Paradise Incorporated

Paradise Incorporated: Synanon: A Personal Account by David U Gerstel, 278 pages

Synanon began life as a group within Alcoholics Anonymous in Santa Monica that developed a form of group criticism they dubbed "the Game".  After breaking with AA, they began their own rehabilitation program centered on communal living and playing the Game.  As the group's successes with addicts garnered publicity, Synanon grew rapidly, and attention and power increasingly accrued to the charismatic leader, Charles Dederich.  As it grew, the group became less effective at reforming and retaining addicts, but also began to attract non-addicts experimenting with encounter groups and communal living.  This adjusted the goals of the organization, which began to aim at a general moral reform of society as a whole.   

The cult of personality surrounding "the Founder", Dederich, likewise grew, along with his ambition.  Synanon went into decline, which triggered ever-greater demands on members, which further shrank the group down to a dedicated core willing to defend their way of life by any means necessary.  Dederich became increasingly controlling, erratic, and paranoid, mandating shaved heads and vasectomies, ordering harassment, abuse, and beatings against enemies internal and external, real and imagined.

Author Gerstel was a member of Synanon for a number of key years at the peak of its success.  Although his history of the group, before, after, and during his own involvement, provides little insight into the development of such groups generally, the book shines as an unpretentious personal account of how an idealistic, intelligent, educated young man could find himself a member of such an organization, how normal the abnormal can be made to seem, and how difficult it can be to leave.

Tease

Tease by Amanda Maciel, 328 pages

Sara feels like her life is over.  Emma, a girl from school, has killed herself and everyone is blaming Sara and her friends and they are even being charged and will have to go to court.  Sure, they posted some things on Facebook and Twitter.  So, they called her names and played a few pranks.  It’s not like Sara and her friends were the only ones making fun of Emma and it’s not like she didn’t deserve it.  After all, she was sleeping around and trying to steal Sara’s boyfriend.  Emma’s death isn’t really their fault, is it?  This was a really good book about bullying, told from the perspective of one of the bullies.  Every teen should read this and a lot will probably like it.

Now & Forever

Now & Forever by Susane Colasanti, 258 pages

Sterling completely loves her boyfriend Ethan and she is sure that Ethan loves her just as much.  Ethan’s big dream is to be a big rock star and he’s good enough to do it.  Sterling supports him fully in his dream and luckily his mom is also supportive.  During their senior year, Ethan’s dream starts to come true as his band starts getting promotion and recognition, and he is becoming a huge star with millions of followers.  For Sterling, this is great at first because she loves the attention she gets as Ethan’s girlfriend but as time passes and Ethan gets busier, hey get to spend less and less time together until Sterling isn’t sure how Ethan even feels about her anymore.  This was a nice story that a lot of teens, especially girls will like, that definitely ended with a positive message.

The Doubt Factory

The Doubt Factory by Paolo Bacigalupi, 484 pages

Alix’s dad is the head of a PR company.  Alix isn’t really sure what her dad does, but there are other kids out there who know exactly what he does.  They have been pulling multiple stunts, trying to get the public’s attention and finally resort to kidnapping Alix to enlist her help.  They tell her that her father is helping to mask information about various drugs that are harmful to people.  He does this by helping to cause doubt about whether or not it is the drug that is the problem.  Alix isn’t sure what she believes.  If the kids are right it means that her father is partially responsible for the deaths of several people but if she believes that, which is difficult for her anyway, and she helps them to reveal the truth it will also mean the end to the way of life she has known for so long.  I really liked this book.  I’ve always enjoyed Bacigalupi and I thought this was even better than some of his other work.  Because of the length, it would probably be a hard sell to reluctant readers but I think a lot of teens would enjoy it.

As Red As Blood

As Red As Blood by Salla Simukka, 256 pages

Lumikki is named after Snow White but is nothing like the fairy tale character either in looks or temperament.  She is living away from home, in her own apartment, while she finishes high school.  Lumikki has perfected the art of blending in.  She is like everyone and no one.  Until the day she discovers thousands of euros drying in the darkroom at school.  She is too curious to completely ignore the situation and when she figures out who put them there and they also find out that she knows she becomes involved in what could be a very dangerous plan, one that could get her killed.  This was a really good story but it was also a little odd.  Teens who like thrillers will probably still like it, but I wouldn’t necessarily give it to a reluctant reader.

