Books Read in April 2025

/ austinfey / Leave a comment

The Sabbath, by Abraham Joshua Heschel 

Published 1951

This is a book I’ve heard referenced several times, often by people who seem pretty smart/ able to handle academic treatises well, so I assumed this would be a 500 page tome that I would crawl halfway through and hope to glean some wisdom from the pages I could handle. 

I bought the book and was surprised to see that it is only 100 pages! But reports of the wisdom and poetry of this slim volume on the Sabbath were not over-hyped. 

While I am not Jewish and some of Heschel’s interactions with other rabbis and a chapter that is an extended parable went above my head, his meditations on the meaning of the Sabbath day were both beautiful and profound. 

“The Sabbath…is not for recovering one’s lost strength and becoming fit for the coming labor. The Sabbath is a day for the sake of life. Man is not a beast of burden, and the Sabbath is not for the purpose of enhancing the efficiency of his work.

“The Sabbath is not for the sake of the weekdays; the weekdays are for the sake of the Sabbath. It is not an interlude but the climax of living.”

I grew up and am in a Christian tradition that has a somewhat uneasy relationship with the Sabbath: as Christians, our holy day is Sunday, not Saturday, and while the other 9 of the 10 Commandments are treated as rules one should follow, remembering the sabbath day to keep it holy is treated more as a suggestion. There are all kinds of complicated reasons, historical and practical and cultural, and I don’t pretend to be any kind of expert. But we could learn a lot from Heschel and his meditations on the holiness of time. 

He says “[The Bible’s] premise [is] that time has a meaning for life which is at least equal to that of space…. Judaism is a religion of time aiming at the sanctification of time. Unlike the space-minded man to whom time is unvaried, iterative, homogenous, to whom all hours are like, qualitiless, empty shells, the Bible senses the diversified character of time.” 

This book is beautiful and thought-provoking, and there are portions that I didn’t understand at all, especially parts where he is clearly in conversation with other rabbis and I’m missing a lot of context. But his insistence that the Sabbath is supposed to be a gift and an invitation into holy time is really lovely and something for me to think about. 

Part of what is difficult is that for observant Jews, Sabbath is an agreed-upon communal different (holy) time. Protestant Christians do not have a similar agreed upon view of Sundays, and it is difficult to Sabbath alone. Not impossible, perhaps, but certainly not the same. 

There is more to say, but I am sure I will come back to this book to try to absorb more of its wisdom. 

Careless People, by Sarah Wynn-Williams

Published 2025

Whew, this book was a ride! This was a tell-all memoir about one of the biggest tech companies in the United States, and I’m sure Facebook/Meta is trying desperately to sue the author for all she’s worth because this was not a flattering portrait. 

Sarah Wynn-Williams worked at Facebook in their global policy department, a job that she basically invented because she saw that as it became a global company Facebook could shape global discourse and would need a team to think about how to interact with other countries, not just the United States. 

I already had a fairly low opinion of Facebook and its founders and leaders, and Wynn-Williams does not hold back in her critiques via stories of how clueless and careless they are. Tech start-up culture also sounds terrible and all-consuming. To “succeed” in that world, you sacrifice everything: your time, relationships, other interests, to work all hours and be available at any time. This is not completely unusual, especially for American tech companies.

The work culture was interesting when compared with my last read: The Sabbath! 

There were so many stories about interactions Wynn-Williams had with leadership where she advocated from a public policy background trying to encourage the leaders of Facebook that they could do so much good in the world connecting people, and the leaders just…didn’t care. They didn’t get it or understand what they might do as creators of something with moral implications. They were not curious about other countries, or other ways of life.

They saw their creation as a tech product and payday. Unending growth and unending wealth were the goals, and any other expectations were secondary. Sacrificing so much of oneself to unfettered growth and money-making does not leave a lot of room for personal growth, reflection, or thoughtfulness. Commitment to profits alone means moral equivocations, if indeed morals matter at all. 

Working in such an environment meant that Wynn-Williams herself made moral choices that I disagree with, and while she definitely stayed much longer at the company than she should have, she seems to still have a somewhat working moral compass. Enough to write a book pointing out that we have all opted into social media platforms created by people who do not care about us, especially if we are not wealthy or powerful enough to offer them something they want. People are expendable to them, dollar signs to exploit. 

How can social media be a public good when the creators do not care about public good in any way? How can a platform really work to connect people when its creators do not care about other people?

There were definitely some shocking stories, and I am even more convinced that there are levels of fame and wealth that are extremely corrosive to the soul. We all think we want to be rich, and certainly there is a level of wealth that will solve problems and create comfort, but beyond that, it shackles the wealthy, blunts creativity, creates moral wasting. 

