I ran across a cool-looking post on tumblr, a bingo card for "2025 Book Bingo". And I thought that would be a fun way to help me shake up my reading choices this year...I always have some book or other on the go, but often when I don't know what I feel like reading next, I fall yet again into a re-re-re-re-read of some old favorite. (Nothing wrong with old favorites, of course, but sometimes I overdo and am not re-reading out of an active choice but purely because I feel stuck.)

I posted a little report on my first book for the bingo on tumblr the other day, but once I was ready today to post my second one, I found myself strangely hesitant. Not sure why, and I did eventually post it...but for some reason it feels too weird for me to post things like that over there.

Maybe it's because I almost always just use tumblr for 1) browsing pictures, and 2) reblogging other people's posts?? I initiate very few posts--iirc, probably mainly fic announcements. Hmm. I really don't know why, honestly, but there's something about a set of personal book reports that feels more Dreamwidthy for me.

In any case, that's how it feels, and who even knows how my brain works, so I figure I'll put them over here. (Maybe I'll crosspost them on tumblr? Maybe the practice will help me feel more comfortable with it?? Maybe???)

This is the card I'm working from:

Hoh man. Serious insomnia last night, my standard sleep hygiene routines fell down around my ears, so I'm at work on about 3 hours sleep. Kind of floating around behind my face like a gurbly balloon.

On the bright side, nice things going on at work, the powers that be actually ponying up money for something we really really needed, yay. But will I be glad to get home and eat a cracker and go to bed before sunset.

My current library audiobook is really fretting me. It's Donna Tartt's The Secret History, and I had heard about it eeeverywhere. Highly spoken of. And a good long book, so I was excited to jump in.

But now I'm just about halfway through, and am considering just stopping and returning the dang thing. It's a constant low-level irritation.

A major reason, unfortunately, is the reading. It's read by Donna Tartt herself, and there are few writers who I think should be audiobook readers. No shame, it's just...audiobook narration is a specific and underestimated skillset, and I vastly prefer to hear a professional do it. Just because you wrote the book doesn't mean you'll be good at reading it aloud.

She has a very low vocal energy, dipping into long croaky vocal fry a lot at the ends of sentences, because she doesn't know how to speak softly but also firmly/powerfully at the same time. A professional knows how to support their voice even when they're speaking right up against a microphone. For the same reasons, her voice scarcely changes timbre, staying in a repetitive, cyclical, muttery range, again because she doesn't have the skill at speaking quietly, on a mike, yet varying in tone and timbre and energy.

And to cap all that off, for some godforsaken reason she gives the character Bunny a distinctive "voice", high and very nasal and singsong, like she's doing some kind of puppet show. AUGH! No one else gets something like that. A professional audiobook reader--a good one, anyway--doesn't "do voices" like that. But here I have to listen to Bunny nasally-squeaking away right and left.

So it just rasps on my ears. It's likely that had I read the book in print, it wouldn't have felt like such a hard, irritating row to hoe--her reading has heaped a lot of difficulty onto the text that has taken extra work for me to disregard.

However--I can't guarantee I would like it, even if it had a good reader. Not just because all the characters are tedious to spend time with in a lit'ry-fiction/anachronistic/wealthy-spoiled-boring way, though that's sure the case. Nor that she seems to have given them banana levels of smoking habits mainly so she has actions to describe to break up big long speeches. Characters are forever lighting another cigarette or pouring another whisky (they all smoke and drink like thirty year olds in 1958, though they're supposed to be 20 year olds in the 1980s...I mean, I think even snotty old-rich Vermont college kids in the 80s drank dumb college booze like everyone else.).

That's kind of petty, I know. Worse I think is what feels to me like a complete overdetermination of ( Bunny Corcoran )

Granted, I'm only halfway through--maybe the second half of the book addresses this weird approach it seems to have committed to. But because the listening experience is not very pleasant, I'm not sure if I can stick it out.

Anyone who's read it, I'd be more than happy to hear your advice!

