Papa Jim (jim53) makes screggs in 2021

Greetings all! I'm looking forward to participating more this year, beginning with the group read of The Curse of Chalion, which I just picked up yesterday.

For some reason, I have never learned to make scrambled eggs (I realize it's not rocket surgery). So I'm taking that as a symbol of becoming more independently self-sustaining during the coming year. Perhaps before too long I'll progress to omelets and other delicacies.

Last year I read 52 books, which is not a bad number, one a week. I also watched more television that I had in many years, which was not a terrible thing, given the constraints of the year, but I don't really want to continue watching so much. Maybe I can trade in two hours of TV a week for an hour of reading and an hour of something else.

I'm not setting any particular goals or intentions for my reading this year, other than to try to read a little bit more poetry, and to try to make better notes about the books that I do read. All too often, I look back at a book I read just a year or so ago and wonder, what was that one about?

So welcome to my thread. I will be delighted to have your contributions, whatever they may be. But right now it's warmed up to 37 outside, so I'm going for a walk.

Happy new thread, >1 Jim53:!
(Screggs sounds like the alien invaders in a cheesy 1980s sci-fi movie...)

Thanks >2 clamairy:. "SCR EGGS" was one of the standard abbreviations on the cafeteria menu, many of which we pronounced as they were written. I think that's the only one that has survived at our house, 40-some years later. I'm trying to remember more, but all I can come up with is "PARS BU POT," which was boiled potatoes with butter and parsley, commonly called "parse boos." They were truly awful, even for cafeteria food. I do remember a mild kerfluffle when a student who was compiling or editing the menu replaced "CR CHP BF" with "SOS."

The first book that I finished this year is Luster, which I picked up because it was on the NYT best of 2020 list along with Barack Obama's list. It's the story of a young black woman who starts an affair with an older white man, who is in an "open marriage." She is underemployed in a clerical role and is a frustrated painter. I missed the importance of the artist angle through the first half of the book, but it became clearer later. The narrator's relationship with the couple's adopted black daughter was interesting. All told, I'm not sure I grokked all of what the author was up to.

>1 Jim53: Happy new year and best wishes for 2021!

I hate cooking so much that I have been known to buy my eggs already hard-boiled-and-peeled so that I don't have to bother with doing it myself. So I for one will be hugely impressed if you scramble eggs this year. ;)

Happy new year!

>1 Jim53: Happy New Year and new thread! I am expecting Curse of Chalion to arrive Saturday.

Happy new year! I'm looking forward to following your reading, and to joining the Curse of Chalion group read.

>4 Jim53: I've seen Luster discussed alongside Such a fun age as books that both tackle contemporary race relations through a domestic setting. This article was quite interesting on the subject. I'm currently reading Such a fun age and enjoying it, but for some reason Luster doesn't appeal to me.

>8 Sakerfalcon: Interesting article. Thanks for the link. I think Luster was quite ambitious, and clearly a first novel; it didn't really succeed at all it wanted to do (at least not for me). I'll be interested to see what you think of Such a Fun Age. And happy new year to you too!

My sister sent me this article. It might be the nudge I need to join Twitter.

https://www.cnet.com/news/lord-of-the-rings-is-lifting-spirits-during-these-dark...

>10 Jim53: Great quotes.

>10 Jim53: These great quotes apply very widely.

And a happy new year to you and yours.

I forgot to mention that at bedtime I'm reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. My mystery book club in Durham read it ten years ago, and I reviewed it then, but I didn't remember it at all, and when a friend raved about the series recently, I decided to revisit this first volume of the series and see if I want to read more. So far the jury is still out.

>13 Jim53: I love that series, for me, it retained its goodness all the way through. Or at least as far as I have read them. I may have missed the most recent ones.

>14 MrsLee: I'm enjoying it so far. Flavia is quite entertaining.

I finished The Curse of Chalion last night. Things that were hinted at come to the forefront and provide a certain amount of resolution. I wish some of them had been more present earlier, altho I suppose it would be easy to expose too much and reduce their ultimate value. Caz is a great character. Further discussion in the group read thread.

I decided that lunchtime was a better time for making my first screggs than breakfast. So today, having run out of both good and bad excuses, I went ahead and did it. I also wanted to relieve all of you of the horrible suspense of wondering whether I would actually do it. And it was pretty trivial after all. This will be a big help in moving away from eating cereal every morning.

While eating lunch, today and other days, I've been reading some of the interviews in All I Did Was Ask. Those who are NPR fans will recognize Terry Gross as the host of their Fresh Air show. Here, she gives us about 40 interviews, each with a paragraph or two from some publication introducing her guest, and also a brief bit of context for the interview. She has quite a range of guests, including Nick Hornby and John Updike but also George Clinton and Bootsy Collins.

>18 Maddz: The next refinement is to have scregs on Marmite toast... Yeast extract is a reasonable facsimile if you can't get hold of the real thing (not beef extract aka Bovril though).

(Yes, Marmite - you either love it or hate it, and it's a very British thing. 2 slices of Marmite toast is my usual breakfast along with a woman-sized cuppa.)

Ha! I did make my way over here after all! Please tell me that screggs is a new name for something as mundane as scrambled eggs? I mean, I'm out of sync with a lot of things at the moment, but I really do not know.

Happy new year Jim53!

And yes, I am going to go join the group discussion of The Curse of Chalion ASAP.

>19 jillmwo: Glad you made it, and that you'll be with us on the group read. Yes, screggs is short for scrambled eggs; see >3 Jim53:.

I finished off The Sweetness at the Bottom if the Pie. The personality in the narration manages to somewhat conceal the rather formulaic plot. I will continue with the series, but not as a high priority.

My new bedtime read is In the Bleak Midwinter, the first book in my favorite mystery series. This is the third time I've read it. Our neighborhood book club will discuss it next week (on Zoom). I was going to do a quick re-skim so I can lead the discussion, but it sucked me right back in from the first line ("It was a hell of a night to throw away a baby").

I just finished and reviewed one of my Christmas gifts, Megan Rapinoe's One Life. I'm a big fan of women's soccer and the USWNT in particular, and she's one of the best. I also appreciate her social activism. It was an easy and enjoyable read, with nice details (but not too many!) about her family, her history with soccer, and her emergence into the very visible person she is today.

I've noticed several people making lists of where they are with various series of novels. Here's a look at the ones I can think of:

My favorite is Julia Spencer-Fleming's Millers Kill series featuring Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne. I'm all caught up on that one and eagerly awaiting more.
Louise Penny's Three Pines series featuring Armand Gamache: all caught up. She cranks them out so regularly that I expect one in the summer.
Deborah Crombie's series featuring Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James: all caught up
Ellen Crosby's Wine Country series: all caught up, except the new one, which so far is only on NetGalley.
SJ Rozan's Bill and Lydia series: all caught up
Sara Paretzky's VI Warshawski series: read 10, many more to go, no hurry
Katy Munger's series featuring Casey Jones: read all except the new one, will try ILL
Kate Wilhelm's Bobby Holloway legal thriller series: a few holes there, might catch up eventually
Joe Ide's IQ series: read the first two, not a priority to continue right now
Attica Locke's Highway 59 series: loved the first one, need to get back to these.
Benjamin Black's Quirke series: read 3 of 7, don't remember very well
Linda Castillo's Amish series: read the first 4, that's enough for now.

