What Fiction are you reading this week, December 23, 2018?

[hermetic]

Happy Christmas, everyone!

May your days be merry and bright.

Just finished Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis. Great Christmas reading. She really captures the feelings around a lot of holiday issues that we're all familiar with. Except for Epiphany. That one didn't do much for me. YMMV, of course.

Now I'm reading Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles

In the future, the world's population has exploded and covered the earth with endless cities. Animals are nearly all gone. Drought plagues the land and cloudy water is issued by the quart. There are no maps, no borders, no numbered years. On this urban planet the only relief from overcrowding, harsh rules, and informers is the television in every living space, offering dreams of vanished waterfalls and the promise of virtual vacations in green spaces for the lucky few.

A bright and witty orphan discovers a refuge in old and neglected books; the lost world of the imagination filled with characters who can't disappear, or be arrested, or hurt her. And there is the voice, bounced from an abandoned satellite, that patiently reads, over and over, the great classical books of the world. A sound in the night that lifts her above the relentless television noise and the dull and perpetual present. Despite deprivation, uncertainty, and the deceptions she must use to survive, her dream never waivers. "It will get better, life will get better."

So, basically, sci fi come true.

Listening to Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt.

Whether dueling with new forensics or the local old boys' network, irreverent defense attorney Andy Carpenter always leaves them awed with his biting wit and winning fourth-quarter game plan. Then he discovers his dad left him with two unexpected legacies: a fortune of $22 million that Andy never knew existed, and a murder case with enough racial tinder to burn down City Hall. Struggling to serve justice and bring honor to his father, Andy must dig up some explosive political skeletons and an astonishing family secret that could close his case (and his mouth) for good.

I think I'll be getting more from this series. Quite enjoyable.

What books are making you merry this week?