Recent reading

[luzula]

I left all my physical books at home when I went to the mountains, and only brought my ereader. Such a relief not to lug all that weight around! Here's what I've been reading/listening to (fic edition of this post to follow).

Below the cut:
Fantasin till makten! by Ronny Ambjörnsson
The Martian, by Andy Weir
Victory Conditions, by Elizabeth Moon (audiobook #5 in the Vatta's War series)
Floating Worlds, by Cecelia Holland
Sprig Muslin, by Georgette Heyer
Mark of the Horse Lord, by Rosemary Sutcliff
Tundra-Taiga Biology, by R. M. M. Crawford
The Last of the Wine, by Mary Renault

Fantasin till makten! by Ronny Ambjörnsson
Read before I left. This is a history of utopian ideas in the West in the last 500 years, which I found at some sort of bookswapping event a while back. I liked that it's not just a literary analysis, but about actual people who tried to build utopian communities, and their social context. Especially interesting were the bits about Christian communist societies (where "communist" = having everything in common, before the word got the Marxian meaning that emphasized class struggle).

The Martian, by Andy Weir
Recced by malnpudl. And yes, this was great! Basically, it's the story of an astronaut who gets stuck on Mars and has to survive until he gets home. So the overall plot is very simple, but the joy is in the details--it's one big "Stand back! I'm going to try SCIENCE!" and it is wholly delightful. This should be a movie.

Victory Conditions, by Elizabeth Moon (audiobook #5 in the Vatta's War series)
I guess it's been a year since I listened to the previous ones? But it was easy to pick up again. These are really well done as radioplays: lots of space battles with sound effects, etc. It's like watching a summer blockbuster action movie, except you're listening to it (and most of the characters are women). But I could do without the "military hierarchy and capitalism are the best things ever!" subtext.

Floating Worlds, by Cecelia Holland
SF. I got fifty pages into this and then decided to ditch it--the style and setting wasn't working for me.

Sprig Muslin, by Georgette Heyer
My only previous Heyer is Cotillion, and it's hard to live up to that. I really liked this one towards the end, but I think I would have liked it better overall if I had been spoiled for the ending--I was so afraid that the 35-year-old man and the 17-year-old BABY would end up together that I couldn't quite relax while reading. Whew, they didn't. I adored the found family stuff near the end, awww. It was delightful.

Mark of the Horse Lord, by Rosemary Sutcliff
Basically, a former gladiator is persuaded to impersonate someone else in the noble and manly quest to bring down the evil matriarchy. Well, okay, I did care more towards the end, but this was not my favorite Sutcliff.

Tundra-Taiga Biology, by R. M. M. Crawford
Borrowed from one of my fellow field workers. Lots of interesting stuff here! For example, apparently in the warm Eocene the Arctic seas were covered in a nitrogen-fixing aquatic fern called Azolla, which sank to the bottom when it died and seems to be responsible for 80% of the CO2 reduction which led to the colder period that came after. Fascinating, right?

The Last of the Wine, by Mary Renault
My only previous Renault is The Charioteer, and of course this is quite different. I confess I didn't finish this--I abandoned it after fifty pages. The writing was lovely, but in the end I just didn't care about all the political machinations in Athens. I did like all the daily life stuff, though. Should I have kept on? Like, does it change after that?

And now I've just started on Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice. It seems promising?

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

The mix of actual and fictional utopias in Fantasin till makten sounds fascinating! I wish there was a book like this in English. The US has supported scores of communist societies: the religious freedom angle was fertile soil. Of particular interest were the matriarchal Shakers, who contributed a lot to American design values and practical household inventions.

Proof, as if needed, that Americans will turn any bit of our history into a crass money-making venture (also known as "life without the National Trust.")

I'm looking forward to your take on Leckie.

[luzula]

Yeah, there was a chapter on American Christian communist societies (and one on some European ones, too). And yes, it was a nice book--it didn't claim to be comprehensive or anything, it was just a collection of essays that dipped into history and literature where it liked.

[seascribble]

That was basically my reaction to Mark of the Horse Lord too; even at the end, I just mostly wanted it to be over already. I get the idea that not a ton of people were super into that one.

[luzula]

Funny, I've seen people talking about it who liked it? So I was disappointed. And checking the AO3, I wanted there to be fic from the queen's POV (whatever her name was) so we can see the other side of the story, but no, there is none. : (

[the_antichris]

It's been a while, but I remember a pretty high level of politics (mostly depressing, because Peloponnesian War) throughout The Last of the Wine. You might like The Mask of Apollo or The Praise Singer better - the characters still get involved in Political Events, but the daily life and art themes are stronger.

[luzula]

Okay, I probably wouldn't enjoy the rest of it, then. And thanks for the recs!

[skygiants]

Sprig Muslin is one of my favorites! Founding text for my favorite "trapped in an inn" trope -- everyone holes up together and becomes bickery found family and it's hilarious and charming.

[luzula]

You are my main source for Heyer recs, so I already knew you liked it! But yeah, I should've trusted you and not spent half the book worrying it would go wrong. : )

[brigantine]

Cotillion is my favorite Heyer so far, too! \o/

Second is The Grand Sophy. I haven't read Sprig Muslin yet, but I've got it sitting on my shelf.... *sidles towards bookshelves*

[luzula]

Yeah, I have more Heyers lined up, too. They really are good light reading!