Stretch's reading in 2022

Completed in 2022:

Fiction:

Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky
Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony
The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernadez
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
The Remainder by Alia Trabuco Zeran
Slender Man by Anyomous
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon
FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
Severance by La Ming
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Rage by Richard Bachman
The Test by Sylvain Neuvel
Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki
Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha
Hide by Kiersten White
Horrorama by C.V. Hunt
There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura
Death Sentences by Chiaka Kawamata
The Collective by Alison Gaylin
LaserWriter II by Tamara Shopsin
Elegy for Kosovo by Ismail Kadare
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
Little Dead Red by Mercedes M. Yardley
Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke
Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley
Administrator by Taku Mayumura
Only the Stains Remain by Ross Jeffery
Going Down Hard by Ali Seay
Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Onda Riku
Dear Laura by Gemma Armor
Camp Neverland by Lisa Quigley

Non-Fiction:

Citizen by Claudia Rankine
Red Earth, White Lies by Vine Deloria Jr.
Evolution, Creationism, and Other Modern Myths by Vine Deloria Jr.
Cultish by Amanda Montpellier
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
Flat Earth and Hollow Earth Theories
Off the Edge by Kelly Weill
Travels with Trilobites by Andy Secher
The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson
Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche by Haruki Murakami
Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya
Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas by Jennifer Raff
Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag
Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
Living with Darwin by Philip Kitcher
150 Exquiste Horror Books by Alessandro Manzetti

Graphic Novels:

Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito
The Summit of the Gods by Baku Yumemakura
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Volume 1 by Eiji Otsuka
The Summit of the Gods Volume 2 by Baku Yumemakura
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Volume 2 by Eiji Otsuka
Giant Killing Vol. 1 by Masaya Tsunamoto

Short Stories/Essays/Plays:

Birth of the Ants Right Movement by Annalee Newitz
Drones to Ploughshares by Sarah Gailey
Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinkser
Galatea by Madeline Miller
The Last Library by Brian Trent
A Spider's Thread by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty
A Model Dog by John Scalzi
An Election by John Scalzi
The President's Brian is Missing by John Scalzi
The Tattooist by Junichiro Tanizaki
Absit by Angelica Gordischer

---

The Incentive plan to add/maintain women and diversity at the forefront when making reading choices.

Points can be stacked now, so not all books are treated equal. And this now includes nonfiction titles.

3 points for books by women 
2 points for an author from a background I don't share and for Japanese books, so I don't punish my Japanese reading too much
1.5 points for a translated work 
0.5 points for book outside the US or UK to catch the diaspora
1-ish point for 1% off the TBR

-5 points for a book by a man

Punishment = 1 km run for each point below zero

---

My hopefully easy plan reading challenge for the year:



It's a great podcast that is weighing down my TBR.

Well, I would have 46.5 km to run. (Cool picture, by the way)

>2 dchaikin: That's only 2.5 miles over a marathon. Your plans are tight but you could easily squezze that down to just 1 marathon (sounds better when you move the unit measurement to a concept rather than acutal distance)

Welcome back, Kevin. The image in >1 stretch: does bring up several issues. How does he see what he's reading, nonetheless retain information about it? I'm also concerned what will happen to the coffee after he drinks it, along with his dress shirt.

>4 kidzdoc: Huh, I didn’t think of any of that! Where has my brain gone, these are normally my exact questions.

I don’t even like coffee.

Now that I’ve seen it, I can’t unsee it. Stanley must go. I named him Stanley, I don’t think he originally had a name. In his stead please accept a misty sunset over some unnamed mountain in Appalachia.

I love your incentive program, Kevin. May you be a couch potato in the coming year. Um, wait, that doesn't sound right. May you saunter through life? Here's hoping your running shoes wither and melt away? Happy Reading!

May you read just enough books by men to keep in good cardio shape and the rest earn you time to put your feet up?

>6 labfs39: and >7 lisapeet: few kms whether I run/walk/pace them isn't too bad a price to pay. Could always use a bit of excercise.

>7 lisapeet: lol

Awe, I liked your weird reading guy. I completed two more books before today (well, before tomorrow). Both authors were women, so I'm down to 40.5 km, below a marathon.

>9 dchaikin: Stanley was a good weird reading guy. He's still lurking in the post, just with broken tags so who knows he might make a come back.

It's much more manageable now. It's kind of my nightmare to get so far from field that a marathon becomes an actual possibility. I shutter to think of the training that'd be needed.

Happy New Year! I've got FOMO now on the weird reading guy - I missed him.

Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito
Translated by Jocelyne Allen

Fragments of Horror is a manga for horror short stories, and boy are they weird. Full of cosmic and body horror, Ito's stories are of the peculiar, surreal sort. And man are they creepy and so fun. On their face, none of the setups make sense, and they only devolve into some of the most surreal, otherworldly concepts. Ito borrows heavily from western horror stories but puts a very Japanese spin on the tales and then adds images that will forever be burned into my head. I loved every twist and turn of these stories. Can't wait to get to more Ito.

This was my first Japanese style manga. The left to right reading pattern threw my brain in the bin. I think I had to start every other page over because I keep defaulting to a western order. Hope it is something I can adjust to as read more manga.

>12 stretch: Would you be willing to post your review on the CR Graphic Stories thread as our first example? One of the things we were discussing was genres in graphic stories, and this sounds like a great example.

>13 labfs39: Sure, and I did an Intro for Laura Redniss, that I hope Annie had in mind.

>14 stretch: Cool. Thanks. I'm looking forward to seeing how the thread develops.

>12 stretch: cool. I'm excited you might try Manga this year and what you might inspire.

>16 dchaikin: It makes too much sense for me to explore Manga, graphic novel + Japanese literature = wheel house. I've only ever read Barefoot Gen and this Ito, so a lot of room to explore. Manga though is an immense and complex category, finding a starting place is difficult with so much to choose from. There's a word for that, but I can't remember it.

Doing some addition by subtraction to the To Read Collection:

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
The Thefts of Nick Velvet By Edward D. Hoch
Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis
Zombie: A Novel by Joyce Carol Oates

Any of these I should keep around?

>17 stretch: that word, it's me too. I look a Manga sections and feel overwhelmed and move on.

>18 stretch: keep Ghost Wall.

>18 stretch: What Dan said: keep Ghost Wall.

>18 stretch: Definitely agree about keeping Ghost Wall.

>19 dchaikin:, >20 kidzdoc:, and >21 SandDune: Done, it was the most on the fence about so I'll keep it.

Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony

Enter the Aardvark is supposed to be political satire. Really it's a mashup of political clichés. Conservatives have a Regan fetish. Politicians lie, cheat, and steal. Politicians are massive hypocrites. Politicians are sleazy dirtbags. Politicians are corrupt. Etc. There's no nuisance here, nothing new. Telling in 2nd person is different and makes it edgy, but it fails to put you in the story. I guess some of the Aardvark and taxidermy trivia was interesting.

★★

Connective Tissue: A Confederacy of Dunces, Catch-22

>23 stretch: Interesting connection (or connective). I think your summary is enough for me.

>23 stretch: The title is catchy though

Happy New Year, Kevin!

Looking forward to your reading as always Stretch! I'm also hoping your thread will help inspire me to get back to reviewing my Japanese reads. I really need to get back on that. Also looking forward to your dipping of toes into the manga genre. Welcome to the club. Might I suggest Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths and The Summit of the Gods? The based on a true story behind both and the fact the first is a standalone, and the second, just a few volumes (three in Jpn, not sure how they split it in English though), might make this a good place to enter.

>26 karspeak: Happy New Year, Karen! And happy reading!

>27 lilisin: I certianly hope to get to my own pile Of Japanese books this year! I stacked up quite a few of all makes and models. So hopefully I find some great ones to add my growing list of favorites. I have read Onwards Towards our Noble Deaths a few years back and liked it quite a bit. Don't know why I forgot it when listing out manga I've read. I think becuase it reminds me of a movie I saw once that the two things have blended together, I also had it tagged in graphic novels, while similar I think it'll help me seperate out the two mediums going forward. I'll check out the the Summit of the Gods, that one is not mentioned in the beginners guides but looks right up my alley and certainly something I think I can take on. Some of those series runing 25+ volumes is intimidating to a newbie like me, but also kind of fun when I find the right series.

>28 stretch:

See, that's the major problem I think which causes manga to be looked down upon, that is this made up separation between "graphic novels" and "manga". When in reality, all drawn media is called manga in Japanese as manga (漫画) literally means "drawn picture". American comics translated into Japanese until recently were also called manga. Just like Simpsons, and Sponge-bob, and Disney cartoons, are called anime. There's no actual distinction. I have typical manga series about heros with powers, and love soccer manga, but then I have one about a Jpn calligraphy artist moving to Okinawa to rediscover his craft (a great slice-of-life comedy, I love it), and I've read a standalone about a man mourning his mother's death. It's all manga. And there also so many different art styles within the medium. There is a great program on tv called man-ben (漫勉) where our host is a famous manga artist, and he interviews other manga artists and they spend the entire episode discussing the artist's style, technique, and they discuss the intricacies and difficulties in being a manga artist. It's all fascinating. As you say, though, it's all about finding the series you enjoy. Just like with any other medium.

>29 lilisin: I meant no disrespect, perhaps loose with my language. I consider all manga to be graphic novels, a term in of itself I kind of hate. They both stories told with the aid of illustrations to draw out emotions. My seperation of the two is purely for cataloging purposes, to keep a record of this particular reading journey.if anything it is more imprssive that so many of the writers are also the ilistrators, and that they can carry the story to so many installments. Until recently they were all tagged as graphic novels. It's a story telling medium with a tremendously wide potential that really run the gambit of genres and lengths. It's all a matter of looking for the ones that suit you best. There is a fascinating culture built around manga. It's an interesting world to delve into.

Also, I bought the first volume, The Summit of the Gods, couldn't find one locally but the UK sure has plenty of copies so sometime in 9 to 15 business days I'll be surprised. The more I read the synopsis, the more perfect it sounds. Also, that artwork is definitely a style I like.

>29 lilisin: thanks for this. Very interesting and maybe helpful to me.

>29 lilisin: When Annie created a thread to discuss these books, she called it Graphic Stories, trying to find a term broad enough to encompass everything from graphic novels to comics. The only manga I’ve read so far is Barefoot Gen, but hope to read more this year. Just checked out Spirited Away from the library today

Some random short stories:

Birth of the Ants Right Movement by Annalee Newitz -- A short chronicle about the discovery a species of ants the leave chemical glyphs as a form of communication. An alien first contact with a species evolved on Earth. Has some interesting ideas about the fall out of such a discovery, but leaves a lot of fleshing out to do.

Drones to Ploughshares by Sarah Gailey -- A sentient drone meant to enforce a totalitarian regime finds out that it is not only not alone, but that ir can choose the life it wants to live, not having to blindly follow programming. A decent story, pacing was a bit off.

Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pnkser -- A woman that constantly lies and makes up stories, thinks she makes up a creepy local childrens' TV show. When it turns out that the show is actually real, and she has blocked it from here memory does she begin to lose touch with her own reality, no longer to keeping the lies and truths straight in her own mind, gradually sinking into an unreality. Very good, arresting story.

>30 stretch: Oh, it's good to know The Summit of the Gods has been translated into English now! I started reading it in French while staying with a French friend but the trip was too short to read the whole thing.

Red Earth, White Lies and Evolution, Creationism, and Other Modern Myths by Vine Deloria Jr.

Every year I do something dumb, I try to read something I fundamentally disagree with while trying not to influence an aneurysm. My particular hobby horse is creationism vs evolution. Politics is too subjective for me to get all that worked up about. Climate change is dull and strays into the political realm. Ant-vaxxers I just can't, they are beyond infuriating. No I like to stick to the tried and true creationism and science debate, with a little flat earthism thrown in (pretty certain I just made up a word there). This year I mixed it up a little, instead of the ID movement and Judeo-Christian mythologies, I went with Mr. Deloria's Native American perspective. And boy was it a ride.

Red Earth, White Lies (Red Earth) and Evolution, Creationism, and Other Modern Myths (ECOMM) are bascially the same book written 5 years apart. Red Earth addresses a more specific topic, the Bering Strait and Native American migration in North America, while ECOMM was written around the time of the Kansas School Board debates and is more board in scope taking on lots of different sciences at once, but really ECOMM is just the continuation of Red earth. What is central to both is Deloria's belief in the primacy of Native American creation myths to inform history and science. Like many creationists, Deloria believes science when it comes to practical matters. It's useful in tell us why it rains, in engineering gadgets and widgets, making sense of motion, etc., but has no business explaining the formation of fundamental principles or laws of nature. For that, the spiritual oral histories of the various native tribes is the only place we need to look for explanations. This position is as fundamentalist as any Creationist position. However, Deloria is no friend to the Christian creationist. To him, Judeo-Christian religions are a pox on earth and are wrong in all matters including their own creation myths. Eastern religions get a pass. Building allies and bridges is not high on Deloria's priority list. His argument style is, well, abrasive. There is no question in his mind that he is right and everyone else are just mindless idioits (a phrase he used in ECOMM). His attacks are vicious, hypocritical, and factually loose, it's the best creationism writing I've come across in a long time. By that, I mean it's effective.

