mesozoic

While I’m Here

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 02:06:13 GMT

The piece I’m working on in guitar these days is “When I’m gone” by Phil Ochs.

There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone

And I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone

And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

Learning the piece is going slowly. I haven’t had a lot of time to practice. But I like working on it.

I drove to Newark, DE, to preach yesterday. I had lunch with a high school friend and his family afterwards. It went well but the nap when I got home was mandatory.

Saturday I did some work, did laundry, and took care of some other things. X and I went to a local No Kings thing in the afternoon organized by people who wanted to go to Shabbat services in the morning.

Friday I slept in a little bit. I had therapy and my monthly meeting with my supervisor.

Wednesday and Thursday there was an event in Montclair, NJ, for UU religious professionals. One of my coworkers secured an AirBnB for us. We both took the train to Newark, NJ, then shared a Lyft to Montclair. It was good for us to go. My train home had a significant delay outside of Philadelphia for which Amtrak is sorry enough to refund the ticket my employer bought, and award me 1000 loyalty points. I was very tired when I got home.

B’s birthday was last weekend. On the 20th, we went to Glenstone in Potomac, then I came home to check on my dad and the rest of the family went to Mellow Mushroom in Chantilly. We had burgers/veggie burgers and cake on the 21st.

I am not feeling hopeful about the world. But I do feel useful at my job. So I guess I will keep doing that until they start arresting people in Maryland for being Trans.

comments

Reading Log: October and November 2025

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 22:53:02 GMT

Quick reading log

Read in October:
Redshirts by John Scalzi
When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune
No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness in the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard Schwartz

Read in November:
Interim Errantry: Three Tales of the Young Wizards by Diane Duane
Sonnets of Dark Love & The Tamarit Divan by Frederico Garcia Lorca
Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree
Uptown Local and Other Interventions by Diane Duane

comments

Reading Log: June through September 2025

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 22:12:51 GMT

Whoops! I fell off of recording books here. I haven't updated Good Reads in awhile, either. I do keep up on The Storygraph and I like that app very much. If I write reviews, that's where they are.

My last reading log post was for the books I read in May, so here is what I read in June-September (in order of when I read them):

Interim Errantry 2: On Ordeal by Diane Duane
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
Surrealia by Miguel O Mitchell
A Pirate's Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne
Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis
Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws by Kate Bornstein
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
The Swifts by Beth Lincoln
The Song of the Lioness: Book 1: Alanna: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Tamora Pierce with Sam Beck and Vita Ayla
Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake
Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
Tea You At the Altar by Rebecca Thorne
Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne
Stealing the Elf-King's Roses by Diane Duane
The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
Husband Material by Alexis Hall
Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection by Deepa Iyer
The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold
Sirronde's World: The Span/Parting Gifts by Diane Duane
Uchenna's Apples by Diane Duane

So far in October, I have read:

Redshirts by John Scalzi
When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune

I'm still working on No Bad Parts by Richard C. Schwartz.

A lot of the things on that list are queer romance, a lot of them are fantasy, and some are both. Because of Reasons, I went reaching for books that we already had, either because someone else in the house had already read them or because I bought them in advance. For instance, I bought "everything in the shop" as E-books from Diane Duane awhile back, and I regret nothing.

I liked almost everything I read. I think The Swifts was just not a book for me. Grimoire Grammar School was OK, I had no reservations about giving it away to a book drive when I was done with it, no need to recommend it to anyone in particular.

Several things stood out. Surrealia is a science fiction story written in verse. It was fascinating. The Alanna graphic novel is highly recommended, especially if you already love Tamora Pierce. Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle is fun and engrossing and profound and definitely worth getting over the hurdle of not usually liking "horror" books. This was also true of Camp Damascus and Bury Your Gays. I am really glad I read Stealing the Elf King's Roses; I probably would not have picked it up without the "everything in the shop" sale. Though it was short, Automatic Noodle was so hopeful and lovely. I may have mentioned that The Bones Beneath My Skin had a slow start. Now I know that was like at the beginning of a roller coaster when you need to take a lot of time to strap in because the ride is so wild. It had some of the same themes as In The Lives of Puppets, but in a very different world.

