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greenwoodsideSemi-disappeared for the last four/five months – I owe quite a lot of comments and emails, and am just beginning to catch up. The main reason was an intensive evening course that, combined with work, just about ate up all my energy for anything other than pure recreation (books, walking, bits of TV). Plus, after that and probably because of it, I had a minor health problem and decided I was dying, as is my wont.
My 2024 reading list with favourites in bold, though anything I finished I enjoyed, often very much:
A Skinful of Shadows (Frances Hardinge)
Cuckoo Song (Frances Hardinge)
Ancillary Justice (Ann Leckie)
Ancillary Sword (Ann Leckie)
Ancillary Mercy (Ann Leckie)
The Raven Tower (Ann Leckie)
Demon Daughter (Lois McMaster Bujold)
Penric and the Bandit (Lois McMaster Bujold)
Marketing: A Very Short Introduction (Kenneth Le Meunier-FitzHugh, read for work)
The Warm Hands of Ghosts (Katherine Arden)
Fatal Legacy (Lindsey Davies, a Flavia Albia book)
The Fate of the Sea Stag (Lexie Conyngham, Orkneyinga Murders series)
The Constant Rabbit (Jasper Fforde)
Shades of Grey (Jasper Fforde)
Red Side Story (Jasper Fforde)
Early Riser (Jasper Fforde)
A Sorceress Comes to Call (T Kingfisher)
The Book of Ile-Rien: The Element of Fire & The Death of the Necromancer (Martha Wells)
The Tainted Cup (Robert Jackson Bennett)
The City of Stardust (Georgia Summers)
The Familiar (Leigh Bardugo)
The Mercy of Gods (James Corey)
Buried Deep and Other Stories (Naomi Novik)
The Glass Hotel (Emily St John Mandel)
Wakenhyrst (Michelle Paver)
The Devil and the Dark Water (Stuart Turton)
The Last Murder at the End of the World (Stuart Turton)
House of Open Wounds (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
Alien Clay (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
Service Model (Adrian Tchaikovsky, DNF: unusual since I normally go through his books quite fast, if not as fast as he writes them)
Some Desperate Glory (Emily Tesh)
Elusive (Genevieve Cogman)
Two or three of the Emma M. Lion books (Beth Brower; there was much to like, but I ended up finding them a bit too full of romance for my tastes to continue the series; I need a different balance of interaction)
Der Abschiedsstein: Das Geheimnis der Großen Schwerter 2 (Tad Williams)
Die Nornenkönigin: Das Geheimnis der Großen Schwerter 3 (Tad Williams, this is where I gave up, his fantasy series was too derivative and plodding, even listened to in German while doing cross-stitch)
How to Be Perfect: The Perfect Answer to Every Moral Question (Michael Schur)
The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown (Anna Keay)
Der schwarzzüngige Dieb (Christopher Buehlman, probably about to abandon for similar reasons to Tad Williams)
Starter Villain (John Scalzi; abandoned, the joke was one note and got tired)
Jasper Fforde was a very welcome new-to-me discovery; I think the Thursday Next series that he's best known for may be too meta for me to enjoy, but his stand-alones (plus duology starting with Shades of Grey) were delightful.
As usual, my reading was all very much picked to key into my need for escapism. Assuming we don't experience Fforde's Anthropomorphizing Event (see The Constant Rabbit), I can't imagine world politics changing so much in 2025 that I feel inspired to move into more literary fiction.
At the moment I'm maybe half-way through Ada Palmer's Too Like the Lightning with Regenesis by George Monbiot and Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald lined up for afterwards.
Meanwhile, it's been a good year for TV. Unexpected pleasures from the big franchises were Agatha All Along and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, in the latter of which just this week Jude Law gave a note-perfect performance as Silvo (Long John Silver in space; how much I didn't know I needed this. I also didn't know I wanted a pirate robot voiced by Nick Frost; it's good to be wrong sometimes, messmates).
Star Wars: Lower Decks concluded with an enjoyable final series. I feel it could have been a bit more daring, but no real complaints. It's one of those shows where it just feels good to check in with the characters. Though I'm welling up at the thought that I may never see Dr. T'ana swearing at a patient again. Such a good kitty.
I also enjoyed Ghosts (UK) and Man on the Inside, the Ted Danson/Michael Schur comedy, which is happily going to get another season.
I fell into a hibernation black hole over Christmas, and while I was there watched Silo and Foundation, both recommended for sci-fi fans. Or fantasy fans since Foundation, full of pre-cognition and dreams from the past of the dead, does seem to be leaning very strongly into the Clarke line "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". Jared Harris is in it and is glorious among a cast of fine actors. If I were ten years younger, fanfiction would probably happen.
