I am currently listening to a book called Pride and Premeditation, I have a hold on a YA Persuasion retelling, and I rather expect the latest Mary Russell-and-Sherlock-Holmes, which I have out from the library, to have at least some references to Dracula.

• Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin (audiobook): This retelling of You’ve Got Mail is ( Read more... )

It’s possible I’ll read something else historical in the remaining ten days of winter. It’s also possible that wintry weather will continue into September. So not necessarily an all-exhaustive round-up.

• Fletchers End (1962) by D.E. Stevenson: The sequel is less focused and not quite as delightful as Bel Lamington, but I still liked it. It ( Read more... )

In the past twelve months or so, Rachel Neumeier has published seven novels. That’s a lot. (I still have one to read.)

The Tuyo series:

• Nikoles: This is a side-story about Nikoles, a minor character in Tuyo, and how he, years earlier, came to serve under Lord Gaur (Aras).

The first part is a thoughtful look at what causes a conflict between two ( Read more... )

As a kid, I was a voracious reader, but also a very cautious one1. My caution manifested in a reluctance to borrow books unless I was very confident that I’d like them, but also a reluctance to read on if the first pages or whatever didn’t “grab” me. When I was eleven I discovered that sometimes all I needed was someone to read the first chapter ( Read more... )

• Shadows of the Past by Sharon Shinn: This is a collection of short stories. A magic school, a haunted house, an alien soulmate, randomly appearing objects, phone calls from ghosts, a healer in hiding, and wintermoon wishes. The first three are murder mysteries. The next three are about characters dealing with bereavement. All but the first two ( Read more... )

I read this series all in one gulp in April (except for Between Decisions which was published since then) and I enjoyed it so much more than I’d expected to!

I read a chapter or so of Between Jobs last year. My reaction was Oh, heck NO.

Our narrator is a seventeen year old girl who has been squatting in the house in which her parents were murdered ( Read more... )

I am currently trying to avoid clicking on any blog posts with titles like -- oh, here are some examples than I would have been tempted to look at -- “5 Feel-Good Books of 2021 That Will Brighten Your Summer” and “The 30 Most Anticipated SFF Books for the Rest of 221” and “5 SFF Books Featuring Makeovers and Transformations”. Because I have enough ( Read more... )

Three things I have watched lately-ish.

• Whisper of the Heart (1995): I loved watching this. I loved how it captured Shizuku’s life, both in specifics of her context -- such as being a Japanese teenager who shares a bedroom with her older sister and who has to pass exams to get into a good high school -- and in the more-universal, emotional ( Read more... )

I have a new computer and, so far, it is making writing anything a less frustrating process.

Most of these were quick reads: a short story and a novella (more Murderbot!), a manga graphic novel and a comic volume (both by Rainbow Rowell) and then a novel (which, at ten hours, was still half the length of my current audiobook).

• “Home: Habitat, ( Read more... )

I have read four novels by D.E. Stevenson, not quite in the order in which they were written, and this was such a lovely use of my time!

• Bel Lamington (1961) (audiobook): This is about a young woman who works in London as a secretary for a shipping firm.

It’s a very gentle sort of story. Bel makes some unexpected new friends, starting with a ( Read more... )