In Red Earth, Deloria takes issue with the modern land bridge theory of human migration to North America. Well not the modern theory, the charactericate theory from the 50s. The main issue is that the land bridge theory doesn't line up with Native American oral traditions. Whose traditions you ask, well that is a select few oral histories that more or less align with each other, the rest can be dismissed of course. Deloria's use of oral tradition to enlighten prehistory ties in well with many of Immanuel Velikovsky ideas (he apparently wrote a geology book that I'm quite excited about). Collecting enough oral histories to synthesizes an accurate picture of the world and how it came into being. Deoria never gets into the specifics, which if he did it would reveal a series of mismatched creation myths that doesn't fit one picture, he'd rather argue from the tried and true method of attacking science and its underpinning philosophies. It's lawyering 101 when your argument is weak, attack the other side with a shotgun of semi-coherent points and a better sounding story. And to someone who doesn't have know that evidence or the facts, this is methodology is convincing. I mean, people will be flabbergasted that scientist talk about interoffice politics, sports, and their families on lunch breaks, not debating the merits of every theory and established fact in the known universe. Specialization of science is seen as an evil to Deloria, because scientist can't hold each other to account if they are siloed off to study quantum mechanics. The breath of knowledge Deloria expects scientist to have is staggering. Of course as a lawyer he doesn't expect any of this, these are cheap arguments that distract from the merits of the core of his. He only has a passing knowledge of the science he criticizes, his ideas of geology are beyond antiquated. Uniformitism has never been more misunderstood than in Deloria's hands. But really for him it's not attacking the evidence science presents, it's arguing the gaps. Deloria was an IDer at heart. A fill in the gaps kind of theorist. Even if the oral traditions have changed and mutated little by little with each storyteller, they are the singular way to explain our collective history, I guess.

Deloria's advocacy for oral tradition does have merits when it comes to archeology. The disregard archeologist had for traditions and oral history was misplaced. These stories can and do enlighten our understanding of native peoples. Expanding them to cover other areas of science is just fool hardy. They pale in comparison to the explanatory power of scientific theory, that adapts and changes to evidence, facts, and tested hypotheses. What Deloria offers is comforting stories of an idealized past is better than the harsh realities of scientific fact. He does a disservice to Native American tribes in mythology their connection to the land and to tradition that removes them from being people, creating a stereotype that is so prevalent in western society. The sad art is that it is effective. Deloria's books and theories are widely accepted among the Native American population. With a hardening between science and Native Americans, our ideas and theories are incomplete. We need to understand the oral histories, to delve into their true purpose and find the commonalities for a more complete picture of prehistory on North America. Deloria's ideas destroy any chance of commonality or communication. They are to be sequestered away, preserved among their traditions. And there's a lot to be discussed between the two groups.

Some interesting alternative Facts presented in these books:

-The earth is only as old as the last ice age
-Native Peoples migrated to North America by boat
-The Bering Strait is not a thing
-Rising and falling sea levels is not a thing
-Geology is wrong because it's complicated
-Because oral histories were told by scouts they can't be wrong, because scouts don't lie
-Over hunting of Megafauna extinction is racist
-Gravity is suspect

★½

>35 stretch: That was an absolutely fascinating review. I applaud you for seeking out and reading books by people whose opinions are so contrary to your own. I had never thought about Native American creationists and what they were peddling. Thank you for taking the time to write such a lengthy review, because, although I will never read these two books, it was riveting to read about them.

Curious reading, K. This is a fundamental problem of our times: (someone's easily-proven-false) "theories are widely accepted among ..."

>33 stretch: Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pnkser sounds terrific.

New picture up top?

>35 stretch: Wait. "Gravity is suspect"? I mean - the rest are bonkers as well but Gravity? What's that author's explanation of the fact that if they jump from the third floor, they do not end up hovering in the air? And what does Gravity have to do with creationism? :)

Amusing review. You are a lot more patient than I am with this kind of "research" - I can listen to people with different opinions but some lines are just too hard to cross and still take a book seriously enough to spend time with it.

>35 stretch: Interesting review. I was raised as an (evangelical) creationist, of the literal-7-days variety. In my early teens I read a book by Hugh Ross (I don't remember which one) that discussed how the 7 days of creation were probably meant to represent vast periods of time, so that earth's older age could still make sense. It was still creationism, though. This helped me begin to take the Bible less literally. I still did not believe in evolution in undergrad, and I don't remember exactly when/how my thinking changed to fully embrace evolution. I read a lot of ecology and biology books for pleasure, so it was inevitable. I still remember when a relative was reading a book about dinosaurs to my son about ten years ago, and they turned and asked me if people really were sure that dinosaurs had existed. They seemed to accept my very confident response, but I was still amazed by the question.

>36 labfs39: Yeah exploring other creationist perspectives outside of the main core of the movement is enlightening and refreshes the topic a bit for me, although not that much the arguments are pretty much the same.

>37 dchaikin: Yeah it's a cycle of crap for sure. Reading books like this only reinforce that notion. This is why I only do this once in a while, otherwise it's too damn depressing.

>38 dchaikin: Why yes it's the recent Wolf Volcano eruption in the Galapagos, felt appropriate while reading this.

>39 AnnieMod: Yeah the gravity thing is all kinds of weird. Delroia doesn't'like relatively, so he found a tale that had humans floating to dispel gravity therefore falsifying relativity. I'm not sure how that works but it is o the same level as Jonah and the whale or stopping the rotation of the Earth. It's miraculous. This is in the same chapter of ECOMM detailing dinosaur human interaction so...

I have more patience for these types of books than say the Ken Hams and Behes and the other IDers of the world. It's one thing to be combatively ignorant, it's another thing to be a peddler of garbage. I can handle articles by these folks, but full length books are beyond me, it takes too long to get through a book if you keep stopping on every page to refute the nonsense.

>40 karspeak: That's an interesting perspective. I didn't come from that kind religious upbringing, so I was open to explore the topics as I saw fit. I would like to seek out a layperson's understanding and approach to this debate. There is a lot of experts talking back and forth, but nothing really about someones thinking about and changing perspectives or not changing. I think that would more interesting than digesting more of this.

>35 stretch: Interesting review! You're a better man than I am (though I'm not actually a man) for taking on the book in the first place... that'd be a good prompt in general, to read something you disagree with at a very fundamental (no pun intended) level.

The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernández
Translated by Natasha Wimmer

A haunting journalistic, part auto fiction, and imagining of the disappearances during the Chilean dictatorship. It's an attempt to reconcile one soldier's life and the horrible deeds he committed in the name of the government after he came out publicly with his role in many victims' torture ad deaths. It's also about how the author and the citizens wrestled with their daily lives as the government was abducting, torturing, and killing citizens all in their neighborhoods. They all know what is going on, no one acknowledges it. No one is forced to reckon with the disappearances until the solider confirms the governments' role, not until the evidence amounts, until they are all complacent in the misdeeds. How the author, the man who tortured people, and the country moved on, healed is just as messy and complicated as the time of collusion and selective ignorance.

This review is a mess. It's a beautifully written and harrowing novel that focuses on how the people that suffered under the Pinochet regime; the victims, the community, and the victimizers, all those who ended up broken. It's an impressive book about coming to terms with unspeakable events.

★★★★★

Connective Tissue: The Remainder

the review works for me.

>43 stretch: Popped that puppy on the wish list.

>43 stretch: Sounds interesting. Your review sells the book well! Noting.

>44 dchaikin:, >45 labfs39:, >46 raton-liseur: Glad, it works, I do think it's a worth while read. It is difficult book to describe without giving away too many details. Felt muddled to me.

>35 stretch: Huh, quite the review. I followed the ID bunch for awhile back when the Dover trial was a tad too close for comfort. I'm aware of Vine Deloria as a political activist though more from 30-40 years ago when I lived in AZ and WA, don't remember any details whatsoever just retained an impression that he was worth hearing out politically as a challenge to (my) myopic cultural assumptions. Alas it seems scientifically not so much. Still, an interesting change of scenery from Christian ID.

>1 stretch: What a lovely photo! Ilya Kaminsky book is poetry is it not? (or maybe you list poetry under fiction?) I gave that volume five stars:-) Read a different Claudia Rankine but never reviewed it so I can't remember what I thought about it.

>18 stretch: Zombie One of my lines in my review: "The book is repulsively riveting, at times rather gruesome, and blessedly short." I gave it only 3 stars. If you are into horror you might find it interesting.

>35 stretch: Very nice review!

Will pop in from time to time to see what you are reading....

>49 avaland: Thanks about the photo! It is a pretty disaster on site I worked last fall.

Deaf Republic is poetry, but it is an interconnected series of narrative poems about a village in a war torn country going both literally and metaphorical deaf after a child is killed. Poetry is nonfiction, however this one feels fictional to me. With a clear narrative arc and a fictional village, it straddles that line for me. I'm not good with poetry so I'm likely misreading his work.

The Rankine was very meh to me. Some really good, I don't what to call them exactly, thought piece micro essays. A lot of okay writings. And some that were surplus to the overall theme. She is very gifted and thoughtful. A collection like this is always a mixed bag of course. This one averaged out to an okay read. Which is all I have managed to draft as a review, even several weeks removed.

Zombie is a back burner book for me. I know its well written, and that i'll probably like it, considering my reading tastes. It's just one of those POV serial killer type books from the early 90s that I never really latched onto as a subgenre. A lot of the horror community loves it, so yeah maybe I will give it a go in the future.

>50 stretch: Deaf Republic sounds interesting. I generally enjoy narrative poetry. Maybe just because the best ones tell a story and are therefore easier to interpret, while still retaining the special characteristics of poetry.

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

The seventh book in the Wayward Children’s series Where the Drowned Girls Go, is a decent addition to the series. It is a certainly darker less hopeful story than the others, but begins to ask some important questions about the consequences of the doors.

This story follows a girl trying to free herself from the demons that haunt her from a world that doesn’t fit her. Seeking a different form. Of relief she leaves the Wayward school for another institution that takes a direct approach to readjusting lost children to our reality. The treatment is overly harsh, and the school desires to mold normal children by their own strict standards. The approach is radical in its conservative approach, amounting to something of a prison for the girls that refuse to let go of their doors. The totalitarian therapy is a startling contrast to laissez fare approach of Eleanor’s school.

The most interesting question this book asks is it better for the children to hold onto the false hope that their doors will one day return, and they can go back to the world of heroes and quests? Or should there be a more rigorous attempt to reintegrate them into society, addressing the issues that made them feel left out in the first place? There are glaring problems in both schools, one being students deaths. Hard to believe how little is asked by adults as children just seemingly disappear from a centralized location like a school. I hope McGuire continues along this line of questioning. Even if this isn’t a stand-out addition to the series, I do like that it is beginning to connect to more to the consequences of the doors on these girls after they return to our world.

★★★½

Connective Tissue: Wayward Children

Cultish by Amanda Montpellier

I forgotten I read finished this on the plane! Good thing I’m composite about updating my spreadsheet.

The language of fanaticism (the subtitle of this book) is a fascinating subject.
How everyday language and basic psychology can so easily trap people into cultish behavior. The language of cults can be benign, some of it good and motivational, and some of it dangerous. Knowing how to separate those groups and knowing when cultish behavior is being applied in certain situations is a skill that keep people from terrible scams, but just as important knowing when it is safe to practice the benign/good cultish behaviors can keep us human. It’s easy to become too cynical and stuck if we don’t let a little trust in our lives.

Montpellier has written a well researched book; through, simple language, and entertain popular book on language usage. There’s a lot to learn here. However, the structure is distracting. Too many chapter breaks sometimes in the middle of a thought. With each part following the same formulaic structure, essentially saying the same thing over and over again. It was a good idea to separate spiritual cults, religions, MLMs, and workout regimens, mixing them together would conflate the harm, but it is tedious to keep covering the same ground. These are my problems not sure others would find issue with how all this is laid out.

★★★½

Connective Tissues: Thinking Fast and Slow

The Summit of the Gods by Jiro Taniguchi
Translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian

I never thought I’d be so taken by a story about mountaineering. What starts out as mystery surrounding the Mallory expedition on Everest, slowly turns into a character study of a single enigmatic climber. And I find it fascinating exploring the inner drive and fortitude of this singular pursuit by one person to do something I still think is full hardy in every since. Climbing Mountains in winter combatively. I blew through this volume in a single sitting and will have to find the second as soon as possible. Wonder where the story goes next!

