Randomness

Happy Solstice!

I watched Hogfather last night - a tradition in my household. Back when my daughter was in high school, over winter break we'd read the book Hogfather (by Terry Pratchett) out loud to each other, doing voices for the characters. She does a fantastic Death!

This afternoon I'm going to make clam chowder. And poke at the synopsis for Rising Tide.

I may Read A Book! Haven't done that in far too long.

And that's the summary of my oh-so-glamorous life at the moment.

Reading Update

Here are the books I re-read since the beginning of May:

N.K. Jemisin, The Inheritance Trilogy (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms, The Kingdom of Gods). Epic fantasy. Not earth Medieval Europe based, wonderfully developed characters. Naha is a favorite.

Lois McMaster Bujold, Sharing Knife Series (4 books: Beguilement, Legacy, Passage, Horizon). Fantasy/romance. Has a great depiction of riverboat culture.

Kate Elliott, Spiritwalker Trilogy (Cold Magic, Cold Fire, Cold Steel). Epic fantasy. I love Ms Elliott's worldbuilding. An example: an intelligent species based on troodons.

Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens. Because it's a delightfully funny apocalypse tale.

Elizabeth Bear, 2 books: Blood and Iron and Whiskey and Water. Urban fantasy. Inventive combination of classic Fairie, the Morgan/Arthur myth, mages, werewolves, and a dragon, centered in New York City. Her Morgan is my favorite Morgan ever. And Ms Bear gives the kelpie realistic horse-like behaviors when he's in human form.


Here's what I read that was new for me since the beginning of May:

C.J. Cherryh, The Morgaine Saga. A collection of three SF novels; interplanetary time travel and culture clashes.

N.K. Jemisin & Hiromi Goto, Systems Fail. A collection of short stories and essays published for WisCon38, where they were the Guests of Honor.

Ursula Vernon, Toad Words and Other Stories. Ms Vernon tells delightfully original fairy tales. She is also very good at re-imagining traditional fairy tales. If you're unfamiliar with her work, starting here would be a good choice. Then read Digger (beginning of the story)  - just sayin'.

I finished Toad Words today. I think I'm ready to tackle more new books now.

I Do Read Books, Honest!

I try to post what I've read quarterly. Dropped that ball in 2013! There were two books posts, one in May, with all of five books, and another one in July with eight more books. Here's what I read between  early July and the end of the year.  

(13) Vonda N McIntyre, Starfarers. First book in the Starfarers Quartet. I've always loved McIntyre's fiction and this book made me finally realize why. Her SF is primarily biology based, which is far more appealing to me (a biologist) than purely techy stuff. 

(14) Vonda N McIntyre, Transition. Book two in the Starfarers Quartet. Loving this series!

(15) Vonda N McIntyre, Metaphase. Book three in the Starfarers Quartet. I haven't found a paper copy of book four (Nautilus) yet. I'm gonna have to buy the ebook from Book View Cafe. Must read all the books! 

(16) Mary Robinette Kowal, Glamour in Glass.  Continuing adventures of Jane and Vincent of Shades of Milk and Honey (see July post). I enjoyed this book more because the story line didn't feel as close to Austin.  Also really like how the author limits herself to the vocabulary of the Regency. 

(17) Mary Robinette Kowal, Without a Summer. More Jane and Vincent, and another good one. There will be more books in this series. 

(18) Amy Thomson, Storyteller. I met Ms Thomson at WisCon. This is the first book of hers I've read. It was really interesting and I haven't cried that often while reading in a long time (hit the mommy buttons hard for me). Good SF. 

(19) Ursula Vernon, Digger Omnibus. Oh, people. Read this book! A practical wombat (that's Digger), oracular slug, talking statue, Shadowchild, Ed.  Just some of the marvelous characters you'll meet here. 

(20) Terry Pratchett, Hogfather. Because I always read this book in December. It's traditional. Just checked my list and this is my only Pratchett book for the year. That is very untraditional!

Twenty books in a year is not much, but it's better than I did in 2012, when I read only fifteen. And I didn't read any from September through November because I was writing and cruising. 

