vivdunstan

Many more books finished since last time, so I need to do a catch up! Luckily easy for me to do, since I note the books I've read, plus a rating, in Goodreads.

I'd been slowly reading the Sisto and Marchese Middle Earth book, and finally finished. An absolutely brilliant book, for both the newcomer to Tolkien's worlds, and old timers. So much useful reference material I even bought myself a print copy after finishing the Kindle version.

I continue to adore the Insomniacs After School manga series. It probably helps that one of the lead characters looks uncannily like a schoolboy version of my husband! But it's a charming and gentle slice of life, including hefty astronomy elements. I expect to read all of this.

I learned about Intellect Books' Fan Phenomena range of books from the Glasgow Worldcon dealers' room, which I was browsing from a distance. The Lord of the Rings book is very out of print sadly. But I've got the Doctor Who one to read, and first read a bargain copy (£3) Game of Thrones one I picked up secondhand. A huge range of essays exploring different perspectives of fandom. Worked even for me who has never properly read or watched Game of Thrones.

A Darker Shade of Magic got better and better for me as I read it, after a slightly rocky start. I expect to complete the trilogy. And probably go onto the sequel trilogy that is newly starting.

The Phantasmagoria magazines/books were things I'd picked up a while back. Print on demand books from Amazon, large format, collecting a huge range of articles, art work, reflections, and fiction by and about the subjects. The MR James one was a solid 5/5 stars for me. I am keeping it.

The Girl From The Other Side manga wasn't a hit for me. Just too strange, though it got more interesting on the way through.

( earlier books )
1. Why We Love Middle-earth: An Enthusiast’s Book about Tolkien, Middle-earth & the LOTR Fandom by Alan Sisto and Shawn Marchese
2. Insomniacs After School (manga) volume 3 by Makoto Ojiro
3. Fan Phenomena: Game of Thrones edited by Kavita Mudan Finn
4. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
5. Phantasmagoria Special Edition Series #3: M.R. James
6. Phantasmagoria Special Edition Series #2: The Lovecraft Squad
7. The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún (manga) volume 1 by Nagabe

The books I'm currently reading. A mix of fiction (historical and fantasy), history, architecture/religion, Tolkien and space/astronomy.

Going ahead with our flying trip to St Andrews today. Even with the Lammas Fair on! We are aiming for Toppings, the Cheesy Toast Shack and the Wardlaw Museum to see their temporary Alien Worlds exhibition about exoplanets plus added Dalek and Galileo. St Andrews is hugely special for us. Martin and I met there as science undergraduates, graduated together 30 years ago, and married (eloped) a few months after graduation. It was also my childhood summer holiday destination throughout the 1980s with my parents, staying in Albany Park. We live away now, but close enough that we can visit as much as able to (my progressive neurological disease is the main limiting factor for that now). That was a very deliberate strategy!

Painting by Kate Philp below. Prints available from Eduardo Alessandro Studios in Broughty Ferry.

Martin's work company are donating £50,000 to save the Mills Observatory. It's a spinoff company from the University of Dundee. A very successful space technology company. That believe passionately in this historic and well-used custom-built public observatory, and its importance to the people of Dundee and surrounding areas.

Making another rare exception re posting Martin's photos here. These are of the aurora borealis, a couple of hours ago, photographed outside our home in Dundee, Scotland.

Squeezing in a couple extra books to my current reading. For fiction Treacle Walker, the Booker-shortlisted novel by Alan Garner I’ve had waiting to read for a while. And for non fiction the 1978 book John Dee On Astronomy, which I’ve borrowed from the university library to read.

I thought I’d start a semi regular post here about what I’m currently reading.

I mainly read on my Kindle, with a dozen or so books on the go there right now. But my main ones are:

• Robert Jordan’s The Great Hunt, the second in the Wheel to Time series. I’m approaching 2/3 through now, and liking this more than the opening book. It is quite hard to resist the temptation to peek at spoilers!
• Mary Tamm’s Second Generations autobiography book 2. Which is going to be sadly curtailed, but is a compelling read, and very well written.
• The Glass Universe by Dava Sobel, about the astronomy work done by a group of very skilled women in 19th century Harvard, including Dundee’s own Williamina Fleming. Quite fascinating stuff, and something I can relate to, having studied astronomy for 2 years of my undergraduate degree, and only thwarted in my attempts to study it to honours by St Andrews having just newly scrapped the CS&Astro combo.

I also have some physical books that I am battling with by the bed, including a recent coffee table book about Somerset, an omigosh photograph book of the treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamun, and a popular Russian schoolbook (albeit in translation, thankfully!) about a genie finding himself in Soviet era Russia.