Today I ended up thinking back on other stuff I've seen him in – The Terror, The Expanse, Fringe, Sherlock Holmes, as far back as To The Ends of the Earth in 2005, a flawed but interesting adaptation of the William Golding trilogy. And of course the latter made me recall my favourite scene where James Gracie as Billy Rogers gets the killer line:
I made a happy food-related discovery over Christmas.
Make some basic flatbread in a pan (I used self-raising flour, water, olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and a sprinkle of sugar). Get a jar of harissa paste.
As soon as the flatbread is ready, rip pieces off it while it's still hot and dip it in the harissa. Tell yourself you can stop after one piece. Don't. Byddwch lawen a gwnewch y pethau bychain. Rejoice and do the little things.
Books
My 2024 reading list with favourites in bold, though anything I finished I enjoyed, often very much:
A Skinful of Shadows (Frances Hardinge)
Cuckoo Song (Frances Hardinge)
Ancillary Justice (Ann Leckie)
Ancillary Sword (Ann Leckie)
Ancillary Mercy (Ann Leckie)
The Raven Tower (Ann Leckie)
Demon Daughter (Lois McMaster Bujold)
Penric and the Bandit (Lois McMaster Bujold)
Marketing: A Very Short Introduction (Kenneth Le Meunier-FitzHugh, read for work)
The Warm Hands of Ghosts (Katherine Arden)
Fatal Legacy (Lindsey Davies, a Flavia Albia book)
The Fate of the Sea Stag (Lexie Conyngham, Orkneyinga Murders series)
The Constant Rabbit (Jasper Fforde)
Shades of Grey (Jasper Fforde)
Red Side Story (Jasper Fforde)
Early Riser (Jasper Fforde)
A Sorceress Comes to Call (T Kingfisher)
The Book of Ile-Rien: The Element of Fire & The Death of the Necromancer (Martha Wells)
The Tainted Cup (Robert Jackson Bennett)
The City of Stardust (Georgia Summers)
The Familiar (Leigh Bardugo)
The Mercy of Gods (James Corey)
Buried Deep and Other Stories (Naomi Novik)
The Glass Hotel (Emily St John Mandel)
Wakenhyrst (Michelle Paver)
The Devil and the Dark Water (Stuart Turton)
The Last Murder at the End of the World (Stuart Turton)
House of Open Wounds (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
Alien Clay (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
Service Model (Adrian Tchaikovsky, DNF: unusual since I normally go through his books quite fast, if not as fast as he writes them)
Some Desperate Glory (Emily Tesh)
Elusive (Genevieve Cogman)
Two or three of the Emma M. Lion books (Beth Brower; there was much to like, but I ended up finding them a bit too full of romance for my tastes to continue the series; I need a different balance of interaction)
Audiobooks
Der Abschiedsstein: Das Geheimnis der Großen Schwerter 2 (Tad Williams)
Die Nornenkönigin: Das Geheimnis der Großen Schwerter 3 (Tad Williams, this is where I gave up, his fantasy series was too derivative and plodding, even listened to in German while doing cross-stitch)
How to Be Perfect: The Perfect Answer to Every Moral Question (Michael Schur)
The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown (Anna Keay)
Der schwarzzüngige Dieb (Christopher Buehlman, probably about to abandon for similar reasons to Tad Williams)
Starter Villain (John Scalzi; abandoned, the joke was one note and got tired)
Jasper Fforde was a very welcome new-to-me discovery; I think the Thursday Next series that he's best known for may be too meta for me to enjoy, but his stand-alones (plus duology starting with Shades of Grey) were delightful.
As usual, my reading was all very much picked to key into my need for escapism. Assuming we don't experience Fforde's Anthropomorphizing Event (see The Constant Rabbit), I can't imagine world politics changing so much in 2025 that I feel inspired to move into more literary fiction.
At the moment I'm maybe half-way through Ada Palmer's Too Like the Lightning with Regenesis by George Monbiot and Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald lined up for afterwards.
TV
Meanwhile, it's been a good year for TV. Unexpected pleasures from the big franchises were Agatha All Along and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, in the latter of which just this week Jude Law gave a note-perfect performance as Silvo (Long John Silver in space; how much I didn't know I needed this. I also didn't know I wanted a pirate robot voiced by Nick Frost; it's good to be wrong sometimes, messmates).
Star Wars: Lower Decks concluded with an enjoyable final series. I feel it could have been a bit more daring, but no real complaints. It's one of those shows where it just feels good to check in with the characters. Though I'm welling up at the thought that I may never see Dr. T'ana swearing at a patient again. Such a good kitty.
I also enjoyed Ghosts (UK) and Man on the Inside, the Ted Danson/Michael Schur comedy, which is happily going to get another season.
I fell into a hibernation black hole over Christmas, and while I was there watched Silo and Foundation, both recommended for sci-fi fans. Or fantasy fans since Foundation, full of pre-cognition and dreams from the past of the dead, does seem to be leaning very strongly into the Clarke line "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". Jared Harris is in it and is glorious among a cast of fine actors. If I were ten years younger, fanfiction would probably happen.
