Trismegistus

Welp, I did not post these as regularly this year as I'd hoped but I can at least round out 2025 with a final, on-time entry. I hope everyone is had/is having/will have a good end to 2025, as appropriate for your part of the world!


What I Finished Reading This Week

Holly, Reindeer, and Colored Lights - Edna Barth
This book is a nostalgic holiday reread for me. It's part frustrating (no, druids did not worship Thor or Odin) and fascinating (as a snapshot of what popular knowledge about niche topics looked like in the pre-Internet age). While the presumed audience and focus is largely continental North American christian culture, these books may very well have been the first place I ever heard about Puerto Rico, or Bolivia, or the Sami, and therefore played a part in interesting me in the world. “In the African Republic of Ghana, groups of Christian families buy cows, sheep, and goats to be slaughtered for the Christmas feast. Among Christians of Abyssinia a favorite Christmas dish is raw meat” reads one paragraph in the nine-page “Christmas Feasting” chapter. As a child, Abyssinia would have seemed like an impossibly far off place, wondrously unlike anything in my daily life. Today, I know that Abyssinia is just Ethiopia and Eritrea and the “raw meat” from that Christmas dish is just kitfo, and I can walk out my front door and order it at over half-a-dozen restaurants in less than 15 minutes. Which is in itself its own kind of wondrous.

Irish Tin Whistle Tutorial vol. 1 – Mary Bergin
Mary Bergin is one of the marquee players of this instrument. As this is just the first volume of three, I can't meaningfully compare her entire method to other tutors on the market, but it is hands down the most thorough introduction to tonguing patterns anywhere--a vital element that's often given short shrift by other instructors.

Irish Legends for Children – Yvonne Carroll & Lucy Su
This book contains six retellings of Irish legends, including The Children of Lir, two from the Ulster Cycle, and three from the Fenian Cycle. The retellings are nicely done and a good way to introduce the stories to younger readers, and the illustrations very attractive. Carroll gives the names in Irish with proper diacritics and doesn't bother with a pronunciation guide, a refreshing or frustrating choice, depending on the reader.

Guarded Time 2 - Stephanie Hansen
This book opens in media res but doesn't follow up with much explanation for dozens of characters, concepts, and situations--not even an information dump, let alone subtler explication woven into the story. And while this is the second volume in its series, it's the seventh in the "suggested reading order" of Hansen's previous books, and given that multiple chapters in Guarded Time begin with epigraphs from those books, anyone who really wants to know whats going on probably would need to read those as well. Hansen clearly loves her characters and plot, but potential readers should probably start at the top of that list.

Ruby and the Stone Age Diet – Martin Millar
I opened 2025 by reading Millar's second novel and closed it by reading this one, his third. It's a much trickier novel than its predecessor: like most of Millar's works it seems straightforward, even superficial, until you start to realize how deadly clever it is. Almost too clever in places; Millar's satire can deadpan I suspect it's flown over the head of many an oblivious reader. He's also starting to experiment this with themes and elements that will pop up again in his later works, and while they don't always work as well here, it's very cool to see them in their embryonic forms. This is definitely worth reading, and I will definitely read it again.

The Tailor of Gloucester – Beatrix Potter
Probably my favorite of Potter’s books. The illustrations are just stunning.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – Barbara Robinson
An annual reread. There are many people in the world right now who I think need to read this book...alas, they wouldn't get the point even if they did.

Nimona – ND Stevenson
Being a graphic novel in which Severus Snape teams up with a Murder Pixie Dream Girl to fight the system. As I was in a "fuck the system" mood all week, this suited me perfectly. It is one of those books that somehow transcends the sum of its parts, and I'm glad I finally read it. As a bonus, the omake at the end make it a seasonal read too.

Celtic Knotwork Handbook – Sheila Sturrock
I don't recommend starting with Sturrock's method when learning to draw Celtic knotwork, as it's prone to generating knots with inconsistent cord widths and interlacing that violates design conventions in historic examples. That said, it is useful for plotting groups of connected panels with negative space between them. And it absolutely shines when drafting zoomorphic patterns; in fact, it's the best method for doing so that I've found anywhere.


