Sometimes Writing. Always Reading.
As I posted on Twitter a while back, I’ve decided to do the 2017 Sirens Reading Challenge this year. I’ve never done any kind of reading challenge before; usually I read plenty without structure. But between all the horrible world news and the general business of life, I haven’t been reading as much as I … Continue reading “The Sirens reading challenge and ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY”
Two weeks ago I plunged into my summer reading pile, and it’s been…satisfying. Incredibly, unusually, remarkably satisfying. While I’ve attempted a few books that I abandoned mid-read, or that I finished but had significant problems with, most of what I’ve picked up have been winners. Here are a few that I’ve read and particularly … Continue reading “The past two weeks in reading”
Some of these are recommendations, some are things I’ve been wanting to read for a while, some are rereads. The list grows. The list is in no particular order. Children of Earth and Sky – Guy Gavriel Kay Every Heart a Doorway – Seanan McGuire Europe in Autumn, Europe at Midnight – Dave Hutchinson The … Continue reading “First pass summer reading list”
Holidays are when I catch up on my pleasure reading. I have a big stack of things to read over the next two weeks (and can’t wait to do so). But here are a few of the books I read and enjoyed earlier this year, in no particular order. Warning: this list is almost certainly … Continue reading “Things I read and liked in 2015”
I’ve been reading more than Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, but that’s what I read most recently and it has wiped pretty much everything else out of my brain. I’m always kind of – worried, I guess, is the verb – when a book has a lot of hype. And Firekeeper’s Daughter sure has hype … Continue reading “WIBRL: Firekeeper’s Daughter”
…we’ll see for how long. This past week’s reading: An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard: I really enjoyed this. Engaging, excellently written, a good curl-up-under-the-blankets read. The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy: This was a DNF for me (setting issues – this was supposed to be early 1940s New England but I just didn’t … Continue reading “Back online”
It is still August and the calendar tells me there’s another month or so left of summer. But even here in central New Mexico, where summer weather may persist into the first weeks of October, lived experience reveals the “technically” aspect of calendric facts. No matter what the calendar says, autumn is here. I can … Continue reading “Autumn”
I’ve just been reading Fly Me, which among other topics touches on women’s roles in the early 1970s. The story of a flight attendant (“stew”) living in Sela del Mar California in 1972 who gets caught up in drug smuggling and hijacking, this book has gotten some good press (it was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s … Continue reading “My first-ever negative review (I think): FLY ME”
Every few years, I get to attend the American Libraries Association (ALA) conference, courtesy of my partner (who is a librarian). I tag along to whatever cool location in which the meeting is being held and get an exhibits-only pass. Why bother getting a pass? One simple reason: ALA exhibits are *awesome*. They have robots. … Continue reading “The ALA 2017 exhibits experience and THE GLASS SENTENCE”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BT9CHR_hTd3/?taken-by=maddy_mcb I’ve been looking forward to A Darker Shade of Magic for a while. This book, one of three in the “Guest of Honor – required” section on the Sirens 2017 Reading Challenge, is so popular at my local library that I’ve had to wait for three months. When my turn came up (coincident with … Continue reading “A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC”
Here in New Mexico, the end of summer is chile season. I grow chiles (see the photo 🙂 ) but, like many New Mexicans, in August or September I go to a chile roaster and buy a sack of roasted green to get me through the winter. You can smell the arrival of chile-roasting season: … Continue reading “Summer’s end”
The wonderful flurry of reading I experienced in May has trickled off. For the last week or so, I’ve been in a reading lull. It’s not that I’ve been too busy with other things. Nor am I waiting on the next books on the list to come in at the library, or anything like that. … Continue reading “When books don’t work”
Last week I posted about reading (and enjoying) The Library at Mount Char. Author Scott Hawkins was kind enough to answer a few questions for me, providing (among other things) some thoughts on fantasy libraries, a recipe I can’t wait to try, and advice for librarians engaged in power struggles at work. Thanks for the … Continue reading “Q&A with Scott Hawkins, author of The Library at Mount Char”