Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton

This is a really fun, dark, and immersive story about a working writer who is struggling to get by because she lives in New York. She becomes best friends with a creative wreck of a girl who wants to write but has no concept of work or self-discipline. But she has a house and money and very useful connections. 

Wonderfully juicy drama ensues with betrayal and forged identities on social media. I will not let myself do more to spoil it. I had a very good time with this book. You should read it and we should talk about it. 

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

You've got me pegged. I'm a huge fan of William Gibson. Here is the first entry of a trilogy that takes place in modern times instead of a cyberpunk future. Our hero (again) is named Case with a strange allergy/aversion to branding. So her outfits are called CPUS (Cayce Pollock Units) that are all black, with the tags removed. She has a special attachment to a Buzz Rickson's Bomber Jacket, which somehow makes me want one even though there's never a proper season for it in central Florida. Cayce is on a mission to find the source of a mysterious photo blog. 

This story is good fun, with lots of normal tech and KGB/Russian stuff that I don't entirely understand. There's a guy who's going to make an enlightening art project out of Sinclair ZX-81 Computers, which excites me. But it's been over a year and I haven't yet read the next entry in the series, which says something regarding my love for Gibson. 

Severance by Ling Ma

For those who've seen the tv show Severance, this book is unrelated. It's an apocalyptic zombie type of story taking place in modern times with a narrating protagonist who doesn't like air conditioning. I think she's Korean, and lives in New York City. So maybe she's justified in that opinion. 

Similar to the pandemic we've experienced, our heroine isolates herself properly and holds out at her job until everyone else is gone. Then she embarks on a journey to explore what's left while seeking a safer place, and joins a collective group. But what happens to them? There are some definite scary parts in this book. You'll like it if you like horror or zombies.