valoise

When Livejournal folded I imported all my old posts to DW, but never went back to read them again. On a whim I looked to see when I joined LJ - 2003, when I was still lived in Seattle, was occasionally writing X-files fic, and just starting to dip into Highlander again.

No vidding, no Doctor Who, no fan conventions - feels like so very long ago.

Only four books this month. The first half of September was largely taken up with screening nominated sources for eligibility in this year's festivids exchange.

The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal
It's been five years since I read the last book in this series, but it wasn't too hard to pick it back up. The focus is on the women who, along with their partners, have dedicated their lives to building a settlement on Mars.

Who Killed Nessi by Paul Cornell, art by Rachael Smith
A fun graphic novel, basically a cozy murder mystery at a convention of cryptids and mythical beasts.

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
Not her best. The most frustrating probelem: for the majority of the book a bright young woman systematically unravels the clues but just before the payoff she is knocked unconscious. The book ends with a male character explaining the how and why of the murder to her. Ugh, literary mansplaining.

How We Lived Then, 1914-1918 by Mrs. C. S. Peel
Peel held a prominent position in Britain's Ministry of Food. Traveling the nation to assess local food supply conditions and she gave talks and interviewed people from all walks of life.
In this book she takes those experiences and delves into the evolving living situation in England throughout World War I. With a keen eye toward how things affected women and working class people, she provides an interesting social history of the times.

In helping screen Festivids nominated sources for rarity I came across this gem:

Because I've mostly been reading books from the library and my personal TBR pile, I'd only bought 10 books this year, a record low. I thought I'd pick up some books at the Worldcon in Seattle, but nothing in the dealers room tempted me. Then I got home and so far in the past week I've acquired:
A batch of pdfs of 43 16th & 17th cookbooks, about 18 of which are new to me.
Four books (sf, social history, food history) from Bookshop.org
A bunch of crochet and knitting books from Humble Bundle

And this weekend in the annual Mark Twain Library book sale in Redding, always a treasure trove of the unexpected.

My TBR pile just exploded.

Eight books in June - more than usual for me.

Concrete Island by J. G. Ballard
I'd only read The Drowned World by him and seen the movie adaptation of High Rise, so when I saw this novella on the library I decided to give it a try. Did not like it, but at least I finished it. None of the 3 characters were remotely likable in any way - each was a unique example of incompetence all the way through.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Another vintage British book this time focusing on an unlikable main character with an unapologetic violent nature, this was brilliantly done. I'd seen the movie many years ago so I knew generally what to expect, an exploration of free will vs. state mind control. Burgess' writing was very good, his world building fantastic.

The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah
I had no idea anyone was writing new Hercule Poirot books and I enjoyed this a lot. Felt like David Suchet was talking to me through the pages.

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
This was the only book in his Tiffany Aching series I'd read, but looking for an audiobook I found this version narrated by Indira Varma and featuring Bill Nighy and other. A real delight. Varma has narrated the entire series and I know I'll be making my way through them.

American Indian Corn (Maize) . . by Charles J. Murphy
Published in 1917, this unexpectedly complex book with recipes from New England, the Deep South and other places in the US where this native grain has been tied to local food culture. Information on how native peoples processed and used maize and a few recipes (in a narrative format, not detailed instructions) from Mexico, unspecified New England tribes, Dakota, Hopi, Zuni, and Western Apache people.

I was curious about Murphy and found that he born in 1832, was an officer in US-Mexico conflict of the 1850s and the Civil War, around the 1880s he worked in the US Department of Agriculture specializing in corn (maize) and part of his job was to promote the use of corn in Europe.

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
A book about a middle aged woman, the Director of Magic at a boarding school with both a magic and academic curriculum who is tasked with protecting the school against demonic incursion, I really liked this. It's gone on my preliminary list of books to nominate for next year's Hugos awards.

Esperance by Adam Oyebanji
I recently read a review of this sf murder mystery, it sounded interesting so I grabbed it at my local library. A Chicago police detective and an otherworldly women in Bristol, England are each racing to find the perpetrator of a series on inexplicable murders. Really good, this has also gone on my Hugo list for next year.

The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah
Ah, sadly not as good as the Poirot book by her that I read at the beginning of the month. Kind of formulaic

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
The premise of the book - that the moon turns into cheese - is utterly ridiculous, but that not what the book is ultimately about. Scalzi focuses on how a wide range of people deal with the extraordinary, how they come to grips with sudden radical changes in their daily lives.

The Practice, The Horizon, and The Chain by Sofia Samatar
An exploration of class and oppression on a fleet of generation ships, I liked this more than most of the reviews I've read. While it's not my top choice for Hugo Best Novella, I think it definitely belongs on the ballot.

