Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have come to the realization that what I enjoy in this series is similar to what I enjoy in Anne Leckie’s Imperial Radch series - I enjoy the formality of the systems that govern the main character’s lives. I wouldn’t want to live in such a rigid society, but I enjoy how the authors play with the difference in how we would respond to the situation vs these protagonists who are bound by their society and not as free as we are to choose their actions.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was not familiar with the original ( The Island of Doctor Moreau Illustrated), but my wife tells me the plot is fairly similar (based on her recollection of the Marlon Brando movie). What we get out of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s retelling is a recontextualization that explains a bit more about the intersection of capitalism and Dr. Moreau’s research. The doctor needs funding for what we would today call genetic engineering as well as for his living expenses since he wants to dedicate himself to his research. Moreno-Garcia places the story in the late 1800s in Mexico when Mayans were rebelling against the indentured servitude ( and in some cases outright slavery ) they had been subject to since The Conquest. So the doctor is able to get money for his hybrid research on the promise that he will provide workers that are even better than humans (for their animal traits) and which do not have any rights whatsoever for being animals. For, while the 1800s does have “science” behind the idea of the white race being superior, there is still some call for ending slavery for non-Whites still being humans (even if lesser humans).

For the past 9 years I’ve been using a Garmin watch while swimming. Back then I had a swim-focused watch, now I have a multi-sport watch. Most days the biggest benefits are the fact that I can pre-load a workout (so that I don’t need to print one out or keep my phone nearby (while keeping it safe from water) and the fact that it counts my laps for me. As I wrote 9 years ago, by releasing my brain from keeping track of laps, I can better focus on my technique.

American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza by Peter Reinhart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a cookbook this one is fascinating. It will not be a huge surprise to those who have read Reinhart’s other bread books, but the first half of the book is entirely prose. Reinhart takes us on a journey through America to Italy and back as he explores the types of pizzas. This is not just self-indulgence and it doesn’t just help the reader believe that Reinhart knows what he’s talking about. It also serves to educate us on the origins of pizza and to understand that the pizzas we may have grown up eating are not the only way for pizza to be.

The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation by Cory Doctorow

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a good book that I want everyone to read so they understand why the tech is so broken right now. At the same time I think it’s hampered by the very forces it talks about. That is to say, unlike a protagonist from a Doctorow fiction novel, there isn’t any form of civil disobedience offered within the book. Instead, it depends on a bunch of things that will never happen:

The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Year of Sanderson is over (book-wise anyway).

This book is the most Cosmere book of the year. Both Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter were basically standalone stories that happened to have Hoid in them. The ending of Tress is slightly inscrutable if you don’t know The Cosmere, but it mostly work. I’m pretty sure 99% of Yumi works without any knowledge of the Cosmere. This book, on the other hand, is comprehensible without Cosmere knowledge, but a lot of the main character’s thoughts and motivations won’t make any sense.

House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is Hickman at his most Hickman. There are repeated timelines, conspiracies, and a semi-non-linear story that goes out 1000 years from the time of the first book. It’s more sci-fi than a typical X-Men book. It’s also, almost 100% setup. Interestingly, I heard this is just phase 1/3 and Marvel hasn’t even begun phase 2 yet. (COVID and other stuff got in the way, I think)

Compulsory by Martha Wells

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Almost too short, it’s definitely microfiction. Murderbot is still Murderbot, but doesn’t get to shine with such a small word count.

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Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything by Kelly Weinersmith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A popular science book about emerging technologies. I’m not sure if it’s because Kelly Weinersmith is actually a scientist, but they do a good job probing potential downsides to each of the technologies. Zach provides cartoons (in the style of his Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal comic) and some humor in the explanations of the technologies.

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And so it appears we have finished the most recent Arc of the Dresden files. We tied together everything that has come before and just like the previously named book Changes this one changes a whole bunch. We’ve now left the world as it exists to us (the readers) to a new world that’s split off into its own timeline where there was a confrontation with supernatural creatures.