It's out at last! Yay! Keiko Kirin, who wrote the m/m novel "Safety Net" (about guys who meet in college on the football team, and find friendship as well as love and careers), has a new book out, The Provinces of Touch. The blurb for this one reads:

Jun, a healer with an unpredictable gift, yearns to overcome his troubled past. His solitude is shattered by the arrival of Tlar, a wounded young man from a distant land. Helping this stranger opens up new worlds filled with adventure -- but also brings shocking danger and tragedy. Can Jun finally find true friendship and love? Or will his actions cause a catastrophic invasion and the extinction of his people?

Here's her announcement post for The Provinces of Touch, as well as the Amazon page and the Smashwords page.

I also recommend this extra piece of promo art. ♥

Full disclosure: I got to read an earlier draft. I highly recommend it, and am looking forward to reading my new copy of the final novel! It's gentle, thoughtful, character-driven fantasy, with interesting cultures and worldbuilding, and people I want to get to know all over again.

I belong to a Nero Wolfe community on Dreamwidth called milk_and_orchids. And we were having a discussion of all the books in order, which paused a couple years ago. aris_tgd suggests we start it up again, and I am all for it!

So I thought I'd mention the comm here, in case it piques anyone's interest. You don't have to be any kind of a Wolfe expert or anything, and all kinds of input is welcome, including discussion of the A&E series with Tim Hutton or other adaptations. It's a good idea to be slash friendly, though slashing isn't mandatory.

And give a look-see through past posts! The tone of the group is very much into the characterizational and interpersonal, so I love to see various dialogue and narrative exchanges that get quoted back in people's book reviews and discussions. It also helps remind me, like, which book is it where Archie cherishes the leather billfold Wolfe gave him, which book is it where Archie cherishes the kidskin case Wolfe gave him, which book is it where Archie cherishes the dressing gown Wolfe gave him... :D

I was idly thumbing through my copy of Diane Duane's novel Spock's World last night; it was at the top of a box of books and it reminded me I hadn't reread my Duane Star Trek in a while. She has done some of my absolute favorite fleshing out of the Star Trek universe--the importance and complexities of the rec deck! Harb Tanzer! Naraht! K('s)'t'lk! A diverse crew bustling with non-hominids! I think if I ever write ST fic, it's likely I'd set it in the Duane subvariant.

Something I'd never thought to wonder about the book, though, is where the title came from. Like, I can't help but wonder if she had a different original title. Because the title as-is, and the cover (at least on mine, which is the hardback), are actually kind of misleading. Spock is not a primary character in the story at all. I'd say Kirk is the everyman (he doesn't propel events, but closely observes them, and we get a lot of his POV while he does so), McCoy is the hero (he pushes events along in every respect, on and offscreen), Sarek is the damsel in distress in a way (torn between his duty and his chosen life/family). We get a little bit of Spock POV when he goes to visit [name redacted for spoilers] to follow up on some of McCoy's information, but not elsewhere that I remember. He's in a similar cleft stick as his father and mother, but frankly his decision if Vulcan does secede seems much clearer and less conflicted, since he has already made his home off-world anyway. (As opposed to Sarek, who would be losing much more, in home, status, kinship networks, property, etc... his ties to the planet are much more concrete than his son's.)

Then of course the rest of the story basically has Vulcan, or more precisely Vulcans, as the main character, in the interleaved chapters following the history and evolution of the Vulcan people and culture, up to Surak.

Not that I think it should have had another title, viewed with the clear eye of marketing--Spock is an extremely popular character, I suspect the most popular Star Trek has ever produced. And Vulcan is his world, in a sense (though not his only one). So, call it SPOCK'S WORLD, put a big painting of him and no one else on the cover, and people who might not jump for "a historical-political courtroom drama about secession!!!11!" are likelier to read it--"Hey look, it's Spock." And if they read it, I would bet they would enjoy it.

I mean, I myself am not usually one for a courtroom drama, or in fact politics, but this book nevertheless has me in its pocket. (Granted, I read The Wounded Sky first, which came before and was a bravura performance, but still.)

Ugh, lately I have been caught in such a cycle of mostly re-reading books I already own, over and over. And there's nothing wrong with a good re-read, but it's getting a little claustrophobic in here, and I hate to dilute the effectiveness of a Very Favorite Book with too much overuse.

And yet...for some reason I don't even know what to try next. What do I want to read? I DO NOT KNOW.