That's all the mystery series I can think of off the top of my head that are still going*. There are others, like Rachel Howzell Hall's Lou Norton series, Michael Gruber's Jimmy Paz series and Dennis Lehane's Kenzie-Gennaro series, that I have finished and it seems that the authors have too. There are a few, including Peter Robinson's, Elizabeth George's, and Michael Connelly's, that I just gave up on.

What other mystery series do you particularly like?

Fantasy and science fiction list tomorrow.

* ETA: that I've been reading.

>18 Maddz: I'm still in an undefined state regarding marmite, which I've never tried. What do you like about it?

>24 Jim53: Difficult to say.

I've always been more a savoury person than a sweet person, and Marmite (or any yeast extract) is a pure umami hit. When you do try it, remember to spread it as thinly as you can - you can always add more, but scraping it off isn't as easy.

Scrambled eggs on Marmite toast is a childhood comfort food for me.

>25 Maddz: Oh, yes! Do not spread Marmite as if were jam, or sandwich paste. So many people in the "hate"camp made its first acquaintance that way.

>25 Maddz:, >26 -pilgrim-: A little goes a long way with Marmite!

>23 Jim53: I'm not a great reader of mysteries, but there are some authors and series that I like.
Louise Penny is one, though I'm only up as far as The beautiful mystery.
Fred Vargas' Inspector Adamsberg books are great, I've read as far as Wash this blood clean from my hand.
Gladys Mitchell's Mrs Bradley books are classics. I read them as I find them, in no order and with gaps.
I liked the first of Boris Akunin's Sister Pelagia books, and need to read the other two. I should also go back to his main series, featuring Erast Fandorin.

If you're really struggling with screggs you can make them in a microwave. It's also a little bit fussy, but less likely (not impossible) to burn. Beat the egg(s) with milk and butter as normal. Microwave on high for a few seconds. Stop and mix in the cooked egg. Repeat until it's nearly all done. Let the last little bit set by itself from the heat of the cooked eggs. Maybe as muhc as a minute total time including the whisking. Serve with bacon on toast, pah to the marmite.

A list of series I'm still intending to read/buy would be very sensible!

>27 Sakerfalcon: Yes! I also need to return to the Fandorin novels (if I can ever get back to my copies). I have not yet tried Sister Pelagia, and am encouraged by your recommendation.

I like both the Cadfael (where I got as far as A Rose Rent, that being the last one that has been written at the time, and am now revisiting) and Lord Peter Wimsey novels, but I am not so devoted that I have read all of those.

Probably Falco, Lindsay Davis's Roman "public informer" is my favourite, and has a nice line in the sort of snark MrsLee enjoys.

A short series that I thought was showing promise was the Kiszka & Kershaw sequence by Anya Lipska, which are set in London's Polish community.

>29 -pilgrim-: How could I forget Falco?!! That is a great series!

>29 -pilgrim-:, >30 Sakerfalcon: I'm eagerly awaiting the next Flavia Albia to drop in a couple of months or so...

>27 Sakerfalcon: >29 -pilgrim-: Thanks for these! I've put a few on the list for my next library run. Sister Pelagia sounds very familiar; I might find that I read the first one in the distant past. And I'm pretty sure I've heard Falco mentioned too. You should see some of these popping up here in the coming months. This is a good time, since I'm caught up on so many series at the moment.

>25 Maddz: >26 -pilgrim-: I will remember your wise counsel and spread the marmite thinly (that could be the name of a book, or a song, or something couldn't it?) whenever I get around to trying it.

>28 reading_fox: Thanks. I have found that making them in the pan is quite simple; I had just never gotten around to learning how. Now I need to start adding in some things to make them more interesting.

A series that I feel a little guilty recommending, since I have only actually managed to get a copy of one, so far, is the Sister Fidelma mysteries by Peter Tremayne.

>34 -pilgrim-: Thanks! I'll add it to the longer-term list for now. Any particular things you liked about it?

>35 Jim53: I liked the interplay between the different legal systems. The book that I read was not the first, and by the time the book I read had been reached, there was friendship and cooperation between Sister Fidelma, a qualified lawyer within the Irish system, and Eadulf, a Saxon monk.

This brings into play the different legal systems, and often different understandings of what exactly the crime is that has been committed.

It is also refreshing to see a historically set (7th century) crime mystery which has a female investigator, without the need for her to be behaving in a way contrary to societal expectations (such as Flavia Albia, in the series that follows the Falco mysteries that >31 Maddz: refers to).

It comes up quite a bit in the Cadfael novels that what is a crime in England in the 10th century is not necessary one under Welsh law, laws of inheritance being different, as are the penalties for crimes, and so on. The same aspect is at the fore here too.

Sometimes books set in the past give characters modern mindsets. I find it more interesting when they function according to the views of the period. Eadulf and Fidelma are both Christian monastics, but only Eadulf follows Roman Catholicism - the Synod of Whitby takes place during the course of the books - so there again they have different views on what the rules are.

If you want a taster for Sister Fidelma, try Classical Whodunnits. It has a Sister Fidelma short story. (Note that the ebook version - The Mammoth Book of Classical Whodunnits - is missing the Lindsey Davis non-series short story.)

>37 Maddz: I would never have thought of looking for her there! I thought the Classical era is generally considered to have ended with the sack of Rome?

What is your opinion of her?

>38 -pilgrim-: Yeah, I was a bit surprised too, but I don't suppose there's much of a market for 'Dark Ages Whodunnits'. I remember not being wildly impressed, but I suspect it was because it wasn't classical in the accepted sense of the word which is why I got the book in the first place.

At the time I dipped into historical crime fiction, but wasn't terribly keen on it, probably because at the time it was tarred with the mis-historical romance brush. It wasn't until I started reading the Falco, Gordianus the Finder, and SPQR series I started to enjoy it. I still prefer the classical period to later, but I do have some medieval and am currently reading Patricia Finney's Elizabethan Noir omnibus (very weird in style).

My opinion of her? As I mentioned, at the time I wasn't terribly impressed, but it might be worth revisiting if more of the books turn up in the Kindle deals.

>36 -pilgrim-: >37 Maddz: >38 -pilgrim-: >39 Maddz: Thanks for all these observations. I'm not generally a huge fan of historical mysteries, but these sound worth a try at least.

In my list of series, I forgot about another favorite, Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series. She seems to be done with it and writing standalones now. I've just started The Searcher and am enjoying it a lot.

>40 Jim53: Ooh, yes! Tana French is consistently excellent. Your list of enjoyable series up there in #21 is quite solid. But I did want to ask if you'd tried Steven Saylor's mysteries featuring Cicero? Really well done. Roman Blood is the first in that series.

For your continuing education on making scrambled eggs, this is how I made them this morning. Whisk 2-4 eggs in bowl with 1-2 tsp. Sherry, saki, water or whipping cream. I used Chinese cooking wine this morning. Add a little salt and pepper. I use fresh ground, just a couple of twists. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in nonstick pan on medium heat. Pour in eggs and turn heat down. I partially cover my pan with a lid, but don't leave the kitchen and forget it! When the egg begins to firm on the bottom, gently push it to one side. Cover, leave it alone for a little, then push firmness around in pan, lightly lifting and turning the eggs as they firm more. When most of eggs are not runny, but lay in gentle waves within the pan, remove from heat, partially cover and let sit one minute. The eggs should be fluffy, tender and delicious. Serve as is, or top with a sauce, or place on toast. If cheese is desired, add just before the final push and fold eggs over it, then put lid on and let them rest.