There was a period of several years beginning in the middle of 2020 when I could not read fiction. I just couldn't take on the additional stress of characters being put in situations. I worked my way back starting with comfort reads of books I already knew well, then cozy and hopeful books, and now I think I'm back to being a regular reader. That's a relief.

comments

June Highlights

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 12:58:42 GMT

My life will be completely different soon. I have not had time to post. But to catch up:

*June 8 birthday. I took the Sunday off. We had some people over for games. It was good.

*Tried to give blood June 10. Low hemoglobin. Might give up.

*Garden is getting very bushy in the rain.

*My car is getting its transmission rebuilt.

*I went with B and X to an anti-ICE protest in East Baltimore last Wednesday. I hope the neighborhood residents felt less alone with so many people protesting the attacks on their community.

*We did Father’s Day on Saturday since I was working on Sunday. B pressured me to not even think about doing anything else that day. I went with U to his usual Saturday shopping rounds. I felt unnecessary to the mission, but he said later that it meant a lot to him that I was there. He doesn’t ask for much. We had his parents over and my dad came upstairs for Chinese takeout dinner. We gave cards but not presents, by request. Then I left to go to New Jersey. It was the worst trip in two years but I made it.

*Because I couldn’t do anything outside of the family, I missed No Kings and Pride. I don’t think my partners understand how much I was giving up. Knowing that it meant a lot to U makes it worth it, but I do feel like I had to cut off something important to preserve something more important.

*The sermon on the 15th was about Pride. It went well.

*Now I’m up to my neck in Unitarian Universalism with back to back conferences in Baltimore

*G had her last day of school. She has thrived this year and will miss her friends.

Running late. Gotta go.

comments

May Reading Log

Sat, 07 Jun 2025 02:15:24 GMT

May was not a great month for reading. I didn't listen to audiobooks on my trips for work. I think I am feeling burned out, which reduced my capacity to enjoy reading. I think exercising my reading muscles is the only way out of this.

I did read "Fuzzy Nation" by John Scalzi, "Bloodmarked" by Tracy Deonn, and "Go Luck Yourself" by Sara Raasch.

"Fuzzy Nation" was a cute little book that I was able to borrow digitally from the library. It was just the thing when I was out of town. Scalzi (with permission from the original author's surviving family) took a story from the classic age of hard science fiction and did a "cover" with some more modern themes. It worked. I could see the bones of the old tradition, and also admire what he did with it.

"Bloodmarked" is the second book in a series. The third book is out in hardback. The fourth book is not out yet. The characters are compelling and the action is fast paced. It's stressful to care so much, but putting characters in stressful situations is how fiction works.

I read "Go Luck Yourself" which is the sequel to "Nightmare Before Kissmass." I like the series, and I hope the author can write more in this world, but she doesn't sound hopeful about that on her Tumblr. I liked the first one a little more, but that might be partly because you need more world-building in a first book, and I like that part.

Onward.

comments

Reading Log: March and April 2025

Mon, 05 May 2025 14:22:08 GMT

March and April Books:

"Overdue: A Tale of the Middle Kingdoms #2" by Diane Duane
"The Landlady" by Diane Duane
"Assistant to the Villain" (audio) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (hated it)
"The Nightmare Before Kissmas" by Sara Raasch
"Spin Me Right Round" (audio) by David Valdes
"In the Lives of Puppets" (audio) by TJ Klune
"The Last Olympian: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5" (audio) by Rick Riordan
"Legendborn" by Tracy Deonn

Reviews are on StoryGraph.

I was surprised by how good "The Nightmare Before Kissmas" was.
If you liked "House on the Cerulean Sea" but you can stand more heartbreak, I highly recommend "In the Lives of Puppets."
I am apparently late to the Tracy Deonn party, but it's a good party and the last book of the series isn't out yet, so you have time.

comments

Reading Log: January and February 2025

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 02:53:45 GMT

Here's what I read so far this year:

"The Dratsie Dilemma" by Gail Carriger
"My Roommate is a Vampire" and "My Vampire Plus-One" by Jenna Levine
"The Lightning Thief" (PJO #1) by Rick Riordan
"The Heroine's Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture" by Gail Carriger
"The Levin-Gad" (Tales of the Five 3.1) by Diane Duane
"The Way Home: Two Novellas from the World of the Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle
"The Sea of Monsters" (PJO #2)(audio) by Rick Riordan
"Gods of Jade and Shadow" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
"The Titan's Curse" (PJO #3)(audio) by Rick Riordan
"Carry On" by Rainbow Rowell
"Blood at the Root" (audio) by LaDarrion Williams
"The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels" by India Holton
"The Battle of the Labyrinth" (PJO #4)(audio) by Rick Riordan
"Mortal Follies" by Alexis Hall

Reviews and ratings are on StoryGraph.

