August meme, Day 1
It would appear that I am going to try and do August's meme, too. I might be a bit more intermittent this month, but as before, some of the questions look like fun.
Last year I did the LJ Book Bingo over the course of the year and completed the card. No matter how we differ, I suspect that one thing we all have in common is a love of reading. Live Journal is the sort of platform that attracts readers, as well as artists. Day one of this month's meme questions asks about books.
1. Do you have a favourite book series?
At the moment I am half way through The Miles series, by Lois McMaster Bujold, which is a very enjoyable read, having so far covered a wide range of genres from space opera to detective novel to political thriller, so yes, it is a favourite.
And I was talking to sparrow2000 about this yesterday and we both agreed that the Lymond series by Dorothy Dunnett would be an obvious choice, because, it's that good. But it has one disadvantage to my present way of thinking - it is complete.
The promise of another, unknown addition to a well-loved story seems to me to be a very good reason for a series to be a favourite. And so, with that in mind, I am opting for The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch.
From his introduction in the first novel of the series, Peter Grant, newly minted police constable on the beat in central London, is a joy. I love his irreverence, his explanation of police procedure, his self-deprecating attitude, his family (his Mum and Dad are wonderful), his colleagues and his love life. His introduction to the parallel world of magic is great fun and the author's love of his city is clear on every page. If you haven't come across this series, I recommend it highly.
I have been buying the books as they come out, until recently, but I did fall a little behind in the last year or so. But I am now back up-to-date because I just read October Man and False Value, one after the other.
The first is a lovely spin-off, set in Germany, with a different apprentice providing the first person narrative. And the nice thing is that he has a very different voice from Peter Grant in the main series. A novella, rather than a novel, it is who-or-whatdunit that, while providing a suitably tortuous plot also develops some of the background to magic in mainland Europe and fallout of the Nazi period in Germany, as experienced by a River Goddess who remembers Charlemagne.
The second is a twisty, enjoyable spy-detective story with Peter caught up in shenanigans at a tech company.
And as I said, Ben Aaronovitch will hopefully keep writing for a while yet, so there is more to look forward to.
The rest of the months questions are under the cut.
2 Was there a toy you really wanted as a child, but never got?
3 What hobby or activity would you do more if the internet and TV went down for a month?
4 Are you a Baby Boomer, Generation Jones, Gen X, Millennial, or younger? What’s a generalization people make about your generation cohort that’s all wrong?
5 Would you rather be the main character in a fantasy story, a sci-fi story, or a horror story?
6 Did you choose your current profession/job or somehow just end up in it?
7 Whether you grew up with any sort of religion or not, do you, now as an adult, still share the same faith or lack of one/attend the same church or denomination/practice the same spiritual system that you grew up with?
8 If money, time, and energy were no object, what university degree would you go back and get, just for fun?
9 What’s unique about you, that’s different from everyone else you know?
10 Would you rather get away with any lie you told or always know when someone else is lying?
11 Everyone always thinks they’d be royalty or a knight if they were born in medieval times, but let’s be honest, you probably wouldn’t be. So, what kind of person do you think you’d be if you were born in medieval times?
12 If you could implant one false memory in the minds of everyone in your country, what would that memory be?
13 If you could bring back any cancelled TV series, which TV show would you choose to bring back?
14 Are you usually early, late, or on time? Why?
15 If you were to open up any sort of shop or store, what type of shop would you open?
16 Have you ever gone to work in a mind-altered state from drugs or alcohol?
17 How well do you get along with your siblings?
18 What’s your zodiac sign? Do you think it fits you?
19 What was the first musical record/tape/CD you ever bought with your own money?
20 How well do you take criticism?
21 What lifts your spirits when you’re feeling down?
22 Do you think everything happens for a reason?
23 Would you rather be a famous actor or a famous director?
24 If you won a huge lottery, with more money than you could use, what charitable organization or civic donation would you fund?
25 What three fictional characters (from film, TV, or books) do you most strongly identify with?
26 What did you enjoy doing most today?
27 If you knew 100% that you wouldn't get caught, would you do anything illegal, immoral, or maybe just embarrassing? Tell us about it.
28 Do you write in cursive?
29 If you could witness any event of the past, present, or future, what would it be?
30 Do you have a favourite painting? (Post a picture?)
31 Do you swear a lot?
Well, it looks like I might be continuing this daily meme habit, for at least another month. Have a good day. See you tomorrow.
