Recently I joined the Sci-Fi Book Club of my area, and Blindsight by Peter Watts is the book that we will be discussing in November. I had not heard of Peter Watts before, which is a pity because, in a really weird way, I enjoyed this book immensely.
“Imagine you are Siri Keeton.” This is the first phrase of the book. Maybe, you think “so what?”, lots of books start with similar phrasing. However, it is Siri Keeton himself that utters those words; Siri Keeton is one of the protagonists of the book, and Siri Keeton narrates the book from his “Chinese Room”.
The writing contains flowery sentences and descriptions. Especially the alien landscape; Elizabeth Bear in her introduction, describes it as Lovecraftian; in my mind, it evoked images of the Alien ships and landscapes in the Alien franchise as designed by H.R. Giger.
The book, at first, seems fragmentary; it jumps from the present to the past. However, it compels you to contiunue reading it. Even if some of the tech jargon will go over your head (even mine, and I have a solid knowledge of both tech and science), you just want to continue reading.
If there is one unreliable narrator, that is Siri Keeton. I have read some unreliable narrators in the past; but Siri Keeton, thinks he is a Chinese Room, an observer which in some instances his own admission made me think of The Watcher from Marvel Comics. However, unlike the Watcher, Siri has no empathy; any emotions he feels are only for and about himself. And this is why he is unreliable as a narrator; he sees, he observes, but does not understand. And in his situation, understanding is key.
Do I get Siri? In part, but where I am an optimist and see the glass being half-full (or at least I want to believe so), Siri does not qualify the glass as neither half-empty nor half-full; he just sees a glass whose half has been filled with water and the other half is empty! He sees, observes but, his lack of empathy, his lack of emotions, leave him unable to comprehend, to understand people. He thinks he does from their words and their attitudes; but, in reality, he is blind and oblivious, to their needs and to their emotions.
I said that I understand Siri in part; as an autistic person, reading people is hard; social situations are even harder. But unlike Siri, I have empathy, I have emotions; and those can overwhelm me at times. And, I could see how blind Siri was at times.
I enjoyed this book immensely. And I think you should give it a try, and let me know what you think.
As I have read more than a few books and novellas this month, I thought of dividing the books read in 2 parts. This is because I do not want my posts to be too long.
The second installment of the Thursday Murder Club is as good, if not better in some ways than the first one. We learn a bit more about Elizabeth and Ibrahim, especially. I did laugh a lot with Joyce and her instagram username. I am waiting for the next one to come out as a paperback, before buing it. Also because I have indulged myself more than a bit in books lately.
Well, I subscribed myself to the Orbit Books UK newsletter, and they give you a 10% discount on their UK store for the first order. So, I bought a few books. Then bought a couple more on kindle as well.
And I read these two novellas in 3 days; I absolutely adored Monk and Robot, and hope Becky Chambers writes more novellas, or even novels about the adventures of those 2.
Robots gained sentience and left the world of humans; humans almost destroyed the natural world and themselves but recovered and have created a different type of society, one based on mutual understanding, and compassion. Technology is present, but technology is there to help, and everything they use is biodegradable, recycled, and all power comes from renewable sources.
Sibling Dex is a monk (a very different definition of monk) of Allaele or the god of small comforts. He decides to change his vocation and become a tea monk; a monk that serves tea, listens to people’s troubles and woes and helps them come to terms with their problems, even helping them find solutions. Just listening sometimes is enough; a nice fragrant cup of tea to relax is even better!
However, Dex finds himself wanting something different, something he does not even understand; and on a whim, he decides to visit a site left over from ages past. That is where he meets the first robot to contact humans in ages, Mosscap. Mosscap has been sent to see “what humans need”; and asks the question to Dex.
What do you need? What do humans need? are the questions that Mosscap asks Dex. Is that such a complicated question? Is this a question that we, as humanity, need to pose and ask ourselves? And not just ourselves, but the people around us. Understanding, compassion, acceptance.
