What I read, Q3 2024

October 21st, 2024Posted by Nancy

Time for the reading update.

FICTION

The Shamshine Blind, Paz Pardo. California noir set in a world in which Argentina defeated the US thanks to the use of psychopigments, colourful chemicals that produce emotion on contact. Our heroine is a the classic downtrodden detective hero – a Psychopigment Enforcement Agent caught up in a tangled web of conspiracy. Lots of fun.

Some Desperate Glory, Emily Tesh. This year’s Hugo winner. Solid stuff, if somewhat predictable.

Mammoths at the Gates, Into the Riverlands, Nghi Vo. I caught up on these novellas in Vo’s Singing HIlls Cycle. Always rewarding reads.

Poison in Their Hearts, Laura Sebastian. Finished off this series about three sisters struggling against the schemes of their royal mother.

A Half-Built Garden, Ruthanna Emrys. What happens when the aliens arrive on earth and make first contact with an anarcho-syndicalist commune? Ok, not really – but the watersheds are run by consensus and are committed to restoring Earth’s fragile environment. Warm, hopeful, funny, and engaging.

NON-FICTION

The Heat Will Kill You First, Jeff Goodell. A not-quite-so-hopeful take on the impact the increasing temperature will have on our lives. I listened to it while going on my walks in the very warm Toronto summer, which did add a bit of unnerving verisimilitude.

A City on Mars, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. Another Hugo winner. A very funny look at the perils and promise of space settlements. It is, of course, not nearly as simple as Elon makes it sound.

Midnight Light, Dave Bidini. Musician/writer Bidini’s account of his season as a guest columnist for the local paper allows him to explore life in Yellowknife, and the larger-than-life personalities who inhabit it.

Venice, Dennis Romano. Which I read AFTER my trip to Venice and promptly made me want to go back. Covers the broad span of the city’s history, not just the maritime empire high points.

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