The story is amazing, the artwork stunning. However there are a few spelling mistakes from translation and seemingly empty thought bubbles, although that last one may be more stylistic than an error. Doesn’t really take away from the story, but should be noted.

★★★★

Connective Tissue: Into Thin Air

>54 stretch:

Glad to see you enjoyed the first volume so far!

>35 stretch: Just saw this and thought of your post:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/books/review/A-Genetic-History-of-the-America...

>56 qebo: Sorry just getting back to LT. That is an interesting article and I need to look into that subject some more. I have really no opinion the intricacies of the modern theories. Would be interested in an overview of the modern synthesis, not sure if I'm in for an entire book at the moment.

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

A book about institutional racism, microaggressions, and a corporate culture of conformity within the book industry with a science fiction horror twist. All things that would fit squarely in my wheelhouse. But this book doesn't do anything for me, it is firmly meh. There are interesting parts for sure and exploration of concepts that are more than worthy of discussion. It just happens to be buried in stilted dialogue and a confusing shifting perspective that felt unnecessary. Even reviews of people that loved the book aren't sure of whose perspective they are praising. I concept it is a great story, in execution it's a pretty mediocre one.

★★★

Connective Tissue: N/A

Musgrave Tennessee Red

Wood: Tennessee Red Cedar
Core: Dark HB
Shape: Full Hex
Finish: Clear lacquer
Ferrule: Brass colored aluminum with the simple but classic rigi
Eraser: White non-smudge latex 
Markings: Musgrave Pencil Co., Genuine Tennessee Red Cedar, in a red imprint
Origin: Shelbyville, TN

Musgrave Greenbelt

Wood: Incense Cedar
Core: HB
Shape: Full Hex
Finish: Clear lacquer
Ferrule: Brass colored aluminum with the simple but classic rigids
Eraser: Mint green rubber
Markings: Greenbelt, Musgrave Pencil Co. in green foil imprint
Origin: Shelbyville, TN

Musgrave Pencil Co. is one of the longest, continuously family owned, American manufactures of pencils. Established in 1916, they have developed one of the most iconic and beloved line of pencils that has remained largely unchanged for decades. Rightfully proud of their longevity, Musgrave fell into something of a long-standing rut, finding making school award pencils and large single batch orders a way to keep the company going but not necessarily thriving. That stagnation was quite evident in their website and ordering process, long since stuck in the 90s. Then a few years ago they made a huge change, hiring a PR/marketing couple that complete revamped their image and added a whole new business line, selling direct to Musgrave's consumers. Tapping into the folks that love, promote, and develop strong loyalties to particular brands has breathed new life into the old Musgrave Pencil Company. This reinvigoration has produced several new lines pencils and spurred new ideas to take the Musgrave into the future.

In an obvious aside, the wood of a woodcase pencil is one of the crucial aspects of a quality pencil. There are quite a few woods suitable to pencils: cedar of course, pine, basswood, poplar, junipers, and jelutong being the main varieties. Really, any hard wood that has an elongated grain structure will make a good pencil. However, hickory and ash make good bats, but terrible pencils, being too hard of a wood. For a long time, the king of pencil woods was the American red cedar, until it was overharvested. Musgrave like many manufactures move onto substitute species that, while perfectly acceptable in practice, didn't quite live up to the old cedar wood slates. Well things have changed again and sustainably grown and harvested cedars are making a comeback. To celebrate this, Musgrave has made two new pencils to showcase the natural beauty of cedar. The Tennessee Red, utilizes a red cedar native to Tennessee, while the Greenbelt is using FSC certified incense cedar from California. The Tenn. Red Musgrave aims to show off the unique wood grain of the red cedar native to Tennessee. And it is unique, ranging from a light blonde coloration to streaks of dark reddish brown. No two slates are alike. There is often a mismatch between the slates making it look like the pencil is made from two different species of trees, but that's just how Tenn. red cedar grows. With a thin clear lacquer and a simple but stunning red imprint, Musgrave has created a pencil that highlights the unique beauty of this wood rather than homogenize them with a coat of paint. To Musgrave the wood itself is something to admire and appreciate, not hide out of sight. On the other end of the cedar spectrum is the Greenbelt which utilizes the FSC certified incense cedar from California. It's not the first pencil to carry this distinction, that goes to the forest choice HB, but it is a stunning addition to the incense cedar family of pencils (almost all cedar pencils are made from this cedar). Being easier and faster to grow, incense cedar is far more sustainable than the other varieties and smells just as nice. The unadorned, unlacquered incense cedar of the Greenbelt is more uniform in color with the simple green foil imprint sets off a beautiful, simple pencil.

Both pencils feature a classic brass colored ferrule. A simple and understated ferrule that fits with Musgrave's overall ethos of keeping things simple. The Greenbelt uses a mint green rubber eraser, while the Tenn. Red's eraser is a white latex. Both erasers do an adequate job, with the Greenbelt's rubber just edging out the latex. Since the Tenn. Red uses a more premium wood, its graphite core is a bit darker and smoother than the standard HB. The point retention of this smoother sore isn't great, resulting in a mushy writing experience. The Greenbelt is solidly middle of the road HB. Closer to a Tic or Semi-hex. It is a little scratchy, but unlike the Tenn. Red core, the point on the Greenbelt lasts and lasts. Both the Tenn. Red and the Greenbelt are full hex pencils, meaning their edges aren't rounded over. The full hex is definitely a Musgrave feature, and some find the sharper edges uncomfortable after long periods of use. Overall, the Greenbelt is the better of the two pencils, even if the Tenn. Red is made with more premium components.

For a company that was firmly entrenched in the 20th century mindset, in a few short years have drastically pivoted to becoming one of the most exciting 21st century pencil makers. Embracing their heritage while simultaneously making the changes that put them on firmer ground of this day and age has set them up for what is hopefully a long and fruitful future. They love making pencils, they love their history, they love their wood, and that love is contagious among the niche fanatics within the woodcase community. To see a 100+ year old pencil company continue to innovate and embrace change is such a positive sign and encouraging that the projects they undertake in the future will do nothing but add value to the legacy of American made pencils.

One of Musgraves cooler projects is using 90 year wooden slats of American cedar to make limited edition single barrel pencils. They are admittedly not great pencils, 90-year-old wood is going to have its flaws. But these are a piece of history, we will never see American cedar again. Musgrave is embracing the history, making something other companies would never dare to because the quality might tarnish the brand. Musgrave doesn't care, they will continue to do it their way, and you can either appreciate them for what they are or go buy something else. They have over a hundred years of built-up legacy they have more than enough goodwill to try something cool and different, to support a black woman owned whiskey distillery with a special pencil, they are proud members of the Shelbyville community.

>59 stretch: Well that was different. Thanks for posting.

>59 stretch: Ha. The pencil reviews are back. Awesome! :)

>60 qebo: Yeah it's a whole thing there are now 29 or something like that. So many words for pencils, lol

>61 AnnieMod: Yes, only a 2 year hiatus, lol. I forgotten how long they take, it's hard to come up with something unique to say about pencils of all things. Thankfully I'm coming to the end of my collection only 6 or 8 more to go. And a few of those are easy, I hate them so much they don't even get a dedicated post.

It was a really enjoyable return to pencil commentary. Two years since the last one…wow.

I looove the pencil reviews (speaking as a fountain pen gal who appreciates the love of a fine writing instrument). Keep 'em coming!

stretch I assume you are not left-handed.

>63 dchaikin: and >64 lisapeet: Thanks. Fountain pens are a beast of a rabbit hole I'm glad not to have gone down.

>65 dianeham: No I am not left handed. I think I only have one left handed pencil in my collection.

>65 dianeham: >66 stretch: They make...left-handed pencils? What would that even entail?

>66 stretch: All right sir, I will take up that gauntlet and provide some fountain pen posts in my thread.

>67 shadrach_anki: The writting/imprints on the pencil are flipped so that a left handed writer sees them as not be upside down. That's the only functional difference in woodcase pencils at least. They do make them but you have to go out of your way to find sellers. I'm not aware of anyone outside of Musgrave even having the option. General's may have some of the primary grade pencils that are left handed printed, but nothing made to order. Palomino and other oversea compaines only have some available once in a blue moon.

>68 lisapeet: Good luck I look forward to your posts. I'm not a pen person but I do so love reading about stationary.

And with pens, left-handedness is more about super-fast-drying inks, because otherwise they smear.

>69 stretch: Interesting. I'd never paid a whole lot of attention to the positioning of the imprint text on the pencil as I wrote, and I guess I just got used to assuming it would always be "upside down". Sort of like looking at book spines, and always having to tilt your head to one side to read the titles, except for those rather rare occasions when the title text is printed so you don't have to do that.

>70 lisapeet: I can honestly say that as a left-handed writer I have never had a problem with inks smearing, even if they aren't super fast drying. But I'm also an under-writer, so my hand comes in contact with what I've written approximately the same amount as a right-handed writer's does.

>71 shadrach_anki: I’ve never ‘met’ another under-writing leftie! I don’t understand why more don’t write that way.

>72 Yells: Yeah, I am surprised by it as well. It might have to do with not realizing at a young age that you should tilt the paper you're writing on in the opposite direction from how a right handed person would have it? That's the only thing that comes immediately to mind for me, and it seems like such a little thing.

Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon

A lot of folks call this a vampire book. It isn't, it's a slow pseudo psychoanalysis of a sociopath. Told through letters, a case of a solider striking an officer is slowly revealed to be a much deeper plot. The satisfaction of a maladjusted man is much darker than is first hinted at in the opening chapters.

The story isn't bad, and the writing is surprisingly good. It is certainly of it's time. Which sounds bad, but actually fit the tone really well. Some cavalry joking between the military psychologist can be grating, but Sturgeon gets to the heart of the story quickly and moves the story mostly at a good clip. I don't know if this is because it was audio or what, but the feeling I had was while the writing was good and the story well told, it was mostly forgettable. Nothing about the story really sticks other than it was fine.

★★★

Connective Tissue: Catch-22

>74 stretch: It has been some time that I have wanted to go back to Theodore Sturgeon, and I think I have this one on my shelves. But following your review I think I'll look for another one to reacquaint myself with him.

FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven

What happens when a group of mostly teenagers and college students are left to secure a theme park in a storm of the century type event? Well in Bockoven's imagination an immediate descent into horrible violence. FantsticLand is a thought experiment on the loss of structure to a group of people whose very lives are structured by their jobs, by management, and by their ties to social media. Without that structure to guide them, they quickly descend into madness and chaos. Cut off from the rest of the world people lose their minds and form their own proto-societies to either to lend mutual assistance to survive or devolve into repugnant cultures of self-indulgence and despotism.

This story was a fun horror adjacent thriller, that I enjoyed immensely. It can be heavy-handed in the Bockoven's assessment of the dependency of young people on their phones and how boredom can lead to such awful consequences. A little old man and technology is confusing. The systematic failure of leadership and lack of information sharing was a far more interesting angle than social media and cell phones are bad. But really this is a passing thought and perhaps asking a lot of this type of story to drill down on systemic failures. Still I found this book incredibly readable thriller type read with a little more to say then a splintered set of groups intent with slaughtering each other.

★★★★½

Connective Tissue: Lord of the Flies, A Luminous Republic

>76 stretch: Well, I tried dodging that book bullet, but failed miserably. Sigh...

Severance by La Ming

In a post-pandemic apoplectic world, a detached millennial reflects on her past, her values, and her place within a problematic group of survivors. The main character moves through life largely disaffected by just about everything in her life. Her relationship with her parents and culture feels apathetic, although detailed, her relationship with friends and lovers feels at best surface level, and she's largely nonplussed about the end of the world. Everything about this story is a little depressing, empty, and satirical to our modern capitalism. Slow in every way and broken up in a non-linear structure. At no point is there any real momentum to the plot. And yet it is a moody page turner. Each branch of this story is fleshed out. Each branch is interesting in its own right. Eventually the dystopian storyline takes center stage, which was fine, but I would have preferred to stay in with the critique of family and satirical take on work. Those storylines had the most interesting ideas. The dystopian element was certainly done well enough, but nothing new there. Still a very well written, interesting novel, worth the time to read.

★★★½

Connective Tissue: Chemistry, The Road, The Memory Police

---

The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zeran
Translated by Sophie Hughes

I'll be straight up, I didn't like this one. A story about the generational damage of those that resisted the Chilean dictatorship. Told by three children of former rebels that are all too grown up, all damaged in some obvious and some less obvious ways. Some less obvious ways were too subtle to me, and had a hard time separating the voices of the characters. The count-down of chapters was cool, considering the accounting of the dead that the boy was obsessed over. Other than that I didn't get much out of this story.

