WWW Wednesday

Posted August 28, 2024 by Nicky in General / 0 Comments

Here we go, as usual!

Cover of Universal Basic Income by Karl WiderquistWhat have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished was Karl Widerquist’s book from the MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series, Universal Basic Income. I’m personally fairly convinced about the benefits of UBI, but I wanted to read more about its history, studies, etc. It’s a little dissatisfying that there’s so little actual large-scale proof, but that’s not the book’s fault, and I did learn about the Alaska dividend, which is a fascinating concept.

Cover of Heaven Official's Blessing vol 3 by MXTXWhat are you currently reading?

Several things at once, as ever! I’ve picked up the app Serial Reader again, and I’m using it to read Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles — for a fan of the Golden Age of crime fiction, you’d be shocked by how little Christie I’ve read. I’m only a few ‘issues’ into it so far, so not much to say about it yet. It’s very classic for the period, though I’m not a Poirot fan in general.

I’m also in the closing chapters of Heaven Official’s Blessing volume 3. In some ways I’d love to do nothing but read this series, I’m adoring Xie Lian and Hua Cheng… but at the same time, I keep reminding myself that I get fidgety if I try to do that, and it’s good for me to have other books to focus on too. I’m also trying to keep pace with my wife’s reading, and this buddy read system is a lot of fun when we do it.

Cover of Wormwood Abbey by Christina BaehrWhat will you read next?

I should return to reading Christina Baehr’s Wormwood Abbey, which I temporarily stalled on — not because I don’t like it, but just because I was focusing on Heaven Official’s Blessing and kind of busy with work stuff.

I should also start another non-fiction book, because I always like having one on the go; I suspect I’ll pick up my new Object Lessons book, Space Rover.

And what about you?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Posts That Reveal Me

Posted August 27, 2024 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is for posts that give you the best glimpse of me. Let’s give it a shot…

  1. Guilty Pleasures. To quote this post, “fuck that noise”. I don’t believe in ’em. I went all the way back to 2015 looking at my discussion posts, found this one, and agree with every word of it still. No such thing as a guilty pleasure.
  2. Spoilers! Also an old post, and still true: I like spoilers. I have read all sorts of stuff about the later sections of Heaven Official’s Blessing, and it really adds to the experience for me.
  3. Why reread? This is a topic that’s come up over and over again: I like to reread books I enjoy, and re-experience them. There’s another more recent post, and it’s not even the only one…
  4. On giving up, but positively and Discussion: Putting the Joy Back Into It. Both of these are about reading/blogging habits I wanted to stop in order to stop feeling a sense of obligation around blogging. I can’t say I’ve always stuck to these resolutions, but it is something that’s important to me in reading and blogging: I’m not doing it as a job, I’m doing it for fun.
  5. Discussion: Real Life. How much should you talk about your real life on your blog? I guess that depends on you, but I’m fairly open about mine (while keeping it mostly about the books).
  6. Why haven’t you read ___ yet? And here you will learn that I’m contrary, and if everyone wants me to read something, I… probably won’t.
  7. Review: Return of the Black Death: The World’s Greatest Serial Killer, by Susan Scott & Christopher J. Duncan. The book is arrant nonsense. My reaction to it is probably pretty telling about the kind of person I am.
  8. Top Ten Tuesday: Reading Memories. This is a recent one — but what better way to know me than through my most salient memories of reading?
  9. Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’ve Read The Most By. You can know me by the books I love…
  10. Top Ten Tuesday: Things I’d Have At My Bookish Party. My idea of a “party” is pretty telling, I think.

That was harder than I thought, because these days I mostly post reviews, Top Ten Tuesday, WWW Wednesday and Stacking the Shelves/Sunday Post. But I think you can still get a solid idea of who I am and who I’ve been!

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Review – Dominion vol 3: The Fist of God

Posted August 26, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Dominion vol 3: The Fist of God

Dominion: The Fist of God

by Thomas Fenton, Jamal Igle, Steven Cummings

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels
Pages: 50
Series: Dominion #3
Rating: two-stars
Synopsis:

A gripping supernatural thriller of biblical proportions...quite literally. When detective Jason Ash arrives on the scene of a particularly strange murder in the suburbs of New Orleans, little does he know that he is about to take on the case of a lifetime. As dead people begin to come back to life, revealing that they hail from a realm where angels fight for power, it becomes clear that an epic battle between good and evil is at play, one threatening the very future of humanity.

