valoise

Books read in May

2026-05-31T14:50:52Z

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.

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Books read in April

2026-05-01T11:26:21Z

Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The second book in The Final Architecture series, the character work is great. But for a book focusing on the unknowable, it felt like there was far to much time spent on trying to describe muddle explanations that fail to illuminate them at all.

Raised Embroidery: A Practical Guide to Decorative Needlework by Barbara and Roy Hirst
As an embroiderer who used to do medieval reenactment, I was familiar with stumpwork, a technique that added raised figures to an piece. The Hirsts take these tools and apply them to contemporary work. This gives me some great ideas for a piece I've been planning of an astronaut floating against a background of deep black velvet.

The Doctor Who Cookbook by Gary Downie
I picked this up on a whim at a dealer's table at Gallifrey One this year. Published in 1985, early in the sixth Doctor's era, Downie gathered recipes from Doctors, companions, crew, recurring actors, and many of the crew. Humorous commentary and funny drawings are great additions.

The Glimmering by Elizabeth Hand
This is a post-apocalyptic sf book from 1997. It's set on the cusp of New Years Eve 1999 on an alternate timeline where man made climate manipulation coincided with a massive solar flare to cause catastrophic changes to the atmosphere and ozone layer. The book follows two characters: a middle-aged man tackling his worsening AIDS and the failures of his family's fortunes and prestigious literary magazine and a teenager from a Christian cult on the verge of becoming a rock star as the structure of society unravels around them.

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Books read in March

2026-04-01T19:30:33Z

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.

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Memories of my first convention

2026-03-28T11:20:35Z

Earlier this month I realised that it was exactly 20 years since my first convention: Highlander Worldwide 7 in Leeds. It was also my first international trip. I found a welcoming community of friends there and many, many fond memories.

This also reminded me of the film crew that came to make a documentary of the event, directed by David Abramowitz. Driven by a desire to rewatch that (where I'm one of the fans interviewed) I looked through my dusty old collection of DVDs. It had been bonus material on something. A lot of detective work followed and I figured out that it had been part of the 2007 Highlander Best of the Best box set. A box set that I had long ago given to someone. Thanks to eBay I now finally found it and uploaded it to Youtube. After posting on Facebook (the only place I connect to some of my old HL friends) I got a thanks from David A. for posting it.

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Decisions, decisions

2026-03-23T19:40:18Z

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.

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Books read in February

2026-03-10T13:29:02Z

Only three books last month, although I also spent a lot of time reading short fiction at Uncanny, Apex, Clarkesworld, Reactor, and Lightspeed.

Gateway by Frederik Pohl
A really excellent book told with transcripts of counseling sessions, narrative flashbacks of the protagonist's life as a potential scavenger of alien artifacts, and various documents interspersed throughout the book. I'd, of course, heard of Pohl but never read anything by him. I'll definitely look for more.

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
This is making a lot of people's Hugo noms lists and I've liked her books, but I won't be adding it to my nominations. The time travel gimmick here felt a bit forced and contrived and the book just didn't work for me.

The Compleat Servant-Maid or Young Maiden's Tutor
Published in 1670 for young women looking for work in service in wealthy or noble houses, the emphasis on being literate, having fashionable handwriting, and knowing math to assist in keeping household accounts had me reassess what I had assumed about literacy for women in 17th century England who were neither noble or wealthy.

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valoise @ 2026-02-08T09:24:00

2026-02-08T17:43:38Z

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

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Books read in January

2026-02-05T14:02:15Z

I think poetry often works better for me if it's read aloud. This was especially true with What by John Cooper Clarke. Short but enjoyable.

I picked up Just Kids by Patti Smith to give as a gift and decided to read it first. She details her early life in NYC when both she and Robert Maplethorpe where young artists trying to find their artistic voice. Their relationship, sometimes lovers and lifelong friends, is touching. I loved this and plan to look for more of her books.

My February food blog observes Black History Month, so last month I read the 1848 book Hotel Keepers, Head Waiters, and Housekeepers Guide by Tunis G. Campbell. A fascinating man, he was not only skilled in hotel management, but worked in many ways to help fellow African Americans both before and after the US Civil War.

My Real Children by Jo Walton is something I've been meaning to read for quite a while. A young woman's decision splits her life into two timelines. Walton is a wonderful writer and this book focuses on women and the choices they make throughout their lives.

My son, knowing that I've been reading Michael Palin's published diaries, gave me So, Anyway... by John Cleese for Christmas. Cleese details his life, from school and university to his partnership with Graham Chapman in his burgeoning career as a comedy writer, ending at the point where they join up with the other Pythons to create their tv show. A very funny, self-deprecating book.

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Just a few more vid recs

2026-02-02T20:22:31Z

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

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More Festivids recs

2026-02-01T21:05:32Z

Festivids has 128 vids in 86 fandoms and I've got 40 more vids to go, but they can wait until tomorrow. Here's the ones the ones that impressed me the most today (although I watched a whole bunch of other really great vids.