★★½

Connective Tissue: The Twilight Zone

>78 stretch: Too bad for The Remainder. I had a similar feeling about a book set in Colombia and written by the son of one of the numerous victims of narco-traffic, Oblivion : A memoir (not sure about the title on English) by Hector Abad. I wanted to like it, but never managed to, more or less for the same reasons as you.

I liked your review of Severance. Probably not a book that I'll read, but I enjoyed your description of the feelings of this millennial girl and the atmosphere of the book.
Strange, the title in French does not convey the same feeling as the English one: it's Les enfiévrés, literaly The Fervid or The Fevered. It does not convey this lack of interest or commitment that you describe.

>79 raton-liseur: That is interesting with the French name describing more of the pandemic victims rather than the disaffected mood of the protagnist. I'd be curious to see how that title change frames the story differently. An actionable title vs a desciptive title would make an interesting A-B test. I'm sure there's a pysch paper out there that has examined this sort of thing, might have to track that down.

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

I'm not a fan of King's longer novels. They are overwritten with disappointing endings that get fixed when they get made into films. It was reading King and the other blockbuster horror that I came to the erroneous conclusion that I no longer was a horror reader. I grew up on the paperback trash of the 70s and 80s, so the blockbuster authors like King are not creepy enough or too reluctant to explore truly dark places. Horror for mass audiences are not really for me. The 90s and early 00s was such a long dry spell, but thankfully discovering small independent horror presses have revived what I love about this niche genre, and I no longer have to force liking King, Kootnz, and Straub.

Anyway, Pet Sematary was an okay King book. Undoubtedly him writing at his creepiest under his own name. Still overwritten, but the ending was actually good. And portions of the story are truly grounded in horror. Probably my number 2 King book behind It if I had to rank them.

Conclusion: I'm done with King I have read all the books I should. Might return for his shorter works, but no more of his novels in my future.

★★½

The Test by Sylvain Neuvel

It's impossible to discuss the Test without giving away the plot. It’s a harrowing read, filled with questions about ethics, psychology, and trauma. The test explores lots of dimension in a little over a hundred pages. Very worthwhile and short read.

★★★★

>82 stretch: Intriguing... You piqued my curiosity, I might have to look for this book...

Terminal Boredom by Izumi Susuki
Translated by Polly Barton, Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph, Aiko Masubuchi, and Helen O'Horan

A collection of seven science fiction stories, all set in bleak and numb worlds. Perhaps an inner reflection of the inner world of the author. They are fearlessly feminist, incredibly well written, and very modern in someways ahead of their time. Yet don't really say anything at all. The jumping off point is some science fiction trope or theme that slowly devolves into an introspective world of detachment. The setting of each story is the most interesting aspect, the conclusions feel more like numb writing exercises, that don't have much of a punch. The talent of Susuki is evident, she was an outstanding writer. Each story feels like it was written now and not 35 plus years ago. They all start out so promising to end in the same depressing, flat place.

Something unique to this collection is that there are 5 translators. And for the most part the translation is seamless, except I think in order to be so smooth they flattened the stories, removing the bite. I can't imagine Susuki was a woman that would be so banal, so content to be bland. I think she would have been better served with just one translator making the artistic interpretations to convey the weight and meaning behind each story's final words. The stories that had the same translator were by far the best. So in the end I'm not sure if the fault lies in the depressed writer writing flat stories that reflect an inner turmoil or a translation that by no fault in the people doing the work softened Suski's writing to be more uniform than artistic. I watched a video of the translators discussing the process with each translator maintaining a bubble to ensure their translations were untainted, but you could tell that the during their editing process some of their interpretations were altered. It was an interesting project, but I do wish it wasn't with a previously unpublished work in translation. Showcasing translators talent and their own art would in my opinion been better left in a well established author. Where there is less concern to get it "right" and more freedom to make artistic decisions and run with them.

Probably deserves a better rating, but it is hard to reach for something higher when all the stories, though well written whimper out in the end.

★★★

Connective Tissue: The Emissary, The Box

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha

A fictionalized re-telling of the events that lead up to the destruction of Koreatown during the 1992 LA riots. One family living with the hard truth and destruction left behind by a tragic death and an unjust system. Another family torn apart by lies and cover-up that redefined their lives. Brought together by new fresh tragedy that will again tear their lives apart. This is a deeply affecting story of anger, stupid vengeance, cover-ups, guilt, forgiveness, justice, racism, politics, and a broken system all converge on the individual lives of two families linked by a violent act.

This was a powerful and outstanding read. It's not a feel good story of forgiveness. It's a hard and messy story about imperfect people trying their best to navigate horrible situations. There's no satisfactory conclusions to be found here, just an exploration of what it means to come to terms with a terrible past and try to move forward. About the ramifications of violence on both sides of the divide.

★★★★★

Connective Tissue: Tell Me How It Ends, The Remainder, The Twilight Zone, A Luminous Republic

>85 stretch: the Twilight zone is a connection. I’m intrigued.

>81 stretch: quite a commentary on King and Pet Sematary. I didn’t know you were so into horror stuff. I do agree King overwrites. I haven’t been able to read him.

>84 stretch:

Interesting to read your thoughts on how the punch of the stories might have been attenuated by the translators. I wonder if that is truly the case but I have nothing to add as I've read neither this translation nor the original, and haven't read the author at all, actually, although I've glanced at this book many times at the bookstore.

>86 dchaikin: As terrible as it is to say I might put Your House Will Pay over Twilgiht Zone. But that is a total bias. I remember the ripple effects of the LA Riots. They were a pivotal shift for the whole state. Even a country kid from the middle of nowhere could feel the change. So the root causes of that moment of history have a particular interest to me.

Yeah, horror was my gateway into reading. Between Goosebumps and the middle of nowhere country library terrible 70s and 80s paperbacks, I found my niche. Others read and re-read the Lord of the Ring series, I preferred Rat Kings leading bloody satanic rituals to please babies with big brains. It occurs to me now the Mrs. White (the libarian) probably didn't have a good grasp on exactly what was being donated. But the big blockbuster writers King, Kootnz, and Straub were never my favorites. I drifted away from horror for a long time, still my taste in literature has always been on the dark side of the spectrum. The wave of indie authors and presses of the last decade or so have brought back my love of the horror genre. I still have a few "classics" to get to that were overlooked. Pet Sematary and the Long Walk are really all I have left of King's works that even held any interest.

>87 lilisin: I could very well be completely off base with my assessment. It's so hard to tell with such a limited sample size and not being able to read the orginals as they were written. Translation is such a hard thing to articualte and nail down, but some it feels wrong to me. Well not wrong per se, off in some tiny way that shifts the stories from being a creative twist exploring feminist ideas to something detached and numb to the point of blandness. I struggle to think that Izumi Susuki was ever bland.

Nice review of Your House Will Pay, Steven. I'll move it a bit higher on my TBR list.

When I worked in NYC during the late 1980s and early 1990s there were several well publicized incidents between the Korean and the African American communities, which usually involved perceived racist treatment of Blacks by Korean grocery store workers, most notably the Family Red Apple boycott of 1990. IIRC there were similar tensions between these communities in Los Angeles at roughly the same time.

>89 kidzdoc: That's interesting to know. I hadn't hears the Family Red Apple Boycotts beofre, but the situations and tensions do indeed sound very similar. From the wikipedia article the Boycotts sound like they got dangerously close to the kind of violence that rocked South Central during the riots. K-town and South Central's evolution has been turmultous ever since the Ford and GM plants shut down. The economic depression that settled over that part of LA had long lasting effects for the poeple that lived there and the influx of largely non-english speaking Koreans who didn't understand the culture fleeing their own bad economical sitautions were a violitile mix.

>89 kidzdoc: I remember those conflicts too.

The Sound of Broken Ribs by Edward Lorn

Two women's lives are turned upside on one awful day. A self-important writer that is quite literally physically and emotionally destroyed by a senseless act of cruelty. The other a heartless, vindictive woman that just wants to destroy something or someone after no good husband steals everything and jumps town, it doesn't matter who she destroys even an innocent victim. The devastation wrought by that act quickly spirals into a web of violence. Something that entraps both women. A darkness that grips their lives and won't let go it has consumed everything.

This is not a book I recommend to anyone. The writing isn't all that great, good, but not something to be remembered. The protagonists are awful, not just unlikable but awful, even the victim is unsympathetic in a multitude of ways. The violence is absolutely senseless. There is little redemption to be had, although it tries because it is a western author after all. It's body horror, not at the extreme, but close to it. This is just about violence and revenge for the sake of violence. And I liked it all, even the sometimes questionable politics espoused upon. It all fits together well in a decent exploration of body horror, and how the snapping of a psyche can lead to a massive wake of destruction.

★★★★

Connective Tissue: Confessions

Hide by Kiersten White

Hide is a highly character driven horror. Not the thoughts and pasts of the characters drive the story forward. The outside horror plays a role, for sure, but it's not the driving force of the plot. There's a lot to like in this novel: the characters are fully developed and well-rounded, experiencing both they're the traps of their flaws and real personal if short-lived growth, underlining social commentaries that not over the top or too prominent, the horror isn't all that graphic, not off page but again nothing over the top, it's well written, and no real logical flaws. However, as much as I liked many aspects of the book, it didn't have that have the creepiness or sense of dread that is an important factor in horror. There isn't enough character driven horror published, so it's great to see it in a well written novel. This was just a little too light in the horror for me.

★★★

Connective Tissue: Fantasticland, Cirque Berserk

Catching up with your thread and I was thrilled to see a new pencil review. While I understand not wanting to bother reviewing substandard pencils, I'd be interested in why they are bad and figuring out if I have some of them.

>94 RidgewayGirl: Oh I'll eventually get to the Wopex. I had some notes written up but have misplaced them but it's my next pencil. Writing something that is ranty about them is going to be a challenge. I loathe them but others seem to like them so I got find something of merit. Some of the others will get snippets at some point. Usually what makes a bad woodcase pencil is shodddy materials and manufacture. Bad leads that shatter, off centered cores, overuse of wax and clay, splintering woods, etc. Plan to at least mention them, but may not put in the effort I do for others, I'll see how pans out.

Off the Edge by Kelly Weill

So I've been kind of hunting around for something to take the place of the old creation debate topic, I've run it almost completely dry for now. Was kind of hoping that flat earth or hollow earth conspiracies would be a decent t-term replacement. Sadly, this is not the case, there's not enough substance to either idea to sustain an entire book. I've read two books that cover these topics in some detail: Flat Earth and Hollow Earth Theories and Off the Edge.

Flat Earth and Hollow Earth Theories is the very short introduction version of the these ideas. Covering their origins and summarizing their development over time. A worthwhile read if you are casually interested.

Off the Edge is a more in h exploration of the Flat Earth movement. Covering much of the same history as the former book with a bit more depth. And much more depth as to the current state of the movement. Exploring how this fringe belief can lead to other, often darker conspiracies. Written as reaction to Trump and other conservative movements, that have dominated the headlines of recent times, will undoubtedly date this one quickly. Weill can get lost in the weeds at times chasing those links to QAnon and Trump election conspiracies, and is too eager to be snarky about fringe ideas. Not that there is plenty to go full sarcastic about when it comes to Flat Earth, it feels like punching down at the expense of people trapped in a cycle of misinformation. I think political bias, even I agree with it, still colors this book too much to be a tool in fighting disinformation. It's more of a fun poke at fringe ideas, which is fine considering how little these ideas have in way of workable evidence.

★★★½

Connective Tissue: The Rocks Don't Lie, Monkey Girl, The Religious Orgy in Tennessee, Summer for the Gods

Still searching of the debate topic to fill the void I guess.

More short Stories that left an impact:

The Last Library by Brian Trent -- A futuristic, time traveling effort to save the lost libraries of history before they are destroyed. Short and well written, good ending.

Galatea by Madeline Miller -- A retelling of the Galatea myth, with a feminist, freedom seeking bent. Very good story, even with a predictable side.

A Spider's Thread by Ryunosuke Akutagawa -- Akutagawa is a masterful short story writing. Translating the Dostoevskys' Parable of the Onion into a Japanese cultural setting was so, so well done. A bad person saved from himself by making better choices, and the consequences of selfish choices, what compassion really means. A lot to think about in such a compact story.

>97 stretch: Are these three from the same collection? P.S. The first two touchstones go to novels with the same or similar titles.

>98 labfs39: No, The Last Library was publisehd on Sci Fi site read through pocket, Galatea was borrowed as a stand alone from the Library, and the Akutagawa is from a collection of his work I dip into time to time. I like short stories but I don't tend to stick to a collection but read them singularly as they come.

I had the touchstones correct once, but I edited the post and they broke again, hopefully fixed again.

I'm having a big catch-up here... Glad to see the pencil reviews are back! Interesting reading...I will occasionally pick up some horror but not of late (and it is more likely to be Oates); and I always have liked dark fantasy.

