Category: General

WWW Wednesday

Posted February 28, 2018 by Nicky in General / 4 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.

What are you currently reading?

Cover of Experiment Eleven by Peter PringleThere are currently only two books on my currently reading pile, and they’ve only been there a day each! I know, it’s shocking. One is Laura Lam’s Masquerade, the final book of the trilogy — I just had to start on it right away, ’cause, you know. Must know what’s next. And the other book is Experiment Eleven, by Peter Pringle, about the discovery of streptomycin. I’d hoped for more about its efficacy against TB, but it’s mostly just about the struggle for intellectual ownership rights over streptomycin.

What have you recently finished reading?

Cover of Masquerade by Laura LamI think the last thing I finished must have been Shadowplay, the second book in Laura Lam’s trilogy. I ate that up in no time, and I am now totally in love with Micah and Drystan. And Cyan, to be honest. Okay, with all of it.

What will you be reading next?

Cover of Crooked Kingdom by Leigh BardugoCrooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo, I think: I should’ve read it in February because it was a book club choice, and it’ll finish another series on my rather-too-long list of series I’m partway through! Plus, I do really want to know what happens next.

What are you currently reading?

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Unstacking the Shelves

Posted February 24, 2018 by Nicky in General / 18 Comments

Good morning, folks! It’s been a good week for me — it doesn’t look like I read that much, but actually, The Stone of Farewell and Kushiel’s Dart are rather long, so I think this is pretty monumental.

Read this week:

Cover of Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams Cover of The Wanderer in Unknown Realms by John Connolly Cover of Camelot's Blood by Sarah Zettel

Cover of The Master Magician by Charlie N Holmberg Cover of Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey Cover of Unnatural Vice by K.J. Charles

Perhaps I’ll read just as much in the coming week, since I have suddenly got no books at all on my currently reading list, for the first time in many, many moons.

(Seriously, many.)

Reviews posted this week:

Ars Historica, by Marie Brennan. This is a great collection, written with Brennan’s usual skill, and made me really want to pick her Onyx Court novels back up (though you don’t need to have read them to appreciate the stories). 5/5 stars
The Laws of Medicine, by Siddartha Mukherjee. Short, but worthwhile; Mukherjee uses his experience as a doctor to posit some basic rules that govern how he practices. 4/5 stars
Five Red Herrings, by Dorothy L. Sayers. Not a favourite Wimsey story, but nonetheless it’s clever as heck. 4/5 stars
Libraries in the Ancient World, by Lionel Casson. Engagingly written, though most of the history wasn’t new to me. 3/5 stars
The Wanderer in Unknown Realms, by John Connolly. Kind of tailed off without using the background it had built up to the sort of effect I’d like to see. Creepy, though, with a good atmosphere. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

WWW Wednesday: The usual update on what I’ve been reading in the last week.

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WWW Wednesday

Posted February 21, 2018 by Nicky in General / 4 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.

What are you currently reading?

Cover of Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline CareyKushiel’s Dart and Camelot’s Blood are still on my currently reading pile, but I haven’t touched them this week. Oops? I really need to dig back into both; it’s not that I don’t want to, even, it’s just that I’m reading them in paperback part of the time and it’s sometimes easier to just read something else in bed (and thus on my ereader).

What have you recently finished reading?

Cover of Stone of Farewell by Tad WilliamsThe Stone of Farewell, by Tad Williams! I thought it would take me forever, because it looks so long and daunting, but I read faster than I think and I ate it up in about 3-4 days. It’s funny how little of it I remember now, considering I found it so predictable when I first read it! (Which is not to say not enjoyable — I enjoyed it very much, or I wouldn’t be rereading it now.)

What will you be reading next?

To Green Angel Tower: Siege, most likely, though goodness only knows where my grasshopper mind will go next, sometimes.

What are you reading?

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Unstacking the Shelves

Posted February 17, 2018 by Nicky in General / 14 Comments

Good morning, folks! It’s been a quiet week around here, with me getting into the swing of doing more work and trying to balance things a little more. Which has not meant very much reading, alas. But here’s what I have read — no new books this week!

