Book Review: Space Oddities By Harry Cliff

  This is my first Non-Fiction book of the year, and one that falls into my outer space theme for 2026. 

I did love it!  I learned a lot, and laughed a bit, and felt like I had my mind blown a few times as well! 

Dr. Cliff is an experimental physicist at CERN and also well known as a science presenter.  This second fact is probably the most important, as Cliff was able to hold my attention, even while discussing a great deal of very complicated math. 

     Cliff describes an evolving debate in Physics, Cosmology, Astronomy and I suppose "science" in general, revolving around the "Standard model" of  physics.  Now, I took Astronomy 101 back in the day at the University of Rochester.  Secretly, I hoped against hope that I would be discovered as a savant of the stars. 

     I WAS NOT A SAVANT OF THE STARS.  That remains the most difficult class I ever took.  I pity the instructor for having to teach all of us, who could not reliably learn how to calculate the distance of a star from another fixed point.  As a group we were dismal. As an individual, unfortunately, I was also dismal, and sadly, the class did nothing to spark my actual interest in the stars, planets and the universe.  I could not really grasp the calculation, (not totally surprising as I had never had a class in trigonometry or calculus etc) and the instructor, as I recall, wasn't able to really communicate in any compelling way how amazing this was that we could sit in a classroom and  with reasonable assurance we could know distances, mass, composition of objects so far away in the universe. 

I gave up on being a universe savant, but never really gave up on being curious. 

Harry Cliff was able to engage my sloth-brain, teach me something and have me thinking about current issues in physics with some excitement! 

In this very readable book, Cliff helps readers understand one of the current hot debates in cosmology.  The Standard Model faces challenges from new data coming from the James Webb Telescope- and other sources. There is disagreement within the world of physicists from various disciplines on the rate of expansion of the universe. I admit, I am always kind of confused about the whole idea of the universe constantly expanding, expanding to where? It's a mind bending concept. 

   As a lay person, I have been captivated by the JWST images.  I was a bit deflated to learn that they are often cleaned up by artists, but, even so, they are still so compelling and interesting.

Take a look here at a few Slide shows from JWST 

Cliff discusses in fairly easy to understand terms the work being done by various teams to decipher data, how the data is obtained, cleaned, used and discussed. He provides what seems to be a fairly even handed view of the current debate, the research teams, and their processes, while teaching a bit of physics for use dismal folks on the side. 

  Overall, I really enjoyed this book which provided just the right amount of detail to make my brain work, but not so much that it shut off. I know that I'm going to have my ear tuned for more news of the Standard Model and it's challengers in the future.  I did the audio book which was read by the author, which I found to be a bit charming. I felt like I was just sitting in his office, asking a lot of questions and very much enjoying his explanation of the beauty and charm quarks...and how they shape my world completely. I was amused that he did provide a "trigger warning" for some of the maths! 

I enjoyed this book, I felt like I'm much more in the know now about things and I am definitely looking to read more on the debate and will be looking for more news from this area. 

STATS

                                                First Published : 3/26/24

Pages: 288

Available as an Audio Book : Yes ~ 8 hrs 

Trigger Warnings: Math, complex view of the universe (not a complete list- be responsible!)

Book Review: Swimming With Manatees by Bill Bennett

 This is clearly a passion project of Bill Bennett, an independent author. 

 I would like to thank NetGalley for the advanced digital copy to read and review. 

I was initially attracted by the title and attractive cover, as well as the Florida setting. I do love a Florida setting.  In addition, I did hope to finish this in 2025 as part of my water theme, but I got... Water logged with books, so here we are in January. 

We're given the Story of Ava Martinez, a tough and savvy detective  who is somewhat new to the force she's working on in the Everglades area of Florida. This case is personal, because in a small town, almost everyone knows everyone. 

Readers experience multiple points of view as they read and unravel the mystery of who killed multiple people, and why. The author brings in current uses and interest in marine life as a source of new medical treatments, and was able to hold my attention with some action scenes interspersed with cerebral sleuthing. 

The book is written with a heavy heavy noir style which many descriptions ending in a comparison.  This is an area which Bennett excels. It was repetitive, but I did enjoy reading the prose which took me right into the nostalgic feel of Noir novels and films from days gone by. 

