Well, last Saturday was problematic for my weekly roundup, because my site went down! So here’s two weeks’ worth.
Books acquired:
Not quite as eclectic as my usual mix, perhaps!
Books read in the last two weeks:
Reviews posted in the last two weeks:
–The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, by Alan Jacobs. A long essay on reading and how Jacobs thinks you ought to do it. Not as prescriptive as many, but kind of snobbish; an interesting read, but expect to argue with it. 3/5 stars
–Perihelion Summer, by Greg Egan. Solidly not my thing; it’s based around an idea, rather than people, and does neither very strongly from my perspective. 2/5 stars
–Late Eclipses, by Seanan McGuire. These books are always fun, but I feel like Toby was hit particularly hard with the idiot stick in this book, missing the obvious way too much. 3/5 stars
–Within the Sanctuary of Wings, by Marie Brennan. The last of the Lady Trent books, this wraps up with some surprising and satisfying reveals… 5/5 stars
–Darwin Comes to Town, by Menno Schilthuizen. Lots of examples of evolution to suit urban environments. I quibbled a bit with the organisation of the chapters, though. 3/5 stars
–The Warrior Queen, by Joanna Arman. Badly edited, and mostly not about its ostensible subject. Also, prone to leaps of imagination without even the courtesy to source its wild claims. 2/5 stars
–Turning Darkness into Light, by Marie Brennan. Picking up on the world of Lady Trent with her granddaughter, I found this just a delight. 5/5 stars
–The Blue Salt Road, by Joanne Harris. A decent take on selkies — fairly traditional, but with a slightly re-shaped ending. 4/5 stars
–To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers. Not a bad novella, but it suffered a bit from its narrative format. 3/5 stars
–Strange Practice, by Vivian Shaw. A delight, as ever — this was a reread. 5/5 stars
–The End of Epidemics, by Jonathan Quick. Recommendations on how to manage epidemics (and pandemics) better in future; not entirely sure it’s directed at the right audience, since much of it requires work on the part of governmens and the WHO. 3/5 stars
Other posts:
–WWW Wednesday. Last week’s edition…
–WWW Wednesday. This week’s edition.
Out and about:
–NEAT science: ‘Trilobite shakeup.‘ I wrote about a study that might disrupt our view of trilobite fossils!
Phew, that’s the lot. How’s everyone doing?
Chernobyl is another subject that fascinates me. I’m looking forward to watching that mini series that I recorded off the TV!
I hear it’s very good!
must try the Mary Brennan books (2 times 5 stars from you, that’s a sign…)
Strange Practice was also a very good read for me Alas, the 2nd was not so fun (even if it takes place in Paris !!!)
They’re very good!
Aw, I like the second book too! But maybe not as much.
Ancillary Justice is a book I want to go reread – it’s such a strange narrative style that I think it bears a second reading (and this time maybe I can make it through the full trilogy!)
Caitlin G. recently posted…Review: GIDEON THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir
I enjoy the Imperial Radch books more each time I read them, personally!