What I Am Currently Reading

The Stations of the Sun – Ronald Hutton
The first chapters start ahead of the Christmas season, so I'm a bit behind, but that's fine.

The Bright Sword – Lev Grossman
This is looking to become one of my annual winter reads.

Hymn to Dionysus – Natasha Pulley
Three chapters in I'm liking it quite a bit.


What I’m Reading Next

This week I acquired Peter Heller's The Dog Stars Ronald Hutton's , Coinneach MacLeod's The Scottish Cookbook, Mike Parker Pearson's Stonehenge: A Brief History, and Malene Sølvsten's Mannaz.

これで以上です。

I usually have a half-month lull after October, but somehow this week managed to be even busier (how?). That said, I did manage to read a good number of things, namely:

What I Finished Reading This Week

Embers of the Hands – Eleanor Barraclough
In Embers of the Hands, Eleanor Barralough sets out to recount the history of the Viking Age through what the archaeological and written record can tell us about the people history "forgot": commoners versus kings and warriors; women and children versus men; the enslaved versus the free; and about the activities of everyday life: falling in (un)requited love, religious belief, play, and homemaking, among others. She does this very, very well, with clear prose; a commitment to making clear what's fact, what's conjecture, and what's just not known; a wickedly mischievous sense of humor, and a true love for the subject. The section on Omfim the artist (just read it!) is just charming. This book is an absolute treasure and worth multiple reads.

I Will Blossom Anyway – Disha Bose
I Will Blossom Anyway is a strong contender to be the best novel I've read in 2025. Bose is a phenomenal observer of human beings: these are some of the most fully-rounded characters I've encountered in recent memory. They have strengths, flaws, and blind spots; they think and act in believable ways; they grow. Her depictions of the exhilaration, confusion, and immaturity of early 20's independence and interpersonal relationships are spot-on, as are her depictions of Bengali family dynamics and the good and bad of being an immigrant professional far from home. I'm not saying anything specific about the plot and that's deliberate: there are some real emotional gut punches in this book and they should be encountered exactly as the characters do--with no forewarning. Moreover; Bose sets up a lot of the common tropes and beats and then completely subverts them in ways readers will not expect precisely because she avoids the easy character or plot progressions that leave you grousing "But no one would actually say/do/react like that IRL!" and it is so, so, fun.

TL;DR--this book is so well-written and satisfying; read it.

The Happiness Files – Arthur Brooks
Per its promotional blurb, "Imagine if your life were a startup. How would you lead it and shape it to be most successful?" is the question that underpins the writing of The Happiness Files. Ironically, this book is at its best when Brooks is writing for a general audience versus the sort of people who found and run start-ups (who are apparently emotional imbeciles judging from how Brooks does write for them; namely, as though he were confronting a toddler having a Big Emotions meltdown in the supermarket.)

Luckily, those sections occur toward the front of the book and are soon out of the way, and the rest is quite readable and enjoyable. Much of what Brooks discusses in the volume's 33 3-to-5 page chapters is common sense (e.g., don't hold pointless meetings; don't give disingenuous compliments; focus on having experiences versus acquiring money, and on making progress toward goals versus having achieved them) but it can be helpful to have these things stated outright, and Brooks has a knack for making the point without belaboring it. There is a Christian bent to some of the examples he uses, but it's not particularly heavy-handed, and far more of the book's content is grounded in scientific studies (thankfully endnoted should readers want to follow up on them).

TL;DR - This is a solid book of grounded advice on how to live in a way that fosters contentedness and satisfaction in your personal and professional life.


What I Am Currently Reading

Shield Maiden - Sharon Emmerichs
As a wish-fulfillment fantasy it's great, but oh god, Emmerichs' attempts at diversity and representation are dire.


