Pete's Log: June Reading

Entry #2341, (Books, Writing, n such)
(posted when I was 44 years old.)
  • The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
    I'm still not sure how I feel about this one. It's highly rated and it had some interesting concepts, but it never fully came together for me and the ending left me disappointed. I don't regret reading it but I can't say I'd recommend it either.
    It's a story in three timelines (1012, 2012, and 3012) and heavy on Mayan influences. It does feature self-harm and human sacrifice, so definitely don't read it if those would bother you.
    I just had a hard time connecting to most of the characters and the couple I found the most sympathetic were supporting characters who never had their stories resolved.
    I also found the future (3012) timeline hard to find plausible. But I'm also still pondering if I missed something.
    Spoilers

    The ending may or may not be a "was it all a dream" sort of ending, but it's not terribly clear. We're informed the main character of the 2012 timeline has a terminal brain tumor and maybe she's hallucinating a lot of what's going on? But it's only hinted at and not resolved and it still doesn't explain a lot of the other supernatural happenings. I wonder if there's supposed to be some meta-storytelling going on, but it's just not clear to me.

  • A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet
    Since I enjoyed Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet I decided to give this book a try, since it seems to be her most famous work.
    Unlike Dinosaurs, which was a relatively low-stakes story, this one is a dystopian work of climate fiction. But like Dinosaurs it was a quick read and gave me some good laughs along the way.
    One of the kids in the book is given a children's Bible and tries to use it to make sense of what is happening, but in his own novel interpretation. At the same time, major plot points seem to echo biblical stories. Yet it is not a religious book, but instead one that is trying to be a wake-up call. A good but depressing read.
  • Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
    I don't think I've read any Brandon Sanderson before, but this was a good one. I think I enjoyed it as much as Legends & Lattesβ€”it felt cozy despite being higher-stakes. It's the story of a young woman who was a window washer on an island nobody was allowed to leave, but fate gives her a reason to need to leave the island. Fantastic adventures follow.
    The narration is a bit goofy, but fun. I found the characters likeable and the story was full of surprises I did not see coming. It is apparently set in Sanderson's Cosmere universe, but no knowledge of that universe is needed.