( Dorinda chews on books and is fretfully unmoored )

Sometimes I get in a mood to read historical novels, especially mysteries. And I'm interested in World War One and the British home-front and the aftermath.

So, I've been reading the first in a series of mysteries by Jacqueline Winspear, "Maisie Dobbs", which starts about ten years after the war and deals with the lingering physical and mental effects of the war on all kinds of people (including Maisie herself, who had been a nurse at the front and is now a private detective of sorts).

I just wish I liked it better. Because there's a series! If I like the first book of a series, it's like winning a book-lottery, with a treasure trove in front of me. Buuuut, not so much. It's not a bad book by any means, and I like the acknowledgement of the lingering scars the war left on people and how they're still dealing with it a decade later.

But there are some style choices that, for whatever reason, I find myself unable to get past. First and foremost: THE NAME PROBLEM. People use each others' names ALL THE TIME, as does the narrative voice. You'd think no one had ever heard of PRONOUNS.

For instance, second paragraph of Chapter 24 (TWENTY-FOUR, so it isn't like we need to be introduced to either our main character or her faithful sidekick anymore!):

Billy Beale sat in the chair in front of Maisie Dobbs, his hands working around and around the fabric on the perimeter of his cap, which he had taken off when he came to answer Maisie's call. Maisie had lost no time in telling Billy Beale why he had been summoned, and how she needed him to help her.

I mean COME ON. He doesn't go by the full "Billy Beale" as a stage name or something, like an inverse Cher. And Maisie's first three dialogue sections after this paragraph all go:

"Yes, I do, Billy. [...]"

"Billy. You don't need to be a toff. [...]"

"It's taken care of, Billy. [...]"

(And "It could be risky, Billy" and "The sooner the better, Billy". OH GOD WHAT'S YOUR SIDEKICK'S NAME AGAIN I MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN.)

Sometimes I think the British class system is the best thing that could have happened to this author, since then she has a great excuse for constantly having Billy (Billy Beale!) end every line to Maisie with "Yes, Miss", "Thank you, Miss", "Can't say as there is, Miss".

Sigh. I'm up to page 246 out of 292 and I know nothing is going to change, but I guess I imagined I might get adjusted to it. (SPOILER: NOPE.)

No writing done today. >:[ New place ate some of my time, but also the family members I'm staying with while the new place gets fixed up had an unexpected (by me) dinner-party and guests, which soaked up all of the late afternoon and evening with thoroughly tedious conversation and about eight million dishes. I have never seen someone use this many dishes just to serve "some sandwiches". Gah. I mean, it was nice food and all. But...y'all gonna use this many dishes to serve your byzantine mealparts, I want to see a Bunter or a Jeeves all up in here or something. (Mmmmm...Bunter and Jeeves. ♥ )

(Full disclosure: I feel like a big baby, complaining like this while some of you are writing and posting and whatnot while caring for actual...babies. Feel free to roll your eyes at me.)

I was thinking today about my latest lunchtime re-read, Jo Graham's Stealing Fire, a historical/fantasy set after the death of Alexander the Great. (I haven't read her earlier books in the same nominal "Numinous World" series yet--I figure I'll enjoy them, but I have to confess, I'm waiting to read Black Ships [the first one] until I've actually read the Aeneid. I have to admit I never have! Yet.) (Which reminds me...I was kind of on the lookout for an unabridged reading of The Aeneid, because I like to listen to The Odyssey and The Iliad so much. But then I was thinking, well, Aeneid wasn't created in/for the same kind of oral culture as Odyssey and Iliad, so maybe I should just read it. Any opinions or suggestions?)

Anyway, I enjoy Stealing Fire on its own terms. But I was thinking today about how I also enjoy its fanfictional aspects--or at least, aspects that make it feel fanfictional to me. There's something about it that feels for all the world like a followup to Mary Renault's books about Alexander's life, Fire from Heaven and The Persian Boy. Alexander and Hephaistion are in it (in flashbacks), paired as lovers just as in Renault. Bagoas the eunuch is in it, serving as Alexander's lover/favorite/de facto chamberlain, just as in Renault. Ptolemy is in it, as Alexander's illegitimate older brother, trustworthy and honorable, as in Renault.

