FF: Time To Read
Mel-Ling: Six Months Old And Growing
One thing I really like about road trips is having more time to read. Jim and I drove up and back from MileHiCon, so we listened to a couple of audiobooks. (We finished the last one after we were home.) I also found a new-to-me Diana Wynne Jones book in the Dealer’s Room and read that…
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 magazines. 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.
I’m enjoying hearing what you folks are reading, too!
Recently Completed:
Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich. Audiobook. Zombies in New Jersey? Diesel on the scene, so you know it’s going to get weird. I enjoyed the first three-quarters of this one, but the ending had some logistical/descriptive issues that really bothered me.
Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich. Audiobook. A solid novel, if sometimes very silly. Not a complaint. “Silly” is a crucial part of the series. Good characterization and a lot less reliance on series tropes as filler than in the previous one. One continuity issue from the prior book. I’m beginning to wonder if this series is being written by at least two people.
The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones. I’d not been able to find a copy of this one before this trip. It’s more plot driven than many of her novels, and anticipates what has become a sub-genre in modern SF/F: the game as frame. Bittersweet but satisfying ending.
In Progress:
Sourdough by Robin Sloan. Audiobook. Another slow story, very introspective, but I’m enjoying the internal journey of Lois.
Quillifer The Knight by Walter Jon Williams. I know the author, so I scored an ARC! The writing style is reminiscent Rafael Sabatini or Alexander Dumas, so be prepared for descriptive embroidery as well as swashbuckling adventure.
The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbojornsen & Moe, translated by Tiina Nunnally. I’m reading a few of these before bed each night. They can make for some very odd dreams!
Also:
The first round of holiday shopping catalogs are coming in. As ever, I enjoy looking at all the things our modern world holds.
