The Truth About Archie and Pye | Jonathan Pinnock

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

In what seems like an unlikely series of coincidences, Tom has lost his job, his girlfriend, his flat and has become embroiled in a decade old murder mystery involving mathematicians and conspiracy theories. All in less than a week! When he decides to try to unravel the mystery he finds himself meeting old acquaintances, making new ones, learning mathematical concepts and trying to survive a deal with the Belarusian mafia. 

Review:

This book was so much fun to read! I'm not normally one for murder mysteries, they're just not my thing. But with a cast of likeable characters, a swirl of conspiracy theories, a lot of fun and several Gordion knot solutions, this book was a wonderful exception to the "no mysteries" rule.

Tom was immediately the kind of character you can relate to and empathize with. Even just his trying to get a quiet moment on the train and ultimately failing despite the multiple "quiet car" signs was all too familiar. You really get the sense of him as the underdog so it's very easy to cheer for him as he progresses through the story. And yes he does genuinely mess up a couple things (and maybe a few more) but the other characters are quick to call him out on it and he learns his lesson pretty quickly. 

As is the nature of conspiracy theories, they make so little sense from the outside. Pinnock does a wonderful job of making the intertwined theories more and more comprehensible as Tom delves deeper into them. It gets to the point where the even some of the most seemingly random things actually make perfect sense.

And if you're worried there's too much math involved, don't worry. Pinnock does a great job of explaining what math there is and keeping it as simple as possible. Seriously, the figuring out of Burgess' combination was equal parts educational, fun and absurd. I loved that entire scene.

If you're looking for a funny mystery novel, if you're the type of person who thought The DaVinci Code would've been good if it hadn't taken itself so seriously, this is a wonderful book for you to pick up. Pinnock's characters, circumstances and humor are definite winners. 4.5 hoots!

Hoot!Hoot!

Hoot!Hoot!

Hoo

Galileo's Middle Finger by Alice Dreger

This book ended up being a lot more autobiographical and filled with drama than I initially thought it would be. To be fair, there are a lot of topics in the book that make it hard to separate emotions from fact. In the overall scheme of the book, this may actually be a good thing for Dreger's main message. She continuously discusses the need to keep going and searching for the truth, which would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, without an emotional interest.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in activism or academia. It is an unfortunately accurate portrayal of how the noble quest for truth has been seriously hindered by personal agendas, politics and the sheer power of public outrage at any sensitive topic being discussed rationally. It is filled with stories of the messenger being shot, especially when they are simply trying to be fair and follow the facts.

Overall, I happily give this book 4 hoots!

           Hoot!Hoot!

           Hoot!Hoot!

Kerrytown Book Fest

So, part of being a bibliophile/book blogger is attending book based events. I've never done this before, but once I found out about the Kerrytown Book Fest in downtown Ann Arbor, I figured I'd give it a go. I'll admit, I'm not a social person by nature and tend to avoid events that require interacting with others, but I figured I'd give it a try. At the very least I'd be able to learn some tricks and must-haves for next year's festival. I didn't spend nearly as much time as I thought I would, but considering I've never done this before, I feel I stayed long enough. I'm still not entirely sure on how to talk to publishers/authors and would welcome any advice on the topic.

As it is, I have received a lot of information on independent book publishers and book stores around Ann Arbor and will be taking advantage of this information almost every payday. I especially wish to thank World Weaver Press, Grey Wolf Publishing and Shelby Patrick for their patience with me while I was still trying to figure out what to talk about. I also appreciated World Weaver Press' advertising technique of having a cute puppy with them to attract visitors. Also, many thanks to Book Bound, Dan Waltz, Vault of Midnight, and the Children's Literacy Network for willing to let me talk to them and look at their books without making feel guilty about not being able to buy them.

Information Freebies

Ultimately I did leave the Book Fest with 4 new books and an information pamphlet with information on all the publishers and book sellers there. Two of the free books by Shelby Patrick are samples of a couple of her short story collections. The books only provide snippets of the stories, but I am liking what I'm reading and after each long snippet she provides information on how to get the full version. The other free book I received was Cloudy With  A Chance of Meatballs. I couldn't remember if my nephew had it or not, so when proffered a free book, I chose it. The last book I got at the festival is a discounted book from World Weaver Press called Far Orbit, a collection of Sci-Fi short stories. I was torn between that one and Fae, a collection of Fantasy short stories.

Naturally there were also books that I saw that I could not purchase at this time. I asked if I could take pictures of the books I wanted but was unable to get and was almost uniformly told "yes".

From the Vault of Midnight booth.

A picture book from my childhood!

Out of my price range!

From the Book Bound booth.

Overall, I found this to be an incredibly informative outing and am already working on creating a "Better Prepared This Year" list for the next Kerrytown Book Fest. The biggest thing will be saving up money so I can buy more books! I'm also hoping to improve on my social/networking skills before the next book fest so that I feel less awkward during my visit. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have reading to do.