>88 stretch: Very much enjoyed your reading history around horror. Seems I remember R. L. Stine took up the pen in the 80s around the time Stephen King was becoming hot. My three kiddos came of reading age in the early 90s and went for fantasy, science fiction and fairy tales (of course they didn't read the same genres). Sadly, their book reading more or less ended after college.

Wopex

Wood: Composite wood-plastic
Core: HB
Shape: Hex
Finish: Plastic pigmented coating
Ferrule: aluminum
Eraser: White non-smudge latex 
Markings: Steadler Wopex Logo
Origin: Germany

The Wopex is a pencil in search of a problem.

The Wopex is a composite consisting of mostly wood that is extruded (Originally, WOPEX = Wood Pencil Extrusion) in single pencil strand. The components, wood sawdust, graphite, plastic granules and pigmented coatings are melted at high temperatures, extruded through a series of dyes into something pencil shaped and cut to the appropriate length. An eraser is attached, and the pencil is marked with the appropriate branding. It is marketed as an eco-friendly pencil, since it reuses things like sawdust and recycled plastics in its manufacture. But this is an odd position to angle for in the pencil manufacturing realm. Most if not all pencils made today are inherently eco-friendly. The wood used to make incense cedar pencils comes from sustainably grown groves, some have even achieved FSC certification. Wopex on the other hand uses tremendous amounts of energy to manufacture a substandard pencil, that is more likely going to end up in a landfill long before its end of life use.

The Wopex is a terrible pencil. Adding plastics and pigmented coatings at the very beginning of the process makes this an incredibly dense pencil. Not only making it heavy, but also mostly un-sharpenable. Handheld bladed sharpeners can't get a proper bite on this 'wood', jams burrs and requires tremendous amounts of force to get a crank sharpener to even begin cutting into the wood. The only means of reliable sharpening is by hand with a knife.

The results of which are an uneven and jagged mess. If a reasonable point is carved from this wood composite plastic, the lead is at best described as mushy. Super smooth, faint lines with next to no point retention is a strange compromise for sustainability. These are something that is to be expected of a dark pencil. For something that is this light and airy it needs to not write like the worst box store pencils. The eraser on this thing is also garbage. Is somehow inadequate at erasing even the faintest of lines.

In my estimation, the Wopex is as close to abomination as it gets in the woodcase pencil world. It can't write, erase, or be sharpened. It's too heavy to write with comfortably for extended periods of time. And honestly, the colors they come in are distractingly ugly. The only thing I can think this pencil is good for is winning a pencil war. It might be indestructible and will draw blood. The best way I can sum up my feelings about this pencil is that it is the first pencil ever in my pencil reviewing that was not used in the drafting of its own review. I even pushed through the all graphite all write pencil, but the Wopex for me was so frustrating that only line tests are it's entire use cases for this review.

Eco friendliness must be met with usefulness, otherwise the result in this case a recycled pencil will end up in landfill having wasting more energy, time, and effort than just tossing the recycled components into the landfill in the first place.

>101 stretch: Ugh... that is some weird decision-making to even come up with... this.

>102 AnnieMod: In fairness Steadtler does a lot of weird stuff. It's not even called wopex in Germany but the Eco Noris, which pians me to end. The all graphite pencil, wich was gimmicky even in their marketing, was also thier idea. Sometimes I think Steadtler runs out stationary ideas and just goes for something over engineered and complicated for no apparent reason. It's their thing. They make great pencils like the Noris, Mars Lumagraph, and even the Norica boggles my mind how anyone that makes those can think the Wopex was worth bringing to market.

>101 stretch: I knew a one-star pencil review would be well worth reading!

>101 stretch: That was a very satisfying negative review. Just that name... Wopex. Whoops.

>104 RidgewayGirl: and >105 lisapeet: Thanks! I still hope to find a green pianted pencil that doesn't suck one day.

Three Short Stories from John Scalzi

A Model Dog -- A tech company collecting data about a specific beloved dog to be replaced by an exact replica once it passes away. Ends up with a bit of a twist and happy ending.

An Election -- A man running for office on a future Earth in a district full of non-humans. Full of very specific special interests and political maneuvering of a local election.

The President's Brain is Missing -- A top secret project to keep the president safe involves teleporting his brain somewhere else.

All three are solid science fiction stories. With the first two being more interesting and at least in concept. I mostly like them for the witting and humorous dialogue between the characters. Nothing really profound explored in these stories, just a bit of fun.

---

The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty -- An account of a snipers duel in an unknown country in the mist of a bloody civil war. It's frantic and fast-paced with a twist ending that came out of nowhere. Worth a read as it was quite short.

Horrorama by C.V. Hunt

Horrorama is a collection of three stories inspired the 80s Grindhoues B-movies. Maybe a bit too inspired for me, but defintively fitting the B-movie vibe.

Stor-All Self-Storage by A.S. Coomer -- My least favorite out of the bunch was this eclectic mashing of bizarre themes centered around a 24-hour storage unit facility. It had the most Saturday afternoon movie feel of the three.
Primitive by Lucas Mangum -- While the characters were unlikeable the plot was fun enough to hold my attention.
The Vessel by Matt Harvey -- The strongest writing and characters in the in Horrrama. You’d think people would realize joining cults never ends well. The strongest of the three stories.

★★

Connective Tissue: Witching Hour Theatre

So many books to catch up on...

Travels with Trilobites by Andy Secher

This is one is niche beyond niche.

I've come to love the Trilobite as my favorite fossil. I was never a dinosaur kid, but the Trilobite grabbed me in college.

With 25,000 species and living 250 million years, from the Cambrian to the great Permian extinction, these little guy infested Earth's earliest seas. They're prolific in ways that not many species are on this planet. It could even be argued that they are among the most successful species ever, and yet they have no descendants, no living relatives. They are a dead branch in the evolution of arthropods.

If Trilobites are of interest, Travels with Trilobites is the reference book you must have. The Andy Secher's expertise is impressive and his enthusiasm infectious, and his love for these ancient animals shines through in both his writing and the wonderfully photographed fossils. With a particular focus on environments, Secher breaks down all that we know about Trilobites. From the physiology and why they are built the way there are, to the evolution of primitive eyes and antennae, everything is told in the context of their environment. Even their color is discussed in detail. Fossils don't preserve color very well, mineralization process replacing what is naturally but with some recentish examples, cross-sectional analysis has revealed coloration striations that indicate the mottling, and even some exotic coloration with in the fossil record are in fact valid and not just hallmarks of the fossilization process. Obviously, the exoskeleton coloration is altered by the fossilization process, but with new techniques and well-preserved examples are shedding light on camouflages, sexual selection, etc. There are so many fascinating facets to learn about, even the locomotion of trilobites is different from what I assumed having never seen an example of their legs, I always thought they would be much lower to the ground like a centipede, not structured more like lobster. There were so many huh, cool I didn't know that moments in this book and I only grew to love the Trilobite all the more.



The text is accompanied by at least 100 amazing photos taken from Secher's own collection. This is just a sampling of the photos. Every photo is contextualized with specific species information and where they can be found.

Travels with Trilobites is a book created out of love for this long gone creature. Each page and photo shines with Secher's passion. His enthusiasm for small details is infectious. Probably the best Paleontology books I ever read.

★★★★

Connective Tissue: Earth: An Intimate History

Enjoyed your review of Travels with Trilobites the title alone trips of the tongue.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Champers

This one just wasn't for me. It such a warm and cozy science fiction story with an ecological philosophy focus, but without any real conflict, it just never felt like it was going anywhere. I don't need everything I read to be super gritty with tons of action, but I do think a story with some teeth is needed for me to be really hooked into. This slice-of-life type stories are not my favorite. Plus, I find the robot to be really, really annoying. So, I'll pass on the rest of this series, but still read more by Chambers in the future.

★★½

Connective Tissue: All Systems Red

>109 stretch: Huh, cool. I have Trilobite by Richard Fortey but haven't read it.

>112 qebo: Totally forgot the Fortey had written that! I think I'll need to read that one too, even if I had issues with Earth: An Intimate History he still is a very well repescted author in this quasai popular geo-science writing field.

>101 stretch: "It can't write, erase, or be sharpened."

I've known a few people like that.

>107 stretch: I'm gradually reading through Spring Sowing, the O'Flaherty short story collection in which "The Sniper" originally (I suppose) appeared. I just got to that story, in fact. In a very interesting collection, in that it's a mix of stories about Irish society and about nature. I'm finding it a mixed bag in terms of the effectiveness of the stories, but fun to read nevertheless. My copy is a Knopf hardcover from 1926.

>114 rocketjk: I can defientely see that about O' Flaherty as a writer. Came across the "The Sniper" from an internet recommendation on stories with a twist. And for what it is it isn't a bad story, but not something that has made want to seek out the rest of his works. It's funny that Ireland is never expilictly called out as the unknown country but you could feel it even as a standalone story that war is a refence to the Irish Civil War and ireally the twist is not much of a twist today, maybe sill shocking in the 20s but today its a pretty common trope.

>115 stretch: Regarding the ending of The Sniper, I did see it coming. If you're ever interested in seeking out another story by O'Flaherty, so far (I'm about halfway through the collection) the title story to Spring Sowing is the best of the bunch. That's the story I could really see being anthologized. When I read that first story, I thought that I was in for something really special for the rest of the book. There are one or two others I've particularly, but the otherwise the tales are mostly pleasant diversions, although many of them contain clever observations of the natural world, like the story about the baby gull just learning to fly.

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Volume 1 by Eiji Otsuka

A group of 5, no make it 6, oddball students from a Buddhist university use their unique skills to find and deliver dead bodies to their rightful resting place, for a price of course this is a delivery service after all. A pretty straight forward service, except the clientele aren't the kinds of people that die happily in their sleep or are well taken care of in their final moments, there is retribution to be paid to the living. And a matter of payment to work out.

Darkly comedic and graphic, this twisted bunch of Scooby-Doo adventurers is beyond entertaining in execution. Sure, the premise is far-fetched and silly, but this band of misfits seem to care about what they do and each other, even if their backstories could use some fleshing out. Told episodically, it is the perfect Manga to jump in and out of, since they reintroduce the premise each time and the stories themselves aren't linked. However, as much as I enjoy these type of stories, they are not for everyone the depictions of death by all its means is beautifully drawn but graphic. And this series deals with some very troubling subjects from child molestation, poverty, abandonment, murder, and suicide. Basically it's all the content warnings.

I thoroughly enjoyed this volume, it's right in my wheelhouse, but I don't expect many others will. It'll be something I can jump into from time to time and with 14 volumes published in English something that will last while.

★★★★½

Connective Tissue: Locke & Key

For those that are better versed in Manga what does the two vertical parallel of dots indicate? I've seen them in both this one and the Summit of the Gods. I thought that they might be some sort of internal thinking or monologue, but here they use ... as well.

The dichotomy of graphical styles within manga is interesting. I find my reading tastes drawn to the more realistic/standard drawing styles and less than the Kawaii type art styles. It's kind of funny just how much art styles within the realm of the graphic novels influence choices.

Japanese authors love ellipses. In fact, translators often have to remove about 90% of them in translation due to the overuse of them compared to Western writing. If you see a speaker "speaking" in lots of dots it usually just means that they are thinking about something pensively. Or they are at a loss of words, literally.

>118 lilisin: Figured as much, but Kurosagi mixed the Western ellipses with the Japanese ellipses so I had second thoughts on their meaning. That's interesting about there use and what is removed through translation. Would never have thought the ellipse of all things would take such a cultural hold on writing.

While this one is still fresh in my mind:

The Tattooist by Junichiro Tanizaki -- Seikichi, a famous and sadistic tattooer in turn of the century, enjoys giving pain as much as exhibiting his art through his tattoos. His ambitions as an artist is to create a masterpiece on his ideal canvas; a woman of intense beauty. Spotting just the ankle of a woman passing through the busy streets, he longs to one day find this woman and tattoo her. Some months later his perfect canvas, a young woman serving a well known geisha, happens to be running an errand at his studio for her employer. After showing her paintings of women dominating men and gaining pleasure from their tortious worship, the girl, recognizing this power within in herself tries to flee. But Seikichi drugs her, and proceeds to tattoo her with his masterpiece. He pours himself into the piece and creates the thing that destroys him and builds her into her true self.

All about power dynamics and shifting powers. The tattooist is in control, exacting pain and creating works of art. After meeting a woman of formidable potential, all the power is shifted to her. He loses himself to her and becomes the subjugated. Having withstood the pain with grace, the young woman rises to become like the women of the paintings and dominate all the men that cross her path, reach her true potential.

This was my first bit of fiction from Junichiro Tanizaki, and I was blown away. I knew he was a phenomenal writer, but this story was a masterfully told and engrossing from beginning to end. I'm glad to have another Japanese short story collection to balance out Akutagawa.

Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche by Haruki Murakami
Translated by Alfred Birnbaum and Philip Gabriel

Finally, read a Haruki Murakami book from beginning to end! Sure, it's non-fiction and made up of entirely from interviews of victims/members from the 1995 Sarin Gas subway gas attack by the by members of the cult movement Aum Shinrikyo. But I am counting this as my Haruki Murakami book, because I find myself agreeing with him, in that the media and these types of books focus entirely too much on the perpetrators of these crimes and not enough on the victims.

Shocking how under prepared Tokyo was for disaster at scale, considering the likelihood of catastrophic events striking Japan. The lack of help or authority during the attack was appalling. You can't help but think that while the number of victims may have remained unchanged, perhaps the severity and health outcomes would have been less serve if the authorities had acted with authority. The refusal of treatment by hospitals is particularly upsetting, and the number of willing bystanders in the face of the something like this is tragic. I hope that lessons learned from this attack will be applied for effect in the next event.

The second half focusing on the cult is interesting. The members and the rationale of their actions before and after the attack is enlightening. Perhaps playing them up as victims too, which sure cults are bad, that doesn't excuse them of individual culpability. I could live without this part.

★★★★

Connective Tissue: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, The Library Book

>121 stretch:

The only Haruki Murakami book I've thoroughly enjoyed! I really enjoyed reading that one and there were lots of quotes I wrote down at the time.

Also, I just happen to have started Under the Banner of Heaven yesterday. I'm already hooked, as I expected to be. I haven't read any nonfiction this year and I could feel it missing. I think this will get my reading mood back up.

>122 lilisin: It really is a well done book. Murakami does well as interviewer to stay out of the way and let all the contradictory stories and recellations sit. I really liked this one from him. I really want to delve a bit deeper in the Aum Shinrikyo cult.

Under the Banner was really a disturbing read. I grew up in the rural west, and we had a FLDS compound in our small community. After reading Krakauer's book, you have to wonder about the rumors. They weren't openly polygamist, but who knows what went on behind their gates, they were fundamentally opposed in every other way with the Church. Even making the more conservative members of our Moron community uncomfortable.

Krakauer's work is addicting, for sure. Into Thin Air will always be one of my favorite nonfiction disasters. But Under the Banner makes a strong showing. And is the only distinctive religious cult mini theme I did a while back.

>123 stretch:

If you want to read more about Aum Shinrikyo I suggest Ian Reader's Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo. It sounds academic but reads as easily as Under the Banner.

>124 lilisin: Great recommendation! First chapter in and i see so many parallels to scientology already, kind of scarey how that can work in two different societies. It's going to be another fascinating read.

Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya
Translated by Warner Wells

I have hit a Japanese non-fiction kick, it seems. This slim volume is an amazing first-hand count of the days' aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by a doctor. Hachiya was both a victim and treated victims from the bombing, so there are personal details of the event itself and recovery from the terrible effects. The clarity with which Hachiya writes and the details of death, destruction, and the difficulties facing the survivors are gut-wrenching at times. The fact that this was a personal diary not meant for publication has an incredible literary quality that keeps you immersed in the narrative. Never feeling like a memoir or diary written by an amateur. This will be a hard read to forget anytime soon.

The attitude of victims towards their own military and those of the Americans will definitely come as a bit surprising, considering the context and brutality of the bombings throughout Japan. Some might even find them shocking and read as naive, but these feelings seem to be reflective of the general population. Not something shoe horned into the story to fit a one side of a debate.

★★★★★

Connective Tissue: Hiroshima, Hiroshima Notes, Black Rain

>126 stretch:

Oo!, this is right up my alley (as I'm sure you're very much well aware) and yet I haven't heard of this one. If you want a Nagasaki doctor point of view I recommend Takashi Nagai's The Bells of Nagasaki, who even has his own gallery in the Nagasaki bombing museum.

PS. I just finished the Krakauer. I have lots of thoughts!

>127 lilisin: Yay! I found one that you haven't go to yet! I do really need to read up on Nagasaki. I stumbled on this one from a mis google while looking up something from the Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo. A very worthwile sidetrack. I'll have to add the Bells of Nagasaki. I can't say I don't enjoy these books, but they are an area I am interested in exploring.

There is a lot to unpack from Krakauer that is for sure.

>126 stretch: Echoing Lilisin and putting that one at the top of my wishlist.

There's No Such Thing As An Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura
Translated by Polly Barton

While recovering from a nervous breakdown caused by her previous employment, an unnamed narrator takes a series of temp jobs. Looking for a perfect job that isn't really a job, more a task that isn't too taxing. With each new job requiring the narrator to become more emotionally invested, even as the job description becomes ostensibly less challenging. Her quest takes her down many rabbit holes, with her self-imposed exile from real work acting as a form of personal liberation. She excels at working behind the scenes, with observational feats that her male colleagues deem both inspired, if not a bit distasteful for their own liking.

Really, this story is Tsumra's subtle exploration of Japanese workplace relations and entrenched gender bias. Tsumura experienced severe gendered workplace harassment herself in a previous job. But here she only give vague reasons for the career burnout caused by an excessive engagement with her work. Tsumura's advocacy aspires toward incremental, harmonious change rather than outright revolution. Her change is much more stealthy and insidious and far more introspective.

It does not read as a quirky magical realist book that I've seen from some reviews. It has something to add to workplace culture, even if it is only a subtle message. The one issue I had is the injections of British-isms from the translation. They felt out of place and the character an odd voice that isn't fitting with her attitude.

★★★★

Connective Tissue: Severance

Just a quick pencil Upate: The Mirado Classic is not my favorite pencil in the world, especially once Papermate took over their manufacture. Still I wanted to figure out how/why this particular pencil has withstood the test of time. This is an OG pencil dating back to the early 1900s. So I wanted to do something retrospective, and sourced a few Mirados from various eras, I even got a hold for a limited time a pre-WW2 Mikado (the Mirado before a name refresh) a couple from the 60s, 80s, 90s, early 00s, and today. My conclusion remains the same = they are all shit. They weren't good back in the day, that got worse with time through product degradation. They started bad and remained bad. While the originals use cedar, it's rough cut cedar that splinters like crazy. The switch to poplar actually was an improvement. The core is unreal, inconsistent at all times. And the eraser has been unusable from the jump. All the reasons I dislike the Mirado have been inherent from day one. Aside from the slight changes red stripe brass colored ferrule there really isn't much to say about this thing. It'll work in a pinch, but there are so many more pencils then and now that are far superior. The whole history and retrospective just isn't worth the time and effort. Sure it's one of the first yellow American made pencils ever, and the cultural appropriation of the Asian sounding name is kind of interesting, especially having to switch out a letter so sounded less Japanese because of a war. That story is not all that unique though to pencils almost all the big manufactures used Asian sounding branding to market the high quality of their pencils, and they all started painting them yellow after the Koor-I-Noor, the difference is that those pencils are worth being nostalgic over.

>131 stretch: And I'm sure they were responsible for putting generations of people off pencils as a medium. But how interesting that they had to change their name after Pearl Harbor (from "Mikado"—I looked it up).

Catching up K. Enjoyed your pencil rants and now I’m afraid of my pencil. What if it’s one of those crap ones!

>109 stretch: this is a wonderful review of the trilobite book

>126 stretch: (Hiroshima Diary) - wow

>132 lisapeet: The Mirado was the only branding that successfully pivoted from the Asian sounding names. Other manufactures just dropped the branding. Except the Mongol I can't really think of any direct name branding that survived into the 90s with any culturally appropriating ties. The Blackfeet pencil was made by the Blackfeet tribe so that naming made sense. Pre-WW2 pencil names were more aspirational and hinting at luxury. Afterwards model numbers, descriptive and vaguely inspirational names became the norm (i.e. Blackwings, Van Dykes, Test Scoring 580, Mono, Mars Lumagraph). Prior to 1900s they were simply the names of the makers. Looking at the name can roughly place it on the timeline of pencildom. Branding is a whole fascinating rabbit hole Brand Name Pencils is a place I have lost many hours dreaming of all the vintage pencils I'll never have.

>133 dchaikin: My opinions on pencils shouldn't be an indictment of much. At the end of the day with the possible except being the Wopex even the crap is still perfectly usable. A Mirado is just as usable as Palomino as a pencil, one is just far better to use. I think why I rant about the Mirado so much is that it's one of the big pencils in the history of pencils. It has survived for over a hundred years as a brand. The red stripe is as iconic as Tic's green and yellow, or the Mongol's black and copper ferrules. It's more disappointing that it just isn't better.

I wouldn't worry about your pencil there are only a few bottom dwellers in the bunch. Even the big box store pencils have a place despite their absolutely disposal nature.

Hiroshima Diary is a sticky one for sure.

Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo by Ian Reader
lilisin rec.

This is such a well written book, highly academic account of the very beginnings of Aum Shrinikyo to the destructive cult it has become. Having read Murakami's Underground, which was a series of interviews with victims and perpetrators of the Aum attacks while humanizing those involved, does very little to explain how events escalated to such a brazen attack on the Tokyo Subway System. The crazed brainwashed stereotypes that the media leans on in these type of events is both lazy and in this case in particular couldn't be farther from the the truth of the kinds of people that made up the most devoted followers of Aum Shinriyko. Ian Reader meticulously documents the process by which an innocuous-seeming religious group gradually turns obsessive, hateful, paranoid, and deadly. There are so many parallels with fringe religious groups and apocalyptical cults the world over. A study in the gradual turn to violence by a charismatic leader is universal and not unique to this one cult. There is something to be learned about all such movements from this incredibly thorough but readable study of a new religious movement turned sour.

Even if I must admit to getting a bit lost in the various Buddhist and yoga practices that form the basis for this group. I only have the most basic understanding of Buddhism, Hinduism, and the spiritual side of yoga that I found myself leaning pretty hard on the dictionary function of my ereader at times. I know it wasn't written with a complete novice in these religions in mind, but it would have been nice to include an Appendix to explain the basic tenants of the various components of the bits and pieces borrowed to form this new religion.

★★★★½

Connective Tissue: Under the Banner of Heaven, Cultish, Inside Scientology, Underground

Death Sentences by Chiaka Kawamata
Translated by Kazuko Y. Behrens and Thomas LaMarre

Death Sentences is a genre bending, page turner of a book that is impossible to fit into a box of any kind. Part hard boil detective, part literary survey of the surrealist movement, part dystopian science fiction, part thriller, all tied together by a Ring like plot device that is somehow incredibly readable.

The Ring like plot device is a surrealist poem written by a mysterious and young poet just after the War Paris named Hu Mei (Who May). Who May is poet that embodies the surrealist movement, he is described as accomplishing feats of genius with his poetry that impresses and unnerves leaders within the surrealist movement. His long absences only add to his mystic and intrigue with his work. His last poem "the Gold of Time" is so devastating to the readers it leads to their insanity and an untimely death.

The poem is linked to a series of a litany of suspicious actual deaths of artist, poets, and writers within the surrealist movement. Eventually the poem is forgotten, buried in the past along with the surrealists. But sees a reemergence in 1980s Japan where it finds a new readership. It begins to reach a wider circulation, leaving death in its wake. The thriller and more gruesome aspects of the book come from the efforts to eliminate this poems threat to society. The means of which by the secret police and soldiers use to eradicate this new plague are brutal, without mercy, and not enough. Words travel faster than any amount of bullets can stop.

Surprisingly this book works. Kawamata pulls it all together in a very fun ad readable way that I devoured in a couple of days. By no means is a great work of literature but it is a fun literary thriller with some sci-fi elements that kept the pages moving. As an added bonus learned some surrealist artist names and went a little morbid in a deep dive into their lives and often strange deaths.

★★★★

Connective Tissue: 1984, Ring, Fahrenheit 451, The Big Sleep

Great review of Death Sentences, Kevin. The surrealism aspect of it sounds quite interesting!

>137 kidzdoc: It's not that in depth of course being a plot device, but I found it interesting for someone who knows nothing about the surrealist movement. I'm not sure I understand it any better, but at least I know something about it now.

Giant Killing Vol. 1 by Masaya Tsunamoto

A super fun soccer Manga! Totally within my wheelhouse and very light in comparison to the series I've started. Love the tactics and approach to soccer. Tsunamoto favors my preferred tactical approach in this one. It's a not so serious episodic soccer adventure drama. I'm not sure how many volumes I'll get to i can see the characters wearing thin and the storylines petering out, but that's fine it'll be easy top dip in and out of as I see fit.

★★★★

Connective Tissue: Inverting The Pyramid

>139 stretch:

Translating sports manga was always a huge risk as traditionally manga readers were "nerds who don't play sports" but with the mass appeal of manga broadening, they are finally getting translated. Since I used to read manga in French translation (France was the pioneer of manga translation so they were decades ahead of the game) and now reading manga exclusively in Japanese, I don't follow the English manga translation market at all. So to my surprise that every once I get a peak at the market and see all these soccer manga are now getting translated! So much fun. I'm a die hard soccer manga fan and own about 10 different soccer series. Hope my favorites get translated as well. (Giant Killing isn't on my priority to read list as I don't like the art as much.)