Reading this book was like watching a train wreck I couldn’t look away from. Fascinating, maddening, and worrying when I think about all the ways that social media is tearing us apart and magnifying the dysfunction in our relationships with one another. 

I listened to the audio version of this book, which is read by the author in her delightful New Zealand accent, so I recommend that if you enjoy audiobooks.

Books Read in March 2025

/ austinfey / 3 Comments

The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman

Published 2020

This book series seems to be having a moment—multiple people told me they were reading it and really enjoyed it. I believe there is a movie in the works to adapt it? So maybe that is why there is some buzz around it right now. 

Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim are four residents of Cooper’s Chase, an English retirement community. They are unlikely friends, but the story opens with Joyce being invited to the titular Thursday Murder Club to even out the numbers. The members look at files of unsolved murders to see if they can unravel them. 

Then, of course, a real murder turns up practically on their doorstep and the cold cases are set aside in favor of investigating a fresh murder, with a side of retirement community shenanigans. 

Having protagonists in their 70’s was excellent too: while they are solving the murder, they are also dealing with the pain of losing spouses and friends to dementia and death, the frustration of aging bodies, and the annoyance of being dismissed due to age. How does it feel to know that most of your life is behind you, and how do you make friends when you know that your time is short? When you are acutely aware that your mind and body are not as reliable as they once were, how do you react? 

These questions were integral to the story, and I appreciated that perspective. 

It was a fun mystery without being heavy handed in the description of evil that leads to murder and also without grisly details. The mystery was interesting, the characters fun, and the murder not too grisly. Miss Marple might have fit in with the club, had the story not been set in the present. Fans of Agatha Christie might enjoy this book, and there are currently four books in the series, with a fifth coming out in September. 

The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon

Published 2023

I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, and I heard a recommendation for this book…somewhere…and thought I would give the genre another go. 

The book is set in Maine in 1790-1791 and is from the perspective of Martha Ballard, a local midwife in a small river community. When a man is discovered in the river (which, as the title suggests, is frozen), Martha, as a medical practitioner, is asked to examine the body. She discovers he was murdered and then thrown in the river. 

The man, Joshua Burgess, had also been accused a few months before of participating with a local magistrate in the rape of a minister’s wife, and was generally of doubtful reputation, providing multiple motives for murder. 

Martha attends births, works at unraveling the murder mystery, and attends court hearings as a medical witness on behalf of her friend who was attacked. 

The story itself was interesting, and Lawhon is a good writer, but while it is possible that a midwife in the 18th century had some more progressive views on the role of women in family and society, Martha’s perspective felt a bit more like a 21st century woman who traveled back in time to the 18th century. 

I think this is why most historical fiction is not for me: the historical details are interesting, and I appreciate the attempt to make the past come alive, but it is exceedingly difficult for a modern author to take the attitudes of the time on their own terms. This is not to say a modern author cannot comment or show outdated or immoral ideas as outdated or wrong, but the protagonist here really felt out of step with the community. 

This is why I prefer historical fiction with a sci-fi framing: if a modern person travels back in time to observe a previous era, it is completely plausible that they would be horrified by some of the attitudes and prejudices. 

Of course there have been people who were “ahead of their time” in some way, and it is possible that the historical Martha Ballard on whose diary the book is based had some progressive views. However, some of the perspectives rang slightly false to me personally.

I still wanted to find out what happened, and I didn’t hate the book, I just think that historical fiction might not be for me. 

Content warning: fairly explicit description of rape. 

The Tomb of Dragons, by Katherine Addison

Published 2025

This is the third installment of a fantasy series (which itself is a spin-off of another book–kind of a nesting doll situation) about a man who is a witness for the dead (he can communicate with the recently deceased). He is also someone who can patiently unravel a difficult situation, likely because he is not easily put off by social discomfort, in a society which is extremely concerned with politeness and protocol. 

Thara Celehar is a prickly prelate who has managed, despite his expectations, to make friends in the city of Amalo where he was sent (two books ago). Although he is experiencing a career crisis (the details of which would be a spoiler for the end of the previous book, The Grief of Stones), he continues to show up and do the tasks set before him by his superior. 

Celehar’s adventures do lead him to the titular tomb where he agrees to witness for the ghost of a dragon, but he also has other tasks such as: figuring out how to get a new coat which he can barely afford, drinking tea with his friends, acquiring a bodyguard to protect against assassination attempts, and prodding another religious administrator to do his job and clean up a paperwork nightmare. 

All the while he is grappling with his unhappy past and his friends try to encourage him that he is actually worth befriending and that they truly enjoy his company, which he finally starts to believe. 

