Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void - Mary Roach

W.W. Norton & Co., 2011, 334 pages, 
ISBN:  9780393339918 
Read: July 2025, age 47 
 
Very little to do with Mars, but all kinds of interesting tidbits about the space program that I hadn't heard anywhere else, and very well told.  Lots of fun.  I'll keep my eyes open for more from this author.

Rating: 4+ 

Friday, February 6, 2026

Rogue Ghosts and Other Miscreants - Annette Marie & Rob Jacobsen

Tantor Audio, 2021, 7.8 hours
Read by Iggy Toma 
Listened to: July 2025, age 45 
 
Guild Codex: Warped book 3 
 
This series is fantastic.  This, though, was a bit annoying - Our hero was very stuck on rescuing a kid, and it got tiresome hearing about it.  Still fun, but not as great as the rest.
 
Rating: 4
 

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Druid Vices and a Vodka - Annette Marie (Audiobook)

Tantor Audio, 2020, 9.3 hours 
Read by: Cris Dukehart
Listened to: June 2025, age 47 
 
The Guild Codex: Spellbound, book 6 
 
I really like this series, especially the Tori books.  This one's no exception.
 
Rating: 5 

Friday, January 30, 2026

Falling Free - Lois McMaster Bujold - Audiobook

Blackstone Audio, 2009, 8.6 hours
Original copyright 1988
Read by Grover Gardner
Listened to: June 2025
 
Miles Vorkosigan, book 1 (by publication order) 
 
Well... no Miles, no characters that I remembered, hardly seems related to the Vorkosigan saga at all.  A good 'engineer with a wrench' story, though.
 
Rating: 3+ 

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Storm Cursed - Patricia Briggs (Audiobook)

Penguin Audio, 2019, 10.3 hours
Read by: Lorelei King
Listened to: June 2025
 
Mercedes Thompson, book 11 
 
A pretty decent entry in the series, but it's starting to feel like maybe the series is getting a little long in the tooth.  This time, witches try to take over the pack's territory, and there's a big to-do about that.  More of what makes the series good, but also a bit repetitious.   
Rating: 4- 

Friday, January 23, 2026

Island in the Sea of Time - S.M. Stirling

 Roc, 1998, 608 pages
 ISBN: 978-0-451-45675-5
 Read: July 2025, age 47
 
This is the counterpart to Dies the Fire, and I was hoping for more of the same - post-apocalyptic survival and rebuilding.  I did get some of that, but more what I got was ahistorical wargaming.  As is typical with Stirling, it was detailed and a bit slow-paced.  Interesting, kind of fun, and a bit disappointing.  It didn't make me excited to read the sequel.
 
Rating: 3+ 

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Thud! - Terry Pratchett

Doubleday, 2005, 362 pages
ISBN: 0-385-60867-5
Read: July 2025, age 47 
 
Discworld, book 34 
 
Amazing that there can be so much quality in such a long series.  This was an excellent instalment, and I suspect that it will be even better on a re-read. 
 
Rating: 4+