Review 693: The Memory Hunters

The Memory Hunters by Mia Tsai
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars



I got hooked into this story and had a hard time putting the book down. I kept grabbing for it whenever I could, so despite its page length I read it fairly quickly. However, the last part of the book spoiled some of the story line for me.

The world building was very interesting, loved the concept of people being able to dive into the past and see things that happened before just by using some mushrooms. Our main character, Key, was particularly gifted and had perfect memory.

Kiana Strade, known as Key, came from a famous and rich family. Her grandmother was form head curator and founder of the Institute of Human Memory. Her mother was head resifix (like a priest) for the city of Asheburg and her father a ctiy councillor. Her mother hoped Key would follow her and not her mother. But Key wanted to work for the museum, do field work, and get away from all the demanding public in the city.

All hunters had guardians, and hers was Vale, a fierce stout woman that was quick to anger. Vale came from the south, where the storms were frequent and lived with losing ones home to the waters happened too often. She was poor, her family depended on her to send money home.

The story begins with Key finding something very interesting about the deep past, and perhaps the beginning of the rituals. The memory was also very strong and wouldn’t leave Key’s mind. This could happen to memory hunters, being haunted by a dive. Yet this find of Key’s seemed so important.

This is a start of a series, but I may just leave it there. In any case, I have to wait until the next book, and I'm not too big on series in general.

Review 579: When It All Burns

When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World by Jordan Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While working on a graduate degree Jordan Thomas takes a break from research to understand fire better and joins the hotshots and battles wildfires for a season. He didn't put it this way, others and himself questioned why he wanted to join this elite firefighting team. One of his explanations was simply he needed money. But there are a ton of ways to earn money. Thomas was also interested in fire and wanted to understand it more thoroughly, and why not experience it by fighting it.

The book is not only about working as a US Forest Service Hotshot, it also delves into the history of fire and environmental changes being seen due to the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

The book was a blend of personal story, history and more, but it also felt somewhat uneven. The history aspect turned into outrage against corporations, while it may be understood, it changed the tenor of the overall book.

It was fascinating to get an inside look at this dangerous job, that is being even more necessary as more of these firestorms and super-heated wildfires will increase in the coming years.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, which was narrated by the author. Oftentimes author narrators don’t do this very well, but this was an exception and was well done.

Thanks to Penguin Group Riverhead and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book, and PRH Audio for advance access to the audiobook.

Review 566: The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue

The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A Story of Climate and Hope on One American Street by Mike Tidwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was a mix of personal story and climate change. Tidwell focuses on what was happening on his street and neighborhood, particularly the trees. The oaks dominated the streets, which had been thriving there for over a hundred years, and now were dying. Why? Tidwell finds out.
The answer to why happens to be yes from climate change, but not in a direct way such as it was hotter and the trees didn’t like the heat. No, instead it is a bit more complicated, and he shows the connections. It felt almost like a mystery the way it was laid out.

While the focus was on Tidwell’s neighborhood he isn’t entirely contained there, as he explores some of the science of solutions. The book is also fairly autobiographical, which makes it quite personable along with the other people who appear in his book, such as some of the neighbors.

Overall the book was quite readable and didn’t get bogged down with too many facts and figures or scientific jargon. One aspect that had me give this book a better rating was the book went beyond the effects of climate change and included solutions. Tidwell explored what is being done now to help get us out of this mess from all the carbon-dioxide that is already in our atmosphere, and how to prevent it from getting worse. There was a heavy focus on one of his scientific neighbors who won an X-prize for his idea of tree sequestration. This was a new concept to me, so I didn’t mind the extra pages devoted to this one solution.

I read this book from a published audiobook version that I got from my local library. The narrator did an excellent job and this could be a good way to read this book. However, I also had an eBook copy, which meant I got to see the images that are included at the beginning of each chapter. Some of the photos include his neighbors too.


Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 474: Land of Milk and Honey

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A dystopian near future book, where a smog covers everything, blocking out light crops fail worldwide. A new mung-bean flour, a gray food, that replaces so much as sustenance that can be grown. Our narrator, the main character is a chef. She wants the fresh food no longer attainable, except in this mountain land that is advertising for a chef, where the ultra-rich have retreated. She lies on her application in the hopes of getting the job, which of course she gets in for a trail period, being the chef for the Sunday dinners with the residents.

