history

The Masks We Wear: Six Days in Bombay review

by Stefani

Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi

Published: April 15, 2025 by MIRA

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

When renouned painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage, she’s expected to make a quick recovery, and Sona is excited to spend time with the worldly woman who shares her half-Indian identity, even if that’s where their similarities end. Sona is enraptured by Mira’s stories of her travels, and shocked by accounts of the many lovers she’s left scattered through Europe. Over the course of a week, Mira befriends Sona, seeing in her something bigger than the small life she’s living with her mother. Mira is released from the hospital just in time to attend a lavish engagement party with all of Bombay society. But the next day, Mira is readmitted to the hospital in worse condition than before, and when she dies under mysterious circumstances, Sona immediately falls under suspicion.

Before leaving the hospital in disgrace, Sona is given a note Mira left for her, along with her four favorite paintings. But how could she have known to leave a note if she didn’t know she was going to die? The note sends Sona on a mission to deliver three of the paintings—the first to Petra, Mira’s childhood friend and first love in Prague; the second to her art dealer Josephine in Paris; the third to her first painting tutor, Paolo, with whom both Mira and her mother had affairs. As Sona uncovers Mira’s history, she learns that the charming facade she’d come to know was only one part of a complicated and sometimes cruel woman. But can she discover what really happened to Mira and exonerate herself?

Along the way, Sona also comes to terms with her own complex history and the English father who deserted her and her mother in India so many years ago. In the end, she’ll discover that we are all made up of pieces, and only by seeing the world do we learn to see ourselves.

Rating:

Review:

This book was just extraordinary! Truly I find myself at a loss for words to describe it. Historical fiction is sometimes a hit or miss for me, but this one knocked it out of the park. The first third of the book is spent on building the character of Sona and her relationship with Mira. But also giving us a very good background in what it was like to be half-Indian, half-English in 1937 India. A time when India is having a reckoning of the colonialism that they want to be free from and are starting to take back the power to cast out the English. But where does that leave people who have spent their entire lives in India, are half Indian and love India with all their hearts. This was absolutely fascinating and frankly I would have read an entire book about that topic alone.

After that primer on this time period in India, we are launched across the world with Sona. On a mission to deliver paintings and letters on behalf of her dear friend Mira. And along the way she realized that she didn’t know as much about Mira as she thought she had. Sona discovers that Mira was a different person to everyone she met. Everyone had a different memory of her and experience with her. Along the way Sona also learns a lot about herself and the English father who had abandoned her and her mother.

This book is exactly the kind of historical fiction that I love. This one will likely be on my short list for best book of the year.

Annie Jacobsen’s Insights on Nuclear Annihilation

by Stefani

Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen

Published: March 26, 2024 by Dutton

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war. And one of the triggers for that war would be a nuclear missile inbound toward the United States.

Every generation, a journalist has looked deep into the heart of the nuclear military establishment: the technologies, the safeguards, the plans, and the risks. These investigations are vital to how we understand the world we really live in—where one nuclear missile will beget one in return, and where the choreography of the world’s end requires massive decisions made on seconds’ notice with information that is only as good as the intelligence we have.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario explores this ticking-clock scenario, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, have been privy to the response plans, and have been responsible for those decisions should they have needed to be made. Nuclear War: A Scenario examines the handful of minutes after a nuclear missile launch. It is essential reading, and unlike any other book in its depth and urgency.

Rating:

Review:

After listening to an interview with Annie Jacobsen I knew that I needed to read this book. And apparently a lot of other people thought the same thing, because this one had a 6 month waitlist from my library. Even for the audiobook, which is insane because the audiobook normally has a shorter wait time. But I digress. I have long had feelings about nuclear weapons and the idea of deterrence and mutually assured destruction. That has been the stance of world on nuclear weapons. “Well, we both have them, and we know that if one of uses them then so will the other, and no one wants that.”

