Ry Herman's Blog, page 16
December 1, 2020
Favorite Books – November 2020
For the first time since I started doing these earlier this year, this past month there was no single book that I would rate as a standout favorite.
Nonetheless, there were still a number of books I enjoyed very much and thought highly of, including: ENCHANTRESS FROM THE STARS by Sylvia Engdahl, THE FAR SIDE OF EVIL by Sylvia Engdahl, THE AWAKENED KINGDOM by N. K. Jemisin, COTTONMOUTHS by Kelly J. Ford, DESTINY’S CHOICE by Karen Frost, SPEED OF DARK by Elizabeth Moon, HOW IT FEELS TO FLOAT by Helena Fox, WILDTHORN by Jane Eagland, THIEF EYES by Janni Lee Simner, ARE YOU LISTENING by Tillie Walden, STARSIGHT by Brandon Sanderson, and SUMMER by Ali Smith.
Favorite Books – November
For the first time since I started doing these earlier this year, this past month there was no single book that I would rate as a standout favorite.
Nonetheless, there were still a number of books I enjoyed very much and thought highly of, including: ENCHANTRESS FROM THE STARS by Sylvia Engdahl, THE FAR SIDE OF EVIL by Sylvia Engdahl, THE AWAKENED KINGDOM by N. K. Jemisin, COTTONMOUTHS by Kelly J. Ford, DESTINY’S CHOICE by Karen Frost, SPEED OF DARK by Elizabeth Moon, HOW IT FEELS TO FLOAT by Helena Fox, WILDTHORN by Jane Eagland, THIEF EYES by Janni Lee Simner, ARE YOU LISTENING by Tillie Walden, STARSIGHT by Brandon Sanderson, and SUMMER by Ali Smith.
November 21, 2020
Bookshop.org
I am now an affiliate at https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ryherman.
Bookshop.org is a wonderful site that financially supports local, independent bookshops. You can buy my books online at the link above, and I’ve made some curated lists of great queer SFF & YA available on the site as well!
November 2, 2020
Favorite Books — October
Getting this one up almost on time for once! My definite favorite this month was:
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SOLUTIONS AND OTHER PROBLEMS by Allie Brosh
After a seven-year wait, Allie Brosh has come out with a new collection of autobiographical and illustrated essays. She once again tackles her problems, internal and external, with humor, insight, and the occasional emotional gut-punch. This one was, I thought, overall a little more uneven than Hyperbole and a Half, but when it lands, it lands with impact. Standouts for me included her memories of her sister, the story of the ugly frog, her attempts to become friends with herself, her night attempting to overcome all her fears at once, and Slobar the Gentle Orc, among others. Which is a lot of standouts.
Other books I very much liked this month included THE MEMORY OF BABEL by Christelle Dabos, RANDOM SH*T FLYING THROUGH THE AIR by Jackson Ford, PIRANESI by Susanna Clarke, ARCHITECTS OF MEMORY by Karen Osbourne, THE TROUBLE WITH PEACE by Joe Abercrombie, A DEADLY EDUCATION by Naomi Novik, A WIZARD’S GUIDE TO DEFENSIVE BAKING by T. Kingfisher, HARROW THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir, and LAB RAT ONE by Andrea K. Höst.
October 15, 2020
Lord of the Rings, by Dr. Seuss
“I am Samwise. I am Samwise. Samwise I am-wise.”
“Samwise Gamgee! Samwise Gamgee! I cannot bear it, Sam Gamgee!”
“Would you bear the ring with me?”
“I will not bear it, Sam Gamgee. I will not bear the ring with thee.”
“Would you bear the ring to Bree?”
“I will not bear the ring to Bree. I will not bear it willingly. I will not bear the ring with thee. I cannot bear it, Sam Gamgee.”
“Would you bear it to Weathertop, where ringwraiths stab you when we stop?”
“I won’t bear it to Weathertop if ringwraiths stab me when we stop. I will not bear the ring to Bree. I will not bear it willingly. I will not bear the ring with thee. I cannot bear it, Sam Gamgee.”