That said, I did not fall in love with any of the characters- I could see how the author attempted to cobble in a backstory - especially for Ava Martinez, but unique as her backstory was, it didn't seem to really influence her current character or do anything to make her seem more real. I found her partner to be much more interesting, and that partner perishes early on!

The mystery of the murders revolves around a fascinating plot of the possibility of new biologics for disease treatment.  For most readers, this is going to be great.  For me, given my career, there were some errors that made it seem less real, but again, that has to do with my familiarity with the subject at hand. 

   I did think that it was a bold move for this male author to chose to create a female main character with a very specifically Hispanic/Latina name. To his credit  ( or discredit?) the only thing female or Hispanic/Latina about this character is the name.  I feel like the book could have had a male main character with the name of John Smith and it would have felt the same.  

So is this a book for everyone?  I suspect there are readers out there who will find this to be a good read. Unraveling the mystery was quite fun, and I enjoyed the description of the Everglades. Other readers may find it a bit difficult to follow, and to be somewhat tedious with heavy prose. 

STATS

First Published : 10/30/2025

Pages: 479

Available as an Audio Book :  No

Trigger Warnings: violence, blood, medical situations, murder, guns,  (not a complete list- be responsible!)

Book Review: Squib by Helen Harper

 Big Thanks To Tantor Audio for an advanced listener copy of Squib by Helen Harper.

Squib is a novel I'd recommend for anyone who wanted to dip into paranormal romance, but was not sure how they really feel about PNR!  It is an excellent, palate cleanser novel after a heavy read, and although there was some violence, and mentions of a possible war in the future, this really fell very heavily into the realm of Cozy Paranormal Fantasy/Romance. 

Mallory is a squib, a person with no magic.  She's chosen to live in Coldstream which is full of magic, and she's happy there. A ray of sunshine, she has a business of trading in information and secrets.  Mallory does not accept cash payment, just payment in favors, which seems quite clever, but I did wonder all along how she managed to eat.  After all, it would take loads of time to settle on a grilled cheese sandwich sized secret every time one want one.  Anywhooo-  Mallory is well regarded and has a great business going in this magical town.  

All this changes rapidly with a chance encounter with Alpha Werewolf  McTire.  He's obviously an Alpha and a bit bossy.  Mallory is more of a free spirit, but at her core, she's a business woman, so when he proposes a business deal, she accepts.  She's to find him his perfect First Mate. Tricky business as the First Mate is somewhat akin to a "First Lady" and must meet a lot of requirements. 

As Mallory and McTire spend more time together, sparks fly - but  will Mallory and McTire fan the flames or dim them?  You'll want to read to find out!  Mallory is fun, sunny, smart and sassy.  McTire is of course broody and bossy and prone to impulsive behavior. 

I did find the town of Coldspring to be enjoyable to read about. There's magic, and lots of magical creatures all going about daily lives, which was well done and a lot of fun.  To me the book did read a bit like a Young Adult novel - and I thought it was one until that one last scene!  I think this is likely appropriate for todays 16-18 year olds and beyond.  

  This cozy Paranormal romance was narrated by award winner Ruth Urquhart.  I was delighted to find out that she is a real human who was nominated  for a Voice Arts Award, as there was some discussion on the interwebs about AI use for narration of this book and I do not support synthesized voices in finished copies of books.   Her accent was charming, and I really found that the narration flowed, making this book an "easy listen" for me. 

I will say, personally, I am not a fan of the cover. It has an AI look to it, and no cover designer is specifically listed.  It is very possible this is a real graphic design art work. I have reached out to the author on her page and will update if she gives me an artist to credit.  

 UPDATE:  The cover was done by a Creator "Covers by Juan"   Juan appears to specialize in romatasy style covers, and looks like he offers a lot of pre-made covers that are adaptable to a variety of books.  

It is specifically noted that they " Do not use AI generated images".  I still can't say that I like this cover, even with this additional information.   But it is bright and colorful, and will likely appeal to others! 

STATS

First Published : January 13, 2026

Pages: 298

Available as an Audio Book : YES (~8.5 hrs) 

Trigger Warnings: violence, blood, medical situations, Paranormal sexual situations  (mild) , magical situations, lack of coffee,   (not a complete list- be responsible!)

Book Review: Nasa's Pioneer and Voyager Missions: : The History and Legacy of the First Space Probes to Explore the Outer Solar System and Beyond

  So, I feel... funny about reading a book written by  "Charles Rivers Editors" 

But I did read it,  and to be completely fair, it was... fine. 

