From a Certain Point of View shares stories from the events of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as experienced by the background characters. Meet the caf delivery guy who rescues rebels evacuating Echo Base on Hoth. Follow the final thoughts of an Imperial admiral as he’s being force-choked by Darth Vader. A tie-fighter pilot shares her rules for not getting killed. An Uggnaught clan rushes to escape Cloud City when stormtroopers take over. The twenty-odd short stories are written by as many different authors. They vary in tone and length, but all give you the SW galaxy beyond the Skywalker family.

Donovan explores board games from ancient Egypt (senet) and Ur (the royal game of Ur) up to the biggies of the 21st century (Pandemic, Catan, and Ticket to Ride). He describes some less than ethical dealings by the big US game companies, but seems to downplay them. Trying to play nice, maybe? His chapter on Monopoly portrays the execs of Parker Brothers as being unfortunately duped instead of deliberately squashing The Landlord Game and its creator, Elizabeth Magie. It’s All a Game even touches on Google’s AlphaGo defeat of a (human) grand master go player, one of the big steps in AI development.

This is always an ongoing read for me. I bought the special edition from b&n years ago and read it with my teen and tween

Dorian's mother died in torment in a 19th century asylum -- per his grandfather's orders. Okay, maybe the old earl didn't actual order the torment, but he probably approved of it. Because he did not approve of Dorian's mother. Or of Dorian, for that matter. Dorian seems afflicted with the same wasting brain disease that lead to said torment and death. And with the old earl and most of the rest of the family now dead, it's up to Dorian to marry and ensure an heir. Fortunately Gwen is interested in medicine even she can't be a doctor. If she marries Dorian she'll have access to his wealth to build her own hospital and her very own dying madman patient to study. The Mad Earl's Bride is fun, fast-paced, and silly.

Very interesting book about a son’s journey in trying to discover how his father died, the CIA involvement in his death, as well as learning the character of the man he had never really known &barely remembered

An intimate charity auction on a secluded estate. A storm. A murder. It’s straight out of a Christie novel — or the multiplayer game, Murderscape, designed by Addie. Addie is her grandmother’s plus one to the party. There’s something odd with her grandmother, beyond the murder, but Addie is living her Nancy Drew dream chasing clues and interviewing suspects. This Is Not a Game is fun fluff at times, annoying fluff at others. I’m pretty sure the author has never lost electricity due to a storm. She definitely overestimates how much one candle can light up a large room in a blackout.

Yoshitaka Amano illustrates passages from The Tale of Genji (11th century Japanese novel of court life and possibly the first novel), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and catalogues of fairies. A short section at the end discusses fairies of the British Isles versus Japanese spirits. You won’t get much of a sense of Genji or Midsummer Night’s if you’re not already familiar with them. Really this book is just a showcase for Amano’s gorgeous art.

I’m slowly making my way through the series. I loved ACOTAR and thought this series would be right up there with it, but I’ve been let down. There is a lot in the book that’s just page filler that’s unnecessary

I loved the movie and didn’t realize there was a book. I loved all the added detail in the book!!!!!

I loved the movie and didn’t realize there was a book. I loved all the added detail in the book!!!!!