If you’re curious as to why I haven’t been writing as much, it’s because I’ve been reading. A lot.
Tales of Mithgar (1994) Dennis McKiernan
Still looking for books to tide me over, I turned to another favorite, Dennis McKiernan. I picked up Tales of Mithgar because it’s a collection of short stories, and I love short stories.
Marx, Hitler, Mao, Kinsy, Dewey.
And John Stuart Mill gets an honorable mention!
Swordspoint (1987) Ellen Kushner
While waiting for the last book in Sean Russell’s ‘The Swan’s War’ to arrive, I decided to indluge in a book I’ve read fairly recently and loved.
This book is just as gorgeous as I remember. The writing is absolutely lovely, drawing my into the story from the first sentence. The story is excellent, but it’s the writing that I love so much.
And as a bonus, there are additional short stories in the back of the book, so not only do you get to read just a little bit more, the book gets to surprise you with its ending, as you don’t realize it’s something. (Which is one reason why I like books with previews in the back. Not because I read the previews–I don’t–but because they allow the end of the book to sneak up on me, and there’s something satisfying about that.
Now I just have to find something else to read while I’m waiting for ‘The Shadow Roads’
Moontide and Magic Rise: World Without End (1994) and Sea Without a Shore (1996) Sean Russell
Every time I read Sean Russell, I am always surprised at how good his books are. I pick them up knowing they are going to be good, but the pessimistic part of me always says, “they can’t be that good. Don’t get your hopes up!” only to be proven wrong.
Rotten Relations edited by Denise Little
I was really disappointed in this collection. I had, as the song goes, high hopes, but was, in the end, let down.
Read More about Rotten Relations
That makes 33 books so far this year. Not a lot for me, but not too bad considering the fact that I was supposed to be reading journal articles and other such papers for my class, and not reading books for fun.
Twice Upon A Time (1999) edited by Denise Little
Fairy tales seen from another perspective–the wife of the giant from the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. The hunter in the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. The Wolf who appears in multiple tales.
This book is hit and miss. Some of the stories are excellent, others are so-so. The idea of retold fairy tales is an excellent one, unfortunately not all the stories in this collection were able to pull it off as well as it should be done.
Carpe Jugulum (1998) Terry Pratchett
I’m not quite sure what it is, but I found this book disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, there were places where I laughed out loud–it just seemed like those places were farther apart than usual.
Jingo (1997) Terry Pratchett
What surprised me most about this book was that it was written in 1997.
A new island has risen between Ankh Morpork and Klatch, and war seems to be the only way to determine who really owns the island.
The Hounds of the Mórrigan (1985) Pat O’Shea
I really like this book.
I can’t remember precisely when I bought it, or precisely when I read it for the first time, but I do remember that it rekindled my love of folktales and folklore.
While were on the subject of books, I signed up for the Amazon Associates club, which means that if you click on any of the book images or links (in the book portion of the site), they’ll take you to Amazon, and if you buy that book, I’ll get a few pennies towards an Amazon gift certificate. I don’t yet have links for everything, but I’m getting there.
The King’s Peace (2000) and The King’s Name (2001) by Jo Walton
In actuality, there are really three books in two. The first book, The King’s Peace is actually two books, “The King’s Peace” and “The Kings Law” which are just a little shorter than the second book, The King’s Name.
The tale is a history of a world that is similar to, but not exactly, the British Isles, so there is a sense of familiarity, without actually being something real.
Read More about The King’s Peace and The King’s Name
A Stitch in Time (2000) Andrew J. Robinson
Okay, before you say anything, I admit it, this is a Star Trek book. And I don’t even have the excuse of it being a movie novelization.
All I can say is that Garak is my absolute favorite DS9 character, and I felt that they never did as much with him as they could–everything you learned just left you with more questions. So when I read that Andrew Robinson, the actor who had played Garak, wrote a book telling the backstory he had created for Garak… well, I’m a sucker.
Read More about A Stitch in Time
Good Omens (1990) Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Good Omens is one of my all time favorite books, and one that I’d take with me to be stranded on a desert island, because it’s funny.
Really funny.
With lots of passages that make me giggle, and even laugh out loud, not just when I read them, but even when I go back and think about them later.
I don’t have any need for this word, but a friend’s older relative used the term, and we wanted to know what it meant.
The usual current sense of grass widow is ‘a woman who is separated, divorced, or lives apart from her husband’. The other sense found in current use is ‘a married woman whose husband is frequently apart from her for short periods of time, as on business or to pursue a hobby’.
Historically, there are two senses that are now archaic, obsolete, or dialectal: ‘an abandoned mistress’ and ‘a woman who has borne an illegitimate child’.
More on the etymology at the Mavens’ Word of the Day website.
So, as is probably obvious, I love to read. I come by it honestly, as everyone in my family loves to read, although I don’t think my brother reads as much as everyone else does. (Possibly because he has a life. But that’s neither here nor there.)
But the person who I most take after may be my grandmother, who also loves to read, but due to the circumstances of being 87, doesn’t get to the library much. So whenever I visit I take down books for her to borrow, so that she has something to read when they can’t get to the library.
The problem is that she’s now gone through ALL my mysteries. I have a handful of books I’m taking down next trip, but I’m pretty certain that she’s already read them. (Last year she reread JA Jance’s JP Beaumont series, because she wasn’t certain at first if she’d read them.)
She likes everything from Agatha Christie to Robert Parker to Anne Perry to Peter Tremayne (She really liked Peter Tremayne and she loves Anne Perry).
So… I need some recommendations for good mysteries. You can look at the complete list of my mysteries, to see what she’s gone through in my library. It would be better if I can find the books used, since she gets suspicious if I bring up new books, but I did get her several Laura Lippman books, which she things are great (I’m just waiting for another occasion to get her more. I can’t just send her the books for no reason, because then she gets mad I’m spending money on her.)
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.
The only word better than sashay is saunter.
sashay sash-AY verb
1 : to make the sliding dance step called chasse
2 a : walk, glide, go *b : to strut or move about in an
ostentatious or conspicuous manner c : to proceed or move in a
diagonal or sideways manner
saunter ‘son-t&r, ‘sän- intransitive verb
Etymology: probably from Middle English santren to muse
: to walk about in an idle or leisurely manner : STROLL
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