Charles King's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What's not to love? An android security bot that becomes independent of it's governing software and starts to figure out who it is and SLOWLY learns to interact with humans, presenting as if it is on the spectrum ... avoiding eye contact with humans and VERY UNCOMFORTABLE conversations about feelings ... And oh ... all while engaging in fire fights following programmed directives to protect the humans that have hired it as a security bot, running, gunning, and making snarky comments about humans making wildly stupid decisions. Murderbot (its name for itself) is authentic, grows over the series, and is one of the most original sentient tech creations ever!

OK… I'm cheating a little here. This was published right at the start of 2025 but I had to say something about it. This book picks up after Grace Tiffany's first book, My Father Had A Daughter. Both follow the life of Judith Shakespeare, daughter to Will and Ann; we watch Judith making her way around James and then Elizabeth's England. The author has her PhD from English University of Notre Dame, currently teaches Shakespeare at Western Michigan University and wow does she know her Elizabethan England! AND she knows how to immerse the reader in the time and place while still making the novel accessible, The characters are engaging and halfway into the novel you're (I am anyway) interested in sitting down with Judith over a pint in a local pub. A great read for anyone who likes historical fiction written by an expert.

This book is well known and was published way back in 2003… I reread it this summer. I rarely, if ever, reread a book because there are so many options out there. However, the title caught my eye in a bookcase in my office and I could not resist. This is a first person narrative and the narrator, Christopher John Francis Boone, is autistic. He sets out to solve the mystery of a dead dog lying in the grass in the middle of the neighbors front lawn with a pitchfork pinning it to the ground. His search takes him into the heart of secrets and pain in his own family and while you read it, you are taken into the head and heart of a young man who gets along with animals, has little understanding of human emotions, can't stand to be touched, and hates the color yellow. Looking at the world through Kristopher's eyes is sometimes confusing, sometimes crystal clear, sometimes painful, sometimes hilarious, and always eye-opening. An amazing read!