Blood Runs in the Family (Rich Burlew)

This fifth book in Burlew's series about the adventures of the Order of the Stick maintains and builds on the strong characters and stories he has managed to create out of a set of cartoon stick figures. Although the series began long ago as throw-away comics based on the rules and foibles of Dungeons and Dragons role-playing games, it has become so much more. There are several sets of contradictions here. First, the art seems simple but manages to convey depth and personality with skill. Second, the characters are simultaneously living authentic lives within the semi-medieval setting of a typical role-playing setting and also aware of the game itself. How Burlew pulls this off, I don't know, but he does. In this book, our heroes travel to the desert on the Western Continent, searching for the third of five mystical Gates after the first two were destroyed. This gate is hidden by the illusions of a master wizard, but they find something there that shatters one of the characters almost beyond redemption. Some plot lines in the long story arc come to an end, a few threads are tied off, and there's a sense of the story arc starting to narrow in toward the final confrontations, still off in the future. I wait impatiently for the next book!

Annihilation (Jeff VanderMeer)

A dense, even claustrophobic, evocation of the strangeness that has taken over a section of the southeastern US called Area X. Some unexplained event (ecological? alien?) killed or pushed out all the people, and within the barrier there is untamed wildness and disturbing things that claw at the soul and twist the senses. The first-person narrator (nobody in the whole book has a name) is a member of an expedition sent within the barrier to explore and try to document what is going on in there, but the team quickly falls into paranoia and is overwhelmed by things that can't even be described, much less explained. The writing is gorgeous, drawing you into the deepening horror the main character experiences. This is the first of a series of novels set in this universe, and it never really reaches a resolution, which actually fits with the off-kilter, unnatural feeling of the whole book. I can't say I really liked it, because horror isn't my cup of tea and it reminds me of the kind of Lovecraftian story where loathsome creatures lurk around every corner, but I have to admire how well the author achieved his goal.

Daring Greatly (Brené Brown)

I'm not a big fan of self-help books. This one is a good example of the category, being backed by at least qualitative research (also something I'm not a big fan of). Brown says some important things that many people need to hear, and I believe there's nothing here's that's wrong or hurtful, so I would recommend it to anyone who finds it inspiring or helpful. Her basic message is that we need to open ourselves to vulnerability in order to have healthy relationships with ourselves and with others. When we armor ourselves against vulnerability, we cut ourselves off from growth, courage, and acceptance. Each chapter of this book focuses on one area where these forces play out (e.g. parenting) or against one aspect of how we deal with these issues (e.g. the distinction between shame and guilt). I have no quarrel with Brown's message, but it didn't resonate with me.

The Bone Clocks (David Mitchell)

This is a deep novel, tracing the interconnected stories of several people who become more and more entwined in supernatural goings-on as they try to figure out what's happening and how to survive. I really enjoyed most of it as I dug into the mystery. Who are these mysterious voices Holly is hearing? What happened to her strange but beloved brother? How do some people seem ageless, and others seem to be able to manipulate people's memories? It all pulled together near the end in a cosmic battle between good and evil. The last section, though, let me down. After pulling for the good guys to win the epic battle (and then manage to survive their victory), the book suddenly became a dystopia about how the world is going to crash when resources run out. I didn't like that sudden left turn, partly because it was unremittingly grim and partly because it didn't seem to fit with the premise or the direction of the rest of the book. Up until that point I loved it.