There’s just one problem with that theory, human nature. Eventually there will be a human who says, “Fuck the consequences, if I’m going down then so are they.” Human nature virtually guarantees this. And this is what Annie Jacobsen explores. She explores in depth the timeline of a nuclear war. Starting at the beginning when there is a satellite confirmation that a missile has been fired. She goes through the exact conversations that would be happening. Was it an accident? Is it just a missile or does it have a nuke on it? Where is it headed? Could this be a misfire? What exactly is going on and how do we respond? The timeline for making this decision is very short. In the best circumstance that timeline is about 6 minutes. Six minutes to try and figure out what happened and if the US will respond. And that is the best case scenario, if a missile was launched from a submarine then the timeframe could be a minute total.

The author also goes through the timeline of just how many times the United States has been on the brink of nuclear war and luckily it hasn’t happened. Did you that in 1983 the Soviet Union’s radar detection system alerted that the United States had launched give nuclear missiles at the Soviet Union. Stanislav Petrov was manning the radar. His procedures required that he report the radar results to Moscow. But he didn’t, because he thought it was strange. Later, he said that he asked himself “Why would the United States only launch 5 missiles? If they wanted a nuclear war, they would fire many more, wouldn’t they?” And he chose to believe it was a false alert. It was indeed a false alert. But think about what could have happened if he had followed procedure?

I spent a lot of time wondering what kind of scenario Annie Jacobsen had created in this book. Was this a best case scenario? Average scenario? Worst case scenario? But then I realized something. She talked about how the Defense Department runs war game simulations on how a nuclear war would proceed. Hundreds of them. Potentially thousands of them. They’ve been running them since the first nuclear bomb was invented. And according to the source Jacobsen spoke to, every single scenario they have run ends in global annihilation. That’s when I realized, it doesn’t matter what kind of scenario it is. They all end the same way. They all end with human beings annihilating themselves. The only solution is for no one to press the button, ever. But even that doesn’t account for accidents. For as long as nuclear weapons exist, this book posits that eventually, for one reason or another, nuclear war is how it ends.

My only complaint is that some of the imagined dialogue is very corny. And I found some of the posited hypothetical events to unnecessary to the situation and it doesn’t add much value.

So, this book was possibly the most frightening thing I’ve ever read. Also one of the most important. I am going to get myself a stiff drink and hope that if nuclear war happens, I’ll be close enough to the blast to be evaporated.

As Nikita Khrushchev said to JFK, in the event of nuclear war “The survivors would envy the dead.” That’s a grim thought, but one that we all need to pay attention to. Do you trust the people guarding that button? I don’t. Not a single one of them.

Progress Update Friday – October 25, 2024

by Stefani

The Prophecy of the Yubriy Tree by Ben Spencer

Progress: 59 of 379 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Every year, prophecy leaves fall from the Yubriy Tree. And every year, the Dayborn king sends his most trusted servants to collect the leaves and return them to the capital.

Only this year, one of the leaves drifted into the forest unseen.

Three lives will be forever changed by the undetected prophecy leaf.

The strong-willed daughter of a powerful family. The mysterious and reviled half brother of the king. And a talented but unlucky musician, desperate to write the song that will bring him good fortune.

Looming in the background are reports of the first dragon to appear in Ragar Or in over sixty-five years. And, as anyone familiar with Ragar Or’s history knows, when dragons appear, royalty dies.

How it’s going:

This is such an interesting idea. I was really pleased to get the ARC for it. So far the stories are interesting. I have read a chapter from 2 of the people mentioned in the synopsis and both were very intriguing. It’s off to a good start and I hope it continues.

Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen

Progress: 7:25 of 11 hours, 19 minutes

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war. And one of the triggers for that war would be a nuclear missile inbound toward the United States.

Every generation, a journalist has looked deep into the heart of the nuclear military establishment: the technologies, the safeguards, the plans, and the risks. These investigations are vital to how we understand the world we really live in—where one nuclear missile will beget one in return, and where the choreography of the world’s end requires massive decisions made on seconds’ notice with information that is only as good as the intelligence we have.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario explores this ticking-clock scenario, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, have been privy to the response plans, and have been responsible for those decisions should they have needed to be made. Nuclear War: A Scenario examines the handful of minutes after a nuclear missile launch. It is essential reading, and unlike any other book in its depth and urgency.