The book is somewhat elusive, at least at first. It is very food-centered. I’m not considered a foodie or anything like that so much of this is lost on me. The lists and descriptions of food, don’t do much for me.

The story is so wrapped-up within the food, but it also is speaks about climate change, greed of the ultra-rich, racism, manipulation and much more, yet not deeply. There are topics brought up but mostly dismissed in order to list more foods. The narrator’s feelings of complicity, guilt, and yet desire is all wrapped up with food, even when she doesn’t eat.

And yet despite everything, the novel ends with hope.

Review 417: The High House

The High House by Jessie Greengrass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Set in England in the near future, at the edge of world catastrophe caused by rising oceans and devastating storms. Afterwards, years later three people survived, brother and half-sister and another woman. The siblings are nearly 20 years apart. Yet the bulk of the novel is of the past, how these three came to be where they are and what happened to the parents.

I enjoyed the writing style, with the exception the timeline and how it was laid out. The book moves toward the event with what came before and after laid out, sometimes jumping too frequently and without a marker of where in time it is exactly. I don't mind non-linear books, but when there is this constancy without letting the reader know what is going on, makes for some confusion. Yet it really didn't detract overall.

The book leaves many unanswered questions, but what is provided is enough when reached the end of the book. It's not a happy book, and provides little hope. Yet within their family there is growth.

Review 368: The Deluge

The Deluge by Stephen Markley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A deluge of words and pages, later becomes a deluge of rain and flood waters then finally a deluge of people.  

This is an impressive book, it takes us from current time into the near future, incrementally year by year. It gives us a horrifying look at what climate change might look like, and US politics. 

There are a large cast of characters, in the beginning of the book they each get their own chapter, with some depth, that it feels like you are untethered. But later they do start to intertwine and recur with subsequent chapters. There are some unusual aspects to the book; one character’s chapters always contain side boxes with extra information, there are some articles interspersed, and occasionally a full page with headlines and snippets.

While I am impressed with the scope of breadth of this book, part of me thinks it is too much too soon. Many of these events take place ten to fifteen years from now and seem too extreme for possibility (or at least that’s my hope!). The book is overwhelming, impressive, and frightening. 

Certainly, the author is hoping this epic book will serve as a warning. Perhaps one take away from the book is that one person can make a difference, as we see several versions of that here. 

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for an advance print copy of the book. 

Initial thoughts: I need a breather after this one.

Yet, I didn't wait to start a new book....only a few hours later began something new.

Review 330: How High We Go in the Dark

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This book surprised me. It’s almost a series of short stories, as every chapter begins with new characters, yet it is all the same world and time advances. It begins around 2030 with a father going to the artic where his daughter recently died, and an ancient girl was discovered. Unfortunately, the remains had a virus that ends up creating a pandemic.

Here is where I wondered if I should stop reading. Did I really want to read about a fictional pandemic while in the (hopefully) tail end of a real one? Well, the writing pulled me in, quickly connecting strongly with the characters.

Later as the years pass, decades, there may be a connection to previous characters, such as the father’s granddaughter is a main person in a later chapter. These recurrences and calls to previous chapters help knit the book together in an interesting way.

I will definitely look for and read what Sequoia Nagamatsu writes next. Maybe even read this one again.

Read June 27-28, 2022

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 304: How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need by Bill Gates
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

What I looked for in this book is new solutions, new ideas. Perhaps many of what Gates discusses is new to people, but I didn’t find anything too striking, nothing that got me very excited. In fact I was a bit worried when one of Gates solutions to clean energy is bringing back nuclear, although not exactly like we’ve done before. Less waste is good, but the lifespan and problem of very long-term storage is still a huge hurdle.

The book is organized into five areas that we need to solve. Gates provides the percentage that each are contributes to the greenhouse gasses that need to be reduced or eliminated, which are following:

• Making things (building, cement, etc.) – 41%
• Plugging in (energy) – 27%
• Getting around (all transportation & delivery) – 16%
• Growing things (food, animals) – 19%
• Temperature (heating & colling) – 7%

Gates mentions for his numbers, refining oil or making cars are counted in Making Things category, while the actual burning of gas is in Getting Around. Others may count those differently.

