Hmm, this book was original! I picked it up expecting a book on travel, but while it shared some similarities to the genre it was more about the author and his fraught relationship with his father.

I suppose that traveling alone allows a great deal of time for introspection. Add to that the experience of staying in Venice during the lockdowns of COVID – it makes for a spooky time. The author’s explorations of the city are light on history and more about how he experiences them. He doesn’t really seem to capture the vibe of the city (at least not the Venice that I visited) but I think that was not his intention.

It is a very creative book, especially a passage towards the end that was really well-written and surreal. It was at its best when it was considering deeper issues: identity, guilt and the power of a grudge.

However I felt that author seemed oddly oversensitive to the people around him – he admits to having these issues – and sort of blames it on his upbringing and the uncomfortable position his racial identity places him. Some of his behavior struck me as odd – but not out of the ordinary for someone with an artistic bent.

It was a short, unusual book but I enjoyed the experience of peeking into the mind of a Minotaur. Next I am reading The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan.

This book examines the people at the top of the financial pyramid in the United States, and given the widen gap between them and everyone else I thought it would be a good idea to see what their lifestyle is like. This book isn’t a gushing Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous sort of book, but one that looks at how and why this phenomenon is happening.

It is extremely well-reported – the author is a Pulitzer Prize winner twice over – with cultural insights that made me feel (as an American living in another country) like a member of a completely different species. The trends that have happened recently in wealth consolidation are disturbing. We shouldn’t look away.

Over the years my relationship with money has shifted from “get as much as you can” to “have as much as you need” – and I’ve found that I don’t need all that much to have a lifestyle that I am happy with. But reading about some of the people in this book was eye opening – they are living in a completely different world.

My only criticism on this book is that sometimes it felt like the tying together of these separate essays was a little arbitrary, but taken individually it was a pleasure to see a real investigative reporter at work.

Next I am reading The Minotaur at Calle Lanza by Zito Madu.

The second book in this series was slightly different from the first, but exquisitely well-written and benefits from a flipping of perspective for the main characters.

Something about the setting of this one felt like it takes place at the end of the world, and the spooky locations were great – especially the completely dark underground labyrinth. But even the descriptions of the empty plains and mountains really made them come alive for me.

I also liked how the book did not devolve into any kind of romance between the two main characters – it seems like it would be likely to happen in more modern novels.

The only thing that I didn’t like about the book was the length – I finished it in just under two hours. I wanted to read more about this place and setting that the author dreamt up.

Next I am reading The Haves and the Have-Yachts by Evan Osnos.

This is the third book in a series featuring the main character Molly, the maid with a social disorder that seems to always attract trouble. The first two books were excellent, and I also enjoyed this third book, which seems to wrap up the story of Molly and her grandmother, who raised her.

The story is cute – cozy and full of backstory on Molly’s grandmother’s mysterious background. The book is written half as flashbacks as Molly reads her grandmother’s diary, and half as another mystery that Molly needs to solve at the Grand Regency hotel where she works. One of my knocks on this book is that we give over half the book to grandma, so that means half as much of Molly who is one of the main reasons I like the series. More Molly, less Gran!

In the previous book that I read (Tartufo) there are many wacky eccentric characters – so many that it felt like slapstick sometimes. This book also has some slightly off characters played for laughs, but in a much more polished fashion, and the humor is more clever here. There were quite a few times I laughed out loud, which is always a good sign.

The story and the plot are tied up a little too perfectly, which I guess is part of what makes the story cozy. It was a fitting end to the series, but I get the feeling the author may continue it judging by the positive reaction she is getting from Molly.

Next I am reading The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin.

This book tells the story of what the discovery of the world’s largest truffle does to the fortunes of a small village in Italy. The story is cleverly plotted, and I guess if I had to categorize the book it would be a comedy-mystery.

The way the plot develops is really well done – we are wondering what people’s motives really are, and what will happen when and if the truffle changes the situation. Unfortunately the book is full of “eccentric” characters – being absolutely goofy in the service of humor. There were some funny moments but it felt to me like the author was trying a little too hard and many of the situations and jokes fell flat. I think the risk of overdoing these weird eccentric characters is that stereotypes could be emphasized. I guess I prefer things a little more subtle.