What I'm Reading Next

This week I acquired Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo, Swiz by Alex Daniels et al., Shield Maiden by Sharon Emmerichs, and Nimona by ND Stevenson.


これで以上です。

This week I consumed very little news and subsequently read a ton. Much of this reading was done on my bed, next to the giant peace lily I adopted a few weeks back. It's been growing great guns ever since, regularly putting out new leaves and spathes. Unfortunately, it also began putting out regular, worrying rustles starting few days ago. This was concerning because they were coming from the peace lily: with the windows shut and the AC off, there was nothing else that could be generating those noises. Did I somehow bring in a mouse or chipmunk? I thought. But that's impossible; there's no way anything could have survived in there for over a month.

Then I realized: I was hearing the lily's leaves unfurl. How cool is that?

What I Finished Reading This Week

The Book of Mystic Wisdom – Dave Albert
Being one of the two lorebooks for Ultima IV, which I am currently replaying. This one covers the game's 26 spells.

The History of Britannia – Roe R. Adams III
Being the other Ultima IV lorebook, which covers the world, character classes, combat, magic, monsters, and leveling. It's all presented as history vice a manual; Ultima IV just drops you into the world, and one of the joys of playing this game is figuring out what how to play it, which you do by sussing out the clues very cleverly worked into the flavor text in these manuals.

Bog Bodies Uncovered – Miranda Aldhouse-Green
This book is a strong contender to be the worst nonfiction book I've read this year. Aldhouse-Green is a widely referenced and apparently well-regarded historian of the Romano-Celtic period, but based on this garbage I have absolutely no idea why. Bog Bodies Uncovered reads like the output of an early ChatGPT model: meandering, disjointed, frequently contradictory, and highly repetitive. (Take out that repetition and the book would easily be 2/3 shorter.) She is clearly titillated by the violence inflicted on these individuals--a jarring tone in a book that purports to be academic nonfiction vice true crime. Worst of all, Aldhouse-Green presents conjecture and supposition as objective fact, and her scholarship is often lacking in intellectual rigor.( Read more... ) Like, holy crap this book is bad. It really has to be read to be believed; however, if you're at all hoping for a serious, academically sound exploration of its topic, this is emphatically not something anyone should read.

The Story of Irish Dance – Helen Brennan
This book is a very well-written history of the development of Irish dance from the 17^th century to the present. I expected it to be interesting, but did not expect it to be so much fun. And it is, largely because dance was one of the things--alongside folklore, sport, music, and the Irish language--republicans set out to preserve and disseminate as a means of forging national identity in the decades leading up to and following Irish independence. In practice, this meant attempting to define and codify a "pure" form of Irish dance purged of English and continental influences--an impossible task given the plethora of local styles and centuries of cultural cross-pollination with Europe. But they tried, and boy, did they have Opinions. We are talking grown men conducting yearslong newspaper flamewars that would put today's TikTok antis to shame. It is delightful. That aside, Irish Dance is a very informative book. I learned a great deal about everything from regional styles, the history of house dances, and enforcement of the Dance Hall Act, to which dances have fallen in and out of fashion and how the overriding focus on competition over the last 70 years has changed how its danced (tiny skirts and hideous Jon Bennet-Ramsey wigs make sense if you're being judged on how high you appear to be jumping). This was a really good book and one I will read again.

Sistersong – Lucy Holland
Sistersong is a retelling of the Twa Sisters Childe Ballad set in a fantasy Cornwall in the late 6^th century. Like Holland's Song of the Huntress, it's not a perfect read, but it is a good one so long as you know ahead of time what you're in for. ( Read more... ) This is my kind of book.