This third volume, Dominion: The Fist of God, pulls Thomas Fenton’s comic to an abrupt end. There’s been some development up to now, but it feels like this third act is rushed more than ever: having barely accepted his powers in the previous book, and not really yet understanding them or ready to cope with them, Jason Ash gets a lot shoved onto his shoulders all at once. Nothing less than saving the whole world will do!

I think there’s some interesting setup in the story between the Legion and the Dominion and whoever the Thorn are exactly, but the character design of all the angels is way, way too similar, and it gets really hard to tell who is who and what side they might be on. Combine that with the rushed story, and it feels like half the detail gets left out.

Someone on Amazon did make the comment in their review that this is really the middle of a story: the beginning lies back in the mists of time, alluded to as Jason learns a little more about what’s going on, and the end is in the unknowable future. Jason’s been caught up in a story that began long ago, and will continue; we just see him joining his place in it. That makes a certain amount of sense to me, but I still think there are a lot of gaps in the implementation here.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Colour

Posted August 26, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 3 Comments

Review – Colour

Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox

by Victoria Finlay

Genres: History, Non-fiction, Science
Pages: 494
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

Discover the tantalizing true stories behind your favorite colors.

For example: Cleopatra used saffron—a source of the color yellow—for seduction. Extracted from an Afghan mine, the blue “ultramarine” paint used by Michelangelo was so expensive he couldn’t afford to buy it himself. Since ancient times, carmine red—still found in lipsticks and Cherry Coke today—has come from the blood of insects.

Victoria Finlay’s Colour: Travels through the Paintbox is an examination of dyes and pigments, rather than colour per se — there’s a bit of discussion of why we perceive colours the way we do, but not in depth. It’s more about how various pigments are mined or made, and it’s also part travelogue and part-memoir. The fact that Finlay couldn’t get coffee in Beirut because of Hafez al-Assad’s funeral is neither here nor there, as with the fact that she wore a broken boot to climb in and had to keep tying it together with string. The book could probably do without a great deal of this flavouring, since it slows it all down.

But, viewed as Finlay’s account of a personal quest to discover the origins of a handful of colours — neither exhaustive nor greatly in depth, in many ways — there’s definitely a lot of interest here: random facts, suggestive examples of tradition that may tell us something about how things used to be done, and an idea of how things are done now. Sometimes Finlay’s choices were more about some kind of personally satisfying quest than about really understanding a colour: were her quests for visas really about the colour, or about being able to say she’d visited a mine in Afghanistan?

I guess I feel a bit cynical about some of her motivations because I’m not the type who must necessarily go and see a thing to say I understand it. When she tried to pick saffron, that was an experience worth having to understand the process — but did she need to travel so far? Does one have to see the “original” place where indigo grew to understand indigo?

It’s very readable and full of anecdotes and imagination, to the point where I couldn’t really say it’s a good read to learn about colour. It’s a good read to understand someone else’s journey to personally discover the origins of a handful of pigments and dyes. It does have a bibliography and full footnotes, too, but primarily it’s about how Finlay feels about colour, and the stories she discovered (and liked enough to recount). That can be very enjoyable, it’s just worth bearing in mind.

Rating: 3/5

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Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Posted August 24, 2024 by Nicky in General / 8 Comments

As ever, I’m a little behind on comments — I swear one of these days I’ll get back on track with my life!

It’s been a somewhat busy week, with my birthday on Tuesday and my exam results on Thursday, but I was spoiled and the results were good, so all is well.

Books acquired this week

My birthday haul is a little ridiculous, so I’m going to split it into two posts, this week and next week. So first up, here’s the new batch of danmei that I grabbed using birthday money and Waterstones stamps:

Cover of Heaven Official's Blessing vol 2 by MXTX Cover of Heaven Official's Blessing vol 3 by MXTX Cover of Heaven Official's Blessing vol 4 by MXTX Cover of Heaven Official's Blessing vol 5 by MXTX

Cover of Heaven Official's Blessing vol 6 by MXTX Cover of Heaven Official's Blessing vol 7 by MXTX Cover of Heaven Official's Blessing vol 8 by MXTX

But of course my wife also spoiled me a lot, so here’s some of the non-fiction I got:

Cover of Universal Basic Income by Karl Widerquist Cover of Cyborg by Laura Forland and Danya Glabau Cover of The Miniature Library of Queen Mary's Dolls' House

The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series has a fascinating range of books, I foresee a new collection on my part (uhoh).

