Book Log 2019 #3: The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu

The second book in the Three Body Problem trilogy, the Trisolarans are on their way to Earth, and have used a form of subatomic computers to spy on Earth and prevent scientific or technological breakthroughs that might help Earth defend itself. The book focuses on how the UN tries to get around this, eventually jumping ahead 200 years to show the first contact between the two civilizations and its aftermath. 

I really do like this trilogy, and would suggest taking your time reading the books. As with the first book, I feel like I read this one too quickly, and missed things. So take your time and enjoy this.

 Book Log 2019 #2: The Road Taken by Henry Petroski

In this book, Petroski looks at infrastructure (transportation infrastructure in particular) and, as with many of his previous books, gives its history in great detail and full of the surprising facts that often make his books so much fun to read. Better still, it avoids the trap of getting too bogged down in those facts, a problem that made The Book on the Bookshelf so hard to get through.

And as you might expect from a civil engineer, he also uses this book to argue for both increased spending to fix the things that are broken and better planning in implementing new infrastructure. It's hard to argue with either point, and I was happily surprised at the focus on making better infrastructure in the future. We don't often talk about creating infrastructure to solve (or avoid) future problems, which is how we wind up with ever-wider freeways that still fill up with traffic.

A good read on a real problem that will hopefully get more attention soon.

 Book Log 2019 #1: The Incendiaries by R. O. Kwon

Faith, loss, and identity are the major themes of this novel, which sees two young college students interact with a local oddball turned cult leader, with horrifying results. The extent to which each of the characters is driven to do what they did by their past losses or current relationships is left to the reader to consider.

Reading reviews of this book I saw at least a couple of references to Donna Tartt's The Secret History, which I can see. Both books follow close-knit and often unhealthy relationships between college students, and both have tragic endings. One review also noted that the students in both books were not representative of typical college students, as they don't consume popular culture in the way that most do (and in the more recent book, a lack of texting).

That being said, I do find that this book travels much more in the real world than Tartt's book, and it is much easier to identify with the students at the heart of this book than those in The Secret History. I should also note that I hated The Secret History, and did not hate this one at all. 

Was it the most uplifting book to start the new year? No. But it's well worth reading.

 Book Log 2018 #50: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Finally, the last entry for 2018, and I will say it ended on a high note. Set during World War II, this book tells the stories of a blind French girl and a German boy adept with electronics, and how their paths eventually cross as they try to survive the war.

I had no problem getting sucked into this book, as the story is richly told with the sort of detail you'd want from a historical novel, with an additional layer of personal triumphs and tragedies for both of the main characters. I did read one review that faulted the use of modern American style and language, which I admit I didn't notice. Probably not surprising being an American and all.

I really enjoyed this, and was happy to read a World War II novel whose main characters weren't spies or doomed lovers (no offense to Alan Furst, of course, but it's nice to have a change of pace). Definitely recommended.

 Book Log 2018 #49: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

It's a murderous road trip, as Vowell goes across America to visit sites related to political killings, both to reflect on the history and how these events were used to manipulate politics and popular culture. 

This should be right up my alley, and I mostly enjoyed it, but I never fully connected with the book. Not sure why, it was interesting and often funny (moreso than you might expect from the subject), but I rarely felt like I was engaged to the level I usually am when reading. 

That being said, I do recommend it, especially if you have an interest in US history and/or politics. It's also not a particularly long book, so if you encounter the same issue I did it's easy enough to stick with it until the end.

 Book Log 2018 #48: Standing in Another Man's Grave by Ian Rankin

John Rebus is finally retired - kind of.  He's working cold cases as a civilian, which isn't as exciting as his old job but gives him something to do. When a couple of current missing persons cases appear to be similar to one of the cold cases, Rebus sees his chance to get back into a real case. With his usual amount of insubordination, verbal fencing with Big Ger Cafferty, and police work that may occasionally cross the line.

I was interested to see how Rebus would operate as a retiree, and was gratified that not much had changed. But I am curious to see how much this continues in future novels (there have to be more coming, right?), and if the series ever makes a permanent transition to Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox as lead characters.

 Book Log 2018 #47: A Death in Summer by Benjamin Black

A newspaper tycoon dies from a shotgun blast, and it's up to Dublin police inspector Hackett - along with medical examiner Quirke - to figure out if it's suicide or murder, and if the latter, who pulled the trigger. Along the way they untangle the deceased's tangled web of personal and professional dealings, while Quirke also has to consider his assistant's relationship with the sister of the victim, both in light of the case and the assistant's burgeoning romance with Quirke's daughter.

I've always been a little on the fence about this series, and that feeling continued after reading this installment. The core mystery was OK if a little dull, and I still have no idea what women see in Quirke. But I'm into it enough to keep going.

 Book Log 2018 #46: Origin by Dan Brown

Everyone's favorite symbologist is at it again, as Robert Langdon goes to an event at the Guggenheim in Bilbao for a presentation that is said will change science forever... only to have it end in chaos. Langdon goes on the run with the museum's director, and the pair have to figure out a way to save this discovery from the forces allayed against them. Sound familiar?