Unasked for advice, freely given. ;)

And see, I do a more dry scrambled egg than >42 MrsLee:. I allow one egg per person plus one for the pot. I add one tablespoon of milk for each egg. Add a bit of worcestershire sauce for flavor, mushrooms, and maybe a bit of green parsley. Whip it all thoroughly. Add a tablespoon of butter to your cast iron skillet and swirl it around as it melts. When your cast iron skillet is good and hot, pour in the egg mixture and leave it be for a few minutes as the eggs begin to set. When the edges are firming up against the side, use a spatula to move those toward the center of the pot and allow the more liquid middle to flow around and re-situate themselves against the side of the pan for their turn to get "dry". When there is less fluid, flip the body of eggs over to allow the upper "wet" side to brown up against the bottom of the pan. You can turn off the flame or heat under the cast iron skillet at this point, because the pan will be doing the work needed. You don't want things to burn so after about 30-60 seconds of pressing the spatula down on the top of the eggs, remove eggs to plate(s).

Even MORE unsought information Jim53. But now I want lunch.

>42 MrsLee:, >43 jillmwo: I have to say these sound more like a French omelette recipe.

I was taught to beat your eggs, add some milk (probably around 1/4 the volume of beaten egg or less), add seasoning (salt and pepper), beat again. Heat unsalted butter in a saucepan (non-stick is best) until it's just on the point of sizzling. Pour in the egg mixture, and stir the eggs in the pan until they start to set. Take the pan off the heat, still stirring, and let it rest for a minute, while you butter (and Marmite) your toast. Pile on the toast and eat.

The idea is to have a fluffy curd-like result; you don't want to overcook it as it goes watery, but you don't want it to be still unset. The BBC recipe section is usually a good place to start: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/perfect-scrambled-eggs-recipe. The omelette recipe is here: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/basic-omelette. You can see the difference in texture in the pictures.

Omelettes tend to have added ingredients, scrambled eggs not so much (although bits of smoked salmon are really nice - but with buttered plain toast not Marmite toast).

You could also try coddled eggs - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/smoked-salmon-coddled-eggs

>42 MrsLee: >43 jillmwo: >44 Maddz: Thanks, all. Jill, I was interested to see the mention of worcestershire sauce, because I have a friend who won't make eggs without it. I like my eggs dry too, and I've been considering other additions such as some chopped-up ham/onions/peppers (western screggs?), just for variety.

Another big step today: I made myself some oatmeal. Another nearly foolproof project. I didn't sweeten the oatmeal itself, but I topped it with sliced bananas. I might try a little cinnamon or something to make the oatmeal less boring. Maybe I can find some shredded coconut to sprinkle on top, along with trying different fruits. More suggestions here are welcome too.

Reading-wise, I'm still reading The Searcher, which I'm liking a lot. I've also been honoring my intention to read some poetry by reading some Mary Oliver, which is quite good. I started the second Flavia De Luce at bedtime, but I think I'll have to take it back to the library before I finish it. I'll probably get it out again after I try the first entries in some of the mystery series mentioned above.

>45 Jim53: I have actually experimented with making my own 'apples and cinnamon' oatmeal. A couple of chopped up dried apple slices, a little cinnamon and a bit of sugar made a very tasty homemade version. I can't eat my oatmeal completely unsweetened though, I usually add a little brown sugar.

>44 Maddz: that sounds a lot like the way I do scrambled eggs, except I always make sure they are well-cooked, as I don't like my eggs gooey.

>45 Jim53: my favourite thing to put in oatmeal is a handful of trail mix. Not one with chocolate! I buy one called Sierra Mtn. Mix, which has sunflower seeds, peanuts, raisins, cashews, almonds, and pumpkin seeds. I also add some ground flax seed.

I don't eat oatmeal much (it's not good for my digestion), and I confess I cheat - I buy sachets of unsweetened Oats So Simple (I can take them into the office and do them in the microwave). My usual adds are raisins, cinnamon and a little honey.

This morning I didn't feel like cutting up fruit, so I tried my oatmeal with a bit of maple syrup. It wasn't quite enough syrup, but the flavor was promising. Tomorrow I'm going to grab some coconut flakes and frozen raspberries at the grocery store.

I would love to have all those nuts in it, and in many other ways, but my low-oxalate diet doesn't allow them. I haven't cheated yet because I fear that I won't be able to stop. We do have a few packets of instant somewhere, so I'll try some of that at some point, although according to my wife it has almost no texture at all.

I was so impressed by the inaugural poem and by the reading of it by the young poet Amanda Gorman today. I'll be keeping an eye out for more work by her.

I finished The Searcher, which I enjoyed quite a bit. A retired and divorced cop from Chicago settles in a tiny town in Ireland. We see a lot of his images of the town and its residents, and his gladness at no longer being on the job. Then, of course, a case comes along: a local teen begs him to find out the truth of the teen's older brother, who has disappeared. Cal takes on the search. I found the pace of the book very well matched to the story: languid at first, then accelerating a bit. The solution, parts of which I saw coming, left me feeling not entirely satisfied. I'm not sure how else it could have come out; the ending fits the story well. I just didn't really care for it. Still highly recommended for fans of literate mysteries. Very close to being my third 4.5-star book of this month, but I think it gets just

>50 Jim53: When we're in a rush, or I'm making oatmeal for both of us, I make 1 serving of cooked oatmeal and add 1 packet of instant. At least it cuts down on the sugar and sodium in the instant.

Today I'm starting Among Others, a bullet that I took from ScoLgo in the conversation about best standalone fantasies in December. Also coming soon: The Book of Longings, the next selection for our community book club. I have loved all the Kidd I have read before, so I'm looking forward to this one.

>53 Jim53: I hope you enjoy Among Others. It is not your standard "high fantasy" type of tale but I found it remarkable. It was my first Jo Walton book and I have since read a few more of her titles. If you end up liking her writing, I would also recommend My Real Children to you.

Raw oatmeal flakes cooked in water + melty butter + dried cranberries is one of my goto breakfasts. I also like to add walnuts but it sounds as though that may not be a good ingredient for you. Apple chunks also mix nicely with the cranberries in my experience. The possibilities are nearly endless!

Some thoughts on oatmeal/porridge here;
https://ask.metafilter.com/291043/Its-15F-this-morning-Time-for-oatmeal
https://ask.metafilter.com/142290/Please-add-soy-sauce-and-scallions-to-my-oatme...
https://ask.metafilter.com/88298/Pimp-my-oatmeal

I put peanut butter into porridge fairly often. I also agree that instant oatmeal isn't fit for anything except perhaps spackling a wall.

>54 ScoLgo: I'm just a little way in, but I'm intrigued as to how on earth we got from where we were in 1975 to where we begin in 1979. I love Mor's reflections on how magic works.

>55 haydninvienna: Thanks, Richard, I'll check out those links.

Well, I'm all caught up and now I'm dying for scrambled eggs. I think that's what I'll be making for dinner. I had forgotten about the dash of Worcestershire sauce! I will be adding that, along with quite a bit of cheese.

>57 clamairy: In my first go with W-sauce, I put in way too much. It was pretty funny. OTOH, this morning I didn't put enough grated coconut (Giant didn't have flakes) in my oatmeal. Live and learn.

I'm still chugging along with Among Others and enjoying it. Taking some time out this afternoon to rejoin the Y so I have a place to walk where it isn't 30 degrees (F) and windy.

