Mr. Burke's Reading List

What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman (2023) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This wwas a Pandemic Book Club pick. Otherwise, I'm not much into horror. For this month, the book selected was one of several that were written by Clay McLeod Chapman, who joined us for most of our book discussion. I participated and had a few things to say without trashing it. Madi Price has returned to Brandywine, Virginia where she grew up. She is the mother of a 17-year-old daughter who is currently living with the girl's father who didn't want anything to do with her for many years. He's doing well, but Madi is living in a room in an old motel that was converted into a strip mall (and not a particularly good one). Madi goes to the weekly market to read fortunes like her mother used to. She doesn't have any gift. But ...

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman (2021) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was recommended on the Brooklyn Public Library page as something that I might be interested in. I read it and listened to most of it. If I finish reading first, I'm less likely to finish the audio before it needs to be returned. Note that the cover is inaccurate because even though the two sisters are twins, one is several inches taller than the other. The book is a high society amateur detective story set in the heart of Regency London. Several stories in fact. Lady Augusta Colebrook, “Gus,” is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the age of forty-two. She and her twin sister, Julia, who is grieving her dead betrothed, need a distraction. One soon presents to rescue th...

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 173 edited by Neil Clarke (February 2021) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) Neil Clarke is the editor of a fabulous online science fiction magazine, Clarkesworld . (Note: I have submitted many stories to Clarkesworld. As of this writing, I have not been accepted. That doesn't mean I won't stop trying, nor does that bias this review in any way.) If I've been informed correctly, when Neil goes to conventions, he brings along paperback copies of his magazine that didn't pass quality control. This book in particular is stamped on the inside front cover: This Is A Misprint. The cover failed quality control but the inside is fine. As with last month's issue, I didn't see anything wrong with the cover I have, which looks like the cover shown above. Being that this is summer, th...

The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker (2021) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a sequel to a pandemic book club selection. I listened to it as well as read it. I actually finished it before we had the online meeting for the previous book. Most of the cast of characters from the previous book is back again, with some in surprising ways. Unlike the first book which took place over the course of a single year, this novel spans a couple of decades and we see some major events in New York City (and beyond) history unfold. We also see other characters age while the two titular characters do not. This means that there has to be some kind of shake-up, or else others would start to realize that something is wrong. The book also introduces a younger female djinn and a second golem that gets created from the notes of the dece...

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (2013) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a pandemic book club selection. I listened to it as well as read it. I labeled it as a "historical fantasy" even though it takes place "only" 100 years ago or so in New York City. (I just double-checked, and it's set in 1899-1900.) A man has a golem made as a wife who will accompany him on his trip to America. The golem is shipped in a box and is to be awoken in NYC, but the man activates her at sea. He then dies from an untreated illness leaving the golem alone at sea. When it's discovered that she doesn't have a ticket, she jumps ship, sinks down in New York harbor and walks to shore. She winds up in Little Syria in Lower Manhattan. She is befriended by a rabbi, who names her Chaya, and who tries to ...

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (2022) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This has been sitting as a draft since July. I honestly thought I'd posted it. Oops. This was a pandemic book club selection. I listened to it as well as read it. This was a first novel, and it was a very good one. What put it over the top was that portions of the book were narrated by a Giant Pacific Octopus named Marcellus (McSquiddles, but he's not a squid) who can escape his tank and wander around the aquarium. Thankfully, Van Pelt realizes that too much of a good thing would be bad, and Marcellus's chapters are more like short interludes. That said, Marcellus makes the book. Without his point of view, the rest of the book would be a little monotonous and "by the book" with coincidences and missed chances. The...

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 172 edited by Neil Clarke (January 2021) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) Neil Clarke is the editor of a fabulous online science fiction magazine, Clarkesworld . (Note: I have submitted many stories to Clarkesworld. As of this writing, I have not been accepted. That doesn't mean I won't stop trying, nor does that bias this review in any way.) If I've been informed correctly, when Neil goes to conventions, he brings along paperback copies of his magazine that didn't pass quality control. This book in particular is stamped on the inside front cover: This Is A Misprint. The cover failed quality control but the inside is fine. As with last month's issue, I didn't see anything wrong with the cover I have, which looks like the cover shown above. Being that this is summer, thi...

The Book of Genesis (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) Not kidding. A couple of years ago, I decided -- and I don't remember if any conversation provoked this -- that I could download a bible onto my kindle app, which I could read between books. Also, I arrive at Mass on Sunday mornings 10-15 minutes early so I can get my usual seat, and I tend to read before the service begins. As much as this sound like a reverent thing to do to reflect on God's word before Mass, it's mostly because the current book I'm reading might not be the most appropriate thing to dwell upon inside a church. That said, I read most of this on subways, I believe. And, in any event, I read a bunch a year or two ago, and only recently decided to finish this (meaning Genesis, not the entire Bible). I didn't scan back to the Tower of Babe...

The Adventures of Larry the Alien by John McDonnell (2011) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a freebie that seemed like it might be a little humorous. And it was humorous, a little. The book is divided into eight short stories, but it's actually one continuous narrative, about the size of a short novella. I think I've read longer things in Clarkesworld magazine. But it was sold as a book and it listed online as such, so that's how I'll record it. Murphy owns a small, quiet bar, and he likes it that way. He sees that Larry is pretty scuppered and tries to cut him off. Larry zaps him back to dinosaur times, but brings him back before he's eaten by a T-Rex. Murphy thinks this is a great trick and becomes friendly to Larry, who would later zap other people away. Larry appears to be human because ...

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 171 edited by Neil Clarke (December 2020) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) Neil Clarke is the editor of a fabulous online science fiction magazine, Clarkesworld . (Note: I have submitted many stories to Clarkesworld. As of this writing, I have not been accepted. That doesn't mean I won't stop trying, nor does that bias this review in any way.) If I've been informed correctly, when Neil goes to conventions, he brings along paperback copies of his magazine that didn't pass quality control. This book in particular is stamped on the inside front cover: This Is A Misprint. The cover failed quality control but the inside is fine. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with the cover. That said, I just went over to the webiste to look at Issue 171 and I can see that the issue is mu...

Tequila Sheila and Other Tall Tales by Jessica Lucci (2021) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a book from a recent Kickstarter. It's not labeled "Kickstarter edition" but this ebook has a plain blue cover, not the one pictured above (which is quite nice). Also my copy is 85 pages on Kindle (keeping in mind, I fiddle with the font size) but Good Reads says it's 102 pages. In any case, I enjoyed the book. The main story is about Cleo Westwind, lover of a woman named Tequlia Sheila, who starts by transporting pigs across the river, but has to dump them overboard when a police submarine rises out of the water. Realizing that she's in trouble and will be responsible for the cost of the lost pigs, Cleo runs off. Later on, Cleo brings down a bear with her pistol as the same time that Zonta, a Lakota hu...