omnibus
I'm quickly dashing in to say hello--my internet's out again and I'm using a free 1-hour trial from a wifi service.
1) Reading
As I mentioned, I bought myself Melissa Scott's Fairs' Point and Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold's Death at the Dionysus Club as a Christmas present. I've already talked about how much I enjoyed Fairs' Point. I also liked Dionysus very much, but not quite as much as Death by Silver. The plot of Dionysus works better, I think, and the worldbuilding feels more integrated, but the characterization and especially the relationship between Ned and Julian felt like it went over the same ground as the previous book. They had the same anxieties and misunderstandings, and despite the resolution of the last book, there wasn't much of a sense through most of this one of them having grown closer or learned to trust each other more. I realize that these things are a process, and in real life people/couples often do rehash the same issues again and again, but it still felt too same-y to me.
I also read Ben Aaronovitch's Foxglove Summer, the latest River of London book, and was sadly disappointed. It seemed to have about half a novel's worth of story (the resolution in particular was too easy and too pasted-on), and taking Peter out of London just wasn't a great idea, since part of the joy of the series is its vivid sense of place and history, and Peter doesn't have that same connection with the countryside, nor did Aaronovitch do anything all that interesting with Peter as an outsider. Also, not enough Nightingale. Not enough Nightingale by far. The one thing I really did like was that the book featured a gay man in a prominent supporting role, and Peter treated him in a collegial and friendly way without any of the nervous distancing he's shown towards queer people in the past. I don't know whether to credit Peter or Aaronovitch or both, but either way I was glad to see it.
After finishing Foxglove Summer I re-read the earlier books and enjoyed them very much, despite some irritating inconsistencies that become more noticeable when you read the books back to back. (It is Leslie May or Lesley May? Stephanopoulos or Stephanopoulis? And what exactly was Nightingale's school called, Ambrose House, Casterbrooke, or Cosgrove Hall? The latter two names appear with about two pages of each other. Even if we assume "Ambrose House" and "Cosgrove Hall" are the names of houses--and I've never read or heard someone referring to their school by a house name instead of the school name--there's still an inconsistency.)
Anyway, Nightingale still reads as gay to me. I noticed a new thing on this re-read: early in the first book, there's this passage.‘This is my fucking investigation, Nightingale,’ said Seawoll. ‘I don’t care who you’re currently fucking - I don’t want any of your X-Files shit getting in the way of proper police work.’
How often does a straight man get accused of fucking someone for influence? Especially in the police force, which is still pretty male-dominated?
And I think I'm converting myself to Grant/Nightingale without really wanting to. Peter's still clearly interested in women, but wow, does he spend a lot of time noticing what Nightingale's wearing and how elegant he is and etc. etc., and worrying about whether the Christmas present he bought him is nice enough, and all that sort of thing. As for Nightingale, it's easy to read him as gay in the first place, and he clearly cares for Peter, and there's that lovely passage in Moon Over Soho where he asks Peter to stay away from a nasty crime scene on his authority "as a man who's sworn to protect and nurture you." *wibble* Obviously this can be taken as referring to the master/apprentice relationship, which I've no doubt is how Aaronovitch meant it, but that kind of thing is my catnip and I will interpret it how I damn well please.
3) Cooking
Since I had a lot of ham left over from Christmas, I have been doing Things With Ham. Besides lots of ham sandwiches, I've also cooked red beans and rice with the ham bone, and a potato, corn, and ham chowder. In both of these, besides the ham itself I used some of the juice from cooking the ham (with the considerable layer of fat removed). These juices are super super salty, but used in reasonable quantities in a large pot of beans or soup, incredibly delicious.
I haven't been doing much other cooking. We were still really busy at work until a few days ago, plus there are all the various Christmas leftovers. I'm still nibbling away at the fruitcake I baked, and also at a delicious cranberry cake that a customer at work gave me. When I see her again (assuming I can remember what she looks like, because I'm terrible at faces) I want to ask for the recipe. Though it seems to be a pretty basic pound cake with cranberries added. Yum.
4) Movies
Still haven't seen The Imitation Game. I'm hearing less than great things about it: that it fictionalizes too much and that it downplays Turing's gayness. I welcome comments from people who've seen it. One to see in the theater or should I wait for the DVD?
ETA 5) Awesomeness
I desperately want to read the story attached to this gorgeous illustration, but alas the link at the bottom of the Tumblr post I've linked to doesn't go to the story. It does, however, go to a website called "Vintage Homoerotic Illustrations," which is relevant to my interests and perhaps to yours. Warning: some of the "illustrations" are porn stills, but some of them are genuine old illustrations that fill me with delight.
