wednesday reads, etc.
What I've just finished reading: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, as audiobook. It took me a month to get through it, which was not the book's fault but rather the fault of my hip, which has prevented me from running for the past three weeks, and most of my audiobook listening is while running. (Mountain biking requires too much attention; stationary biking requires more distraction. I've been listening while doing chores and core work, basically.) But taking so much time to get through a book tends to make it less appealing. I actually liked the later parts better than the early parts. I guess I'll listen to the next one in the series, once I get running again.
And amazingly, looking at my Goodreads page, that's it for novels. Partly because I've been doing a lot of canon review for Yuletide, partly because I've been playing games instead of reading, partly because I've been reading fanfiction. But oh! Here is something that isn't fanfiction that I've been reading, and it may be relevant to your interests: She Commands Me and I Obey, part 1 and part 2, by Ann Leckie (author of the Imperial Radch series). This short story is set in a pseudo-Aztec culture, and in fact there is very little that makes it SF rather than historical, or at least, pseudo-historical - it's basically all about twisty turny politics. I liked it a lot!
What I'm reading now: Every night before I go to bed I read a few pages of What If? by Randall Munroe. Sometimes I read bits aloud while I scratch B's back. I'm a bit more than halfway through, and wow, it's remarkable how many of these scenarios result in the destruction of earth and everything on it. (Is that a spoiler?)
I'm also reading The Mathematician's Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer, who at least one person reading this is related to. :-) I'm enjoying it a lot. There are a lot of partial parallels with my own life and family, but none precise; for example, my father is a (retired, now) physicist, and though a European Jew he is Czech rather than Polish, and although our house seemed to have an endless stream of Russian and Israeli physicists passing through, his peers and co-workers were a lot less uniformly ethnic. In that respect (the very ethnic feel), this book does definitely echo The Yiddish Policeman's Union, which is in the Goodreads blurb, but actually it kind of makes me think of what Lake Wobegon would have been like if Garrison Keillor had been Garry Keilorovich. (And a physicist or mathematician.)
What I'm reading next: I've got the sequel to Code Name Verity, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein out from the library. I also have a whole bunch of nonfiction I'd like to get to.
Also I am consuming media in ways that are not reading!
Viewing - A recent post from
amoama inadvertently reminded me that I'd wanted to check out TURN: Washington's Spies, and now we've watched the first three episodes and it is totally right up my alley, and I'm not even talking about Jamie Bell. Yay costumes and horses! Yay history! And since I recognize[*] at least one actual historical character (Major John Andre, played by JJ Feild) I am excited about the possibility of actual history!
[*] Though I should add that I recognize Andre because of his appearance in Diana Gabaldon's Written in my Own Heart's Blood, and then went on to wiki him since what he would become (in)famous for was only alluded to there. Er, spoilers for American history? Be warned, if you choose to wiki.
Playing - I have to thank ari_ for pointing me to gog.com, as I was able to buy the second in the Broken Sword series quite cheap, and am currently playing it (on my laptop). I'm also playing a cheap phone download game called "House of 1000 Doors: The Palm of Zoroaster" which is a bit hard to follow in terms of story, but keeps me entertained while I'm on the stationary bike.
Finally, don't forget you can still ask me to natter on some topic during December.
Also posted on Dreamwidth where there are
comments.
And amazingly, looking at my Goodreads page, that's it for novels. Partly because I've been doing a lot of canon review for Yuletide, partly because I've been playing games instead of reading, partly because I've been reading fanfiction. But oh! Here is something that isn't fanfiction that I've been reading, and it may be relevant to your interests: She Commands Me and I Obey, part 1 and part 2, by Ann Leckie (author of the Imperial Radch series). This short story is set in a pseudo-Aztec culture, and in fact there is very little that makes it SF rather than historical, or at least, pseudo-historical - it's basically all about twisty turny politics. I liked it a lot!
What I'm reading now: Every night before I go to bed I read a few pages of What If? by Randall Munroe. Sometimes I read bits aloud while I scratch B's back. I'm a bit more than halfway through, and wow, it's remarkable how many of these scenarios result in the destruction of earth and everything on it. (Is that a spoiler?)
I'm also reading The Mathematician's Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer, who at least one person reading this is related to. :-) I'm enjoying it a lot. There are a lot of partial parallels with my own life and family, but none precise; for example, my father is a (retired, now) physicist, and though a European Jew he is Czech rather than Polish, and although our house seemed to have an endless stream of Russian and Israeli physicists passing through, his peers and co-workers were a lot less uniformly ethnic. In that respect (the very ethnic feel), this book does definitely echo The Yiddish Policeman's Union, which is in the Goodreads blurb, but actually it kind of makes me think of what Lake Wobegon would have been like if Garrison Keillor had been Garry Keilorovich. (And a physicist or mathematician.)
What I'm reading next: I've got the sequel to Code Name Verity, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein out from the library. I also have a whole bunch of nonfiction I'd like to get to.
Also I am consuming media in ways that are not reading!
Viewing - A recent post from
amoama inadvertently reminded me that I'd wanted to check out TURN: Washington's Spies, and now we've watched the first three episodes and it is totally right up my alley, and I'm not even talking about Jamie Bell. Yay costumes and horses! Yay history! And since I recognize[*] at least one actual historical character (Major John Andre, played by JJ Feild) I am excited about the possibility of actual history!
[*] Though I should add that I recognize Andre because of his appearance in Diana Gabaldon's Written in my Own Heart's Blood, and then went on to wiki him since what he would become (in)famous for was only alluded to there. Er, spoilers for American history? Be warned, if you choose to wiki.
Playing - I have to thank ari_ for pointing me to gog.com, as I was able to buy the second in the Broken Sword series quite cheap, and am currently playing it (on my laptop). I'm also playing a cheap phone download game called "House of 1000 Doors: The Palm of Zoroaster" which is a bit hard to follow in terms of story, but keeps me entertained while I'm on the stationary bike.
Finally, don't forget you can still ask me to natter on some topic during December.
Also posted on Dreamwidth where there are
comments.