My favorite surprise on this list was "Gods of Jade and Shadow" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

I'm enjoying the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I'm not the only one; I consistently have to place a hold and wait before they are available at the library.

Speaking of, I need to see what's available to borrow now. Having a book close at hand mitigates the doomscrolling.

comments

Reading Log: The Rest of 2024

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:53:28 GMT

I haven't posted on the reading log tag since July 6. So, to complete the list:

Love at the Center: Unitarian Universalist Theologies edited by Sofia Betancourt (July 10)
Brooms by Jasmine Walls (a graphic novel) (July 11)
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle (July 14)
Transforming Conflict: The Blessings of Congregational Turmoil by Terasa Cooley (July 25)
To Visit the Queen by Diane Duane (July 27)
Seeds of a New Way: Nurturing Authentic and Diverse Religious Leadership, edited by Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Nancy McDonald Ladd (August 1)
Midnight Snack and Other Fairy Tales by Diane Duane (August 13)
Navigating With You by Jeremy Whitley (graphic novel) (August 18)
The Big Meow by Diane Duane (September 22)
What If We Get It Right: Visions of Climate Futurism by Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson (mix of audio and ebook) (October 20)
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett (re-read) (audio) (November 23)
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas (audio) (November 27)
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsa Faizal (audio) (December 11)
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron (re-read) (December 10)
Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender (audio) (December 22)
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder (December 23)
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune (December 28)
The World We Make by NK Jemisin (audio) (December 29)

I have started using StoryGraph to log my books. I like it better than GoodReads. For now, I'm still using GR, even though I am not excited about giving Amazon more data, because independent authors depend on traffic from there. But if StoryGraph keeps getting more popular, maybe that won't be necessary. You can find me on StoryGraph as apatosaurusreads.

comments

Reading Log: Fantasy and Queer Little Books

Sat, 06 Jul 2024 21:54:29 GMT

Recent reads include “A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking” by T. Kingfisher, “The House in the Cerulean Sea” by TJ Klune, “Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding” by Maia Kobabe and Sarah Peitzmeier, “Chivalry” (graphic novel) by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran, and “In Universes” by Emet North.

“A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking” was a good introduction to the T. Kingfisher books. I have read that Ursula Vernon uses this pen name for books that are darker or messier, harder to publish for the young adult market. There were a few gross things and good people die in this book, but it still felt like a coherent story with compelling characters. I like the message that magic isn’t about genre or raw power, it’s about the creativity and moral compass of the person wielding it. I also like when the characters acknowledged that sometimes authority can’t be trusted and sometimes even good authority figures let us down.

“The House in the Cerulean Sea” was as good as everyone told me it would be. I hadn’t liked the first TJ Klune book I read, so I was reluctant, but I’m a fan now. It reminded me of the movie “Joe Vs. the Volcano” except with more ethics and magical creatures.

“Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding” is a graphic novel-style long pamphlet with personal stories and reliable information about using garments or similar exterior interventions for reshaping chest tissue for a flatter (some would say more neutral or more masculine) silhouette. There are personal stories from amalgamated interviews, safety tips, and information from a survey. Most of the information wasn’t new to me. I appreciated the diverse stories that helped validate the different identities and reasons among people who bind.

”Chivalry” wasn’t at the top of my to-read list, but they had it at the library the other day so I checked it out. Colleen Doran’s illustrations are very sweet. They switch back and forth between a narrative style and a more manuscript style for legends and dreams. I want to read it again before I return it.

”In Universes” was a Balticon purchase after hearing the author on a panel. It is a series of vignettes of characters, one in particular, and how their lives would be different with a nudge in the timeline here or another nudge there. Later in the book, the timelines are more speculative or absurd, and I think these are the best chapters. There are true things about trauma and grief that come through. I think the author intended some kind of structure or theme to make the book hang together, but it didn’t cohere for me. Maybe the ending was supposed to provide some resolution, but it didn’t feel authentic or earned. The main character could not let go of the wish for a different past, and even though I wanted some character growth from that, my feelings about the main character’s limited capacity to learn or to change were informative.