“Would you bear it to Rivendell, where Glorfindel and Elrond dwell?”
“Not Rivendell, where elf-lords dwell. Nor Weathertop, stabbed when we stop. I will not bear the ring to Bree. I will not bear it willingly. I will not bear the ring with thee. I cannot bear it, Sam Gamgee.”
“Would you? Could you? Through the Mine? (Gandalf will die, but he’ll be fine.)”
“I would not, could not, through the Mine.”
“You could bear it now and then. Maybe to Lothlórien!”
“I would not to Lothlórien. Nor through the Mine, no matter when! I won’t bear it to Rivendell, where Glorfindel and Elrond dwell. I won’t bear it to Weathertop if ringwraiths stab me when we stop. I will not bear the ring to Bree. I will not bear it willingly. I will not bear the ring with thee. I cannot bear it, Sam Gamgee.”
“The Morgul Vale! The Morgul Vale! Would you, to the Morgul Vale?”
“Not to the Vale, Lothlórien, nor through the Mine, no matter when! I won’t bear it to Rivendell, where Glorfindel and Elrond dwell. I won’t bear it to Weathertop if ringwraiths stab me when we stop. I will not bear the ring to Bree. I will not bear it willingly. I will not bear the ring with thee. I cannot bear it, Sam Gamgee.”
“Say! Past Shelob? Just past Shelob? Would you, could you, past Shelob?”
“I would not, could not, past Shelob.”
“Would you, could you in orc jail?”
“I would not, could not in orc jail, nor past Shelob, nor to the Vale, Lothlórien, or through the Mine. I won’t, and that’s the bottom line. Not Rivendell, nor Weathertop. Not where elves dwell or ringwraiths stop. I will not bear the ring to Bree. I will not bear it willingly.”
“You will not bear the ring with me?”
“I cannot bear it, Sam Gamgee.”
“Could you, would you, to Mt. Doom?”
“I would not, could not to Mt. Doom!”
“To drop it in a lava flume?”
“I could not drop it in the flume! I will not take it to Mt. Doom. I will not take it to orc jail! Nor past Shelob! Nor through the Mine! Or to the Vale! I must decline! I won’t bear it to Rivendell, where Glorfindel and Elrond dwell. I won’t bear it to Weathertop if ringwraiths stab me when we stop. I will not bear the ring to Bree. I will not bear it willingly. I will not bear the ring with thee. I cannot bear it, Sam Gamgee.”
“You will not bear it, so you say. Bear it! Bear it! Come what may. Bear it come what may, I say.”
“Samwise! If you let me be, I will bear it. You will see … Say! Gollum, with his nasty cough, just went and bit my finger off! Then fell right in the lava flume, after I bore it to Mt. Doom! And I bore it through the orc jail, and past Shelob, and through the Vale, Lothlórien, and in the Mine where Gandalf died (but then was fine). And I bore it to Rivendell, where Glorfindel and Elrond dwell. And I bore it to Weathertop, though ringwraiths stabbed me at that stop. And yes, I bore the ring to Bree. I bore that ring most willingly. I’m glad I bore that ring with thee! Thank you, thank you, Sam Gamgee!”
October 8, 2020
Favorite Books – September
September turned out to be a pretty standout month for good books. There were two, however, that ended up being particular favorites:
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REDEMPTION IN INDIGO, by Karen Lord
Paama’s husband is a fool and a glutton. When Paama leaves him for good, she attracts the attention of the undying ones – the djombi – who present her with a gift: the Chaos Stick, which allows her to manipulate the subtle forces of the world.
I’ve been meaning to read the works of Karen Lord for years, and now that I’ve read one, my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. Redemption in Indigo is a charming story, and perfectly told.
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IN THE DREAM HOUSE, by Carmen Maria Machado
Carmen Maria Machado’s innovative account of a relationship gone bad traces the full arc of a harrowing experience with a charismatic but volatile woman, each chapter viewing the relationship through a different lens.