Next day, I changed to a horror novella, “Nothign But Blackened Teeth” by Cassandra Khaw. This is a haunted house story done right! In 93 pages, Khaw manages to fully realize her characters, and give us a good scare.
This is a great little read if you like horror; I will not say anything more, as I would prefer my readers to read the books.
Last but not least, I started yet another series of books. I started The Laundry files by Charles Stross, which is a Lovecraftian parody of spy movies, with lots of science and tech references. I have the second one lined up.
Bob Howard is a computer expert who works for the Laundry, a secret British government agency. They are like the MI5 or MI6 only they deal with magic and the mayhem caused by magic and interdimensional creatures bent on destroying our world for various reasons.
I will say that there are places where the book becomes a bit technical; you do not need to understand the technobabble to follow the plot. The merging of magic and maths or mathemagic as it is called, is an integral part of the world of the Laundry files. As a nerd and a geek, I enjoyed the technobabble, and knew most of the scientists’ names referred in the book.
I enjoyed the book; the novella at the end was even better, for reasons I will not go to, lest I spoil the fun for other people.
Up to now, this month, I have enjoyed my reading. Next on my list, is “Legends and Lattes” by Travis Baldree, and “The Jennifer Morgue (The Laundry Files 2)” by Charles Stross.
I will start writing again. I promised myself for this year. This is the only New Year’s resolution I made. And I will start by describing what I read every month. Due to work and life stuff, I may not be able to read more than 4-5 books per month; sometimes even less depending on my available time.
So let’s start with the books I read in January, complete with covers!
First book I finished in January, was Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. I started this book before Christmas, and should have finished it much earlier. However, real life strikes sometimes and I did not have as much time to read as I thought. And this book is a beastie at 900+ pages.
This is the second book by Neal Stephenson that I read. This book is a wild ride, changing between events in World War II and the present time (present always being the time the book was written). It is a book of connections; the story connects each character not only in the present, but in the past. The book is about cryptography, but there is not much technical jargon that a layman would not understand. Maybe other people see this book being about cryptography and about the end game; I see this book as being about connections, about choices, about people themselves. People are connected to each other in more ways than one.
If you want a wild ride and a big book to read, then this is one for you. Just one thing to note: do not get the paperback edition if, like me, you have a problem with your eyesight; at least before buying it, check the typesetting. I ended up buying the kindle e-book (fortunately it was on sale for 0.99p), because the typesetting was very small and I had trouble reading it.
Should you read this book: YES. I would give this one a resounding 8/10.
Next, I read the original Star Wars Marvel Comics from 1977-1978 from #1 to #6 which are the retelling of the first original movie, Star Wars : A New Hope (which we also know as episode IV). This was a retelling that had a lot of campy and corny moments; but it made me remember why I fell in love with Star Wars in the first place. While reading, I was also re-watching the movie in some ways. And, I probably need to watch the original movies again. (Maybe even make a marathon of all the movies!).
I will continue to read the series, and see what the rest of the comic books say. Now that I have Marvel Unlimited, I can read those Star Wars comic books (and more). I just need to find a few more lifetimes to read everything I would like!
I had this book for quite a while (what a surprise!). I have not read a lot of non-fiction works lately, something which I would like to remedy. Starting with this book. Philip Plait is an astronomer, whose Bad Astronomy newsletter I am following at the moment (although cannot be a paid sub as I would like). If you want to follow his astronomy articles, this is the link for Phil Plait on substack.
Although this is an old edition, and the bibliography has some outdated links (hopefully those links have been removed and/or renewed in newer editions), this is a popular science book I recommend to anyone interested in astronomy and debunking, or just general science. Phil Plait is a great science communicator; he writes concisely but clearly, so that anyone, even people without a scientific background, can easily read and follow the book. I have a science background, and, still, there were more than a few things I learned from this book. It was well worth the read.
I am eagerly awaiting his next book: Under Alien Skies. I have put the Goodreads link, as people might want to buy this book from a bookshop; I am probably going to pre-order it from an independent bookshop around these parts.
