Finished reading: The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz 📚I loved it, especially the first part. By the third part, it was getting a bit heavy-handed but its intentions were admirable. Dystopian science fiction, with a strong dash of hope.
Finished reading: Outline by Rachel Cusk 📚Interesting writing with mostly unlikeable characters.
We put on a big event yesterday after a year of planning. Lots of people came, and there were many conversations between people who hadn’t seen each other in 3+ years. Great music and good dancing. It’s taken much of my time, especially these last weeks. I’m glad it happened and glad it’s over.
Currently reading: The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz 📚
Finished reading: Painting Time by Maylis de Kerangal 📚 I loved this novel so much that I immediately began re-reading it to catch more of the nuance. Three young people go to painting school to learn trompe l’oeil. We all learn about observation.
Finished reading: The Story So Far by Jane Eklund 📚Erudite fiction about a relationship between a young woman and an older female author. Thought-provoking about the ways this might be the same as, or different from, an older man and a young woman.
Currently reading: Painting Time by Maylis de Kerangal 📚
Currently reading: Outline by Rachel Cusk 📚
Finished reading: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher 📚Such a fun fantasy novel! Great characters, both animal and human, living and dead. Highly recommended when you want something light and fun and satisfying.
Currently reading: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher 📚
Currently reading: The Story So Far by Jane Eklund 📚
Finished reading: Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond 📚not as fun a read but excellent and thoughtful. In how many ways is my personal comfort built on the backs of people in poverty? What do I do to keep it that way? We all can make choices to create a more equitable society.
Finished reading: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree 📚a fun read! Orc opens a cafe. Also interesting because it was a NaNoWriMo project, first novel, and became a social media hit.
Currently reading: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree 📚
Finished reading: The White Mosque by Sofia Samatar 📚An all over the place book. Some parts were lyrical and insightful and I gasped at the perfection of the writing. Other parts were long-winded and self-indulgent. It’s about Mennonites. And about crossing cultures.
First morning of my two-day personal retreat and things are going well
I think we need a recipes emoji. I can imagine a day when I’m looking for inspiration and I check the Discover tab for recipes. Witness @josephaleo ‘s recent corn salsa for salmon. @jean
I like Apple Music Classical, as a not-very-well-informed enjoyer of “classical” music (and all the widely varied stuff they lump under the heading Classical). I had hoped we would get album liner notes as part of this new app but I cannot see where to find them. Any ideas?
When I’ve been sick and have to decide whether I should get out of bed and start doing stuff, it’s helpful that my watch says keep resting. It’s some sort of odd flu but so far not COVID.
Finished reading: The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery by Adam Gopnik 📚I had high expectations that were not fulfilled. An interesting read but I learned nothing new except a little bit more about the author, who I’ve always liked.
Today I used a tote bag that had been resting in the closet since 2019. In it I found the AirPods I lost right around then.
There’s some me in here, talking about one of my favorite pastimes, contra dancing
Finished reading: All Join Hands by Thomas Curren 📚Much better written than I had expected, this is non-fiction about one of my favorite pastimes: contra dancing. History and personalities. A few errors of fact but most people won’t notice.
Finished reading: Translation State by Ann Leckie 📚I got to read this pre-release and enjoyed it. Somehow much different from her other novels, though there’s still quite a bit of tea drinking. The sci-fi storyline is mostly a backdrop for a tale about relationships. Recommended.
Finished reading: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler 📚A good read. Thought-provoking, interesting characters. Dystopian near-future science fiction. The second novel I’ve read recently where the Buddhists save the planet.