March 2013

Stuff I’ve Been Reading: The March 2013 Edition

Asterisks indicate audiobooks (25%). Italics indicate library books (75%). I didn’t finish reading numbers two or three.

1. The Traveler by Twelve Hawks, John
2. The Dinner by Koch, Herman
3. Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Russell, Karen
4. The Dark River by Twelve Hawks, John
5. The Golden City by Twelve Hawks, John
6. The Hunger Games by Collins, Suzanne*
7. Searoad by Le Guin, Ursula K.
8. The Wee Free Men by Pratchett, Terry*
9. Devices and Desires by Parker, K. J.
10. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by Lewis, C. S.*
11. Evil for Evil by Parker, K. J.
12. The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop by Koch, Stephen

This was the month of the mammoth trilogies: the entertaining Fourth Realm Trilogy by John Twelve Hawks and the glorious Engineer Trilogy by K. J. Parker, of which the finale, The Escapement, still remains. Otherwise, I listened to a lot of shortish audiobooks (none longer than seven discs), and struggled all month to finish my single nonfiction book, which I did at the eleventh hour.

WWW Wed Mar 27

It is Wednesday? Again? Already? My goodness. This time last Wednesday I forgot it was Wednesday until it was Thursday. And that’s what March has felt like: surprise that it’s so late in the day/week/month so soon. I am still dating things “2012.”

What are you currently reading? Evil for Evil by K. J. Parker. The second book in the Engineer Trilogy is Long. It’s 684 pages, and it feels like it. If I just had two hours together, I could sit down and finish it, but I haven’t had two hours together for days and days, which is how long I’ve been reading this book.

What have you recently finished reading? Devices and Desires by K. J. Parker. And if we’re counting audiobooks, which of course we are, I finished The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett on the same day. I’ve ordered the next Tiffany Aching book from Inter-Library Loan, but it’s still in transit, so meanwhile I’ve been listening to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis, read by Derek Jacobi, as a placeholder, because it is only five discs long.

What do you think you’ll read next? I’d love to get to The Escapement by K. J. Parker, but I’ve got three books checked out from the library that are due on April 7 and cannot be renewed. I am trying to think whether I can finish the Parker novel, the pesky still-unread nonfiction book on writing, and three medium-length library books in less than two weeks. Once upon a time, questioning this would have been laughable; but lately, Where has all the the time gone? I have no idea. See above.

WWW Wed Mar 20

(Maybe if I don’t say anything, no one will notice this is Thursday.)

What are you currently reading? Devices and Desires by K. J. Parker. This is a luxury reread for me, as I’ve exhausted all of Parker’s publications to date, even the limited-edition novellas. Now I am returning to my favorite Parker trilogy, the Engineer Trilogy, and am enjoying it madly, again.

What have you recently finished reading? The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop by Stephen Koch. I’m pretending this answer counts as “finished,” even though I strictly have two chapters left. But I’m going to read them as soon as I’m done with the first Parker novel, and then I will have finally completed this month’s nonfiction book. #bestintentions

What do you think you’ll read next? The Tenth of December by George Saunders. This is a new short story collection by an author whose works were introduced to me in graduate school. I’m not as rabid a fan as some of my classmates, but I am interested enough to reserve it from the library. Unfortunately, so are others who have reservations waiting after me, which limits me to two weeks of custody. I’ll do a quick peruse-and-return, and then it’s on to Engineer Trilogy book two, Evil for Evil. Yes, it’s as wonderfully grim as it sounds.

Peach Orange Banana Smoothie

After having carefully groomed the Internet and several cookbooks’ worth of smoothie recipes, I went and made one up. It has four ingredients–well, five, counting ice–and is just about the most delicious thing you could eat at any time of day. Because of fruit. Fruit is amazing.

Peach Orange Banana Smoothie

• 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt (my favorite yogurt is Dannon Light & Fit vanilla yogurt)
• 1/2 cup of diced peaches (I used one 4-oz. fruit cup of Del Monte diced peaches in light syrup, drained)
• 1 clementine, peeled and separated
• 1 medium banana, sliced and frozen (note to the literal: slice it before you freeze it)
• 4 ice cubes

And that’s it. You blend the above until frothy on the appropriate blender settings, adding the ingredients in the order listed. Then you drink the nectar of the gods. Or if you’re like me, you eat it with a spoon. Serves one.

Plus, the whole thing is only 22o calories, which is pretty awesome considering you just had breakfast and three fruits at the same time. Everyone wins with smoothies.

WWW Wed Mar 13

What are you currently reading? The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop by Stephen Koch. A seamless integration of famous and classic authors’ quotes on writing with Koch’s decades of experience teaching creative writing, this short book will offer inspiration for the novice and encouragement for the experienced. It rather whimsically includes contradictory pieces of advice (e.g., write every day vs. write when inspired) to demonstrate its thesis that the manner and method of one’s writing is less important than the simple fact that one does write.

What did you recently finish reading? The Golden City by John Twelve Hawks. It was the satisfying conclusion to the Fourth Realm Trilogy. Realms were crossed. Enemies were chased and faced down. Some characters lived and some died. This series isn’t going to become a fond reread for me, but it was a highly enjoyable sci-fi action/thriller.

What do you think you’ll read next? Ironskin by Tina Connolly or Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier. The former comes from the library and the fact that it is a Nebula nominee this year; the latter comes from a 20% off coupon at Barnes & Noble and the fact that I really liked Wildwood Dancing, which I read in January 2011.

On Audiobook. I finally finished the eternal Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and am delighted to move on to The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. I am planning to ILL all the audiobooks in the four-book Tiffany Aching Discworld sub-series: The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, and I Shall Wear Midnight.

Novel Teas

While I was visiting friends and family over the Christmas holiday, I received a packet of Novel Teas, a portable envelope of five tea bags with literary quotes on the tea tags. They were charming, and the Ceylon tea was good too!

I didn’t read ahead, so each quote was a surprise. Here’s the order in which I drank them.

1. Wear the old coat and buy the new book. William Phelps
2. She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain. Louisa May Alcott
3. When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes. Desiderius Erasmus
4. Never judge a book by its movie. J.W. Eagan
5. You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me. C.S. Lewis

While it’s hard not to love Lewis’s quote (combining books and tea, natch), my favorite is probably Alcott’s. I suspect it is autobiographical to me.

WWW Wed Mar 6

It’s Wednesday! While TGIW doesn’t have the same ring as TGIF, I’m always glad to see Wednesday evening, because I know the work week is more than halfway over. Sixty percent, actually.

What are you currently reading? The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks. This is the second book of the Fourth Realm Trilogy, and I’m quite engrossed. Maya is a Harlequin, destined to protect people called Travelers, who can visit other realms, from the Tabula, a secret brotherhood that wants to destroy Travelers and put the world under global surveillance (think Bentham’s Panopticon). Gabriel and Michael are brothers, the sons of the last known Traveler. When they discover their powers, they part ways, one coming under Maya’s protection and one falling prey to the Tabula’s influence. Also, people get killed with guns and swords. It’s pretty great.

What did you recently finish reading? Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell, a destined-for-awards short story collection that I abandoned after three stories. Before that, The Dinner by Herman Koch, a well-reviewed literary novel translated from the Dutch, which I abandoned about a third of the way through. And before that, The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks, the first in the trilogy featuring a healthy helping of gruesome deaths, of which book I read every word. My taste of late has eschewed the literary for the genre. I am unrepentant.

What do you think you’ll read next? The Golden City by John Twelve Hawks. The final installment in the trilogy, of course.