It was a year for series: two short story collections by LeGuin, three books in Kowal's Glamourist Histories, the three books of Elliott's Spiritwalker Trilogy, and three of the four books in McIntyre's Starfarer's Quartet. 

I read books by seven authors new to me: Jared Diamond, Skyler White, Steven Brust, Mary Robinette Kowal, Madeline Robins, Kate Elliott, and Amy Thomson. That's a good thing. 

I still have many books in my To Be Read pile, including more authors new to me. It's going to be fun. 

Link Gumbo

Hi.  Sorry I've been absent recently.  My life suddenly got busy.  It's poised to get busier still - I'm taking Mary Robinette Kowal's short story writing workshop in September and October. *squeeeee*

So.  Links instead of content. 

A man grabs a beaver and wins the Darwin Award:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/29/beaver-kills-man-belarus#ixzz2UhrZqodo

Have you read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman?  If not - go read it.  It's wonderful.  I'll wait :-)
Now you can appreciate what Emily Asher-Perrin wrote over at Tor:
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/05/a-comprehensive-reference-guide-to-good-omens
and
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/05/a-comprehensive-theological-reference-guide-to-good-omens
(or perhaps reading the reference guides will entice you to read the book.)

A long essay on women as warriors, from a historical perspective:
http://worldweaverpress.com/2013/05/28/female-warriors-in-fantasy/

Some charts and stuff comparing traditional publishing and epublishing:
http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2013/05/27/survivorship-bias-why-90-of-the-advice-about-writing-is-bullshit-right-now/

Faerie information.  Because reasons.
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/05/know-your-faeries-friendly-fierce-or-fatal

Science happening:
http://deepseanews.com/2013/05/why-should-men-have-all-the-fun-the-seafaring-ladies-of-physical-oceanography/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

There.  Links I've been hording for months. 

Content will resume at some point...

Sir Terry, Happy 65th, Sir!

Today is Terry Pratchett's birthday.  He's my favorite author.  He was the best-selling living author writing in English in the world prior to the Harry Potter phenomenon.  I suspect he'll retake first place eventually, if it hasn't happened already.  *grin*  He may be the most shop-lifted author in Britain.  And some folks compare him to Shakespeare. 

An article by Brandon Sanderson gives a marvelous argument for the Shakespeare comparison.  And also says: "But what other authors do with light allusions, Discworld does with a sledgehammer.  And with light allusion too.  Then it steals your wallet."

An article at Tor is another tribute.  "His ability to write fantasy novels that are sharp, referential, and relevant have led many fans to the genre who might have otherwise never explored it.  His is a mind that never stops learning and exploring, and the books that he writes reflect the scope of his interests, making us smarter in turn." 

If you've never read this man's work, I'd suggest Going Postal or Small Gods or Witches Abroad or Hogfather to get you started.  If he's your kind of author, well, then you'll understand firsthand about Discworld stealing your wallet.

Worth every dollar.  Or pound.  Or cockle.  Or whatever your local bookseller accepts in trade. 

Cover images from lspace, a place of awesome Discworld information.

Terry Pratchett's website

Reading Sir Terry Pratchett

I love Sir Terry Pratchett's work.  The man is brilliant, insightful, and possesses a marvelous sense of humor.  On the right side here on my blog, four of the icons below my profile are from his work:  the Discworld (which travels through space supported by four elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle),  Death playing guitar (from Soul Music), the Librarian, and the Watch (from Guards! Guards!).

To celebrate becoming a Knight, Sir Terry made himself a sword that includes thunderbolt iron (pieces of meteorite).  Collected the ore, smelted it on his property, made the sword!

Image from HERE

Starting in on the many books in the Discworld series can be daunting.  Here's my contribution to the many reading order lists.  As a fan it's probably a requirement!

This Year and Books

2012 wasn’t a bad year for me.  I put in much time editing and writing and as a result have taken a novel farther than I have ever done before.  I took a real vacation for the first time in nearly a decade to a place that has fascinated me since I was a kid = awesome with awesome sauce. 

