FF: Charleses

Persephone and a Much Read Copy of Moonheart

This week, I’m reading two books by authors with the first name of Charles.  Of course, I’ve known one of them as “Chuck” for decades, and I had to be told by the other that I didn’t need to call him “Mr. de Lint.” Ah, memory…

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:

Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers.  A semi-sequel to The Stress of Her Regard, focusing on the son of characters from the previous novel and his interactions with Christina, Dante Gabriel, and others of the talented Rossetti clan.  I had no idea until I read this that John Polidori was their uncle.  Truth is phenomenally weirder than fiction.  When Tim Powers gives his twist to the material, I end up believing his “secret history.”

Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor.  Audiobook.  Hamlet meets The Incredible Hulk in the person of a twelve-year-old boy whose police chief father is murdered.  If you stick with it, the final chapters are probably the best part.

In Progress:

This Broken World by Charles E. Gannon.  Advanced Review Copy.  Due for November release.  Epic Fantasy.  I’ve been waiting to read this book for decades.  Literally.  I’ve known Chuck since I was an undergrad and he was a newly graduated friend-of-a-friend.

Moonheart by Charles de Lint.  Audiobook.  I’ve read this in print, but couldn’t resist the temptation to try as audio.  I’ll let you know if it works.

Also:

Catching up with Vogue.  Not only the magazine’s staff, but a number of the advertisers are really working to expand the definition of “beauty.”  Particularly great are an on-going campaign by Oil of Olay and a new one by Dick’s Sporting Goods. I am reminded of a sign I saw a few weeks ago and loved: Fashion is what you buy.  Style is how you wear it.

FF: Before Dreaming

Coco Admires Momin Physique

I haven’t quite finished Hide Me Among the Graves because not only is it quite long, I can’t read it before bedtime.  Not scary in a slasher sense, but in the fact that many of the characters are essentially addicts, and so their own worst enemies.  I need something less fraught before bed or I have 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 Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson.  Translated by David McDuff.  The first Moomin book.  You can see her feeling her way into the characters.  This edition contains an introduction by the author, talking about how she began the story in 1939 when “it felt completely pointless to try to create pictures” and how, instead, “I suddenly felt an urge to write down something that was to begin with ‘Once upon a time.’”  Her take on that trope was remains unique…

Moominsummer Madness by Tove Jansson.  Translated by Thomas Warburton.  Much later in the series.  Oddly enough, once again, a flood is what forces the Moomins out of their cozy lives.

In Progress:

Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers.  A semi-sequel to The Stress of Her Regard, focusing on the son of characters from the previous novel and his interactions with Christina, Dante Gabriel, and others of the talented Rossetti clan.  I had no idea until I read this that John Polidori was their uncle.  Truth is phenomenally weirder than fiction.  Then, when Tim Powers gives his twist to the material, I end up believing his “secret history.”

Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor.  Audiobook.  Hamlet meets The Incredible Hulk in the person of a twelve year-old boy whose police chief father is murdered.

Also:

A few scattered magazine articles.