The other problem I had was with the writing style of the author. Sentences are clipped. Things sound more significant. But in the end it is harder for me to read. Clearly the author has a lot of love for Italy – at least the romantic one that we find in this book – and it was still an enjoyable story to read.

Next I am reading The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose.

There is a wedding early on in this book, that proves to be a crossroad for almost every character in this story. The writer does a great job of setting up the moment but chooses to come back to it later and instead explore its significance. Despite some abrupt jumps in the timeline I enjoyed the long scope, and the dreams and realities of marriage.

The writing style is extremely easy to read and there is a lot of clever humor, delivered on the subtle side. It is equally balanced with tragedy, and the author doesn’t glance away from some of the heart-breaking parts of life.

For me it was tough to identify with the characters – none of them seemed to me like they were making rational or reasonable decisions and the ones that they did make seemed to lead to results that shouldn’t have surprised them. The novel also deals with some peeks into our future – some of these events felt a little preachy to me, which I guess is a risk when making predictions.

It was an enjoyable book that at first didn’t seem really to be my style, but I’m glad I stuck with it.

Next I am reading Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton.

OK, my bad that I had no idea that there was not one, but two sequels to Presumed Innocent, one of my first and still my favorite legal novels. Although I do like John Grisham books, Turow seems to write the back and forth of in-courthouse drama and testimony really well.

I got through about a quarter of this book before I recognized the main character as the same as the first book – I was reading the third (and final) book in the series. There is a lot of background that is loaded into the beginning of this book so that people that haven’t read the others will be OK.

All of this background information gets a little tiring in the beginning, and the lead up to the actual arrest takes a while. Most of the book is spent in the courtroom, however, which is for the best.

In the case that is presented in this novel, there is a lot of evidence based on location and geography, and I felt it would have been helpful to have a map included to help the reader visualize it. And sometimes the character of Aaron had dialog that felt a little forced – an old guy’s idea of how a young guy would talk.

However I thought that it was a pretty good story and it ended on a satisfying note. It isn’t written in a groundbreaking style, but I think I enjoyed it for what it was. I’m thinking I’ll look into reading more of Turow’s books in the future.

Next I am reading Dream State by Eric Puchner.

It has been a long time since I have read a fantasy novel! I came across an article recommending some “classic” fantasy books, and this one stood out enough to check it out from the library.

And it was good! Although it was quite short and written in a fairy-tale style it features a very well-developed world that sounded fascinating and beautiful. I like that the story is not one hero against some all-powerful evil being but instead about one person against himself.

Since this book is about 50 years old some of the situations and moments in this book are the sources of echoes that I’ve seen in other books and movies over the years. It is important to remember that this one came first.

So, great book, quick read, and maybe it could use more dragons – the one brief chapter on confronting a dragon had me wanting more.

Next I am reading Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow.

This was a slightly unusual book that was recommended online. I’m glad I read it, but I’m not sure I liked the style of the writing.

The story focuses on a main character who sort of drifts through life. I think it illustrates well the problem with being overly passive, almost to the level of it being a toxic trait. It is hard to relate to this character, but we follow him through various stages of his life in a sort of a circle.

While the events of the story seem to show the dangers of passivity, I failed to see much development in the character, so I was just hoping this guy would wake up and confront life. We saw the same thing happening with his son later on, and the risk of perpetuating the cycle.

One interesting aspect of the storytelling is that there were key moments that we don’t see happen. The author fast-forwards past critical moments and we hear about them later. I enjoyed this because it kept the story moving and kept me guessing as to what the situation was once the fast forward was finished.

One key moment that we get to experience directly through the main character’s eyes involves his step-son, and it was the only moment that felt a little unlikely and completely orchestrated to make a brute force point.

It was an interesting format for a book, and while it wasn’t exactly my style it was educational to read.

Next I am reading A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.

