Holy. Freaking. Crap. What an amazing book. Anxious People is easily one of my favorite reads of the year. It’s funny, heartfelt, thoughtful, and deeply human — everything I could possibly want from a novel.
After reading The One, I knew I had to dive deeper into John Marr’s dark future — and The Passengers absolutely delivered. Set in the same unsettlingly plausible world as The One, this novel explores the dangers of blind trust in technology, especially as AI and self-driving cars inch closer to everyday reality. The connections between the two books aren’t subtle, but they’re perfectly placed for fans eager to spot them.
I am not a parent of humans. And since there were no animals harmed in the writing of this novel, I feel compelled to point out that my review may seem a little… um… harsh. So just bear that in mind as you read on.
There’s no denying that 1986 was a year of tragedy, with two major disasters: the explosions of Space Shuttle Challenger in January and of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in April. Both were horrific in their own right and arguably could have been avoided. And while Challenger claimed seven lives in an instant, Chernobyl killed 30 over the course of three months with countless lives affected in the months and years thereafter.
If you’re looking for a page-turner that’s part psychological thriller and part detective story, look no further. Let’s follow along with Doc-tective Theo Faber as he tries to uncover the truth from his silent patient, Alicia Berenson, convicted of killing her husband…
This was another one of my reads for Black History Month 2024. I found somewhere, probably on Goodreads, a list of books by black authors that were meaningful to other black authors. When I came across this pick, the 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner, I read the description and something just stuck out to me. Probably the injustice, which arguably is something of a theme in black literature, what with the gross injustices imparted upon many black citizens, especially in the 1960s. Let’s just say that this book was well worth the read.
We landed on the Moon! Like, today – as I write this! Intuitive Machines, a US-based company, successfully landed the Odysseus lander on the Moon. This is the first private company to land on the Moon and the first US landing on the Moon in over 50 years! That may be why this book is the Planetary Society book club pick for February 2024.