Ruin And Rising

Ruin And Rising by Leigh Bardugo, 422 pages

The last book in the Grisha trilogy follows Alina and her quest to stop the Darkling and destroy the Fold in an effort to make the country safe and open all of its borders for the first time in centuries.  Unfortunately, since her last encounter with the Darkling, her power seems to be broken and if she can’t get it back and find the last amplifier, her quest is probably doomed.  Luckily, she does have some loyal followers who are willing to help her if they can only figure out how to begin.  This was a very satisfying finish for this trilogy and teen fantasy fans will definitely want to check out this series.

The Devil She Knows

The Devil She Knows by Bill Loehfelm
322 Pages

"Life isn't panning out for Maureen Coughlin. At twenty-nine, the tough-skinned Staten Island native's only excitement comes from . . . well, not much. A fresh pack of American Spirits, maybe, or a discreet dash of coke before work. If something doesn't change soon, she'll end up a "lifer" at the Narrows, the faux-swank bar where she works one long night after another. But just like the island, the Narrows has its seamy side. After work one night, Maureen walks in on a tryst between her co-worker Dennis and Frank Sebastian, a silver-haired politico. When Sebastian demands her silence, Maureen is more than happy to forget what she's seen-until Dennis turns up dead on the train tracks the next morning. The murder sends Maureen careening out of her stultifying routine and into fast-deepening trouble. Soon she's on the run through the seedy underbelly of the borough, desperate to stop Sebastian before Dennis's fate becomes her own. "

Having read the third book in the series I went back and read the first.  I can definitely see the potential that led to further books.  Maureen is a flaw hero and the reader will find themselves cheering her on.  Not the best but not bad.

Revolution Phoenix Horizon

Revolution Phoenix Horizon by PJ Manney

544 pages

 

"Scientist Peter Bernhardt has dedicated his life to nanotechnology, the science of manipulating matter on the atomic scale. As the founder of Biogineers, he is on the cusp of revolutionizing brain therapies with microscopic nanorobots that will make certain degenerative diseases become a thing of the past. But after his research is stolen by an unknown enemy, seventy thousand people die in Las Vegas in one abominable moment. No one is more horrified than Peter, as this catastrophe sets in motion events that will forever change not only his life but also the course of human evolution.
Peter’s company is torn from his grasp as the public clamors for his blood. Desperate, he turns to an old friend, who introduces him to the Phoenix Club, a cabal of the most powerful people in the world. To make himself more valuable to his new colleagues, Peter infuses his brain with experimental technology, exponentially upgrading his mental prowess and transforming him irrevocably.
As he’s exposed to unimaginable wealth and influence, Peter’s sense of reality begins to unravel. Do the club members want to help him, or do they just want to claim his technology? What will they do to him once they have their prize? And while he’s already evolved beyond mere humanity, is he advanced enough to take on such formidable enemies and win?"

This was a free book I got through Amazon Prime and it threatens to have follow up novels since they label it book one on their website.  It was god awful and should be avoided at all costs.  I can't believe I invested the time to finish it but I wanted to see where it went (nowhere), what happened to the characters (not enough bad things) and if there was a point to the novel (no).   Uneven characterization led to flat, unsympathetic characters in a mess of a plot. 

The Fire Sermon

The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig
370 Pages
"Four hundred years in the future, the Earth has turned primitive following a nuclear fire that has laid waste to civilization and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknowable reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair, one is an Alpha-physically perfect in every way; and the other an Omega-burdened with deformity, small or large. With the Council ruling an apartheid-like society, Omegas are branded and ostracized while the Alphas have gathered the world's sparse resources for themselves. Though proclaiming their superiority, for all their effort Alphas cannot escape one harsh fact: Whenever one twin dies, so does the other. Cass is a rare Omega, one burdened with psychic foresight. While her twin, Zach, gains power on the Alpha Council, she dares to dream the most dangerous dream of all: equality. For daring to envision a world in which Alphas and Omegas live side-by-side as equals, both the Council and the Resistance have her in their sights."

The first of a planned trilogy this book would be very popular with new adults and leaves a lot of room for further development.  It does drag a bit here and there and one drawback I found was the unsure voice of the protagonist, as if the author couldn't quite decide what direction to take her. 