There are some solutions, some are policies, governmental agencies must do, such as supporting research to help businesses take those idea to implement. There are personal solutions as well but wasn’t the main focus of the book.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton, which I enjoyed. Bill Gates narrated his own introduction and if he did the entire book, I don’t think I would have made it through, Wheaton’s voice was more pleasing to my ears.

Review 302: Hummingbird Salamander

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I haven’t read any of VanderMeer’s previous books, but I’ve heard of them, being some weird ecological horror type book maybe. This one seemed less horror-like, I guessed from the brief descriptions. Basically didn’t know what I was getting into. Perhaps that didn’t help, but the book itself was keeping you in the dark about what is going on, so I was confused for much of the book, and didn’t really enjoy that.

At the end the book felt like a thriller, or quest type book, where one clue leads to the next, and you have to be ahead of the bad guys that keep trying to kill you or those around you because they think they know something. Somewhat strange book for me. But I kept going trying to figure this thing out.

In the preface the main character says, “you can call me Jane. Jane Smith. If that helps.” She seems to be a typical suburban woman; married, one teenage kid and a job. The job is in a male dominated area, being a manger in the security industry (not fully defined) which helps companies be more secure. This brings along a level of knowledge and paranoia about privacy and tracking that most people likely don’t have. Add in her unusual size being tall, bulky, lots of muscle, an ex-wrestler turned weightlifter, maybe Jane isn’t so average.

Jane follows these clues to the detriment of her job, then her family. Then things get even worse. There were some interesting bits that remained with me, like how she named inanimate, yet important objects, like the huge purse had the name shovel pig and a burner phone named bog. The book seemed to have some statement on the upcoming environmental disaster but was so vague, difficult to get grounded into that.

Not sure if the style of this book is typical of VanderMeer, if it is I’ll likely avoid any future book. Didn't like the being confused nearly the entire time.

Review 295: The Annual Migration of Clouds

The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A short book, novella that took nearly a third for me to feel grounded in this world; a post-climate change at some unknown point in the future, generations later.

We begin with teenage protagonist Reid who receives an acceptance letter to Howse University, a place in a dome. Everyone is elated for her, except her mother who says this is a fantasy, the place doesn’t exist. What is right? She would have to go out alone to get there, perhaps it is a ruse.

Reid, her mother, and many others are sick with a fungus. The semi-sapient fungus, Cad lives inside, sometimes controls the muscles, forces the infected to stay safe when needed, it appears with tree-link branches on your skin, passed on generation to generation.

This group of survivors live in an old university campus, taking classrooms or offices as living quarters. The community must all work together with some projects to make it work. It's a hard life. If Reid leaves it may harm the overall community, but if she went her life, their lives, could be improved. What does Reid choose, she only has two short weeks to get there, to decide.

I can see this being a start for another book extending out this world. The writing is decent, although as mentioned the setting took some time for me to feel settled into this world, a bit long for such a short book, which makes me hope there is more to this story.

Book rating: 3.5 stars

Review 284: The Sunlight Pilgrims

The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not a fan of the ending.

It's the near future, although in the book that makes it 2020. A cold freeze is happening all over the world. Dylan recently lost his family of mother and grandmother and the only home he knew a tiny art film house in London. He goes north to Scotland to find this tiny trailer his mother bought. The main character turns out to be this teen girl Stella, who transitioned from a boy last year. It's a small town, all her previous friends beat her up one day, except one, who actually kissed her not long ago. Yet he seems conflicted. Stella's mother and a couple other characters fill up the book, and the cold. It's hard to believe they are surviving at these extreme cold temperatures. The writing is lovely, but there are gaps. And I really didn't like the ending.

Review 156: Road Out of Winter

Road Out of Winter by Alison Stine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My reading interests sometimes gravitate towards the post-apocalyptic or dystopian types of books. Unfortunately, this one didn’t grab me as a good entry in the genre. The beginning of the book seemed solid enough. But as the story progressed it weakened for me.

