Reading and walking update
Life has been busy lately! I drove down to Rochester to see two of my friends get married. It was a lovely wedding, and I got to see many of my friends, which was truly wonderful.
While the weather was totally uncooperative for walking, I was able to get a bunch of reading done!
Part of April and May's reading:
Issues of Smithsonian : 1
Issues of Mother Earth News : 1
Issues of Writer's Digest : 2 (I skim these, quickly. Sometimes there is useful business stuff, but lately I have not been inspired)
May's Books!
Conflict of Honors by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (the third and final book in The Dragon Variation omnibus)
I finished this one in late April, I think. This book starts a series about the second generation of Clan Korval (I met these characters' parents in the first three books I read). The most depressing part is that nearly all those cool characters are dead. But their children are fascinating too. This one is about Shan and a human woman named Priscilla who joins the crew of Shan's ship. There is some great romance, and there is definitely magic or at least psychic powers in this future setting, along with technology. I'm not normally a fan of science fiction, but these books are less about science and more about people. There is also some politics going on (which I also tend not to be a fan of), but is is handled very well and is all politics of manners. Sometimes the social interaction reads like a Recency Romance in terms of dialogue, which is so fun.
Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (the first book in The Agent Gambit omnibus)
This book introduces another of the younger generation, Val Con. He's a spy, and his bosses have done nasty things to his head. He meets Miri, a mercenary, who is fighting her way through attacks from a crime syndicate which is not at all happy with her skill as a bodyguard. Specifically, the way she got her employer away to safety when the crime syndicate tried to kill him.The two cause vast amounts of mayhem, and enjoy it and each other's company. They also get to spend time with a group of Clutch Turtles, which are very large, space-faring turtles (who have totally bizarre ships). There is a lot of action, and the book ends on a cliffhanger, with Val Con and Miri in a rather tight spot. Thankfully I had the next book right at hand.
Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (the second book in The Agent Gambit omnibus)
So, I've been on a huge Lee and Miller kick lately. Their books are just really excellent, and very compelling. This and Agent of Change were the first two books published by Lee and Miller in the '80s. This one picks up where the first left off, with Val Con and Miri landing on an unknown (to them) planet and trying to blend in. Meanwhile, Clan Korval is looking for Val Con, and we finally get another glimpse of the two family houses, and discover that Val Con and Shan build a robot butler when they were children (possibly as teens). They names it Jeeves. It's hilarious. Also, there are even more cats! And then Korval finds out what it is up against, and initiates Plan B. And it ends on yet another cliffhanger. I can see why people were desperate for another book, and running around at conventions with T-shirts and buttons that said "Plan B is in effect!" Thankfully, I can just go to my local bookstore and order Korval's Game, the next omnibus which starts with the book that had to be called Plan B.
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
This book was highly recommended by haikujaguar and lent to me by aldersprig! And I can see why. This is also science fiction (I'm on a roll here) but I like it! Again, it is mostly about people, not about science. Ofelia is an old woman, in her 70s, and living on a colony. She was among the original group of colonists. The colony has not been successful, and the company that owns it orders everyone back into shuttles, to set out for another colony - the colonists are not supposed to protest this, as they are company employees. Except Ofelia does - she doesn't want to die in the cryo-stasis tubes (a real possibility) and she is tired of having everyone tell her what to do. She hides in the wild alien jungle, and stays behind when the last shuttle leaves. The next section of the book covers a lot of time, as Ofelia settle in to living on her own. Then another set of colonists arrives, thousands of miles to the north, to start another colony. And then they meet the aliens. And die. All of them. And the aliens decide to look into that disturbance in the sky that their elders saw far to the south... This book is no high action. It is a slow tale that unfolds as Ofelia interacts first with the things her fellow colonists left behind, and then with the aliens. It is a tale well told, and the heroine is an old woman, something you almost never find in any book. Really good.
January - April magazines:
Issues of Smithsonian : 4 (I read all of this magazine, and love it - I am hoping to subscribe this year)
Issues of Scientific American : 5 (not cover to cover, I do skip some articles outside my areas of interest)
Issues of Mother Earth News : 1 (I read most of this one, though there are some articles or letters to the editor which are not of interest)
January - April books:
Pale Demon by Kim Harrison
SIde Jobs by Jim Butcher
Walking!
My last total was 89.15 miles in late April. I have barely added to that, due to cold and rainy weather, and travel out of town.
I did walk on the rail trail twice, for a total of 4.3 miles. I also went walking with aldersprig and her husband when I visited them, probably about a 1.5 miles. And I did go to the set-up event at the boffer LARP site, which involved walking about half a mile in and half a mile out, so 1 mile that day.
So my new total is: 95.95 miles!
When we last left the adventuring party on its way to Rivendell, we were across the river, and had stopped in a Bonfire Glade while traveling through the woods.
We cross series of deep folds running SE. We keep turning east but lose direction and end up in a fold too deep to leave. We follow it SE to Withywindle, and Merry finds path along bank of the River. Yay, Merry! We follow the river east through wetlands.
We decide to stop by Old Man Willow to rest. This was a bad idea, and we are thankfully rescued by Tom Bombadil! He invited us to his home, and we arrive there after the stars are out. We rest here, and since it is rainy in the morning, we end up spending the entire day.
The next morning we leave Tom's house and climb zig-zag path to brow of a hill on west side of Barrow-downs.
The plan for the next couple of weeks:
Find the rulebook for the game I'll be playing the weekend of June 11.
Figure out costuming for the game in June, and sew what I need to.
Sew stuff for my Galactic Police Officer costume for PortCon
Do yet more dishes.
Do laundry.
Clean more of my apartment.