>140 lilisin: "France was the pioneer of manga translation so they were decades ahead of the game"

France was a pioneer in translating from Japanese as a whole really in the last decades of the 20th century -- almost the Japanese fiction I had read in my teens was either translated from the French translation or when looking for more of an author, all that was there was the French versions (and my French is as good as my Japanese...). I do wonder if the manga translations grew out from the prose tradition or it happened the other way around or they just developed in parallel...

>140 lilisin: I really hope more soccer ones gettranslatedas well. Giant Killing isn't my fvorite art style either but it was $0.99 on Kobo so I tought I'd give it a try and well now I want to see where it goes. Funny how that works. A lot of the ones I have a keen interest in are from the 80s and 90s so I have to find local source for manga here in the midwest to see if I can't scrounge up hard copies, sports manga aren't really widely available in ebooks. I wish my comics book store weren't so elitiest they'll only carry the mostpopular series that aren't really what I'm looking for. But for now I have a pretty descent set of series going to last a while:

The Summit of the Gods
Giant Killing
Dragonhead
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
Ito

Mostly horror stuff, but hey I'm not going to drift too far from home in any new media.

>141 AnnieMod: That's an interesting question.
As I participate in the Asia book challenge this year, I try to post each month the list of books I intend to read. While doing so at the beginning of August for Japanese writers, I figured out only one of the books was available in English (and I've read it since, and did not like it at all...).
But I had the same issue in June and in July, for the Indian sub-continent and for China, where I found that lots of books are not available in English.
And I do not consider myself as an elitist reader! We are back to our conversation around translation, and I must admit I feel priviledged, as a francophone reader, to have such a wide access to literature in translation.

A few quick thoughts:

Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag

Some interesting and thought provoking ideas on the how we a as a people depict pain and what that means. How we frame pain changes how we think about war, death, and torture. Sontag has a lot to say even if it gets repetitive and focuses on art criticism which blunts her overall ideas at times. Her conclusions can be a bit wild as well.

★★★½

---

LaserWriter II by Tamara Shopsin

A very New Yorker novel of a particular time and place. Not a New Yorker and certainly not from that time.

★★★

---

Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell

An interesting historical take on the Pilgrims. Funny in places a bit too snarky in others. hard to sustain the humor and didn't really fill like it was a subject that could be expounded upon which is disappointing for me since that makes history so much more interesting.

★★★

Elegy for Kosovo by Ismail Kadare

What an interest mix of poetic prose, fantasy, and a historical event. All three 'stories' for this short novel are interesting on their own, but collectively they form a world onto its own. The way Kadare weaves the stories together it is easy to tell he is a master story teller, and I will be seeking out more from in the future. Even if I found the minstrels annoying!

★★★½

Connective Tissue: Long Way Down, Deaf Republic, In a Grove

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

The communist state of Romania is fascinating in context of the Soviet Bloc. It was an outlier in Eastern Europe with closer ties to North Korea, and China than the Soviet Union. Having almost normal relations with the West when most of the Soviet Bloc was isolationist. Run into the ground by a pair of co-ruling dictators that cultivated a cult of personality. The destruction they wrought and the ideas that they pursued in the name of communism were and are some of the most outlandish and catrosphically dumb things imaginable for a ruler to undertake and hope to remain in power it's a wonder they were able to hold onto power so long.

The Ceaușescu's greatest tools for remaining in power was of course The Securitate and the immense network of informers. All communist regimes have a secret police force, but the Romania took the informer to a whole new level. Friends, neighbors, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, any and everybody could be and likely was an informer. Through blackmail and open bribery The Securitate controlled the population and collected records that were used to create new informers. It was an insidious system whose effects linger to this day. My girlfriends family file alone is over 3,000 pages. They weren't part of the political system, hold positions in the military, they carried no great secrets. They were ordinary people, her grandfather worked in the Dacia car factory her grandmother a seamstress. Yet there daily lives and every move was documented, their informers included both sets of siblings, the grandfathers mother, the local priest, neighbors of course, and even their own daughter. In Romania no one could be trusted.

I Must Betray You is an exploration of the claustrophobic environment from the perspective of one student forced to spy so his buna can get the medicine they need. The complicated feelings of betrayal, the stress of living a double life, coming of age in a failing regime, and learning how deep the system has penetrated into one young man's life is a lot to pack into one story, but Ruta Sepetys does a wonderful job evoking all the feelings and complications of living as an informer. The only flaws is like in most historical novels focusing on one character they have to be involved in everything and all the things have to happen to them. Sepetys does well at balancing this with trying to tell the story of the last days of the Ceaușescu regime. Not sure why it is considered young adult other than the characters are young, but whatever it is very well written.

I am always amazed at how fast Romania went from a state of absolute repression to revolution. From the stories I've heard from those that lived it, it really was like a light switch. One day they were all good little Romanians too afraid to talk to the next day protesting in the streets.

★★★★

Connective Tissue: Twilight Zone, Rise to Rebellion, Nothing to Envy

>146 stretch: I will have to look for this one. I actually checked out another book by Sepetys yesterday, Between Shades of Grey. Another book I would recommend as connective tissue is The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia by Orlando Figes. Figes is a bit of a jerk (manipulating Amazon reviews), but the book was excellent.

>147 labfs39: The Whisperers right up my alley. I like the personal perspective in this kind of horribleness. So much often focuses on the big names and themes, with little thought to the ordinary. Not saying the former is bad, we need those books too.

But yeah it's bad when your Wikipedia bio includes an Amazon review spat. Such a dumb petty thing to do.

Sepetys has a number books that look interesting. Historical fiction from areas that get little attention.

Listening to the book riot podcast today, they put together a top 10 list of literary phenomena that influenced the reading world. It was a macroscopic look but I thought it was kind of interesting to think about the phenomena that affected my own reading. It's not a top 10 list but:

1. Scholastic Book Fairs -- growing up in a small middle of nowhere community, these fairs were really the only way to get books that were current. Our small library did it's best but most things were long in the tooth. The fairs was as close to the bleeding edge as we got for what was current.

2. Harry Potter publication and series -- hit at the right time. I was 11 when the first one came out and was the first series I followed as they came out. never really fell down the fandom hole but I remember several summer days consuming the newest release. Hitchhiker and the Discworld were also important at this time.

3. E-ink and E-reader -- changed my reading as adult. I read almost exclusively on an e-reader and I don't plan on going back.

4. Barnes and Noble/Amazon -- again access is a big factor. I get that small independent bookstores are important, but small towns and tiny communities don't have the luxury of being picky. So a Barnes and Noble and an Amazon package opened book world to an endless amount of possibilities. I have moved away from Amazon where I can, but can't deny it's impact.

5. Writng about books -- this LT specific, I never kept a reading journal before. Finding LT and the forums has made reading a more social function and makes me reflect on what I read differently. Also added to new avenues that I don't think I would have explored without the LT and specifically Club Read.

6. Introduction to Japanese Literature -- another LT influence. The introduction of Japanese Literature from Lilisin has fundamentally changed the trajectory of what I read. I would have never picked up a Japanese author on my own with the exception of Murakami. Now besides horror Japanese literature is the only thing I seek out with purpose. 

7. Audiobooks -- not the biggest change for me, still a small portion of my reading life, but has expanded what can be consumed and where. Competes with podcasts and loses most of the time. 

>149 stretch: Interesting to look at the wider influences on your reading life... that would make a cool Question for the Avid Reader.

>150 lisapeet: I think it would be interesting to see where it goes especially from the folks that didn't obvilously grow up in the 90s.

>151 stretch: Or grew up in somewhat different 90s :) Interesting list in >149 stretch: - it made me think what my top 10 are

>151 stretch: Like me! I share a number of yours, from the Scholastic Book Fair to e-reading and social media sharing, but as a child of the '70s, differences as well.

>149 stretch:

I'm honored to be on this list!

I still remember the first time I was allowed to walk to the library with my friends instead of with my mother.

Noted and put on the "Questions" list

>152 AnnieMod: and >153 lisapeet: The great part of this group is the wide range of experiences and tastes is a phenomena all on its own.

>154 lilisin: Honor and blame for 200+ book TBR. I don't regret your recommendations.

>155 dianeham: That is a nice memory. Our first library and all that it holds is hard to forget.

>156 avaland: Thanks Lois. Saves me from having to figure out the messaging system again. The Book Riot podcast for reference. They annoyingly don't have separate pages nor episode numbers.

Living with Darwin by Philip Kitcher

This is my hobby horse that just won't die. This is a typical takedown of intelligent design from a philosophical/logic perspective by a very knowledgeable philosopher of science, on the actual science being discussed. Not written in dense jargon, makes it easy to digest. In a weird way I am kind of sad to see the state the ID movement is in currently. Nothing new in over a decade. I know creationism and ID never die, but they are kind of pitiful at the moment. I need something new in the scientific controversy that won't make my blood boil to fill this hole.

★★★★

Connective Tissue: For the Rock Record: Geologists on Intelligent Design, Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution

Little Dead Red by Mercedes M. Yardley

A modern day retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood" of a young girl disappearing on her way to taking soup to her grandmother in a nursing home. Along the way she is preyed upon by a wolf she is all too familiar with. The mystery that unfolds and the actions of desperate mother seeing vengeance is a well written, perfectly paced, and twisted tale. Yardley has done thie retelling justice even if the ending diverges from the original.

★★★★½

Connective Tissue: The Girl in Red, The Brothers Grimm

---

Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke

This is a very different coming of age story. A twelve year old boy determined to take part in a spelling bee and achieve one proud moment in his young life will ignore his drunk, abusive mother's death until after his moment. For days she rots in a festering house while the young boy continues to fend for himself and prepare for his moment. There's never really anything depraved here, it's the logical conclusion of a young boy coming to terms with having no love left for an awful woman that hasn't been a part of his life for years. He just wants one proud moment before he disappears into the system. The twist here is that it ends happily or not as tragically awful as it could.

★★★★

Connective Tissue: Stand by Me

Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley

A very different twist on the genre. The protagonist, Bryony Adams, from the first pages is destined to be killed, and to die young. She knows it, everyone around her knows it. All there is to do is wait for fate to do its thing. Wherever she goes death follows, she is chased by her fate, which repeatedly fails to hit its intended target. The story is centered on the awareness of the brief life and the emotions of loved ones dealing with this forgone conclusion.

A dark and original fairy tale full of fourth wall breaking explores the intricacies of destiny, death, beauty, personal relationships, and everyday life. Despite the dark atmosphere this a joyful life affirming novel that works on a lot of levels.

★★★★½

Connective Tissue: None

Administrator by Taku Mayumura
Translated by Daniel Jackson

Series of stories of future space colonies governed by an rigid administrator lead system. The administrator of incredibly diverse worlds act as the sole representative of the government. There is no other link to these stories other than this form of government and complex structure of robots that do the real work. Highly contemplative, admins, thinking about their role, the unique issues of their worlds, their future, what it means to be an administrator. Very quiet stories, little action or conflict. The ambiguous endings and lack of resolution is likely to drive readings a bit crazy. A lack of any real plot or story in these stories is probably the deal killer. I thought it was an interesting take on science fiction. Feels a bit more zen than a future full of technology and space colonization.

★★★½

Connective Tissue: Ten Billion Days and a hundred Billion Nights

Very, very belatedly catching up on your thread and have been feverishly noting down titles, the Hiroshima book in particular.

>162 AlisonY: The Hiroshima book is one that is going to be one of the sticking ones from this year for sure.

2022 World Cup

Group Stage:

Brazil is the early favorite, being the only front-runner to look in form going into the tournament. Germany looks bad, not sure what's going on with England, France is usual French mode mini-implosion with no clear identity, Belgium will be fun for a while, wish Spain would evolve, Africa is hard to predict which one will upset, everyone else is a crap shoot. Messi and Ronaldo's last World Cup.

Plus and minus numbers are the goal differential (1st tiebreaker if the two teams are on the same record), if needed I'll add more info to individual decisions that go beyond GD.