I finished Among Others and enjoyed it. The diary format is an effective way to tell the story from the point of view of a fifteen-year-old. The ideas about magic and the ethics of using it were interesting. The end came on rather suddenly; I knew I was about at the end of the book and wondered how she was going to finish the story. Obviously Mori would have to confront her mother. I was afraid at one point that realizing her powers might require her to have sex with Wim; I'm very glad that was not the case, and that the conclusion also concluded her sister's story. The book didn't allow us to see her detailed thoughts about the zillions of science-fiction books that she was reading, but it was fun just to see what she liked and didn't. I believe both ScoLgo and Maddz recommended this at some point, so thanks to both of you!

Boy, I haven't been here for a while. I've been running around (figuratively) trying to get shot, but no luck yet. Fortunately my parents and all their co-residents did get their first dose, so I'm breathing a little easier about that.

Many years ago, I read a mystery by Kate Wilhelm called The Hamlet Trap. It featured a retired couple, Charlie and Constance, an ex-cop and a psychologist, who take on an intriguing case now and then. I recently found Flush of Shadows, a collection of five "short novels" (50-80 pages each) featuring this couple, and I've been reading it at bedtime. Three of the five stories featured paranormal elements, which I didn't expect, but one of them was the best of the bunch. Nothing great, but good bedtime reading.

Speaking of librocubicularistic pastimes, I also returned to a classic old favorite and re-read Bimbos of the Death Sun, which was great fun.

My last book for January was the best: The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. It took me a couple of days to concoct a review; I had a hard time describing what I liked so much. There are many wonderful aspects: the voice of the narrator, who is Ana, the wife of Jesus ben Joseph; the characters of Ana, Jesus, and others; Kidd's flowing prose; the characters' longing for each other as they fulfill their individual destinies. Great stuff!

This was a very good month overall for reading: ten books, including one 5-star and two 4.5.

>60 Jim53: "...librocubicularistic..." Welp... had to look that one up ;)

Have never heard of Bimbos of the Death Sun. Reading the description here on LT, the murder victim, (Appin Dungannon), sounds suspiciously like Harlan Ellison...?

>60 Jim53: Haven't read "Bimbos" for a long time. Perhaps it is time for a reread! I have a copy around somewhere, as well as Zombies of the Gene Pool.

>62 ScoLgo: That is almost certainly not coincidental.

I read Bimbos of the Death Sun (and Zombies of the Gene Pool) in the nineties and thoroughly enjoyed them. It very much matched my experience of conventions in that era - minus the corpses, of course.

>62 ScoLgo: You are not alone.

To my surprise it turns out I am a Librocubicularist. That has to go onto my CV.

Just to add to the pile-on re Bimbos of the Death Sun and Zombies of the Gene Pool, I read both quite recently and enjoyed both. >62 ScoLgo: I think the identification of the character Dungannon with the now-deceased author that you mention would be widely accepted. I know it occurred to me when I was reading.

>65 pgmcc: So, it seems, am I - from a very early age...

>65 pgmcc:, >67 Maddz: And I.

>68 -pilgrim-: Me too!

>65 pgmcc: >67 Maddz: >68 -pilgrim-: >69 Sakerfalcon: Me too. Most every night.

>64 -pilgrim-: >66 haydninvienna: I see used hardcover copies of the omnibus, Bimbos and Zombies, can be found for under $10.00. Onto the list it goes. I am riddled with bullet-holes because of you people. Thank you.

I am coincidentally reading Dangerous Visions at the moment. Most all of the forewords and afterwords (one of each per story!) are great fun as they provide insight into Ellison's relationships with the authors that contributed to the anthology. There is much tongue-in-cheek banter involved and it shows how much regard Ellison had for the contributors - and they for him - despite his reputation. That said, Ellison certainly suffered no fools and somewhere along the way someone could very well have taken it on themselves to help him to an untimely end, (a la Appin Dungannon). Thankfully, that did not happen. OTOH, many people in the industry held him in high regard and he seems to have been a fierce friend to those who understood and accepted him, along with all his warts.

Has anyone here watched Dreams With Sharp Teeth?

>62 ScoLgo: >65 pgmcc: >67 Maddz: >68 -pilgrim-: >69 Sakerfalcon: >70 ScoLgo: I am such a librocubicularist that that's what's on my business card (one of the ways I celebrated retirement).

>64 -pilgrim-: Bimbos was a bit more flavorful than my recollections, but I remember some of the elements at different cons (I never got to the biggest F&SF cons, and the mystery cons that I've attended have been somewhat more restrained). One thing I always enjoy is how antiquated the computer stuff is. And I absolutely LOVE Marion.

The Book of Longings reminded me a bit of The Mists of Avalon, in the sense of telling another side of a familiar story from the point of view of the women involved. So Mists is my new bedtime book, although it's almost too large to hold easily. Ah well, the sacrifices we make, eh? It occurred to me that Mists could have been included in the prior discussion of best standalone fantasies, although I guess there are others in the same world, which I haven't read. Has anyone here read some of them? Are they similar in tone, characterization, pace, etc.? Are there any you particularly recommend?

>72 Jim53: MZB is a bit of a pariah these days, given she apparently condoned her husband's actions. It's a pity because she was a good writer.

>73 Maddz: Yeah, this is a tough one. I wish I could separate an artist's work from any unsavory acts, but it's difficult. I can't listen to Michael Jackson anymore, for example.

>72 Jim53: Enjoy your book. I read all (or most?) of them, and though they were decent reads the first was definitely my favorite.

>73 Maddz: Yes, her daughter's allegations go considerably further than that.

>74 clamairy: I find that dilemma difficult too. William Mayne is the most difficult case for me. His children's stories were wonderful, but there are a view scenes that are disturbing in the light of his subsequent criminal convictions.

>73 Maddz: >74 clamairy: >75 -pilgrim-: Oh my goodness, I had no idea. Just the little bit I've seen now sounds horrible. Not sure I can continue with this re-read, which is too bad; I was enjoying comparing the progression of the story to the Mary Stewart version I re-read last year. Thanks for alerting me. I had a less serious but similar issue that turned me off of Orson Scott Card (no child abuse, "just" a raging homophobe). I'm no longer listening to Michael Jackson either. I've struggled with this a bit too, as Clam described, but I've concluded that there are enough wonderful writers, musicians, athletes and such who aren't horrible racists, child and spouse abusers, etc., that I can just walk away from those who are.

>73 Maddz: >74 clamairy: >75 -pilgrim-: Oh my goodness. Oh my freaking goodness. I had no idea. Thanks for alerting me. I'm not gonna continue with Mists, which is too bad, because I was enjoying comparing the progression of the story to Mary Stewart's version, which I re-read last year. But I can't continue with it, knowing what I now know.

I've had similar issues with other authors, such as Orson Scott Card (no child abuse, "just" a raging homophobe), musicians, athletes, etc. I, too, no longer listen to Michael Jackson. I've struggled, as Clam described, with keeping my response to the art separate from what I know of someone's life, but I've basically stopped trying. There are enough wonderful writers who are not horrible racists, child or spouse abusers, or whatever, that I prefer to just walk away from those who are.

And now I feel badly that we've ruined your reread... :o(

>78 clamairy: So do I.

>77 Jim53:
The problem is that genius does not always go with being a nice person, or even a minimally adequate one.

