Finished rereading The Far Side of the World by Patrick O’Brian. A lot happens here, but still he leaves large gaps that earlier books would have filled in, and the ending is one of his most abrupt yet (though it wouldn’t have told us anything we couldn’t figure out on our own).

Current earworm: “She Bangs the Drums” by the Stone Roses.

(It took me a few days to finish Matrix, not just 24 hours — it took me a while to figure out what I thought of The Mask of Mirrors.)

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.