Books finished this week:

Cover of Virus X by Frank Ryan Cover of Ars Historica by Marie Brennan Cover of Libraries in the Ancient World by Lionel Cassen Cover of Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers

Reviews posted this week:

A Monstrous Commotion, by Gareth Williams. A thoroughly enjoyable historical and scientific appraisal of the Loch Ness Monster — sympathetic to those who want to believe, but realistic as well. 5/5 stars
Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal. I found this difficult going emotionally because I got invested in a particular character/relationship, but I do think it’s a great read. 4/5 stars
The Philadelphia Chromosome, by Jessica Wapner. Fascinating stuff, and really encouraging when you think about the journey to treating this type of cancer. 4/5 stars
An Unseen Attraction, by K.J. Charles. A lovely relationship and some non-typical elements to the characters too. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

WWW Wednesday: The latest and greatest on my TBR pile.

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WWW Wednesday

Posted February 14, 2018 by Nicky in General / 5 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.

What are you currently reading?

Cover of Camelot's Blood by Sarah ZettelCamelot’s Blood, by Sarah Zettel; it’s the last of Zettel’s books set in Camelot, and a reread for me. I think it’s the first time I’m rereading it since I wrote my dissertation, so it’s been a lot of fun revisiting it and seeing what I think now. I’m hoping to have finished it by the time this post goes up, but we’ll see.

What have you recently finished reading?

Cover of Virus X by Frank RyanVirus X, by Frank Ryan. It’s a little old now, and somewhat out of date, but that only adds to my feeling of wonder that human civilisation hasn’t yet been decimated by a pandemic. People list it as an irrational fear, and it really isn’t — we’ve had so many near-misses already.

What will you be reading next?

I haven’t decided! Probably fiction, though; I’m getting my non-fiction urge scratched by my dissertation research on TB. (I know, a far cry from romance novels set in Camelot.) But if I can find the book on TB I want, I might read that.

What are you reading lately?

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted February 10, 2018 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

This week I did buy some books, but a few of them were just for reference and I won’t be posting about them here (probably). Still, I got a couple of pop-science/history books about diseases that I think I’ll probably review for this blog, so here are those titles!

New books

Cover of The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson Cover of The Great Mortality by John Kelly Cover of And the Band Played On by Randy Schiltz

Cheerful stuff.

Books read this week

Cover of A Monstrous Commotion by Gareth Williams Cover of An Unseen Attraction by K.J. Charles Cover of Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal Cover of The Laws of Medicine by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Reviewed this week

Changing Planes, by Ursula Le Guin. A charming travel guide to the alternate dimensions (planes) you can reach from an airport… 4/5 stars
The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Brooke Bollander. I liked a lot of things about this, but it didn’t quite come together for me. 3/5 stars
I Am Morgan Le Fay, by Nancy Springer. An interesting view of Morgan’s character, though I found it very young. 3/5 stars
Strong Poison, by Dorothy L. Sayers. A perennial favourite of mine — what else can I say? 5/5 stars
Girl Waits With Gun, by Amy Stewart. A fun fictionalisation of real events and characters that left me wanting more. 4/5 stars

Other posts

WWW Wednesday. My weekly update.

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WWW Wednesday

Posted February 7, 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.

What are you currently reading?

Cover of Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline CareyThe only thing left in progress is Kushiel’s Dart. I’ve got back to rereading that, at least — I just got through all the stuff in Skaldia and they’re back in Terre D’Ange. I forget how much goes on in each volume! Each book could practically be its own trilogy in a different author’s hands.

What have you recently finished reading?

Cover of Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette KowalI just finished Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal. It really shouldn’t have taken me so long, because I liked the premise and the characters and the world… but I got pouty about what happens to one particular character early on, and didn’t want to re-engage with the book because not fair.

What will you be reading next?

Cover of How to Survive A Plague by David FranceI’m not sure. I should do more background reading for my dissertation, though, so I might read How To Survive a Plague by David France, or one of the books I have on how the CDC and WHO tackle emerging diseases. It’s been a little while since my last disease-related reading spree…

On the other hand, there’s still a lot of Ursula Le Guin I want to reread!