My personal resolution to the dilemma is
(I) Royalties. I am NOT going to give any of my money to support these people in any way.
But where they are dead, and particularly if the royalties would go to their children, who are not complicit, and in fact may well have been the victims, then one's money does no harm, and may arguably help. (It seems hard to come clean about being abused as a child, and then be financially punished for it.)
(II) Content. Is there anything in their work that, in retrospect, can be interpreted as advocating their repulsive views?

(I have William Mayne as an example for that reason. He is dead. His fantasy books for children are brilliantly maginative, to a prize-winning level, and well-written.

But there are scenes in which some small girls (who really do need a bath) are bathed by an adult who is not related to them. There is nothing suggestive in the scene, but that itself is what makes it effective as grooming: Mayne had hot running water at a time when not all his neighbours did.

Should we deny to children the enjoyment of those books, now Mayne himself is no longer around to take advantage of that aspect?)

I am sorry if I have taken up too much of your thread in contemplating an unpleasant topic.

But my conclusion is that you should not feel uncomfortable about rereading a copy of a good book by a bad person, providing the book is not advocacy for their activities.

Purchase of further products by them is a more nuanced matter.

(And I have been thinking about this issue recently, because I have been watching a biography of Oscar Wilde.)

>79 -pilgrim-: Purely as a matter of interest, would your problem (I) be eased by reading what seem like good books from the library rather than buying them? For example, I've not seen anything by MZB in shops selling either new or used books, but the library has a reasonable selection.

>80 hfglen: Yes, that would answer objection (i) entirely, in principle. (As a matter of practicality, not so much - I don't have a good library within travelling range.)

As to objection (ii), I do not know enough of MZB's work to know whether it would be relevant. I only read one of her Darkover novels; it might have been The Shattered Chain, but that was decades ago and I am really not sure. I remember it as "unusual set up, but "meh" as regards execution". I liked her Thieves' World contributions, but not enough to ever seek her out (before issues in her private life became publicly known). But I have heard Mists of Avalon recommended repeatedly.

My raw reaction to art by reprehensible people -once the two major caveats listed above are dealt with - is that it is unnecessary to throw out what good there is about them (which may be little), because of the bad. (An analogy is that the fact that we use the data obtained from Nazi concentration camp experiments (regarding hypothermia, for example) in no way exonerates the way that information was obtained.)

However, I have just been reading an account by one of Mayne's victims of how painful it is, even now, to see his books on the shelves, knowing that she can recognise herself in the characters. (Mayne deliberately used the character traits of his victims in his novels, as a way of flattering them, part of the grooming.) With this in mind, I think the bookshop attitude is probably correct.

In summary, it would be sad if this prevents Jim enjoying a book he loved. A bad person can have written a good book.

Purchasing more is a separate issue.

>81 -pilgrim-: Apart from anthologised works, the only MZB I still own are The Mists of Avalon and The Firebrand. The latter I found weaker than the the former. In my defence, both were purchased second-hand and before the issues came to light.

I used to own several volumes in the Darkover series, but they went years ago (long before I joined here); I much preferred Witch World. I do recall them being 'meh', and in retrospect I was uncomfortable with some aspects of the world-building.

Oddly, we met William Mayne years ago; we used to visit an old family friend in the Yorkshire Dales, and she arranged for my sister to meet him. It was a one-off visit, and I recall he gifted my sister with a Japanese translation of one of his books. I don't recall anything particularly creepy about him (we are talking over 40 years ago now); probably because I was a sulky teenager by that point, and our mother accompanied us.

There is another aspect to consider: history frequently features actions and situations we would now consider abusive for either children or adults. I have no objection to reading about it, as long as the author makes it clear that they in no way condone such, and it is not handled in a prurient manner. To my mind, the worse situation is to air-brush it out and pretend it never happened. It is far better to include in context.

>82 Maddz: Mayne pled guilty at his trial, and then withdrew the plea (thus preventing further witnesses from testifying).

I agree completely that we cannot judge today behaviours that were normal at the time. The reason that the bath scenes that I mentioned are problematic (I think), is that, in his case, they were used to normalise the same event in Mayne's own home, which he then used as an occasion for sexual abuse. It was apparently part of the grooming process. (ETA: although such bathing would not be acceptable nowadays, that is not what was described as "abuse" in the charges, which refer to far more serious activities.)

And I do admire his skill in writing for children, but since he used this skill to gain access to young children, then it is harder to separate his writing from his activities.

An abuser can be a charming, intelligent, and apparently likeable person; and to those they do not wish to abuse, they will continue to appear that way. There is nothing that the observer "has missed"; few people have no "good side", and if the other side is never manifested to you, then you have no reason to suspect that it is there.

As regards an author portraying historical behaviours accurately, rather than imposing modern norms, I agree with you completely. (But that does not justify imposing a subtext that implies such standards ought to be applicable nowadays.) If we pretend that horrible things never happened, then we facilitate then happening again.

Hence my question about MZB. Fantasy writers can imagine strange worlds, without one automatically assuming that they approve of the attitudes depicted there. But there are writers, like John Norman, who use the medium to proselytise for their views on "correct" sexual relationships. (I read one of his novels in its entirety, because I was expecting his protagonist to realise the foolishness of the doctrines he had been espousing - I had not realised until the end that the reader was intended to agree!) I know too little about MZB's work to have any idea whether her fantasy settings were intended to promulgate her views.

>77 Jim53: >78 clamairy: Please don't feel bad. You didn't ruin it; the author did, by her reprehensible actions. I'm glad to have found out now rather than after I might have bought a sequel. I suspect I will keep the book, at least for now; I remember her telling of the story with admiration, and my attitude toward reading it might change.

>79 -pilgrim-: Don't worry about taking up my thread. The space is quite expandable; you're not squeezing anyone out ;-) Besides, the conversation is interesting. Since writers are imperfect people, we have to contemplate these things.

>84 Jim53: I've taken a similar approach. We have a copy of Mists of Avalon sitting on top of a shelf, not quite sure if I'm keeping it or not but I've gotten rid of several other MZB books that were just mediocre. I did keep one short story collection that a female co-worker wrote a story for, but that's for her, not the editor.

>23 Jim53: Something today made me remember a short crime fiction series that I liked very much. May I add the Kiszka and Kershaw sequence by Anya Lipska to my earlier recommendations? t is very realistically set in London's Polish community.

>86 -pilgrim-: That sounds interesting. I'll look for it at my library. Is it current time?

I'm part way through Such a Fun Age, a bullet I took from Sakerfalcon. So far it's quite a smooth read, much more so than Luster was. I was a bit surprised at the end of the first part, when she rather clumsily (it seemed to me) threw in a significant fact/connection from her all-knowing authorial voice. It adds some tension immediately, but I don't know why she couldn't have let us find out as the story unwinds. Ah well, I'll keep reading, knowing what she's told us, and see whether I can discern a reason for her odd-feeling timing. Overall I'm enjoying the story quite a bit.

I've also been reading Cynthia Bourgeault's Eye of the Heart (there sure are a lot of books with that title). Cynthia is on the staff of the Center for Action and Contemplation, whose weekly emails I receive. I hoped that this particular book would give me some insight into her personal approach to mysticism, prayer, etc., and I suppose maybe it does, but it's a very specialized and abstract piece of the puzzle: the imaginal realm, which demands a good bit of explication. She spends much of the book explaining concepts from George Gurdjieff's work, including his Ray of Creation, which corresponds somewhat to the more familiar Chain of Being; Gurdjieff's work is a prerequisite for what she's describing. Some parts are clearer than others; I didn't absorb it well enough to provide a brief synopsis Overall the book is much more dry and academic than I had hoped. It reminded me that I don't recall a lot of what I've read of Teilhard, so I'll have to do some re-reading of his work.

