April 2020 Books of the Month

        
            Max -
                 My April 2020 Book of the Month was The Arc of a Scythe Trilogy by Neal Shusterman. In it, after the cloud gained sentience and became the Thunderhead, (I know, right?) it has power over everything -- except death. Controlling overpopulation is entrusted to the Scythes, who have strict orders never to contact the Thunderhead, forming the principle of the Separation between Scythe and State. Scythes basically kill random people to stop the population growth. (In the book the killing is referred to as "gleaning".) It has to be random, as they say, so it will be fair. This all may sound like a recipe for disaster (which it kind of is), but it's actually a perfect utopia. Two teenagers, Citra and Rowan, are selected by Scythe Faraday to become apprentice Scythes. Another key principle of the Scythedom is that Scythes should never like being Scythes. They should not like killing. This all starts out as an amazing utopia, and everyone is happy and has no troubles. Until everything begins to fall apart.

            Ben -
                 My April 2020 Book of the Month was Red Notice by Bill Browder. An Interpol Red Notice indicates that you are being hunted by international police, so good luck crossing borders. Bill Browder started his financial career by noticing various opportunities in post-Soviet Russia, but things quickly take a turn for the worse as Browder begins exposing financial corruption and turning the Russian government against him, leading to the death of Sergei Magnitsky,  a close friend. The book offers a glance at just how corrupt the Russian government is. Hint: very. After killing Magnitsky for exposing a tax fraud, they accuse him and Browder of being the culprits. Overall, do not go to Russia if you want to make money or be a good person. I liked this book because it shows that not every rich person need to be evil -- and that's what we need.


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