Now, I'm not at all saying Graham is being derivative of Renault, or anything negative. And I mean, the things I mention above that feel Renaultish, Renault herself derived from historical deduction (that Bagoas could have served as a sort of chamberlain to help the Persians and Alexander adapt to each other, for instance), so it's fair game.

But still. It has a nice Renaultish tang to it, with the same take on who the heroes and villains are; and hell, Lydias not only is in hero-worship/love with Hephaistion (and gets some intimate time with him), but he also has a sweet affair and friendship with Bagoas. That can't help but feel fanfictionish to me (not to negative Gary Stu levels, but lightly along those lines).

Although--perhaps the biggest difference in tone between Graham and Renault is the fantasy aspect of Graham's historical/fantasy...she brings out magic, gods, demons, etc., and has them running around directly talking to and influencing people. It's fine, that's Graham's universe and enjoyable enough, but I have to admit I actually prefer a slightly more toned-down take. Renault, even in the more primitive world she paints in early settings like Theseus's Bronze Age in The King Must Die, always walks a razor's edge between actual magic/spirits, and magical/spiritual thinking. It isn't that I think Graham needed to remove the fantasy from her historical, down to Renault levels...but I was thinking I'd prefer if maybe it was toned down a tad, or given more possible ambiguity (e.g., having Lydias be the only one we see having the direct experiences, instead of having other characters, like Ptolemy, be right in there during very drastic magical experiences).

In the interests of morale-building and self-comfort and whatnot, lately I have been listening to an unabridged audiobook of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. (...what? Seriously, that's the sort of thing I find immensely comforting. *g*) I had forgotten that I never did read the book; I only saw the play (all 9 hours, split into two nights, done at the University I went to back in the day), which perforce is abridged.

And then of course today I run into this scene with Nicholas and Smike, the abused youth he ran away with from the corrupt Yorkshire 'school'. Nicholas has had to abandon his mother and sister, to try and keep them safe from retribution by his wicked uncle. He gets back to his shabby garret and cries on his bed, until Smike comes home and finds him.

Smike says that he feels terrible, being a burden to Nicholas and the cause of his trouble, but wasn't able to leave him without a word. He lays his hand on Nicholas's, weeping. And then:

"The word which separates us," said Nicholas, grasping him heartily by the shoulder, "shall never be said by me, for you are my only comfort and stay. I would not lose you now, Smike, for all the world could give. The thought of you has upheld me through all I have endured today, and shall, through fifty times such trouble. Give me your hand. My heart is linked to yours. We will journey from this place together, before the week is out. What, if I am steeped in poverty? You lighten it, and we will be poor together."

BRB SNIVELING.

...Yeahhhh, sometimes I suppose I just gotta have a scene like that, or the sickbay in Star Trek: The Motion Picture or something. Huggin and cryin, I Love You, I Love You Too, *violins* *Dorinda dabs her eyes on the train*

(...Um, not that I use the train as a handkerchief. Ow.)

Not that I've found myself willing or able to write such demonstrative things, to my memory. But then, maybe that's what Charles Dickens is for.

ETA: All gone! Thanks!

I have some books and zines (plus a few records, D&D items, and a lunchbox) of potential fannish interest, which are all up for grabs for the cost of shipping. I wish we had transporters, so people could just swing by and pick what they wanted, but alas, not yet.

All of these items were enjoyed, but I have to reduce my belongings by a drastic amount in the immediate future. Don't worry about anything left over--they'll all find a good home, one way or another, be that a local book/comic/game shop, or (for the zines) the Fanzine Archives at the University of Iowa.

Anyway, browse, enjoy. If you see something that strikes your fancy, comment or email me at dorinda at thechicagoloop.net, and it's yours.

BOOKS
( Homicide: Life on the Street )
( Star Trek (TOS & a smidge of TNG) )
( Starsky & Hutch )

FANZINES (almost all slash; a couple of the ST zines also include het and gen)
( Multifandom )
( Star Trek: TOS )
( The Professionals )
( Quantum Leap )

RECORD ALBUMS
( Star Trek (TOS) )

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS MODULES
( Dungeons & Dragons modules )

LUNCHBOX
( Mystery Science Theater 3000 )