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thursday reads and things
May. 15th, 2025 04:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
isisBecause I was going to do this yesterday, but time is soup.
What I've recently finished reading:
I went back to the Nantucket Trilogy and read the last book, On the Oceans of Eternity by S. M. Stirling, which yay, did deliver on the exploration of the American continent which I complained about in my review of #2. But I think these books could have done with some rearrangement and editing and maybe being four books instead of three, because this was a (virtual) doorstopper, and it still felt as though a few of the threads came to abrupt ends. I mean, I liked it overall, though I did skim battle battle battle battle. And the characterization is pretty minimal - none of these characters are particularly compelling, or distinctive other than by tricks of locution, and the Evil people are Evil and the Good people are Good and Good wins yay. But the characterization of the situation is pretty good, the whole "modern people dropped in the Bronze Age" thing is just great, even if it does strain belief that they have enough intellectual resources and physical skills to make a go of it.
What I've recently listened to:
I recently found out that an acquaintance of mine, a neurologist, started a podcast late last year, and as I wanted to listen to something while running that wasn't politics for a change I picked out an episode from February (there are only nine episodes) that sounded interesting. Stranger Tongues, Stranger Tides is about communication between humans and non-humans; it starts with his own experiences with a scrub jay in his back yard, and moves on to discussions of experiments in communicating with animals, and attempts to communicate with his autistic son, and eventually communication with (possible) aliens and "AI" LLMs.
I really enjoyed it, and I think that if you liked Ed Yong's An Immense World and/or Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time series (and especially if you read my post from 2023 about Ezra Klein's interview with Tchaikovsky and their discussion of how his work is an exploration of personhood and AI) you may too. The entire podcast series is available at https://www.significant-podcast.com/ but I just typed Significant into my podcast app and found it that way. I plan on listening to the rest!
What I've recently finished reading:
I went back to the Nantucket Trilogy and read the last book, On the Oceans of Eternity by S. M. Stirling, which yay, did deliver on the exploration of the American continent which I complained about in my review of #2. But I think these books could have done with some rearrangement and editing and maybe being four books instead of three, because this was a (virtual) doorstopper, and it still felt as though a few of the threads came to abrupt ends. I mean, I liked it overall, though I did skim battle battle battle battle. And the characterization is pretty minimal - none of these characters are particularly compelling, or distinctive other than by tricks of locution, and the Evil people are Evil and the Good people are Good and Good wins yay. But the characterization of the situation is pretty good, the whole "modern people dropped in the Bronze Age" thing is just great, even if it does strain belief that they have enough intellectual resources and physical skills to make a go of it.
What I've recently listened to:
I recently found out that an acquaintance of mine, a neurologist, started a podcast late last year, and as I wanted to listen to something while running that wasn't politics for a change I picked out an episode from February (there are only nine episodes) that sounded interesting. Stranger Tongues, Stranger Tides is about communication between humans and non-humans; it starts with his own experiences with a scrub jay in his back yard, and moves on to discussions of experiments in communicating with animals, and attempts to communicate with his autistic son, and eventually communication with (possible) aliens and "AI" LLMs.
I really enjoyed it, and I think that if you liked Ed Yong's An Immense World and/or Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time series (and especially if you read my post from 2023 about Ezra Klein's interview with Tchaikovsky and their discussion of how his work is an exploration of personhood and AI) you may too. The entire podcast series is available at https://www.significant-podcast.com/ but I just typed Significant into my podcast app and found it that way. I plan on listening to the rest!
Wednesday reading
May. 7th, 2025 02:57 pmsuncaniI've been going between feast and famine with my reading at the moment. Either I'm just reading fanfic only with no published books or I'll read several in a row over a couple of days.
Completed
The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G Parry
I enjoyed this a lot. While its background is fairly traditional (a girl from a non-magical background forces her way through into training and academia whilst still being looked down on) I liked what it ended up doing with it. The MC's brother was cursed by a faerie at the end of the first world war, causing all faerie magic to be banned. The MC and her friends find a way around this with unforeseen consequences. It was a nice blend of exploring the aftermath of the First World War but through a fantastic lens. While I didn't find it a criticism there's a sharp change in pace about 2/3 way through - previously it's a very dark academic toned story and then with the time jump suddenly it becomes a lot more action focused. I found it made sense for the story the author wanted to tell but readers may find it a bit jarring.
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
This was my audiobook whilst I was working/putting together Lego and I think some of my comprehension of it suffered for that. It's a modern mystery that engages with the detective society rules, whilst also having a lot of flashbacks. It was fun enough to listen to, although I do think it played a bit fast and loose with one of the rules.
The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
This was a quick read I picked up when I was in the mood for something light. It definitely fits under the cozy umbrella but does not have romance which is a nice change. The stakes are personal for the most part and a large part of it is about the characters just moving from town to town and the various personal challenges they experience on the journey.
Currently Reading
Justice for Athena by J.M. Alvey
This is the 3rd book in a series where a playwright in Ancient Athens solves murders on behalf of his patron. The books paint an interesting picture of everyday life and I enjoy finding out whodunnit but they're definitely ones I listen to rather than reading. In this one, someone is killing prominent epic poets as one seduced the murderer's wife away. At the same time, the poets at risk are also preparing for the Great Panathenaia and a 3 day reading of the Illiad
Inanna by Emily H. Wilson
This has been on the in progress pile for a while. I enjoyed most of what I read, a retelling of The Epic of Gilgamesh but with additional women but having put it down, I'm finding it hard to find motivation to pick it back up. I'll probably give it a couple more weeks before I mark it as DNF.
Completed
The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G Parry
I enjoyed this a lot. While its background is fairly traditional (a girl from a non-magical background forces her way through into training and academia whilst still being looked down on) I liked what it ended up doing with it. The MC's brother was cursed by a faerie at the end of the first world war, causing all faerie magic to be banned. The MC and her friends find a way around this with unforeseen consequences. It was a nice blend of exploring the aftermath of the First World War but through a fantastic lens. While I didn't find it a criticism there's a sharp change in pace about 2/3 way through - previously it's a very dark academic toned story and then with the time jump suddenly it becomes a lot more action focused. I found it made sense for the story the author wanted to tell but readers may find it a bit jarring.
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
This was my audiobook whilst I was working/putting together Lego and I think some of my comprehension of it suffered for that. It's a modern mystery that engages with the detective society rules, whilst also having a lot of flashbacks. It was fun enough to listen to, although I do think it played a bit fast and loose with one of the rules.
The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
This was a quick read I picked up when I was in the mood for something light. It definitely fits under the cozy umbrella but does not have romance which is a nice change. The stakes are personal for the most part and a large part of it is about the characters just moving from town to town and the various personal challenges they experience on the journey.
Currently Reading
Justice for Athena by J.M. Alvey
This is the 3rd book in a series where a playwright in Ancient Athens solves murders on behalf of his patron. The books paint an interesting picture of everyday life and I enjoy finding out whodunnit but they're definitely ones I listen to rather than reading. In this one, someone is killing prominent epic poets as one seduced the murderer's wife away. At the same time, the poets at risk are also preparing for the Great Panathenaia and a 3 day reading of the Illiad
Inanna by Emily H. Wilson
This has been on the in progress pile for a while. I enjoyed most of what I read, a retelling of The Epic of Gilgamesh but with additional women but having put it down, I'm finding it hard to find motivation to pick it back up. I'll probably give it a couple more weeks before I mark it as DNF.