What if just about everything you think you know about plants is wrong? This book looks into the idea that if we take a hard look at what we think it means to be a conscious being, research these days shows that plants may fit that definition. The book shows how they can (probably) smell, hear, taste, feel, communicate and see(!).

This book falls into an interesting category of both botany and philosophy, and the writer is a journalist rather than a scientist. This means that they can take chances that scientists cannot – and the book outlines what happened years ago when the idea of “plant intelligence” was first reported.

The book is filled with intriguing examples, from recent studies and knowledge that was obtained over the past 10-20 years. The writer does a good job of introducing the evidence (without getting bogged down in academic jargon) and simplifying things without ignoring balancing information from other places.

This felt like a passion project, and that helps greatly in introducing so much that might be buried in academic journals somewhere. That being said the writer definitely has an agenda, and so while I appreciate being informed of these new developments I can’t help but wonder how much further research might be needed before we can make conclusions.

It is a long read, but I thought it was worth it, if only to stretch out my brain a little. The book also served as a reminder that research is continuing all over the world – we need to take steps to keep up with what is new.

Next I am catching up with articles and shorter reads as we start our July vacation to Toronto, New York and Glen Ellen.

This book is a combination of an essay collection and memoirs, with the focus on how an obsession with video games guided the author’s life. Since the author became a professional comedian, the writing is hilarious. I was laughing out loud fairly often, and a lot of the stories hit close to home for me.

My video game memories started one or two generations earlier than the author’s. He got hooked on the NES, while I was obsessed with the Atari 2600. I also played games on the Apple ][ computer, and then the NES. Then there was a long gap before I got back into gaming. A lot of this book takes place in that gap.

Some of the author’s favorite memories paralleled some of mine – his recollections of his favorite arcade reminded me of a mystical experience I had in a Pismo Beach hidden and mostly empty arcade. Or visiting an arcade owned by a friend of Josh Simon, my neighbor, and how the owner gave us quarters painted red so he would know that they were his money and not the general public’s.

The author does a short stint at a game magazine, which reminded me of when I interviewed at PC Gamer for a writing job about 30 years ago.

So there were a lot of events that felt pretty real to me while reading them. The comedy was well-written too, but sometimes the self-deprecating style got a little stale. Some of the essays felt a little like filler to me – but one essay on a friend who died prematurely was especially good.

I really enjoyed the book! The next book I am reading is The Light Eaters by Zoe Schlanger.

I picked up this book from the library on a whim, mainly because I enjoy books on travel and journeys, and this seemed to be an epic one.

The book is about the journey through the Grand Canyon – not just down one side and up the other, but from end to end. This is a seriously difficult trip – requiring a lot of logistics, physical training, and support from other people. The author was mainly traveling with another person in order to write an article for National Geographic. However things quickly went off the rails and more help was needed. The journey lasted almost a year, with breaks in between as required by injury, family and weather.

On paper I don’t like it when a trip is interrupted and then restarted later. It breaks the immersion in the adventure, and seems a little bit like cheating. In reality I understand that it is a necessary thing sometimes, and it wouldn’t be good for the story to have the traveler hurt/burned out/arrested.

The writer is really good at setting the scenes of nature, and describes not just passing beauty but those memorable moments when everything comes together to feel transcendental. However the style of the beginning of the book is (I guess) going for humor and it just isn’t that funny. The two guys are starting the journey basically unprepared and so the writer describes all the stupid things they unknowingly do, while other hikers are perfectly prepared and uncommonly kind and patient. It was a little frustrating to read these parts.

I also got the sense that this book was really written for all the people who are closely associated with the Grand Canyon. That means all the tour guides, boaters, through-hikers, and park rangers and rescue crews. It felt that a lot of the content was for insiders to recognize and appreciate. Maybe if I had that background it would have been more interesting.

The journey is long and the writer backfills incidents on the way with the history of the Grand Canyon and the native people that lived in and around it through history. While the history was interesting and made for good reading, I didn’t like how these backstories put everything else on hold – I wanted to follow the journey more closely.

