Steps. Seconds. Books.
10,250
No weight loss as of yet, although I like the way Sarah M. is thinking of it: *health gain*, not *weight loss*.
It can only be good for me.
Right?
Right.
Next stop, adjustment of serving sizes. I'm already dealing with my inclination to take seconds by picking up my plate when I'm done and carrying it into the kitchen and putting it in the sink. Then it's gone, and as it would be ludicrous to dirty up another set of dishes for seconds, I can escape my slothful gluttonous tendencies.
Got a pile of read books in a corner of my desk, but only a few I feel like talking about at the moment.
_Snare_, by K. Kerr, author of the interminable Deverry novels. Although I'd disliked her books in the past, I picked this one up on a recommendation. It's good far-future work, integrating pseudo-Sioux, French, and Muslims on an alien planet with an alien species. Good characterization, and Kerr doesn't forget the gross bits; a character whose nose is slashed by a saber, for instance, can't sniff and is constantly mopping snot from his upper lip. The plot is twisty, and although the threads come together a little too neatly for my taste (loose ends, people!), it was a good read.
_Lucky Strike_, by Zafris, out 4/1/05 by a relatively new imprint, Unbridled. This was given to me by Hans, the local crack-- I mean, book-- dealer. It's a story about uranium prospecting in the 1950's, a mother's relationship with her children, and the way that strangers relate to each other. There's the occasional nice turn of phrase, but the meandering tone of the voice, combined with the slow first third of the book, almost made me put the book down. I'm glad I didn't, but not so glad that I'd recommend buying this book; check it out from the library, and watch for Zafris' next novel. If she continues to improve the way she did from her previous (_Metal Shredders_) novel to this one, she'll be an author to mark in the future.
_Old Man's War_, by John Scalzi. I rarely stay up late at night, reading fiction because 'there's only a third of the book left, and it's only 11'. Not with a toddler who gets up at oh-dark-hundred, and several times in the night between 11 and oh-dark-hundred. But that's what I did with this book. It's got its problems-- a few info dumps here and there, which, while designed for accessibility for non-genre readers, I confess I skimmed over. But for every problem, it's got a dozen strengths. The narrative voice is compelling. (Compelling enough that I took it to work, and you wouldn't believe the sideways glances I was getting from the nephrologists. Not that they have room to talk; they 're obsessed with urine...). The plot took an abrupt twist just as I started to wonder *how* Mr. Scalzi's book would keep my interest. I'm looking forward to the next.
There were other books, but none of them were memorable enough to be worth a mention, even a 'pick it up from the library' kind of mention.
Currently on the desk (and unread-- that's a diffrent section of desk; there's a section of desk for the blank books of paper that I never use, too. ...what?!):
1. Death of the Necromancer (Wells)
2. Resume with Monsters (Spencer)
3. Looking for the Mahdi (Wood-- whose other books I really enjoyed)
4. Reflex (Gould-- a master, whose book _Jumper_ defined my late teenage years in many ways. I worshipped that book. Having read _Helm_ recently, I can tell you I'm very eager to read this one.)
5. The Icarus Girl (Oyemi-- this is Nigerian Lit'riture, and as far as I can tell, the only difference between this and _Brown Girl In The Ring_ is the imprint it's published under, in terms of cultural equivalencies and magical spookinesses)
6. One for Sorrow, Two for Joy (Woodall)
7. Gods in Alabama (Jackson)
8. Bound for Canaan, the underground railroad and the WAR for the Soul of America (Bordewich, caps *theirs*)
9. Lucky Child (Ung)
10. We Hold This Treasure (Koop-- this is a story about Gilette hospital, told by one of the orthopedic surgeons. Orthopods are literate. Who knew??)
Currently reading: Go away. I'm reading Stirling and I *really* don't like admitting to it.
Words: 500 today on the Messiah story. The novel is now officially trunked, and I am feeling much happier for it.
