FF: Various, Sundry, Fun!

Weather is finally cooling into the mid-nineties, and we have rain.  That means I’ve been outdoors a bit more, but I’m still reading.

Kel Contemplates Wirewalking

For those of you just discovering this feature, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week.  Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazine articles.

The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list.  If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.

Once again, this is not a book review column.  It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in.

Recently Completed:

Armada by Ernest Cline.  Audiobook.

Harpist in the Wind by Patricia McKillip.  Final book in “Riddle of Stars” series.  I still love this series to pieces.

Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond.  I briefly met Ms. Bond at a literary gala in Santa Fe a few weeks ago.  Decided to try one of her novels.  A nicely non-formulaic YA novel, which is saying something because part of the plot riffs off (but doesn’t copy) Romeo and Juliet.

In Progress:

Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond.  New protagonist but it looks as if the fictional Cirque American will provide some continuity.

A Slip of the Keyboard by Terry Pratchett.  Audiobook.  A collection of various talks and essays Pratchett presented over many years.  Fascinating from a SF/F historical perspective in that “givens” change over time (as Pratchett himself comments in notes on older pieces).  Only flaw is that Pratchett is fond of certain phrases or comparisons.  That wasn’t a problem when these pieces were originally presented – often years apart – but jolts me some here.

Also:

Pratchett’s affection for Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable made me pull my copy off the shelf and start browsing.  Addictive!