Author: Nicky

Discussion: Shelving

Posted September 17, 2018 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

So I’m in the new flat and getting everything sorted, and of course the big question arises: how should I categorise my books?! I know some people who don’t bother, or even weirder to me, sort them via totally arbitrary criteria like spine colour, or the size of the book.

To me, the whole point of the shelves is to make the books accessible, so it needs to be useful as well. My books get roughly separated by genre and then alphabetised by the author’s surname — and within an author, I tend to go by publication order if I’m feeling really obsessive. Series definitely need to be together and sorted in order! Size and colour don’t matter to me, unless they don’t fit on the shelf, in which case taller books do go on a separate, taller shelf.

The breakdown for my books is pretty unsurprising: there’s four bookcases in the living room full to the brim with fantasy and sci-fi…

There’s a half-size bookcase in my office which is two thirds full of pop history books…

Comics go on the unit above, and I do have a separate section for library books as well…

Then the full size bookcase behind me is a bit of a miscellanea: a few shelves of crime fiction, some historical fiction, some romance, and then two shelves of pop science.

So how do you categorise your books? Please tell me it’s not by colour… (I mean, I kid. Do what you like. But what earthly use is that?!)

Tags: ,

Divider

Review – The Paper Trail

Posted September 16, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of The Paper Trail by Alexander MonroThe Paper Trail, Alexander Munro

Possibly I shouldn’t have been surprised by how much of the history of papermaking and paper usage is focused on China and the surrounding countries, but I was still somehow surprised — and I definitely hadn’t known about the key role Buddhist sutras players in popularising paper there. I did enjoy that the book didn’t just focus in narrowly on paper-making, but discussed its usage, the people who used it, and explained the contexts. It’s one of those books that might seem to be a microhistory, but in the end tells you a lot about various different things.

Of course, in later chapters it discusses the Reformation and the rise of literacy in the population, and the invention of the novel. But a lot of it isn’t about the West, which is… actually, probably a good thing for a complacent Westerner like me to run into. Paper was already established, understood and used fully well before we started printing Bibles and novels on it. It’s obvious, when you say it like that.

I found Munro’s style pretty compelling and definitely clear, and I enjoyed the fact that he didn’t hurry to the more familiar parts of paper’s history.

Rating: 4/5 

Tags: , , ,

Divider

Weekly Roundup

Posted September 15, 2018 by Nicky in General / 10 Comments

Slowly, slowly, we’re coming to the end of the moving nightmare. I’m writing this from my new office space, and all my books are on shelves… if not quite the shelves they will finally be on (and the comic books aren’t unpacked at all). Here’s a sneaky shelfie… (and a bun checking his email).

 

So much left to do, but we’re here and the bunnies are here and everything’s gonna be good.

Books read this week:

Cover of Genghis Khan by John Man Cover of The Paper Trail by Alexander Monro

They were both pretty fascinating — learned a lot more about the impact of Buddhist sutras on the history of paper than I ever expected to.

Reviews posted this week:

–The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler. Nobody writes quite like Chandler, though some of his views on women and people of colour are sickening. I wouldn’t recommend him to anyone without caveats, but boy oh boy he could write. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: Too many books at once? Is there such a thing?
–WWW Wednesday. The latest update on exactly what I’m reading right now.

Out and about:

–NEAT science: Vive la Pluto. My entry into the debate over whether Pluto’s a planet or not. (Spoiler: yes. As my sister says, with an appalling lack of concern for whether it’s actually correct French, “vive la Pluto”.)

So how’re you all doing? I miss checking out other people’s blogs — I have a list of posts to check out as long as my leg (we overflowed my arm a couple of weeks ago)!

Tags: , ,

Divider

WWW Wednesday

Posted September 12, 2018 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

Cover of The Paper Trail by Alexander MonroWhat are you currently reading?

Mostly non-fiction, as is my habit during stressful times. So at the moment it’s John Man’s book on Genghis Khan, and Alexander Monro’s The Paper Trail, about the invention and spread of paper as a technology. The latter surprised me in how very heavy it was on the linkages between the origins of paper and the popularisation by Daoism and Buddhism, through its use for sutras. Did not know anything about that before, despite knowing that China was the origin of paper made from mulberry trees.