BL Metamorphosis (2022) The world is full of different colors
Interstellar Typhon Voices
Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies ASSHOLE
Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies Looney für Elise
Sinners Dreamwidth
The Canopener Bridge A Hard Knock Life (Mainly because it reminds me of something that happened when I worked for the National Archives in Seattle)
The Wild Robot Iron Enough to Make a Nail

Festivids recruiter vids alert:
Gastronaut Food vid is making me want to check out Gastronauts
Young Hearts reminds me that I’ve never seen Matilda. Must remedy that.

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Festivids is live

2026-01-31T18:55:44Z

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

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2025 book recs

2026-01-01T12:58:12Z

I swear this is the last post on my 2025 reading list, but I wanted to share my favorites this year.

Fiction
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Memory's Legion by James S. A. Corey
Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

Nonfiction
How We Lived Then, 1914-1918 by Dorothy Peel
A Village Lost and Found by Brian May and Elena Vidal
The Queens of Animation by Nathalia Hold

Rereads
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Murderbot series by Martha Wells

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Annual Reading Summary

2025-12-30T19:31:29Z

In 2025 I read 78 books and purchased 58

Annual reading summary:
Science Fiction/fantasy 47
Nonfiction 7
Cookbooks/food history 13
Fiction 8
Graphic novels 3

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Books read in December

2025-12-30T19:26:26Z

The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi
The latest entry in The Old Man's War series, the shift in focus & POV characters from book to book continues, and brought things to a pretty good ending if he deices to end the series here.

The Queens of Animation by Nathalia Holt
A history of women working at Walt Disney Productions. Primarily focusing on the era between 1937 to Disney's death in 1966, she also the most modern era of Disney through The Lion King in 2018.
She covers conditions in the workplace, WWII and its aftermath, the affects of technical development on staff & film making, racism and misogyny in the workplace and more.

For the earliest era I took the time to watch some of the early films I hadn't seen. I was really impressed by the surreal and almost psychedelic opening of Fantasia. Also, just before WWII started Disney took some of his top animators & illustrators along on a State Department sponsored trip to South America. The resulting film, Saludos Amigos, included a beautiful sequence on Rio de Janeiro made from Mary Blair's fantastic watercolor sketches she made during the trip.

Archimagus-Anglo Gallica" or Excellent and Approved Receipts and Experiments in Cookery by Sir Theodore Mayerne
Published in 1658, this was a surprisingly good book including at least a couple or recipes I hadn't ever seen in a book this early, including sweet potato pie and instructions for making an egg wash for pastry.

Hokolua Road by Elizabeth Hand
Deftly weaves Hawaiian folklore, a touch of horror, and a serial killer mystery.

Joyride by Guy Adams
This was a tie-in novel for the Doctor Who spin-off Class. The heart of the story in an unscrupulous person gets his hands on an alien machine that temporarily transfer a persons consciousness into another's body and then rents out time on the machine to some very nasty people.

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Books read in November

2025-12-03T14:00:23Z

Final Orbit, by Chris Hadfield
A continuation of his series of Apollo-era thrillers set in space & on Earth, this is a frantic journey through so many concurrent crises that the character development suffers a bit.

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
I continue to like Osman's style - short chapters, each focused on a different character driving the investigative plot forward in a really engaging way. But this is not a stand alone book. From the first page you need to know who 10 or so characters are and what their relationships are with each other.

Legends & Lattes and Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
I've heard good things about this fantasy series for quite a while but hadn't read them. But I was killing time in a cute little New England village, stopped in a local bookstore and picked them up on a whim. I really love the way these books build friendships and bonds between diverse species of characters.

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Books read in October

2025-11-08T16:00:17Z

Flashes of Brilliance by Anika Burgess
An excellent history of the development of the art and science of photography from the late 1830s. I've worked with archival collections that contain examples of these images, but now I have a lot more understanding of how they were produced.

The Old Man's War and The End of All Things by John Scalzi
Ten years after the last book in this series Scalzi has just released another. I decided it might be a good time to read the first and last books to refresh my memory before I plunge into the new one.

Crusts: The Ultimate Baker's Book by Barbara Elise Caracciolo
A huge book (over 800 pages) I've been reading it bit by bit for a few months. Her focus in on profiles and recipes artisanal bakers and bakeries around the world. I've flagged several things that I want to try.

Accomplished Ladies Rich Closet by John Shirley
Dipping into the pdf collection of 17th c. cookbooks I downloaded a couple of years ago, this book from 1690 was very expansive in scope. The bulk of the book is devoted to instructing young women on how to conduct themselves in their lives and their households. Also, an impressively large collections of medicinal & cosmetic recipes.

