gilda_elise | Entries tagged with let it snow 2024

In the tradition of Silent Spring and The Sixth Extinction , an urgent, “disturbing, empowering, and essential” ( Kirkus Reviews , starred review) book about the ways in which chemicals in the modern environment are changing—and endangering—human sexuality and fertility on the grandest scale, from renowned epidemiologist Shanna Swan.

In 2017, author Shanna Swan and her team of researchers completed a major study. They found that over the past four decades, sperm levels among men in Western countries have dropped by more than 50 percent. They came to this conclusion after examining 185 studies involving close to 45,000 healthy men. The result sent shockwaves around the globe—but the story didn’t end there. It turns out our sexual development is changing in broader ways, for both men and women and even other species, and that the modern world is on pace to become an infertile one.

How and why could this happen? What is hijacking our fertility and our health? Count Down unpacks these questions, revealing what Swan and other researchers have learned about how both lifestyle and chemical exposures are affecting our fertility, sexual development—potentially including the increase in gender fluidity—and general health as a species. Engagingly explaining the science and repercussions of these worldwide threats and providing simple and practical guidelines for effectively avoiding chemical goods (from water bottles to shaving cream) both as individuals and societies, Count Down is “staggering in its findings” (Erin Brockovich, The Guardian) and “will serve as an awakening” ( The New York Times Book Review ).

I guess enough time has gone by to know that Swan and Colino’s warning has gone unheeded. Big surprise, since it’s just another in a line of warnings that have been ignored. That this one affects the future of the human race, along with a variety of other species, should lend it weight. That is doesn’t says so much more about the human race than the book does.

The idea that there will be less people seems like a good thing, but the authors see a downside to that as well. But if there’s to be suffering (not enough young to pay for the old,) well, nothing is free.

There’s a lot of information in the book, covering a variety of causes and effects. I’d known about how the chemicals have been affecting other species, especially amphibians, but I think it was good that their plight is also covered. We’re not alone. But given what’s happening, it may be the other species that will find their number dropped by one.

Mount TBR 2024 Book Links

Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. Bone Walker (Anasazi Mysteries #3) by Kathleen O'Neal Gear, W. Michael Gear
2. Holly by Stephen King
3. Inferno (Inferno#1) by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
4. Fallout (Lois Lane #1) by Gwenda Bond
5. The Secret People by John Wyndham
6. Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
7. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
8. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
9. Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara
10. Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts by Shanna H. Swan, Stacey Colino

Goodreads 10

FEB– Heir, Night, Bride, Down, Women, Hand, Teach, Guest⁠

Count Down by Shanna H. Swan, PhD

In this utterly transporting reimagining of Greek mythology, the god of desire is cursed to fall for a spirited young mortal woman, but if she looks upon his face they will be parted forever—an epic adventure and love story for the ages, sure to satisfy fans of Madeline Miller and V.E. Schwab

Who said true love is a myth?

A prophecy claims that Psyche, princess of Mycenae, will defeat a monster feared even by the gods. Rebelling against her society’s expectations for women, Psyche spends her youth mastering blade and bow, preparing to meet her destiny.

When Psyche angers the love goddess Aphrodite, she sends Eros, god of desire, to deliver a cruel curse. After eons watching humanity twist his gifts, the last thing Eros wants is to become involved in the chaos of the mortal world. But when he pricks himself with the arrow intended for Psyche, Eros finds himself doomed to yearn for a woman who will be torn from him the moment their eyes meet.

Thrown together by fate, headstrong Psyche and world-weary Eros will face challenges greater than they could have ever imagined. And as the Trojan War begins and divine powers try to keep them apart, the pair must determine if the curse could become something more . . . before it’s too late.

A joyous and subversive tale of gods, monsters, and the human heart and soul, Psyche and Eros dazzles the senses while exploring notions of trust, sacrifice, and what it truly means to be a hero. With unforgettably vivid characters, spellbinding prose, and delicious tension, Luna McNamara has crafted a shimmering and propulsive debut novel about a love so strong it defies the will of Olympus.

I wanted to like this book; I really did. The myth of Psyche and Eros (or Cupid and Psyche, as I’ve always known them,) is probably my favorite classical myth. But it’s not a very good book. Forget about all the name dropping (if there’s a mythical character not mentioned, I don’t know who it is,) I just couldn’t get past the reimagining of the two main characters. Neither are especially likable, and Psyche comes across like a modern teenager. She’s spoiled, she shoots her mouth off, and she’s constantly making stupid decisions. Eros doesn’t seem as bad, but that may be because he’s less of the story’s focus.

Leaving that aside, I was amazed at the sloppy research. Eros speaks of terriers, which weren’t around until the 1800s. That’s AD, not BC. And how in the heck does Psyche know about the adrenal gland and adrenaline? The Greeks may have noticed the small piece of matter during a dissection, but they had no idea as to what it did.

Slightly worse are the grammatical slips. Using “I,” instead of “me,” as in “…it will hurt both Psyche and I later (“hurt I later”?)

There are a few good passages, as when Psyche goes with Iphigenia to the wedding she thinks awaits her, that make the book at least passably readable. But mostly, I wouldn’t bother.