Aaand finally, here’s some of the non-danmei fiction:

Cover of The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught Cover of Wormwood Abbey by Christina Baehr Cover of A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn Cover of A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn

I really hope that I like A Sinister Revenge (and A Grave Robbery) more than the last book — I didn’t like the nature of the conflict between Veronica and Stoker, nor Veronica hiding things from him, so it’s possible things will get straightened out now.

So that’s a heck of a haul, and like I said, that’s not even all of it!

Posts from this week

As usual, here’s a roundup of my reviews and other posts from this week!

Other posts:

What I’m reading

I’ve started my wife on reading Heaven Official’s Blessing as well — which usually means they quickly overtake me and read the whole thing while I’m still on book two, getting distracted by other books. I’m trying not to let that happen this time, so we experience the story at about the same pace, so I’ve been spending time with volume two this weekend.

That said, I’m also reading Universal Basic Income (Karl Widerquist) and Wormwood Abbey (Christina Baehr), and there’s been plenty of other reading going on too. Here’s the preview of the books I finished this week, which I’m due to review on the blog soon/eventually, or which may already have reviews posted:

Cover of Invisible Friends by Jake M. Robinson Cover of Heaven Official's Blessing by MXTX Cover of The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught Cover of The Miniature Library of Queen Mary's Dolls' House

Cover of Precious by Helen Molesworth Cover of Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker: The Art of Resurrection - Beyond the Veil Cover of Bloom Into You by Nakatani Nio Cover of Cyborg by Laura Forland and Danya Glabau

As you see, a good week for reading, helped by an impromptu day off work for my birthday.

Now all the birthday festivities and exam shenanigans are over, it’s time to settle down with my book… How’s everyone been doing?

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

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Review – The Book of Looms

Posted August 23, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Book of Looms

The Book of Looms: A History of the Handloom from Ancient Times to the Present

by Eric Broudy

Genres: History, Non-fiction
Pages: 176
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

The handloom--often no more than a bundle of sticks and a few lengths of cordage--has been known to almost all cultures for thousands of years. Eric Broduy places the wide variety of handlooms in historical context. What influenced their development? How did they travel from one geographic area to another? Were they invented independently by different cultures? How have modern cultures improved on ancient weaving skills and methods? Broudy shows how virtually every culture, no matter how primitive, has woven on handlooms. He highlights the incredible technical achievement of primitive cultures that created magnificent textiles with the crudest of tools and demonstrates that modern technology has done nothing to surpass their skill or inventiveness.

It’s hard to rate Eric Broudy’s The Book of Looms as someone who doesn’t really understand weaving and has never handled a loom beyond idle curiosity. There are a lot of technical terms to remember, even when they’ve been defined in the text, and it’s also difficult for someone with aphantasia to visualise the descriptions of how things work mechnically.

That said, it’s very thorough, explains its suppositions, and includes a lot of diagrams and images (in black and white) to help illustrate the text and explain things. I expect for people interested in looms on a more than vague and theoretical level will get a lot more out of it.

I’m not in love with the word “primitive” used a few times, but Broudy does call out that these “primitive” looms were used by people who were perhaps more skilled at weaving than anyone living today. The looms may have seen technical advances, but the weavers were superlative. I did enjoy the titbits in between the technical details about the spread of weaving, how cloth was used, the reactions to new technology, etc.

So, not aimed at me, and for that I can’t rate it highly on enjoyment, but I’d feel bad giving it a low rating. I’m certain it’s good for those who’re interested in a more technical level.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Heaven Official’s Blessing, vol 1

Posted August 22, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Heaven Official’s Blessing, vol 1

Heaven Official's Blessing

by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 417
Series: Heaven Official's Blessing / Tian Guan Ci Fu #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

A GOD FALLEN, A GHOST RISEN

Born the crown prince of a prosperous kingdom, Xie Lian was renowned for his beauty, strength, and purity. His years of dedicated study and noble deeds allowed him to ascend to godhood. But those who rise may also fall, and fall he does–cast from the heavens and banished to the world below.

