Booknotes 3.19 — Blog

The Cause, by Joseph J. Ellis, published 2021. Fascinating history of the American Revolution (specifically 1773–1783), warts and all. I haven’t read enough other books about the topic to know how it fares in comparison, but I learned a lot. The main two things that struck me were a) the precariousness of the Revolution all along the way and b) the hypocrisy of seeking freedom from Britain while still holding slaves.
Shift Happens, by Marcin Wichary, published 2023. A fascinating deep dive into the history of keyboards (typewriters, computers, phones, etc.). It took me five months to read this (it’s just over 1,200 pages), but it’s good and worth it. Lovely typesetting, too. And some fun Easter eggs.

Nettle & Bone, by T. Kingfisher, published 2022, fantasy. A fairy tale with some dark elements, but it never felt particularly dangerous. Enjoyed it.
The Butcher of the Forest, by Premee Mohamed, published 2024, horror/fantasy. A dark fairy tale that did in fact feel dangerous (which I think I prefer, at least in fairy tales). Quite liked it. The ending was great, too. Looking forward to reading Mohamed’s other books.
Komarr, by Lois McMaster Bujold, published 1998, science fiction. Part of the Vorkosigan series. Loved it as usual, and Bujold continues to be one of my favorite authors. I’ve been metering these out so I don’t finish the series too quickly (one a year or so, as I believe I’ve mentioned before), but I think I’m going to shift strategies and read them every few months instead so I can finish (and then reread them down the road, along with Bujold’s other books).