Happy weekend! It’s been a rollercoaster of a week for me — new bunnies, degree results, dentist appointments… But in the end, it’s pretty good. And worth celebrating with an immense book-spree, obviously, because hey! I’ve gone and graduated with first class honours (again).

Also, these guys. Meet Biscuit and Eclair! The left pics are Eclair, our new baby boy, and right is Biscuit, a girl who is already planning to rival Hulk in size.

It was super hard to pick which photos to share. They’ve had their first vet checkup and are doing well.

Received to review:

Aka AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I am so excited.

New books:

 

Read this week:

   

  

Reviews posted this week:

–The Winter Garden Mystery, by Carola Dunn. A good follow-up to the first book, though the phonetic Welsh accent is a bit comical (and bad) and I wouldn’t be inviting Daisy round to my house anytime soon… murders follow her! 4/5 stars
–The Incas, by Craig Morris, Adriana Van Hagen. This is great — detailed, but absorbing all the same, and richly illustrated too. 4/5 stars
–In The Vanishers’ Palace, by Aliette De Bodard. I didn’t get it, alas. 2/5 stars
–Daughter of Mystery, by Heather Rose Jones. This might’ve been mediocre as a fantasy, mystery or romance story on its own. The combination of the three made it really absorbing. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: Likeable Characters. How do you feel about the importance of characters in fiction? Super important, or is the plot or the writing quality more important to you?
–WWW Wednesday. The usual weekly update!

Out and about:

–NEAT science: ‘Gravitational Waves’. Have they really been detected? What about that controversial article and coverage saying that there’s something up with the results?! Answer: the team are being tardy in full publication, but… well, read the post!

This post was brought to you by WifePress, aka Lisa did most of the formatting and left me free to do other things. Much gratefulness.

How’s everyone doing?

Good morning, folks! Today I’m out in the chilly pre-dawn (okay, well, not quite) to go to Liverpool for the day to see the Terracotta Warriors exhibit, and whatever else catches my fancy. And then tomorrow, the new bunnies arrive. We’ve been talking about boxing up this old one and sending it away…

(No, of course not really.)

And then on Tuesday I should get my dissertation marks, and thus know how well I graduate. And sometime in the next week or so I need my teeth fixed again because the fix that was meant to help is causing pain in itself. Gah. Buy me books. (Is my constant cry when I feel terrible.)

The bunnies did actually buy me a couple of books this week, so it’s only fair to share.

New books:

I am especially excited about Band Sinister, since it’s a homage to Georgette Heyer, except with queer people.

Read this week:

 

Reviews posted this week:

–Alpha Beta, by John Man. A competent pop-history on the origins of the Roman alphabet. 3/5 stars
–Death at Wentwater Court, by Carola Dunn. Entertaining and just cosy enough, with a hint of romance to come. 4/5 stars
–The Maya, by Michael D. Coe. Interesting topic, but Coe’s treatment of it is somewhat dry. 3/5 stars
–The Seventh Miss Hatfield, by Anna Caltabiano. Incoherent and badly written, alas. 1/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: Real Life. How much do you reveal?
–WWW Wednesday. The usual weekly update.

Out and about:

–NEAT science: ‘Neat little boxes‘. Why biological sexual development isn’t at all that simple. If you think there’s men and women and nothing else in between, this is specially for you.
–Once Upon A Blue Moon: ‘On Books‘. A triolet on the topic of books, mostly written for the fun of writing to a strict structure.

Good morning, guys! Not next week, but the week after, I should be able to introduce you all to our new bunnies! For now, Breakfast has a fistbump for you all.

I should hurry up, because I’m writing this on Friday evening (as ever) and we’ve been to the gym and are tired. We being me and my wife, not me and the bunnies, entertaining though the image of them hopping on a treadmill is (and much as Hulk could use the exercise). So here goes!

Books acquired this week:

Library sale + falling in love with a new series!

Books read this week:

 

Reviews posted this week:

–The Mystery of the Skeleton Key, by Bernard Capes. Nothing groundbreaking, and a bit slow, but if you’re into Golden Age crime fiction… 2/5 stars
–Endless Forms Most Beautiful, by Sean Carroll. A great entry-level book on Evo Devo. 4/5 stars
–Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection, by John Man. Another entertaining pop-history part-travelogue book from Man… 3/5 stars
–Annihilation, by Jeff Vandermeer. This was a reread for me, and one I found worth it. I enjoy the narrator’s matter-of-fact tone a lot. 4/5 stars
–Rebel of the Sands, by Alwyn Hamilton. Another reread, so I can get on with the series. Still entertaining, without being very groundbreaking. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: Returning Comments. What do you do if someone comments on your blog, you go to return it, and you find out they think you’re going to hell and frequently post saying so whenever homosexuality comes up in the books they read? To the extent of no longer supporting an author because they’re tolerant of homosexuality?
–WWW Wednesday. The usual weekly update.

Out and about:

–Once Upon A Blue Moon: ‘[UNTRANSLATABLE]‘. A rather cynical take on why an alien might be interested in Earth.