Eight hundred years after his mortal life, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for the third time, angering most of the gods in the process. To repay his debts, he is sent to the Mortal Realm to hunt down violent ghosts and troublemaking spirits who prey on the living. Along his travels, he meets the fascinating and brilliant San Lang, a young man with whom he feels an instant connection. Yet San Lang is clearly more than he appears… What mysteries lie behind that carefree smile?

As a lover of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, it was only a matter of time before I tried something else by MXTX. Heaven Official’s Blessing was what my hand met first when I reached to the shelves, and I was very quickly engrossed — so here I go, setting out on an eight-book journey. Though… I don’t think the books are divided in any particular thought-out way, because it feels like the first chapter of the next book follows immediately from the last. Which makes sense, since it was originally a webnovel, but could get frustrating if you were hoping for some resolution at the end of the volume.

I can’t comment on the translation quality, as I don’t speak the original language at all. What I will say is that translation is always an interpretation, and often requires some localisation, and that’s very tricky to get right and please everyone. I found the translation readable, though the unfamiliar names and traditions sometimes keep me on my toes trying to keep up. (I’ve been recommended the first season of the donghua, to help me get up to speed.)

The illustrations are cute, and I do enjoy the growing dynamic between Xie Lian and San Lang/Hua Cheng. Very excited for him to see Hua Cheng’s face. And Xie Lian seems like such a sweetheart — though I wonder if he’s going to be as clueless as Shen Qingqiu about his feelings. I have some suspicions about other characters, but maybe I’m jumping at shadows.

All in all, eager to continue!

Rating: 4/5

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WWW Wednesday

Posted August 21, 2024 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

WWW Wednesday questions:

  • What have you recently finished reading?
  • What are you currently reading?
  • What are you planning on reading next?

So as usual, here’s my answers!

Cover of Precious by Helen MolesworthWhat have you recently finished reading?

The last book I finished was Precious: The History and Mystery of Gems Across Time, by Helen Moleworthy. Each chapter discusses a different gem stone, like rubies, diamonds and jade, and tries to weigh up what makes the gem special and give a little of its history. I enjoyed it, for the most part, though I must admit that gemstones don’t do anything special for me — or perhaps I’ve just never handled a particularly beautiful one.

Cover of Wormwood Abbey by Christina BaehrWhat are you currently reading?

As usual, I have a couple of things on the go at once. I’ve started on a new series by MXTX, Heaven Official’s Blessing, and now I’m onto the second book. I’m a little lost with all the lore, to be honest, and a friend suggested I try watching the donghua to get things straightened out. So I’ll probably do that soon! I’m enjoying the relationship between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, though.

I’ve also just barely started reading Wormwood Abbey, by Christina Baehr. I think someone in the Bookly Discord mentioned reading that, and it caught my attention because there’s a tiny dragon on the cover! I need to settle down and read a bit more.

Cover of Mr Pottermack's Oversight by R. Austin FreemanWhat are you planning on reading next?

I just got a bunch of new books for my birthday, so perhaps more from that stack. There’s a couple of new-to-me mysteries, including two by Joan Cockin — I recently tried Curiosity Killed The Cat, which I enjoyed, so maybe it’s time to read more of those. Or maybe this month’s British Library Crime Classic, Mr Pottermack’s Oversight by R. Austin Freeman, before I start building up a backlog.

I have options, as you see!

What are you reading?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I’d Like To Be Pals With

Posted August 20, 2024 by Nicky in General / 16 Comments

This week’s theme from That Artsy Reader Girl is a relationship freebie: pick a relationship and then ten characters who you want to have that kind of relationship with, e.g. siblings, found family, etc. I’ve gone with friends — and I’m going to try to pick side characters, rather than the main event, since main characters tend to have a lot of drama (and sometimes danger) coming their way…

Cover of The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System vol 3 by MXTX Cover of System Collapse by Martha Wells Cover of Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie Cover of The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison Cover of Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw

  1. Liu Mingyan, from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (MXTX). I think Mingyan and I have some things in common — we could definitely talk about books, if nothing else!
  2. Ratthi, from The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells). He seems like such a sweetie, and Martha Wells did say in an interview that of all her characters, he’d be a lot of fun to hang out with.
  3. Medic, from Ancillary Sword (Ann Leckie). In part, it’d be just kind of funny to get a Medic’s-eye-view of Breq, Seivarden, and all the trouble they bring with them.
  4. Csevet, from The Goblin Emperor (Katherine Addison). In the same vein as Medic, really, it’d be fun to get a different view of Maia and the court. And Csevet seems pretty fun.
  5. Lord Ruthven, from Strange Practice (Vivian Shaw). He knows so much, and he’s kind, and let’s face it, he’d probably make me cookies if I asked.
  6. Amanda Frisby, from Band Sinister (KJ Charles). I think we could make a pretty neat book club between me, Amanda and Liu Mingyan.
  7. Harriet Vane, from Strong Poison (Dorothy L. Sayers). Here’s another one for the book club. Sure, we’d all need some time to adjust to each others’ cultures and time periods, and I’m not sure if we’d all agree about the merits of each others’ reading matter, but you can bet after that we’d have the most fun.
  8. Lenore, from Shady Hollow (Juneau Black). She owns a bookshop. We’re natural friends. And while we’re talking about that book club idea, Lenore’s a good addition too (though I doubt she and Mingyan would see eye to eye).
  9. Dr Chef, from The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Becky Chambers). Okay, maybe this is slightly another one where I’d love him to cook for me. But also he has a heck of a perspective on the world from all he’s seen, and tries to be so kind and inclusive.
  10. Natalie Oscott, from The Tropic of Serpents (Marie Brennan). She drops out of the series and pursues her own career, and I’d love to hear more about her efforts at pushing boundaries.

Cover of Band Sinister by K.J. Charles Cover of Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers Cover of Shady Hollow by Juneau Black Cover of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers Cover of Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan

There we go, I succeeded without any main characters! And I think this book club idea would be really good, if only…

Looking forward to seeing other folks’ posts on this theme — don’t forget to drop your link in the comment if you visit.

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Review – The Long History of the Future

Posted August 19, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – The Long History of the Future

The Long History of the Future: Why Tomorrow's Tech Still Isn't Here

by Nicole Kobie

Genres: History, Non-fiction, Science
Pages: 368
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

We love to imagine the future. But why is dramatic future technology always just around the corner, and never a reality?

For decades we've delighted in dreaming about a sci-fi utopia, from flying cars and bionic humans to hoverboards; with driverless cars first proposed at the 1939 World's Fair. And why not? Building a better world, be it a free-flying commute or an automated urban lifestyle is a worthy dream. Given the pace of technological change, nothing seems impossible anymore. But why are these innovations always out of reach?

Delving into the remarkable history of technology, The Long History of the Future also looks at what lies ahead, showing how the origins of our technology may provide insight into how it realistically evolves. You may never be able to buy a fully driverless car, but automated braking and steering could slash collision rates. Smart cities won't perfect city life, but they could help bins be emptied on time. Hyperloops may never arrive, but superfast trains could fill the gap.

Looking to the future, Nicole Kobie demonstrates how despite our belief that current technology is the best it could ever be, the future always proves us wrong, and there is much to look forward to.

Nicole Kobie’s The Long History of the Future looks at the kind of things that we feel we’ve been promised by visions of the future, and why they’re still so far in the future — flying cars, self-driving cars, robot butlers, true AI, etc. Most of these are not my subject, so it’s hard to evaluate on those terms, but Kobie’s explanations make good sense, and make mention not just of physical constraints but also other things like legislative and practical issues. For example… do you really want flying cars passing by your windows every couple of minutes? How would the noise issues be handled? How would flight paths be handled?

In general, I’m not myself super interested in flying cars or robot butlers, cool as it sounds on paper, but I enjoyed Kobie’s exploration of why those things aren’t ready yet, and why they’re harder than they look. I was reassured that she wasn’t all-in on AI, though I could’ve stood to see her be even more critical of things like the environmental impact and copyright theft.

I flagged a bit toward the end of the book, as sometimes it felt like there was a bit of padding — did we really need to hear a blow-by-blow of an event in which students showed off their model hyperloop designs, which didn’t work because the batteries were flat? But overall it was interesting.

Rating: 3/5

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