November 2023

 Hi friends,

November was a busy month, but we had a lot of fun. Dan and I went to Brandon Sanderson’s annual convention in Salt Lake with my sister, her husband, my brother, and my sister- and brother-in-law. It was awesome! We went in 2021, but missed last year because we had a 1 month old baby. It’s just fun to hang out with people that like the same things we like and to spend time with my siblings. It was definitely a highlight of our year, especially since my parents watched the kids, and it was the longest date Dan and I have had in a long time. 

The books were good too. Including Sanderson’s new release. Let me know what you think of these reads and if you have suggestions for further reading. 

Best,

Tonya 

Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America by Steve Inskeep

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes

Review: This was a fairly short book that presented chapter-long vignettes that illustrated Lincoln's ability to disagree with those around him while still working with them and not alienating them. This seems to have been one of Lincoln's strengths, as the stories relayed here show. Each chapter gives a small background on the person that Lincoln will interacted with and then describes the interaction and its significance. I'm not good at remembering specific names and places in history, so this was a good refresher of Civil War history. I particularly liked the chapters that focused on how Lincoln interacted with some of his more willful Union generals and the carful balancing act he had to walk to keep them in line. The other main impression I took from this book was that while Lincoln wasn't disagreeable, he was by no means a pushover. He asserted his power and authority as president multiple times, but in ways that would best lead to the outcome he desired, not just to flaunt his power. Inskeep mentions in the foreward that he wanted to write this book now because we seem to have lost the ability to disagree with people with whom we still have to work to achieve common goals. Lincoln's leadership is a great lesson in that area, and I highly recommend this book.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes

Review: This book was advertised as an old-school pirate adventure, and that's mostly what it was until the end. We got a lot of pirating adventures with some familiar tropes including the initial call to adventure, putting the gang back together, fighting fierce monsters, and battling an evil, power-hungry sorcerer. Chakraborty executes all of these tropes really well, and the story is kept fresh because of the uniqueness of our protagonist. Amina is a 40-something Islamic mother who has retired from her earlier pirating days to care for her family. However, some unfinished business and a dark sorcerer call her out of retirement. She's basically a working mom, and Chakraborty discusses the different expectations and pressures put on women who desire to care for and raise children while also pursuing careers. In Amina's case, that career is piracy, so her story is a little more exciting than my professional pursuits as a bureaucrat. The journey part of the book is a rip-roaring good time, but it has some darker, creepy moments, and gets a little weird at the end. It just felt to me like the tone of the ending didn't jive completely with the rest of the book. Still, this was a great read, and I always love a female, mother fantasy protagonist.

White Holes by Carlo Rovelli

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes

Review: This is the latest of Rovelli's popular science works. It comes in at less than 200 pages, and focuses on Rovelli's hypothesis that at the end of a black hole, is a white hole. You'll have to read it if you want a more coherent explanation of the theory than that. I always enjoy reading Rovelli and find his mix of elegant prose and fascinating science very relaxing. He also builds this one around frequent references to Dante's greatest epic poem. I highly recommend for anyone looking for a good, insightful read that will leave you feeling a bit smarter at the end.

lood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes

Review: I loved Wang's Sword of Kaigen, so I was excited to read this one. It was good, but not as great as Kaigen. Still, Wang delivers a pretty epic fantasy story in one volume, which is something I can always appreciate. This story is set in a magical version of late 19th century western Europe. Our main character, Sciona, is the first woman to became a High Mage, and must combat all the sexism that comes with being a pioneer in an all-male institution of great power. Wang delivers a powerful message about colonialism, racism, and classicism. As in her first book, she doesn't pull any emotional punches, and there were several wammies in this book. Though I did see the big reveal coming, I enjoyed seeing how the characters reacted to their new-found knowledge. It was hard to see Sciona getting disillusioned over and over again as she realizes that those who hold power around her would go to any lengths to justify the use and retention of that power. I thought that Wang did amazing character work, and I wasn't surprised by the resolution to the story. Wang doesn't wrap up the ending with a bow, but she does end the story well while leaving it open for a sequel. I don't know if she has one planned, but I would read it.

Starter Villain  by John Scalzi

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes

Review: Scalzi shows his great situational humor skills in this book that I think is somewhat wrongly classified as scifi. Charlie's life has hit nearly rock bottom after he gets laid off, divorced, and his father dies when the death of his estranged uncle upends all he knew about life. He's the unknowing heir to a huge fortune and his uncle's villain business. Charlie is thrown headfirst into a high stakes battle that includes espionage-trained felines, a volcano lair island, and a mutli-generational feud with other high-profile billionaires. Scalzi's humor really shines as Charlie jokes his way through a series of highly improbable situations. There's a particularly great scene where Charlie has a technologically challenged Zoom call with a fellow villain that keeps trying to threaten him with absolute destruction but forgetting to come off of mute. I highly recommend for anyone looking for a good laugh.

Defiant (Skyward #4) by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes

Review: This is the conclusion of Sanderson's Skyward series, and he delivers a banger of an ending. Sanderson takes the series back to what worked with it in the first two books as our protagonist, Spensa, is finally reconnected with her flight as the war with the Superiority comes into the open. I really liked how Spensa's character developed in this one, and I was so glad that Sanderson didn't just rehash her arcs from the first two books. The concluding action sequence was excellent, and all of our favorite main and side characters got their moments to shine. Sanderson engagingly explores themes of accepting change, learning to rely on our support systems, communication, and the challenges of leadership. He also delivers some great one-liners that made me smile. I think that Sanderson finished the series on a high note, and I recommend to anyone who liked the first two.

Mommy Corner

Thanksgiving was the first time that my whole family got together in years, so we got some nice pictures taken. Here's our family!

Dan and I had so much fun at Dragonsteel! We love our Doomslug ugly Christmas sweaters. 

Lincoln loves our growing taynix slug squad. We've got boomslug, comm slug, and illusion slug. 

Chloe and I both had Veteran's Day off, so I took her to the Denver Art Museum. She loved it!

We finally had Chloe's long-delayed 7th birthday party after COVID-19 derailed it back in October. 

Dan and I were in charge of the pies for Thanksgiving. Here are the fruits of our labors. The only downside to traveling for Thanksgiving is that you don't get to take home leftovers to enjoy.