How it’s going:

If the hold times on this through my library is any indication, this book has been gangbusters popular. The hold on the physical book stands at 75 people, the ebook stands at 7 months, and getting the audiobook took my 3 1/2 months. So far, I am depressed. And I need a stiff drink. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Honestly, I will probably finish this one today and then if I can manage a review this weekend that’s great, but I might need to digest it a little bit.

New ARCs!!

by Stefani

It’s been a minute since I updated the advanced copies I have received through various sources. Time for an update on what I will be reading in the future.

Witches: A Compendium by Judika Illes

Expected publication: October 7, 2024 by Weiser Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A compendium of witches through the ages, from earliest prehistory to some of the most significant modern practitioners, Witches explores who and what is a witch. Ranging from such famed historical figures as Marie Laveau, Tituba, Sybil Leek, Isobel Gowdie, and Countess Erzsebet Báthory (popularly known as the Blood Countess) to popular literary and cinematic figures such as Endora, the Scarlet Witch, Storm, and the Wicked Witch of the West, Illes offers a complete range of the history of witches.   Also included are the sacred (Baba Yaga, Lilith, Isis, Hekate, Diana, Aradia, Circe) and the profane (the Salem Witch trials and the Burning Times), plus travel tips for witches and a guide to the tools of the trade. Witches is appropriate for readers of all ages and serves as an excellent and entertaining introduction for those fascinated by the topic.   Previously published in 2010 by Weiser Books as A Weiser Field Guide to Witches, this book has been updated for new witches as well as a new era.

Tilt by Emma Pattee

Expected publication: March 4, 2025 by Simon & Schuster

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Set over the course of one day, a heart-racing debut about a woman facing the unimaginable, determined to find safety.

Last night, you and I were safe. Last night, in another universe, your father and I stood fighting in the kitchen.

Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, there’s nothing to do but walk.

Making her way across the wreckage of Portland, Annie experiences human desperation and strangers offering help, a riot at a grocery store, and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about having a baby. If she can just make it home, she’s determined to change her life.

A propulsive debut, Tilt is a primal scream of a novel about the disappointments and desires we all carry, and what each of us will do for the people we love.

The University of Arizona: A History in 100 Stories by Gregory McNamee

Expected publication: October 15, 2024 by Sentinel Peak Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

The University of Arizona: A History in 100 Stories is a celebration of the people, ideas, inventions, teaching, and structures that have been part of the school’s evolution from a small land-grant institution to an internationally renowned research institution. Drawing on half a century of connection with the University of Arizona as a student, staff member, and faculty member, Gregory McNamee presents a history through the lens of a hundred subjects.

That story begins in 1885, with the establishment of the school, which quickly proved itself to be a powerhouse in its foundational “four pillars”: agriculture and earth sciences, followed by astronomy and anthropology. In the years following World War II, those four pillars became ever more important to the University, even as countless other fields of study gained prominence: optical sciences, women’s studies, the humanities, mathematics, and more. This phenomenal institution has as its setting the Sonoran Desert, and, closer to home, to a built environment that is widely considered among the most scenic in the country, from the Historic District with its buildings that are more than a century old to the latest steel-and-glass constructions on the edges of the ever-expanding campus.

McNamee relates this history in an entertaining manner, peppering discussion of serious intellectual and institutional themes with lighter moments—the origins of the university’s rivalry with Arizona State, the ghosts that are said to lurk about campus, and more. Wildcats everywhere will delight in McNamee’s celebration of the people, places, learning, books, and pastimes that have distinguished our school.

Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole

Expected publication: October 8, 2024 by Atria Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn.

In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village.

Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind.

With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind.

The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen

Expected publication: October 8, 2024 by Orbit

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

John Sackville will soon be dead. Shadows writhe in the corners of his cell as he mourns the death of his secret lover and the gnawing hunger inside him grows impossible to ignore.

He must write his last testament before it is too late.

It is a story steeped in history and myth – a journey from stone circles in Scotland, to the barren wilderness of Ukraine where otherworldly creatures stalk the night, ending in the icy peaks of Tibet and Mongolia, where an ancient evil stirs . .

