In this photo, a baby quail marches happily across the gravel in our front area. You may need to look carefully, as he is not much bigger than the gravel!
This is one of the about a dozen chicks (featured with their dad in this week’s WW) who have been delighting me and Jim.
I’m happy to announce that I’ve finished the revisions to Aurora Borealis Bridge, the second of my forthcoming “Over Where,” series. While I catch up on various and sundry jobs, I’m feeling a bit more ambitious about my reading.
For those of you unfamiliar with this column, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week. Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazines. The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list. If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.
Once again, this is not a book review column. It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in. And it’s also a great place to tell me what you’re reading.
Recently Completed:
Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayer. My library doesn’t have this as an audio, so I pulled this one off my reading shelf. Many people dislike because it’s “mystery light,” but I love the language, and the focus on the characters.
Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie. Audiobook. Poirot doesn’t appear until toward the end, making me wonder if Christie was encouraged to change a “stand alone” into a series book. Either way, he does a good job.
In Progress:
Legion by Brandon Sanderson. Audiobook. Just started. I rather like Sanderson’s opening author’s note.
The Quest for Theseus by A.G. Ward (editor and author). A heavily illustrated (with photos of art, coins, etc.) look at how the myth/legend Theseus of Theseus evolved, and how different time periods seized on different aspects of the story. Five authors contribute material, with Anne G. Ward contributing the bulk. I’ve dipped into this, but never read cover to cover, and am looking forward to it.
Also:
Back issues of Smithsonian. I’ve reached the current one, and enjoying, despite a very annoying misrepresentation of Albuquerque that implies it owed its relative stability to the arrival of the railroad, when it had been in place long before.
Jane Lindskold: Wednesday Wanderings 
July 2, 2021 at 3:41 am |
I enjoyed Legion by Sanderson. Not my favorite series by him though. I’ve read books 1 & 2 and own 3, but haven’t read it yet
July 2, 2021 at 7:44 am |
Same? This is a collection of three novellas, and in intro he says a complete story. Appealed to me in part for that reason.
July 2, 2021 at 4:00 am |
The baby quail is very cute! It looks like he already has a baby top knot of feathers. Thanks for the photos (today and Wednesday)
I like Brandon Sanderson a lot, but haven’t read Legion yet. I look forward to your report.
After I read the first Omnibus (books 1-3) of Sector General, I goofed and ordered the third Omnibus edition (books 7,8), General Practice by James White. It didn’t matter because the stories are fine as stand alone books. I enjoyed them. I love the way he thinks of and solves challenges of dealing with patients and staff who are not like me.
I have ordered Volume 2 and should be reading it soon.
July 2, 2021 at 7:45 am |
Thanks for the reminder about the James White! I shall report on the Sanderson for you.
July 2, 2021 at 7:23 am |
I’d heard that “And Then There Were None” (formerly “Ten Little Indians” and before that something we don’t say anymore) was the point where Agatha Christie stood up to the publishers and refused to add Poirot to the book, but perhaps she relented on this later work.
Completed:
Gideon the Ninth – that was not the ending I expected but my general comments earlier stand.
I also read all 6 Hugo-nominated short stories. I think I know how I’m gonna vote on those but I’m letting my choices simmer for a while.
Next up: another Hugo-nominated novel, although I’m not sure which one. I think I need a break from declining-space-empire necromancers before I head back. Other than “Piranesi,” every novel nominee is part of a series, whether the first book or a middle book. It’ll be interesting to see how this affects my vote.
July 2, 2021 at 7:46 am |
Your comment about books in series is interesting. Publishers really push for series because readers do. I’ve written stand alones, and the most common comment about any of them is “when is the next one coming out.”
July 2, 2021 at 5:57 pm
Aside from John Carter on Mars, most of my early F&SF reading was single books and not series. (And the later John Carter books were weaker, so I probably thought he should’ve stopped sooner.) It probably affected my reading tastes.
July 2, 2021 at 10:17 am |
Thank you for the reminder! Now I need to go back and fully envelope myself into S. by Doug Dorst and JJ Abrams (that story was quirky and unique but I never actually read the story itself. Whoops!) if you haven’t read it, it’s two stories in one. The main story (which I neglected) is written in standard format while the secondary story is written along the margins of the book, jumping between two characters and their reactions to the book, the mysteries surrounding the “author” and develops almost into a 3rd narrative where you yourself are drawn into the mysteries and are asked to solve the puzzle yourself (and apparently some folks have!).
But that’s a very good reminder because that book drew me in as a reader in ways I didn’t think a book could. It’s as much trying to decipher where the characters are in their relationship as it is reading about their relationship (color coded ink, and learning timelines). It’s a very interesting read if you haven’t checked it out yet.
July 2, 2021 at 2:28 pm |
I love the baby quail! I haven’t seen baby birds since we lived at our old house and had House Finches nesting in the vines growing around the porch cross beams. I’m assuming Jim is the photographer, as usual?
Congrats on revision completion!🥳 I hope my attention span, ability to remember what I’ve read, and my ability to stay awake return before the books are released. I’m very curious!
July 2, 2021 at 5:44 pm |
Happy 4th of July!
I finished one series of books and read another book which seems to be the start of a series. Both were pretty good to read. My memory is not working very well these days, so I’ll need to recover it soon to get the names for the books and the authors. One key point is both authors have been writing for a while but the series they have are fairly new. “Dragon School” by Sara K. L. Wilson has around 15 stories (Kindle) and a couple of follow on series. I think they are worth reading as much for the character development as for the plot.
I finished the new David Weber story “Governor”. Its a decent story but not as good as some he has written in the past. I still enjoyed it.