Good Reads & Views

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Fiction

Armageddon is scheduled for next Saturday, but there’s a hitch. Heavenly representative angel Aziraphale and his hellish counterpart demon Crowley are not too eager for the final battle; they have become quite accustomed to living on earth and have actually developed a friendly rapport. However, the four motorcyclists of the apocalypse - war, death, famine and pollution (pestilence having been retired with the invention of penicillin) – are raring to go. And there is another small problem - seems a ditzy Satanic nurse messed up the baby Anti-Christ switcheroo eleven years ago and his whereabouts are now unknown. Can't start armageddon without him...British zaniness, and an acquired taste for some, but Library Journal calls it “irreverently funny and unexpectedly wise.”

The Humans by Matt Haig
Fiction

The unnamed narrator is an otherworld alien who has taken human form in order to prevent humanity’s progress toward self-destruction. He has taken the place of a brilliant mathematician whose recent breakthrough has the potential to destroy the universe, and the narrator must remove all traces of this mathematical discovery, including any people who have knowledge of it. The narrator is initially disgusted by all things human, but as he lives among them as a man with a family and friends, he begins to discover the “weird and often frightening beauty of being human.” As a 43-year-old newborn on planet Earth, there is much that puzzles and intrigues him: clothing, dogs, coffee, peanut butter, music, dead poets (especially Emily Dickenson), and love. When he forges bonds with the friends and family of the man he has replaced, he begins to have second thoughts about his mission. An amusing and thought-provoking look at the best and worst of humanity, with an emphasis on the best.

Sammy's House by Kristin Gore
CD Audiobook Gore, Kristin

This sequel to Kristin Gore’s debut novel Sammy's Hill finds White House aide Samantha "Sammy" Joyce, now in her late 20s still handling crisis after crisis and much trusted by now vice-president Robert Gary in her role as health research staffer.  Sammy soon discovers President Wye is secretly drinking again and among the many adventures there is the president's father who dies leaving behind an out-of-wedlock infant, a reality TV show of the life of the former President Pile, possible leaks by a fellow staffer, and highs and lows with Sammy's boyfriend, Washington Post journalist Charlie Lawton.  Narrated by Kirsten Potter.