I finished and reviewed Such a Fun Age. It drew me in and was an easy, yet substantial, read. Emira, a 25-year-old Black woman, is fetishized by her white employer and her white boyfriend, in different ways. When it turns out that the employer and the boyfriend have a past, each encourages Emira to break away from the other. We see different forms of privilege and performative wokeness.

One thing that fascinated me was that we learn near the end that at the end of her senior year, which is years in the past of the novel's "present time." Alex learned that Kelley did not betray her as she has contended all along. For some reason, she is unable to give up on this idea, that certain events were all his fault; she is unable to accept that luck played a huge part. What does this add to our understanding of her character??.

I enjoyed reading this a good bit more than I did Luster, although it doesn't have the big issues of how women of different races have to struggle to be seen, and the impact of that on their relationships, as Luster did. But Such a Fun Age works with its own issues of privilege and racial perception; there is substance here as well as a pleasant read.

>90 Jim53: I'm glad you enjoyed this! I agree that on the surface it's a very easy read; the substance comes as a good surprise, when you find yourself thinking about issues raised the book some time later.

>90 Jim53: Uhoh... Trying to avoid a bullet there. 🙈

>92 clamairy: after all I've taken from you over the years...

>87 Jim53: Yes, more or less. Probably about ten years ago now.

Janusz Kiszka arrived in the UK in response to the Jaruzelski imposition of martial law in the early eighties (when he had been a student) and in the "now" of the book he is in his forties.

At the start of the first book, he is acting as an informal facilitator for the young Poles who are part of the Central/East European influx into the building trade. (As he describes them: ex-military service shorn haircuts, huge rucksacks, lost expressions.)

Janusz is a great character. Who couldn't love a huge guy, hands like hams, who reads incessantly and cooks Polish food expertly?

Pretty good haul at the public library on Friday, including a handful of recent book bullets. I'm currently reading A Man Called Ove and Crystal Singer. Also snagged a dozen CDs to try out, since I'm almost completely unaware of most music of the last few years.

>95 Jim53: I can see some good stuff there.

>95 Jim53: I’ll be especially interested to find out what you think of Assassin’s Apprentice, The Bear and the Nightingale, and Redshirts (assuming that’s what the Scalzi book starting with 'RE' is).

>97 YouKneeK: Those were the ones that interested me most also.

>95 Jim53: That is quite a nice haul! If you like A Man Called Ove, the movie is worth a watch as well. I liked that book quite a bit so will be interested in your thoughts on the other Backman title you scored.

Crystal singer is fun from what I recall. Not especially deep, being McCaffery but some good world-building. I still haven't managed to get around to reading the rest of the Ships books though. I wasn't impressed by Hobb though and have avoided reading anything more.

>95 Jim53: That's a nice pile! I think I helped fire the Crystal singer singer bullet, and I also enjoyed A man called Ove.

>95 Jim53: Nice collection, I'll be interested to see what you think of Pres. Obama's book, I have his latest on my wishlist.

>97 YouKneeK: That's definitely Redshirts! Quite amusing.

>100 reading_fox: Agreed, I liked the start of that series by McCaffrey, but just can't do Hobb.

>85 Karlstar: What a haul! I have read quite a few of those. I think you're going to absolutely love A Promised Land.

>99 ScoLgo: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry is the March book for our book club, so I'll be getting to it before too long. I just finished A Man Called Ove and liked it quite well. I think the only Swedish fiction that I had read previously was a few "Scandinavian noir" mysteries; there were some similarities in that we see the things that happen, and we see what Ove does, but we don't listen in on his thoughts or feelings very much. OTOH Backman's tone is both humorous and sympathetic, quite different from the bleak tone of some of the mysteries. And that's just the way that happens to be.

>100 reading_fox: >101 Sakerfalcon: >102 Karlstar: I'm in the middle of Crystal Singer. The beginning seemed a bit rushed and YA-ish, but then so is a lot of her stuff. There are emotional echoes of Dragonsinger. I'm mildly intrigued by the apparent importance of Privacy and how the characters invoke it like a talisman to avoid answering questions. I wonder how it came about; presumably as a reaction to a trend toward expecting everyone to reveal all kinds of stuff about themselves. It doesn't appear to be important enough to the story that we'll find out. Other than the mostly necessary infodump at orientation, the story is moving along well enough. I'm reading it at bedtime, so it will take a while longer.

>102 Karlstar: >103 clamairy: I've just started President Obama's book and am enjoying it so far. I don't expect to finish it before it's due back, especially since I'm eager to read several of the other books I just got; I just want to get enough of a feel to confirm that I want to buy it. So far I find the reading pretty easy, although I wish he had said a lot more about his thinking about his identity as a Black man. He largely glossed over it late in Chapter 1. Maybe he'll come back.

>94 -pilgrim-: thanks for the added details. Janusz sounds appealing. Unfortunately my library doesn't have them but I'll look into ILL at some point. In theory my card entitles me to borrow books from all over the state, but I haven't figured out how to look at the catalogs of the adjacent counties, and until I'm vaccinated I'm not inclined to take any browsing trips.

>97 YouKneeK: >98 -pilgrim-: I want to start all of those immediately, if not sooner. I have to decide whether I want to finish off Chakraborty first. Life is full of difficult decisions.

>107 Jim53: "... but I haven't figured out how to look at the catalogs of the adjacent counties... "

Have you tried the 'Worldcat' link from the book pages here on LT? It's in the 'Quick Links' section over on the upper right of each work page. I don't do a lot of ILL borrowing but have found that tool occasionally useful. Once you choose an edition, you just enter your zip code on the resulting page and it will (hopefully) find the book at libraries that are geographically proximate.

>106 Jim53: President Obama’s thinking of himself as a young Black man takes up a good deal of Dreams of My Father.

>106 Jim53: Thanks Jim, that's encouraging.

>110 haydninvienna: That he did! I actually have been meaning to reread that. Perhaps I'll get the audible copy so he can read it to me himself.

>106 Jim53: I hope you do end up buying it. I'm about two thirds of the way through the audio, and savoring it.

>109 ScoLgo: Thanks, I'll play with that some and see how it does. Right now I've got a lot to read, but I still always want to look for something else.

>110 haydninvienna: Thanks for the reminder, Richard. As I recall, I looked through Dreams a couple of years ago while recovering from one thing or another, and I couldn't really handle anything that needed that much attention. Maybe this year is the time to try it again.

>113 Jim53: I read it a few weeks ago. It’s a wonderful book.

I decided on The Bear and the Nightingale for my next read. Sixty pages in, I'm enjoying it a lot. The tone is very folk tale-ish, but with various details that lend a more realistic flavor. I'm curious to see who the title characters will be; my initial guess is the mysterious stranger and Vasya.

>115 Jim53: I'm very glad you're enjoying it so far!

