Set aside The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon about a quarter of the way through. I wanted to like this, and probably would have finished it if I’d read it ten years ago, but today it feels more drawn-out and portentous than I’m willing to tolerate.

Blurt! — Sben
pile.org

Set aside The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon about a quarter of the way through. I wanted to like this, and probably would have finished it if I’d read it ten years ago, but today it feels more drawn-out and portentous than I’m willing to tolerate.

Also

Finished reading The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. A couple quibbles aside, I loved this book, set in Manhattan c. 1900. It felt like a puzzle where all the characters ended up fitting together just so (and I think the quibbles are where I didn’t feel like the fit was quite satisfactory … but they were minor characters). Recommended.

— 9/20/2021 8:32am ∞
Finished reading The History of Jazz (3rd ed.) by Ted Gioia. This was kind of the flip side of A History of the World in Six Glasses: I wish it hadn’t been quite so long, but I was fascinated by every part of it, and wouldn’t cut much if anything. I now have a lot of listening to do.

— 9/17/2021 10:48pm ∞
Finished reading Steeple, volume 1, and rereading volume 2, by John Allison. I read volume 2 serialized online (it’s ongoing), and it and the first are great ridiculous fun.

— 9/5/2021 12:27am ∞
Finished reading The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (as the second half of the Shadow & Claw compilation). Not quite as compelling as Shadow, but it felt like the protagonist was a little more active (even if he was somewhat unpredictable). Will move on to the next two books soon.

— 9/3/2021 10:58pm ∞
Finished rereading Desolation Island by Patrick O’Brian, book 5 of the Aubrey/Maturin series. This one was grim, nearly unrelentingly so: plague, storms, and mutinies, with a bare glimmer of hope at the end of the story. Compelling reading.

— 8/30/2021 10:11pm ∞