Finished reading Last Exit by Max Gladstone. Lots of thoughts about the book — reminds me of Stephen King I read ages ago; repetitious and hamfisted observations on the Way the World Is Today; difficult to stay focused on, especially the first half — but in the end it won me over, and I really enjoyed it.
Finished rereading The Nutmeg of Consolation by Patrick O’Brian, book 14 of the Aubrey/Maturin series. Not quite as strong as the previous, but still a worthy continuation. The scenes in the penal colony of New South Wales, later in the book, are restrained but still horrifying.
Finished rereading The Thirteen Gun Salute by Patrick O’Brian, book 13 of the Aubrey/Maturin series. This is one of my favorites in the series, with some of the most memorable scenes, and for once the next book will start more or less where this leaves off. I can’t recommend this as the first to read (that would be H.M.S. Surprise), but it’s a high point to look forward to.
Finished reading The Bright Ages by Matthew Gabriele and David M. Perry. The book is less a history of Europe and more a support of three arguments: that there was continuity from the end of the western Roman Empire to medieval times; that we shouldn’t use medieval history to drive a modern agenda; and that medieval populations were diverse and mobile. I wish it had been more of a history, but I suppose it would have needed to be ten times longer to offer a brief survey of the period. Fortunately, the book ends with extensive suggestions for further reading, focusing on recent writing and a few primary sources, particularly ones that are more readily available to the non-specialist. (The voice and perspective of this book reminded me a bit of The Dawn of Everything.)
Finished rereading The Letter of Marque by Patrick O’Brian, book 12 of the Aubrey–Maturin series. This one felt more full than some recent ones: more naval action, more intrigue by land, more of Maturin’s laudanum addiction, and an interesting look at how a private letter-of-marque ship differs from a Royal Navy ship.
Finished rereading The Reverse of the Medal by Patrick O’Brian, book 11 of the Aubrey–Maturin series. We’re in the back half of the series now, and O’Brian clearly wants to introduce new plots and situations, as there’s only so much that can be done with the Royal Navy. Here we have more treachery, a court case, and a thief-taker, leading to a miscarriage of justice and a satisfying climax.
Finished reading The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow. This was a slow, dense, enjoyable read; the authors attempt to reinterpret prehistoric and historic societies, and (even with a few rhetorical sleights-of-hand) succeeded. I’ll probably look back on this book as perspective-changing.
Finished reading The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. I loved this, even though the story mostly ended up being “what did Duchess do this time, and how are the rest of them going to clean up after him?” (Wait, he did what?? But — !)
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).
(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?
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.”)
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.