Also familiar is the big reveal at the end, which (spoiler alert) claims to disprove that religion is a thing but isn't particularly convincing. I was able to come up with a reasonable counter-argument in about three minutes, and I am not a philosopher or theologian. Or a symbologist, for that matter. 

Probably fine for an airplane/beach/commute read where you want something that moves reasonably quickly, doesn't require a lot of thinking, and don't have any better options.

 Book Log 2018 #45: Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford dropout with an interest in life sciences, founded a company called Theranos that claimed it could run dozens of lab tests and get accurate results from a single drop of blood. Hailed as a genius and a revolutionary, she attracted high-profile investors and grew the company to a valuation in the billions. 

Only problem was that the technology didn't work.

Carreyrou, who wrote on science and health for the Wall Street Journal, wrote a series of articles that questioned Holmes' claims. This would later grow into this book, which gives a comprehensive picture as to how Holmes and others at Theranos - most notably her business and romantic partner Sunny Balwani - were able to keep the secret about their technology while raising millions. Spoiler alert: it involves a lot of threats against lower-level employees.

Most notable for me in this was the way that former US Secretary of State George Schultz became so wrapped up in the company - and in personal regard for Holmes - that he ignored the warnings of his grandson, a biologist who worked at Theranos and knew first-hand that the company wasn't what it seemed.

I found this book fascinating, both for the main story about the company and all of the personal stories that intertwine with it. Holmes herself is maybe most fascinating in the "what exactly is her psychopathology" sort of way.

There's also a documentary, which I also recommend.

 Book Log 2018 #44: Potsdam Station by David Downing

Journalist turned spy John Russell is still out of harm's way, but fears for his son and girlfriend, both of whom are still in harm's way (on the Eastern Front and in an increasingly perilous Berlin, respectively). Russell tries to find a way to get back into Germany, but his plan has some unintended consequences. Which is kind of par for the course, given the number of scrapes Russell has been in while playing the Germans, Soviets, and British off of each other.

I've read a couple of reviews of the book, and tend to agree with them that the depiction of Berlin on the precipice of falling to the Soviets is much better than the actual plot lines. One of the reviews faulted the series for not depicting the main characters more richly (which holds some water, but I don't find them as one-dimensional as the reviewer did), while both found fault with Russell's ability to navigate Berlin once he returns (which I agree with in retrospect).

For all that, I do still like the series and am interested to see how the war ends for everyone.

 Book Log 2018 #43: War of the Wolf  by Bernard Cornwell

Uhtred of Bebbanberg has finally recaptured his ancestral home, But as you might expect, trouble continues to lurk, from both expected and new places.

This is the 11th book in the Saxon Tales series, and by this point you're either all in or have given up. If you're still somewhere in between, the series will apparently end with the thirteenth book, so you might as well finish.

 Book Log 2018 #42: Skyfaring by Mark Vanhoenacker

I heard about this book on Rick Steves' radio show/podcast, and was interested to read an account about flying written by a commercial pilot. I didn't expect it to be fully a tell-all/behind the scenes account, but I wasn't expecting something that was so reflective and philosophical. This actually wound up being more of a problem than you might expect, as I had a really hard time connecting with the book. Whether that was due to my expectations or that I don't have the sort of flying experience to fully appreciate the author's reflections I don't know.

Admittedly, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about flying, even when I am flying. I tend to think more about plummeting (or the continued lack thereof). I'm not a nervous flyer, but can't really sleep on planes and my brain likes to go places when it's not otherwise engaged.

In any event, I think this is probably worth checking out if you spend a lot of time in the friendly skies, either as a passenger or crew member.

 Book Log 2018 #41: I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

This is one of those rare (to almost being non-existent) cases where a book becomes its own story. McNamara, a journalist/blogger with a focus on true crime, became interest in a series of crimes from the 1970s and '80s that spanned California. She came up with the name Golden State Killer to emphasize the statewide nature of the crimes and focus the investigation into one perpetrator. She wrote and researched the cases, even getting the help of law enforcement after proving she could be trusted with sensitive information, and signed the deal to produce this book.

And then, in the middle of writing the book, she passed away unexpectedly.

This left her staff and her husband (the actor/comedian Patton Oswald) to organize her material and finish the book. In doing so they all pulled off the unexpected feat of both helping to uncover the identity of the killer and putting together a highly readable and engrossing work while mourning the loss of a friend and partner.

I don't read a lot of true crime, but liked this book a great deal and would certainly recommend it.

 Book Log 2018 #40: The Dante Chamber by Matthew Pearl

I was a big fan of The Dante Club (which I apparently read before logging books, or maybe I just forgot to log it), so I was looking forward to this sequel, which moves the action to London, where a number of murders tied into Dante lead to the fear that artist and writer Dante Gabriel Rossetti will be the next victim. A litany of English literary figures, from Rossetti's sister Christina to Browning and Tennyson are enlisted to find Rossetti and figure out who is committing these murders - and why.