I am hooked on Eve Dallas and Roarke. This is my escapist series; every time I hit a reading low or need a pick me up, I end up reading one of these novels. I already have the next one bought and waiting. Or I will read it just to relax. Sometimes, when I have a bad week, or a bad spell, I need something easy. Something where I know that the culprit will be brought to justice, and our protagonists will live to have steamy sex the next day!
But the books are more than escapism; every character is well-thought out and drawn, especially the protagonists; the murder cases are not trivial, nor always easy to solve. And so we have a good solid series to read. There are over 50 books and counting; Nora Roberts herself (she is penning these under the pseudonym of J D Robb) said (fortunately) that she will continue to write the series for as long as possible.
I absolutely love Maeve and Leonardo, even though they do not always make an appearance as much as they should; maybe in the later books they will be more Maeve! And hoping that Peabody and McNab do go the exclusive route. And no please, do not spoil the books for me!
There is so much more in the series: the world they are part of, accepting of LGBTQ+ people; having licensed companions both male/female; motherhood being also a profession and abortion being a non-issue as women can choose what they want to do with their bodies and not being held hostage by misogynistic religions, governments and people.
I went on a book buying spree in January on kindle, and one of the books I bought was this gem. Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. One of the best reads I had in a while, and worth the hype.
What do you get when you mix: aliens, music and demons? And let us not forget a trans teen with a great musical talent, an AI, and donuts? You may think this is bonkers, but in the specific world, it all makes sense.
Katrina Nguyen is a trans girl from asian parents. Ryka Aoki does not shy away from showing what life is for trans teens that are not accepted by their family; or how talented people may be stifled by parents who do not understand them; how people look down on LGBTQ+ people. How Katrina feels and reacts because she thinks that she is not worth it just because she is trans; how I wanted to scream and just say to Katrina: “you are here, you are a human being and you are worth it as much as anyone else; it does not matter whether you are trans or not, whether you are gay, lesbian, asian, purple, or blue with green spots; you are a beautiful and intelligent being and you are worth it.”
But this is a book about acceptance; about accepting who you are for Katrina, as people she meets, accept her for who she is, no questions asked. Which is how it should be for everyone; what does it matter if someone is trans or gay; male, female, non-binary, etc. ; has red or black skin; is muslim or christian or whatever else they want to call themselves. Everyone needs to accept everyone else for who they are.
It is also about family; the family you have, the family you bring with you and the family you make on the way. And how sometimes, the family you make is more understanding and more accepting than the blood ties. Katrina’s parents do not accept who she is; her mother deadnames her, even though she knows Katrina is a trans girl. How Katrina found Shizuka Satomi, and Astrid and Shirley and Lan Tran…
It is about the choices we make, and how we choose to help or damn other people. Like Shizuka making a choice about Katrina… But I am going to stop here or I will spoil the book for you.
Lastly, I would like to say that I am not active on twitter, but you can find me on mastodon: @shadoranyx@mastodonapp.uk.
As if “About A Girl”, “A Tale of Two Topas” and “Midnight Blue” were not enough (who does not love Dolly Parton?), The Orville continues with this week’s episode: “Domino”. This is a bittersweet episode. But I am getting ahead of myself. Please do not read if you have not seen the episode or The Orville as there will be a lot of spoilers for the series and the episode.
The Planetary Union has a new weapon to fight the Kaylon. A weapon so destructive that can wipe out all the Kaylon. But the Union wants to use it as a deterrent instead of destroying a civilization and committing genocide. The Orville along with Admiral Halsey travel to the Kaylon homeworld and achieve an understanding.
Rather the Kaylon do not have an alternative. It is either stand down and make a peace treaty or be wiped out at this point. And they do say that they will find a weak spot and disable the weapon. At this point I am thinking, this is a Kaylon episode and we will see more Kaylon vs Union. I couldn’t be more wrong on this.