My 2026 theme for reading is outer space, and as I was looking at my local library's selections for Space and beyond, this popped up. 

As an audio book it looked to be about 3 hours long, so I thought, why not.   I had some concerns that this would be some sort of AI generated mess, but realized it was put out in 2019 so it is LESS likely to be that. 

It felt like listening to someone read me the encyclopedia. There were literal lists of tools put into orbit on these missions.  It contained none of the excitement or joy or any feeling that the teams working on these missions must have involved. It did however, contain a large amount of information about these missions, which was very educational to me. 

And additionally, I learned about the Slingshot effect - or gravity assist, used to make these missions a success. 

 I admit, I didn't entirely understand it from this book, but a few youtube videos later, I got the gist of it, and I can say now that I think a lot of folks out there writing Space based romances, should maybe possibly pick up some of these, very short and not extremely exciting summaries. This one detail alone, would make so many of these novels- so many that involve space travel- so much more realistic and also kind of cool- - I mean - THE SLINGSHOT EFFECT?  that title is  made for a romance novel.  

Will I be purposely perusing the Charles River Editor's multiple short volumes on a variety of topics?

NOT A CHANCE.  

This was frankly, an accident on my part.  It worked for me, as I feel I gained a lot of info in a short amount of time, but... as a reading experience, it was not particularly interesting. 

STATS

First Published :2019

Pages: 144

Available as an Audio Book :  Yes (~ 3 hr) 

Trigger Warnings: Some discussion of political events occurring around the same time as these missions, discussion of Presidential assassination (Kennedy) 

Not a full list, please read responsibly. 

Book Review Crow Lake By Mary Lawson

   This was an audiobook I picked up via  NetGalley/Brilliance publishing. 

Crow Lake  seemed to fit in with my water theme perfectly. I did not realize this was basically off the backlist, but it seems it was originally published in 2002, so though it is with a new narration by Amelia Sargisson, I think I can still consider it a "beat the back-list" novel! 

This was a debut novel for Mary Lawson!  This is a story set in the Canadian Shield region of Northern Ontario

he story is centered around Kate coming home for her nephew's birthday celebration. As she travels, readers are taken on a journey through memory of her childhood growing up in the Canadian Shield area of Ontario in a farming family. Kate and her brother's were suddenly orphaned, and this event altered their life trajectories. As the youngest Kate was very attached to her brother Matt who loves nature and shapes her own interests, as she becomes a zoologist as an adult. Set against the background of Crow Lake - a small town where everyone knew everyone, the tightly told drama unfolds. As Kate returns home, she must face the facts that she can return to the people she loves, but that they , like her, are not static and things have changed, for better and for worse.

I enjoyed this novel. The writing was direct and elegant in it's simplicity. Amelia Sargisson is the narrator, and she narrated in a clear voice that did not detract from the story line. I felt immediately immersed, within the narration.

This book is sort of quintessential literary fiction. It read a bit like historical fiction at this point, having been first published in 2003. For me the main theme might be how "you can't go home again" and of course, while, one can almost always return to a physical home location, the setting and the persons associated with home are never static..

 This would be an EXCELLENT choice for Book clubs! 

STATS

First Published :2002

Pages: 320

Available as an Audio Book :  Yes (8 hr 34 min) 

Trigger Warnings: mental health, parental death

Not a full list, please read responsibly. 

 

 

2025 Reading Wrap Up

 I had an AMAZING reading year in 2025. 

The rest of the year was, not at all amazing, but I am very glad I landed a new job in this very tough market. It was Fate, Kismet or Providence, I suppose. 

 As far reading. 

My Final Total number of Books Read is a whopping 207

This is unprecedented for me, and I feel I need to add in a caveat that a few of these were really more "short stories" that were packaged as books. 

That said, I still traversed multiple worlds through books and I had a great time doing it.  I enjoyed book clubs and book buddies and meeting readers of all sorts all year long! 

My 2026 Theme was Water.  I read books about the way water changed history, the way our climate is affecting water, oceans, rivers and storms. I've read books which had little to do with water, but had water in the title, and some having everything to do with water that did not initially even hint at it. 

Total Water Books:  39  or 18%

I have to admit, I had a lot of DNF's I am not sure that in the end, I loved my water theme, but I definitely read several books in translation that had water titles and that broadened my perspectives. 