Upcoming Releases – July 28, 2024

by Stefani

The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn

Expected publication: March 18, 2024 by St. Martin’s Griffin

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Practical Magic meets Gone Girl in Ava Morgyn’s next dark, spellbinding novel about a woman who is more than a witch – she’s a hunter.Piers Corbin has always had an affinity for poisonous things – plants and men. From the pokeweed berries she consumed at age five that led to the accidental death of a stranger, to the husband whose dark proclivities have become… concerning, poison has been at the heart of her story. But when she fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her volatile marriage and goes to stay with her estranged great aunt in the mountains, she realizes her predilection is more than a hunger – it’s a birthright. Piers comes from a long line of poison eaters – Bane Witches – women who ingest deadly plants and use their magic to rid the world of evil men. Piers sets out to earn her place in her family’s gritty but distinguished legacy, all while working at her Aunt Myrtle’s cafe and perpetuating a flirtation with the local, well-meaning sheriff to allay his suspicions on the body count she’s been leaving in her wake. But soon she catches the attention of someone else, a serial killer operating in the area. And that only means one thing – it’s time to feed. In Ava Morgyn’s dark, thrilling novel, The Bane Witch, a very little poison can do a world of good.

Why this caught my eye:

Normally I hate writeups that hype a book as “X meets Y!!”. It is almost never accurate and I find it annoying. If I wanted to read thing X, then I would. But, I am here for this one. Practical Magic…yes! Gone Girl…yes! I am bought and sold on this one.

American Sheep by Brett Bannor

Expected publication: October 1, 2024 by University of Georgia Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

American Sheep introduces the “remarkable story” of how sheep helped shape American history from the colonial era through the early twentieth century. By introducing the readers to a cast of characters—some forgotten and some famous—whose lives intersected with sheep, the book illuminates the roles the animals played in the “growth and development of the United States.” John Brown’s relationship with sheep, for example, reveals how “sheep culture influenced racial relations.” And John Muir’s fears about sheep grazing in Yosemite were central to the development of the environmental movement his name is most often attached to. American Sheep, in other words, is a book that shears away our misunderstandings of the past and weaves sheep into the fabric of American economic and social history.

Why it caught my eye:

I don’t think I’ve talked about this much on the site, but another one of my hobbies is fiber art. I love wool. I love sheep. I spin my own yarn. I dye my own wool. I knit and crochet with my own spun yarn. I am friends with shepherds, and I own some of their fleeces and know their name, how old they were, who their parents are, and what kind of year they had based on the wool they produced (you can tell if they were sick, or if it was particularly hot, or particularly wet, etc). This book detailing how important sheep have been to the United States’ cultural history, yes please!

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould

Expected publication: December 10, 2024 by Wednesday Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Devin Green wakes in the middle of the night to find two men in her bedroom. No stranger to a fight, she calls to her foster parents for help, but it soon becomes clear this is a planned abduction—one everyone but Devin signed up for. She’s shoved in a van and driven deep into the Idaho woods, where she’s dropped off with a cohort of equally confused teens. Finally, two camp counselors inform them that they’ve all been enrolled in an experimental therapy program. If the campers can learn to change their self-destructive ways—and survive a fifty-days hike through the wilderness—they’ll come out the other side as better versions of themselves. Or so the counselors say.

Devin is immediately determined to escape. She’s also determined to ignore Sheridan, the cruel-mouthed, lavender-haired bully who mocks every group exercise. But there’s something strange about these woods—inhuman faces appearing between the trees, visions of people who shouldn’t be there flashing in the leaves—and when the campers wake up to find both counselors missing, therapy becomes the least of their problems. Stranded and left to fend for themselves, the teens quickly realize they’ll have to trust each other if they want to survive. But what lies in the woods may not be as dangerous as what the campers are hiding from each other—and if the monsters have their way, no one will leave the woods alive.

