The Wild Wood by Charles de Lint

 First sentence:

"...like music entangled in a thorny embrace, leaf-sigh, branch-rustle."

Description:

"Back in print for the first time in ten years, this original novel stands among the finest of Charles de Lint's early works. Eithnie is a young painter who is acclaimed by the art world until the critics start noticing that her work has lost the animating passion that had set her apart from the crowd. She returns to her cabin in Canada's remote woods, hoping to find a place where she can seek solitude and focus on her art.

At first, Eithnie's muse remains elusive, but then beautiful and disturbing creatures start slipping into her sketches unbidden. The following days bring strange visitors bearing cryptic messages indicating that Eithnie may be bound by a promise made in a forgotten, magical childhood. The world of Faerie is clearly reaching out to her for help, and her ability to figure out what they need may mark the difference between their survival . . .and their doom." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book about different world interacting - the "real" world and the "faerie". Eithnie, an artist, becomes entangled in both as she wrestles with finding her muse and trying to figure out whether the faces she sees in the woods are real or not. I liked de Lint's descriptions of the woods and the sounds Eithnie hears as she moves through them. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Something Rich and Strange by Patricia McKillip.

Date read: 12/31/2024
Series: Brian Froud's Faerielands, #1
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3*/5 = good

ISBN-10: 0765302586
ISBN-13: 9780765302588
Publisher: Orb Book, Tom Doherty Associates
Year: 1994
# of pages: 205
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The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt

First sentence:

"The thing was carved of ice and rock."

Description:

"Humans call them the Monument-Makers. An unknown race, they left stunning alien statues on distant planets in the galaxy. Each relic is different. Each description defies translation. Yet all are heartbreakingly beautiful.

And for planet Earth, on the brink of disaster, they may hold the only key for survival for the entire human race." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this first book in the Academy series. At first, the narrative of the planet archaeological exploration seemed a little slow, but as it continued and as the characters faced obstacles both personal and alien, my interest increased. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Deepsix.

Date read: 12/30/2024
Series: The Academy (Priscilla Hutchins), #1
Genre: SF
Rating: 3*/5 = good

ISBN-10: 0441002846
ISBN-13: 9780441002849
Publisher: Ace Book
Year: 1994
# of pages: 419
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs

 First sentence:

"I know the name of Turkey's leading avant-garde publication."

Description:

Part memoir and part education (or lack thereof), The Know-It-All chronicles NPR contributor A. J. Jacobs's hilarious, enlightening, and seemingly impossible quest to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z. 

To fill the ever-widening gaps in his Ivy League education, A. J. Jacobs sets for himself the daunting task of reading all thirty-two volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His wife, Julie, tells him it's a waste of time, his friends believe he is losing his mind, and his father, a brilliant attorney who had once attempted the same feat and quit somewhere around Borneo, is encouraging but unconvinced. 

With self-deprecating wit and a disarming frankness, The Know-It-All recounts the unexpected and comically disruptive effects Operation Encyclopedia has on every part of Jacobs's life -- from his newly minted marriage to his complicated relationship with his father and the rest of his charmingly eccentric New York family to his day job as an editor at Esquire. Jacobs's project tests the outer limits of his stamina and forces him to explore the real meaning of intelligence as he endeavors to join Mensa, win a spot on Jeopardy!, and absorb 33,000 pages of learning. On his journey he stumbles upon some of the strangest, funniest, and most profound facts about every topic under the sun, all while battling fatigue, ridicule, and a struggle between the all-consuming quest for factual knowledge and the undeniable gift of hard-won wisdom." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

A book about reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica? Wouldn't it be boring? Well, not this book! Jacobs doesn't just relay the entries from A to Z but adds his comments and thoughts about what he learns both from the volumes and the events and people in his life. Some of my favorite portions include his visiting the Chicago headquarters and learns how entries are created, checked, and indexed as well as his preparation for and participation on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? 

Date read: 12/19/2024
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 3*/5 = good

ISBN-10: 0743250621
ISBN-13: 9780743250627
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks
Year: 2004
# of pages: 388
Binding: Trade Paperback
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Earth is Room Enough by Isaac Asimov

First sentence:

"Arnold Potterley, Ph.D., was a Professor of Ancient History."

Description:

"Anything can happen and probably will right here on Earth. 

You don't have to rent a spaceship or sign up for a singles cruise to Saturn or spend your weekends star-hopping along the Milky Way because EARTH IS ROOM ENOUGH.

Earth is where the action is and each tomorrow unleashes new discoveries.

Here are brilliant, witty, frightening, and fascinating stories of the future by the greatest science fiction master of them all. Just hitch your mind to these weird and wonderful tales for a spin around the world of tomorrow that will take you right to the center of your wildest dreams." == from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this short story collection of the future. Favorite stories include "The Dead Past," "Gimmicks Three," and "Living Space."

