Wearing Of the Green

My reading this week is small, but that's partly because it's only half a week, so I decided not to delay when ending my blog hiatus. But I like the community of Monday posting, so I'm back!

Spring is finally arriving here in western Washington -- after snow continuing into March, which is awful and frightening and inconvenient, the sun has returned and I can now drive around without seeing snow banks and having panic attacks. The middle of March has a nice run of minor holidays -- my birthday, pie day (pizza and cake for me, thanks!) Ides of March, and St Patrick's Day.

I wore a green shirt and nagged my son to do the same, and then we met up with a friend and my brother to see Captain Marvel which was a fun if not very ambitious movie. Goose was our favorite; she was a very pretty kitty. And then my sister served up an Irish feast for family dinner, which we all enjoyed.

My currently reading has stayed at 22. Not unreasonable for me, especially since this week I only really looked at nine or so books.

The Book Date does a weekly roundup of what people are reading, want to read, or have read each week called It's Monday! What Are You Reading so I'll sign up there.

Completed:




With the Lightnings, David Drake. This one rolled along happily to the end, with a kind of reverse O. Henry twist where the two protagonists thought they gave up something they wanted to give the other person a gift, and they both ended up with what they wanted without giving up their dreams. And we get a second henchman so they can both have a left hand to complement their strong rights. It was fun to go back to the start of this series because it's a bit hazy now and I'm still reading them as I trip across them. Tuesday book club seems happy.

Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee. The Sword and Laser pick I think in January; this time around I managed to make it through! I was not impressed with the conceit of mathematical calendars causing magical effects because it involved a lot of handwavium and also gave the characters unpredictable powers -- I never knew how much trouble anyone was in because maybe the handwavium calculations would solve something? The bits at the end where we see Jadeo's plan and could start deciding whether to root for it was a lot better but again, it was at the end.

Bookmarks Moved In:





Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 35/? Baen's podcast serial. The society has rather dull gender politics, but at least occasionally a girl gets to do something within those rules.

The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson. My current Reading-My-Library audio. Bryson would be an annoying companion although he's good for a car audio book. I heartily approve of his long-suffering coterie grabbing his elbow and leading him away from innocent contacts. I especially smiled at his description of the mental patient who would yell insults at new acquaintances, since a lot of Bryson's schtick seems to involve replicating this.

Cyteen, C.J. Cherryh. OK, I made it from adolescence to the end. Now deciding whether to jump back to her toddlerhood or to where she meets her personal azi...

Luminscent Threads, ed. Alexandra Pierce. I'm enjoying reading a few of the essays at a time, with an added thrill when I recognize the contributors. On my Kindle App.

Virtues of War, Bennett R. Coles. The unpleasant woman's distaste for suicide missions has endeared her to me. On the NOOK app.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer, Leigh Bardugo. It's interesting to read this as the plot of the movie screens in the back of my mind and the contrasts and similarities throw shadows across each other. I like the way Diana meets some cute guys but no one expects them to warp her life for decades. Unless she gets killed by one, I guess -- I haven't finished it yet.


Palate Cleansers

These books I'm barely reading; I use them as palate cleansers between books I'm actually reading.



A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George. I continue to find the violinist's interaction with his annoying neighbor trying.

Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception, Wendelin Van Draanen.

Change of Heart, Norah McClintock.

Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Alan Burgess.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.