Total Books with Diverse authors and themes: 

Diverse Author/Theme: 65  or 34%  

So, next year, I'm going to try to up that a bit.  I have to admit I'm not starting off too strong in that realm, so feel free to fire off some suggestions. 

Books in Translation: 14  Just 7% 

Soooo, will be looking for more books in translation. I've started on one already but I know I really have to keep on that metric if I want to include more. 

Overall, I feel like this was a fairly successful year. I am hopeful that next years reading theme of Outer Space will find me reading a lot on the topic, and the fact that there are loads of Space based romance will help.  While there is water based romance, I am not really one for people in love hanging out by the pool books, so it didn't seem to bump up the numbers. 

Next year I think I will also track what I complete on Audiobook and which reads are advanced copies from publishers!   I have a load of them over at Net Galley so lets see how that goes! 

 I've stayed at that 33% of reads being diverse reads, so for 2026, I'm going to modestly aim for 40%

As for Books in translation - whew.  Maybe 20% 

What are your reading goals? Do you seek out a certain type of author or book?  How do you choose!  

 

 

Book Review Love Galaxy By Sierra Branham

 It's kind of a lucky coincidence that the first book I finished this year fits fairly well into my new 2026 theme of "Outer Space" 

I did start it some time ago, but since it was an advanced reader copy in E book form, it took me... some time to read.  Eyeballs. 

This book is coming out in May 2026, so you may want to pre-order it if it strikes your fancy.  I was attracted to this amazing cover, and I am a sucker for Space Opera.  This is a book for young adults, and I think it will be most meaningful for those aged 15-18.  As an old adult, I enjoyed this read. 

Many Many Thanks to DAW Astra House publishing for the Advanced E copy. 

Interestingly, the UK cover looks like:

    Which do you prefer?  I'm definitely for cover one in this case. 

    Without any spoilers- Our protagonist is Artemis, or Temmi- who's a whip-smart and "world weary"  young lady working as a trash collector on a poisoned planet. She's got a plan but that plan isn't exactly working. A chance encounter lands her on an intergalactic dating show where royals and other political personages from their empire find matches.  This year, contestants are dating the twin Prince and Princess. Artemis is brought on as a personality,  and she's not sure about this, but feels she could leverage this opportunity.  She soon learns that there's a lot more going on than just sailing dates on the beach. Everyone has an angle, and she's not sure she will survive. 

     There's a lot to love in this Sci-Fi Fantasy thriller with murder, and mayhem, angst and yearning among contestants, and loads of reality show style drama. 

As a debut for Young adults, this is a stunner.  Branham captures the things that capture the imagination of the young adult reader without teetering into the "adultier"  adult issues which would be less accessible or appropriate. This is a fine line to walk and she's really nailed it. 

    As a Sci-Fi novel the world building is a bit weak.  This tends to fall more into a novel that has a space background, but doesn't quite immerse the reader in that world.  As an example, at one point our main character refers to a mouse and a lion- both creatures that clearly do not exist in the setting- so it would be unlikely to be the first things popping into a spacers head.  This sort of thing took me right out of the outer space world, but probably won't bother other readers.  

My second observation is that the pacing was a bit... uneven. The beginning hooked me right away, but then it took me a few weeks to read the next section as it sort of dragged on and on with a myriad of details about the dating show, contestants, dates and apparel choices. There is a reader that will LOVE this section, but that reader wasn't me, I was at a point about halfway through the book where I was hoping things would just "wrap up" and suddenly when I was about at the 3/4 mark, things changed and we jumped, warp speed into a total adventure not involving beach dates, or snarky contestants and I was entranced.  The ending, is a BRUTAL cliffhanger. 

Will I read the next book- YES yes and YES.  I am actually very excited and hopeful and can't wait to see what happens next for Temmi and her crew.  Like any good reality show- I have THEORIES. Lots of theories.  

SO... I'm going to need you all to read this one so we can make those predictions. 

PRH notes that this book will be perfect for readers who enjoy Everina Maxwell, and as a reader who loves Maxwell's novels, I agree. 

STATS

First Published :May 2026

Pages: 416

Available as an Audio Book : Hopefully! 

Trigger Warnings: Environmental issues, alcohol use, drug use, murder, unintentional murder, stealing, cheating, Not a full list - please read responsibly.