Looking at this list, I see my reading is quite mythic still. The Moomin books may not be anyone’s official mythology, but they have that feelings nonetheless. They’ve been my before bedtime reading because The Stress of Her Regard (which is excellent) was giving me nightmares!
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:
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. Audiobook. I don’t usually read two books by the same author at the same time, but someone failed to return my print copy of this one, and finding that there was an audio was tempting. One complaint. Accents are important in this, as if voice pitch, and, while the reader is good, he rarely gets these right.
The Valkyrie by Richard Wagner, translated and annotated by Frederick Paul Walter. This new translation is lively and accessible. Although I know the basic story, I found myself having trouble putting this down. Illustrated both with modern line drawings and a host of archival material.
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson. Translated by Elizabeth Portch. Probably my favorite. There’s a magical realism feeling I quite like.
In Progress:
The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers. The “secret history’ in this novel comes from a combination of events in the lives of several of the most prominent figures in English literature, including Byron, Shelley, Keats, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Read this, and you’ll never read their poetry and fiction quite the same way…
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor. Audiobook. So far, I’m liking… Uses some of the same themes as Akata Witch (the outcast who makes a virtue of her difference), but in a very different manner.
A Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson. Translated by Elizabeth Portch. Realizing I got these out of order, I went backwards.
Also:
I’m back to working on getting new e-book versions of my backlist up, and so re-reading Artemis Awakening.
Jane Lindskold: Wednesday Wanderings 
July 30, 2021 at 4:56 am |
I finished Alien Emergencies (Sector General #4-6) by James White. I have now read the first 8 installments of the Sector General Series. I accidently read the third omnibus edition before this second one. I can identify with getting stories out of order! It didn’t diminish my enjoyment. I am happy there are many more books in the series to look forward to.
I also read Of Mutts and Men (Chet and Bernie Mystery #10) Bernie is a PI and Chet is his dog. Chet is the narrator. I enjoy Chet’s approach. He is generally optimistic, but has a short attention span.
July 30, 2021 at 6:58 am |
I’m going to have to pick up a Chet and Bernie mystery. Sounds fun.
August 1, 2021 at 8:10 am |
I’ve got to remember to see if I have these… I got dragged off in another direction!
July 30, 2021 at 6:56 am |
re: The Anubis Gates – I’m trying to remember. Was that the one where people wore ankle chains through a hole in their boot to dissipate magical attacks into the ground? (I know that’s not the plot of the novel but it’s a detail that I seem to recall … if I’m remembering the right novel.)
Recently completed:
The five Hugo-nominated novellas I hadn’t previously read. (I’d read one of them months ago; I’ll have to re-read it before voting.)
I have now read all of the short story, novelette and novella entries for this year.
Back to the novels.
Here’s a link to a list of the nominees: http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2021-hugo-awards/ .
July 30, 2021 at 12:14 pm |
Yes! You have remembered correctly which one The Anubis Gates is. The Stress of Her Regard is Romantic Poets really DID have congress with supernatural predators.