Crossposted at Dreamwidth (
comments); you can comment here or there.
1) Reading
As I mentioned, I bought myself Melissa Scott's Fairs' Point and Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold's Death at the Dionysus Club as a Christmas present. I've already talked about how much I enjoyed Fairs' Point. I also liked Dionysus very much, but not quite as much as Death by Silver. The plot of Dionysus works better, I think, and the worldbuilding feels more integrated, but the characterization and especially the relationship between Ned and Julian felt like it went over the same ground as the previous book. They had the same anxieties and misunderstandings, and despite the resolution of the last book, there wasn't much of a sense through most of this one of them having grown closer or learned to trust each other more. I realize that these things are a process, and in real life people/couples often do rehash the same issues again and again, but it still felt too same-y to me.
I also read Ben Aaronovitch's Foxglove Summer, the latest River of London book, and was sadly disappointed. It seemed to have about half a novel's worth of story (the resolution in particular was too easy and too pasted-on), and taking Peter out of London just wasn't a great idea, since part of the joy of the series is its vivid sense of place and history, and Peter doesn't have that same connection with the countryside, nor did Aaronovitch do anything all that interesting with Peter as an outsider. Also, not enough Nightingale. Not enough Nightingale by far. The one thing I really did like was that the book featured a gay man in a prominent supporting role, and Peter treated him in a collegial and friendly way without any of the nervous distancing he's shown towards queer people in the past. I don't know whether to credit Peter or Aaronovitch or both, but either way I was glad to see it.
After finishing Foxglove Summer I re-read the earlier books and enjoyed them very much, despite some irritating inconsistencies that become more noticeable when you read the books back to back. (It is Leslie May or Lesley May? Stephanopoulos or Stephanopoulis? And what exactly was Nightingale's school called, Ambrose House, Casterbrooke, or Cosgrove Hall? The latter two names appear with about two pages of each other. Even if we assume "Ambrose House" and "Cosgrove Hall" are the names of houses--and I've never read or heard someone referring to their school by a house name instead of the school name--there's still an inconsistency.)
Anyway, Nightingale still reads as gay to me. I noticed a new thing on this re-read: early in the first book, there's this passage.‘This is my fucking investigation, Nightingale,’ said Seawoll. ‘I don’t care who you’re currently fucking - I don’t want any of your X-Files shit getting in the way of proper police work.’
How often does a straight man get accused of fucking someone for influence? Especially in the police force, which is still pretty male-dominated?
And I think I'm converting myself to Grant/Nightingale without really wanting to. Peter's still clearly interested in women, but wow, does he spend a lot of time noticing what Nightingale's wearing and how elegant he is and etc. etc., and worrying about whether the Christmas present he bought him is nice enough, and all that sort of thing. As for Nightingale, it's easy to read him as gay in the first place, and he clearly cares for Peter, and there's that lovely passage in Moon Over Soho where he asks Peter to stay away from a nasty crime scene on his authority "as a man who's sworn to protect and nurture you." *wibble* Obviously this can be taken as referring to the master/apprentice relationship, which I've no doubt is how Aaronovitch meant it, but that kind of thing is my catnip and I will interpret it how I damn well please.
3) Cooking
Since I had a lot of ham left over from Christmas, I have been doing Things With Ham. Besides lots of ham sandwiches, I've also cooked red beans and rice with the ham bone, and a potato, corn, and ham chowder. In both of these, besides the ham itself I used some of the juice from cooking the ham (with the considerable layer of fat removed). These juices are super super salty, but used in reasonable quantities in a large pot of beans or soup, incredibly delicious.
I haven't been doing much other cooking. We were still really busy at work until a few days ago, plus there are all the various Christmas leftovers. I'm still nibbling away at the fruitcake I baked, and also at a delicious cranberry cake that a customer at work gave me. When I see her again (assuming I can remember what she looks like, because I'm terrible at faces) I want to ask for the recipe. Though it seems to be a pretty basic pound cake with cranberries added. Yum.
4) Movies
Still haven't seen The Imitation Game. I'm hearing less than great things about it: that it fictionalizes too much and that it downplays Turing's gayness. I welcome comments from people who've seen it. One to see in the theater or should I wait for the DVD?
ETA 5) Awesomeness
I desperately want to read the story attached to this gorgeous illustration, but alas the link at the bottom of the Tumblr post I've linked to doesn't go to the story. It does, however, go to a website called "Vintage Homoerotic Illustrations," which is relevant to my interests and perhaps to yours. Warning: some of the "illustrations" are porn stills, but some of them are genuine old illustrations that fill me with delight.
Crossposted at Dreamwidth (
comments); you can comment here or there.