2013 Book recommendations (May)

18) Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams 
4 out of 5 -- Dirk Gently finds out in college while sleep talking, that he can predict the questions and answers to exams. This is the beginning of his realization of his powers of deduction. Fast forward to adulthood and Mr. Gently is now a detective with a mystery to solve the death of a famous publisher. What makes this story particularly quirky is that a gate has opened to an alternative universe where Electronic Monks were developed to believe on behalf of sentient beings (a time saving device). One of these Electronic Monks, who has had his wires crossed, but can still be convinced to believe anything wholeheartedly, finds himself in our universe and the adventures begin.

19) Annabel Scheme by Robin Sloan 4 out of 5 -- Short mystery of quantum computers reeking havoc on San Francisco, a series of deaths, and a wicked website that allows one to make deals with the devil. Not at all scary, the new world order is helped along by Grail (loosely disguised future version of Google), which can answer questions before a user even knows what s/he wants to ask. Very interesting sci fi mystery.

20) Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams 4 out of 5 -- Great story! Imagine: all of the Gods that humans ever imagined are real. And since they are immortal, they continue living well after we've stopped believing in them. This is a story of a mysterious explosion in Heathrow airport, an unlikely murder of Dirk Gently's client (on the first day of his being hired), and a lost girl. The story is a lot of fun, but the one downside is that the wrap-up/conclusion happens so quickly that it felt unfulfilled after such a great ramp up. Nonetheless, definitely worth a read if you want a fun story. Heck, it was a fun story to share with my aunt on the long road trip to Louisiana!

21)100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson 
5 out of 5 -- Fun story about a 100-year-old man, who is living in a retirement home in Sweden, who on his 100th birthday decides he would like to die somewhere other than under the thumb of evil Director Alice and climbs out of the window. From that decision, the book explores the multitude of experiences he had in his life including his start as a blast expert, participation in several wars, meeting sitting US presidents, Chairman Man, Stalin, and a host of other major players in the 20th century.