valoise

A lot of my free time last month was spent reviewing the eligibility of sources nominated for this year's Festivids. Here's what I did read.

Doctor Who: The Glamour Case by Gary Russell
This was okay, focusing a lot on Rory, but the characterization of the eleventh Doctor just felt a bit off. Looking at the publication info, that's not surprising. The book came out 2011 just a couple of month after Matt Smith's first episodes. Russell must have been writing this before the episodes had aired.

The Hobbit: Enhanced Edition by J. R. R. Tolkien
I've lost count of the number of times I've read The Hobbit, but this version I'd only read once before. It was published a year before the first Hobbit movie appeared in theaters and is an interactive, multimedia version of the classic story. There are three audio recordings of Tolkien reading sections of the book and in Chapter 1 you can hear him sing the Chip the glasses and crack the plates! song. Also included are 27 of Tolkien's original illustrations which, when you click on them, switch from black and white line drawings to alternate colored versions. Then there's Thror's map which you can click between the map as Gandalf presented it to Thorin and and a version with the moon letters in red ink.

This was an interesting project. Because the Doctor Who TV movie was filmed in Vancouver, as were half the Highlander episodes, it wasn't surprising both series shared Canadian actors based in the city. Many of the British actors were in the Paris-based Highlander episodes. What really surprised me was that the breadth of Doctor Who episodes represented. That ranged from 1964-2025.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/191uxIIuesNQ4Ws6QBuBLBr0fzsU3caOQ/view?usp=sharing

Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer
Taking a break from her Finder Chronicles series, this one takes place in a dystopia caused by climate change and the aftermath of wars and pandemics. The main character is a former war mecha who has been living a quiet life in isolation studying the behaviors of insects. After being attacked it is wakes up in an unknown location, missing a leg. The story follows it as it journeys to get the leg back, uncovering evidence of evil-doers manipulating events among human and mecha communities. The book follows the mecha and the community of beings who join it on the quest. I really enjoyed it and it's going on my Hugo nominations for next year.

Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
I got the audiobook from the library and enjoyed this. Not my favorite Tiffany Aching novel, but it's always nice to read new-to-me Pratchett.

A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson
I've been looking for a copy of this for a very long time. Wonderful biography of Garak's life, from childhood to after the end of the Dominion war. A lot of actor's say they kind of flesh out the life of the characters they play in the mind, but Robinson's account is fantastic and far beyond what I expected. I can see know why this out of print book is so highly sought after.

Hippie Food: How Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat by Jonathan Kauffman
This was recommended by someone on booknook. It examines the roots of the vegetarian, natural foods, organic farming trends of the last 1960s & 1970s. What I really appreciated was his in depth exploration of the religious, health food, and other movements from the late 19th century and onward that predated and influenced the counterculture movements attributed to hippie culture.

This month I read three sff books and two really old (1690) cookbooks.
Platform Decay by Martha Wells
Murderbot spends more time with Mensah's extended family, has a mental health program running during a grueling mission, and begins to see the results of releasing the SecUnit independence program into the wild. Without giving any spoilers, I did really like this.

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
A couple of years ago I read "The High Meggas", Pratchett's short story that the Long Earth universe is based on, and enjoyed it. But I was hesitant to start the series which came out in 2012, six years after Pratchett's Alzheimer diagnosis. The book feels less like Pratchett and more like a story based on him written by someone with an entirely different style. Not bad, but I probably won't read any further into the series.

The Simarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
The last time I revisited LOTR I skipped this, but a couple of years ago I bought a beautiful hardcover edition so I plunged into this book first. Still an enjoyable read.

Rare and Excellent Receipts by Mary Tillinghast
Largely devoted to savory pastries and pies with a wide range of meat, game, fish, and birds.

The Gentlewoman’s Delight in Cookery
This was a short but fairly comprehensive book. There's a recipe for roast hare that calls for placing it on top of a savory bread pudding, letting the juices help flavor the entire dish. This might be good substituting chicken for the rabbit, I think I'll give it a try.

Sharing Recipes by Seldovia Village Tribe
One thing I like about community cookbooks is the way it reflects the culture and community of the people who contribute the recipes. This one comes from the people of Seldovia, Alaska. A small isolated village only accessible by ferry, it is full of recipes for local seafood and game. In fact, it's the only one I've ever read with recipes for bear and caribou.

Beyond the Blue Horizon by Frederik Pohl
I was so impressed by Gateway, I decided to read the next book in the series. Gateway was a tightly written book, this was a meandering mess.

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
I'd read a lot of glowing reviews for this and decided to give it a try. Very cozy and enjoyable book about a found family of robots recently granted personhood who are trying to find a place for themselves. It's up for Best Novella in the Hugo Awards this year and I was happy to put it at the top of my ballot.

When Late the Sweet Birds Sing by Kate Wilhelm
Published in 1976 & won the 1977 Best Novel Hugo, but it's the first book I'd ever read by Wilhelm. An interesting study in what make us human.

Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Really phenomenal worldbuiding, humans and aliens so different it's hard for them to recognize that the others are alive and sentient. His writing is so addictive I found myself reading very late every night long after I should have gone to bed.

There and Back Again: Diaries, 1999-2009 by Michael Palin
The latest in his published diaries, I've reading a bit off and on for a couple of months. I really wish some of his travel shows that he talks about in them were streaming in the US.

Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsy
The first book in his Final Architecture series, I liked it quite a bit. I am grateful that he added a glossary to back to help keep everything straight in a complicated universe.

In the Ravine and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov
I'd never read anything by him before and these were interesting. For the most part they felt more like little slices of life in Tsarist Russia than plotted stories.

Women in the Kitchen by Ann Willan
The book focuses on women who published cookbooks from 1661 through the early 20th century, providing a brief biography and few recipes from their works. She seemed overly focused on the past 50 years, the balance of history seemed a bit off.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Enjoyable reread after having seen the movie.

I just got through reading two really long books around 500 pages each. Now I'm on the fence over what to read next - Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky (576 pages) or reread Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary (476 pages). It would be nice to be lured in by a short book for a change.

This year I made 2 vids for festivids.

As a gift for Vialana I made this vid for Clue. I hadn't seen the movie until last Spring after seeing a really good high school theater production of it. I rushed to see the movie version and have been thinking of vidding it ever since.


AO3

Last year while screening fandoms for Festivids rarity I stumbled down a classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies rabbit hole. I methodically when through a chronological list of Bugs Bunny shorts from 1944-1963, scouring online sources for copies, adding info to a lengthy spreadsheet. Armed with a year's worth a work I had fun making this vid for tafadhali


AO3

Here's a few more Festivids that I enjoyed.

殿と犬 | Tono to Inu A Good Day
Babylon 5 Marching On
Clue Weapon of Choice
Dept. Q. Tuesday Paper Club
Hamlet - Shakespeare nothing and everything
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Let's Get This Over With
Sinners Ya Ya

Every year I look forward to Festivids and this year I got two wonderful vids for Murderbot as gifts

Let’s Get This Over With
and
Performance Reliability = ATF

I'm slowly working my way through all the vids. There are many, many more great vids on the list but here are some I particularly enjoyed today.
The Pitt - Ordinary Day
Murderbot - The Heart Always Holds On to Missing Roads
Victor/Victoria - man
Star Trek Prodigy - Find Your People
A Man on the Inside - You Get What You Give