Orhan's Inheritance

Orhan's Inheiritance by Aline Ohansesian
340 Pages


"They found him inside one of seventeen cauldrons in the courtyard, steeping in an indigo dye two shades darker than the summer sky. His arms and chin were propped over the copper edge, but the rest of Kemal Türkoglu, age ninety-three, had turned a pretty pale blue. When Orhan's brilliant and eccentric grandfather, who built a dynasty out of making kilim rugs, is found dead in a vat of dye, Orhan inherits the decades-old business. But his grandfather's will raises more questions than it answers. Kemal has left the family estate to a stranger thousands of miles away, an aging woman in a retirement home in Los Angeles. Her existence and secrecy about her past only deepen the mystery of why Orhan's grandfather would have left their home to this woman rather than to his own family. Intent on righting this injustice, Orhan boards a plane to Los Angeles. There, over many meetings, he will unearth the story that eighty-seven-year-old Seda so closely guards--the story that, if told, has the power to undo the legacy upon which Orhan's family is built, the story that could unravel Orhan's own future. "

A novel about the effects of the Armenian Genocide that took place during World War I, this book was good and you become invested in the characters. 

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, 227 pages

I guess I was just in a "classic" mood.  Or in a "quick, what's something available on Overdrive right now" mood.  But this is another one that's a classic for good reason- it holds up with timeless concepts and questions of truth, censorship, conformity, and technology (among many others).  Guy Montag is a fireman, who sets fires.  Burns books, to be exact.  But he questions 'why,' and like all great dystopias, that's where the story starts getting interesting.  The characters aren't all that appealing and the story may even feel a bit didactic- but it's an important book that I will probably try to revisit in another decade or so. 

Dead Lands

Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy
403 Pages

"In Benjamin Percy's new thriller, a post-apocalyptic reimagining of the Lewis and Clark saga, a super flu and nuclear fallout have made a husk of the world we know. A few humans carry on, living in outposts such as the Sanctuary-the remains of St. Louis-a shielded community that owes its survival to its militant defense and fear-mongering leaders. Then a rider comes from the wasteland beyond its walls. She reports on the outside world: west of the Cascades, rain falls, crops grow, civilization thrives. But there is danger too: the rising power of an army that pillages and enslaves every community they happen upon. Against the wishes of the Sanctuary, a small group sets out in secrecy. Led by Lewis Meriwether and Mina Clark, they hope to expand their infant nation, and to reunite the States. But the Sanctuary will not allow them to escape without a fight."

Not the best dystopian novel I've read but not the worst either.  To me the more interesting parts of the book were what the world evolved to after being devastated by mankind.

1984

1984, by George Orwell, 326 pages

We've all read this, right?  I think we have- so this is a short summary. 

Winston works for the Ministry of Truth, where he routinely provides support for the government's lies, and lives his life under the shadow of such institutions as Big Brother, who is always watching, and the Thought Police, who know when people even think about straying outside the norm.  Winston has dangerous thoughts and ideas, and the first step down his path to ruin or salvation (depending on how you look at it) is with a blank journal and a pen. 

This book is a classic for good reason- it has never not been scarily easy to identify with the ideas of a government knowing everything about our deepest dreams and fears and the fear of people or institutions watching our every move.  This time around, the book made me think a lot about the subjectivity of Truth and the comfort of conformity.  It's a meaty book with a lot to digest.

Riptide Ultra-Glide

Riptide Ultra-Glide by Tim Dorsey, 294 pages

Patrick and Barbara McDougall have just been laid off form their jobs as teachers and have decided that now is the perfect time for them just get away for nice Florida vacation. Unfortunately thing start to down hill for them the minute they arrive. Their luggage is lost, their motel isn't exactly how it's pictured in brochures, and a string of events now prevents them from leaving the state. Meanwhile the there's a war brewing between rival drug smugglers over the control of Florida's growing number of pain clinics. To top everything off Coleman seems to have become famous enough for everyone to want his signature. All of this fits perfectly with Serge's next big idea though, and that is to film the next great reality show, starring against their wills, the McDougalls who may or may not be safer with Serge around.

Dorsey continues his series with more strange characters and interesting deaths, such as murder by pelican or death by sandcastle. One the best things about this book is that it continues to explore the character of Coleman, letting him recount an adventure without Serge and making him mildly famous to allow him to share his drug culture wisdom with his fans. While this series generally follows the same overall style every book the characters and details continue to make it worth reading  

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa by Jason K Stearns, 337 pages

The wars that have raged in and around the Congo since the mid-'90s have sometimes been described as the African equivalent of a World War, but Stearns finds a closer parallel in the Thirty Years War.  Like their seventeenth century European cousin, the First and Second Congo Wars featured a disunited giant nation being fought over by its smaller neighbors, with shifting alliances and a galaxy of minor players, each with its own agenda, all of which seemed to be fighting to mutual exhaustion.  This helps explain why the Congo has received so little media attention as compared to Rwanda or Darfur, where the situation was much clearer, although the casualties were an order of magnitude smaller.

