Review 323: The Quantum Spy

The Quantum Spy by David Ignatius
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a full-on spy novel, and not what I typically would read. I pulled this out of my bookshelves a few days ago looking for a quick read, and it definitely was that; fast paced and intriguing. Yet the language style felt somewhat stilted at times, more like what a reporter would write instead of a novelist. That said the realism of the spy world was totally believable.

The basis of the story is the Unites States and China both trying to get a working quantum computer first. The positive development in this area is firmly in the United States (according to this book), while Russia went down a dead-end and is still looking for a way out. China has been advancing due to a mole in the CIA. The small US/CIA team is trying to figure out and catch the mole, while also doing serious damage to the Chinese Ministry of State Security. One of the main characters is Harris Chang an American with Chinese ancestry, whose background plays an extremely important role.

For my own reading this book helped pull me out of a slight reading slump, which is exactly what I hoped for.

I received a free copy of this book at a library conference. I was not required to write a review, but felt like it and, of course, the above opinions are my own.

Review 322: Lost at Sea

Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries by Jon Ronson
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



I didn't enjoy this collection as much as other books I've read by Ronson. All of them have been audiobooks narrated by himself. He has a unique voice, which he does briefly mention in this book. 

Some of these essays leave you with saying, and so?

Part I: Things we're willing to believe

ch.1 - Thinking inside the box

ch.2 - Doesn't everyone have a solar?

ch.3 - The chosen ones

ch.4 - A message from God

Part II: Rebellious lives

ch.5 - I looked into that camera. And I just said it

ch.6 - Have you ever stood next to an elephant, my friend?

Part III: High-flying lives

ch.7 - The name's Ronson, Jon Ronson

ch.8 - I'm loving aliens instead 

ch.9 - First contact

ch.10 - Citizen Kubrick

Part IV: Everyday difficulty

ch.11 - Santa's little consipirators

ch.12 - Phoning a friend 

ch.13 - Who killed Richard Cullen? 

ch.14 - The sociopath mind guru and the tv hypnotist

         ch.15 - Death at the chateau

ch.16 - I've thought about doing myself in loads of times...

ch.17 - The mystery of mingering Mike

ch.18 - You may know me from such roles as terrorist #4

Part V: Stepping over the line 

ch.19 - Blood sacrafice

ch.20 - I make it look like they died in their sleep

ch.21 - Is she for real? 

ch.22 - The fall of a pop impressario 

 Part VI: Justice

ch.23 - The big-eyed children

ch.24 - Amber waves of green 

ch.25 - The man who tried to split the atom in his kitchen

ch.26 - Lost at sea

ch.27 - The amazing adventures of Phoenix Jones

ch.28 - Frank: The true story that inspired the movie

Review 321: Avidly Reads Poetry

Avidly Reads Poetry by Jacquelyn Ardam
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I hadn’t come across this series Avidly Reads, before this book. The series is described as brief books about how culture makes us feel. There are only a handful of these books published, so far. This one takes on the topic of poetry.

The book itself is a bit of a poetry literature criticism class, with a touch of memoir all wrapped up into several long essays. There are four chapters with one short coda, all discussing poetry. The focus is on several types of poems, but the feelings aspect related to: wanting, learning, resisting, soothing and losing.

The first chapter is about the sonnet and wanting and perhaps provides the most autobiographical material as well, with the author talking about her entry into poems as a teenager. The later chapters had more of the literature criticism class aspect to them, with one in particular (documentary poems) discussing a class she held recently and what her students focused on and were taught.

Ms Ardam does not shy away from letting you know there are some poets she does not like, one of whom is a favorite of mine, Billy Collins. I like his poetry as it is accessible and filled with humor where too often poetry seems to be a Very Serious Business.

I don’t think I would have wanted a longer book on this topic, it was enough here to remind myself about reading poetry, while also providing insight into the more recently developments in that world. This one is heavily into diversity and inclusion within poetry, and shows how the entry point to poetry can be something other than the standard sonnet of historical literature classes. These types of poems may be off putting to people who could otherwise gain from experiencing poetry. I did appreciate the write up of how Ardam helped her students get into difficult poems, like avant-garde poetry.