What are you reading?

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Unstacking the Shelves

Posted February 3, 2018 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

Can it be? Yes, that’s right! No new books this week, neither to review nor bought. I did buy a couple of Guy Gavriel Kay books for my Kobo, but I already owned them in paperback — got them second hand years ago, so I had an attack of conscience.

And because it’s UNstacking the shelves, I get to post full size covers of the books I’ve finished this week. Pleaaaaase don’t comment to tell me to enjoy my new books, ’cause I ain’t got any. Honestly, I appreciate the visits, but if you don’t read the post, what’s the point?

Books read this week:

Cover of Changing Planes by Ursula Le Guin Cover of The Philadelphia Chromosome by Jessica Wapner Cover of I Am Morgan Le Fay by Nancy Springer

Cover of The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander Cover of Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers Cover of Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart

A good reading week, as you can see!

Reviews posted this week:

Restless Creatures, by Matt Wilkinson. An interesting topic, but something about the book just didn’t work for me. 2/5 stars
No Time To Spare, by Ursula Le Guin. Her last publication. Gah. 4/5 stars
RUR, by Karel Capek. Fascinating because it was so foundational. 3/5 stars
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner. Nope. Still don’t get the appeal. 2/5 stars
Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire. Not quite my favourite, because I don’t get on with nonsense worlds, but I enjoyed spending more time with Christopher and Kade. 4/5 stars
Words Are My Matter, by Ursula Le Guin. Her non-fiction is not my favourite, but she still has a crystal-clear vision and way of putting things. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

WWW Wednesday. My latest reads.

What’s everyone been up to? Good week, bad week, read everything you could get your hands on week? Let me know!

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted January 27, 2018 by Nicky in General / 16 Comments

Good morning, folks! I’ve had a quiet week. Though quite a few books have somehoooow made their way in, I haven’t actually paid for any! They’ve all been review copies, or bought with gift vouchers. Hurrah!

Received to review

Cover of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyumi Cover of The Plastic Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg Cover of The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander

I’ve been interested in all these for a while.

Books bought

Cover of The Hidden People by Alison Littlewood Cover of Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

I’ve been curious about these, too. So hurrah!

Books finished this week:

Cover of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner Cover of R.U.R. by Karel Capek Cover of Words Are My Matter by Ursula Le Guin Cover of Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan Mcguire

Reviews posted:

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, by Dorothy L. Sayers. Not a favourite, but still — of course — clever. 4/5 stars
The Written World, by Martin Puchner. I’ve seen some concern about historical inaccuracies, but I really enjoyed reading it. 4/5 stars
Cro-Magnon, by Brian Fagan. I originally gave this four stars, but I think I’ll lower it to three. Some sexist assumptions, mostly the same info as found elsewhere. 3/5 stars
In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan. I found this a delight. 4/5 stars
The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee. So much information, tons of fascinating stuff. 5/5 stars
How the Zebra Got Its Stripes, by Léo Grasset. Fairly slim, but some fun facts. 3/5 stars
Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo. This one really worked for me — it was a quick read and I got into the characters. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

Turn Around: Ursula Le Guin’s Words of Wisdom. On Earthsea and anxiety and what Le Guin did for me.
WWW Wednesday. The usual weekly update.

How’s everyone doing?

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WWW Wednesday

Posted January 24, 2018 by Nicky in General / 6 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.

What are you currently reading?

Cover of Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette KowalI’m most of the way through Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal. I might need to take a liiiiittle break, though, because it’s totally heartbreaking and I don’t quite need that right now. Given, you know, the news about Ursula Le Guin dying.

What have you recently finished reading?

Cover of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan GarnerThe last thing I finished was a reread of Alan Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, I think. I’m still not a big fan, though it started off better than last time. I just don’t like the mashup of mythologies, though. They don’t fit together for me.

What will you be reading next?

Almost certainly something by Le Guin.

What are you reading?

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