This is a beautifully written book, and a powerful one. It is also a book that I was, for a while, reluctant to read; I have my own history with being abused in a relationship, and revisiting those memories are always hard. And in fact, there was an episode recounted in this book that made my heart race with remembered panic. There were things she talked about that happened to me as well, or almost happened, or could have happened. But that’s also part of the reason that I’m very glad I read it.
I’ll also note that there were two books that would have made my “best of the month list” if the month hadn’t been quite as strong: THE MERCIES by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, and the theatrical play LEOPOLDSTADT by Tom Stoppard.
Other books and stories that I very much enjoyed in September included THE WARRING STATES by Aidan Harte, EMERGENCY SKIN by N. K. Jemisin, OUTLAW by Niamh Murphy, TWENTY WORLDS by Niall Deacon, THIS TELLING by Cheryl Strayed, STRAY by Andrea K. Höst, THE DARK DARK by Samantha Hunt, GRACEFUL BURDENS by Roxane Gay, THE WATCHMAKER OF FILIGREE STREET by Natasha Pulley, THE DOLLMAKER by Nina Allan, THE SILVER WIND by Nina Allan, HALFWAY TO FREE by Emma Donoghue, and WATERSONG by Mary Caraker.
September 29, 2020
The Chocolate Museum
Since the world’s biggest chocolate museum has just opened in Switzerland, I thought this would be an appropriate time to share my own chocolate museum story.
A few years back, we were in Barcelona and had spent a day hitting the museums. We had just been through the Picasso Museum, the daylight was waning and everything was on the verge of shutting down. We were about to head back to the hotel when we noticed the Chocolate Museum — open for another half hour! How could we resist? We bought our tickets (which came in the form of bars of chocolate) and went in.
First, there was a video presentation about the history of chocolate, which went something like this: “Spanish explorers went to South American and [Scene Missing] LOOK OVER THERE! [Scene Missing] WE DON’T TALK ABOUT THIS PART [Scene Missing] then Europe had chocolate.”
Then, we went into the museum proper, which turned out to be a museum of … chocolate art. Paintings and sculptures done entirely in chocolate. Ancient, horrible-looking, inedible chocolate.
And not only was it museum of unappetizing chocolate art, it was a museum of chocolate art with curator’s notes next to the artwork which had the exact same degree of deadly serious breathless intensity and awe as the notes in the Picasso Museum.
CURATOR’S NOTE: “So-and-so’s innovative use of white chocolate would transform the world of chocolate art forever. His boldness of line and daring choice of subject made him a controversial figure in the chocolate art world. The unveiling of this piece caused riots, and remains a subject of debate to this very day. To look upon his work is to begin to question everything — Art. Society. Ourselves.”
ME, STARING AT CHOCOLATE IMAGE OF A CARTOON BUNNY: “I … don’t see it.”
The chocolate bar tickets were OK.
September 21, 2020
Literally Can’t Complain
I’m not reading as many books as I normally do this year, but I’m having a lot of trouble complaining about it to anybody because when you say, “I might not even make it to 200 books!” you get exactly zero sympathy.
September 10, 2020
Favorite Books – August
Two books I read in August were particular standouts for me:
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THE BONE HOUSES, by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don’t always stay dead.
This was a YA novel with unexpected depth, vivid descriptions, great characters, and a welcome nod to the same Welsh legends that inspired Lloyd Alexander. It’s honestly hard to find fault with this one. So I won’t.
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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TIME TRAVEL, by Kate Mascarenhas
Ruby knows her beloved Granny Bee was a pioneer, but they never talk about the past. Though time travel is now big business, Bee has never been part of it. Then they receive a message from the future …
This one was a delight. A locked-room murder mystery, a love story, and a deep look at how time travel might seriously mess with your mind.
Other books I read in August that I liked very much included LESS by Andrew Sean Greer, CRIER’S WAR by Nina Varela, SUMMERLAND by Hannu Rajaniemi, THE BEATRIX GATES by Rachel Pollack, THE FIRE NEVER GOES OUT by Noelle Stevenson, EXHALATION by Ted Chiang, THE OUTSIDE by Ada Hoffman, and PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK by Joan Lindsay.
August 29, 2020
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