I’m trying to balance personal reading with professional development reading and I have an ambitious agenda for both, so stay tuned.

comments

Reading Log: New and Not-So-New

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:26:31 GMT

I finished a couple of books that came into my life recently and one that has been in the queue for awhile.

At Balticon, I got “The Splinter in the Sky” by Kemi Ashing-Giwa. It’s this year’s Compton Crook Award winner. The book has everyone’s favorite features of a space opera, with fast ships and cool tech and political intrigue and fight scenes. The main character’s motivations made sense. The book is actually about the experience of colonization, and that purpose is more salient than the plot. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. People who have experience or roots in colonized cultures will, I think, appreciate seeing those dynamics laid out. People who hold privilege in colonizing cultures like the U.S. may be able to come to a better understanding of the dynamics that benefit them while being somewhat hidden from them in plain sight. The motivations of the antagonists didn’t make as much sense and I’m ok with that. It’s the author’s first novel (which is the category for the award) and worth reading.

My weekend read for Deep Creek Lake was “Book of Night With Moon” by Diane Duane. It’s the first in the Feline Wizards series, same universe as Young Wizards. The cat civilization world building was really great. It was an ambitious book between the world building, the ensemble of characters, and the dimension-spanning plot. Some threads of the plot got a little lost at times but not completely forgotten. I look forward to the next one.

For my birthday, I received “School for Extraterrestrial Girls” volumes one and two by Jeremy Whitley and Jamie Noguchi. I am not sure if graphic novel or trade paperback comic is the proper term, but it’s sequential visual storytelling about teens with special powers. It’s true that the plot about teens discovering that they have powers and have to go hang out with other teens with unique powers has been done before, but this is a good example of the genre. They handle dynamics like friendship and acceptance and self-acceptance and culture really well. The sequential art makes good use of the medium. Same-gender relationships are no big deal. I don’t know how long it will take for the next volume, but the story is clearly leading to more.

I picked up another book at Balticon that I might read next, plus it’s about to be my study leave, when I need to get some non-fiction reading done to prepare for next year.

comments

Books that are not at all like each other

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 20:40:45 GMT

Some books I have read recently:

"Legends and Lattes" and its prequel, "Bookshops and Bonedust" by Travis Baldree. "Legends and Lattes" is like a warm hug. There is enough plot to be interesting, but not in a stressful way. It's like the author created his very own coffee shop alternate universe. There is mystery, there is political problem-solving, there is a slow-burning romance (not really any sex, though), there are the friends the characters make along the way.

"Bookshops and Bonedust" has slightly more peril, but since it's a prequel, the stress was manageable. Again with mystery and characters I care about and romance that adds a dimension but not explicitness. There was a part in the middle where it stalled a little bit for me, but I'm very glad I pushed through to the exciting conclusion.

Books aren't binary, so I wouldn't say that the other book I just read is the opposite of the first two, but it was super duper different.

"Camp Damascus" by Chuck Tingle is a horror novel that combines the real-life horror of Christian conversion "therapy" camps (the kind that is supposed to make kids stop being gay) with transdimensional slasher horror. It has a solid plot, it's cathartic, and I was frightened for what the characters were facing. I don't usually read horror novels or watch horror films. The violence In "Dread Nation" and "Deathless Divide" helped me to see that I could tolerate some gore, so I decided to give this one a try, and I'm glad I did. There is social commentary, but the plot and characters come first. I thought it was well done.

I think I forgot to post here about "Deathless Divide." One of the reviewers on GoodReads compared "Dread Nation" to a blockbuster theater release and "Deathless Divide" to a gritty Netflix reboot. That's about the size of it. I think the second book had to be told in a completely different way, and Justina Ireland did a good job of telling a very different story in its own way.

I also listened to a book I have read before, "Imprudence" by Gail Carriger, the second book in the Custard Protocol series. I needed something pleasant for my drive to New Jersey, and the library had this audiobook available. There was a lot more sex in it than I remembered from reading it before. Not as much sex as in the "San Andreas Shifters" series. But if you want tame Gail Carriger, stick to the Finishing School series. The peril in this story ties it together and keeps it moving.

