The Pope at War by David I Kertzer (2024)

Drawing on new materials from the Vatican released in 2022, the author addresses myths about Pope Pius XII. The book details how Pius XII supported the Axis powers and helped send all of the Italian Jews to death camps. It also notes his lack of support for Polish Catholics and other Catholic clergy in countries occupied by Germany during WWII. I found the book depressing. 3/5 Stars.

Hope for the best; plan for the rest by Hsien Seow and Sammy Winemaker (2023)

Similar, but not as good as Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, this book explains how and why most of us should prepare for our inevitable end-of-life and also for being a good team member of care-givers for loved-ones who approach end-of-life.  Gawande's book approaches the choices and tradeoffs, while this book provides a framework for navigating the system assuming you (or loved-one) has a clear understanding of the choices and tradeoffs. 3/5 Stars.

Translation state by Anne Leckie (2023)

Interesting world-building and ideas, odd rogues gallery of characters, bad pacing, contrived plot, terrible and inconsistent magic system. 2/5 Stars.

Nexus by Yuval Harari (2024)

Puke awful, terrible. I put the book down after suffering through half of the text. 0/5 Stars. Harari should spend 1/10th the time he spends meditating on a modicum of scholarship.  His definitions of "information" and "networks" are brain dead stupid. A rational 10-year-old could be more rational. His definition of political "democracy" is equally naive, inconsistent, and stupid. I am upset I wasted so much time on this drivel. Reminder to self:  Do not read anything by Harari.

Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas (2020)

This fifth book in the series continues to entertain with great character progression and fun Sherlock Holmes deductions.  The B plots are fun. The whining and moral anachronisms are getting worse, however. 4/5 Stars.

The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben (2020)

Fun, tight mystery with colorful characters, 4/5 Stars.

Growth: From microorganisms to megacities by Vaclav Smil (2019)

Not one of his Smil's best efforts but still very interesting. I appreciate the first chapter that outlines the math models of growth for fitting observations to the data and extrapolating. The author's scathing attacks against GDP growth as an indicator are also fantastic. 3/5 Stars.

The Art of the Theft by Sherry Thomas (2019)

I am enjoying this series and this fun caper episode was particularly enjoyable. 5/5 Stars.

Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks (1994)

I did not enjoy this book as much as all of the other Ian Banks books I have read.  The magic system and mystical fearsome engine are quite terrible and the odd interactions of birds is also off-putting (for me). 2/5 Stars.

Samarcande by Amin Maluf (1988)

The story is well-translated from the original french and I enjoyed it.  Having read Abbas Amanat's history of Iran, I knew the 19th century part of the story. But the 11th century story of Omar Khayyam was all new to me. 4/5 Stars.