I finished Crystal Singer last night. It seemed like a case of an author having a couple of interesting ideas but not being able to connect them or flesh them out properly. The idea of a caste of people who have the gifts needed to perform this unique task is not new; the idea that it affects them in unpredictable ways is promising. But there are numerous holes. She doesn't even tell us why the tasks require people with special gifts; why, for example, couldn't the cutting tool include an auto-tuner? I like finding things out as we go as well as the next reader, but I don't get any sense that she has a plan. The story felt as if she had reached her page count and just petered out. Maybe we'll learn more in subsequent volumes, but McCaffrey hasn't given me enough reason to keep reading. And am I the only one who found Killashandra's relationship with a certain other character pretty creepy?

>117 Jim53: Been a while since I read it, I assume you read the fix-up novel? I have the original short stories and the novels.

If it's the relationship I'm thinking of, then, yeah, sort of. However, it's of it's time - another of McCaffrey's shorts got expanded into a novel - and that one was (for her) verging on soft core porn.

Heck, when you think about the Dragonriders being attuned to their dragons to the extent of not-really-consensual (mostly) homosexual sex...

>117 Jim53: I really enjoy The crystal singer, despite the flaws you mention. Killashandra is such a great protagonist (anti-heroine?) - unafraid to be unlikeable to get what she wants. The book is kind of a soap opera and I do agree with you about the relationship. But the book is a comfort read for me. However, I would not recommend either of the sequels; you won't miss anything by not reading them.

>119 Sakerfalcon: If we all liked exactly the same things, that would be quite boring. I'm glad to have read it, even though I probably won't go back to it. Thanks for the word on the sequels.

>118 Maddz: I remember the humans having sex along with their dragons, but I totally missed the homosexual aspect.

>120 Jim53: It was not really made explicit, but only the gold dragon riders were female...

>115 Jim53: You're still working on this one? Should help distract you from those shingles. :o/

>122 clamairy: yes, I just finished Part II and am trying to decide whether to continue or retire. I've been sleeping so much during the day that I believe I'll read some more. It's a wonderful story, a wound I'm delighted to have received ;-)

>123 Jim53: That bullet was ricocheting around in here for quite a while before I got hit between the eyes. :o)

Oh my. The Bear and the Nightingale was really wonderful. The pace accelerated nicely toward the end. She deals well with the problem of having well-developed characters in the midst of a fairy tale, where we so often see stereotypes without very many individual traits. I'm tempted to blow up my previous plans and grab the two other volumes, but book club calls, and I'm not leaving the house at all this week, so I will have to wait just a little longer for more time with Vasya.

This year has really sucked in many ways, but I have still encountered quite a few wonderful books in these first two months. And y'all have pointed me to several of them, including The Bear and the Nightingale, so thank you very much for making things a bit more fun.

PS I was way off in my speculation about who the title characters were, but I have a new theory: the blue gem that Vasya now carries is the Bear's lost eye. I might just be trying too hard, though.

>125 Jim53: I'm so pleased that you enjoyed it. I hope you can get to the 2nd and 3rd soonish. (I refuse to confirm or deny any speculations.)

How are the shingles? That used to plague my father regularly - the perils of a wrecked immune system. I hope that your bout has receded.

>125 Jim53: I’m also glad you enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale so much! I thought the series stayed strong through the end.

>125 Jim53: So pleased this series has found another fan! It really is wonderful.

I see that The Bear and the Nightingale is being compared to The Night Circus. Views on that, anyone? I loved The Night Circus, so might have taken a BB if the comparison holds up.

>130 haydninvienna: Both are beautifully written but otherwise I wouldn't say they have much in common. The bear and the nightingale is based on Russian folklore and history, set in the C15th (?) whereas The night circus is set in late C19th and is about a magical circus and rival magicians. I loved both books, but I can't really see strong similarities beyond the writing.

>131 Sakerfalcon: Thanks for that! And the moral is, that blurb writers are much more interested in selling books than providing useful information! I might still give The Bear and the Nightingale a shot though.

>132 haydninvienna: It's been a while since I read The night circus, so I would be interested to see if you do find more in common between the two books.

>95 Jim53: Very nice library haul!

Last night I did a little poking around and found a set of the three winternight books in trade paperback, which is my preferred format, at a decent price, so I grabbed them. It seems like the sort of series I might want to come back to.

I don't really get the similarity with The Night Circus, which I read several years ago and liked a lot. But I've read only the first of Arden's series, so there might be something coming up.

>127 -pilgrim-: Not so well, I fear. I've cancelled a planned visit to my parents and dropped out of a couple of meetings. My nurse was very emphatic about not taking more than one pain pill per day, so I have to decide whether to ache all day and sleep better, or feel somewhat better during the day and wake up frequently during the night. But it will pass, and I'm still able to do the most basic stuff, including reading. Thanks for asking.

>134 libraryperilous: yeah! I've been enjoying them. Next up is My Grandmother Asked Me to tell you She's sorry, for our community book club. I enjoyed Ove, so I'm looking forward to this. I need to get through it so my wife can read it too.

>130 haydninvienna: I agree with the others, I don’t see many similarities between The Night Circus and The Bear and the Nightingale. I was actually pretty lukewarm on Circus but loved Bear.

I've found the beginning of My Grandmother Asked Me to tell you She's sorry quite entertaining. Today I had trouble staying awake long enough to read much. But I can't recall ever being disappointed by a book with an excrement-flinging grandmother.

>137 Jim53: "But I can't recall ever being disappointed by a book with an excrement-flinging grandmother"

Welp... that's a book bullet right there. ;)

>137 Jim53: Um, seems like that would be a pass for me. :)

>139 Karlstar: That is my reaction too, I'm sorry to say.

>139 Karlstar: >140 -pilgrim-: Oh, no! Where is your sense of the absurd? ;)

Having already read and enjoyed A Man Called Ove by the same author, I am fairly certain that the story is much more entertaining and heart-felt than implied by the single sentence in >137 Jim53:.

I am going to have to investigate this author, Fredrik Backman a bit further. I am intrigued. Because this implies an interesting and quirky set of differences based on comments by all four of you -- >137 Jim53:, >138 ScoLgo:, >139 Karlstar:, >140 -pilgrim-:,

>142 jillmwo: So far, I have only read A Man Called Ove and I thought it was wonderful. But then, I am from the same country as the author so the cultural sensibilities in the narrative are encoded in my genes.

The (subtitled) Ove film adaptation is also done rather well, IMHO.

>144 clamairy: Now stir.

I really enjoyed A man called Ove, and Britt-Marie was here. I believe My grandmother asked me ... is linked in some way to Britt-Marie and precedes it, so I should pick it up some time. I've also read Beartown which is much more serious in its content, but still very good. He's definitely an author whose work I look out for.

>138 ScoLgo: >139 Karlstar: >140 -pilgrim-: You'll note that I didn't actually say that there is such a thing in this book, merely that I haven't been disappointed when there is. There is, in fact, a reference early on to an incident involving said missiles, but it's very brief and not narrated "live." I wouldn't say it introduces any "ewww" factor.

I finally finished My grandmother asked me. It takes a long time to get through a book when you fall asleep twenty minutes after beginning to read, over and over again. This had nothing to do with the book, however, and everything to do with how much the shingles have been taking out of me. I still feel like >144 clamairy: but I think I'm coming out of it slowly.

I'm not quite sure what to say about the book. It's quite creative, and ambitious in a different way from Ove. I enjoyed figuring out what he was up to, up to a point. As the book wound down it became much more self-referential and felt as though he couldn't quite figure out how to end it. But overall it was a good bit of fun, with many funny moments. It slogs a bit in the middle, but so do many books. It's hard to say a lot about it without spoilers. We lean that most people are neither total shits nor total non-shits. What more does one need to know?

