Finished The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, yet another “British kid discovers magic and goes to magic school which is like old posh British schools, only magic” novel.
The first two thirds were pretty good. Then the last third hit, and it got really good. Without spoilers, it went in a direction that way more of these novels should go, but that I’ve never seen, with the possible exception of The Golden Conclaves by Naomi Novik.
If you like this sort of thing–sort of a cross between The Secret History and Jonathan Strange–I definitely recommend this one.
Seeing Voices: A Journey Into the World of the Deaf Oliver Sacks
The famed neurologist and author explores various aspects of deaf life, including the neurology of sign language and the history of deaf education (up to 1989 when the book was written).
Rose/House Arkady Martine
A famed architect dies and his will stipulates that only one person (a former student) is ever allowed to enter his house, which is infused with a powerful AI that guards it. Then the AI calls the local police to report that there is a dead body inside.
Haven’t read it in quite some time. Starts off quite moving. But then it just plain gets slow and repetitive. E.g., I’m in the part about Shepard’s flight. It has been just been dragged out so much it’s taking forever to get thru. I’ve finally reached the part when the candle actually gets lit. Wolfe just keeps repeating all the usual crap about single warriors, driving and drinking, our rockets blow up, etc.
Of course I keep noticing the differences between the book and the movie. A movie I haven’t seen since it was on cable after it came out.
Finished T. Kingfisher’s Paladin’s Strength. I really don’t care for romance novels, but these are also good adventure stories, and at times even make me laugh out loud. Yay, I have another one ready to go!
I also have several things to pick up at the library. Somehow I’ve requested a bunch of self-help, short stories, and humor. And I do want to read that stuff, but it’s not as therapeutic as a good long fiction book. We’ll see how much of it I actually consume.
Finished Banking on Death by Emma Lathen, which I enjoyed, although not as much as later John Putnam Thatcher mysteries–this was the first, and they became funnier and more interesting as the authors (Emma Lathen is a pen name) became more experienced; and The Monster’s Bones: The Discovery of T. Rex and How It Shook Our World, by David K. Randall, which was interesting.
Next up: Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations, by Alton Brown; and Solar Flare: Solarpunk Stories, edited by Patricia Bray and Joshua Palmatier.
Still reading Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club, edited by Martin Edwards.
Finished. Very good, very powerful, and I learned a lot.
Today I zipped through the kids’ book George Washington’s Spectacular Spectacles: The Glasses That Saved America, written by Selene Castrovilla, illustrated by Jenn Harney. It’s about Gen. Washington quashing a threatened military coup, near the end of the Revolution, by officers pissed off by the Continental Congress’s failure to pay them. Seems accurate, although light-hearted in the telling.
My current audiobook is The Final Solution by Michael Chabon, about an elderly Sherlock Holmes (although he hasn’t yet been mentioned by name) in retirement, beekeeping upon the Sussex Downs in July 1944 and drawn into a murder case which seems to have espionage and Holocaust implications.
Finished Lethal Prey by John Sandford. Another well-written and entertaining Davenport/Flowers novel by a favorite author. But…with a wholly unsatisfying ending, the first that I can remember by Sandford. I suspect this is leading to a sequel, but that’s not very common for this author.
Finished Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations, by Alton Brown, which I enjoyed–there’s some funny stuff here, especially an essay about how dangerous cooking escargot can be; and Solar Flare: Solarpunk Stories, edited by Patricia Bray and Joshua Palmatier, of which the best story was “Umbrella Men” by Liam Hogan.
Still reading Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club, edited by Martin Edwards.
Next up: The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, by Robin Wall Kimmerer; and The Reinvented Detective: Tales of Futuristic Crimes & Mysteries Beyond Time, edited by Cat Rambo and Jennifer Brozek.