A Village Lost and Found by Brian May and Elena Vidal
I bought this when it was published in 2009, but had never read it. May, a lifelong stereoscopic slide lover and collector, and Vidal, a curator who helped catalog May's collection, publish a set of 59 slides originally published in 1856, complete with a folding slide viewer. The images depict life in a rural English village. Their research identified the name of the village. Using survey maps of the area from the 1870s they were able to identify the location of buildings. May even took new stereoscopic images of extant structures. I really loved this book.

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Catching up on the past

2025-10-22T14:40:46Z

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.

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This is Shit - a Murderbot vid

2025-10-17T18:23:05Z

Life's hard for a rogue SecUnit. Here's a little Murderbot vid with a song by Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq.

AO3

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Books read in September

2025-10-01T12:20:38Z

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.

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Dear Festividder

2025-09-28T14:17:12Z

Thanks for making my vid, I'm so looking forward to it! In general, I prefer vids that highlight characters, found families or teams. If you can inject some hope or humor in the vid that would be wonderful, but that's not entirely necessary. As for music, I generally do not enjoy metal or country. Also, including occasional dialogue might be okay but I absolutely DNW a vid with constant or frequent source dialogue running throughout and obscuring the music.

Midsomer Murders I know this source is a big ask (I've vidded it and know just how much source there is to get through), so anything would be great. Seriously.

The Holdovers [SAFETY] I would love a vid that focused on how these three characters, all broken in their own way, found healing together during the holidays.

Murderbot (TV) I love Murderbot so much, there are so many ways you can make me happy with this except this DNW: please no vids shipping Murderbot with Ratthi or Gurathin or anyone else.

The Thursday Murder Club (TV) [SAFETY] Literally anything you want to make for this would be fantastic. So many great characters played by so many fantastic actors!

The Tiny Chef Show How in the world did I become obsessed with a cancelled kids's vegan cooking show? Please make me a vid that highlights the pure rainbow colored fun Chef has with all his friends in the garden stump kitchen.

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Taskmaster meets Everythng Everywhere All At Once

2025-09-08T15:11:37Z

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

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Books read in August

2025-09-01T12:07:34Z

Network Effect, Fugitive Telemetry, and System Collapse by Martha Wells
I continued my Murderbot Diaries reread and final read the last book, System Collapse, which I had somehow missed when it was first released. This last book seemed slightly less effective than the rest.

The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey
This first new novel in a new series is very complex with seemingly endless alien species and a lot of possibility.

The Court and Kitchen of Elizabeth, Commonly Called Joan Cromwell, the Wife of the Late Usurper author unknown
Published in 1664, about the first half of the book is a scathing critique of Cromwell's wife in general and as being very unfit for the management of such a prominent household. So it was a bit contradictory when the recipe section contained the typical recipes for someone of that standing, featuring typical recipes richly flavored with herbs and expensive spices.

Cozy Crochet by Melissa Leapman
A fairly basic intro-to-crochet book but there were some sweater and hat patterns I might want to try.

A Daily Exercise for Ladies and Gentlewomen by John Murrell
A 17th c. cookbook writer, this one was well-written and focused on candy, biscuits, preserving fruit, and fancy sugar work.

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Oops I seem to have gone on a book binge

2025-08-26T13:01:00Z

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.

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Books read in July

2025-08-03T15:25:54Z

Consumed a lot this month: 3 books, an audiobook, a graphic novel and a big chunk of the Murderbot series.

White House Butlers: A History of White House Chief Ushers and Butlers by Howard Brinkley
An extremely abbreviated account. Okay, but if you really want an in depth history I'd recommend The President's Kitchen Cabinet by Adrian Miller

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
A very unique vampire story with 3 distinct narrators: a Blackfeet warrior and a Lutheran pastor from 1912 and a struggling academic in 2012. I'd heard great recommendations of Jones as an author, but this is the first thing by him that I've read. Now I'm curious about his other books.

Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze by Mellow Brown and DJ Ben Ha Meen
A graphic novel about a dystopian space future where Jimi Hendrix fights an evil corporation government with the power of his psychedelic music. Weak writing and art let this down. Do not recommend.

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett
Another Indira Varma-narrated Tiffany Aching audiobook. Fun, still enjoying these.

Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen: A Culinary View of Lincon's Life and Times by Rae Katherine Eighmey
Eighmey's approach to culinary history research is really good, using letters, newspapers, and other primary sources of the time and geographic area where Lincoln lived to get a sense what foods he would have encountered and eaten. She uses period cookbooks from that time & place and carefully reconstructs the recipes. I love this quote:
"The joy of studying history through cooking is that foods provide a complex sensory immersion into the past. This study, and the eating that follows it, is time travel at the dinner table. . . "

All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, and Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
Inspired by the tv show I'm plunging into a Murderbot reread. I think I'm enjoying them more this time around. I'll be at Worldcon in Seattle this month where I definitely plan on attending her panel on season 1 of the tv series.

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Books read in June

2025-07-03T18:27:34Z

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

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