Elektra, Jennifer Saint

 

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

Started: 11/27/2022

Completed: 11/30/2022

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

I have never really studied the Iliad.  I knew it only in broad swipes and this book fills in the details in a far less ponderous manner than the original Greek.  I knew nothing of Elektra.  For that matter, I did not realize that Helen was sister to Agamemnon's wife!  This book seems to follow the plot as outlined in Aeschylus' play Agamemnon though I wouldn't know as I have not read the play.   The changing perspectives (there were several narrators) was nice in what is truly a difficult story to wrap one's head around (surely easier in Ancient Greece for those already familiar with the broad strokes).  I think this is kind of like the way that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead relies upon a certain understanding of Macbeth.  I enjoyed the retelling and, therefore, recommend it for those with a passing familiarity with the Iliad.  I did not find the characters to be particularly deep and the only development seemed to be with Clytemnestra, whose fatal flaw seems to be love of her children(?).

The Relentless Moon, Mary Robinette Kowal

 

The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal is the third book in A Lady Astronaut Series.

Started: 7/6/2022
Completed: 11/27/2022
Recommendation: Mild Recommendation
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

I did not like the change in narrator for this book.  I have consistently found this character off-putting and truly did not find her less so inside her own head.  Some of the details revealed helped explain why she was able to cope with the astronaut program (and, oddly, other details made it clear she should not have done well).  The "fog of war" approach to different aspects of the astronaut corps not really knowing what other parts were doing as well as sketch communications worked, but it just made me yearn for the smaller scope books which focused on one person and her effort to do one thing--be an astronaut--instead of the narrator for this book who seemed to be doing, well, almost everything.  Being one of the first exploring the moon did not jive very well with the concept of the women being after thoughts in the astronaut corps as a whole and so was a little too convenient.

Worse Than Nothing, Erwin Chemerinsky

 

Worse Than Nothing:  The dangerous fallacy of originalism by Erwin Chemerinsky

Started: 11/20/2022
Completed: 11/27/2022
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: The library

Review:

I have felt that  "originalism" leads to too much potential for "both sides" analysis.  I think it also risks keeping the country mired in the past.  This book charts a pretty dangerous future where individual states can have a state religion and sponsor religious activities.  The whole concept of treating individuals equally can be lost as religious exceptions pile in.  Moreover, there is no merit in thinking that the structure of originalism offers a consistent, even handed approach for judges.  It serves, instead, as a cloak to hide individual judges' prejudices under the gauze of someone else's (a founder or some such) prejudices.  Kind of scary book.

The World We Make, N.K. Jemisin

 

The World We Make by N. K. Jemisin is the second book in the Great Cities Trilogy.

Started: 11/13/22
Completed: 11/20/22
Recommendation: Highly Recommended, especially the audio version
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

For starters, the audio version is simply wonderful with all the nuanced accents.  The story is excellent and the growth from the first book progresses well.  The characters (both large and small) make strides and come to a better understanding of themselves and each other.  I really enjoyed this insight into others who are so different from one-another but find common ground (literally) in New York city.  Jemisin does an excellent job of tying everything together which switching back and forth between perspectives and ways of thought.  It is a rich and enjoyable read.

The Atlas Paradox, Olivie Blake

 

The Atlas Pardox by Olivie Blake is the next book in the Atlas Series.

Started: 11/05/22
Completed: 11/13/22
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

The first in this series was good.  The second was not as good.  This is a stinker.  The constant verbal assaults between main characters was wearing.  The actor who did Parisa was nauseating--may have been well done, but I almost stopped listening to the book during her first appearance and she kept coming back for long segments.  The desire may have been to have an annoying character and if that was the intent, then it really, really worked.  I had previously seen Parisa as sultry and sexy (if not my kind of sexy), but this was neither when it lasted for so long.

The whole sub-plot with Elin seemed completely unnecessary and showed Libby to be far worse then her character had been in previous books.  I just really did not enjoy this book.  From minor inconsistencies (like a mind reader who didn't hear other people's thoughts when out of the room, but could identify whether or not a person was on the planet) to more major flaws (like creating a wormhole that was always present in the second book, but apparently the next wormhole--much bigger--was not always present).  If another book is published in this series, I will miss it.  Cannot spend my valuable time in this story again.

Justice on the Brink, Linda Greenhouse

 

Justice on the Brink: The death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the rise of Amy Coney Barrett, and twelve months that transformed the Supreme Court by Linda Greenhouse was found at a local book store and the title just grabbed me.

Started: 5/16/2022
Completed: 11/11/2022
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

protean -- tending or able to change frequently or easily

Review:

Greenhouse is a master of both the Supreme Court itself and it's rulings.  She set the scene well, drove me through the congressional hearings and then leapt onto the decisions.  Her analysis of the decisions was lucid, useful, and insightful.  I have to admit that I have always looked at the Court as addressing each case on its own merits.  Greenhouse, however, makes a compelling case that often Justices use one case to set the stage for another and that Justices have an agenda which they nudge along case-by-case building up case law so that their desired outcome appears both consistent with historical judgements and inevitable.  I think that this book will serve as a reference for me out into the future.

A Better Man, Louise Penny

 

A Better Man by Louise Penny is the next Armand Gamash book.

Started: 10/31/2022
Completed: 11/5/2022
Recommendation: Highly recommended
Recommended By: My parents

Review:

Gamash is no longer crushing corruption, but that doesn't mean all is well in the ranks.  Somehow Penny has brought these characters to life and the shocking number of deaths in Three Pines continues to demonstrate it is "the murder capital of Canada" (as my father says).  Fortunately Gamash is on hand and those who commit the dastardly deed will not hide for long.  I have long ago given up trying to figure out the mystery (in my opinion it is simply impossible in this book).  This lets me enjoy the book as a story rather than constantly trying to distinguish between red herrings (plentiful) and actual clues (few and so well disguised as to be indistinguishable).  I also don't obsess over missing details (like, what was the phone number?).  This lets me enjoy the book itself and relish in character development.