Today I ended up thinking back on other stuff I've seen him in – The Terror, The Expanse, Fringe, Sherlock Holmes, as far back as To The Ends of the Earth in 2005, a flawed but interesting adaptation of the William Golding trilogy. And of course the latter made me recall my favourite scene where James Gracie as Billy Rogers gets the killer line:
I made a happy food-related discovery over Christmas.
Make some basic flatbread in a pan (I used self-raising flour, water, olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and a sprinkle of sugar). Get a jar of harissa paste.
As soon as the flatbread is ready, rip pieces off it while it's still hot and dip it in the harissa. Tell yourself you can stop after one piece. Don't. Byddwch lawen a gwnewch y pethau bychain. Rejoice and do the little things.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-11 09:47 pm (UTC)I've started Skeleton Crew, and need to catch up! And I liked the ST:LD final season too, and definitely will miss Dr T'ana! Apparently the mobile phone game will continue, so that's something!
Maybe write it for the
"Rejoice and do the little things" is a good thing to remember! <3
no subject
Date: 2025-01-11 10:04 pm (UTC)That's such a fantastic community. Browsing the 2025 entries is delightful : )
Hi! I hope that your course went well, and of course that you're 100% in good health again!
Yes, thanks. I heard yesterday that I passed comfortably. It was an intense intense course during which I broke a couple of the keys on my keyboard (apparently just through typing too much?). I thought that only happened with superannuated laptops that smoke if you try and open more than one browser tab! Mine is a spring chicken of four years' vintage.
You never know, we may end up with a live action reboot of Lower Decks. (If Disney owned it, we almost certainly would).
...that would be very, very strange.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-11 10:39 pm (UTC)I'm glad that your course went well! And I feel you about your laptop, mine is twice as old as yours, and slowly but surely falling apart.
There was a crossover episode with Strange New Worlds that had live action versions of Boimler and Mariner, it was so much fun!!!
no subject
Date: 2025-01-11 10:45 pm (UTC)!!!!
Ok, gotta watch Strange New Worlds now. My interest faded near the start of S1 when it seemed to be dwelling a lot on Spock's romantic life, but this will definitely inspire me to go back to it :D
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Date: 2025-01-11 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-11 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-17 08:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-17 08:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-17 07:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-17 07:08 pm (UTC)That reminds me, I haven't read Translation State yet.
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Date: 2025-01-17 07:13 pm (UTC)I'll read the Penric novellas as long as she continues to write them.
LMB <3
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Date: 2025-01-18 05:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-18 08:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-21 02:44 pm (UTC)I'm playing Aral in a long-term space opera RPG. The poor man is in a terrible position. Barrayar in this setting is getting caught between two larger factions, both of which want Barrayar to join them - which would mean getting caught up in their decade's long war.
He got faction A to agree to stay out of Barrayaran Space, as long as Faction B wasn't allowed to transit through to attack Faction A.
But faction B have just showed up with a large fleet and want to go through. and their fleet is much stronger than anything Barrayar has.
Faction B want to be friendly, but they brought along the fleet to this diplomatic meeting to see if they were going to hit lucky in finding a route to faction A (partly explored map, and they know faction A can't be that far away).
Aral has told them he doesn't want them to go onwards, but they're picking at loopholes to show why they can. Aral is not a loophole man. He's 'spirit of the agreement'.
Trying to find an honourable way of of this situation, while still retaining good relations with both parties.... It's a minefield. If he wasn't an honourable man, he could easily break on of the agreements he has worked on setting up. But we're talking about Aral Vorkosigan here...
no subject
Date: 2025-03-02 07:58 am (UTC)Trying to find an honourable way of of this situation, while still retaining good relations with both parties.... It's a minefield. If he wasn't an honourable man, he could easily break on of the agreements he has worked on setting up. But we're talking about Aral Vorkosigan here...
Hope you did manage to find a way route through that was true to his character!
I have re-read the Vorkosigan saga many times. It's dated a bit - in that it pre-dates mobile phones and a lot of modern medical stuff, but it still works for me as a culture.
It's odd that I didn't really notice its datedness when I was reading it – I think maybe because LMB is so good at character and pacing that it didn't seem to matter. Plus the Barrayar origin story of a world that had slipped back to an earlier age of technology and political structures helps keep the sci-fi feeling by creating a sort of artificial contrast. It's less my reality vs. sci-fi-topia as it might be in other novels, but rather Barrayar's recently-medieval society vs the enhanced technologies and systems of other planets.
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Date: 2025-04-15 05:10 pm (UTC)He flatly refused to allow faction A to pass through Barrayaran territory to attack faction B, but he did allow faction A to pass through in order to get to their own territory, which was technically a breach of the agreement with faction A.
But he averted an attack on Faction A's world.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-15 06:10 pm (UTC)