Pagan Britain – Ronald Hutton
A strong contender for the best nonfiction book I will read this year. Hutton is such a pleasure to read, so much so that I devoured this 400-page, size-6-font book in a matter of days. Pagan Britain sets out to examine what can and can't be known about the religious beliefs of the isle's inhabitants from the paleolithic to the present. Hutton is a master synthesizer: it's amazing how he can make something that's essentially one giant lit review so interesting. He objectively sets out what can be definitively known from the archeological or historical record, what can be conjectured, where differences of scholarly opinion or interpretation exist, and what is modern (mis)invention. And he's refreshingly pleasant about it all--this is not a man with an axe to grind. It's not a perfect book; the latter chapters feel slightly less meaty than the earlier ones, and Hutton is strangely silent on some topics (e.g., the Carmina Gadelica) that I'd have expected him to examine. But his enthusiasm for the subject matter--and the people who examine it, what they think about it, and why--is apparent on every page, and his commitment to academic precision on the one hand and diversity of opinion, belief, and cultural practice on the other, is wonderful. I absolutely recommend this book and will absolutely read it again.


What I Am Currently Reading

Practical Manx – Jennifer Kewley Draskau
This week I covered the initial sections on noun lenition.

Cunning Folk – Tabitha Stanmore
I'm about a third of the way through and this is a breath of fresh air in comparison to the odious Bog Bodies Uncovered.


What I'm Reading Next

I acquired no new books this week.

これで以上です。

I am so, so behind on ::flaps hands:: everything...but that still hasn't stopped me from spending hours each day reading books, and then even more hours writing about them.

What I Finished Reading This Week

The Chosen Queen – Sam Davey
This novel is an Arthurian retelling from Igraine's perspective. ( Boy, did I have Thoughts. ) But the utterly maddening thing is, 80 percent of this book was good enough that, when the next volume in Davey's "Pendragon Prophecy" comes out in a couple of years, I will probably read it despite knowing better.

Kindling The Celtic Spirit – Mara Freeman
Kindling The Celtic Spirit was published during the heyday of the shopping mall new age/occult publishing boom. In those pre-Wikipedia, pre-Internet dark ages, it and its ilk served a valuable purpose, making accessible information from niche, out of print, and otherwise inaccessible primary and secondary sources on Celtic folklore and belief from the proto-, early, and early modern historical periods, albeit mixed in with liberal amounts of neopagan accretions.

There's much less need for such things in our current existence of commercial ebook and ejournal publishing, Project Gutenberg, Wikipedia, and museum and historic trust youtube documentaries, but there's something naively charming about the book's mix of academic fact and invented tradition and ritual. And while for some reason The Festival of Lughnasa has yet to be republished (unlike its brethren (Carmina Gadelica and The Silver Bough), there are plenty of references and and quotations from it here.


What I Am Currently Reading

Song Of The Huntress – Lucy Holland
I needed a palette cleanser after The Chosen Queen.


What I'm Reading Next

This week I acquired Sistersong by Lucy Holland and Buried Deep And Other Stories by Naomi Novik


これで以上です。

Not going out as much since the start of last week plus some extensive travel meant I packed a lot of reading in this week.

What I Finished Reading This Week

How To Dodge A Cannonball – Dennard Dayle
It takes a while for How to Dodge a Cannonball to find its footing; the first 100 pages or so are firmly (and intentionally) in idiot plot territory as the novel's teenage protagonist defects from the Union Army to the Confederate Army and back to a Union African American regiment. The narrative, characterization, and tone don't really feel like "Catch-22 in the Civil War" (as claimed by one of the back cover blurbs) but they are very reminiscent of Christopher Moore: Dayle writes with a similar snappy, irreverent voice; deploys similar satire with biting social observation lurking beneath; and also with evident love for his characters and their foibles. If you're a fan of Moore, you are going to enjoy this book.

