A Psalm for the Wild-Built
Becky Chambers
Fiction, hardback, library book
“…every component has been recycled over and over and over again into infinitely incredible configurations, and sometimes, those configurations are special enough to be able to see the world around them. You and I — we’re just atoms that arranged themselves the right way, and we can understand that about ourselves. Is that not amazing?”
When Sibling Dex, a tea monk searching for a new purpose, enters the wilds of Panga, the last thing they expect to meet is a robot. It’s been centuries since the robots left, but now Mosscap has been sent as an envoy to “check in” and find the answer to its own question: What do people need?
The dedication of this book reads, For anyone who could use a break. And that’s exactly what this book is: a break from the noise, the hustle, the doom scrolling. The themes are big (What do people need? Does finding a purpose matter? What can we learn from others?), but the story feels small and warm, like a campfire in the wilderness. Both characters are a little lost, and it was sweet to see them help each other and become friends. My only wish was that the story could go on just a bit longer.
Give this a read if you, too, could use a break.
Cold People
Tom Rob Smith
Fiction, hardback, library book
“He wondered what kind of person could live in a land like this. It must be a different kind of people — a savage tribe, only a savage people could survive in such cold.”
August 6 is the beginning of the end for humanity as we know it. A species from the stars — advanced, uncompromising — gives the world’s people 30 days to congregate on Antarctica, the one place they will be allowed to live. Two decades later, deep under the ice, scientists are trying to find ways to help humans endure. But are they engineering salvation or destruction?
This made it to the 2023 Top 10 list on the Currently Reading Podcast and was a “green light” for The Popcast in early 2024. It’s not something that would usually be on my radar, but the setup sounded intriguing so I figured I’d give it a try. The book is well-written, the themes complex and well-explored, and reminded me a little of Seveneves, which our book club read several years ago and had a great discussion on. The trouble is, both books’ focus on the apocalypse and overwhelming hubris of man were so terrifying that I can’t say I enjoyed either one. Further evidence that in case of apocalypse, I’m okay with being taken out on day one.
Read this if you enjoy sci-fi, apocalypse/survivalism, and Seveneves.
The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I
Lindsey Fitzharris
Non-fiction, hardback, library book
“Bodies were battered, gouged, and hacked, but wounds to the face could be especially traumatic. Noses were blown off, jaws were shattered, tongues were torn out, and eyeballs were dislodged. In some cases, entire faces were obliterated.”
Humanity has likely always experienced conflict, but World War I unleashed horrors that were incomprehensible to previous generations. Around 23 million military personnel were wounded, many by new and devastating weapons that were designed to shatter and burn. The most sympathy and revulsion was saved for men whose faces were destroyed — losing what made them recognizable also meant losing a critical part of their humanity. It was surgeon Harold Gillies, plastic surgeon pioneer, who spent years painstakingly bringing that humanity back.
I cannot imagine the pain and fear experienced by those who endure war. Using the personal journals and letters of Gillies, his patients, and those around them, Fitzharris provides a heart-wrenching story of the impact of facial disfigurement and reconstruction. The photos she includes are difficult to look at, but also so incredible — they showcase the monumental effort Gillies and his team put into their work, and I’m sure give the merest inkling of insight into what it took to make these men whole. A brutal but beautiful read.
Pick up a copy of The Facemaker if you enjoy medical history or biographies — and have a strong stomach.
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
Colin Woodard
Non-fiction, paperback
“It is fruitless to search for the characteristics of an ‘American’ identity, because each nation has its own notion of what being American should mean.”
I think that most people would agree that Americans are divided by more than just state lines. Liberal, conservative, pro-X or anti-Y, there’s always something to be at polar opposites about. What Colin Woodard proposes is that these differences run much deeper, and are impacted by the regions of the world from which each wave of colonists originated. In fact, he argues that the only thing that could make us “united” was a common enemy — and that that unity is growing ever more fragile.
America is a weird country held together by duct tape and stubbornness; Woodard goes back centuries to show how the people who came here influenced the development of 11 separate regions, and how those cultures may soon completely divide rather than unite us. Normally I love a history book, especially one that covers the history most of us don’t get in school. And while I recognize that part of the reason I didn’t enjoy it was because it heavily implies that my country is on the brink of tearing itself apart, mostly I didn’t like it because it felt repetitive and dull. I wish Woodard had gotten the historical context and its impacts out of the way faster and focused on more “active” information: how does that history impact us today, and what can we do to bridge those divides and make a better country for the future? He starts to tackle that more in the afterward, but I skimmed through the middle to get there and didn’t find much of value.
Try this if you like American history/context and don’t mind fairly intense negativity about the future of the United States.
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
Janice Hallett
Fiction, hardback
“You don’t need to be a charismatic individual to influence others. You just need to use the right words, at the right time, to show them certain things and hide others. They’ll do the rest all by themselves.”
Almost 20 years ago, the cult led by those who became known as the Alperton Angels came to a blood-soaked end in an abandoned warehouse — perhaps a fitting demise for anyone who would brainwash a 17-year into sacrificing her “Antichrist” newborn. Mother and child escaped the carnage and disappeared into the care system, never to be heard from again. True crime author Amanda Bailey is determined to unravel the mystery once and for all: Who were the Angels, where is the baby now, and what really happened that night in Alperton?
