FF: Familiar, Unfamiliar, and Confusing

Roary Reads

This week I have quite a mix on my reading list… including one really popular book from this past year that I feel I must have missed something about.

For those of you unfamiliar with this column, 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.  And it’s also a great place to tell me what you’re reading. 

Completed:

And the Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout.  Audiobook. One of my favorite of his endings.  I laugh every time.

Death Times Three by Rex Stout.  Audiobook.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.  Not bad, but I must have missed something, because I really can’t see what the fuss was about.  I’ve both read and written more complex surrealist fantasy.  Feel free to tell me what I might have missed.

In Progress:

Written in Stone by Christopher Stevens.  Non-fiction.  Chatting anecdotal look at the origins of modern language.  I wish this provided a little more about linguistic evolution, fewer pop culture references.  I find myself reading it as I would free verse poetry, less like a source of information.  Still, fun.

Terciel & Elinor by Garth Nix.  A prequel to Sabriel, featuring her parents.  I’m a little nervous about this, because it’s already established that they will die relatively young.  However, I really like Garth Nix’s work in general and his “Old Kingdom” setting, in particular, so I want to give this a try.

Curtains For Three by Rex Stout.  Audiobook.

Also:

Almost done reading the page proofs of Aurora Borealis Bridge, due out April 2022.

And read the most recent issue of Vogue.