Roses & Violets – Gry Kappel Jensen
Objectively, this is not a good book. The worldbuilding (such as it is) and broad plot beats are clearly cribbed from Harry Potter (sudden arrival of a letter to a magical high school in a castle that the protagonist's parents try to prevent her from receiving, a magical hat tree that sorts students into four groups, the stern female headmistress, the abrasive, dark-haired professor teaching the most unsavory magical subject; the secret werewolf who's presented as a mortal threat but turns out to be a lifesaving ally, and on and on). There's a similar lack of adult supervision or safety protocols, or internal consistency to the either the curricula or how magic is supposed to work in the first place. There is little character development. The plot (such as it is) is rushed and in places incomprehensible. Entire paragraphs are composed of bare-bones dialogue with no narrative description. The last 30 percent of the book leans heavily on sentence fragments and comma splices (it's unclear whether this is the work of the translator or the original author). The ending is ru But as reading material after an exhausting week at work has turned your brain to mush, or to kill time during a five hour trip, it's be hard to beat.

A Beginner's Manual – Aidan Meehan
This first volume in Meehan's Celtic Design series is one of the best: it clearly and succinctly explains how to draw step patterns, key patterns, spirals, uncial script, and illuminated capitals, and how to lay out pages for the above, as well as what drafting tools, paper, and inks are best suited. It's a stark contrast to some of the latter volumes in the series (I'm looking at you, Animal Patterns and Spiral Patterns), which leave one with the distinct impression that Meehan would prefer readers to never figure out how to draw these things at all.

Winters In The World – Eleanor Parker
This book examines how Anglo-Saxons thought about the passage of time, both linear (as in a human lifetime) and cyclical (as in the seasons of the year), through an exploration of their poetry. It's by-and-large well written and enjoyable, although benefits from the application of a critical eye: Parker has a tendency to present personal conjecture as objective fact, and not even in a consistent fashion. Still, the poetry (both in the original and modern English translation) and how it illuminates its audience's worldview is fascinating and worth the read.

Crown Duel – Sherwood Smith
It's not a perfect book, but it is a really, really good one that I reread every few years. There's an attention to detailed but subtle observation of nature and human emotions that's absent from a lot of recent YA (and even adult) fiction, and that I very much miss. I also love that the protagonist does what she can with the knowledge and capabilities she has, in the situations in which she finds herself, and that sometimes she is unsuccessful or even just plain wrong--a refreshing change from the current glut of main characters who singlehandedly carry the day in the face of others' incompetence and ignorance. And, you know, the whole "taking the battle to King Galdran" really resonates these days.


What I Am Currently Reading

Siege and Storm – Leigh Bardugo
I backburnered this one for Roses & Violets and The Chosen Queen.

The Story of Irish Dance – Helen Brennan
I only picked at this one this week.

The Chosen Queen – Sam Davey
I picked this one up yesterday and blazed through the first 25 percent. It's pretty obviously a take on Mists of Avalon, but a well written one.

Roses & Violets – Gry Kappel Jensen
What can I say? Sometimes, you just want to eat some Combos.

The Eagle of the Ninth – Rosemary Stewart
I only read a few pages of this before setting it aside for other options.


What I'm Reading Next

This week I picked up Forget Me Not by Gry Kappel Jensen, AP Computer Science A by Dean Johnson, Ballad of Sword & Wine vol. 2 by Qiang Jin Jiu, The Goddess and the Tree by Ellen Cannon Reed, and Beginning Programming for Dummies by Wallace Wang.

これで以上です。

I don't really notice the wildfire smoke unless looking down from the top of a hill, but egads, are my eyeballs aware that it's here. Despite the prevailing conditions I did manage to get some solid reading in.

What I Finished Reading This Week

Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo
I came to this series pretty late, in part because there's a lot of overlap between Grishaverse fans and fans of other YA series phenoms (think Twilight) that rank high among my hatereads. ( I did not hateread this book; I actually enjoyed it. ) So, yeah. There was a lot here that should not have worked for me, but it did. This is not a convention-defying read, but it does genre very well, and I enjoyed the ride.


What I Am Currently Reading

Siege and Storm – Leigh Bardugo
It says something about my enjoyment of this book's predecessor that upon finishing it, I jumped directly into this one.

The Third Revolution – Elizabeth Economy
I've got about two more chapters to go before I finish this one.

[.....] – [.....]
Being the second draft of a friend's novel. So far, I'm really enjoying it.