The book is slow paced. When the characters are on the road although they seemed to be driving forever they didn’t get far. They story really bogged down here and took up nearly the rest of the book. The writing felt misleading. How fast were they going, or how often did they stop for gas? Maybe the small details aren’t needed but at times it felt like weeks and other days, it was very unclear, but certainly they should be going somewhere, unless it was in circles.

This was one of the areas that pulled me out of the story. The story wasn’t linear, it would look back to her friend or her mom and boyfriend, how thing used to be. Some of that expanded as we moved through the story but then other situations started to appear that felt like they were convenient for this novel, but not true to what the character development. I don’t want to give spoilers, but it didn’t ring fully true for me.

It got to the point where I did want the book to end and stopped caring what happened to our main characters. Yet I feel like it wasn’t a horribly written book, just not as good as it could have been. There’s a lot of potential that didn’t quite work out well.

One the bright side, if you read this during the heat it may help you feel cooler as this world is frozen over.

Book rating 2.5 stars, rounded up for the strong beginning and atmosphere.


Thanks to Harlequin/MIRA and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 63: The Warehouse

The Warehouse by Rob Hart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A dystopian tale that seems all too plausible, well mostly. As society crumbles with climate change and governments failure to do much, one company steps in and solves all of our shopping needs. After a deadly Black Friday massacre people just don't want to go into stores anymore. So now there is Cloud and nearly the only place to work. It reminded me a little of the movie Idiocracy, with the huge warehouse that everyone shops. As a worker you also must live there. It's a self-contained company store, with entertainment and everything. It's a bit creepy. The watch that tracks your movements and tells you were to go next when to wake up for your next shift.

We have two main characters, one a woman, Zinnia, who is undercover with a mission: find out their power source, it can't all be solar. The other is a discouraged inventor, Paxton, with prison guard work in his resume who ends up on security. We also get the founder's Gibson Wells voice in his blogs that he writes as he nears the end of his life.

The pacing of the book was great. I do like how we see the "other" side with Gibson's blog postings. He sounds like a down-to-earth guy, not a creep who has taken over just about everything.

There are a few aspects to the story-line that was kinda weird, seemed unnecessary. Some parts maybe not explored well or overdone, otherwise a decent book. It looks like the book has Ron Howard interested in the movie rights, so we may see it on the big-screen sometime. I'll definitely see it if that happens.


Preview of the book: https://youtu.be/lh4jJk4rBJc
Like a movie trailer! Wow, looks exciting!
The book was exciting...and may become a movie. So the trailer makes sense.


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

Review 40: Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?

Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? by Bill McKibben
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To start off, this is the 4th book of McKibben's that I read this year, and all I've read. So far this one I've liked the least. Maybe I cherry picked better books? I don't know, but certainly after reading this one I'm not too inclined to run out and read more of his oeuvre.

This book feels like McKibben is just railing against us humans, and with some specifics towards certain people (current president, republicans, Koch brothers, etc.). Diatribe is what comes to mind. And there are tangents of other ways we as humans may be falling into not fully natural humans, with gene editing and potentially post-human with a blend of computer and biology. McKibben certainly will not go there, and desperately wishes we wouldn't.

The book isn't just about climate change, although that is a big part of the book. His solution is solar, about how much that makes sense. And it does, especially, and particularly in countries without all the energy infrastructure right now. But we need it in the modern west as well.

I do agree with McKibben's general outlook and what he is trying to do, but writing this book I don't think gets us any closer. There is serious doubt in my mind that the people whose minds need to change will read this book. Will people on the fence about climate change, pick up this book? Probably not. Yet, I'm still glad he wrote it.

McKibben has a way of being optimistic even when the outlook is grim. With this book I think he's turned a bit of a corner. Hopefully we, meaning in the west, and especially in the United States, will start to take this climate change more seriously and quickly change our ways. There isn't much time left. And that is perhaps why this book is so dire.



Thanks to Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. Although I did have access to an early review copy, I listened to the audiobook version from my library.




Previously Read Bill McKibben books:

• The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life (NonFiction)
• (4 stars) Feb.-April.2019
• The End of Nature  (NonFiction)
• (5 stars)   Jan.-Feb.2019 
• Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance (Fiction) 
• (4 stars)  January.2019

Review 26: The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life

The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life by Bill McKibben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I first picked up this book the thought was to read a few of the essays here and there, but not to read the entire book. Yet as I got immersed in the essays I realized that I would indeed read the entirety.

