The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

by Carol6 Comments
Apparently I had no idea what The Time Machine was about, aside from the obvious of course. The Time Traveler has invented a machine that can go into the past or travel into the future, but of course his friends, who he has dinner with weekly, don't believe him. However, the next week, he shows up late to his own dinner party looking ragged and disheveled and tells his friends an incredible story of traveling into the distant future. There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well.  He also tells of going even farther and seeing the dying planet. On the one hand, it's an interesting exploration of class and societal evolution. It's the first story to popularize time travel and the image of the dying earth, not the one of the Eloi and Morlocks, but of the...
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Lock In by John Scalzi

Lock In by John Scalzi

by Carol2 Comments
Mystery and science fiction make a great pairing and Lock In by John Scalzi does it well. It's a police procedural set in a future where a portion of the population has been affected by Haden's syndrome, leaving some "locked in, " awake and aware, but unable to move or respond without computer/mechanical help. I find a read more sci-fi every year and really enjoy it. Lock In is light on the sci-fi side. It's near future and the tech is obviously more advance, allowing human brains to connect with "threeps" (named after C-3PO), the robots that allow locked Haden victims to move, talk, interact with the real world and with the Agora, a virtual world that allows Hadens to communicate with each other, to have their own "spaces" and communal areas. But it all feels distinctly possible and here. It's not space ships and AI robots. There are Hadens who never use a threep, who basically live and work in...
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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

by Carol2 Comments
I probably shouldn't have read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, since I can't actually say the title out loud, but I kept seeing it around and the audio was the prefect length for a couple of drives I made last weekend. I really liked the first part of the book. Basically, the media and internet and the world want us to care about everything, but that's not the way to a happy, fulfilling life. You need to choose what you care about, what values really matter to you. Manson shares thoughts that while not original are true, like pain and struggle are unavoidable; facing hard truths about ourselves helps us grow; and failure, as so long as we learn from it, can lead to success; that sometimes just doing something is better than waiting for inspiration. I got a little bored towards the end. A lot of the book is repetitious and his anecdotes can get a little annoying. Maybe...
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Buried Secrets by Leighann Dobbs

Buried Secrets by Leighann Dobbs

by Carol2 Comments
I really enjoy the Blackmoore Sisters Mysteries. In Buried Secrets, they head West on a treasure hunting trip with Luke, one of the sisters' boyfriends and his team. I like that the people around the women recognize, and believe in, their powers. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the sisters leaving their hometown, but since they took all of the recurring characters with them, it didn't really matter much. The girls piece together what happened Dead Water's past and get right in the middle of some present day illegal activities. Overall, it's a bit predictable, but there was a least one twist I didn't see coming. I would suggest starting the series at the beginning. They're light, quick read that are just fun. There are a lot of characters though, and a variety of powers, so I think starting with #1 allows you to get introduced to them all and get to know them. I'm looking forward to the next in the...
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l’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

l’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

by Carol6 Comments
l'll Be Gone in the Dark is my first foray into true crime, which seems a little surprising. With the recent capture of the Golden State Killer and all the positive reviews of the book, I took a chance. I didn't know anything about the Golden State Killer until the recent news coverage. He committed at least 12 murders, more than 50 rapes, and over 100 burglaries in California from 1974 to 1986. And it took detectives until this year to capture him. McNamara died before Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested, but the book is fascinating. It details the crimes, without being overly graphic. She talks about the victims and their families, how the crimes affected them, their families and their communities. She goes over the evidence and talks to detectives. She works with other amateur sleuths and is tireless in her own investigation with the resources she can access. But we also learn about her, about how she thinks, what drives...
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The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

by Carol6 Comments
I read Ware's In A Dark, Dark Wood a couple of years ago and was underwhelmed. At the time, however, I wrote "I think she's an author worth giving another chance, even if this book had problems." I'd been hearing a lot of positive things and The Death of Mrs. Westaway seemed like one of the to-read books of this summer. I just don't think I'm ever going to be a Ruth Ware fan. Hal is a bit desperate. She owns money to a loan shark and is barely (not quite) making end meet as a tarot card reader. Out of the blue comes a letter about an inheritance. Hal knows it must be a mistake, but she's out of options, so she takes the gamble and heads out to Trepassen House. I liked Hal for the most part. She's a survivor. And the atmosphere at Trepassen House was appropriately spooky and gothic. I guess, maybe Ware can be a bit heavy-handed and...
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