User Profile

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but I am absolutely reading this book because its title is Dim Sum of All Fears

At its face, Find The Good is a kind of surface-level self-help book. Something to tell you how to live your life in a way that will make it better. That genre of product - quick easy solutions for complicated problems - tend to be vapid at best and dangerous at worst.

Here, I cannot say the intent of the author, but I don't feel like viewing the list of lessons provided as chapter titles are really what need to be taken away. The stories within these pages aren't simply a means to an end; they are accounts of deeply human experiences within small communities. They express the meaning of all the things we do, big and small, and the impact that has on those around us. Almost like a high quality textual people watching. People reading, if you will.

Presented from the perspective of the author, an obituary writer and grandma, it does read like stories from grandma. That has its pros and cons, but it feels fitting in this particular context.

Feel The Good isn't going to instill profound lessons, but it is a collection of touching slices of life, and I think that's enough.

Death By Dumpling is everything you expect, and maybe a little more. The first in the Noodle Shop Mysteries series, Death By Dumpling is a murder mystery that tows the line between the seriousness of a capital offense without taking itself too seriously.

Like balancing flavours in delicious Asian cuisine, there's enough subterfuge and drama to go with messy interpersonal affairs and fun twists without feeling like turning the page is an emotional burden.

The central character isn't the first-person protagonist, but rather, the community she is in. Death By Dumpling creates a little insular world that makes all the secrets under the surface come to life in a way that just wouldn't land without it. Everyone is a distinct personality, even for those whose appearances are limited.

There's nothing revolutionary about the approach, but if you call up the Noodle Shop for a serving of interpersonal intrigue that is about the complexities of humans, community, and culture, then Death By Dumpling delivers.

Seven Devils introduced the futuristic queer rebellion against a mind-controlling Empire, and Seven Mercies is a necessary sequel. The original didn't really reach any conclusions or stand entirely on its own.

Seven Mercies really finds its feet. The writing is smoothed out compared to the original, even if still slightly stilted. Small tweaks in balance, such as adding a tinge more comedic relief, does a great job of smoothing over the rough edges. Characters, fully established, have room to have the big important moving moments that the original lacked.

The delicate balance of an epic space opera is taking soaring through the stars and grounding it in the essential facts of being human. More than anything, that is what the story gets right. While the characters may also have incredible superhuman abilities, they are still portrayed as complex, imperfect people with complicated motivations and sloppy attempts at doing their best.

It is necessary to look at Seven Devils and Seven Mercies as a single novel. Neither stands on its own, so there is a 900ish page investment to appreciate what is on offer, but that offer is a good one.

When asked when there would be enough women on the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsberg famously replied, "When there are nine". I think the same reasoning can be applied to when there will be enough queer characters, and Seven Devils comes close, without it being the point of the novel. They incidentally just are, like any other characters and that feels wildly refreshing.

The first half of a space epic, Seven Devils has a loving balance between exposition, interpersonal relationships, and political intrigue. It jumps around in timelines, but in a way that is carefully organized, with background being introduced at appropriate times to flesh out characters motivations when it becomes relevant.

As with most well done sci-fi, the book comes with prescient social commentary abstracted into the realm of a space epic while still be applicable to today. Class and race dynamics are front-facing without it specifically placing our world's current issues in the forefront. Combined with flawed, multi-dimensional characters manages to make a fantastical world feel grounded.

The writing is at times slightly stilted with some repetitive phrasing, but not to the point of being an issue. Perhaps the result of it being the first of two books, it concludes without any sort of satisfaction, and feels a bit lacking in particularly resonant emotional moments that given the everything else about the book that they ought be right at home. The few instances of comedic relief, while still welcome, almost feel out-of-place due to their infrequency.

My overall impression was that Seven Devils works as a slow burn that effectively draws the reader in over time, but ends at a frustrating point, not really designed to be read alone, despite having 456 hardcover pages to do so. Overall imperfect, but a worthwhile venture for anyone who could use some more human diversity in their sci-fi.

Sounds Fake But Okay is a long-running podcast about asexuality and culture. With so little representation and focus on asexuality, especially at its inception, simply existing has had a lot of value.

The same can be said of it in book form. Having accessible, personal, and humanized accounts of asexual existence is essential.

While the book leans a fair amount on various quotes and anecdotes, it also weaves a story about what it means to be on the ace spectrum in a decidedly allosexual world. How that being outside such a central cultural norm fits very neatly and obviously into queerness.

It can at times feel a bit like people talking at you. Like when you hit a particular area of interest of someone and they go off. But that's not necessarily all bad. The kind of emotion and passion around the subject is needed when there's so few voices to go around.

There isn't anything particularly revelatory here. If you're already well-versed in the subject, this isn't going to be a deep dive into theory. I think Sounds Fake But Okay operates best as a long letter to someone new or unconfident in their asexuality and could use words to reassure, show they're not alone, and give some ideas of how they can move forward.

And I think that's a good thing.