compelling to the very end

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere by Mike Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although i have not read Gaiman's original novel of this story, this graphic novel rendition is an exciting and magical journey which is compelling to the very end. I now need to seek out the original story, in Mr. Gaiman's own words.

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modern day nomads

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century is an intimate look into a growing group of folks who are houseless rather than homeless. For many different reasons, these folks have decided that their best option is to pare down their physical possessions to just the essentials and hit the road full time. For most of these folks, they found themselves excluded from the system that provides income, food, shelter, and possessions we take for granted. Instead of giving up, they have resiliently redefined their lives, traveling in search of work, and embracing a minimalist lifestyle. The author embeds herself in this story, camping, working, and writing with these folks for several years, in order to go deep beneath a superficiality and passing view of their lives. This is a great work of journalism, and conveys the depth and richness of the lives and family of these modern day nomads. It is concerning as the author explores the changes in our culture that remove life options from these folks. It truth, most of us are just a few unfortunate circumstances from having our options similarly changed. In our hyper-capitalistic culture, we will see this nomadic lifestyle become even more common. I am looking forward to going back to watch the film based on this book again, with clear and fresh context.

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It's nice to feel proud again

The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American by Andrew L. Seidel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American" is a thoroughly and exhaustively researched work that presents a well reasoned and argued case which leaves no doubt that the "Christian" Nationalists claims upon our nation's founding are completely false, and in fact largely the exact opposite of fact. The author meticulously lays out every claim made, and goes back in most cases to original documents and letters to show that the "Founders" of the U.S. had no intention of establishing a Judeo-Christian based nation, but rather a nation founded on reason, natural human rights, and inclusion (not just tolerance) of any and all people as equals (gender and race aside). The book also shows convincingly the reasons and motivations that the founders drew from ancient and contemporary world history that led them to the conclusion that a secular government, apart from any religion, would be the most welcoming environment for all religious beliefs, and lack thereof, to flourish, to the good of all citizens. This is a detailed book, despite being only 300 pages. It is one that bears close reading, reading every sentence, and even every word, to extract the full and accurate meaning being presented. This book is an excellent reference (detailed footnotes and references at the end) as well as a detailed overview of the subject.

The icing on the cake for me was that this is the first time in over 20 years (since the war on terror, forever wars, etc) that i have felt more than a superficial patriotism for the United States. I was born in the US and it is my home, but the disgraceful leadership and policies have exterminated any pride and patriotism that i once had. This book, solidly based on facts and history, made me proud of our founding (albeit imperfect) and proud of what this nation was founded to be. My new pride is in spite of the rabid, insane nationalism that is so out and proud these days. This newfound pride is based on the literal concepts and foundations for our republic. It feels good to once again be proud to be American, even though we are on the brink of demise today. It gives me hope that perhaps we can revive the founding vision and spirit and save our nation before it becomes a fascist theocracy or worse. It's nice to feel some pride again.


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engaging, exciting, and interesting voyage

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, this was one wild ride! Voyager is an engaging, exciting, and interesting continuation of the Outlander series, and really excellent story telling. The only thing that struck me, ironically, was that it seemed to me an excess of coincidences occurred though the course of this book. But given that the 18th century was a much "smaller world" than the 21st, and remembering the premise of time travel, which is foundational to the overall story, it doesn't seem so unexpected. This is an excellent transition volume into the next book, Drums of Autumn, which i have on my list for 2023.

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