I didn't get to read quite as much as I wanted over the summer, but I did finish a few books that I really enjoyed. They were a mix of fiction and nonfiction, which is pretty common for me. Favorite genres include but are definitely not limited to fantasy, history, sci-fi, mystery, science, and language/linguistics. I had the chance to enjoy a completely new world this summer: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is a short but vivid science fiction novel by a Nigerian American author. I'm always delighted to find fiction that steps outside of the traditional, Euro-centric model we tend to get in English-language books, and Binti is refreshing in that sense. The main character, a brilliant but somewhat naive young woman, comes from a culture influenced by Okorafor's own Igbo heritage. But the main reason I love this book is it brings a sense of day-to-day reality to a fantastic setting. The opening scene, where our protagonist sweeps sand out of an old, unreliable but still-functi...