So how’s everyone’s week been? Anything exciting going on for you?

Good morning, readers! It’s been a quiet week for me, still getting over my coughing and wheezing, lots of bunny-snuggling, etc. I did get my hair dyed again, it’s a rather amazing colour…

We’ll see how long that lasts! Anyway, no new books this week, so here’s a feature of the covers of the books I finished!

Books read this week:

 

Reviews posted this week:

–Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. A reread of a beloved book. There’s still much to love, though maybe I’m less taken than I used to be! 4/5 stars
–The Lake District Murder, by John Bude. Another in the British Library Crime Classics range. Entertaining enough, but not a particular highlight. 3/5 stars
–Poison: A Social History, by Joel Levy. An interesting, if somewhat limited book with rather short chapters and some good scientific profiles of poisons. 2/5 stars
–The Book of Hidden Things, by Francesco Dimitri. This one was an interesting read, but not really my thing. Some aspects felt way too obvious to me. 2/5 stars
–The Lost Plot, by Genevieve Cogman. A good installment of this series, although I’m not sure I love all the developments! 4/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussions: What to discuss? I know, I’m cheating. Any topics anyone wants me to write about, though?
–WWW Wednesday. The usual update on what I’m currently reading.

Out and about:

–NEAT science: ‘Evaluating scientific papers‘. Breaking down exactly how to decide what to trust and avoid being taken for a ride.

So that’s that. How’s everyone doing? Anything good on your shelves right now?

Good morning, everyone! It has been a quietish week for me, mostly spent coughing and sniffling, but I’m almost better now. And it’s a good thing I’m not putting library books in these posts anymore, because I’ve been on a serious spree lately. (Right now, I have, um… 50ish books out of the four libraries I’m a member of.)

Anyway! To books!

Received to review:

I’m especially excited about In the Vanishers’ Palace. I had it preordered anyway, and then I spotted it on Netgalley…

Bought:

 

 

Exit Strategy! The final Murderbot! Eeeeek gaaah eeeeeee etc.

Read this week:

  

Reviews posted this week:

–Gods, Graves and Scholars, by C.W. Ceram. This is out of date in many ways, but the fascination is very much still there. It covers a lot of the great sites of archaeology that formed the whole discipline. 3/5 stars
–The Descent of Monsters, by JY Yang. I liked this less than the others: it seemed less able to stand along, more fragmentary. Still a fascinating addition to the world being built here, though. 3/5 stars
–Spying on Whales, by Nick Pyenson. Whales aren’t one of my primary fascinations, but they are fascinating creatures and Pyenson’s enthusiasm is catching. 3/5 stars
–Murder at the Brightwell, by Ashley Weaver. A fun Christie-esque mystery: nothing special, but nonetheless fun. 3/5 stars
–Ancient Lives, New Discoveries, by John H. Taylor and Daniel Antoine. A fascinating glimpse beneath the wrappings of mummies from the British Museum’s collection. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: How do you review? Musing on the ingredients that go into a good review.
–WWW Wednesday. The weekly update!

Out and about:

–Once Upon A Blue Moon: ‘Me, Too‘. A poem and commentary on the #MeToo movement.
–NEAT science: ‘Writing in DNA‘. Answering the question of how information can possibly be encoded by acids.
–NEAT science: ‘Why chimpanzees are still around‘. Explains how chimpanzees can be around if humans evolved from them. (Spoiler: we didn’t, we evolved from the same common ancestor, also, species do not have to die in order for new species to evolve anyway.)

So actually it’s been a bit of a busy week in some ways. How’re you doing?!

Good morning, folks! I have a bit of a cold and (writing this on Friday night) rather want to get to bed, so I’ll keep this quick! It’s been a quiet week except for my various trips from the library (I have [mumble] books out of four different libraries right now…), but I still have some books to show off from last week in London, plus a review copy.

Received to review:

Yay! I’m torn about whether to reread The Traitor Baru Cormorant first: I think I could maybe use a reminder on the political background, but the character-development stuff has really stuck with me.

Bought:

And my copies of Made to Kill and Killing is my Business are actually signed! Thank you, Forbidden Planet London. Likewise, my copy of Vengeful is one of the limited edition signed ones. I really need to at least get that one out of the plastic and admire it!

Books read this week:

 

  

Reviews posted this week:

–Men Explain Things to Me, by Rebecca Solnit. Clearly written essays, most of them kind of indifferent, but the title one is worth the time for that sense of validation: ah, it’s not just me this happens to. 3/5 stars
–The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, by Steve Brusatte. A bit basic for me — go with David Hone’s Tyrannosaurus Chronicles instead, and you won’t be disappointed. 3/5 stars
–Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, by Brandon Sanderson. Finally got to read the whole story in this collected edition! Well worth the time, though I’m unsure about how I feel about the ending. Maybe I just didn’t want it to end. 4/5 stars
–And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie. Christie could put a heck of a story together, and I read this one straight through. Kind of creepy, too. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: Keeping Books. Do you hoard the books you’ve read? Or do you pass them on once you’re done?
–WWW Wednesday. The usual weekly update on what I’ve just read, what I’m reading now, and what I might be about to read next.

