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A day off means I can actually get back on track with posting these things regularly. Here's what I got up to, reading-wise, over the last seven days.
What I Finished Reading This Week
The Art of Celtia – Courtney Davis
Davis’s art is stunning as always, but the text—and its particular brand of pre-millenium New Age optimism—has...not aged well, to say the least. To whit: it posits that late-90s Western civilization was on the cusp of a spiritual and cultural reawakening that would usher in an end to violent conflict, consumerism, and wanton environmental degradation alongside the dawn of the 21st century, and (*takes a look at our current Darkest Timeline*) bruh, that is not how things turned out.
Through the Mickle Woods – Valiska Gregory & Barry Moser
What is there to say? This book turns on the waterworks every time I read it. It’s absolutely beautiful.
Beowulf – Maria Dahvana Headley
“Bro” begins Headley’s translation and then continues taking names from there. It is (and I suspect will forever by) the translation of Beowulf as far as I’m concerned.
Glorious Exploits – Ferdia Lennon
This book deserves every accolade it’s received. Ostensibly, it’s about two unemployed potters coercing Athenian captives of the Second Battle of Syracuse into performing Euripides in exchange for food. But it’s really about the best and worst ways people treat each other, when, and why, and Lennon nails the landing every. Time. Read this book.
I Am Mordred – Nancy Springer
I’m currently on a bit of an Arthuriana kick, and although I didn’t read it at the time, this title was all over bookstores in the early aughts. It was better than I expected—Springer can turn out a good sentence and pen a dreamscape-esque encounter to rival those from any of the original romances. And she explores an interesting tension between Mordred's alienation and anger and desire for parental affection and belonging. That said, the narrative heavily assumes that readers are already familiar with the corpus of Arthurian legend: when characters like Pellinore or Lamorak make cameo walk-ons with major plot implications, the book just expects readers to know their backstories or motivations. Springer never explores them, and readers who don't already know what's going on will probably be left confused af about what just happened and why. TL;DR: worth reading if you're familiar with Arthurian myth but if you aren't, caveat emptor.
Silver Diamond 6 – 杉浦 志保 (Silver Diamond vol. 6 – Sugiura Shiho)
This is the volume in which some excellent worldbuilding takes place, Rakan decides to punch back at the Impostor Prince, and Narushige’s younger sister gets some quality page real estate, and I am here for it.
What I Am Currently Reading
The Myth of the Year – Helen Benigni, Barbara Carter, & Eadhmonn Ua Cuinn
Dealing with archeoastronomy and the Coligny Calendar.
The Mists of Avalon – Marion Zimmer Bradley
Part of the abovementioned Arthuriana kick. That said, I’ll probably be taking this one in short and infrequent doses.
The Hacker and the State – Ben Buchanan
I taking this one a chapter or so a day.
Shamrock Tea – Ciaran Carson
I’m taking this one a chapter or so a day as well.
The Silver Bough vol. 3 – F. Marian McNeill
This week, I read the chapters on Yule, Hogmanay, and Up Hally Ae.
The Forgotten Kingdom – Signe Pike
Ugh. This is not really an improvement over the first volume. Nevertheless, I persist.
Ansuz – Malene Sølvsten
Both the story and translation are, so far, promising.
終点unknown 外伝– 杉浦 志保 (Shuten Unknown Gaiden – Sugiura Shiho)
Aaaaah. This series is so good, and when I finish this volume it will be over.
What I’m Reading Next
This week I acquired A Nobleman's Guide To Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles, The Key to Solomon’s Key by Lon Milo DuQuette, Irish Folk Ways by E. Estyn Evans, Tarot: Beyond the Basics by Anthony Louis, Scotland’s Forgotten Past by Alistair Moffat, O’Neill’s Music of Ireland by Francis O’Neill, How To Build Stonehenge by Mike Pitts, I Am Morgan Le Fay by Nancy Springer, and House of Names by Colm Tóibín.