Hallett’s book is an excellent use of the mixed media writing style — email threads, interview transcripts, text conversations, and diary entries written between the main characters. And on top of that it’s a freaking great story, with sneaky hints that had me flipping back and forth trying to connect the dots. I ferreted out some secrets, but I could never have guessed where the ending would take me. My second 5-star read of the year, and one I’ll be thinking about for quite awhile.
Read this if you like twisty mysteries, don’t mind some gory bits, and so I have someone to talk with about it!
Glitter and Glue
Kelly Corrigan
Non-fiction, hardback, library book
“But now I see there’s no such thing as ‘a’ woman, ‘one’ woman. There are dozens inside every one of them. I probably should have figured this out sooner, but what child can see the women inside her mom, what with all the Motherness blocking out everything else?”
When Kelly leaves home to travel the world, the person she misses least is her mom. Their relationship isn’t adversarial, but her mother’s unending pragmatism and detached nature means it’s not exactly warm either. After running out of money several months later Kelly becomes a nanny for John Tanner, a recent widower with two children. As Kelly learns new routines and gets to know her charges, she begins reconsidering her relationship with the mother she’s never quite understood.
Isn’t it funny how a book can land in your lap at just the right time? Recently I’ve run into multiple reminders that the people who raise us (or the people “higher up,” in whatever sense that can mean) are…well, people. They’re interesting, flawed, and have many more facets than the one or two we see from our perspective. It’s possible that moms deal with this the most — even when their children grow up, it can be hard for them to shift to thinking of their mother as a three-dimensional being. Glitter and Glue is a lovely examination of this challenging and nuanced topic.
Give this a try if you like memoirs, and maybe recommend it to your mom.
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Brandon Sanderson
Fiction, audiobook, book club
“Heroism is often the seemingly spontaneous result of a lifetime of preparation.”
Life on an island in the middle of a sea made of man-killing spores is less exciting than you’d think — especially for Tress, who spends her days washing windows and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. It’s not an easy life, but it’s the only one Tress will get…or so she thinks. When Charlie is taken captive by an evil Sorceress, it’s up to Tress to stow away on a ship and convince its pirate owners to traverse the Midnight Sea on a daring rescue mission.
This was our book club read for May, and I am here. for. it. Strong heroine, intriguing world, plenty of swashbuckling, and an interesting “magic” system. I was nervous at first because the first chapters give off definite YA vibes, but things started feeling better once Tress was out at sea. My only quibble was with the choice of narrator. If you know about The Cosmere it makes sense, but I haven’t reach much in that world — it took getting extra info from the book club’s biggest Sanderson fan for me to understand, and even then it still seemed a little odd. I’m sure I missed additional references to other Sanderson characters/worlds, but the story was still enjoyable as a standalone.
Pick this up if you like a classic fantasy adventure novel with a dash of whimsy.
Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Non-fiction, hardback, library book
“Your job is to bust your ass in pursuit of your vision—yours and nobody else’s—and to embrace the failure that is bound to come.”
After successful careers in bodybuilding, acting, and politics, as well as his share of personal and professional scandals, Arnold Schwarzenegger is re-emerging as a thought leader and motivational speaker. Be Useful is a distillation of his best advice on envisioning, pursuing, and reaching success.
I probably wouldn’t have picked up this book if I hadn’t first heard Schwarzenegger discuss it in a January 2024 episode of the Daily Stoic podcast. And weirdly enough, I think I’d rather hear this particular author speak or be interviewed — the book was fine, but didn’t contain any advice I haven’t heard from others. It’s not bad advice (in fact it’s all great stuff), but the book had to be so simplified to cover it all that it didn’t hold my interest as much as listening to interviews/Q&As does.
Read this if you’re looking for bite-sized inspiration, but I encourage you to check out interviews with Schwarzenegger to get the info in a more engaging way.
The Library of the Dead
T.L. Huchu
Fiction, hardback, library book
“Most people don’t know what this feels like. This gift, thus curse, to see what shouldn’t be seen. Some days I find myself asking if it ain’t all just an illusion and I’m really a straight-up loony.”
15-year-old Ropa is a ghostalker, someone who carries messages between the living and the dead. Not an exciting job once you get used to it, but it puts enough cash in her pocket to (almost) pay rent on the caravan she shares with her grandmother and sister. But things get interesting when the local ghosts start talking about children going missing, and when Ropa discovers the existence of a secret library underneath the streets of Edinburgh. Dark forces are astir in the city, and it’s up to Ropa to unravel the mystery — before it’s too late for them all.
This was quite the book to end the month on, especially because it’s the first in a series that clearly goes deeper than the first novel is able to get into. I enjoyed the worldbuilding, but found the plot predictable and the main character a little grating. The whole thing didn’t quite gel for me, but the adventure got me to the last page.
Reach for this if you like your YA adventurous and a little dark.
Photo by Mélanie THESE on Unsplash
