FF: Re-Reading into the Holidays

Roary Considers the Implications of Innocence

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.

Except for the ARC of a novel that I’ve been looking forward to, I mostly focused on re-reading this week, as a loved story is a good backdrop at a very busy time.

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:

The Complete Miss Marple.  Audiobook.  I have listened to some of these short stories, but it’s interesting to hear how the choices made by a different reader cause subtle changes in interpretation.  And, yes, I’ve read all the stories many times. 

In Progress:

Into the Vortex by Charles E. Gannon.  ARC.  Sequel to This Broken World.  Part epic fantasy, part mystery, with flourishes of horror and, as the title suggests, elements of isekai.  Secrets lead only, as is so often the chase, to greater mysteries. 

Last Ditch by Ngaio Marsh.  Audiobook.  Set late in the series, with most of the book focusing on Rick Alleyne, son of Troy and Roderick, a would-be young writer.

Also:

Jim and I had been rewatching the anime of Cardcaptor Sakura, by the Clamp consortium.  I had a vague memory that the manga ending had been different, and got sucked into re-reading the last story arc, which fills two thick volumes.  My memory was correct.  In case you wonder, I prefer the manga ending!  The second movie catches up with the manga, but took an angle I didn’t find as supported by the material.  Side note: Don’t be fooled by the incredibly cute art.  This is a story about collecting cards the way Moby Dick is a story about hunting whales.

Almost done with the latest issue of Smithsonian.