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
Another Hugo Best Novella nominee, this is part of the Singing Hills series. While not my favorite work in the series, the magic here took an unexpected turn and I liked it.

Doctor Who and The Five Doctors by Terrance Dicks
Like the televised story, this short book is so packed with Doctors, and companions, and story lines, it's hard to really give the focus to any f them. I did like how the opening focuses on Susan, providing information on her life after she left the TARDIS.

Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi
His second collection of short fiction, this was really great. His characters have a depth to them, the writing is sharp with no excess, and both his fantasy and sf are great. He experiments with storytelling in wonderful ways.

Destination: Amalthea by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
I've read books by them which I really enjoyed (The Dead Mountaineers Inn, Roadside Picnic, Monday Begins on Saturday) so when I saw this hard sf work was available as an ebook at my library I jumped on it. Very disappointing. The translation was really, really bad. If a newly translated version ever comes out I'll give it another shot.

Memory's Legion by James S. A. Corey
It's been a long time since I finished reading and watching The Expanse, but somehow I had never read this collection of short stories and novellas. It was fantastic. I'd forgotten how much I love there writing.

Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
I thought I'd read all the Discworld books, but missed this one. I consumed it as a full cast audiobook and it was wonderful.

Service Model and
Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
He's an author I've heard a lot about but never read. Both these are on the Hugo Awards finalist list. I liked them both, but think Service Model worked best for me.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Another book on the Hugo list, but I was already planning to read it. I do like her fantasy and this was really great.

The Next Chapter: Writing in Retirement by Julie A. Gorges
I got a review copy of this and found it a bit mixed. She has some really great discussion of traditional vs. self publishing, including very detailed information on pursuing self publishing successfully. But some sections of the book seem to be just lists of inspirational quips with variable usefulness.

A Year in Public Life by Mrs. C. S. [Dorothy] Peel
During World War 1 Peel was appointed to the British Ministry of Food to view conditions around the country, give speeches to encourage voluntary food economy, and work in the development of Public Kitchens (places where working class people could get nutritional hot meals.) Her observations on the class conflicts regarding access to food and account of sexism at the time made her feel surprisingly modern. This wasn't an analysis to the British food economy measures but an anecdote filled record of that year in her life. Really good read.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
I was familiar with the plot, it appears as a trope in numerous tv/movie works: ten people are invited to a remote location and are murdered one by one. I had never actually read the 1939 novel until now. It holds up pretty well.

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher
I stumbled on this at the library while looking for something else. Instead of her usual fairy tale adaptions, this novella leans into folk horror. When I finished I found there was a preceding book with this lead character that focused in mycology and body horror. I won't be reading that one.

Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars by Terrance Dicks
Really strong adaptation. Dicks adds an opening and a closing scene that really solidifies the story.

Hotel Keepers, Head Waiters and Housekeepers Guide by Tunis G. Campbell
The second cookbook written by a black American writer, this was published in 1949 as a guide to running a first class restaurant. Campbell was a fascinating man and he became a key figure in post-Civil War Georgia.

Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Back in the Spring of 2020 I decided to start reading the Discworld books, starting with a box of assorted titles bought on eBay. Snuff was the first book I read with Sam Vimes and the Watch and solidified him as one of my favorite characters. Now that I'd finished all the books in the series I thought I'd read Snuff. I definitely got more our of the book this time, now that I had more context.

Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
I'd seen this recced a lot this year and, since my Hugo nomination ballot was short on novellas, I gave it a shot. I really, really liked it. A fantastic blend of climate fiction and the supernatural set in post-apocalyptic residential tower built in the Atlantic off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria.

War Cook Book by Mary Sweeny and Linda Purnell
A World War I cookbook, with many of the recipes tested in the University of Kentucky Home Economics Department test kitchens.

For over a year I've been thinking about making a Hot Ones vid to Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King, so I very happy to get assigned to nicasio_silang who had requested a Hot Ones vid for Festivids.



on AO3

Festivids is live and I received a delightful Delicious in Dungeon vid. This is exactly the vid I wanted, it's like the vidder read my mind!
Lovin' Life

I haven't watched many of the 131 vids, but here are a few recs from what I have seen so far.

For New Life Begins (a show I know nothing at all about there's this great vid about a woman opening her own restaurant
Don't Rain on My Parade

Made with films from the National Film Board of Canada
Movin' Right Along

Some stunning Scavengers Reign vids
Science/Visions
Symbiosis
The World Observed

And a cute vid for the Overcooked game (which I've never played)
Out of the Frying Pan