Why this caught my eye:

Troubled teen wilderness “therapy” is having a moment in the spotlight, rightly so in my opinion. The idea of taking a circumstance that is already morally and ethically questionable and adding a horror element with monsters is a great idea. Fun fact, I got sent to a church version of one of those type things when I was a teenager. It was not as bad as many others, but sending a bunch of teenagers to go hiking around the woods for miles a day with untrained adults is not therapeutic, and I can’t believe that people would actually do that to their child. But this book still peaks my interest.

Upcoming Releases – July 14, 2024

by Stefani

The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene

Expected publication: November 5, 2024 by Crooked Lane Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

It’s 1998, and female students are going missing at Southern State University in North Carolina. But freshman Jessica Fadley, once a bright and responsible student, is going through her own struggles. Just as her life seems to be careening dangerously out of control, she suddenly disappears.

Twenty-four years later, Jessica’s sister Lindsey is desperately searching for answers and uses the momentum of a new chart-topping true crime podcast, Ten Seconds to Vanish, that focuses on the cold cases, to guide her own investigation. Soon, interest reaches fever pitch when the bodies of the long-missing women begin turning up at a local lake, which leads Lindsey down a disturbing road of discovery.

In the present, one sister seeks to untangle a complicated web of lies.
In the past, the other descends ever deeper into a darkness that will lead to her ultimate fate.

This propulsive and chilling suspense is a sharp examination of sisterhood and the culture of true crime.

What caught my eye: I’m a big fan of crime mystery books, and I am also a big fan of true crime podcasts. This story says that it uses the medium of a true crime podcast to introduce us to the mystery. I love that idea.

The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson

Expected publication: November 12, 2024 by Flatiron Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

From NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Mary E. Pearson comes a thrilling romantic fantasy full of dangerous fae, dark secrets, and addictive romance

After losing both their parents, Bristol Keats and her sisters struggle to stay afloat in their small, quiet town of Bowskeep. When Bristol begins to receive letters from an “aunt” she’s never heard of who promises she can help, she reluctantly agrees to meet—and discovers that everything she thought she knew about her family is a lie. Even her father might still be alive, not killed but kidnapped by terrifying creatures to a whole other realm—the one he is from.

Desperate to save her father and find the truth, Bristol journeys to a land of gods and fae and monsters. Pulled into a dangerous world of magic and intrigue, she makes a deadly bargain with the fae king, Tyghan. But what she doesn’t know is that he’s the one who drove her parents to live a life on the run. And he is just as determined as she is to find her father—dead or alive.

Why it caught my attention: I can never refuse a fantasy romance with fae. Many of them are not good, but I can’t refuse them anyway. This one sounds great though with mysteries on all sides.

Cabinet of Curiosities by Aaron Mahnke

Expected publication: November 12, 2024 by St. Martin’s Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

The new book based on the long-running hit podcast by Aaron Mahnke, which has translated into over 120-million downloads to date, and a monthly average of over 2 million listeners. The podcast, Aaron Mahnke’s Cabinet of Curiosities, has delighted millions of listeners for years with tales of the wonderful, astounding, and downright bizarre people, places, and things throughout history. Now, in Cabinet of Curiosities the book, learn the fascinating story of the invention of the croissant in a country that was not France, and relive the adventures of a dog that stowed away and went to war, only to help capture a German spy. Along the way, readers will pass through the American state of Franklin, watch Abraham Lincoln’s son be rescued by his assassin’s brother, and learn how too many crash landings inspired one pilot to leave the airline industry and trek for the stars. For the first time ever, Aaron has gathered scores of his favorites in print, and curated them into a beautiful, topical collection for devoted followers and new fans alike.

Why it caught my eye: I am a huge fan of the podcasts by Aaron Mahnke (Lore and Cabinet of Curiosities). He is a magnificent storyteller, and I always want to know more about the stories he tells. And soon I will be able to. I’m thrilled!

Review: Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen

by Stefani

Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen

Published: May 17, 2011 by Little, Brown & Company

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / AbeBooks

Synopsis:

It is the most famous military installation in the world. And it doesn’t exist. Located a mere seventy-five miles outside of Las Vegas in Nevada’s desert, the base has never been acknowledged by the U.S. government-but Area 51 has captivated imaginations for decades.

