The Watchmaker of Filigree Street: A Novel by Natasha Pulley — Have you ever judged a book by its cover? Then thought, “There’s no way that's actually a good book. You can't judge a book by its cover. Never going to read that one.” Then maybe you left it at the store, came back to look at it again three days…

Flight Kamikaze — It’s cool when an opener is at least as fun, if not more fun, than the headliner. Subjective experience, obviously, but a good one. Flight Kamikaze is a Colorado punk band. They know exactly how to do their job. Fast, short, straightforward songs played with a bunch of aggression. It would be easy for a punk band to stop there and do a fine job of making a lot of noise. Nobody needs to go over and above that and, like, add some personal flair or competent songwriting into the mix.

Mississippi Bones — Mississippi Bones is one of the most metal bands in the world. They carry on the grand, metal tradition of being unapologetically loud, self-aware nerds, sharing their love of their particular alt-culture at decibel levels that make you bleed from the ears. They describe themselves as schlocky sludge metal. I…

Lipstick Covered Magnet by Amber Herbert — Men should read this book. Not all men are creepers. Maybe most aren't. Whether you are or aren't a creeper, getting a female perspective on how much of an ass you sometimes look like is valuable. Amber Herbert writes pretty and clear prose. This is a deeply uncomfortable book to read, but that's the point. It's about a woman getting stalked by a creeper. It'll make your skin crawl. And it's pretty powerful.

The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling — Among the metalest books in the world. Bruce Sterling had a moderating effect on William Gibson’s sometimes impenetrable prose. These dudes got in on the ground floor of a lot of science fiction adjacent genres. This is one of the earliest steampunk novels. It's cool to see how these anal-retentive…

Cities in Flight by James Blish A strangely well-written book for being such hard science fiction. This book described badly: the entire city of New York realizes its ultimate destiny as an intergalactic tech nomad hipster douche constantly sermonizing about quantum woo. In the end, universe gets remade in the image of a good old boy from Brooklyn. Major hilarious downside: I think I have discovered the origin of "As you know, Bob..." That infamous science fiction exposition technique. The amount of Bobs having things explained to them in this book is unreal. (It's only two Bobs, but that's two too many. Am I right?) Read for a laugh.

In the Ocean of Night by Gregory Benford What I liked: this book had no time to get bogged down in trying to convince me that it had science in it. Benford never paused to explain anything to me. All that happens in this book is nuts as balls, but I never felt patronized by it. I like that in science fiction. In the Ocean of Night described badly: Nigel (heh, Nigel) the astronaut makes a friend through work. This friend, Snark, has new and interesting views. As all new friends should. Nigel (heh, Nigel) the Astronaut has a new perspective on the future after bonding with his new friend.

H.M.S. Surprise by Patrick O’Brian A book should transport you, like you have moved wholly somewhere and -when else. O'Brian always does that. This book described badly: Jack and Steve, a self-educated entrepreneur and a hobbyist bug collector, experience a series of missed connections while trying to take their girlfriends on dates. Definitely should read it. All kinds of fun. Like, a handful of stars, for sure.

The Dooms Day Book by Connie Willis Time travel ruins stories. Except, every now and then, when it’s brilliant. Connie Willis delivers a distressing, gorgeous narrative about people trying really hard to just make it through. The book described badly: Oxford Grad Student’s deep theoretical knowledge proves academic in face of new friends with better examples. Read and enjoy. Several stars.