Signal Failure

When I opened The Full Moon Coffee Shop, I was expecting a dreamy magical-realism story like Before the Coffee Gets Cold, What You are Looking For Is In the Library,  and We’ll Prescribe You A Cat. (and, to a lesser extent, the TV show Midnight Diner, with that ensemble, serendipitous feel).  I enjoy that vibe, and I was mostly right in my expectations. 

Paradox Inc. is a satirical and dystopian sci-fi novel by Forrest Brazeal, imagining realistic tech bros with the power of time travel.  In an extremely familiar near-future, the tech industry has developed consumer time travel.  Blebs, the branding for time-travel bubbles, allow anyone who can afford it to go back in time. Of course, there are limits and safety precautions, and of course, those…

The other day, an acquaintance tried to be insulting about my humanities background, but it was only several hours later when I realized “you really have a degree in reading books?” was meant to be demeaning. and not a slightly-clueless question about how grad school works. Thanks to the good friends I have in my life, I simply did not register that someone might not see my achievements or care about my interests.