And so we go to the theft of the weapon from Union Central. By Admiral Perry nonetheless, as he had made his feelings clear about the Kaylon. And he hands the weapon to the Krill who have an agreement with the Moclans. The Moclans went to the Krill with a proposal, and although they wanted to be in charge, Teleya puts them in their place and told them that they would either accept a partnership or no deal. The Moclans accept.
The Orville finds out about what has happened and traces the weapon to a Moclan facility which is heavily defended by Moclan and Krill ships. Captain Mercer contacts the Kaylon and together they go to get the weapon.
The ensuing battle had a lot of Star Wars moments for me. At some points in the battle, I was waiting to hear “Stay on target”! This was one of the best battles ever. This is up there with the battle of Yavin from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and the battle at Wolf 359 in “Best of Both Worlds” episode of Star Trek The Next Generation (episodes 3.26 & 4.1).
And this is where it gets bittersweet. Because it is neither the battle nor the loss of life that changes the Kaylon minds about “biologicals”. It is the act of self-sacrifice by Charly. A team from the Orville with Kaylon Prime, Kelly, Burke, Talla, and Isaac go to the surface to get the weapon. But the weapon has started the activation cycle and cannot be stopped in time. So, Charly wants to overload the weapon and destroy it. Problem is that whoever stays behind to overload the weapon will die. Charly sacrifices herself to save the Kaylon. It is this act of self-sacrifice, the ultimate act of a human heart. Of someone who, despite her hatred for the Kaylon, she still remained true to her principles. RIP Charly Burke.
Every episode of The Orville is a masterpiece. Every episode of The Orville has something to say. Every episode of The Orville is great television. And I will miss The Orville when this season ends next week.
I would love to have finished blogging about the 13 fun reading challenges to set yourself in 2022. However due to full-time working, and other responsibilities, I have time to write blog posts during the weekend, and on my off-days. So, I will probably continue the reading challenges next weekend. But that is okay, as it gives me time to find my next blog posts while I am writing about the challenges.
And so we arrive at reading challenge No. 6: Reading around the world. This is inspired from the book by David Damrosch “Around the world in 80 books”. I would not buy the book just to read a list of books; looking through the net, I found some wonderful lists. You may find that some of them are missing a country or two; some books are only set in the specific country (like for example, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, written by Ernest Hemingway).
What does it mean, for me, for you, to read around the world? Personally, it would mean reading a book from that country’s author that is considered a classic; a contemporary book that shows an aspect of that country that a tourist would not see. Would I undertake such an endeavor? I would love to, and certainly I would like to incorporate more international writers in my reading.
I do have a lot of books, I have accumulated on my kindle, and on my bookshelves. I am certain I can find a few books from authors all over the world. And I will certainly be looking at those lists with books from around the world.
However, as a half-Greek and half-Italian woman, I have a couple of recommendations for you, from my native countries. And these recommendations come in the form of writers. Some you will have of, as they are quite easy to find.
When we were at school, we were made to read a book by Elsa Morante, called Arturo’s Island. But at school, my literature teacher made it boring. So I never really gave it any actual reading. I did not read it for pleasure at the time. Years later, I discovered the book in one of my bookshelves, and read it. And I recommend it highly. A number of people also recommend “History” by the same author; I have not read it as yet, and so I cannot comment. I will finish my recommendations with 2 more authors: Oriana Fallaci and Alberto Moravia. I have not lived in Italy nor have had any contact with any distant relatives of mine in years and years, and so I do not know of more contemporary writers.
A lot of people think of Greece as the land of the ancient gods, or the land of the islands and summer vacations. There is a lot in Greece that people should look up to and a lot that people should run away from, like in every country. I started writing about a lot of other things and digressing from my actual theme, which is books.
I am going to recommend anything by Nikos Kazantzakis. He truly deserved a Nobel prize in literature but never got it, even though he was nominated for 9 consecutive years. I will not say any more, but please if you are to read one Greek writer, choose Kazantzakis. A second writer I recommend, a satirist, one whose novels and stories are hilarious, is Dimitris Psathas. I do not know whether his works have been translated into English. If not, they should be. I cannot describe how many times I laughed with his books, reading in trains, planes and coffee shops.