Stearns navigates the confused tangle of factions and personalities with ease.  Even better is his rare gift for personalization - the journalistic human interest angles flow organically into the historical narrative, and shed actual light on events, whether making concrete the reality of the human tragedy or exploring the psychology of genocidaires.  The ending seems shockingly abrupt, but this is no doubt true to life, still, more material on the ongoing post-war conflicts would not have been out of place.

Sub-Saharan Africa has, for a long time, been an easy place to ignore.  That time may be ending.  That time should be ending.  Stearns' book is a good place to start paying attention.

Pineapple Grenade

Pineapple Grenade by Tim Dorsey, 342 pages

Serge's latest dream is to become a spy even if he's just spying for himself, which he does by sneaking around photographing foreign consulates. When his talents for snooping around and leaving cryptic messages is discovered however the intelligence community becomes obsessed with figuring out which of them he is working for and how they can hire him to their side. Along the way a congressman convinces the CIA to continually raise the national threat level to new slightly darker colors while someone else ships weapons around the clock to rebels who are actually American agents who just want to be fed. Eventually everything reaches a climax as the plot to assassinate the president of a small South American country is exposed, except no one actually knows who the murder is supposed to be pinned on.

Dorsey continues his fast paced series complete with all of his usual insanity in this fifteenth book by giving us a great spy thriller. While just as good as most of his previous books I felt the ending of this one was a little anticlimactic and that this story could have been carried into the next book as well.

When Elves Attack

When Elves Attack by Tim Dorsey, 129 pages

It's Christmas time in Florida and Serge and Coleman are determined to help end the supposed war on Christmas. On the run again the pair don elf suits and move back onto to Trigger Fish Ln. where they also meet up with their longtime acquaintance Jim Davenport. Jim, whom Serge idolizes, then has to put up with super sized Christmas trees, extreme caroling, and a Christmas light display torture device. All the while trying to keep his wife and visiting mother happy, or at the least not being openly aggressive to each other.

This a wonderful holiday story complete with all of the characters we have grown to love in the series so far. Dorsey also even remembered to include the Davenport's youngest daughter in all of her rebellious but family loving glory. While shorter than the other books in this series Dorsey still manages to tell a great story with all of the usual strangeness we've come to expect. 

Electric Barracuda

Electric Barracuda by Tim Dorsey, 357 pages

     Serge has been leaving dead bodies across Florida for more than a decade, and after the incidents during spring break the state law agency has finally taken notice of the exponential body count. In order to garner better publicity a special task force has been formed to track him down. Oblivious to this Serge decides to resurrect his internet travel guide with a fugitive themed vacation guide. While on their getaway route blogging about the state's most remote bayous, bars, and motels the bodies and website hits begin rising, and with enough close encounters with the law Serge realizes that the game may be up for him. Will Serge be able to help his grandfathers old gang, raising a child, and escape from his pursuers? Find out in this exciting thirteenth novel by Tim Dorsey

     This continues Dorsey's standard mash up of bizarre and hilarious action with drug fueled danger and imaginative murder with all the added action of a great manhunt thrown in. Once again Dorsey writes a humorous adventure that leaves readers wondering where it will head next, complete with exciting revelations that will ave readers on the edge of their seats

Building Stories

Building Stories by Chris Ware

This multi-section  graphic novel (14 different sizes and shapes within a cover box) for adults is “about” a Chicago apartment building (as well as a couple of other dwellings -- including a Frank Lloyd Wright era house and a beehive) -- and some of the people who have lived there during the past century. Many panels focus on one Gen X female, and portray her thoughts and feelings about culture and relationships at various stages of her life. The art is terrific.  The cover box suggests a board game and a "flow chart" inside the lid suggests reading order. The story in each section stands alone, yet each leaves lots of gaps for the reader's imagination to fill in.  Chris Ware's published work includes several New Yorker covers.

Gator a-go-go

Gator a-go-go by Tim Dorsey, 336 pages

It's spring break in Florida which means college students are everywhere, in the midst of them is Serge who's filming his history of spring break documentary. Alongside Serge is his trusty and perpetual spring breaker sidekick Coleman and pair of bartenders who have a grudge against the pair for leaving them behind several books ago. Also along for the ride is a group of college students who are being hunted by federal agents and a mysterious gang sent by a legendary kingpin from the eighties.

Dorsey continues his series with more drugs, insanity, and creative deaths with this twelfth novel. We also get to see a slightly more interesting side to Coleman as we learn that he is actually quite knowledgeable about controlled substances and the chemical reactions involved in using them.