Group A:

Netherlands | 2-1-0 | +4
Senegal | 2-0-1 | +1
Ecuador | 1-1-1 | +1
Qatar | 0-0-3 | -6

Group B:

England | 2-1-0 | +7
USA | 1-2-0 | +1
IR Iran | 1-0-2 | -3
Wales | 0-1-2 | -5

Group C:

Argentina | 2-0-1 | +3
Poland | 1-1-1 | 0
Mexico | 1-1-1 | -1
Saudi Arabia | 1-0-2 | -2

Group D:

France | 2-0-1 | +3
Australia | 2-0-1 | -1
Tunisia | 1-1-1 | 0
Denmark | 0-1-2 | -2

Group E:

Japan | 2-0-1 | +1
Spain | 1-1-0 | +6
Germany | 1-1-1 | +1
Costa Rica | 1-0-2 | -8

Group F:

Morocco | 2-1-0 | +3
Croatia | 1-2-0 | +3
Belgium | 1-1-1 | -1
Canada | 0-0-3 | -5

Group G:

Brazil | 2-0-1 | +2
Switzerland | 2-0-1 | +1
Cameroon | 1-1-1 | 0
Serbia | 0-1-2 | -3

Group H:

Portugal | 3-0-0 | +4
Korea Republic | 1-1-2 | 0
Uruguay | 1-1-1 | 0
Ghana | 1-0-2 | -2

Cursory thoughts: Hard fought USA and Wales draw, boneheaded penalty on Bale, otherwise the USA might have squeaked one out. English demolishing Iran, good start to Group B. Group A not great, Ecuador looked solid enough but nothing special. I don't rate Argentina as high as most, but I did not expect them to lose to Saudi Arabia. Absolute stunner and opens the door for Mexico, wow. Brazil looks as good as advertised, at least in that first game. A win of US against England in a 0-0 draw, we looked to be the better team with more chances. England is said to be built for the knockout stages, we will see. Germany has better than their pre-tournament form, but can't get the results. Spain's passing and control is something extraordinary that is also maddening to watch. Okay Ecuador is fun actually they play at full speed for full time, it's all or nothing with them. So many mixed results in the 2nd game of the group stages makes it though to judge, except Qatar and Canada, they have been eliminated. Kind of a shock that Senegal makes it out of the group and Ecuador goes home, they played their way to win. USA makes it to the Round of 16, did what we had to, but need to figure out how to score goals. Suppose everyone does, but we really don't have a number 9 or a reliable goalscorer. Couldn't find one in qualification, the World Cup is not exactly a good time to find one. We will have a very tough time against the Netherlands. Japan with the 2nd comeback to top the group with Spain and Germany is just wild. Morocco topping their group is good to see, I think them and Nigeria are the only two CAF nations to do that twice. Korea's late winner ends Uruguay's journey. What a wild group stage, can't remember so much changing on the last day with so many upsets. There's always some of course, but this just seems like out of the ordinary.

Match of the Group Stage: England vs USA (0-0) -- Not even being remotely objective here, but it won't change. This draw was a statement win for this young USMNT regardless of how the rest of the tournament unfolds.

Group H was the best group: Germany vs Spain was a semi-final game, even if Germany isn't at their peak. Japan coming back to beat Germany and Spain were games for the record books. These are objectively games of the group stage.

Round of 16:

Netherlands 3
USA 1

Argentina 2
Australia 1

France 3
Poland 1

England 3
Senegal 0

Japan 1 | 0-0-1-0
Croatia 1 | 1-1-0-1

Brazil 4
Korea Republic 1

Morocco 0 | 1-1-0-1
Spain 0 | 0-0-0

Portugal 6
Switzerland 1

Cursory thoughts: USA looked good for the 1st 15 or so minutes, then not so good after. Things to build on for sure, consistency would be nice going forward. The lack of a true No. 9 for the US is a must fix. Australia made it interesting. France and England dominate. Brazil toyed with South Korea could have been a lot worse. Japan can't take penalties, sad way to go out. Morocco upsets Spain, the first North African nation to advance to the Quarter Finals. Spain passed a lot for nothing to show, and got Panenka'd. Portugal destroyed Switzerland with Ronaldo on the bench.

Match of the Round of 16: Brazil vs South Korea - Nike has its next commercial.

Quarter Finals:

Netherlands 2 | 0-0-1-1-1
Argentina 2 | 1-1-1-0-1

Croatia 1 | 1-1-1-1
Brazil 1 | 0-1-1-0

England 1
France 2

Morocco 1
Portugal 0

Croatia is just built different. They play more 120 minute matches back to back than anyone in the tournament. Three to make the finals in 2108 and two this tournament. They can never be counted out. Argentina are making a strong run for the finals, what a story that would make. Morocco continues to surprise and make history. France over England was kind of inevitable. Really thought Brazil had what it took to win this Cup, but knockout stages can be brutal.

Sadly, Grant Wahl passed away suddenly at 48 while covering the Argentina-Netherlands game. Huge loss for soccer journalism in this country, and just a genuinely good guy. He was the only mainstream journalist that really covered the sport here for a long, long time. He will be missed.

Match of the Quarter Finals: Netherlands vs Argentina - they really went at each other, fun game.

Semi-Finals:

Argentina 3
Croatia 0

France 2
Morocco 0

Thankfully, Argentina figured out a way to beat Croatia. Croatia are fighters, but the potential rematch of 2018 final was not very appetizing. Now I can get onboard the Messi hope train, to win a cup and get that asterisks off his claim for GOAT. France knocked out fan favorite Morocco to make for a compelling final between two very good teams.

We do not respect the third place game.

Final:

Argentina 3 | 1-1-1-1
France 3 | 1-0-0-1

What a way to end the Cup. That was one of the best finals ever! And what a way for Messi to get his Cup. That was historic making, he put is stamp on the Greatest of All Time, there is no doubting that now. This was a great World Cup on the field, tons of great games, and players giving it all. Off the field, it was nothing but bad for so many reasons. Qatar and FIFA found new lows throughout the tournament. It's a mix bag of great games and some of the best soccer ever, and the juxtaposition of the gross negligence of foreign worker's human rights. Not sure how to square all that. Hoping the next iteration in 2026 will be as exciting as this one without all the garbage. And it will be in the summer, where it belongs.

Rooting Interests

Heart = USA Round of 16
Head = Brazil Quarter finals
Neighborly Love = Canada Out in Group F

Golden Boot

Kylian Mbappé (FRA) - 8
Lionel Messi (ARG) - 7
Julian Alvarez (ARG) - 4

Golden Ball

Lionel Messi (ARG)

Silver Ball

Enzo Fernadez (ARG)

>164 stretch: Now I know where to go to get the results!

France is usual French mode mini-implosion
I am not a football fan, but I love your analysis. Touché!

>164 stretch: Well that's fun! Unfortunately Canada's first game is against Belgium, so there's not much doubt where that will go.

>165 raton-liseur: to be fair they'll probably go pretty far regardless of the drama.

>166 SassyLassy: Canada has it rough draw for a new comers. I will be pleasantly surprised if any CONCACAF member makes it past the group stages. Mexico has the best chance, but it's slim. They have been underperforming for a while now.

Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda
Translated by Alison Watts

Tremendously slow burning mystery if you can call it that. Centering on a couple seeking answers but not wanting to ask the hard questions before going their separate ways. Taking place over a single night the couple reveals long held secrets and accuses each other of causing the death of a hired guide. The death is revealed early in the story so no mystery there. In fact, this isn’t a mystery story at all. It’s more of a story of a couple falling apart, dealing with their feelings of guilt, and uncovering their version of the truth.

Hard to really pin this book down to any one thing. There is not a lot to this story, mystery readers won’t like this one for lack of mystery, not much in the way of philosophical discussions, kind of just peters out in the end. Really, it's a well written reflection of a very specific relationship with mild twists and turns brought to a breaking point by a tragic event. This is a quiet and contemplative novel that plays with genre conventions rather holds to them which is not going to be everyone's cup of tea.

★★★½

Connective Tissue: Penance, The Memory Police

Prefecture D by Hideo Yokoyama
Translated by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies

Four loosely related mysteries taking place within the police force of a metropolitan Prefecture. The stories deal largely with the internal machinations of the force. Why certain personnel refuse to step down, minor scandals, ambition and navigating a bureaucratically dense system, harassment, and the politics of it all.

These vignettes are told in a very Japanese style, full of proper etiquette and deference paid to superiors. Each story is slowly built in detail. With every part fitting snugly within a strict hierarchical system. The inner workings of the police department and the promotion system employed by the force are quite foreign to my understanding of these things work. The seemingly constant shifting of positions within sub departments seems like it would be difficult to gain any real expertise or cohesion within that department. And promotions being used as a reward/punishment system requires a constant gamesmanship within the ranks. It becomes more of projection of competence than actual competence. The image of the police force takes presidence over everything else, Yokoyama makes the police force seem more interested in status than solving actual crimes. Small crimes/infractions go ignored or are swept under a rug by the administrators of the system all in order to protect the system. A single blemish to the force is made to seem like it could potentially bring the whole then down. All leading to a police force that is opaque and of questionable service to the community.

I'll be interested in the Yokoyama's other books to see where he takes this thread. The distrust of the media is an interesting theme.

★★★½

Connective Tissue: On Parole

I'll be out of town for the rest of the year and this is too hard to format by phone so I'm calling it a year.



Vitals
Total Number of Books = 82 | Pace = 6.83
Fiction = 45 | 54.9%
Non-Fiction = 18 | 22.0%
Other = 8 | 9.8%
Article = 11 | 13.4%
Total Number of Pages = 19,109 | Average = 269
Audio Hours Listened = 82.6 | Median = 224
Podcast Hours Listened = 637.7
Average Number Days = 8.9
Average Pages per Day = 60.2
TBR Status = 16.5% Increase (654 book TBR)

Allocation:
Bought = 39 |47.6%
Borrowed = 35 | 42.7%
Stole = 8 | 9.8%

Author Demographics:
Male = 39 | 47.6%
Female = 37 | 45.1%
Mixed = 6 | 7.3%
New to Me = 63 | 76.8%
Diverse Read = 18 | 22.0%
Translated = 20 | 24.4%
More than 1 book: Yumemakura, Baku (2); Scalzi, John (3); Otsuka, Eiji (2); Yardley, Mercedes (2)


Country of Origin:
U.S. = 50
U.K. = 4
Japan = 15
Ukraine = 1
Chile = 3
Ireland = 3
Canada = 2
Denmark = 1
Phillipines = 1
Argentina = 1
Lithuania = 1
Albania = 1
Germany = 2

Publication Year:
2020+ = 29
2010-2019 = 27
2000-2009 = 12
1990-1999 = 5
1980-1989 = 4
Pre-1980 = 5
Avg. Pub. Year = 2010
Median Pub. Year = 2018

Ratings:
5 = 4
4.5 = 10
4 = 17
3.5 = 22
3 = 19
2.5 = 4
2 = 4
1.5 = 2
1 = 0
Average = 3.51
36.9% Rated 4 stars or higher
48.8% Rated between 3 & 4 stars
11.9% Rated below 3 stars

Disincentive = 12 pts

Reading Goals vs. Achieved

Total Books 75 | 109.3%
Total Pages 17,500 | 109.2%
Average Days 14 | 8.9
Pages/Day 50 | 60.2
Women 70% | 64.5%
Outsiders 24 | 116.7%
Translated 18 | 111.1%
Diverse Read 35% | 62.7%
Rating 3.50 | 100.3%

Favorites of 2022

1st Quarter:

(f) The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernadez
(nf) Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
(f) FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
(f) Severance by La Ming
(f) The Test by Sylvain Neuvel
(gn) The Summit of the Gods Vol. 1 by Baku Yumemakura

2nd Quarter:

(f) Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha
(nf) Travels with Trilobites by Andy Secher
(f) Crossroads by Laurel Hightower
(gn) Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Vol. 1 by Eiji Otsuka

3rd Quarter:

(nf) Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya
(f) There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura
(f) Death Sentences by Chiaki Kawamata
(f) I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
(f) When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut

4th Quarter:

(f) Little Dead Red by Mercedes M. Yardley
(f) Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke
(f) Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley
(f) Administrator by Taku Mayumura
(f) Only the Stains Remain by Ross Jeffery
(s) Excerpts from a film (1942-1987) by A.C. Wise

End of Year thoughts:

2022 was mostly a good year. Hit the disincentive goal so no running, that's a plus. A few memorable reads this year. Next year I will revamp my goals to read longer books which probably means less output, but I think that may be better, after about 50 or so books I kind of begin forgetting what I read earlier in the year and how it compares. So, I'd like to stick that number going forward, but otherwise can't complain about the reading this year.

Great reading this year, Kevin. Happy holidays and see you on the flip side!

>170 stretch: A well-balanced selection of books. I also really enjoyed Severance and Your House Will Pay. I look forward to following your reading again next year.

>170 stretch:

Seems like a successful reading year.
Mine was definitely a transitional year where I try to bump up my Japanese language reading. In 2023 I'd like to go back to some English reading as I have some books on my TBR that I'd like to finally get through. Also some classics are languishing although I really want to read them.

Happy to follow you again next year!

>171 labfs39:, >172 RidgewayGirl:, >173 lilisin:, thanks y'all see you in CR23 next year. Look to following y'alls threads.

>173 lilisin: Great, I enjoyed following your Japanese reads this year, it's a totally different view of that side of world. I hope next year to surpass the UK with Japanese authors I have plenty to do it!