Cover of Seeds of Science by Mark LynasWhat have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished was Mark Lynas’ Seeds of Science. It’s pro-genetic modification, pointing out that there’s no reputable science to suggest there’s any harm being caused by the production of GM crops. He was once a major critic and protestor of GMOs, so it’s interesting from that perspective as well. Sadly, I doubt he’ll change anyone’s mind, but it was interesting to read up on it from the point of view of someone who was once a sceptic.

(I’m pro GMOs, obviously; science says they’re safe, I don’t believe that science should be guided by religious taboos, and I think — as Lynas points out — they can help ameliorate food insecurity.)

Cover of River of Stars by Guy Gavriel KayWhat will you be reading next?

I have a massive craving to reread Guy Gavriel Kay’s Under Heaven — and finally get round to River of Stars! — probably due to the Genghis Khan book and The Paper Trail. So maybe I’ll pick those up — I just got them out of their boxes today! The unpacking has begun, and nearly all the bookcases are in place.

How about you? What are you reading?

Tags: ,

Divider

Review – The Big Sleep

Posted September 11, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Big Sleep by Raymond ChandlerThe Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler

Whatever else you can say about Raymond Chandler, he was a hell of a writer. He didn’t use tired old imagery — I could probably easily find dozens of phrases and descriptions throughout his book which are specific, precisely calculated and completely fresh, without trying too hard in any way. That and the pace of his novels makes them just roll along at an incredible speed; I don’t always follow his mystery plots entirely, but I’m hooked on them.

Of course, his writing about women is just gross nowadays, objectifying and patronising and just plain unpleasant. There’s not too much that I recall of his racial politics either, but they come up in Farewell My Lovely, and are beyond gross. I don’t think calling him a man of his time excuses it, per se — it’s not that difficult to understand that other people are human, and bother to speak to them for five minutes. But I can’t help but enjoy his work anyway for his writing, for the way he sketches out Philip Marlowe and his reactions to the world around him so that all of it is very clear and in focus. I can almost visualise his scenes because he makes it so easy: you get an idea of what everyone is doing, without him taking a million words to do it.

Honestly, it’s wizardry. I can’t help enjoying it.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: , , ,

Divider

Discussion: Too Many Books At Once

Posted September 10, 2018 by Nicky in General / 14 Comments

Too many books spoil the broth? Hmm… not quite right. Well, I mean, they would, but it’s not quite in the spirit of the proverb.

…Anyway, this week’s discussion post is about reading multiple books simultaneously. I know a lot of people hate doing that, feeling that they lose the thread of the plot or there’s just too much to pay attention to, and I get it. I just can’t sit still for long enough — I’m very much a mood reader, and that means if a book is taking me ages and isn’t something I’m super in the mood to read, I’ll pick up something else to fill in the gaps. The problem occurs when I then pick up another book to supplement that, and… on and on it goes.

Personally, I think you all know my Golden Rule of Reading: have fun, and don’t ever let it become a chore. I did try to reduce the number of books I had on the go at once, because sometimes it is a little stressful or I end up not making progress on a book for ages even though I was enjoying it… but overall, I prefer to give myself the flexibility to just put a book down and come back later, because I don’t ever want to feel resentful about reading or annoyed that I’m dying to pick up Book X but I’m stuck on Book Y. I don’t think it’d work if I read books all in the same genre — they might blur into each other — but maybe it helps that I’m all over the reading map.

So yeah, I refuse to have shame about my currently-reading pile. Vive la stack!

Tags: ,

Divider

Weekly Roundup

Posted September 8, 2018 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

Good morning, folks! I keep thinking that the moving stuff is going to slacken off and I’m going to have time to reply to all my comments and posts that I’m saving up for when I have some spare time. So far… it’s not happening. The stuff keeps on a-comin’. But we have now successfully got a washing machine and a fridge/freezer, and later today we get the car, so that’s nice.

New books:

Cover of The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate MasCarenhas Cover of City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab Cover of The Edge of Memory by Patrick Nunn

Read this week:

Cover of The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler Cover of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs Cover of Gods, Graves and Scholars by C.W. Ceram

Reviews posted:

–Farthing, by Jo Walton. Quite uncomfortable to read in many ways at this point in political history, but so worth it to my mind. 5/5 stars
–A History of Ancient Egypt Volume 2, John Romer. So much information, and so much of it fascinating. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: Buying a Series. Do you buy the first book of a series as soon as it comes out? Or wait, to make sure you don’t get lumped with a cliffhanger?

