloved Husband gave me Axiom's End for Christmas. He knows I love sci-fi, and this book did not disappoint. It is a first contact story about alien refugees hiding on Earth from a hostile faction. It is clever in its tackling of the linguist problem and colliding cultures. I found myself admiring how Lindsay Ellis kept driving the plot with excellent turns. Several times, I muttered, "Oh no! That's not good."

 It is part of a trilogy. The second one is out, and I'm reading it now. Stay tuned for updates.

I Love Good Reads and the Book: Everything Sad is Untrue

 Goodreads--an excellent app for book people--is where I keep track of what I've read. At the end of the year, they aggregate everything I've read into a list with stats. I enjoy looking it over and mildly evaluating what was worthwhile reading, and what what wasn't. Then, I pick my favorite book of the year. One year it was The Boys In the Boat by Daniel James Brown, and another year, it was When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. Both are excellent books, and both are memoirs. 

My favorite book of 2021 is also a memoir. It is a book about a young boy who flees a wealthy life in Iran with his mother and sister. They wash up in Oklahoma living hand to mouth. It is called Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri. It is poignant and notable. It talks a lot about poop. 🤓 It made me laugh at his adventures, while my heart squeezed painfully at his bewilderment and isolation. I think I liked it so much because it gave me insight to being a stranger in a strange land. That strange land is my country. 

This year I discovered Becky Chambers. She writes science fiction. Her strength is in imagination and character development. There are two reasons I wanted to read her book: 1) science fiction by a woman and 2) the title: A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1). 

Thank you 2021 for many good books and the time to read them!

Books I read this week: Foundation and Oh William!

   I read two very different books this week. The first was Foundation by Isaac Asimov. I read it because I watched the Apple TV series and liked it, but I was also puzzled by how all the parts fit together. I thought reading the book would help me. It did not.

    It was published in 1942. That explains why everyone smokes and women barely have a speaking role. After researching, I learned there is a Foundation trilogy. Maybe if I read all three, I'll understand? There are also a companion series, Empire, and several prequels. I don't know if I'm going to dive that deep. 

    The other book was also strangely loosely part of a trilogy. It is Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout. I find Strout to be a writer whose power and pathos sneaks up on me. It feels the story she's telling is small and intimate--the relationship between an ex-husband, William, and his wife, Lucy Barton--but there is a larger question about how adult children understand their parents, and can we know one another, and are we all selfish and mean? It made me want to rethink my life--briefly.  😇