vivdunstan

Catching up with this, and another 6 titles finished since my last post:

( earlier books )
1. Winter's Heart (Wheel of Time book 9) by Robert Jordan
2. Insomniacs After School volume 6 (manga) by Makoto Ojiro
3. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
4. Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
5. The Wee Free Men (Discworld book 30) by Terry Pratchett
6. Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan

Of the new ones, the Wheel of Time 9th book was not as bad as I feared. Still way too long, still over written. And I'm rather dreading book 10, which retells much of the same plot apparently as book 10. But not too bad, and overall enjoyable. I am determined to get to the end of the series!

Still loving the Insomniacs After School manga series, though trying to spread them out, because there are still some more due to be published in English translation.

Assassin's Apprentice is the first Robin Hobb book I have read. I enjoyed it a lot, though some bits made me so very angry as I was reading. Angry at the author for making me go through reading them! But it was well written. I expect to continue on to the sequel in the near future.

Belladonna is a Young Adult gothic/fantasy/historical/romance book. I'm honestly surprised how "spicy" it was, given the age it was targeted at. I also found it a slog to keep going through much of it, and it needed heftier editing. But I did enjoy it enough that I might read the sequel.

Continuing my reread of the Discworld "Witches" mini series of books saw me get to the first Tiffany Aching book. These Tiffany books late in Terry's writing life are so very good. I can understand why he was so fond of them and also so proud of them.

I enjoyed Lucy Mangan's book recalling her childhood reading, from her very earliest memories of being read to, through to her transition to adulthood. She's a couple of years younger than me, but we read many similar books in childhood. Though she didn't share my enthusiasm for fantasy, and was far more keen than me on contemporary fiction and also dystopian which I tend to avoid.

I am now reading the first in David Bishop's Renaissance Florence set series of mystery/thrillers. As well as continuing to read a non fiction book about a slow canal boat journey around England, another British Library Weird Tales short story collection, and more.

Finishing my 25th book means that I've reached my self-set Goodreads reading goal of the year. I was very modest in my 2025 reading goal, and wanted it to be something easily achievable, not least given how sedated and time limited I am now. And to be fair the last 6 months have included some whoppers, including another Wheel of Time book, and a reread of Charles Dickens's very lengthy Our Mutual Friend. I will keep reading, but it's nice to have 25 books under my belt.

Catching up with this, and another 6 titles finished since my last post:

( earlier titles )
1. Colostle Complete Edition by Nich Angell
2. Wild Card: Let the Tarot Tell Your Story by Jen Cownie and Fiona Lensvelt
3. Insomniacs After School volume 5 (manga) by Makoto Ojiro
4. Doctor Who: The Ruby's Curse by Alex Kingston and Jacqueline Rayner
5. Notebook by Tom Cox
6. Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono

Of the new ones the Colostle solo RPG/journalling game was fun, but not something I decided I'd want to play. An original fantasy setting, with solo gaming mechanics, based on random tables.

The Tarot book was fantastic, and really got me feeling more confident about doing self readings.

I continue to *adore* the Insomniacs After School manga series, which is being slowly but steadily published in English translation.

The Doctor Who book was somewhat fun, and a new tale about River Song. But it ultimately felt a slog to read through, and was overly muddled. I'm guessing Jacqueline Rayner wrote most of it, though Alex Kingston had some input too, and got top billing.

Tom Cox's Notebook is a varied hodge podge of often amusing rambling thoughts. I loved it! I had backed the digital edition, but not read it yet. I ordered a signed paperback from Tom a few weeks ago. He has lots of his books after the collapse of Unbound (who owe him thousands of pounds) and is selling them on.

And we read Kiki's Delivery Service - the original novel the Studio Ghibli film is based on - for my book club. I've not seen the film yet. A very young read, but still charming.

Still struggling not to type 2024 at the top of these posts!

( earlier books )
1. Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots by Jade Scott
2. A Middle-earth Album: Paintings by Joan Wyatt Inspired by Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings by Joan Wyatt
3. Could You Survive Midsomer? – A Winter's Murder: An Official Midsomer Murders Interactive Novel by Simon Brew
4. Eerie East Anglia: Fearful Tales of Field and Fen by Edward Parnell
5. Introducing Shakespeare: A Graphic Guide by Nick Groom
6. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
7. The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

I've written reviews of Captive Queen, the Midsomer Murders gamebook and Eerie East Anglia.

