Finished reading Matrix by Lauren Groff. This was lovely: An imagining of the life of Marie of Shaftesbury, creating a feminist haven out of a failing abbey in 12th-century England. I got very strong vibes of both Nicola Griffith’s Hild and Ursula K. Le Guin’s Lavinia (though this doesn’t quite rise to Le Guin’s level — which is no failing — and Groff wasn’t trying to write either of those books).

Finished reading The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick. I ended up enjoying this fantasy novel centered around a long con, but several weak points wanted changing: an emotional beat that falls flat, a character with nothing to do, and about one or two hundred extra pages. Maybe a more strict editor would have helped?

Walked to Bothell’s old downtown and back: about five hours and a little more than 14 miles.

Finished reading City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. This fantasy novel had the misfortune of being read immediately after Middlemarch, and nothing from the first part of this book caught my interest. But I eventually got into the right frame of mind, and enjoyed the book more as I made my way through.

Finished reading Middlemarch by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans). This was long, and there wasn’t quite a plot (or at least not a single one), but I’m glad I stuck it out. (“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.”)

Took the same walk as last weekend. This time, a crow tried to make me drop my sandwich.

Last night’s family science discussion: the James Webb telescope, the Doppler effect, and stellar formation. Tonight’s family science discussion: chimerism in cats and humans.

Current earworm: “Lady Marmalade” by Labelle.

Walked up the Burke-Gilman Trail from Husky Stadium, then home: more than 20,000 steps, ten miles.

The bambina got her booster shot today.

Finished rereading Treason’s Harbour by Patrick O’Brian (Aubrey–Maturin series, book 9). Still in the sweet spot, with the Kim Philby–esque traitor revealed to the reader in the first couple chapters, but not to Maturin (or Aubrey) in the whole book.

The dude got his booster shot today.

Posted my 2021 reading list.

I squeezed in one more book before the end of the year: Finished reading A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Emma Southon, a fun and chatty look at Roman law and society through the lens of homicide. Southon uses a good chunk of her page count pointing out how little we know about the lives of Romans other than the richest men, and showing us a bit we can infer about the rest.

We’re surviving this Fimbulwinter fairly well so far. I walked to the grocery store yesterday to stock up on supplies; Meghan shoveled the driveway; our new heat pump is a little slower than the furnace to warm the house when it first turns on, but it gets there.