I didn’t read as much as I’d like; time spent writing is time not reading.  Looking over the list, it was a year of mostly favorite authors, their new stuff as well as re-reading older works.  Here it is, with ocasional notes: 

JANUARY
(1)  David Jauss, On Writing Fiction, Rethinking Conventional Wisdom About the Craft.  Essays on point of view, flow, epiphanies, and more. 
(2)  Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn.  Beautiful writing.

FEBRUARY
None

MARCH
(3) Seanan McGuire, Discount Armageddon.  Marvelous fun!  A monster-protecting competition-level ballroom dancer protagonist who is seriously awesome!  This book made the Grande Finale of the Cover Battle of 2012 at Ranting Dragon.  Up against Blackbirds, as of now (12/31/12) the count is 52%/48% in favor of Blackbirds. 
(4) Elizabeth Bear, By the Mountain Bound.  Prequel to All the Windwracked Stars.  Good fantasy, spun from a Norse foundation

APRIL
(5) Elizabeth Bear, The Sea Thy Mistress.  Sequel to All the Windwracked Stars.  Now I’ve finally read all three books that make up the Edda of Burdens series. 

MAY
(6) N.K. Jemisin, The Kingdom of Gods.  Book three in The Inheritance Trilogy.  Marvelous and satisfying.
(7) Ellen Datlow, ed, Naked City.  Anthology of urban fantasy stories by Jim Butcher, Holly Black, Elizabeth Bear, and others.  Loved it! 

JUNE
(8) Carol King, A Natural Woman.  A memoir that brought back memories of events we all lived through and how important her music, and the music of others, was in defining and solidifying those times.
(9) Jenny Lawson, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir).  Hilarious and sad and fascinating.  At times like watching a train wreck.  But in a good way.

JULY
None.  :-( 

AUGUST
(10) Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter, The Long Earth.  New SF book, not Discworld.  I enjoyed it. 

SEPTEMBER
None.  :-( 

OCTOBER
(11) Lois McMaster Bujold, Cordelia’s Honor.  Re-read of a loved book.

NOVEMBER
(12) Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Good Omens.  Another re-read of a favorite.  Yes, I took time off from writing during NaNoWriMo to read!  If you look at my stats [Kat's NaNo Stats] you can probably tell when it was, too.  {Oops.  Maybe not!  It was the first slump; the second slump was work-induced.}

DECEMBER
(13) Elizabeth Bear, shoggoths in bloom.  Collection of many good short stories
(14) Terry Pratchett, Hogfather.  Traditional to read this at Christmastime.  Starting back when my daughter was around 14, we would read this out loud to each other, doing voices.  She does Death’s voice very well. 
(15) Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time.  The book that follows Hogfather.
In Progress:  Elizabeth Bear, Range of Ghosts.  Thought I might get it finished today, but didn’t.

Well, I managed more than one book per month.  Perhaps I will do better next year.

OMG, my cup of New Year's Egg Nog is nearly gone!  I blame that for any typos.

I know 2012 could not end soon enough for many.  I feel fortunate that I was not in that group this time.

May 2013 be kind to all. 

Reading on 12/12/12

Over at shouldbereading , today's meme is:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you'll read next?

I am currently reading Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear:   

Ms Bear's imagery and sensory details, along with a ripping great yarn, are why I love her work.  This is book one of a trilogy; she has used a Mongul base rather than the standard fantasy medieval European base.  I'm only on Chapter 5.  So far it's wonderful. 

I most recently finished Shoggoths in Bloom by Elizabeth Bear:

This is a collection of short stories.  I started it back in October; took a break for NaNoWriMo in November, and finished it early in December.  It includes her two stories that won Hugo Awards.

I will next read Hogfather by Terry Pratchett:

because it is a family tradition to read this book at Christmastime.  I may read it before finishing Range of Ghosts.  Or I may watch the movie, which is well done but lacks one of my favorite scenes, one that involves a teddy bear. 

Please share your recent and future reading list!