Of the others, the Tolkien paintings book was nice, though there were some curious choices, especially re the hobbits. The Shakespeare book was great in parts, but had an almost total blind spot on detailed coverage of the many plays, which felt like a huge omission. Our Mutual Friend was a delight for me, as always. And The Principle of Moments, the first in a planned trilogy, was a heady mix of fantasy, space opera and time travelling shenanigans. Probably more ambitious in its goals than it ultimately achieved. But still a riveting read, and I will read the other books.

Resuming this marathon reread now, with another story in the Memoirs collection. ( spoilers )

Diving back into Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. Despite concerns with one major aspect of the plot it remains one of my all time favourite reads. Having had a series of so-so fiction reads in recent months I'd like to dive into something I will really enjoy! I last reread it 6 years ago.

Current main Kindle reading for me. The top 6 books in the picture below are the main books I'm currently reading. A mix of fiction and non fiction.

Here are the books I'm currently mainly reading on my Kindle. It was frustratingly difficult to get a screenshot off the new Kindle Paperwhite. 2024 Kindle models don't mount on Macs as the older ones did, and you have to use an application on the Mac which is urgle. But still easier than me building an infographic of my own. Even if this one is in black and white. Shortly to start on Eerie East Anglia and The Thrie Estaitis.

It might have been possible to access the Kindle file system through the Mac's Unix-like Terminal, but I only thought of that after unplugging and putting my USB-C cable away!

But apparently even that won't work, because the new 2024 Kindles now use MTP to transfer data between computers and Kindles. And MTP isn't natively supported on newer Macs, unlike in Windows and Linux. There are work arounds, but I'm probably best using the app for those rare occasions I might want to.

EDIT: Nope, solved by installing OpenMTP on my Mac. Which is a little clunky, but much better than Amazon's new "Send to Kindle" app on the Mac. I don't need to transfer files to/from the Kindle via USB often. Copying screenshots - a new thing for me - might be just about my only regular ish use! But it will be doable with OpenMTP. Phew.

Just finished my catchup viewing of the Tolkien Society Oxonmoot this year. And wrote up a blog about it. It's amazing how well it worked to make the event accessible even for me in very extreme circumstances. Thank you to all the team!

Now this story surprised me. I can't remember it at all from my multiple past reads. Nevertheless it is a well constructed mystery, with a satisfying resolution.

The "noble bachelor" is another member of the upper echelons of society who comes to Holmes for help, the latest in a long line. Though this one is rather arrogant, and I loved this put down from Holmes:

"A most painful matter to me, as you can most readily imagine, Mr. Holmes. I have been cut to the quick. I understand that you have already managed several delicate cases of this sort, sir, though I presume that they were hardly from the same class of society."

"No, I am descending."

"I beg pardon."

"My last client of the sort was a king."

"Oh, really! I had no idea. And which king?"

"The King of Scandinavia."

"What! Had he lost his wife?"

"You can understand," said Holmes, suavely, "that I extend to the affairs of my other clients the same secrecy which I promise to you in yours."

The mystery of the lost wife is well described, though I found it somewhat hard to visualise in places. My own issue with probable aphantasia.

As in a number of Sherlock Holmes stories there is an American connection, with very much a sense of the exotic in its inclusion.

Ultimately the solution to the case is a simple one, as Holmes sums up himself:

"The case has been an interesting one," remarked Holmes, when our visitors had left us, "because it serves to show very clearly how simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight seems to be almost inexplicable. Nothing could be more natural than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady, and nothing stranger than the result when viewed, for instance, by Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard."

So yes, a good story, though not one of the best Sherlock Holmes stories. And a story that had completely slipped my memory, despite multiple rereads.

Nearing the end of my annual October reread of "A Night in the Lonesome October" by Roger Zelazny. And enjoying it as much as always. It is a fantastically creative piece of gothic storytelling, richly imaginative, and so much fun. Perfect for the run up to Halloween each year.