The Egg by Andy Weir

I enjoyed this story.  5/5 Stars.

Mythos by Stephen Fry

Despite the detailed depth, breadth, and "phone book" lists of names, I enjoyed this book because of the humor and writing style, 3/5 Stars.

Citadel Palladium Wars book 3 by Marko Kloos

The story is starting to pick up a little; but the "secret weapon" is silly, 3/5 Stars.

Savage Wars by Jason Anspach & Nick Cole

I enjoy these stories and this one was fun.  4/5 Stars.

DownBelow Station by C. J. Cherryh

Cherryh's writing style never "clicked" with me during the golden years of science fiction (when the reader is 14-16 years old). This story and the narration perspectives are fantastic and I was able to put up with her style to enjoy it, 3/5 Stars.

Order of the Centurion by Jason Anspach & Nick Cole

I enjoy this universe and their writing; this one had a few physics problems that pushed me out of the story. 3/5 Stars.

Citadel: The Palladium Wars book 3

Fun, interesting.  Good plot twists; 4/5 Stars.

The Rules of Civility by Amore Towles

Having been blown away by his latest book, A Gentleman in Moscow, I had to read his earlier book.  I do not care as much about the history, setting, or characters of this story.  It is extremely well-crafted and immersive, though.  3/5 Stars.

slice of life appeal

In 2017 I posted about an immersive experience of preparing authentic 1949 Twinkies from scratch using 1949 baking pans and a 1949 heavy cream whipping device.  As a preamble, I wrote

I love to experience the "big picture" pattern of other cultures with all of my senses and apperceptions.  I want not only to see the sites when I travel, but also smell the diesel fumes, taste authentic street food, and hear the "flavor" of local dialects.  But more than that I want to feel and viscerally experience the attitudes, values, opinions, and sensibilities of the locals, to "get into their heads."  I love to experience the culture. . .

In that posting I wrote about immersive films that bring out many elements of the slice of life experiences I enjoy.  The book Deacon King Kong is an example of how books can also create these immersive experiences, replete with authentic vocabulary, accented utterances in the dialog, and characters' values or behaviors.

Web comics have become more popular.  Like others locked in our homes, I personally have been spending a little more time viewing them.  Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal had a funny comic today about surly teenagers that reminded me of our recent, fantastic adventure at Crater Lake zipline whose guides are all surly high school teenagers.  Their silly antics added to the fun of flying through the forest canopy.

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Wonderful! Great characters and a big heart. 4 of 5 Stars.