Theme of the month: books by authors I read when I was young, who all held up. Spook and Bonk, Mary Roach I've finally caught up on the Mary Roach backlist of books! She is truly my idol of nonfiction writing, and I don't just open with that because I'm about to knock on Spook, which …
Category: Books
Books, February 2018
I would have gotten credit for the second book of the classic Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell trilogy this month, but nooooo. It had to be one giant book. Vicious, VE Schwab. A few chapters into this, I thought it was going to be basically Nimona from the perspective of Blackheart, but I was so wrong. …
Books, January 2018
I have been reading Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell since NOVEMBER. An 850 page trade paperback (that is, a sturdier paperback as large as a hardback, instead of the little pocket size/pulpy paper mass market paperbacks) is a crime against bookbinding. The Stone Sky, NK Jemisin I finished this in January but before I'd written …
A year in books, 2017
I had quite a year in books, and quite a year overall. Reading accomplishment that I'm most proud of: a net decrease in the number of books that I already own but haven't read yet to 23. Only half of an average year's worth of reads... By the numbers Books: 55 Total pages: 15922 (so …
Books, December 2017
Fun fact: every book this month was part of a series! In Cave Danger, Kate Dyer-Seeley And the series comes to end with a surprising twist! And the best, if most obvious, baddie of the series. I'm never going to like this series as much as the author's other two, but I'm pleased Meg's adventures …
Books, November 2017
In my defense, it is still December. Barely. You'll notice I've added a setting tag for fiction - I'm finding it very helpful to separate the plot of the book (genre) from its world-building (setting), which are often conflated. Are Harry Potter and Annihilation both teeeeeechnically in fantasy settings? Yes, but that misses the fundamental …
Books, October 2017
If I read all day every day for a month, I would have... still not caught up with my list. Glass half full, I never have to worry about finding reading material. Glass half empty, shelf VERY FULL. Pox, Michael Willrich In our modern era, where far more people are threatened with non-infectious diseases like …
Books, September 2017
It was a busy month, so little to report. Stay tuned for a recap of Proof! The Grand Tour, Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermere {NOTE: I accidentally wrote this up with August, but I actually finished it in early September. My comments are reproduced from the August page.} This is book two of three in …
Books, August 2017
Apparently this month's theme is that I don't like and/or get poetry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo, traditional, translated by JRR Tolkien So, as far as epic poetry goes, this was pretty good. There was some real action, some beautiful imagery, weird and wacky Middle English vocabulary (translated, of course, …
Books, July 2017
Come see my play! bit.ly/ProofTheatre Thinking Like a Director, Michael Bloom The core of directing, according to directors with an actual education in directing, is picking a strong script, a great cast, and getting out of the way. Fortunately, I managed to get those first two steps right before I ever thought of picking up …
