Books I finished reading in April 2024.
Axiomatic by Greg Egan
This is a collection of short stories by Greg Egan which I really enjoyed. The stories are usually hard-sci-fi nuggets--explorations of "what if this were true about the universe?"
Some really great, though-provoking pieces.
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
A "first contact" story. But it's not about space-faring species exploring the final frontier. Nor a nascent space-exploring species being welcomed into the intergalactic fold.
More of an exploration of what happens when fate puts a pre-industrial civilization at the center of an intergalactic incident.
Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks
Sacks recounts the development of modern chemistry through the lens of his childhood in England before, during, and after World War II.
A time when an 11-year-old kid could wander down to a supply shop and come home with all manner of caustic, toxic, and explosive chemicals to play with.
Wild in how fundamentally different his youth was from anything that would be considered "normal" today.
And finally, The Father Thing by Philip K. Dick; which I read as a standalone short story. I think it qualifies as American Gothic in style--a brief horror story about an invasive species.