valoise

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.

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.

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.

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

I want to start with one of the best books I've read in quite awhile, Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor. Without spoilers, at its heart this is a book about stories: the stories we tell ourselves, the stories we tell others, and the stories others tell about others.

Doctor Who and the Talons of Weng-Chiang and The Horror of Fang Rock by Terrance Dicks
Talons is an okay adaptation, but The Horror of Fang Rock was an excellent retelling of one my favorite 4th Doctor stories.

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke
I picked this up in the New Books section at the library. She's a writer I keep meaning to read and this illustrated short story was really nice.

A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
Great book, kind of a gothic horror with a touch of humor centered around a trio of smart, interesting women.

The-Eat-Less-Meat Cookbook by Dorothy Peel
In my ongoing research on food and WWI I cam across this really good British cookbook. This 1918 revised edition reflects the situation in a country that had been at war for four years already.

Dining with the Doctor: The Unauthorized Whovian Cookbook by Chris-Rachel Oseland
She uses humor and love of DW to provide one recipe for each episode in the first 6 seasons of the modern series.

My book consumption in 2024 was pretty high with 76 books read and 47 books purchased. I've using my local library a lot and also digging through my book stash for unread stuff. In December I read the following.

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
I'd seen a lot of good reviews for this, but it didn't really work for me. The main character seemed to bounce from calamity to calamity with very little agency.

The Future was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982 by Chris Nashawaty
An interesting look at how SFF and IP franchises came to dominate how movies are greenlit and made.

Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion by Terrance Dicks
I've always liked the 3rd Doctor era and this is a wonderful adaption of his first story, Spearhead from Space. I really like the way Dicks had the Doctor acknowledge Liz Shaw's academic and intellectual credentials in a way that the show did not.

Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks
An okay adaptation of an okay Pertwee story.

The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien
This was my holiday read this year, a wonderful collection of the illustrated letters Tolkien sent to his kids. My son said this book inspired him to send illustrated Santa Claus letters to his girls when they were little.

The Luckiest Guy Alive by John Cooper Clarke
I consumed this as an audio book read by Clarke. Liked it a lot.

Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora edited by Sheree T. Thomas
Fantastic anthology. Most of the stories were written for this book and several of the authors were new to me. As a fan of the history of sf, I was especially eager to read the stories from 1880s to 1930s.

Unbecoming a Lady: The Forgotten Sluts and Shrews Who Shaped America by Therese Oneill is a great biography of women who lived life by their own rules.

The Scavenger Door by Suzanne Palmer is the third book in her Finder Chronicles. Fergus Ferguson continues to be an enjoyable character and Palmer's writing pushes the story along at a page-turning pace, even if the plot does seem to revolve around an increasingly improbable bunch of situations.

A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories by Terry Pratchett are short stories that were written under a couple of pen names and published in newspapers where he was working. Pre-Discworld, but showing glimpses of the humor the humor that he would display more fully in his novels.

Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi was a bit of a disappointment. I've loved his sf novels and YA works, but this bloated novel (over 500 pages) was so stuffed full of tedious detail that I found myself skimming the boring bits to places where the plot actually moved along. In a fantasy setting with an Italian renaissance flavor, these seemed to be more political intrigue than actual fantastical elements.

The Globemakers: The Curious Story of an Ancient Craft by Peter Bellerby satisfied my lifelong fascination with maps. Bellerby's narrative takes the reader on his error-strewn quest to learn how to make quality handmade gloves. The book is loaded with photos of him and his staff at work in the studio.

Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett
Another Discworld book this time poking fun at the Hollywood film industry. It was fun, but not one I'll keep.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
I only knew Osman from his appearances on British talk and game shows, so I was curious what he would be like as a writer. The title club are a group of retirees at a luxury community who each some unique skills to solve murders. The pacing and characterizations all pulled me in.

The Lord God Made Them All by James Herriorr
The only one of the All Creatures Great and Small series that I'd read before. Still enjoyable. Only one book left to go.

The Lengthening War: The Great War Diary of Mabel Goode by Michael Goode
In my ongoing research into food and WWI I was interested in this diary by a middle-aged, middle-class woman in England. Although she rarely touched on food shortages, it was an interesting look at how civilians in Britain viewed the war, from initial patriotic enthusiasm to the gradual realization of just how horrible the war really was.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
Another Thursday Murder Club book, still enjoyable.

Abeni's Song by P. Djèlí Clark
I've really liked Clark's novels and short stories, this is his first YA book. Magic and evil in an African setting, this is really good. I've passed it on to my granddaughters.

During March I only read six books, concentrating instead on catching up on short fiction.

Vets May Fly by James Herriott
Vets in a Spin by James Herriott
In these two books he covers his military service in World War II, interspersed with animal stories from before the war.

Doctor Who: The Only Good Dalek by Justin Richards and Mike Collins
Although this graphic novel came out in 2010, this Tenth Doctor comic was new to me. The Doctor and Amy are come across a research station trying to find a way to use captured Dalek technology to win the war. With elements from the First Doctor's stories Mission to the Unknown and Dalek Invasion of Earth, I liked this one a lot.

Doctor Who:  The Dalek Project by Justin Richards and Mike Collins
This 10th Doctor story has echoes of Victory of the Daleks, but set this time in WWI. Archeologists working on a WWI battlefield uncover unusual metal artifacts that the Doctor immediately recognizes as Dalek. The bulk of the story takes place decades earlier with a British arms manufacturer and the eventual revelation that Daleks are working both sides, British and German, to their own advantage.

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
I don't know how I never read the first Discworld book until now. Really enjoyable, but now I feel like I need to reread The Light Fantastic, the book that followed this one.

Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi
I've loved Talabi's short fiction for several years so I was excited to read his first novel. Shigidi, a minor god in an Orisha spirit company, is hired to steal back a Nigerial spirit object from a British museum aided by his succubus partner Nneoma. My only disappointment is that I didn't read this soon enough to add it to my nominations for the 2024 Hugo awards.