The world building in these books is amazing: I love a complex societal structure with rich details (since the characters are elves and goblins, they have long ears that express emotion, for example). 

While Celehar does have missions and adventures, these are not really the main point: it is more about how he deals with his past hurts, and how his friends humanize him, and vice versa. The way Thara learns to move forward and live again, even though his job is to speak for the dead, is a major theme. 

I have mixed feelings about the ending—it certainly leaves the door open for future books, but changes how things stand in a way that I am not sure I love. But I do enjoy this world and the character, so I am open to reading future books if the author decides to return. This ending could also possibly close the end of this character arc and allow the author to move on to other people in the same world, so she left her options open. 

The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison

Published 2014

I enjoyed The Tomb of Dragons so much I decided to go back and read the book that started it all. I listened to this audio book while I painted our guest room, so I blew through it in several days. 

As I said above, I love a complex social structure with court intrigue, and this is also a fish-out-of-water story, which is helpful in introducing a complicated world. 

Maia is the fourth and youngest son of the Emperor of the Elflands. His mother died when he was a child, and Maia has been raised in exile by a distant cousin who was banished from court and who takes out his frustration on the boy. 

A messenger arrives, and Maia is whisked off to the palace as the only surviving son and heir to the throne. 

From learning about how the government functions and the dizzying intrigues of court politics, Maia will have to fall back on his own judgment and figure out who is loyal and who might be plotting against him, assuming him to be an ignorant lout (partially a stereotype because Maia’s mother was a goblin, and therefore considered inferior to the lighter-skinned elves). 

Maia makes friends and enemies, good decisions and foolish ones, and must come to terms with what it means to be Emperor: he is both alone and also never alone. As Emperor, Maia has a lot of power, and he is self-reflective enough to know that this power could be corrosive. It is also strong and fragile, as all power is: he knows if he pushes too far, he could lose it, but if he plays it too safe, important work for the less fortunate will not happen. Being the Emperor is both a privilege and a responsibility, and those themes are explored without feeling like they hit you on the head.

A lot happens in this book (assassination attempts, audiences with any number of petitioners wanting something from the emperor, details about setting up a household, and many many names and aristocratic titles) and the steampunk details are fun. 

While I would gladly read more about Maia’s adventures as Emperor, the book ends on a satisfying note and so far the other books set in this world are about a side character (though we do get a glimpse of Maia in The Tomb of Dragons, which is so fun). I do like a book that sticks the landing, and this one does.

The Man Who Died Twice, by Richard Osman

Published 2021

This is the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series, and it was also delightful. Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce and back for another adventure. 

Elizabeth’s ex-husband, Douglas, was also in MI5 and returns to her life as a man in hiding due to stealing some diamonds from a black market “banker.” But did he actually steal the diamonds? Is his life really in danger (all signs point to yes, but Douglas is not exactly truthful). Can our geriatric heroes extricate themselves from more sticky situations? Especially when Ibrahim is mugged by some teenage delinquents and is not at the top of his game. 

Blending mystery, friendship, and the indignities of aging in a humorous way, Osman’s books are entertaining with poignant moments of reflection on the difficulties of getting older. When mind and body are no longer going to be in better shape even with mental and physical exercise as the body slowly breaks down, it creates an urgency and clarity that is refreshing in some ways. 

The mystery is again entertaining, the characters endearing, and it’s just a fun ride.

Books Read in February 2025

/ austinfey / 2 Comments

I’ve been putting off publishing this because I started painting the upstairs walls (and ceilings and doors and trim) and did not have an office space to paint my little book covers. However, it is now mid-April, and really it’s best to just move forward and return to cute little book covers later. Sorry, February! But here is what I read:

The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien’s story of an epic quest to rid Middle Earth of an evil via a magic ring continues in The Two Towers. 

The fellowship of nine companions who set out to destroy the ring of power have been scattered, and the first half of the book follows most of our heroes as they cover new ground and the second half follows the other two as they continue the journey to the land of Mordor and the volcano where the ring can be destroyed. 

The second installment of a series often expands the world, introduces new characters, and splits up the party to follow various side quests.

Tolkien split his story into 6 sub-books, and I had forgotten that the entirety of “book three” (the first half of The Two Towers) is about the rest of the fellowship and the entirety of “book four” is about Frodo and Sam. I wish Tolkien had organized the book to interweave the two stories a bit more, as there’s a lot of excitement (and a battle!) in the first half, and then the action nearly grinds to a halt as we follow the two hobbits’ slow journey in the second half. One almost forgets all the activity as the journey to Mordor creeps onward. 

