3/5 stars A Sunny Place for Shady People, by Mariana Enriquez (2024) Translated by Megan McDowell I wish I liked this more, because I freakin' love the title... Which, it turns out, is a quote from author W. Somerset Maugham in speaking about the French Riviera. * shrug * This is a story collection where each narrative focuses in some way on death or its aftermath, and body horror - "a subgenre of horror fiction where fear comes from the grotesque, unnatural, and unwanted transformation,...

4 & 3 /5 stars An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, by Hank Green (2018 & 2020) An Absolutely Remarkable Thing - 4/5 stars Walking home from work in the wee hours in NYC, April May stumbles upon what initially appears to be an art installation - a ten-foot tall, metallic, robot/transformer-like statue in Samurai armor. Impressed with the piece, she calls her best friend Andy to come meet her there and record a video with the statue, which she names Carl, and post...

5/5 stars Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection, by John Green (2025) "People who are treated as less than fully human by the social order are more susceptible to tuberculosis. But it's not because of their moral codes or choices or genetics; it's because they are treated as less than fully human by the social order." Only John Green could make the history of tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest infectious disease, interesting, topical, and moving....