Out and about:

–NEAT science: Calculating the mass of a planet. Ever wondered how we do that, given you can’t stick Jupiter on a set of weighing scales? I go through that here!

How’s everyone else doing, anyway? Exciting week?

Hey everyone! I know the tradition is that you get a pic of my buns if I’m away from them, but I won’t be away from them very often anymore, so now you’ll just get one if they’re being particularly cute. And they have been, this week: they’re just settling into the new flat, and getting up to shenanigans…

I just found a bunny nose-print on the glass door of one of my bookshelves, so methinks those doors were definitely a good idea, too…

Anyway, it’s been a busy week with a nice day trip to London, and I got plenty of new books. Oops? Wait, not sorry. I’ll split them into two lots just to keep the page manageable and give me something to post next week!

New books:

 

My editions of the Seanan McGuire books don’t match in size, but I’m not too bothered about that. And now I have Den of Wolves in paperback, I have no excuse not to finish the series. Right? …Right?

Books read this week:

   

Reviews posted this week:

–The Paper Trail, by Alexander Munro. This spends an amazingly long time on the origins of paper in China — which makes sense, but somehow I hadn’t expected. Lots of stuff I didn’t know, despite having read about the origins of the book specifically before. 4/5 stars
–Verdict of Twelve, by Raymond Postgate. An interesting set-up, but a bit thin in places. 3/5 stars
–Seeds of Science, by Mark Lynas. A former anti-GMO activist talks about what changed his mind and the key points to know about GMOs. Refreshingly lacking in scaremongering for something about GMOs. 4/5 stars
–Death of a Clone, by Alex Thompson. Reminded me very much of the book I happen to be reading concurrently, One Way, but with fun touches in the references to Agatha Christie’s works. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: Shelving. How do you categorise your books? Do you categorise your books? Featuring a whistle-stop tour of my own newly organised bookshelves.
–WWW Wednesday. The usual update on what I’ve been reading, what I might read next, etc.

Out and about:

–Once Upon a Blue Moon: ‘Forbidden Fruits‘. A little bit of microfiction on the topic of curiosity and the knowledge of good and evil.
–NEAT science: ‘Gene editing and allergies‘. If you use genes from a peanut in another plant, will people eating the new plant get peanut allergies? Answer: probably not.

How’s everyone doing? I’m very nearly caught up with everything I plan to be caught up with, and my little office is cozy and useful (I stay on task so much better when I don’t have someone else in the room distracting me! what a surprise). Whew!

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:

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)!

Good morning, folks! It’s been a quiet week here for the most part, unless you count the bunnies learning that they can make a big noise by dropping their hay ball down the stairs in their hutch when they want me to refill it. New home goes on apace, new car likewise, but I’ve gotta anti-recommend Virgin Media as an internet provider.

(But so many hearts in my eyes for Bulb, who do green energy and a completely hassle-free set up, as well as good rates. If you switch and use that link, you get £50 credit and so do I, just as full disclosure. For me that’s most of a month’s electricity and gas, so it’s a big deal!)

Books received to review:

Tor actually sent me the hardback of Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds — I’ve only ever read the first novella, so I’m pretty excited.

Books read this week:

Reviews posted this week:

–Ancestral Journies, by Jean Manco. A fascinating topic — the migrations and colonisations of Europe, as far as they can be traced. There are some slightly more tedious bits, but for the most part it pulls together a lot of evidence and is very worth the read if the topic is interesting to you. 4/5 stars
–The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers. A reread, and I possibly loved this even more the second time. 5/5 stars
–The Burning Page, by Genevieve Cogman. I liked this more on a reread, I think because I really placed it in the context of the other books properly. Before, it felt like an ending, but a weak one; I think that was just me focusing too much on Alberich’s arc. 4/5 stars
–Murder of a Lady, by Anthony Wynne. Atmospheric as heck, though perhaps leaning too hard on some tropes I dislike. 3/5 stars
–Death of a Busybody, by George Bellairs. Very typical Golden Age stuff, but there’s something about it that makes it a really fun casual read. 3/5 stars
–Moral Tribes, by Joshua Greene. A surprisingly (to me) good case for utilitarianism! 4/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: A Fast Read. Discussing whether a book being a quick read is a good thing or, as some authors on Twitter think, an insult.
–WWW Wednesday. The weekly update on what I’m reading (and what I’m thinking about it!).

Out and about:

–NEAT science: ‘STEVE in the sky.‘ Ever seen the northern lights? This post is about a little-understood phenomenon that is a little bit similar in appearance, but so far only superficially understood.

So that’s that for this week! By next week, I’ll have turned my dissertation in and finished everything I can do for my degree. Which means I’ll have plenty of time to catch up on those comments I’m running behind on…

How’re you guys?