Fourth Wing and A Cold Red Sunrise

 So Fourth Wing was our family book club choice. I'm not the readership for Rebecca Yarros. I'm about 40 years too old and the wrong sex. The sex scenes (Oh, spoiler alert) run on and on and on. So bad I had to click +15 sec over and over again. Like the John Galt speech of sex scenes. And if I hear about the main male character being hot one more time, I'll puke. Theory was good though and the author can write, I'll give her that. Very little over explaining (a couple of times) and telling, but not enough to distract. Of course, the requisite they as a single character (so dumb). Cut about 100 pages out of this 600+ page book and it would have been the perfect length.

A Cold Red Sunrise, however, another great Rostnikov detective story by Stuart Kaminsky. This is #5 for me. And thankfully I've got plenty more to read! This time our detective finds himself in Siberia. At first I thought the author wrote Tyumensk, where I went in 2010; alas, no, it was Tumsk. Our weight-lifting barrel of a man solves the crime in 2, 2 1/2 days. In expert fashion. Kaminsky really knows the Russian soul, which says a lot. His Russians (pretty much all his characters) are the same Russians I lived with for five years. Not only that, he knows Russia. Every description he writes is exactly Russia. Simply wonderful.

Now I'm reading a couple books. I'm still reading Revelation Space stories in order, just finished "A Spy in Europa" and am reading now "Weather." Also reading Cursed Bunny which is so good so far (about half done). Still reading Esperanto and Languages of Internationalism in Revolutionary Russia. 

Language-wise, a couple months into Hoch's Middle Egyptian Grammar. Early days still, but we're already dealing with present and past and pronoun suffixes. Only on chapter 3. Such a fun language, and the Collier & Manley course I did last year certainly is helping me on Hoch. And the next Esperanto Sumoo is coming up, still trying to decide which Esperanto book I'm going to read for that. Maybe Bluaj neĝoj?  Maybe Maskerado ĉirkaŭ la morto?

Still reading Russian articles when I can, mostly at work. Lots of Prigozhin articles lately. Hmm...I wonder why?  ))  

Revelation Space

 Years back I read novels in the wonderfully detailed Revelation Space world, by Alastair Reynolds. I think I read 3 or 4 novels set in that world. Been wanting good sci-fi recently so thought I'd re-read these books, but first looked up how many stories he'd written in Revelation Space. 

Turns out: a lot. Many short stories are set in this world. In fact, the novel Revelation Space doesn't show up in the chronological list until spot 18 (only 3 of the 17 previous are full-out novels). There are 22 total products in this world. I'd only read 5 of the books until I decided to start reading in chrono order. 

So I just finished "Galactic North," a short story spanning over 40,000 years of galactic history (!!!). But Conjoiners and Inhibitors and Demarchists all feature. Prior to this story, I read the two novellas "Great Wall of Mars" and "Glacial." Next up is "Night Passage," but for that, I had to put a hold on a library book (Infinite Stars) in which the story features. After that, I'm back to the short story compilation Galactic North which I already own. 

It was this or the Pandora Sequence again. That's my favorite Frank Herbert. (I know: sacrilege.) 

So this is what I'll be reading for a while. Who knows how far I'll go; we'll see after "Night Passage!"

Literature vs. everything else

 When a book, any sort of book, reaches a certain intensity of artistic performance it becomes literature. That intensity may be a matter of style, situation, character, emotional tone, or idea, or half a dozen other things. It may also be a perfection of control over the movement of a story similar to the control a great pitcher has over a ball.

Thank you, Raymond Chandler.

That's it. That's the post.

Some recent reads

 Squiggly Lines, by Mark Lattanzi. Good refresher book on orienteering, which goes into depth on adventure racing and rogaine. Been wanting to get back into orienteering (did a few in Boston some years ago) and needed to remind myself how to do it. While searching for a book different from the oft-read-yet-still-awesome Be Expert with Map and Compass (Kjellstrom), I came across this one. The author also manages a rogaine in Virginia. w00t! So I bought his book and, after making sure our daughter can watch the dog Labor Day weekend, signed myself and my wife up for The Search for Big Mack. This book will help; hell, it already helped as today we went to Quantico Orienteering Club's Intro to Orienteering, where I got reminded yet again how to O. 

Snowblind, by Ragnar Jonasson. Number 1 of Dark Iceland (sounds so evil). Ok detective-type mystery. Someone's murdered (or is he?) and someone else is attempted-murdered (or is she?). My pick for the family book club and counts towards my 10+ translated books I intend on reading in 2023. (This one is #6.) Very atmospheric. Makes me want to visit Iceland. Not sure I'll read any others in the Dark Iceland series.

A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine. Great space opera with a well thought-out world. Memories of the dip circuit (mine) and Embassytown (Mieville's). Got this on Kindle Unlimited, hurray! and will probably read more in the Teixcalaan series. Looking Martine up now it doesn't surprise me she is/was a history professor. This book read so much like a classical history, perhaps Aztec or Mayan, maybe Greek or Byzantine. Well done, Doc!

How it Unfolds, by James S. A. Corey. Very short novella, 38 pages I believe. Great story and idea. Sadly counts as a book on Goodreads, but I'm on track to read more than 80 this year so no biggie. Anyway, there's more in this series, The Far Reaches. Not too sure if they're all in the same "world" or not. And not sure I want to see as I don't want anything to be given away. 

July 2023

 Whoa! Almost forgot.

Books read:

• The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self, by Michael Easter.
• La Horo 25, de Constantin Virgil Gheorghiu.
• The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton. Wife's choice for family book club. So good and original.
• Book Indexing: A Step-by-step Guide, by Stephen Ullstrom. Advanced reading copy from the author.

Not much in July due to a one-week vacation (Savannah is beautiful) and then one-week unexpected for my step-father. 

Books bought:

• Snowblind, by Ragnar Jonasson. My choice in the family book club. About half done.
• A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and the Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, by James Boswell and Samuel Johnson. Miss the Hebrides. (Pic of me there below.)
• The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton.
• System Collapse, by Martha Wells. Pre-order. Won't get to read it till November 14. (Boy #2's birthday!)
• The Tomb of Tutankhamun, by Howard Carter. Folio Society sale! Can't wait to get this. Have been pining for it for a while now, the art in it. 
• Flashman #1 and #2. Found at a Goodwill while in Texas for the hospital/funeral. $1.99 each.