Out and about:

–NEAT science: The toughest creature on Earth. Have a guess!

How’s everyone doing?

Tags: ,

Divider

WWW Wednesday

Posted September 5, 2018 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

Cover of The Rise and Fall of the DinosaursWhat are you currently reading?

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte. Nothing incredibly new to me so far, but it’s kind of soothing just to read about dinosaurs and not, you know, obsessively check the dimensions of the washing machine I’ve ordered to make sure it fits in the space, which is my other chief occupation at the moment.

(Fingers crossed. It’s arriving tomorrow.)

Cover of The Big Sleep by Raymond ChandlerWhat have you recently finished reading?

Ugh, you know, I don’t even know anymore. It might’ve been my reread of The Big Sleep; hideously racist and sexist (though not as bad on the racism front as the second book, ye gods) but so very well written. Chandler knew how to pick up a metaphor, show it a good time and leave it wanting more, for sure.

Cover of Provenance by Ann LeckieWhat will you be reading next?

Well, me and one of my buddies from Habitica are talking about rereading Ann Leckie’s Provenance, so there’s a good chance it’ll be that. Or I have a whole bunch of books from the library, including Conway Morris’ book on the Burgess Shale, for a change of pace.

What are you reading?

Tags: ,

Divider

Review – A History of Ancient Egypt (Vol. 2)

Posted September 4, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of A History of Ancient Egypt Volume 2 by John RomerA History of Ancient Egypt: From the Great Pyramid to the Fall of the Middle Kingdom, John Romer

Oh, yay, I have now discovered there’s going to be a third volume of these. Despite some reservations when I read the first volume, I find Romer’s writing pretty clear and engaging — though honestly, for me it would be difficult for someone discussing tombs and chapels and the statuary and pomp of the Egyptian courts to actually become boring. From the reading around I’ve done, Romer is accurate and thoughtful, working with the knowledge we actually have of the Middle Kingdom to discover as much as he can, without getting carried away and deciding everything is ritual, mysticism and slavery, as people are prone to do when considering Ancient Egypt.

The book has an extensive bibliography and notes, so it’s easy to look things up for more information. Personally, for all that I love the lavish description of tombs and the decoration of temples — and especially the importance of hieroglyphs — this book does feel very long (it kind of is very long, but it feels longer than it looks, if that makes sense). So it might not be for you if you’re more interested in a quick overview: it’s definitely detailed. I find it fascinating, though, even though a lot of the description washed right over me and won’t be socked away into long-term memory. It’s interesting just to read.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: , , ,

Divider

Review – Farthing

Posted September 3, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Farthing, by Jo WaltonFarthing, Jo Walton

I think this is the second time I’ve read Farthing, and it gets more chilling all the time. It’s an alternate history in which Britain compromised with Hitler, and documents the creeping anti-Semitism and losses of freedom. It’s about compromising with the devil — and in the case of one of the characters, knowing exactly what you’re doing, hating it, and knowing you’re not strong enough not to do it. I love Carmichael, but god, I hope I’m not like him (though I fear I am; one can only hope that when they get offered a choice like that, they have the brains to see it and the guts to say no).

It’s particularly painful for me to read because I do see it happening in Britain now; gradually, people are becoming more and more negative toward foreigners, and it’s all been legitimised by Brexit. I hate it, but I’ll be honest: I’ve started hesitating to admit that my wife is European, gauging the audience to make sure it’s going to be okay. I’ve been told I’m a race traitor for marrying a European; I’ve been told I’m an EU collaborator and a traitor to the UK — etc, etc, all that sickening crap that comes from a certain kind of Brexit supporter. (Not saying all Brexit supporters are doing that and saying things like that, but it’s happening and it’s shocking how little anyone cares apart from to assert it’s not them saying it!)

I imagine US folks would probably have much the same experience right now, and more so.

Despite that, it’s also a deeply entertaining book — Lucy’s narrative voice is great, and the Golden Age crime fic pastiche is great fun. This was the first of Jo’s books that I ever read, and it had me hooked — and it did again this time. She’s excellent with character, with mood, with description, with pace… Honestly, I can’t think of any complaints I have about Farthing, except perhaps that it’s far too on the nose right now.

Rating: 5/5

Tags: , , , ,

Divider