I was somewhat disappointed in the book, though I have a hard time articulating why. It could be I found the first novel more to my interests (being set in the Boston area), or perhaps I set my expectations too high. In any case, it's not a bad book, and I do like Pearl's novels generally, so I do think it's worth a look. Just keep your expectations in check.

 Book Log 2018 #39: The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

This is the first book of a trilogy where we make first contact with an alien civilization, with the result that (spoiler alert) the aliens decide they want to invade Earth.  This is a very simple statement of the plot, which folds in a variety of historical, philosophical, and scientific detail. It's one of those books that I enjoyed even though I constantly felt like I was missing something.

Part of that might be due to the book being translated from Chinese. I also wonder if there's a cultural difference between Eastern and Western science fiction that might account for some of this. Of course, it could just be that the book was operating at a level above the amount of work I put in to reading it.

All that being said, if you're into science fiction it's very much worth reading.

So my younger son has been calling Columbus Day "Columbia Day," and while this seems to be a simple slip of the tongue (he still says "Orlando" whenever we see a licence place from Ontario, so he's a little malapropish), it did get me thinking. 

Columbus Day has been falling out of favor for years, especially as the impact of his trips on the native population become more well known. The rise in localities opting to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day reflects this, and has led to an expected backlash from those who want to keep Columbus on the calendar.  Why not satisfy both sides and change the holiday to Columbia Day?

Columbia Day would be dedicated to celebrating the development of the United States and the contributions of all parties. It would recognize both native populations and the explorers who brought the New World into the orbit of the Old World. People would be free to tailor their own celebrations accordingly, though they would ideally reflect the varied and rich history of human history.

It's not a perfect solution, of course. Columbia was often used in the context of manifest destiny, which didn't go so well for native populations in the west. I could also see residents of the District of Columbia co-opting this day to highlight their lack of representation in Congress and further the push for statehood. Still, it would likely irritate partisans on both sides of the issue, which suggests it may not be that bad of an idea.

In any event, let me be the first (and only) person to wish you a happy Columbia Day today!

 Book Log 2018 #38: The Secret Dead by S. J. Parris

This is a short story prequel to the series featuring the former monk and amateur detective Giordano Bruno, set just as he's taking orders.  Restless on a hot summer night, Bruno goes for a walk and stumbles upon the illegal autopsy of a young woman. Bruno pokes his nose in, learns that there is something sinister about the woman's death - and potentially other deaths - and he has to decide between seeking justice or keeping his mouth shut and advancing his career. 

I liked this story just as much as I liked the novels, and would recommend seeking it out.

 Book Log 2018 #37: 12.21 by Dustin Thomason

When a smuggler brings a rare Mayan codex into the US, he also brings something else - a deadly disease that spreads quickly across southern California.  It's up to an expert in Mayan artifacts and local doctor to put a stop to the growing pandemic by deciphering the codex.

As you might have guessed, the story (and title) of this book is based on the "end of the world" scenario that was linked to the end of a cycle of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. The scenario was that the end of the cycle - on or around December 21, 2012 - there would be some sort of apocalyptic event or shift in the cosmos or something that would be bad news for us all. This wasn't something the Maya actually believed, but it sold a lot of merch so people just went with it.

The book is kind of meh. I had higher hopes for it as Thomason was one of the co-authors of The Rule of Four, which I really did like. You'd be better of reading (or re-reading) that book rather than taking on this one.

 Book Log 2018 #36: The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore

Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse engaged in one of the bigger industrial battles in US history, as they sought to gain the upper hand in electrifying America. This book tells that story, but through an unexpected character - young lawyer Paul Cravath, who Westinghouse hires to manage the various lawsuits Edison is using to try to put Westinghouse out of business.

Cravath is a real person, whose work for Westinghouse presaged his later law firm work representing several large corporations. He's also noteworthy for the system he developed to organize and run professional services, like law firms, which is still in use today. You see the beginnings of that here, which creates a kind of parallel story of invention. 

It's still a good book if all you're interested in is the fight between Edison and Westinghouse, but it's just that much more interesting when you throw in Cravath's story as well.

 Book Log 2018 #35: Foundation by Isaac Asimov

I'd been meaning to check this out for years, and when I finally got to it I was... underwhelmed? Not sure if that's actually it, but I did have an incredibly hard time getting into the book, and subsequently found it hard to keep the people and events straight. 

The book started out as a series of short stories, so perhaps there's a continuity issue that I couldn't quite overcome. It's probably worth taking another crack at. I did like the premise of the book - man discovers through a field of study he created that the Galactic Empire is failing, and the powers that be punish him for it - and have liked the other Asimov books I've read. The original trilogy won a Hugo Award for best all-time series, so I'm tempted to think the problem is with me.