Date read: 12/18/2024
Genre: SF
Rating: 3*/5 = good

Publisher: Fawcett Crest
Year: 1957
# of pages: 208
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The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

First sentence:

"The secret is how to die"

Description:

"Famed Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon answers an unexpected summons to deliver a lecture at the U.S. Capitol Building. His plans are interrupted when a disturbing object--artfully encoded with five symbols-- is discovered in the building. Langdon recognizes in the find an ancient invitation into a lost world of esoteric, potentially dangerous wisdom.

When his mentor, Peter Solomon--a long-standing Mason and beloved philanthropist--is kidnapped, Langdon realizes that the only way to save Solomon is to accept the mystical invitation and plunge headlong into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and one inconceivable truth...all under the watchful eye of Dan Brown's most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol is an intelligent, lightning-paced story with surprises at every turn--one of Brown's most riveting novels." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this third Robert Langdon novel, especially the scenes in and round the Library of Congress. I worked at the Library for many years as a contract library technician so I'm familiar with the Main Reading Room and the tunnels. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Inferno.

Date read: 12/16/2024
Series: Robert Langdon, #3
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3*/5 = good

ISBN-10: 0307950689
ISBN-13: 9780307950680
Publisher: Anchor Books
Year: 2009
# of pages: 603
Binding: Trade Paperback
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Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

 First sentence:

"'The simplest thing would be to tear it down,' the man said. 'The house is a shambles.'"

Description:

The acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, and the recipient of numerous literary awards -- including the National Humanities Medal, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Orange Prise -- returns with a story about two families, in two centuries, navigating what seems to be the end of the world as they know it. With history as their tantalizing canvas, these characters paint a startlingly relevant portrait of life in precarious times when the foundations of the past have failed to prepare us for the future.

How could two hardworking people do everything right in life, a woman asks, and end of destitute? Willa Knox and her husband followed all the rules as responsible parents and professionals, and have nothing to show for it but debts and an inherited brick house that is falling apart. The magazine where Willa worked has folded; the college where her husband had tenure has closed. Their dubious shelter is also the only option for a disabled father-in-law and an exasperating, free-spirited daughter. When the family's one success story, an Ivy-educated son, is uprooted by tragedy he seems likely to join them, with dark complications of his own.

In another time, a troubled husband and public servant asks, How can a man tell the truth, and be reviled for it? A science teacher with a passion for honest investigation, Thatcher Greenwood finds himself under siege: his employer forbids him to speak of the exciting work just published by Charles Darwin. His young bride and social-climbing mother-in-law bristle at the risk of scandal, and dismiss his worries that their elegant house is unsound. In a village ostensibly founded on a benevolent Utopia, Thatcher wants only to honor his duties, but his friendships with a woman scientist and a renegade newspaper editor threaten to draw him into a vendetta with the town's powerful men.

A timely and "utterly captivating" novel (San Francisco Chronicle), Unsheltered interweaves past and present to explore the human capacity for resiliency and compassion in times of great upheaval." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I liked this book featuring characters dealing with life and family at different time periods while living in the same run-down house. I only wished that each story was a separate book so there would have been more to read.

Date read: 12/8/2024
Genres: Fiction; Historical Fiction
Rating: 3*/5 = good

ISBN-10: 0062684736
ISBN-13: 9780062684738
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2019
# of pages: 480
Binding: Trade Paperback
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The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

 First sentence:

"In the dim light of her desk's single bulb lamp, the map nearly glowed."

Description:

From the critically acclaimed author of The Book of M, a highly imaginative thriller about a young woman who discovers that a strange map in her deceased father's belongings holds an incredible, deadly secret--one that will lead her on an extraordinary adventure and to the truth about her family's dark history. 

What is the purpose of a map? 

Nell Young's whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field and Nell's personal hero. But she hasn't seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map. But when Dr. Young is found dead in his office at the New York Public Library, with the very same seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, Nell can't resist investigating. To her surprise, she soon discovers that the map is incredibly valuable and exceedingly rare. In fact, she may now have the only copy left in existence... because a mysterious collector has been hunting down and destroying every last one--along with anyone who gets in the way. 

But why? 

To answer that question, Nell embarks on a dangerous journey to reveal a dark family secret and discovers the true power that lies in maps... 

Perfect for fans of Joe Hill and V. E. Schwab, The Cartographers is an ode to art and science, history and magic--a spectacularly imaginative, modern story about an ancient craft and places still undiscovered.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book about maps and the ways they bring people together or separate them. I had heard about the phantom settlement Agloe before, but I didn't know the whole story. I was glad that Nell's father requested a Sanborn Map as I had not only heard about them but had used them to find an ancestor's childhood home!

Date read: 11/16/2024
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4*/5 = great

ISBN-10: 0062910698
ISBN-13: 9780062910691
Publisher: William Morrow
Year: 2022
# of pages: 391
Binding: Hardcover
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