Still reading, here and there, so to speak

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Actually I just wanted to drop a note regarding using Libby/OverDrive and my Kobo device and the little journey it sent me on over the past hour or so.

Basically, I had checked out a book from the library but it simply would not sync onto my device, which had been working fine for as long as I could remember. Long story short, after much resetting, rebooting, and Googling, it turns out that the Kobo won't show you books that are not in Kobo library, regardless of whether the public library has them or not. I would've minded less if Kobo had at least informed me of this restriction so that I could avoid reading old Reddit posts for the answers.

With that off my chest, I can give some quick reviews of my latest reads, in reverse chronological order.

- The Unseen World (Liz Moore). While I had problems with the ending and the glossing over some of the technical details, I really enjoyed this story, a mystery of sorts. The relationship between father and daughter, of the father declining, well, it rather hit home. 4/5

- Three Worlds (Avi Shlaim). A powerful read that gives personal context to the ongoing struggle and Palestine genocide. Recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in current events in the Middle East. 4/5

- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers). I didn't know much about the book going in so I was mildly pleased by the subject matter as it unfolded, giving me much to think about. Still relevant and poignant today, lots of images that stay with you months later. 4/5

- In This Economy? (Kyla Scanlon). I saw the author speak in an interview with Adam Conover and was impressed by their ability to distill info into manageable bites. The book is much the same informal style which I'm afraid probably means I'll have to read it again to remember anything. 3/5

- Underground (Haruki Murakami). An amazing, fascinating series of interviews around an event, the 1995 Tokyo subway gas attack, that I only vaguely recall. On top of seeing how the Japanese government flubbed its response, I was intrigued by the responses of the perpetrators and others involved with the cult, how the human psyche is capable of all kinds of rationalizations. 5/5

- Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (Haruki Murakami). Not sure I actually finished reading this because I hardly remember any of the stories. ?/5

- Being Mortal (Atul Gawande). I kind of pressure-read this as my father's condition worsened last year. Hard to say how much it stayed with me. 3/5

- The Night Gardener (Jonathan Auxier). A short, Victorian page-turning mystery. 3/5

- Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman). I fondly remember being such a fan of these stories as an impressionable teenager. Pity that, reading it now, as the adult I am, I find it to be so absolutely terrible, even with the nostalgia factor. Just absurd trash with poorly written characters speaking awful lines. 1/5




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