FEB - "Dynamic Duos" - Read a book with a couple of characters that make the perfect pair- whether in business, friendship, or in love.⁠

Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara

Lydia lives in Acapulco. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while cracks are beginning to show in Acapulco because of the cartels, Lydia’s life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. But after her husband’s tell-all profile of the newest drug lord is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and Luca find themselves joining the countless people trying to reach the United States. Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?

This is such an inspiring, yet heartbreaking book. As we see the harrowing trip north through their eyes, I couldn’t help but be drawn into the hopes and fears of the characters: Lydia and Luca, Rebeca and Soledad, the girls who they meet and befriend along the way, Beto, the young boy who helps them navigate their way through Nogales, and even El Chacal (The Jackel,) the coyote who leads them north.

I think what made the book so compelling, is that, as I progressed through it, I wondered, given the vagaries of life, how easily it could have been my story. If I had been born three hundred miles south. If, a hundred odd years ago, my own ancestors hadn’t decided to make the move north.

This is a book I know I’ll return to, and I look forward to reading more of the author’s books.

Recommended by

justjo2u. And while maybe not the most emphatic recommendation, I can't thank her enough for bringing this book to my attention.

Lois Lane is starting a new life in Metropolis. An Army brat, Lois has lived all over—and seen all kinds of things. (Some of them defy explanation, like the near-disaster she witnessed in Kansas in the middle of one night.) But now her family is putting down roots in the big city, and Lois is determined to fit in. Stay quiet. Fly straight. As soon as she steps into her new high school, though, she can see it won’t be that easy. A group known as the Warheads is making life miserable for another girl at school. They’re messing with her mind, somehow, via the high-tech immersive video game they all play. Not cool. Armed with her wit and her new snazzy job as a reporter, Lois has her sights set on solving this mystery. But sometimes it’s all a bit much. Thank goodness for her maybe-more-than-a friend, a guy she knows only by his screen name, SmallvilleGuy.

I normally don’t read YA but, hey, Lois Lane. It was a pleasant read, not great but all right. I think the part I liked best was in the inclusion of “smallvilleguy.” Because who is Lois Lane with Superman? Or the reverse?

I was unsure about the main focus of the story. Are video games really that realistic? Or was that something that can only happen in a comic book?

Yet, I can’t say that I wouldn’t mind reading the sequels. It would be interesting to see how Lois’s relationship with smallvilleguy progresses. She’s only sixteen, so their actual meeting is probably years away, but there’s so much to play with until then.

Thanks to

honor_reid for recommending the book.

Fallout

An unearthly voice hisses unholy welcome. And the late, great Allen Carpentier begins his one-way journey into the dim nether regions where flame-colored demons wield diabolically sharp pitchforks and tormented vixens reign forever in a pond of sheer ice. Here, in this land of torment and terror, he discovers the amazing truth of the ultimate adventure that lies beyond the grave.

Frank Herbert -"The somber beauty of INFERNO brought up to the twentieth century with care and humor and with some sins Dante didn't even suspect."

I read this years and years ago, and it hasn’t lost its punch. As Carpentier makes his reluctant way through Hell, led by the mysterious Benito, he’s faced with its ugly reality. Or is there more going on here than is apparent? And why does Benito have free reign in Hell?

The punishments are often the same as those described by Dante, usually over the top and don’t usually fit the crime (the illustrations by Gustav Doré in my copy of The Divine Comedy, are truly grotesque.) It’s the question that Carpentier struggles to answer; why would a god create a hell? And why would a punishment last through eternity? The answer is a surprising one.

JAN - "Red Carpet Reads" - Read a book that has won a literary award or been nominated for one.

Inferno by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle

Nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

I didn’t mind the politics. It’s life, after all. And King is certainly not the first author to give his characters his beliefs; he’s certainly done the reverse. I hadn’t even known there was a problem until I started reading some of the other reviews (I wonder what they would have made of Star Trek!). I figure, if I don’t like a book that much, I quit reading it.

My major complaint is with Holly, who I’ve loved in all the books in which she’s appeared. I’m not sure what happened, but her spark seems to be gone. And considering that the character has to pretty much carry the book, that’s going to be a major problem. I felt as if she really wasn’t there. That she was a disinterested bystander. Not until near the end of the book, when things are hitting her in the face, does she come alive.

This isn’t a terrible book; far from it. The case is interesting and the villains are truly villainous. But it’s not one of King’s best. I know people can be truly evil, so maybe I just miss the supernatural slant. Is the book horror? Yes, just not in my favorite flavor.

and international bestselling authors, break extraordinary new ground in the riveting sequel to their bestselling The Summoning God. Bone Walker is more than a murder mystery, it is a psychological thriller filled with the action that have made this the dynamic duo of the historical. They have breathed life into the vanished world of the Anasazi, bringing out the spirit, the loves, and a mysterious world where mystery and horror lurk in every shadow, behind every door, sometimes right before you. The Gears invite you to follow them down the dark labyrinth of the serial killers mind in Book III of the Anasazi Mysteries.

