Currently reading: A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny 📚So many of my neighbors love this series. I’m not starting at the beginning – this is the one I bought for cheap at the library book sale last summer.
Finished reading: The Ravenmaster by Christopher Skaife 📚Fun little book about the Yeoman Warder who takes care of the ravens at the Tower of London. I was most interested in his life as a soldier who entered the military when he was 16 years old. The ravens were cool, too.
Heading into the end of the year without a lot of work in the pipeline. The Feds were a regular source of work up until last November, so it goes. I’ll coast for a while and work on having a good pipeline with live work by January.
Currently reading: The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1) by R.F. Kuang 📚
Finished reading: Necessity by Jo Walton 📚The last in the Thessaly trilogy, interesting, almost sci-fi, novels about living according to the rules of Plato’s Republic amongst Greek gods. I found most interesting the way the Republic does not use money. People maximize “Excellence” instead of profit.
Finished reading: A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks by David Gibbins 📚Quite good non-fiction, it achieves the aim of its title. From ancient Egypt and Greece, to the Vikings, Tudor England, Dutch East India Company Netherlands, and WW2, it focuses on the people in their sea-going context.
Currently reading: The Ravenmaster by Christopher Skaife 📚November book club pick.
Finished reading: Endling by Maria Reva 📚Excellent novel about Ukraine, snails, family, war, and life in the modern world.
On my way to DC by train
10/16/25 Doing more calling of dances, especially for teens. I’m very interested in ungendered dances, so no more “ladies” and “gents.” In a week, I will attend Pourparler – National Folk Organization and hang out with a bunch of people who are also interested in creating community via folk dance.
Currently reading: The Philosopher Kings by Jo Walton 📚
Finished reading: The Just City (Thessaly, #1) by Jo Walton 📚I’m enjoying this series, not least because I can see the threads that eventually lead to her book Lent, which is a masterpiece.
I’m volunteering at a very cool conference in New Hampshire. Radically Rural helps rural communities discover innovative and practical ways to thrive. radicallyrural.org
My best kitty on an Autumn day
Currently reading: Endling by Maria Reva 📚Very excited to dive into this book that I heard about on the “Write Now with Scrivener” podcast Write Now with Scrivener Episode 55: Maria Reva, Booker Longlisted Author of Endling.
Finished reading: A Home in Percival by Paula Berman 📚A cute romantasy set in Oregon about a world where magic is kind of like software development. In a good way.
Currently reading: Thessaly by Jo Walton 📚
Finished reading: Flight Paths by Rebecca Heisman 📚Timely, since this past weekend saw about a billion birds migrating south across the Americas. Interesting, readable, introduction to bird migration science.
Finished reading: The Last Bake Sale by Andru Volinsky 📚While this book is mostly focused on the terrible way that New Hampshire pays for its public schools, this is an approachable introduction to school funding issues and how the Right is trying to destroy public education.
Currently reading: The Last Bake Sale by Andru Volinsky 📚How did this country get into such a bad state with public education funding? Great info, here’s a quote: “… the distribution of property wealth has little to do with the funding needs of particular school districts and the children in them.
Finished reading: The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed 📚Wonderful novella. Creepy without going all the way to horror. Some exquisite writing and great characters. A world that has a little bit of magic. Recommended.
Currently reading: A Home in Percival by Paula Berman 📚
Currently reading: The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed 📚
Currently reading: Flight Paths by Rebecca Heisman 📚
Finished reading: Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton 📚Sweet non-fiction about a UK homeowner making friends with a hare.