The Hacker's Playbook – Peter Kim
I've started poking at this one again as a possible follow-on book once I've finished the Economy

MacBook In Easy Steps – Nick Vandome
I poked at about three pages of this.


What I'm Reading Next

This week I picked up Feminisims by Lucy Delap and Hearts of Oak by Eddie Robson.

これで以上です。

What a week. I keep trying to find time to sit down and write about it only to have Things Keep Arising. But in the interest of getting back into the habit of posting these, here's an abbreviated:

What I Finished Reading This Week

Haha, nope.


What I Am Currently Reading

How To Dodge a Cannonball – Dennard Dayle
I'm hoping to finish this novel by next Wednesday.

The Beat Cop – Michael O'Malley
This book is fascinating and well written, and I'm steaming through it.

Crown Duel – Sherwood Smith
I'll have this one finished by next week too.


What I'm Reading Next

This week I picked up How To Draw The Human Figure by Jose Parramon and Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.


これで以上です。

To slightly misquote John Oliver, ( It has been a busy three weeks. )I also got some reading in.

What I Finished Reading This Week

The Bee Sting – Paul Murray
This is an outstanding book with a horrifically bad ending. I am hard pressed to think of another book with such incredibly incisive characterizations: Murray writes sympathetic, flawed, and utterly believable characters. And I mean all of them—not just the main characters, or the male characters, or the preteen characters, or the educated characters—all of them. The motivations are spot on. The actions and reactions are spot on. The dialogue is spot on. The inner monologues are spot on. The humor is sly and wickedly funny, the sad parts are tragic, and the tension in the tense scenes is through the roof.

But oh my god, the ending. ( Read more... )

I am still incredibly glad I read this book. It is 99 percent excellent, one of the consistently best novels I have read. But oh, if only that last 1 percent had been different.


What I Finished Reading Two Weeks Ago

Gardener’s Magic and Other Old Wives’ Lore – Bridget Boland
So this is absolutely a novelty book, essentially the pre-Internet equivalent of a listicle or low-calorie trivia article. But as I have an enduring interest in the subject matter, it’s attractively illustrated and typeset on high-quality paper, and I enjoy the pre-social media version of "lighthearted and breezy voice" that Boland writes in, it worked quite well for me.


What I Finished Reading Three Weeks Ago

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents – Lindsay Gibson
Overall, this was a pretty good book. I very much appreciated that unlike other psychology/self-help authors, Gibson does not belabor her points. She’ll state a fact or observation once, in plain language, and that’s it. There’s almost no bloat here, and it’s refreshing and lovely.

Additionally, I found Gibson’s insights pretty sound, especially in the latter five of the book’s 10 chapters, which deal with how to set boundaries, rethink your relationship with emotionally immature parents, avoid falling into old patterns—both with your internal narratives and with your interactions with parents, and how to ride out extinction events (although Gibson herself does not refer to them as such).

It’s not a perfect book; the first few chapters in particular are a little too “You, wounded reader, are without blemish” to my eye; there’s affirming the reader's experience and there’s writing as though the reader can do no wrong and their parents no right, and that's a little too black-and-white to be realistic to my eye.

In general, the early chapters would have benefited from more intellectual rigor. ( Read more... ) This is frustrating—doubly so, given how insightful the latter half of the book is—but overall, the book's strengths outweigh its weaknesses and I'm glad I read it.


What I Am Currently Reading

Tomb of Dragons – Katherine Addison
On the one hand, I am stoked to read this. On the other hand, once I read this, the trilogy will be over.

Milkman - Anna Burns
I’m just shy of 60 percent of the way through, and it’s been consistently excellent.

The Legend of Robin Goodfellow – Phineas Cricket
I will finish this book tonight.

The Year in Ireland – Kevin Danaher
I read up to the section on Easter.

Scotland’s Forgotten Past – Alastair Moffat
I read the first of this book’s 80 chapters on said forgotten past, which deals with the geological and tectonic developments that created the Scottish landmass.