Eight hundred years have passed since the Mogollon holy man was murdered in Flowing Waters Town. The threads of evil spun by Two Hearts are drawn across time to ensnare modern archaeologists Dusty Stewart and Maureen Cole. The "Wolf Witch" has killed archaeologist Dale Emerson Robertson, and Dusty and Maureen must unmask the murderer before he strikes again. But in so doing, Dusty will root out disturbing secrets about his own past that will cast his father's suicide in an unsettling light. With so many skeletons in the closet, even a bone expert like Maureen can be baffled...and the Wolf Witch is two steps ahead of them, drawing them relentlessly into his trap...

From the national award-winning archaeologists and international bestselling authors of The Visitant and The Summoning God comes a novel of unforgettable terror about a murder in America eight hundred years ago...and a power that transcends time.

Maybe the Gears were saving the best for last, because this third book in the trilogy is heads and shoulders above the first two. The mysteries are deeper, and kept you guessing. My only regret is that much of that is due to Dale’s death. He was a great character and I was sad to see him go. But it brings out the best in Dusty, whose grief follows you through the story. Who has killed his foster father is a guessing game, as first one character, and then another, seems to be the prime suspect.

There’s also a deeper mystery in the past, where the ancient tribes seem to be tearing themselves apart. And while Catkin is still my favorite character from this vanished civilization, Browser has gone a long way to redeem himself. Together, they lead the reader through this ancient land. They know who killed the Mogollon holy man, but finding him, and ending his reign of terror, won’t be easy.

The stories, of Browser and Catkin in the past, and Dusty and Maureen in the present, are interesting, compelling, and totally satisfying.

Mount TBR 2024 Book Links

Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. Bone Walker (Anasazi Mysteries #3) by Kathleen O'Neal Gear, W. Michael Gear

In his internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed novel The Passage, Justin Cronin constructed an unforgettable world transformed by a government experiment gone horribly wrong. Now the scope widens and the intensity deepens as the epic story surges forward with The Twelve.

In the present day, as the man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child’s arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as “Last Stand in Denver,” has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned—and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.

One hundred years in the future, Amy and the others fight on for humankind’s salvation...unaware that the rules have changed. The enemy has evolved, and a dark new order has arisen with a vision of the future infinitely more horrifying than man’s extinction. If the Twelve are to fall, one of those united to vanquish them will have to pay the ultimate price.

There’s a lot to take in with this book: a myriad of characters, different times, different places; I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to get back to the trilogy. Luckily, there are enough hints and explanations that I was able to re-pick up the threads of the story.

The stories of the present and future neatly intertwine, as the live and actions of those of the present affect the lives and events of the future. As we follow those lives, the story of how things came to be slowly unfolds. I did find that the switch from character driven (the present,) to plot driven (the future,) slowed things down a bit, but not so much that I found it disconcerting.

My one complaint, and it’s a relatively small one, is that I would have liked more focus on the characters of Peter and Amy. I had the impression that they would be the center of the fight against the virals, those changed by the virus. They are, but in a very peripheral way.

The book is claimed by both the Horror and Science Fiction genres; I’d say it has much of both.

Mount TBR 2023 Book Links

( Mount TBR 2023 Book Links 1-50 )

51. Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner
52. Jackdaw (Jackdaw #1) by K.J. Charles
53. Blightborn (Heartland #2) by Chuck Wendig
54. The Harvest (Heartland #3) by Chuck Wendig
55. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
56. Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
57. The Change by Kirsten Miller
58. The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
59. The Witching Hour (Lives of the Mayfair Witches #1) by Anne Rice
60. Abandon by Blake Crouch
61. Planet B (Architects of the Apocalypse #1) by Jasper T. Scott
62. Shiver by Allie Reynolds
63. The Starlite Drive-In by Marjorie Reynolds
64. The Snow by Flint Maxwell
65. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe
66. December by Phil Rickman
67. Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
68. Ariadne's Crown by Meadoe Hora
69. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
70. A Dog's Perfect Christmas by W. Bruce Cameron
71. The Lodge by Jeremy Eads
72. The Twelve (The Passage #2) by Justin Cronin

Goodreads 72

Black, red, or white cover
1. The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles
2, Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
3. The Lodge by Jeremy Eads
4. The Twelve by Justin Cronin

A demon runs a bed and breakfast in southwest Virginia where sin never needs a reservation. A guilt-ridden retiree, two little boys, and a pair of meth making cousins will challenge America's most wanted black widow, a haunted southern town, and the Devil himself. The quest for salvation will lead to the darkest parts of themselves as well as the beating black heart of Summit Valley, Virginia. The Maple Lodge, a B&B where the turn down service is to die for.

I was beginning to wonder if there was an actual plot to the story, given that most of it is made up of one person after another being done in by the Lodge, even when they’re not even in the Lodge. Most of the characters are so thinly drawn that I didn’t care what happened to them. But, finally, there’s a resolution of sorts, but not a very surprising one.

What was surprising, or, given how the rest of the book was, maybe not, was the “gotcha” at the end. I hate those things. It makes me think that the author thought he was being clever. Or lazy. Was he planning a sequel? I have no plans to find out.