Go to the prop-making session for the playtest game I will be playing in August.
Go to what may be the last bean supper of the season in my hometown.
While the weather was totally uncooperative for walking, I was able to get a bunch of reading done!
Part of April and May's reading:
Issues of Smithsonian : 1
Issues of Mother Earth News : 1
Issues of Writer's Digest : 2 (I skim these, quickly. Sometimes there is useful business stuff, but lately I have not been inspired)
May's Books!
Conflict of Honors by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (the third and final book in The Dragon Variation omnibus)
I finished this one in late April, I think. This book starts a series about the second generation of Clan Korval (I met these characters' parents in the first three books I read). The most depressing part is that nearly all those cool characters are dead. But their children are fascinating too. This one is about Shan and a human woman named Priscilla who joins the crew of Shan's ship. There is some great romance, and there is definitely magic or at least psychic powers in this future setting, along with technology. I'm not normally a fan of science fiction, but these books are less about science and more about people. There is also some politics going on (which I also tend not to be a fan of), but is is handled very well and is all politics of manners. Sometimes the social interaction reads like a Recency Romance in terms of dialogue, which is so fun.
Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (the first book in The Agent Gambit omnibus)
This book introduces another of the younger generation, Val Con. He's a spy, and his bosses have done nasty things to his head. He meets Miri, a mercenary, who is fighting her way through attacks from a crime syndicate which is not at all happy with her skill as a bodyguard. Specifically, the way she got her employer away to safety when the crime syndicate tried to kill him.The two cause vast amounts of mayhem, and enjoy it and each other's company. They also get to spend time with a group of Clutch Turtles, which are very large, space-faring turtles (who have totally bizarre ships). There is a lot of action, and the book ends on a cliffhanger, with Val Con and Miri in a rather tight spot. Thankfully I had the next book right at hand.
Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (the second book in The Agent Gambit omnibus)
So, I've been on a huge Lee and Miller kick lately. Their books are just really excellent, and very compelling. This and Agent of Change were the first two books published by Lee and Miller in the '80s. This one picks up where the first left off, with Val Con and Miri landing on an unknown (to them) planet and trying to blend in. Meanwhile, Clan Korval is looking for Val Con, and we finally get another glimpse of the two family houses, and discover that Val Con and Shan build a robot butler when they were children (possibly as teens). They names it Jeeves. It's hilarious. Also, there are even more cats! And then Korval finds out what it is up against, and initiates Plan B. And it ends on yet another cliffhanger. I can see why people were desperate for another book, and running around at conventions with T-shirts and buttons that said "Plan B is in effect!" Thankfully, I can just go to my local bookstore and order Korval's Game, the next omnibus which starts with the book that had to be called Plan B.
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
This book was highly recommended by haikujaguar and lent to me by aldersprig! And I can see why. This is also science fiction (I'm on a roll here) but I like it! Again, it is mostly about people, not about science. Ofelia is an old woman, in her 70s, and living on a colony. She was among the original group of colonists. The colony has not been successful, and the company that owns it orders everyone back into shuttles, to set out for another colony - the colonists are not supposed to protest this, as they are company employees. Except Ofelia does - she doesn't want to die in the cryo-stasis tubes (a real possibility) and she is tired of having everyone tell her what to do. She hides in the wild alien jungle, and stays behind when the last shuttle leaves. The next section of the book covers a lot of time, as Ofelia settle in to living on her own. Then another set of colonists arrives, thousands of miles to the north, to start another colony. And then they meet the aliens. And die. All of them. And the aliens decide to look into that disturbance in the sky that their elders saw far to the south... This book is no high action. It is a slow tale that unfolds as Ofelia interacts first with the things her fellow colonists left behind, and then with the aliens. It is a tale well told, and the heroine is an old woman, something you almost never find in any book. Really good.
January - April magazines:
Issues of Smithsonian : 4 (I read all of this magazine, and love it - I am hoping to subscribe this year)
Issues of Scientific American : 5 (not cover to cover, I do skip some articles outside my areas of interest)
Issues of Mother Earth News : 1 (I read most of this one, though there are some articles or letters to the editor which are not of interest)
January - April books:
Pale Demon by Kim Harrison
SIde Jobs by Jim Butcher
Walking!
My last total was 89.15 miles in late April. I have barely added to that, due to cold and rainy weather, and travel out of town.
I did walk on the rail trail twice, for a total of 4.3 miles. I also went walking with aldersprig and her husband when I visited them, probably about a 1.5 miles. And I did go to the set-up event at the boffer LARP site, which involved walking about half a mile in and half a mile out, so 1 mile that day.
So my new total is: 95.95 miles!
When we last left the adventuring party on its way to Rivendell, we were across the river, and had stopped in a Bonfire Glade while traveling through the woods.
We cross series of deep folds running SE. We keep turning east but lose direction and end up in a fold too deep to leave. We follow it SE to Withywindle, and Merry finds path along bank of the River. Yay, Merry! We follow the river east through wetlands.
We decide to stop by Old Man Willow to rest. This was a bad idea, and we are thankfully rescued by Tom Bombadil! He invited us to his home, and we arrive there after the stars are out. We rest here, and since it is rainy in the morning, we end up spending the entire day.
The next morning we leave Tom's house and climb zig-zag path to brow of a hill on west side of Barrow-downs.
The plan for the next couple of weeks:
Find the rulebook for the game I'll be playing the weekend of June 11.
Figure out costuming for the game in June, and sew what I need to.
Sew stuff for my Galactic Police Officer costume for PortCon
Do yet more dishes.
Do laundry.
Clean more of my apartment.
Go to the prop-making session for the playtest game I will be playing in August.
Go to what may be the last bean supper of the season in my hometown.