これで以上です。
What I Finished Reading This Week
The Art of Celtia – Courtney Davis
Davis’s art is stunning as always, but the text—and its particular brand of pre-millenium New Age optimism—has...not aged well, to say the least. To whit: it posits that late-90s Western civilization was on the cusp of a spiritual and cultural reawakening that would usher in an end to violent conflict, consumerism, and wanton environmental degradation alongside the dawn of the 21st century, and (*takes a look at our current Darkest Timeline*) bruh, that is not how things turned out.
Through the Mickle Woods – Valiska Gregory & Barry Moser
What is there to say? This book turns on the waterworks every time I read it. It’s absolutely beautiful.
Beowulf – Maria Dahvana Headley
“Bro” begins Headley’s translation and then continues taking names from there. It is (and I suspect will forever by) the translation of Beowulf as far as I’m concerned.
Glorious Exploits – Ferdia Lennon
This book deserves every accolade it’s received. Ostensibly, it’s about two unemployed potters coercing Athenian captives of the Second Battle of Syracuse into performing Euripides in exchange for food. But it’s really about the best and worst ways people treat each other, when, and why, and Lennon nails the landing every. Time. Read this book.
I Am Mordred – Nancy Springer
I’m currently on a bit of an Arthuriana kick, and although I didn’t read it at the time, this title was all over bookstores in the early aughts. It was better than I expected—Springer can turn out a good sentence and pen a dreamscape-esque encounter to rival those from any of the original romances. And she explores an interesting tension between Mordred's alienation and anger and desire for parental affection and belonging. That said, the narrative heavily assumes that readers are already familiar with the corpus of Arthurian legend: when characters like Pellinore or Lamorak make cameo walk-ons with major plot implications, the book just expects readers to know their backstories or motivations. Springer never explores them, and readers who don't already know what's going on will probably be left confused af about what just happened and why. TL;DR: worth reading if you're familiar with Arthurian myth but if you aren't, caveat emptor.
Silver Diamond 6 – 杉浦 志保 (Silver Diamond vol. 6 – Sugiura Shiho)
This is the volume in which some excellent worldbuilding takes place, Rakan decides to punch back at the Impostor Prince, and Narushige’s younger sister gets some quality page real estate, and I am here for it.
What I Am Currently Reading
The Myth of the Year – Helen Benigni, Barbara Carter, & Eadhmonn Ua Cuinn
Dealing with archeoastronomy and the Coligny Calendar.
The Mists of Avalon – Marion Zimmer Bradley
Part of the abovementioned Arthuriana kick. That said, I’ll probably be taking this one in short and infrequent doses.
The Hacker and the State – Ben Buchanan
I taking this one a chapter or so a day.
Shamrock Tea – Ciaran Carson
I’m taking this one a chapter or so a day as well.
The Silver Bough vol. 3 – F. Marian McNeill
This week, I read the chapters on Yule, Hogmanay, and Up Hally Ae.
The Forgotten Kingdom – Signe Pike
Ugh. This is not really an improvement over the first volume. Nevertheless, I persist.
Ansuz – Malene Sølvsten
Both the story and translation are, so far, promising.
終点unknown 外伝– 杉浦 志保 (Shuten Unknown Gaiden – Sugiura Shiho)
Aaaaah. This series is so good, and when I finish this volume it will be over.
What I’m Reading Next
This week I acquired A Nobleman's Guide To Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles, The Key to Solomon’s Key by Lon Milo DuQuette, Irish Folk Ways by E. Estyn Evans, Tarot: Beyond the Basics by Anthony Louis, Scotland’s Forgotten Past by Alistair Moffat, O’Neill’s Music of Ireland by Francis O’Neill, How To Build Stonehenge by Mike Pitts, I Am Morgan Le Fay by Nancy Springer, and House of Names by Colm Tóibín.
これで以上です。
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