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How do you change the world? How do you break cycles of bitterness, revenge, and violence that drag all involved down into despair and misery, even when it temporary masquerades as "justice"?

Those questions are at the heart of this fantasy novel full of vibrant, fully realized queer characters. Each character brings their own history and personal struggles to those questions, with Marks' deft storytelling weaving them into a coherent and touching narrative.

Will definitely be reading the rest of this series asap.

Part history of a calamitous fire, part true crime investigation, with sprinkles of snapshots into the life of current public library workers and those of the past.

I enjoyed this book, though not really for what it was supposed to be. I feel like the investigation into the cause of the fire fizzled out quickly, a sort of non-story with no satisfying conclusion.

But the snapshots of the lives of previous and current library staff was absolutely delightful. Some real strong characters in the libraries history who really shine in this book.

Overall, interesting and enjoyable.

Speculative fiction short stories by a mid-20th century feminist Japanese performance artist and writer…what’s not to like? Well, the writing, that’s what. I found myself consistently interested in the ideas but bored by the actual writing. Characters were hollow vehicles for ideas and plot and I just could not get into it.

Loved this collection of dark and strange stories. I was often uncomfortable and audibly cringing while reading these stories as she does not shy away from body-horror, but nonetheless felt compelled to keep reading. Characters are seeking meaning and a sense off humanity through bizarre and often grotesque circumstances, which brought me deeper into each story even as I recoiled.

The stories are at their most powerful when she turns up the psychological disorientation through slowly revealed details, in stories you have to ( and want to) read several times to make sense of.

Exquisitely crafted tale that starts as dozens of smoldering embers that find enough oxygen to become a full on conflagration that burn to the nearly infinite possibilities of motherhood into the reader’s heart. I loved almost everything about this book, except Mrs Richardson, whose almost villainous role felt at time overly moralistic and flat. Highly recommend!

Another sweet and generous tale, so full of heart and the doubts that can fill one. I found myself moved to think about the world differently and literally reconsidered my career choices at one point while reading. The way the author teases out ideas about identity and self-perception really landed for me.

On a less positive note, this book got me trouble when I laughed out loud in bed and woke up my wife who had just nodded off. Thanks Becky!

This book found me at just the right time and I loved it and really want more

Weird and brilliant, the book constantly tempts you into decoding it’s meaning, and then immediately pulls the rug out from under your mind-feet.

I also felt like I needed a giant white board to track the seemingly endless inter-connections, parallels, and metaphors, but I’m not sure a large enough white board exists, and even if it did I’d probably just end up with a giant mess of ideas rendered less beautiful than the novel itself. All that said, his writing about female sexuality is weird and deeply uncomfortable.

A fun tale of gritty librarians, sympathetic demons, rogue angels, and books that, not-figuratively, come alive. Started a little slow, and narrative was a bit uneven at points, but it really picked up half way through and I’m pretty sure I need to read the rest of the series.

A book about design websites not as products or services, but as places. Interesting ideas but very little in the way of examples of sites that do it well.

Not really many likeable characters in this series, but I didn't ever really feel the story was trying to convince you otherwise. Superheros playing politics, and showing solidarity (or not) to get their own best possible deal. But, I just loved the 1960s Chicago neighborhoods and people as backdrop, with the original "Da Mayor" as a crucial, unsavory, player.

Starts slow but eventually delivers a weird and ultimately satisfying tale of nightmarish horrors and awakening to the face the realities of the world with eyes wide open.