Wait, it’s Wednesday again already? Ack!

What have you recently finished reading?
I finished my reread of The Fellowship of the Ring! I’ve already written a long and rambling review, but suffice it to say, trekking across Middle-earth in Lord of the Rings Online has really enhanced my appreciation of the books and the work Tolkien put in. This time, I could see everything so much more clearly. It’s not Tolkien’s fault I couldn’t before; that’s all down to my lack of visual imagination. But with LOTRO to base it on, wow, suddenly there’s a whole new layer of complexity.

I’ve also been reading Ultimate X-Men, the first four volumes, and I’m… not greatly impressed. I guess the Avengers are more my team?

What are you currently reading?
I’m technically still reading Blood Pact, which I was reading last week. I haven’t really got any further with it, to be perfectly honest. I generally enjoy Tanya Huff’s work, but this series just doesn’t seem to work for me. It’s a shame, because Vicky Nelson in herself is an awesome character, but something about the rivalry between Celluci and Henry just makes my eyes roll.

I’m also reading Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe, by Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee. I have the same problem with it I always do with books about life in the universe: we have a sample size of one. They have compelling arguments, and yet even when you expand it to what we know about the potential for life just in our solar system, that’s still only a sample size of one. We only have intimate detail on one way a solar system is formed. Even then, there’s plenty we don’t know. So I’m enjoying the science, but still unconvinced by the premise.

I’m still reading Emma, via Serial Reader. That’s okay, but I’m glad I’m reading it in small chunks. I keep getting terribly embarrassed for Emma when she misinterprets things and thinks herself so… superior. I know how it ends, but I can’t quite see what the gentleman in question sees in her given his general practicality.

What are you planning to read next?
The Two Towers, definitely. I’m not going to let this reread be derailed! But tomorrow I’m travelling all day, and I think I might beguile the time with some of Tor.com’s upcoming novellas: I’ve been approved for Winter Tide (Ruthanna Emrys), A Taste of Honey (Kai Ashante Wilson), Everything Belongs to the Future (Laurie Penny), The Lost Child of Lychford (Paul Cornell) and Hammers on Bone (Cassandra Khaw).