Review 320: The Treeline

The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth by Ben Rawlence
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An investigative journalist, used to working in war zones or refugee camps, went out to investigate the furthest reaches of forest in the far north places, in six locations: Scotland, Canada, Norway, Alaska, Russia, and Greenland. Each place has one tree that dominates, such as the downy birch in Norway and the dahurian larch in Russia; spruce, Scots pine, poplar and ash are the other trees. The research is extensive, and so is his experience with visiting these places. The book is partly travelogue with the people Ben Rawlence meets and how he gets out to these far reaches in the forest.

While the focus is on the trees and the changing landscape, where climate change is more noticeable and effecting the local environment, he also talks about the people, descendants of native populations that have lived in these areas for a very long time. In Norway there is the Sámi people who lived in the far northern reaches for thousands of years, herding reindeer and hunting other animals. In Russia the native peoples, the Nganasan, were isolated from the world living in the far reaches of Siberia until very recently, in the 1930s when they became known to the Soviets.

Rawlence describes how they lived with the land and how the trees that grew there shaped their lives, and how they in turn helped shape the landscape. That humans and nature are intertwined, along with the other plants and animals in the area. And these far northern species of trees can help to restore where the climate is changing.

The book was intricate, with dense rich sentences. The language used was compelling and the topic even more so. While the focus is much on what is being lost, there is also a great amount of hope within the book.

The print book includes line drawings of the trees being discussed in each chapter. There is also a Glossary of Trees contained in the back of the book, with more line drawings and information included. This is a book to return to, read again, as there is so much and done beautifully.

Review 319: The Perfect Golden Circle

The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's the summer of 1989 and two friends, Calvert and Redbone, create crop circles in the night, about one a month in rural England. Each chapter is about the crop circle they create, while interspersing something about the two men so we get to know who they are, both broken in different ways. The crop circles get more intricate with each iteration, leading up to the ultimate one, the Honeycomb Double Helix. At the end of each chapter a short news report provides a glimpse into how their crop circles are being viewed by the public.

Some farmers are not happy about their crops being disturbed, while others have taken the opportunity to showcase the circle and charge visitors to make a little extra money. No one knows who, or what, is creating these intricate designs, and the two boys have a code so they won’t be caught. Of course, UFOs and aliens, or supernatural beings, are talked about the most as how these are appearing so suddenly.

The book is mainly in exposition form, with very little dialogue. The focus is nearly entirely on the crop circles and the designs themselves. We do get a little on how each one of them live, but not an extensive look into their lives.

I really enjoyed the book but felt let down by the intrusion of climate change into the book. The further along in the story the more it took center place, and it felt forced for a book taking place over thirty years ago. This diminished the story for me. Also, I wished for a little more on their lives, what led these two to start doing this. We only know this summer wasn’t their first, and maybe not their last.

Thanks to Melville House Publishing and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 318: Alien Nation: 36 True Tales of Immigration

Alien Nation: 36 True Tales of Immigration by Sofija Stefanovic
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book seems perfect for audio, a compilation of personal short stories, tales of their lives that showcases being an immigrant. Some are humorous, some serious, many filled with poignant moments. I found they are just a little too short, these glimpses into their individual lives. Unfortunately, I did not have an audio copy, I read the print instead.

It’s easy to set the book down, I felt like I read enough about half-way through but would return now and then to read one or two more of the essays. I’m glad I did, because some of my favorite selections were near the end of the book. The illustrator for the cover is one of them, and he is the last entry.

There is an advantage to print, you can skip around easily. The book is grouped together in sections, seemingly tied together with a similar theme.

With my strong desire to hear the voices, not just what was in my head, I searched the internet and found a video with some of the included authors at a New York Public Library Live event reading part of their essays, which is found here: https://youtu.be/LmNjumtemEA

Sadly, these are even shorter versions, snippets of the short essays, but happily, they are the authors speaking. There are around twelve people showcased in the video compared to the 36 authors included in the book.

There is an audiobook version, that has two narrators, so it isn’t the writers themselves reading their works.