Origin by Dan Brown

These books are my weakness. If I can find the time, I'll read it in a sitting. This one took me longer, but that's not the book's fault.

The world's leading computer scientist is murdered on the cusp of a world-altering announcement. His friend and mentor, symbologist Robert Langdon, is in the audience and immediately takes on the task of finding and releasing his friends legacy to the world before it's lost forever.

Religious subterfuge! Bullets flying! World monuments and astounding architecture!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

When immigrants traveled to the new world, they brought with them the foods, traditions, and beliefs of their homelands. Unfortunately, America as a land is not kind to gods and goddesses.

In this sweeping saga, a newly released felon gets hired to act as driver and bodyguard for a mysterious older businessman. Things are odd from the start, and pretty quickly Shadow discovers that gods live among us - but many are worn down at the heels by a lack of belief and waning worship.

It's basically a roadtrip book, although there are periods of inaction, along with side trips into another realm. Shadow's a guy with a heart of gold and a huge capacity to believe the unlikely.

The more old-world gods and goddess stories you know, the more this book will entertain. That said, Gaiman connects legends of Egypt, Romania, Norse, Native American and more - you'll inevitably want to step away to look up a new character's backstory.

I love everything Gaiman produces, and this is no exception. Exceptionally good!

Pogue's Basics: Life, Essential Tips and Shortcuts (That No One Bothers to Tell You) For Simplifying Your Day by David Pogue

This book is a compendium of those so-called "hacks" they're always click-baiting you with on Facebook. Read the book! Don't click the ambiguous links!

Actually, I learned a lot reading this book. Yes, I knew to use a piece of uncooked spaghetti as a long matchstick. But I didn't know how to make shortcut keystrokes in my iPhone for my email address or my phone number - very helpful when you fill in a lot of online forms.

This is a pick-up-and-put-down kind of book; best to dip in and read a bit, rather than try to read all the way through. But I guarantee there's something here you didn't know - and you'll be simply STUNNED when you discover it.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

In a primitive world changed by a flu pandemic, a band of minstrels and actors wander the American midwest performing Shakespeare to the survivors. As the novel's timeline flashes back and forth - before and after the Georgia Flu - we see the interconnectedness of the survivors, whose stories link back to a celebrity actor, Arthur Leander.

This book was on a lot of best of 2015 lists and was a finalist for the National Book Award. The author went on record saying she doesn't consider it sci-fi because there's no technology and gadgets involved. She says it's literary fiction.

While the "no technology" is technically accurate and the traveling symphony-and-Shakespeare troupe offers a bit of high-brow flair, I think it's cutting a pretty fine line to say this post-apocalypse novel isn't really in the sci-fi genre. The book is at heart a look at the invisible links between people, man's ability to adapt to survive, and a look at what the world could be like without "modern technology."

I enjoyed the book. The shifting perspectives keep the narrative moving along without getting bogged down in the minutia of survival, plus allow some dramatic tension as story threads cut out and return again later. I was pleasantly surprised a couple times as the connections back to Arthur were revealed.

Plus, now I know that living in the airport may be the best option, post-plague.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

While many have tried to simplify Elon Musk down to a real-life Tony Stark (Iron Man), this biography shows that there's more to the man than "playboy millionare who will save the world" ... although that is certainly a goal of his.

Musk's got extraordinary vision and dreams way larger than most - and thanks to early investment in tech startups that paid off, he's also got the money to give it a go. While SpaceX may be the first commercial company to take payloads to the International Space Station, that's just a lilypad in the leapfrog to Mars.

But I feel very sorry for his employees, who must be willing to give 110% on everything at the expense of their personal lives. He's the kind of guy who leads by example - but ill health, crappy diet, extreme stress, work-a-holic tendances, and lack of empathy aren't something to which you should aspire.

I'll nitpick that the book's not truly a biography of Musk - there's great info about his early days, then once we get into his big businesses there's not much detail about his personal life anymore. For example, there's a minor aside dismissed quickly like, "And then he married his second wife again." I'd like to have known more about that decision and the change-of-heart one or both experienced; that's a pretty big reversal for a guy who's always moving forward. And what is he REALLY like as a dad to 5 young boys with 4-day-a-week custody, a private plane, and an overbooked schedule? How does he parent?

This book fired in me a personal obsession with Tesla cars (how will I find the kind of money to buy one?!), and Musk's drive to make green energies more affordable is interesting and commendable. I was fascinated by the subject and enjoyed this book immensely - and thankfully I don't have to like the guy all that much to have loved the book.

The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams

You may be shocked, but no, every librarian has not read every book in the library.  That being said, I just read this book for the first time.  Typically, I don't think of myself as much of a science fiction reader.  It's a genre that struggles to hook me.  That's why this book works; the absolute absurdity of the events pulled me in.
Having waited thirty years since the original publication, I frequently found myself laughing over the gadgets that are now a commonplace part of life which were truly fictitious in 1980. The double talk, twists, turns and silliness are such a realistic part of the characters' lives that the reader almost feels bad laughing, almost.
If you've never read it, all I can say is, "You've never had a day as bad as Arthur Dent's. You've also never had quite the level of excitement."