Did I tell you about "Beetle and Hollowbones," the graphic novel by Aliza Layne? That was super cute. I really liked the plot, and the art was fun.

Oh! And I finished "Games Wizards Play," which is the actual conclusion of the main series in the Young Wizards books by Diane Duane. It resolves all of the things that were left hanging in "A Wizard of Mars." The series feels complete now, though I'm sad about that. But it wouldn't have been a Young Adult series anymore following the same characters, so it's a good place to wrap up. And, as I said before, there are short stories in the universe, some of them focusing on cats who are wizards.

comments

Reading Log: Dread Nation

Sat, 20 Apr 2024 18:37:10 GMT

"Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland is speculative fiction that imagines what might have happened if the zombie apocalypse began during the Civil War. How would the forces of racism, anti-Indigenous colonialism, and industrialization responded to such a threat?

The main character, Jane McKeene, is a young Black woman who is very, very good at killing zombies, who are called "shamblers" or "the restless dead" in this book. She is not so good at prioritizing the emotional comfort of people who have power over her, or thinking ahead about where her impulsive adventures might take her. She manages to make friends in spite of herself. The trouble she causes pales in comparison to the advancing threat of the shamblers and the destructive racism and hubris of some of the people she encounters.

It did not occur to me that a book about zombies would have so much violence and gore in it. That should have been obvious. But now I know I can read a book with violence and gore and still enjoy the plot, characterization, and social commentary.

comments

Publishing

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 01:52:01 GMT

I forgot to post here, though you may have seen my post on FB, that I have something in an upcoming anthology of UU rituals.

This is a massive book with over 70 rituals in it. I've only got one. The editors, after they received their first wave of submissions and were looking them over for balance and themes, decided they wanted a wedding ceremony for more than two partners, and they asked me to write it. So that's what I wrote. The copy edits helped a lot. I'm proud and humbled to be in the company of these two editors and the many other authors.

The book is called Blessing It All: Rituals for Transition and Transformation, edited by Allison Palm and Heather Concannon. It's available for preorder from the UUA Bookstore (also known as inSpirit: The UUA Bookstore and Gift Shop). Copies should ship in early June.

comments

Three Things for the Reading Log

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 01:21:37 GMT

A little while ago, I finished A Wizard of Mars by Diane Duane, but didn't get around to posting it here. This is the ninth ~~and last~~ book in the main series. [Edited to add: Not the last book! Just the last one I owned at the time.] There are some plot points unresolved [because they get resolved in the next book] ~~and it really feels like it should have a main sequence book to follow, but I don't think there is going to be one~~. There are some novellas and short stories, so we'll see. There were some great cinematic scenes, and it was clear how the characters had developed throughout the series. I'm glad I read it, even if I wish there were more. [I read the book after this one, which does resolve things, and I still wish there were more.]

I've been listening to the audio book of On Repentance and Repair by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg. I also bought the paperback, but I was running out of time to read this book, since I promised to preach a sermon drawing from this book immediately after I get back from my trip. Ruttenberg offers explication and commentary on some work by Maimonides on atonement and repentance. She makes it relevant to personal, organizational, and national situations. She demonstrates what a victim-centered, trauma-informed approach looks like. She doesn't lean too heavily on recovery work, but she does mention a few times how this framework has some things in common with 12-step recovery. I'm not sure what I'm going to say about this book that will be original and useful, but hopefully inspiration will strike while I'm away.

This morning, I finished Everfair, an novel by Nisi Shawl. Shawl is mainly known as a short story writer, and I've enjoyed what of hers I have read, though there is a lot more to read. This book is a steampunk alternate history with magic and spies and romance, imagining how the response to the atrocities of King Leopold II might have been different if the people of the Free Congo had access to this advanced technology. It's not a linear novel, it's told in a series of vignettes from different points of view. I think this approach makes it feel more historical and is more authentic to the story she is telling, but some of the other reviewers on Good Reads were hoping for something with a more familiar structure. I really liked this book and hope Nisi Shawl writes more novels.

I've got a book checked out from the library to read on the plane, so stay tuned for another reading log entry in mid-April.

comments

Reading Log: How To Love: A Guide to Feelings and Relationships for Everyone

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 19:04:16 GMT

Some books are just satisfying little book snacks.