One funny thing is that almost-eight-years-old Elsa has read what she calls excellent literature, including X-Men and the Harry Potter series, multiple times. I was envisioning her in utero, flipping virtual pages on her tablet. When she hears of tropes in ancient myths, she declares that they've been stolen from Harry Potter. But never, in the course of this book, do we see her reading. I guess her quest takes precedence for a while.

>146 Sakerfalcon: Britt-Marie is a character in this one, and it sounds as if Britt-Marie Was Here picks up quite soon after the end of My grandmother asked me. I'm curious about it and might get back to it after I knock off a few more current reads. I think it's time for some more realistic fiction, so I'm going to try The Chalk Circle Man, which as I recall was a bullet from sakerfalcon back when I was listing mystery series.

>147 Jim53: True, you didn't.

I finished The Chalk Circle Man, which was entertaining. The differences in the ways in which the characters interact, and process information, were interesting, particularly the main character, commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg. He basically wallows in the data till things emerge. In grad school this was known as grounded theory.

It was good to have a break from the several F&SF titles I've been reading. Now back to The Silmarillion for the group read.

I keep falling asleep while trying to read The Silmarillion, and it's not just me. I'm reading some other books now and might try TS again depending on how long the group read lasts.

How to Read Poetry Like a Professor is a very jovial, even flippant, look at some poetry basics with lots of useful examples. I'm right in the middle and enjoying it a lot.

I started Piranesi last night and managed about 70 pages. It definitely has a high "What on Earth?" (abbreviated "WTF") quotient. A few observations so far: The man whom Piranesi calls "The Other" knows Piranesi's name, but P does not know his. Mr. Other seems to have access to goods from an outside world that is quite similar to ours, although his ambitious project is pretty weird. Where are they? If feels as if they're on our Earth, presumably after the oceans have risen onto the land at least in some places. A global warming warning? The statuary makes me think they're in a museum of some sort--am I supposed to recognize some of the statues?--or maybe a place such as Buckingham Palace. Enough speculating, back to reading!

>150 Jim53: I suspect your Piranesi touchstone is pointing to a different work than intended...?

>151 ScoLgo: Different but not completely irrelevant.

>151 ScoLgo: >152 haydninvienna: Good catch and an intriguing comment! Thanks, I think.

Wow. I certainly didn't fall asleep reading Piranesi. I stayed up late to finish it, which is not something I've been doing lately. It's hard to figure out what I can say about it that isn't spoilerific. I would need to study up in a couple of areas to comment intelligently. Thanks to the numerous sharpshooters and ricochets who got me on this one--I can't remember who was first.

I tried The Assassin's Apprentice as a bedtime book a couple of times but couldn't get into it. It might have had to do with having various other fantasy reads going and not feeling like getting into yet another new world, particularly since I didn't find the beginning compelling. I took that and a few other books--some read and some not--back to the library today and picked up a few more. Tonight I plan to start Redshirts.

>155 Jim53: I look forward to your view of Redshirts. I have it on a shelf (I even know which shelf) but have not read it yet.

>155 Jim53: I hope you enjoy this one! I loved it, and my daughter liked it too. I tried gifting the ebook to my brother, but he couldn't get into it. As a total Trek nerd I was enthralled.

>155 Jim53: I'm also looking forward to what you think of Redshirts. It is definitely different.

With regards to https://www.librarything.com/topic/329697#7450376 I figured I'd ask here, are you still at IBM?

>158 Karlstar: No, I retired in 2017. Why, are you?

I finally finished Redshirts. It's my third recent read that I can't summarize well without spoiling it, the others being My Grandmother Asked Me and Piranesi. In fact, it has some interesting similarities to Piranesi, in the sense that the primary characters have to figure out what's going on; does anyone who has read both agree? Redshirts was a little more different from Scalzi's other novels that I expected. Rather than figure out exactly which comments require spoiler tags, I'll just put all my initial comments into one big spoiler section. Update: I have pulled a few non-spoilerish comments out from the spoiler sections.

We begin by meeting a group of characters who are heading off on their first space journey on the Intrepid. Its ten-year mission: oh, never mind, but it includes "away missions," in which a small group visits a (potentially) deadly planet. A crew member often dies on these away missions, although it's never one of the ship's officers. We see a couple of illustrative and entertaining examples. Those who have grokked the book's title will see what's going on. The mysterious crewmember Jenkins comes up with a startling hypothesis: the crew are characters in a television show, their fates determined by the script writer. And he's not even a very good script writer. And of course he has no idea that the characters have become sentient beings, because how on earth could that happen? The rest of the book consists of some crew members visiting the creators of the TV show and persuading them not to kill characters off in such volume. Of course they had to bring an officer with them to make sure they didn't just disappear. During this mission we get to see the characters interacting with the actors who play them, which is good for a couple of laughs. It's also interesting to see how arbitrary decisions made in the past to add tension to an episode continue to govern how things work.

There are some side stories, and some very funny bits here and there, and a fair amount of hand-waving to make things work, e.g., how did the characters acquire self-awareness outside the show's narrative? How are they solid enough to interact with "the real world"? Scalzi deals with these issues simply by ignoring them, and it works pretty well. Once you accept the characters having their own lives outside "The Narrative," and of course you've been seeing them do so before we learn about their ontology, everything else goes down pretty smoothly. The very end of the story is typical Scalzi humor.

The story comes with three codas. The first has the feel of the author playing with himself and seems like a waste of paper (or electrons). The second is a rather poignant follow-up to one of the side stories and is nicely done. The third is quite sweet and makes a couple of important connections, as well as answering the question of why Jenkins must look like a yeti.

It's the sort of book that works quite well if you just relax and go with the flow. You have to have some tolerance for metafiction, but it's become more common these days and isn't so far out there. The humor helps us accept details that a closer reading might find troubling. Those who have read Scalzi before will know to expect his rather loose and funny attitude toward the world. For me, it's not a great book, but it's a lot of fun.

>158 Karlstar: Yes, I'm still there.

The Masterharper of Pern is by far the longest of McCaffrey's Pern books that I've read, and I don't think it just felt that way, tho at times it certainly did. In the earlier books, Masterharper Robinton is an attractive character, empathetic as well as authoritative. This volume shows how he got that way, a gifted child who endured many tragedies growing up and as a young man. We certainly get a different look at Master Petiron in this book than we saw elsewhere. We also see references to lots of other familiar names--for example, from his teens, Robinton is friends with dragonrider F'lon, whose sons are major characters in the original trilogy--so for those who are thrilled by that sort of thing, this book has plenty to offer. Beyond that, I was pretty underwhelmed. An easy read, certainly, and good for bedtime.

I think I enjoyed the early Pern more than the later ones.

>162 reading_fox: This was the first one I've read other than what I think of as the original six, and it didn't motivate me to read more.

I finished and reviewed my latest ER win, Thunder in the Soul. It's a compendium of writings on different areas of religion and faith by Abraham Heschel, of whom I had not heard, but who seems to have been a major religious thinker and writer of the twentieth century. The biography that is included is impressive. The material itself tends to be brief statements, rather than developed ideas, so it's pretty dense and we don't get to see much of how he arrived at his ideas. I believe it's designed to interest readers in the original source materials from which it's drawn.