The Runaway Robot by Lester Del Rey

I tell you what. I'm a couple years behind on my book reports, but this one left me with some good feelings. It's about a boy and his robot, and the sort of cycle of their relationship. Yes, a Robot can do what it's told, but sometimes the values it has programmed into it can create conflict and wild space age adventures all in the name of purpose and friendship. Who doesn't love that kind of stuff?

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

I'd be disappointed if this book was made into a movie. It's honestly perfect the way it is, an epic story of an old man who fights the fight of his life, the fight he'd been waiting for into old age. With his luck of youth long gone, the old man finds that his luck has been growing this entire time. But what for? I'd like to make a computer game based off this story, kind of like The Oregon Trail meets Sid Meier's Pirates! I think true ones will get it.

The Artificial Kid by Bruce Sterling

This cyberpunk story has a lot going for it. Action, crime, bio-hacking, coming-of-age, social media, and kill streaming. It's not kill streaming, but that's kind of what it is. Yeah, The Artificial Kid was very imaginative and forward thinking, keeping your attention as you try not to trip on the unexplained oddities in Sterling's world. If you like sci-fi of any kind, you should give Bruce some time.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

I did not know there was a movie based on this book until after I read it. I started the movie, but didn't finish it. I wonder if you've seen it. Here we have a story about a woman who gave up a lot to please her husband and be there for her evil son. The evil son completely ruins his mom's life, and in the end all they have is each other. That's how family works, for better or worse. Does that count as a spoiler? I read this one pretty quick, as it's quite juicy. It was well done, but definitely not a light, cozy experience.

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

This book is long, like an epic fantasy. But is it epic? It mostly takes place in one big fantasy city with a gang of variously powered 'allowmancers' working together on a classic Heist. Our main hero is a messiah-type man, and our fledgling hero is a very unfortunate young woman named Vin who gets all the powers and a solid hunk of wish-fulfillment. I think of this book was made into a movie, she'd be played by the next Rachel Leigh Cook or something. For a modern all-ages fantasy, there was a good bit of allegory in this book regarding class divide and problematic power structures. The hard magic of Allowmancy drives the exciting plot twists in a way that is very satisfying. Is Mistborn my thing? Not really. But I will say it's well done and you should read it if this Is your thin.

River of Shadows by Karena Halle

I was always intrigued by Romantasy as a genre, like smut with humans and fantasy creatures sounds great. But we end up with some fifty shades-type scenario where a regular self insert softens the heart of an evil god. This one has a lot of finnish mythology stuff in it. If you found something deeper, please let me know. I'd love to find a fantasy novel that is romance heavy without falling into this basic format.

The Waste Lands by Stephen King

This is the fourth book in the Dark Tower series. Roland and Jake need to be reunited, so they do some going between worlds again. There are some bad guys and action and cute creatures, leading me to think this was hoped to become an epic film series. I know they did a movie of the first Dark Tower, but I don't know if the whole thing can happen in King's lifetime. It wouldn't surprise me if we did get it someday, with some AI enhanced graphics to make it look like an 80s Spielberg feature. I'd be curious to see it.

Satan Burger by Carlton Mellick III

With this, I was hoping for more horror than the bizarro thing I got. But it was fun. Carl Mellick III is, I guess famous for pushing forth this type of storytelling where our world and characters are too messed up and wrong(?) to make us fear for them. It's all pretty fun and clever, showing no lack of Culture in our writer. The details are fuzzy to me now, but I know Satan opens a burger shop where food is paid for with the consumer's soul. There are debaucherous noise/punk performances, terrible driving scenes, and appearances from both God and Jesus. It's worth checking out if you are a person of culture as well. 

Wild at Heart by Barry Gifford

I was a big fan of the Nicolas Cage film Wild at Heart and when I found out it was based on a book, of course I had to read it. Most of the story beats are the same, without David Lynch's theatrical pizzazz. This story is part of a longer volume that I didn't finish and assume tells about our minor characters. Altogether it's a pretty good piece of writing for those who like crime, wild romance, and Big Tuna. 

My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday

It took me a very long time to finish this book. It's a collection of letters from various women to the author, telling the secrets of their sexual fantasies, divided into topics and bookended with authorial essays. It's a very interesting topic, but a lot to get through. 

The Circle by Dave Eggers

Here's another book which I did not yet know had been made into a movie. It tells the story of a young woman's blossoming career in the tech world of silicon valley where she works for the Circle. I think that's what it's called. Basically the company likes to track every place and every person because no information should be destroyed or forgotten, or private. Needless to say, not everyone is into this. Things go bad for some people. At the time of its advent I think this story was far more poignant. As of now, its concepts are old and not very scary. 

Wool by Hugh Howey

Here we go. People had been talking about this awesome sci-fi tv show with the enchanting Rebecca Ferguson, Rashida Jones, and Steve Zahn. And I watched a few episodes, after reading this book which I think tells the story of both seasons of the tv show. It's good. Immersive, dark, makes you wonder. If you like modern science fiction, you'll like it. 

It's about people who live in underground silos after some sort of catastrophic event on earth, and there's a lot of control in the amount of information people can have. There's also a lot of climbing and going down stairs, which the tv show doesn't emphasize enough. 

Other People's Clothes by Calla Henkel

This book is kind of a murder mystery. Well, we have two friends who meet while studying abroad in Berlin. They rent a house from a famous writer for very cheap, and throw parties to supplement their rent. 

No spoilers here, I promise. One girl kills herself and the other can't believe it is so, and ends up in an insane asylum after reading her old friends' diary and going out pretending to be the friend, in her clothes. I liked this book. Sure. Was it my thing? I don't know. I'm not super into mysteries above juicy thrills. Maybe you'd like it. 

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

Cults. Is there a topic more juicy? Who doesn't want to adapt a completely regimented lifestyle to help them avoid all the crap they don't want to do? But cults are not just religions, of course not. Cults can be gyms, MLMs, and support groups. 

And this book goes into some depth about the language many of these groups adapt to divide themselves from anyone who's not in the cult. It's all pretty interesting, but it's not as juicy as a tell-all from someone who sold their soul, castrated themselves, or went into human trafficing. So don't expect that here. 

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

 As soon as I discovered the iconic film American Psycho was based on a book, I immediately added it to my reading list. I loved the long essays with fumbled facts about Genesis, Huey Louis, and Whitney Houston. Such deep feelings really might endear you to the twisted Patrick Batemen. But the book is so graphic. So much more graphic than the movie. So much more graphic than it needed to be. But hey. If you liked the movie and you like books, you should read it. And buy me a tie from Hugo Boss. 

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. 

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

This is an interesting piece of literature. It's a personal narrative story written entirely in the form of tweets. So it feels like a book of poetry, almost. The 'posts' are definitely all profound in their own way. And I assume this is how most non-writers do their best writing these days. Very cool. 

Our protagonist is an influencer type who hit it big with some viral tweets about important issues. She gets paid to travel and tweet about things which start our story. Then she veers away from 'relevant' cultural events to tell the story of her nephew's cancer. Deep stuff. 

Big Trouble by David Barry

Again, I didn't know there was a movie based on this book. I must have been looking for modern writers who are really funny in their work. And somebody somewhere on the internet said David Barry was the funniest thing ever. 

So here we have a story that feels a lot like a movie, especially one starring Tim Allen. And it's pretty good. Based in Miami it has bums, criminals, and regular people in trouble. Decent stuff.