"How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone" by Alex Norris was funny, wise, entertaining, and compassionate. The book grows out of Norris' project Webcomic Name (the one that always ends "oh no"), but expands to kind and helpful advice about love and friendship.

I'm glad my kids read this book, and I'm glad I read this book.

comments

Reading Log: Wizards At War

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 19:00:18 GMT

Diane Duane's "Wizards At War" ties together a lot of the threads in the Young Wizards series. This is number 8 out of 9 in the main series. I'm sad that it's almost over. There are some short stories and side material still to read.

I enjoyed learning more about some of the characters who were introduced later in the series. All of the characters have grown and learned, which doesn't always happen in a long series. There is a wrenching and also going-to-be-ok plot point late in the book about the dog, so open your heart to the pain and joy of being alive.

At the risk of spoilers, there are some background themes in this book that remind me a lot of growing up in the 1980s. I'm not sure to what extent there was a 1980s edition of this book, or if it came out with the New Millennium editions that were revised in the 2010s. There is a worry about the possibility of nuclear war on earth, though there is so much going on that nuclear weapons are considered a secondary symptom to the main problem. Not that we don't still worry about nukes, but I seem to recall that it occupied a lot more of our attention back then. Then there's a plot line about kids and teens needing to figure out things on their own when the adults are unavailable. That feels like a very 80s thing.

I didn't have #6, "A Wizard Alone," when I skipped from #5 to #7, but it looks like I can get it, so that's also on my list. But I think I want to read #9 "A Wizard of Mars" first.

comments

Reading Log: Finishing School Series

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 02:33:49 GMT

I listened to all four books in Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series. This was at least my second encounter with the series, though it’s been awhile and I had forgotten a lot of the details.

The books are “Etiquette and Espionage,” “Curtsies and Conspiracies,” “Waistcoats and Weaponry,” and “Manners and Mutiny.” They are about a girls’ finishing school in an alternate, steampunk, vampire/werewolf version of Victorian England. The school is secretly training the young ladies to be assassins and spies as well as the more typical finishing curriculum of comportment, dancing, and etiquette.

I like the world building, the constant action, and the ties to other books by the author. The author made some sensitivity mistakes, which she acknowledges, and I I can mainly live with them given what she has said about it.

The Finishing School series is aimed at Young Adults. She has romance novellas about three of the grown up students that are aimed at adults, and a gay romance series set in this universe 150 years later that is REALLY adult focused. Then there are the original Parasol Protectorate, set about twenty years after the Finishing School, and the Custard Protocol, set another 20 years after that. Those are adult-focused but fairly tame. Then she decided to create a new universe in the spacefaring genre, and that’s another post. Point being there is plenty of Gail Carriger writing to go around.

comments

Reading Log: King Cheer

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 02:17:55 GMT

“King Cheer” is a graphic novel adaptation of Shakespeare’s “King Lear” by Molly Horton Booth and Stephanie Kate Strohm, illustrated by Jamie Green. It’s set in the magical Arden High School, the same setting as the first graphic novel by this team, “Twelfth Grade Night.” I liked it, and I think it really helps to be familiar with King Lear. I wished I had re-read it or at least a summary of it before reading “King Cheer.” Still, it was fun.

comments

Reading Log: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 13:28:30 GMT

The final book in the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers, “The Galaxy, and the Ground Within” is about strangers (none human) who get to know each other during a travel delay. It’s also about colonialism and longing and taking the risk to be known.

One of the characters appears in earlier books, but the books are loosely tied together and you could probably read them out of order without a problem.

Becky Chambers had to create multiple worlds for this book, one for each character. I cared about all of them.

comments

Reading Log: A Wizard's Holiday

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 01:50:15 GMT

Continuing through the bundle of Diane Duane books I got for my e-reader, I finished "A Wizard's Holiday." This is, I think, the seventh book in the Young Wizards series. The sixth book, "A Wizard Alone," isn't available from the author's online shop for complicated publisher reasons.