Winters in the World – Eleanor Parker
I read up to the section on Easter in this volume too.

Sex and Marriage in Ancient Ireland – Patrick Power
I’ll finish this volume today as well.


What I’ve Also Been Reading Over The Past Three Weeks

Irish Tin Whistle Tutorial vol. I – Mary Bergin
I continued revising the first seven or so chapters.

The Mars House – Natasha Pulley
I read a few more chapters, but ultimately put this one on hold to concentrate on The Bee Sting and Milkman.

How Computers Work – Ron White
I finished the chapters on databases and disc drives.


What I’m Reading Next

This week I acquired Katherine Addison's Tomb of Dragons, Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes, Francine Oomen’s Hoe overleef ik Alles Wat ik Niemand Vertel, Patrick Power’s Sex and Marriage in Ancient Ireland, and Robert Vuijsje’s Alleen Maar Mette Mensen.

Last week I acquired Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone, Michael Hultquit's The Spicy Food Lovers' Cookbook, John Mansfield Thomson's The Cambridge Companion to the Recorder, and Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes (no author credited).

Three weeks ago I acquired 이국종's 골든아워1 and 골든아워2 (Lee Gukjeong's Golden Hour vols. 1 & 2).


これで以上です。

Wow, the world these days, huh? At least there are a lot of books out there.


What I Finished Reading This Week

Galatea – Madeline Miller
I don't advocate purchasing this book given its jaw-dropping price : word count ratio, but it is very well written and I love Miller's take on this OG incel fantasy.


What I Am Currently Reading

Irish Tin Whistle Tutorial vol. I – Mary Bergin
I've worked through the first two thirds of this volume and am spending a lot of time on the tonguing, as it's a very different style to my own way of playing.

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents – Lindsay Gibson
With only 30 pages to go, I'll have this one finished by the end of the week.

The Mars House – Natasha Pulley
This novel is very well written, excellent speculative sci-fi fantasy, and very pointedly on the nose in regards to much of what is going on in the world right now. In short, it's exactly the book that I need to be reading at this point in time.


What I’m Reading Next

This week I acquired Dawn Anthony's The Lebanese Cookbook, Betty Edward’s Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Lindsay Gibson’s Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, and Ronald Hutton's The Stations of the Sun.

これで以上です。

What I Finished Reading This Week

I feel like I finished something, but can’t for the life of me remember what it was. That is the sort of week I have been having.


What I Am Currently Reading

Lexicon – Max Barry
I knew absolutely nothing about this book going in, but it came highly recommended by a friend. I’m enjoying it so far. The action and character reactions are very well done. I just hope the author isn’t going to lean as heavily into the “women are natural born liars and deadly manipulators” trope as the text so far suggests he might.

Book of Night – Holly Black
I read this when it first came out and remember very little of it; thus, I’m reading it again.

The Party and the People – Bruce Dickson
I said last week that I’d have this one finished by today and then…managed to read a whopping two pages of it over the following seven days. Oops.

Galatea – Madeline Miller
I read a page or two last night before bed, so it's still very early days for this small book.

Lucy Holland – Song of the Huntress
I did not have high expectations for this novel when I bought it, but I'm please to report I am very much enjoying it.


What I DNF

The Welsh Fasting Girl – Varley O'Connor
This novel had an intriguing premise: an American journalist and probable war widow (her husband went MIA in the US Civil War) travels to rural Wales to investigate reports of a Welsh adolescent who hasn’t eaten in 18 months; the fasting girl of the title was a real person.

But the writing. OMG, the writing. It's far from the most affected prose I've ever read but the affectation is such that I really have to work to absorb what's going on in each sentence, to the point that it's a struggle to get through five pages at a time. I am therefore putting this is one on permanent pause.


What I’m Reading Next

This week I acquired Nancy Gareth’s Tarot Made Easy, Madeline Miller’s Galatea, and V.E. Schwab’s The Near Witch.


これで以上です。