Myths and hypotheses about Area 51 have long abounded, thanks to the intense secrecy enveloping it. Some claim it is home to aliens, underground tunnel systems, and nuclear facilities. Others believe that the lunar landing itself was filmed there. The prevalence of these rumors stems from the fact that no credible insider has ever divulged the truth about his time inside the base. Until now.

Annie Jacobsen had exclusive access to nineteen men who served the base proudly and secretly for decades and are now aged 75-92, and unprecedented access to fifty-five additional military and intelligence personnel, scientists, pilots, and engineers linked to the secret base, thirty-two of whom lived and worked there for extended periods. In Area 51, Jacobsen shows us what has really gone on in the Nevada desert, from testing nuclear weapons to building super-secret, supersonic jets to pursuing the War on Terror.

This is the first book based on interviews with eye witnesses to Area 51 history, which makes it the seminal work on the subject. Filled with formerly classified information that has never been accurately decoded for the public, Area 51 weaves the mysterious activities of the top-secret base into a gripping narrative, showing that facts are often more fantastic than fiction, especially when the distinction is almost impossible to make.

Rating:

Review:

Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that I am fascinated by conspiracy theories. I love reading about them. I love investigating why people believe these things. I look investigating instances where sometimes the conspiracy theory was actually the true story. So this book caught my attention for that reason right away. The first big batch of declassified documents relating to Area 51 were released in 2010-2011 and a lot of the information in this book is based off of that release. In addition to the interviews she conducted with people who worked there, it provided a very comprehensive review of the base’s history.

There was a ton of really interesting facts in here. Things that I never expected to find. For example, did you know that eventually the CIA decided that the unknown craft that crashed in Roswell was built by the Soviet Union? The Soviet’s had gotten in touch with some scientists that had been working in Germany while Hitler was in power and asked if they could make a flying disc. Then they put two kids (estimated to be 13 years old or so) into the craft so that people would believe they were aliens. The children were badly disfigured, and the CIA determined it was likely the work of Josef Mengele, also of Nazi origin. The idea was that the Soviets wanted the disc to crash and they hoped that Americans would see the corpses of the children and believe it was an alien craft. They wanted to start a panic. The secondary goal was to let the American President know that the Soviets weren’t intimidated by him and that they could violate US airspace if they wished. Now, that’s the story that the CIA tells and at least one interviewee told. Is that the truth? Maybe. Will we ever know if it is the truth or not? Unlikely.

I loved that this book laid out all the reasons why Area 51 has provided the perfect opportunity for UFO conspiracy theories. All through the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s the US government was out there testing out advanced spy planes. They wanted something that flew faster than Soviet radar could detect and flew higher than their missles could reach. Naturally sometimes people saw these flights. And the citizens would see a plane flying faster and higher than any plane known to exist and naturally they found it extraterrestrial. The CIA tracked all of the UFO reports during these periods and found that most of the UFO sightings were of their spy plane flights. A smaller portion were conclusively identified as other things, weather balloons, other aircraft, natural phenomenon, etc. And a very small percentage of those reports couldn’t be identified. What were they? Well the US government say they don’t know. But all of these reports just further the hysteria and the conspiracy theories.

Before long, Area 51 because the best location for any nefarious government plot. From aliens to the moon landing, if there’s a conspiracy theory out there it probably gets tied to Area 51. But the real history is far more interesting. It’s a history of spy planes, nuclear bombs, testing of worst case scenarios, and place to hide government secrets. There’s a good reason that a large portion of Americans think there’s nefarious things going on at the base. The government has long used the base to do things that were not entirely ethical, not entirely moral, and sometimes not entirely legal either. All of it hidden in the shadows. Hidden from the people that the government says they’re protecting.

Overall, I found this book compelling and entrancing. I couldn’t put it down. Every single page was some new fascinating detail that had been hidden in the world of classified documents for half a century. My only complaint is that perhaps we waited too long for some of the interview details. I found myself wondering why that seemed like a side note, when it was perhaps the most eye opening part of the book. Despite this, the book was excellent and I have very few complaints.