Because these guys are on an assignment for National Geographic, some people they meet want to get their story out into public view – including some Native Americans who are continuously fighting for their home and lands after they were taken from them (repeatedly). The way their stories are written felt a little inauthentic to me. They meet two separate female Native American women who want to share their stories, with both shedding tears as they tell it. Maybe I am overly cynical but it felt a little too staged to me.

Overall I enjoyed the journey even if it could have been edited down a little bit. It did have the effect of making me want to go back and take another look at the Grand Canyon – from a more peaceful location, perhaps.

Next I am reading Good Game, No Rematch by Mike Drucker.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and I liked it just as much as his other one. Something about his writing style just hits the right vibe for me. The writing is clever and full of humor, but it doesn’t shy away from sadness and poignant moments.

This book pokes fun at just about everything – sometimes so extensively that I was starting to feel like the joke was wearing thin. I imagine that for some readers it might be a little much. Especially there are some characters that are cursed with overthinking situations, and the way their inner monologues were spinning out of control or sliding down a slope sometimes went on and on.

The plot of the book jumps between different characters and timelines, and while there is a risk of doing this poorly I felt like it was executed well. The storytelling is excellent – we learn about these characters slowly and more deeply. I learned a great deal about Chicago in the 60s – a subject I had almost no knowledge about. This turning point event is contrasted with Occupy Wall Street which was happening around the time that this book was written. I’m curious about what the author might think about the current political climate in America.

It was a pleasure to read this book. While it was a little long, it was certainly worth the journey. And to think it is the author’s debut novel – wow!

Next I am reading A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko.

I didn’t know anything about the author of this memoir, but it seemed like I should have somehow. He arrived in Japan just a few years before I did, and he started a new life here, just like me. He has done a lot of walking all over Japan, and especially he enjoys the backwater places that are less populated and sort of run down.

I’m envious of the free time that he has to walk around, to perambulate on pilgrimages both known and improvised. This book covers his time walking around the Kumano Kaido – not too far away from where we live.

The story here describes his travels, and the way he is using it to work through some issues and come to terms with the death of a childhood friend. The book is written as a letter to this friend (oddly enough, named Bryan with a “y”).

I think I would have gotten a lot more out of it if some of the places that he visits were less familiar to me – I can see people used to the vision of an urban Japan might be surprised and attracted to the ghost towns in rural locations.

He spends time talking with the locals, which is interesting and fun to hear what they are dealing with and what they think about this Japanese-speaking foreigner walking around. Some of his translations seemed a bit unnatural to me – but I guess that every translation will be affected by the translator and how they envision what they are rendering into their own language.

I read a lot of travel books, and I always appreciate if the author outlines their goals and guidelines for their upcoming journey. It helps give a sense of the storytelling arc, and the reader can feel when the author is making progress (or being waylaid). As best as I could tell there were fewer guidelines here and the book is a composite of many journeys to the same area over several years. My personal preference is one continual journey – so I need to figure out a way to focus on those kinds of books in the future.

Overall it was a quick and fairly interesting read. The photography included was also enjoyable to look through. I’ll keep an eye out for the author in my own travels.

Next I am reading The Nix by Nathan Hill.

I tend to enjoy time travel books. I’ve read quite a few, some good, some ridiculous. This one falls somewhere in the middle of the that spectrum, with a great idea that seems to be executed fairly well.

The narrator of the book is a clever person, and the writer gives her plenty of great lines and a very British sense of humor and wit. The other characters are similarly likable and interesting, and the way the story is written allows the author to explore characters from vastly different time frames. Although these “expats” seems altogether too chill considering the circumstances they are in.

For the most part the story is fairly believable (until it wasn’t – maybe 2/3 of the way in it was harder and harder to suspend disbelief). The genre is not strictly sci-fi fantasy, there is also some historical fiction, romance, and thriller involved. Maybe it would have been more enjoyable to pick any two of these and run with it.

The twist at the end was the kind you can do with a book and not a movie, and there is a lot of telling rather than showing, but I suppose it was a bit of a juggling act to tie everything together.

Next I am reading Things Become Other Things by Craig Mod.