Last year I did the LJ Book Bingo over the course of the year and completed the card. No matter how we differ, I suspect that one thing we all have in common is a love of reading. Live Journal is the sort of platform that attracts readers, as well as artists. Day one of this month's meme questions asks about books.
1. Do you have a favourite book series?
At the moment I am half way through The Miles series, by Lois McMaster Bujold, which is a very enjoyable read, having so far covered a wide range of genres from space opera to detective novel to political thriller, so yes, it is a favourite.
And I was talking to sparrow2000 about this yesterday and we both agreed that the Lymond series by Dorothy Dunnett would be an obvious choice, because, it's that good. But it has one disadvantage to my present way of thinking - it is complete.
The promise of another, unknown addition to a well-loved story seems to me to be a very good reason for a series to be a favourite. And so, with that in mind, I am opting for The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch.
From his introduction in the first novel of the series, Peter Grant, newly minted police constable on the beat in central London, is a joy. I love his irreverence, his explanation of police procedure, his self-deprecating attitude, his family (his Mum and Dad are wonderful), his colleagues and his love life. His introduction to the parallel world of magic is great fun and the author's love of his city is clear on every page. If you haven't come across this series, I recommend it highly.
I have been buying the books as they come out, until recently, but I did fall a little behind in the last year or so. But I am now back up-to-date because I just read October Man and False Value, one after the other.
The first is a lovely spin-off, set in Germany, with a different apprentice providing the first person narrative. And the nice thing is that he has a very different voice from Peter Grant in the main series. A novella, rather than a novel, it is who-or-whatdunit that, while providing a suitably tortuous plot also develops some of the background to magic in mainland Europe and fallout of the Nazi period in Germany, as experienced by a River Goddess who remembers Charlemagne.
The second is a twisty, enjoyable spy-detective story with Peter caught up in shenanigans at a tech company.
And as I said, Ben Aaronovitch will hopefully keep writing for a while yet, so there is more to look forward to.
The rest of the months questions are under the cut.
2 Was there a toy you really wanted as a child, but never got?
3 What hobby or activity would you do more if the internet and TV went down for a month?
4 Are you a Baby Boomer, Generation Jones, Gen X, Millennial, or younger? What’s a generalization people make about your generation cohort that’s all wrong?
5 Would you rather be the main character in a fantasy story, a sci-fi story, or a horror story?
6 Did you choose your current profession/job or somehow just end up in it?
7 Whether you grew up with any sort of religion or not, do you, now as an adult, still share the same faith or lack of one/attend the same church or denomination/practice the same spiritual system that you grew up with?
8 If money, time, and energy were no object, what university degree would you go back and get, just for fun?
9 What’s unique about you, that’s different from everyone else you know?
10 Would you rather get away with any lie you told or always know when someone else is lying?
11 Everyone always thinks they’d be royalty or a knight if they were born in medieval times, but let’s be honest, you probably wouldn’t be. So, what kind of person do you think you’d be if you were born in medieval times?
12 If you could implant one false memory in the minds of everyone in your country, what would that memory be?
13 If you could bring back any cancelled TV series, which TV show would you choose to bring back?
14 Are you usually early, late, or on time? Why?
15 If you were to open up any sort of shop or store, what type of shop would you open?
16 Have you ever gone to work in a mind-altered state from drugs or alcohol?
17 How well do you get along with your siblings?
18 What’s your zodiac sign? Do you think it fits you?
19 What was the first musical record/tape/CD you ever bought with your own money?
20 How well do you take criticism?
21 What lifts your spirits when you’re feeling down?
22 Do you think everything happens for a reason?
23 Would you rather be a famous actor or a famous director?
24 If you won a huge lottery, with more money than you could use, what charitable organization or civic donation would you fund?
25 What three fictional characters (from film, TV, or books) do you most strongly identify with?
26 What did you enjoy doing most today?
27 If you knew 100% that you wouldn't get caught, would you do anything illegal, immoral, or maybe just embarrassing? Tell us about it.
28 Do you write in cursive?
29 If you could witness any event of the past, present, or future, what would it be?
30 Do you have a favourite painting? (Post a picture?)
31 Do you swear a lot?
Well, it looks like I might be continuing this daily meme habit, for at least another month. Have a good day. See you tomorrow.