Do you have a recommendation for reading around the world? Preferably a book from a country that we do not usually see writers from. I am certain that every country has great writers and it will be interesting to see some good translations of their works.
Let’s face it: we are in the middle of a pandemic. No matter what politicians say, the dreaded Covid-19 is still with us and probably will be for a while longer. So, we need to limit any exposure to the virus, and take our precautions. So limit our traveling to different countries as well.
Which is what the 5th reading challenge is all about. To explore through books a country that I would like to visit. But where to start? I have traveled a bit around the world, from Cuba to Japan to Australia. I have a mixed heritage, having one parent from Italy and one from Greece. So I have seen a bit of the European literature and culture. We are all exposed to American culture and in Europe to some extent also to British culture.
I have to admit that this is a difficult choice. From Spain to Mexico, from Brazil to South Korea, from Iceland to Russia, from Algeria to Sudan and beyond, there are so many good choices, and all are wonderful.
My choice is Japan. I have been there but would love to go back for another visit. I love anime and manga. I started learning the language and was doing quite well, but had to stop due to money and time constraints. I have bought a few books on Japan and its culture, and this is an excuse to delve into them. I have a few books in English from Japanese authors, a result of my being a bookworm. Speaking of Japanese authors, I loved Kafka on The Shore by Haruki Murakami, and this is an opportunity to read more of his books.
Maybe when I have read the books I already have on Japan, I may delve in books that describe another country. You can live in a country for years, you can read the history, read the greatest authors that country produced, and discover something new about the country every day. Which is to say, that despite discovering more about Japan, I will also keep my eyes open and try to discover more about other countries as well, especially my chosen place of abode.
Which country would you like to visit or re-visit? Which country would you like to explore through books, history and art? And do you have a book on Japan or by a Japanese author to recommend?
Here is the next challenge: to ask my librarian for a reading list. That is a tough one for me. I have not been in a physical library for a number of years. I did when I first moved to the UK, and used the library heavily.
However, with my buying a Kindle, and finding a lot of offers and free books on various sites, I stopped going. Plus I do buy a lot of physical books; nothing like the smell and feel of paper on your hands. So I guess, I must have accumulated in the UK only, a few hundred books both on Kindle and physical. (And not talking about my library down in Greece, which I have not been able to move to the UK due to both space and, of course, money.)
I am also ordering more books: from new hardcover books (like The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi), to offers for £0.99 on Kindle, to second hand bookstores or charity shops where you can find a lot of good books for really good prices.
I am not acquainted with a librarian either; or I would have asked them for a reading list. If any of my readers is a librarian, I would welcome the suggestion of 5 books to read. Old or new, I do not mind. Genre I do not mind, I will read anything. Of course, my personal preference is to classic literature, science fiction, fantasy and crime. Which is wide enough!
Next step then, is to find online lists. Online lists? Too many to count, and a lot of wonderful literary sites, that I try to follow and read. There is Electric Literature, which is my favourite, with lots of lists and lots of wonderful articles and interviews from new and established writers. There is Literary Hub, another great site I follow, which has lots and lots of good articles on books. And all the sites, have a lot of lists!
So, in essence, I do not have a librarian or anything close to make a small reading list. I, then decided to do a 5-book list of my own, from my own library to read this year. Here is the 5 book list, I intend to add to my ever-growing list of books to read this year:
Detransition, Baby – Torrey Peters
Living Next Door to The God of Love – Justina Robson
Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro
The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson
Kindred – Octavia E. Butler
I could have done a 10 or 20 or more book list; but as I have said in previous articles, I like to keep it realistic as much as possible.
Continuing the 13 Reading Challenges for 2022, the 3rd challenge is to read everything by one author. Some authors are prolific and have written lots of books, and might need more time than a year to read all of their works; some have written a good deal but doable in one year.
There are a lot of authors I absolutely love their writing. There is Alix E. Harrow who I loved with “The Thousand Doors of January” and adored with “The Once and Future Witches”. There is John Scalzi whose new book “The Kaiju Preservation Society” is forthcoming and I have pre-ordered as a hardback.
