Yeah yeah, I know I skipped a couple of months. Trust me, you wouldn’t have wanted to read what was going on in my head back then. Unfortunately I’ve forgotten a lot of what I read in December and January, so you’re going to get an incomplete list and if I’m really on top of things, a couple of comments. Don’t count on comments.

The Origins of Everything in 100 Pages (More or Less) By: David Bercovici Narrated by: Jim Meskimen – Good, undemanding audiobook which is exactly what it says it is.

The Accidental Universe The World You Thought You Knew By: Alan Lightman Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot – I’ve loved Lightman’s work ever since I read Einstein’s Dreams. This one was terrific. And I must say I’ve heard Pinchot narrate a couple of things now, and really enjoyed his work.

Einstein’s Dreams By: Alan Lightman Narrated by: Grover Gardner – So I reread this. And it was as good as I remembered. I really recommend it as a book that exists somewhere between fiction and non-fiction. An interesting place to be.

In Our Own Image Savior or Destroyer? The History and Future of Artificial Intelligence By: George Zarkadakis Narrated by: Gildart Jackson – What I remember about this was that while there were things that irritated the crap out of me, by the end I was won over, if not wholly, then enough to recommend this one to anyone who might be interested in the future of AI.

Buddhism By: Malcolm David Eckel, The Great Courses Narrated by: Malcolm David Eckel Series: The Great Courses: Comparative & World Religion – I had been meaning to tackle this one for ages and I finally did because wow, I needed something to take my mind off of how fucked up everything seemed. And I really believe it did help me calm my mind. I went out and borrowed a bunch of other books on Buddhism after I finished but none of them grabbed me.

The Neil Gaiman Reader Fiction By: Neil Gaiman Narrated by: Neil Gaiman, George Guidall, Lenny Henry, Leon Nixon – Bliss! 27 hours of listening to Neil narrate his own work. Okay well not all 27 hours were Neil. Some were excerpts from other audiobooks or productions, all of which I’d previously read. But so much of his short fiction was new to me that it was a joy to sit down and listen. The standout for me was A Study in Emerald, which threw me for a loop, and I loved it. Also there are two Shadow Moon stories included, both of which are excellent (Of course) If you love Neil, you must read this.

The Midnight Library A Novel By: Matt Haig Narrated by: Carey Mulligan – I really didn’t think I needed a new take on Its a Wonderful Life, and nearly quit listening early on. I’m so glad I didn’t. I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t just entertaining, it was thought-provoking, which good fiction should be.

Danger, Danger Will Robinson! The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack Burton & Swinburne, Book 1 By: Mark Hodder Narrated by: Gerard Doyle Series: Burton & Swinburne, Book 1 – I not only didn’t finish this book, in spite of listening to nearly half of it, I returned it to Audible along with its sequel. I couldn’t imagine a more mismatched pair of sleuths than Burton and Swinburne, but figured that if the author could make it work it’d be fun. Alas, the characters are less than engaging. Swinburne was vapid and silly. Burton, morose and surprisingly judgmental. And the information dumps in every damn chapter drove me mad. Hodder writes like he’s being paid by the word, describing virtually everything down to the direction of the handles on a flying machine. Even when it was clear who he was talking about, Hodder frequently referred to Burton as “Sir Richard Francis Burton.” Yes, thank you I know his full name; you’ve only referred to him that way about 200 times so far. But it was a small thing that finally finished me off. There’s a minor character called “Ebenezer Smyke” and the minute I heard the name, I thought “You’ve read Dickens, I get it. But surely there’s a less heavy-handed way of letting us know.”

I don’t really recall how many of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs books I’ve discussed here, but I’m currently reading #10 in the series, so you can take it to the bank that these are worth reading. Maisie is a complicated, interesting character, a psychologist and investigator who solves crimes through her understanding of human nature. The series follows her from WWI (through flashbacks) into the 1920s and 1930s (so far) and deals with a lot of difficult subjects, things I wouldn’t have expected to find in a series set in those years Trust me when I tell you that if you like really good detective fiction, you will like the Maisie Dobbs books. So far I’ve read:

1. Maisie Dobbs (2003)
2. Birds of a Feather (2004)
3. Pardonable Lies (2005)
4. Messenger of Truth (2006)
5. An Incomplete Revenge (2008)
6. Among the Mad (2009)
7. The Mapping of Love and Death (2010)
8. A Lesson in Secrets (2011)
9. Elegy for Eddie (2012)

All Blood Runs Red: The Legendary Life of Eugene Bullard-Boxer, Pilot, Soldier, Spy by Tom Clavin (Author), Phil Keith (Author) – I picked this up because there was a post going around on Facebook about how Bullard should be more well known and since February is Black History Month, etc. I was intrigued by what I read in the post, and went looking for a good bio. This one is quite good, following Bullard from his earliest years in rural, and ferociously racist America through WWI where he served in the French Foreign Legion, and then in their air force, becoming the first Black pilot, something he couldn’t have begun to aspire to had he remained in the states. He was a highly decorated soldier, wounded multiple times until finally he was so badly hurt that he was invalided out. Then he became a well-known nightclub owner in Paris during the 20s and 30s, spied on the Germans for France before WWII, and finally fled back to the US because it had become clear that Europe was not going to be a good place for people of color under Hitler, particularly ones who were known to work for the resistance. Bullard had a long, colorful life, but along with his intense independence and determination, what comes through in this narrative was how much of life for any BlPoC was an uphill battle. Always. No matter how famous he became in France, in the US he ended his life as an elevator operator in NYC, and felt lucky to have that job. Racial disparity necessarily hangs over this narrative like a shadow. And yes, Bullard should be more well-known.

And that’s about all I can remember at this point. Much of the last couple of months is a blur. I’ll do better.