Like most books that collect pieces through the years some are better than others. On the whole these are interesting and good pieces. All were magazine articles previously published roughly during the 1990's and early 2000's, with the book being published in 2008. There is a good introduction piece an the essays are grouped together thematically. Add to this an index and it is the way a good book of essays should be published.

As an environmental writer you'd expect the work to be focused there, but this isn't entirely the case. At times McKibben writes about his spiritual side, his work with the church. Other times about himself personally. The last section and pieces are more personal, dealing with his father dying and his own year of intense physical training. Often there is an insert of a line or two about climate change, but again, not always. And while the essays are at times aged, they still hold up to a current reading. And a few are startling for the differences the years have brought in change.


Read: Feb.07-April.09 2019


Previously Read Bill McKibben books:

• The End of Nature  (NonFiction)
•  (5 stars)   Jan-Feb.2019 
• Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance (Fiction) 
• (4 stars)  January.2019

Bill McKibben books read later:

• Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? (NonFiction)
•  (3 stars)   May.2019 

Review 8: The End of Nature

The End of Nature by Bill McKibben
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Last week I read my first book by McKibben, Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance and it was his only fictional one. I knew it wasn't the best place to start with his work, but it was short and after just reading some longer books, I wanted a quick read. The subtitle of that book made it more intriguing so I did start there. It wasn't an overwhelmingly environmental novel as it was more overwhelmingly local. Oh, but yes, local is part of being more "green".

Anyway, since I'm planning on attending an event soon where Bill McKibben is speaking, I thought it best to finally read something by him that represented his work. Now this book here, The End of Nature, is probably his most iconic book. I have known about this book, and others he wrote, but held back reading any of them, even held back buying any of his books. It feels a little odd to me since really I have a shelf or two of just these types of books, environmental in nature. And perhaps that is the exact reason why I haven't read McKibben before, I have these other books, read some of them, and overall thought I knew what he was writing about, what he said in his books. It's a bit silly of me I know, but I'm being truthful here. I figured I didn't need to read another writer about the same topic.

Yet, I decided before hearing him speak I should try his work. Quickly after starting this book I realized the mistake I made long ago, and kept making year after year. I should have read this book sooner. Perhaps read more of his books. Not so much that it taught me something I didn't know before, but that it was a good book. It was more engrossing and thought-provoking than I expected. I grew to ponder his sentences as well. Now why would you say like a half glass of gin and tonic, instead of a half glass of water? Probably because you would expect the word water, and not gin and tonic. That makes the writing more readable, more interesting.

This book has put together a lot of specific details and facts and made them readable. McKibben has added his own personal life in here to make it more relatable. What is most significant perhaps is his main thesis how "we" (meaning us humans, but mostly in the West) have now ended the natural, or wild nature. We have affected the change in all animals and plants with our consumption and procreation. There are no longer any place in this earth that is not pristine or untouched by what we have done. And still we do crave the wild, don't we?

And how much nature is completely destroyed depends on how much we are willing to let global-warming go. From here on out nature is being managed, much like a park is not a natural green space but a planned area designed for humans, not the plants or any animals that may inhabit the park .

It is not a happy book, but I'm glad I finally read it. I have many questions for McKibben now, as this book was written two decades ago. Perhaps some of those questions have been answered in his more recent work. At some point I shall find out.


Note on Audio book narration: This book was narrated by Jeff Woodman. I hadn't heard any of his narrations before, but this was an excellent work. His emphasis on the right words enhanced the reading of the book. I had a print copy of the book and read passages, some already listened to, some going forward, but I relied on the audio narration. I doubt I could have read the book as well, and as quickly if I read only the print copy.

Narration rating: 5 stars



Previously Read Bill McKibben books:

• Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance (Fiction) 
• (4 stars)  January.2019

Bill McKibben books read later:

• The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life (NonFiction)
• (4 stars) Feb.-April.2019
• Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? (NonFiction)
•  (3 stars)   May.2019