grundyscribbling

Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi Saw it on the new SciFi shelf at Next Town Over Library and figured why not? A fun romp very much in keeping with the zeitgeist. If you like science fiction and enjoyed Glass Onion, I reckon you'll like this. The protagonist, Jamie, gets laid off from a tech start-up at the outset of the book, just as the pandemic kicks off. Stuck as a delivery person (think Uber Eats), Jamie gets a tip of a different kind from a former acquaintance who recognizes them despite the mask - a new job with an animal rights organization. Large animals. No one mentions until you've already signed on the dotted line, had your shots, and shipped off to the field that the animals in question are kaiju. (And 'the field' is a parallel Earth in another dimension...)

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse - Fantasy well done. Book 1 of 3? though - and be warned that it stops at a point where if you don't have the sequel you may throw the book across the room in frustration. (I have the sequel, so no harm was done to the library book.) It was, however, the second time I was tempted to throw the book. ( Spoiler behind the mini-cut: ) Which brings me to the next book...

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse - Picks up where Black Sun left off, and in addition to showing us what's happening with the characters we already knew, throws a few more onto the board. Our heroes discover all is not as it seems as they discover information withheld, spies, plots, and begin to chart courses wholly unexpected by the people who thought they were in charge. Am now slightly frustrated about the wait for book 3, which Rebecca Roanhorse has said is currently expected in 2023. (She also said who will be on the cover - Black Sun was Serapio, Fevered Star Naranpa, and the as yet untitled Book 3 will be Xiala.)

(I'm getting my own copies of both of the above. Shout out to Blackwell's for having the most reasonable prices, delivery included.)

Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks - Finished. Depressing read because the feminist movement is still having the same conversations now that bell hooks is talking about 40 years ago. It's all here- the wealthy white women concerned primarily with their own definition of 'liberation', the classism, the racism, the need to consider the economic system, sexuality (I don't know that she used the word asexual, but she's certainly talking about the concept)...

The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel - This was an Amazon First Reads book. (I have Kindle Unlimited, at least until my current subscription expires at the end of August. This one sounded more interesting than the others in the month it was offered.) Meena is a globe-trotting photojournalist, who unexpectedly inherits an apartment in Back Bay - she's never heard of the woman who left it to her, and she's definitely not an engineer. The apartment comes with a bit of a mystery and the shadow of the dead, but then so does Meena. There's a bit of a twist, but it's a happy ending kind of story.

Oh, question - should I be including cookbooks in this? I've mostly quit buying them, but I do get them from the library semi-regularly...