However, I would prefer a classic author. That is because although I have read a lot of books, I am missing quite a few classical authors and would like to read more of them. As a half-Greek half-Italian woman, I have read a number of Greek and Italian authors like Nikos Kazantzakis and Italo Calvino; I have read some works of other authors like Mark Twain.
Charles Dickens
In 2019, I bought a Kindle book for £0.49 called The Complete Novels of Charles Dickens: 20 Illustrated Novels in One Volume. I started reading them slowly one by one; I still have a lot to read and complete. So, for this year I have chosen Charles Dickens whose books, I must admit I absolutely adore.
Since I got the book, I have read: Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, Barnaby Rudge, Martin Chuzzlewitz, Dombey & Son, and I am currently half-way through to David Copperfield. And what a wonderful journey it has been reading these beautiful novels; I love the way he sets up a story slowly and climaxes it at the end. I love that the bad guys get what they deserve (although not always true in real life); I adored The Old Curiosity Shop despite the bittersweet ending, I cried at the happy ending of Dombey & Son, I was scared for Oliver Twist when Fagan gets his hands on poor Oliver… Oh and my favourite in The Old Curiosity Shop is Dick Swiveler, because he has a good heart and he shows it when he helps Kit with his testimony and how well he treats the Marchioness ( or Sophronia Sphynx as her names is).
So my goal is to read all the remaining novels from Charles Dickens for this year. I have quite a few to read. First of all to finish David Copperfield, which Dickens characterised as his favourite of all his novels. Will I be able to finish the remaining novels from Dickens this year? Maybe. Dickens’ novels are not always easy to read and they are also quite long. So it takes me 2-3 weeks to finish one sometimes. These are novels that you cannot rush through; they need their time and need to enjoy the journey they take you through.
Lastly, Charles Dickens was a humanist for his time period. He saw the flaws in the society of his time and there are a lot of his thoughts and beliefs in his writing. A number of these are still relevant today.
And if I finish Dickens, what next? Will I start reading another classical author? Definitely. I have not yet chosen who, but have more than a few candidates in mind.
So, if you were to challenge yourself to read everything by one author, which author would you choose and why? What other authors whose works you have read do you recommend?
The second reading challenge on Penguin’s 13 reading challenges to set for yourself in 2022, is to complete a series. In 2021, I finished the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen, or at least all the books published up to now. The next book in the series comes out in 2022, and will get it when it is released. So, that will be one series completed yet again!
I have more than a few series on my Kindle and on my bookshelf which are complete or near complete; however, I like to set reasonable and realistic challenges. I thought that the series to complete should be one with 3-4 books and no more. Some series like GRR Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice are too big and I might get bored or fed up reading a big series all at once.
When reading the Rizzoli and Isles series, I read one book then moved to read something else. Sometimes 2-3 books before I picked up the same series. With Rizzoli and Isles, though, it was easy, as most of the books can be read even if you have not read any of the previous ones. Some stories and side-stories may require some prior knowledge but, the author is good enough, to provide the basic background without being repetitive, but within the course of the story. I did read the last 2-3 books one after another. Sometimes I want so much to finish the series or see how a side story develops, that I do read the last few books one after another.
Winternight trilogy – Katherine Arden
So, this year I decided to read the Winternight Trilogy from Katherine Arden. It is 3 books, I already have it on my Kindle, and so I will read them when I finish the book I am currently reading. I know that the series is quite popular. I know that it is a Fantasy series. Beyond that, I know absolutely nothing! Which is a delight for me, and I expect to discover the new world that is awaiting for me in the books.
Once I finish this series, will I commit myself to another series? I am not sure about that. I have tons of unread books, stand alone novels, non-fiction, series… you name it I have something of the sort. I will just say for the moment: I do not know.
What is your favourite series? What series do you want to read next? Which one are you reading and enjoying?
Tanitha's Cosmic Musings 