Some quick reviews:
Boss Lincoln: The Partisan Life of Abraham Lincoln by Matthew Pinsker: This was a look at Lincoln’s career as a partisan operative, from the early 1840’s or so through his death. I thought it was fascinating (though I could see others finding it dry); much of the general history of the era was background to Lincoln’s efforts and machinations, which were mostly done through various open letters and interviews in the press, along with confidential letters to other party leaders. I especially liked how the 1850’s were covered, it really fleshed out the period.
Platform Decay by Martha Wells: The latest (I think) in one of my not-so-guilty pleasures, the “Murderbot Diaries.” I read this in about a day.
Picks and Shovels by Cory Doctorow: I liked the story, and I usually like Cory Doctorow, but this one left me wishing he would write better. He leaned pretty heavily on foreshadowing, especially at the ends of chapters — “little did I know, the situation would change…” It got tedious after a while, which is a shame because with a little editing this could have been a classic.
Right now I’m reading some nonfiction: Endless Forms, a book about wasps by British entomologist Sirian Sumner. This is pretty cool — I’m still not going to like wasps, but I think I’ll end up appreciating them a little more.