You know how in some TV series that had a 22 episode arc, there would be escalating conflict between the characters and rising stakes throughout the season, then there would be a seeming one-off episode that let your blood pressure go down a little bit (but also fed you some crucial information without you noticing) right before the very stressful two-part finale? "A Wizard's Holiday" is like that one-off, leading directly into the lengthy "Wizards At War." It was much less heavy than "A Wizard's Dilemma."

"A Wizard's Holiday" is two parallel stories, following Kit and Nita in one thread and Dairine in another thread. Part of me wanted more resonance between the threads, or else more detail that supported each plot, but the economy was probably necessary to set up the next book.

comments

Reading Log: Soulstar

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 02:54:39 GMT

"Soulstar" is the conclusion of the Kingston Cycle trilogy by C.L. Polk, following "Witchmark" and "Stormsong." Where the first book neatly set up the events in the second book, and the second book propelled the action into the third book, the third book actually resolves all of the threads. The point of view character changes in each book, but we still get to keep the beloved characters from earlier in the series.

I enjoyed the third book and recommend the series. I don't think I can say more without spoilers, so look out for light spolierage below.

Some reviewers who liked the first two books didn't like the third. I wonder if that's partly because the third book is a lot more politics and intrigue, and less first-love kinds of romance. The romance at the center of this book is between the POV character and her long-lost beloved. There are obstacles of history and trauma. This relationship is about putting in the work, not about suddenly discovering your one true love.

There were a lot of details in this book that felt true to movement organizing, dealing with police, and navigating both a dominant culture and the communities affected by identity-based oppression. Race was discussed more in this book than in the first two, though race did get mentioned in the first two books. It's possible that was another reason why (white) reviewers wouldn't have loved the third book as much, though they might not have realized that was part of their discomfort. I found myself wishing that some of the forces that supported the main character's goals were present in our world.

I read all three books on my Kobo e-reader, purchased with the gift card my family got me for Winter Solstice. I kind of wish I had paper copies to lend out, but you'll just have to trust me and/or bug your local public library to order it.

comments

Reading Log: The Radical King

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 01:42:43 GMT

I read “The Radical King,” which is a volume of collected works by Martin Luther King, Jr., edited and with commentary by Cornel West. I had read at least part of it before when I was writing a sermon, but skipped around to different pieces and wasn’t sure I had read all of it. This time I read in a linear way. It was good to be reminded of the themes in his speeches and sermons that don’t always get captured in the summaries about his work. For instance, he consistently advocated for investing in black-owned local banks and for pressuring local businesses to do the same. There was more in the book about Dr. King’s opposition to the Viet Nam war than I think usually gets talked about. It’s an informative book.

comments

Reading Log: Stormsong

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 16:19:20 GMT

The second book in C.L. Polk’s Kingston Cycle is “Stormsong.” It follows “Witchmark” with maybe a week or two break in the action. “Stormsong” switches the first person narrator from Miles to Grace, but we don’t lose the characters from the first book. There is magic, murder, political intrigue, and queer romance like in the first book, though in different proportions. The end of the book pushes harder to the next book, so I’ll need to pick that up soon. Again, I liked it quite a bit.

comments

Reading Log: The Lightning Struck Heart

Sat, 13 Jan 2024 02:22:33 GMT

The Lighting Struck Heart by T.J. Klune came highly recommended. Someone compared it to Terry Pratchett. That was unfortunate, because what I expected from that comparison is not what this book actually offers. It was sort of like playing a fantasy RPG with other players who are good strategists and a good team, but who live for sassy zingers and can't resist making sex jokes. There is some good humor, and I did like the characters at the end of the day, it's just not that deep. If you like pining in your romance, there is an abundance of it, though I feel like the plot didn't quite support all of the pining. You would think for all of the adult humor there would be more actual sex scenes. There's one really good one at the end. I hear really good things about this author, so maybe I need to let go of expectations and try another book.

comments

Reading Log: Witchmark

Sat, 13 Jan 2024 02:14:59 GMT

I read Witchmark by C.L. Polk and liked it quite a bit.

It's a little bit steam-punk-like, though there are no dirigibles. It's an alternate world with slightly different geography and rules, but based on Edwardian England. There is mystery, adventure, M/M romance, magic, political intrigue, great characters, all woven together so neatly. The romance part proceeded relatively slowly, but with plot support. The end of the book felt like a resolution in a lot of ways, but with plenty of setup to move the reader to the next book.

comments