Anyway, that's the news.
No weight loss as of yet, although I like the way Sarah M. is thinking of it: *health gain*, not *weight loss*.
It can only be good for me.
Right?
Right.
Next stop, adjustment of serving sizes. I'm already dealing with my inclination to take seconds by picking up my plate when I'm done and carrying it into the kitchen and putting it in the sink. Then it's gone, and as it would be ludicrous to dirty up another set of dishes for seconds, I can escape my slothful gluttonous tendencies.
Got a pile of read books in a corner of my desk, but only a few I feel like talking about at the moment.
_Snare_, by K. Kerr, author of the interminable Deverry novels. Although I'd disliked her books in the past, I picked this one up on a recommendation. It's good far-future work, integrating pseudo-Sioux, French, and Muslims on an alien planet with an alien species. Good characterization, and Kerr doesn't forget the gross bits; a character whose nose is slashed by a saber, for instance, can't sniff and is constantly mopping snot from his upper lip. The plot is twisty, and although the threads come together a little too neatly for my taste (loose ends, people!), it was a good read.
_Lucky Strike_, by Zafris, out 4/1/05 by a relatively new imprint, Unbridled. This was given to me by Hans, the local crack-- I mean, book-- dealer. It's a story about uranium prospecting in the 1950's, a mother's relationship with her children, and the way that strangers relate to each other. There's the occasional nice turn of phrase, but the meandering tone of the voice, combined with the slow first third of the book, almost made me put the book down. I'm glad I didn't, but not so glad that I'd recommend buying this book; check it out from the library, and watch for Zafris' next novel. If she continues to improve the way she did from her previous (_Metal Shredders_) novel to this one, she'll be an author to mark in the future.
_Old Man's War_, by John Scalzi. I rarely stay up late at night, reading fiction because 'there's only a third of the book left, and it's only 11'. Not with a toddler who gets up at oh-dark-hundred, and several times in the night between 11 and oh-dark-hundred. But that's what I did with this book. It's got its problems-- a few info dumps here and there, which, while designed for accessibility for non-genre readers, I confess I skimmed over. But for every problem, it's got a dozen strengths. The narrative voice is compelling. (Compelling enough that I took it to work, and you wouldn't believe the sideways glances I was getting from the nephrologists. Not that they have room to talk; they 're obsessed with urine...). The plot took an abrupt twist just as I started to wonder *how* Mr. Scalzi's book would keep my interest. I'm looking forward to the next.
There were other books, but none of them were memorable enough to be worth a mention, even a 'pick it up from the library' kind of mention.
Currently on the desk (and unread-- that's a diffrent section of desk; there's a section of desk for the blank books of paper that I never use, too. ...what?!):
1. Death of the Necromancer (Wells)
2. Resume with Monsters (Spencer)
3. Looking for the Mahdi (Wood-- whose other books I really enjoyed)
4. Reflex (Gould-- a master, whose book _Jumper_ defined my late teenage years in many ways. I worshipped that book. Having read _Helm_ recently, I can tell you I'm very eager to read this one.)
5. The Icarus Girl (Oyemi-- this is Nigerian Lit'riture, and as far as I can tell, the only difference between this and _Brown Girl In The Ring_ is the imprint it's published under, in terms of cultural equivalencies and magical spookinesses)
6. One for Sorrow, Two for Joy (Woodall)
7. Gods in Alabama (Jackson)
8. Bound for Canaan, the underground railroad and the WAR for the Soul of America (Bordewich, caps *theirs*)
9. Lucky Child (Ung)
10. We Hold This Treasure (Koop-- this is a story about Gilette hospital, told by one of the orthopedic surgeons. Orthopods are literate. Who knew??)
Currently reading: Go away. I'm reading Stirling and I *really* don't like admitting to it.
Words: 500 today on the Messiah story. The novel is now officially trunked, and I am feeling much happier for it.
Anyway, that's the news.