I am disappointed I didn't get to wish anyone a merry frelling Christmas, but as 2008 disappointments go, that one's pretty small ( Read more... )

All of these feel incomplete, and the nonfiction should probably get strong "bias! Read carefully" disclaimers, but this entry is long enough already. As usual, my opinions are mine, and are based on my experience: my flaming hatred of the Republican party should not be confused with an inversely high opinion of any other political party. (I have ( Read more... )

Why yes, I do fail at keeping my book log up to date!

SEPTEMBER

Spice: The History of a Temptation (Jack Turner): Nonfiction amble through Roman and medieval times by way of the exotics. I was hoping for a history focusing on the Indian, Indonesian, and generally Far East (whatever the PC term is today) perspective, so I was disappointed, but the ( Read more... )

My scarf came back! I lost it somewhere between produce and checkout Monday night, and I was sure it was gone forever. But I went back, and the lost and found had it! This is a vast improvement over this afternoon, which I want a mulligan on ( Read more... )

The subject is most of I have to say about the bailout, and the bailout not passing. Unless you want a five-paragraph rambler that about magical thinking on a national level and liberals voting in line with conservative Republicans, which is so yesterday. My roommate M and I caught up on this and other topics while I was making dinner and flipping ( Read more... )

That took entirely too long.

JULY

The Yiddish Policeman's Union(Michael Chabon): Noir set in Sitka Province as the clock ticks down toward its reversion from a Jewish resettlement state to the governance of the United States. Meyer Landsman must fight his alcoholism and his superiors to solve the murder of a chess-playing heroin addict with ( Read more... )

This week I am house-sitting for fans off to Worldcon. You know what this means: car! It also means playing dodge-truck at I-95 speeds during rush hour, but that's what you get when you volunteer to drive people to BWI. Today's other awesome moments were the accidental Home Depot trip (my much-abused mint is finally properly potted, yay) and ( Read more... )

Possibly I am less than enthusiastic about this writeup because I read all of these, oh, weeks and even months ago. I feel like I'm forgetting a novel or two, but I think there's several I started last month, but abandoned, or finished in July. Oh! The late-month reading time got sucked up by trip planning. Yes, that was it! (Ha.)

Phyllida and ( Read more... )

My to-do list hasn't been stalled by any reluctance to put on real clothes. It has been stalled by 92 degrees of misery with 54% humidity. (In case you missed it, I loathe and abhor any temperature above 80 F when the humidity is above, oh, 20%. Who spent a few formative years in a desert? Hi!) Today may be a good day to learn what bribes my ( Read more... )

Technically, I finished the Sharing Knife: Passage (Lois McMaster Bujold) on May 2nd, so it should go in the May log, but it was remarkably not-obnoxious so I want to give it a shoutout ( Read more... )