I saw Stewart Hotston's Project Hanuman on the new books shelf at my local library, and it seemed like very much my thing (space opera with elements of Indian mythology, and an author influenced by Iain M. Banks!). I immediately moved it toward the top of my to-read pile.
The science fictional and philosophical ideas are quite Banksian. Sometimes I just need some spacey SF in my life, and this hit the spot. It's not a perfect fit (more on that later), but overall I really enjoyed this!
Here are some reviews of some things I've read recently: The Hounds of Skaith by Leigh Brackett, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, The Children of Men by P. D. James, The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling, Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot, and The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente.
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King, Jr. was a re-read, but I have not reviewed it on the blog before. I also reread (for at least the tenth time) What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula, which I have reviewed before.
You can also see these and other reviews on my Goodreads.
My Random Thoughts series has been running so long I'm starting to worry it's not really random. Oh, well. I did take a few months off from posting them, but that only means I have a few months of thoughts to post. And some memes and other stuff to look at just to keep it all a bit random. And now I've reached the milstone of 928 thoughts! What makes that a milestone? Nothing, really. It's just random. Enjoy!
At last I am continuing with Part Two of my Review of Reviews for February 2026 (see Part One here). I figured I should post this before February is over. Here are my reviews of Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett, The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, How the World Made the West by Josephine Quinn, Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov, A Few Rules for Predicting the Future by Octavia Butler, and Driftglass by Samuel R. Delany.
Iʻm also reading Michael Harriotʻs Black AF History for Black History Month. Iʻm loving it, but alas, Iʻm not quire done, so maybe Iʻll get that in the next batch.
You can find these and other reviews on my Goodreads.
This weekend I'm heading to ConNooga! With the recent end of Chattacon (RIP), ConNooga is now one of the longer running local cons here in Chattanooga, TN. Some of the friends I met at Chattacon are even coming to ConNooga this year. It will be great to introduce them to a different kind of con in Chattanooga.
Last year the ConNooga Deep Thought track made its glorious return (I forgot to do a ConNooga post last year, but here's the 2024 post). This year I'm once again participating in some Deep Thought (I mean, how embarrassing would it be for a philosophy professor and fan of Douglas Adams to not participate in Deep Thought?).
I have been reading books over the last several weeks, but I haven't been posting reviews. In my defense, the world is a madhouse of suffering and injustice (but also resistance) and the semester started last month. This all makes me kinda tired.
Nonetheless, out of my desire to serve you, dear readers, and to close some browser tabs I've had open way too long, I'm going to post a review of reviews in a few (two? three?) parts. We'll see where the month takes me.
Who knows? Maybe reading books and posting reviews and generally continuing to be a person is still important in these times?
This time I'm covering Deaths' End by Cixin Liu, Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien, and On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder (Graphic edition with Nora Krug).
If you're into that sort of thing, you can follow me and/or find all these reviews on Goodreads.
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| Source: https://www.facebook.com/chescaleigh |
If you're not familiar with Minneapolis, you may not realize how close these three events are geographically, namely, the murders of George Floyd in 2020, Renee Good on Jan. 7, and Alex Pretti just yesterday (Jan. 24).
My Grandma lived at 31st and Chicago when I was a kid (seven blocks from the corner where Floyd took his last breath). My Grandma's church is around the corner from where Good was murdered in her car, and I have family members who regularly buy donuts at the store Pretti was gunned down in front of. I visit Minneapolis at least once or twice a year.
