Things were going really well, then I did pirate stuff, wrote a curriculum, and stressed out about everything, and now I'm ten books behind.

But I did read a few things:

February

1. Your Call Is Important To Us, Laura Penny

Not what I expected - more a politically-fueled diatribe and less an examination of marketing techniques.

2. Talking as ( Read more... )

I recently read John McWhorter's new book, Words on the Move: why English won't - and can't - sit still (like, literally). If you have any interest in words and language, I highly recommend pretty much anything he's done - besides books, he's now doing the Lexicon Valley podcast. (His lecture series for The Great Courses are all fabulous, as well ( Read more... )

I know, I haven't even properly written about being in Scotland yet (York is in the queue next), but I do what I want. Here's a collection of some of the things I noticed that make Scotland, well, not America.And to be clear, the things that make it strange and different are exactly what I love about a place. What would be the point of traveling ( Read more... )

Here we go! I'm off to a decent start, and even managed to read a couple books from that bookcase (which is now two bookcases) of the books that I need to read so I can decide whether to keep them or give them away.

1. Witch Week, Diana Wynne JonesPart of me is very sad that I didn't read Diana Wynne Jones as a child. The rest of me is just happy ( Read more... )

December books ( Read more... )

Well, this is going to be a quick list ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

Of note: fully half the books I read in January were audiobooks.

1. At Home, Bill Bryson

It's just so nice to hear Bryson read this own books.

2. Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death, James RuncieI keep thinking this series was written in or close to the time period it's in - 1950s or 60s - and then being a little befuddled when I'm reminded ( Read more... )

First off, books for December:

1. Sidney Chambers & the Forgivness of Sins, James RuncieI'm not fond of the way much of the dialog is written, nor what I perceive as some ambiguity in Sidney's marriage, but I liked the way these stories fit together and the way certain subjects were handled ( Read more... )

1. The Martian, Andy Weir

I sped through this one in two days - easily the fastest I've read a fiction book in more than a year. Engaging, suspenseful, and pretty close to plausible.

2. An Everlasting Meal, Tamar Adler

A call to change how you think about food - cloaked in some of the most beautiful prose I've encountered in food writing.

3. ( Read more... )