Recent reading

Southern Mail by Antoine Saint-Exupéry (original in French, read in Swedish)
For my book club at work. Meh, I did not enjoy this. It contains sentences such as: And her heart that beats steadily, a source different from his and inside her body. Riiiiight, men's hearts are not inside their bodies. And: O, woman, after love, bereft of the mantle and crown of male desire. WTF. *slowly backs away from the book*

Skugga-Baldur by Sjón (original in Icelandic, read in Swedish, in English as The Blue Fox)
A short novel which got about 100% better at the ending. Not that the beginning and middle are bad, just that there is a carefully set-up payoff at the end, when you realize how it all hangs together. It's set in 19th century Iceland with some folk-tale elements and lovely descriptions. If you're going to read this book, do not read the plot summary on Wikipedia first.

Podfic: "Queen of Berries" by Edonohana (Smith of Wootton Major by J. R. R .Tolkien)

Title: Queen of Berries
Author: Edonohana
Reader: luzula
Fandom: Smith of Wootton Major by J. R. R. Tolkien
Pairing: Smith/Nell
Rating: G
Length: 14 m 13 s
Author's summary: Smith picked up a book. The golden letters on the cover twisted, shuffling and re-shuffling: The Book of Dragons. The Book of Maps. The Book of Faery. He put down the book and fumbled in his pockets, though he was sure that nothing he had could pay for such a marvel. The golden letters brushed themselves into a new title: The Book of Nell.

Notes: This is for rachelmanija, who's going through a hard time. No canon knowledge needed to listen--this is a lovely fairy tale.

Download or stream here.