Month: October 2026

As you Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers (Science Fiction)

A love story in a somewhat (but not completely) dystopic world with fantastic (literally) world building, deep characterization, plenty of action, and utterly absorbing (to me) philosophical meanderings into the nature of life, consciousness, connection, and alien (both literal and figurative) understanding.

Cora is a rorqual pilot — and the depiction of the rorqual “species” and Colibri — the specific rorqual connected to Cora — is worth the whole price of admission. My favorite aspect of science fiction — and Chambers has always excelled at this — is exposing us to new kinds of beings: the way they work, the way they interact, and the way both individual and group level relationships with them function. Signy is a botanist who illegally designs and prints medicines that aren’t necessarily approved for those she helps. Their love story — a beautiful one told in two converging timelines before and after an event — is really the primary point of the story. But the substrate of the story — a world, a system, a set of restrictions, a wiggly compliancy, competing desires, and most of all connection — is magnificent. And I really, really loved the scenes with Colibri in them.

It could have been a little shorter in my opinion, but I have to admit that I was entranced reading about life in this very different world under very different expectations. Unlike her Monk and Robot series, only one or two minor characters use the “they” pronoun so I’m (happily) able to read the whole book without undue cognitive stress for which I’m quite grateful!

Looking forward to book two!

Go Gentle by Maria Semple (Literary Fiction)

An absolute pleasure to read from start to finish!

Adora Hazzard — one-time comedy writer turned staff philosopher for precocious (and wealthy) twins on the Upper West Side. Lover of the Stoics. Instigator of a modern day coven (not what you think but even better!). And … an unwitting participant in the convoluted slip ’n slide of an art heist / Interpol / spy ring adventure. It’s funny how I can ignore the “plot” almost completely in favor of the deep dive into Adora’s character— her development of a personal life philosophy (with well-educated underpinnings), her eventual reckoning with poor past decisions, and her somewhat herky jerky reaction to the possibility of … love.

I give the writing an A+++. Fast paced, witty, infused with exceptional banter and a razor sharp clarity of thought applied to complex topics. Full of intriguing characters (in addition to Adora) — all memorable in their own way based not on who they are but on what they think, say, and make happen. I LOVED the injection of philosophy from the ancients to the current times — all made accessible and applicable to everyday life. I’ve read a lot of philosophy (admittedly a few decades ago) but I enjoyed thinking some new (to me) thoughts and puzzling out how what I learned might apply to my life. I’m a sucker for questions of moral rectitude and applied ethics and those were plentifully supplied. I also loved the various relationship reflections, shifts, and the way Semple depicted discussions on volatile topics with a subtle recognition of when ideology or a simple lack of thought snuck in and how the relationship changed (suffered?) as a result.

In summary — loved this book! Made me laugh, made me think, made me reflect, and it was fun to read. Can’t ask for much more than that! Some people took a real dislike to Adora, applying some pretty interesting judgements to her character (we have, as a culture, become so over-the-top judgmental IMHO). I think I could take up a whole book club discussion on the whys of that one. For my part, I’m a big fan.

Just a few quotes that don’t give too much away — there are great ones on every page:

“Inside her apartment, Matt (shoes-on, doing the couch luge) was gunning people down with an intensity I reckoned he never applied to learning her love language. A statement bong dominated the coffee table. Meanwhile, out in the hallway, bag handles had begun to cut off circulation to his beloved’s ringless fingers.”

“An unimpeachably intentional, highly curated, feminist old folks’ home? Nah, not much of a ring. A tragic, estrogen-free trio trying to put our best face on the realization society is done with us and we’re destined to die alone? No, and bite your tongue.”

“I adored learning about the personal lives of the philosophers and tracking the progression of collective thought throughout history. How every breakthrough idea had been a