I do think the slowness of the journey to Mordor highlights its difficulty; the brutal terrain, the enemies all around, and the burden of the ring growing. It is effective in communicating that doing what is right is often difficult, tedious, and part of Frodo’s heroism is continuing even when he thinks the chance of success grows smaller every day. 

While I would have suggested interweaving the stories a bit more so we didn’t forget about one half of the adventure while following the other, Tolkien is still a good storyteller and the world he created becomes more incredible as the view of it expands. I love meeting new characters (one of whom is female—hooray). 

As with The Fellowship of the Ring, I listened to Andy Serkis’s narration of the audiobook, and I have no idea how he kept all the different character voices straight, but his commitment to the book was impressive and entertaining. 

System Collapse, by Martha Wells

Murderbot returns for more adventures! 

It is difficult to write reviews for subsequent books in a series due to spoilers for previous books, and also just the difficulty in dropping someone in when an adventure is seven books deep. 

The Murderbot Diaries series follows a cyborg Security Unit that has hacked its governor module (which compelled it to follow orders) and has gone rogue. The SecUnit has christened itself “Murderbot” and is trying to figure itself out over the course of the series. 

This installment picks up immediately following the last adventure, so it is helpful to refresh one’s memory about recent events via a Wikipedia entry of plot summaries if one has forgotten exactly what happened last. 

Murderbot is snarky, and swings between being extremely concerned about the safety of its adopted humans and wanting to be left online to watch tv. Relatable. In each adventure Murderbot is also learning more about itself and also reluctantly forming relationships with some kind humans and another snarky bot, ART (who is a transport ship—don’t think too hard about how that works). 

There’s a lot of plot and action, and most of the books are novellas, but the threads of self-discovery and growth that run throughout are really charming. I enjoy plot-heavy books, so I enjoy the action in these, but I also want characters to learn and grow over time, and Murderbot does grow through its experiences and is changed by interactions with others. Wanting to just sit around and watch tv but instead going out and forming relationships, caring for others in the best way it knows how (calculating the probability of everything falling apart and its humans reaching untimely ends unless Murderbot intervenes) is actually quite lovely. 

While there is one full-length novel in the series, I really think these stories work better as novellas, and was pleased to see this return to form. 

The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien’s epic fantasy trilogy comes to a conclusion at last! 

Once again, the first part of the book is devoted to Aragorn & co. and the second part follows Frodo and Sam on the final stage of their journey through Mordor to rid the world of Sauron’s evil ring which holds his power and keeps his malice alive.

Eventually the two stories converge, but the two journeys are mostly separate once again. 

Tolkien’s descriptions of the natural world are beautiful (or depressing, when he describes what evil characters do to nature when they have power over it; you know a character is evil if he cuts down trees for no reason). The descriptions at the end of rebuilding, with planting trees, an abundant harvest and the births of many children as signs of renewal and restoration, peace and plenty, are so lovely. 

Some people have complained that the denouement goes on too long, but I love that the members of the fellowship take their time disbanding after their time together, and I enjoyed the chapter The Scouring of the Shire about how evil can spread even to places we once thought “safe.” Also, it’s one final adventure for our hobbits on their own, and it shows how much they have learned and grown from their adventures in the wider world. 

The ending is bittersweet and hopeful—a reminder that journeys and wars leave scars, but also that there is healing and leaving a place better than you found it is a worthy goal, whether or not you personally get to enjoy the peace and prosperity. 

It has been such a delight revisiting Middle Earth! There are so many great characters, a beautiful world, and resonant themes that it is no wonder this trilogy is a fantasy classic and has inspired so many people to follow in Tolkien’s footsteps.

“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.” 

The Fellowship of the Ring Review

/ austinfey / Leave a comment

J. R. R. Tolkien published this book in 1954, and his imagination has fascinated several generations of readers.

“‘I am not made for perilous quests. I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?’ [cried Frodo].” 

“‘Such questions cannot be answered,’ said Gandalf. ‘You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.’”

Tolkien’s epic adventure is a classic for a reason. 

Frodo Baggins is a peace-loving hobbit who is bequeathed a magic ring of enormous power, which brings danger to him and his closest friends. He must embark on a quest to rid the world of the evil the powerful ring and its master are wreaking on Middle Earth. 

Tolkien’s Middle Earth is the gold standard by which future high fantasy is measured. His imagination was incredible, and his attention to the detail of the world makes it feel so real. The pace is slower and the journey meanders in a way that does not feel quite modern, but the characters are interesting, the world fascinating, and Tolkien’s descriptive language is beautiful. He obviously cares about trees and growing things, and his best characters blend love of earth and love of people, while the villains despoil landscape and culture.