Progress Updates Friday – June 14, 2024

by Stefani

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

Progress: 147 of 432 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

How it’s going:

I think I have fallen in love with this book. This letter is told entirely in letters and occasional excerpts from books. It starts with anxious, introvert “E” writing to her favorite scholar about a creature that she saw in her front yard. To her surprise, he writes back. And the two of them start corresponding back and forth about their various interests and their families, and eventually they start to develop feelings for each other. The romance so far is very light. It appeals to me in a “talk nerdy to me” sort of way.

Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen

Progress: Page 191 of 540

Check this book out at: Goodreads

How it’s going:

Now that this book has transitioned into the boom period of Area 51 I am making some excellent progress. I’ve been reading more about reckless nuclear bomb testing. Did you know that the US government nearly blew a hole in the ozone layer with a nuclear bomb? They wanted to see what would happen if one detonated in the upper atmosphere. And we’re also getting into the tense Cuban Missile Crisis, and the President is placing enormous pressure on Area 51 to get their new A-12 spy plane up and running immediately. They want it to more effectively spy on what the Russians were doing in Cuba. This morning I was also greeted to a news article that apparently Russians navy ships and submarines arrived in Cuba again today…ironic timing I’m sure you’ll agree. Ironic and disconcerting.

Small Town Horror by Ronald Malfi

Progress: 20%

Check this book out at: Goodreads

How it’s going:

This is my current audiobook selection. So far it’s a fairly typical “group of people has to confront terrible thing they did as kids” kind of horror/mystery book. Andrew, the main protagonist, is rather dull so far. A bit of a boring fellow who works and worries about his pregnant wife. I am getting a good feel for the few characters we’ve introduced so far.

Progress Update Fridays – June 7, 2024

by Stefani

Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen

Progress: 102 of 540 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

How it’s going:

Just finished some very interesting history bits. They talk about a tragic airplane crash that occurred while carrying U-2 test pilots back to California from Area 51. Because the project was top secret, the military couldn’t acknowledge the crash or it’s connection to the base. So the families of the ones who died didn’t learn what happened to their loved ones. They were just given a generic story that they died in an accident, and fed the media a story about a routine supply flight that crashed. Sad, but these are the kinds of things that happen when you’re dealing with top secret projects.

The Delicate Beast by Roger Celestin

Progress: 45 of 424 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

How it’s going:

So far, I am not quite sure what to make of this book. The author has a very interesting writing style. It’s compelling on one hand but quite confusing on the other hand. I find myself having to go back and reread things more than once because I got lost somewhere and don’t know what’s happening. I also am not sure what the first chapter has to do with….well anything. I am hoping we tie up that thread at some point, because it seemed totally irrelevant.

Progress Update Fridays – May 31, 2024

by Stefani

Behind the Red Door by Megan Collins

Progress: 184 of 320 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

How it’s going:

I am cemented in my belief that Fern doesn’t know a single normal human being. Everyone she knows seems to be a complete psychopath who thrives on making her feel afraid. At this point Fern has become convinced that she is the girl that Astrid referred to as witnessing her kidnapping. She is attempting to track down clues to prove that fact, but also to try and unlock more memories of what happened. There have been some big revelations too, that I can’t really mention without spoiling the book. I have developed a theory about who is responsible for the kidnapping, I’ll be interested to see if I’m right. Hopefully this book has a better payoff at the end than the last one.

Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen

Progress: 74 out of 540 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

How it’s going:

This one has been slow going. I went out of town this week for a long overdue vacation with my spouse and kids. It was fantastic but also meant I couldn’t read much, and I didn’t even bring this book with me. I didn’t really want to lug a 540 page book around to hotels. So far we’ve delved into the history of Area 51, it’s original use as a testing facility for spy planes. This led to some misidentifications as UFOs, which the Air Force was more than happy to play along with. UFO rumors provided cover to what they were actually testing after all. But we’ve now also covered how the UFO rumors started to become inconvenient for the CIA and Air Force, people were making too many assumptions that the government was covering things up. And so they changed tactics and admitted that they were researching UFOs, but that most of the time there was nothing unusual after investigation. I’m interested to see where we go next.