Some readers will be annoyed by digressions into Shire life and the strangeness of Tom Bombadil, wanting to get on with the quest, while other readers are inspired to write fan fiction about them. 

The themes of this story, of good vs. evil, of fascinating creatures and a complex and beautiful world, make it enduring. 

“‘But the only measure that [Sauron] knows is desire, desire for power; and so he judges all hearts. Into his heart the thought will not enter that any will refuse it, that having the Ring we may seek to destroy it.’” 

We all bring our own perspectives to any reading, and the (long) chapter “The Council of Elrond” is a great example of arguments about what to do with something that could give you great power. There is wisdom here for our current time. 

There isn’t really anything new I can say about this book, but it was so fun to revisit Middle Earth after a few years. There were many delightful details I had forgotten. For example, after Bilbo’s party where he disappears and leaves the ring to Frodo, seventeen years pass before Frodo leaves the Shire at Gandalf’s urging, to take the ring away to a safer location. Also, if you have never read the bit about Bilbo leaving pointed gifts to his various neighbors and relations, that section is hilarious (he leaves stationery to someone who never writes back; he leaves an umbrella to someone who always borrows from others, etc.). It is a great little portrait of the joys and trials of ordinary life. 

I listed to the audio version read by Andy Serkis, and his commitment to the story and the characters is impressive and immersive. He sings all the songs and his character voices are distinct. What a joy to hear.

I look forward to continuing the adventure in The Two Towers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Books Read in January 2025

/ austinfey / 1 Comment

After a slower year of reading in 2024 (due to taking classes + work stress), I am hoping to read more this year. Here are the four books I read and finished in January:

Spark of the Everflame, by Penn Cole

Published 2024.

This is a fantasy romance book that I’d call it a “popcorn” book: fun to read, interesting magic system, plot-focused, fairly two-dimensional characters, not necessarily a book future generations will read. I enjoyed it, but I do not anticipate revisiting it. An entertaining story, but nothing profound. That is ok—I needed something light hearted while I had a lot of feelings around quitting my job of the past fourteen years. 

Our protagonist, Diem, is a young woman who lives in a world where there are Mortals and Descended, who are magic-wielders. The Descended rule over the mortals, and try to protect their bloodline and therefore their magic and power. Diem has grown up as a scrappy mortal who works both as a healer and also knows fighting tactics because this is a fantasy adventure book. Her mother warned her against the Descended, but after her mother disappears, Diem helps as a palace healer and meets a handsome broody prince (which could be tricky since she has a childhood sweetheart…), and Mortal/Descended fighting shenanigans ensue. 

The magic and world building structure was interesting and kept me reading even when I rolled my eyes a little bit at the love triangle and some of the pretty obvious plot points. 

The Fellowship of the Ring, by J. R. R. Tolkien

Published 1954.

This is also a fantasy book, but is very different in style and tone! I read for my 50 Classics challenge, which I’m basically resurrecting this year, as I didn’t read many classics last year (well, except I read a bunch of Agatha Christie books in the fall–those are definitely classic mysteries, so…partial credit to me). It will get its own post. 

Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon

Published 2012.

This little book is full of encouragement and good advice for being creative. It is specifically geared toward people who are artists and/or identify as “creative,” but really, it’s excellent advice for everyone (the author agrees and says there are many ways of being creative, many of which are not explicitly labeled as such). 

I really appreciated the advice about not necessarily making art a job, especially when starting out. Obviously, I support anyone who wants to be a full-time artist! But for many of us, that is putting too high a burden on our creativity, and having a job to pay the bills and allow creative outlets on the side is a good way to balance our lives (she says while currently on a sabbatical…but my plan is to find a day job eventually once I’ve caught my breath, recovered, and figured out what I want to do next). 

Glow of the Everflame, by Penn Cole

Published 2024.

Book two of the Everflame series (quadrilogy? I’m not convinced that’s a word but it’s a four-book series). 

It’s hard to review a subsequent book without spoilers for the first book, but the journey of our plucky heroine continues. In book one, she was completely on the side of the mortals, but in book two, she meets more of the descended and realizes that they are also people who do not deserve to die. Many of them just don’t know about the misery of the mortals, and they aren’t all evil, just sheltered. 

The love triangle continues to be annoying, mostly because it’s pretty clear that Diem likes one more than the other, and also that guy is committed to protecting her, while the other guy is pretty flaky. But the author committed to the triangle, so the drama continues. 

I want to find out what happens and learn more about the other realms and their magic, so I plan to continue the series, but I’m much less invested in the romantic plot than the world building.