Recent reading

[luzula]

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021)
This is a hard SF novel which is the most page-turney book I've read in ages, in the sense of OMG-what-will-happen-next. I saw someone being annoyed by the amnesia in the beginning, but I thought it was fun to watch him figure things out, and actually it turns out the amnesia is plot-relevant. I won't say any more about the plot--I think this book is best read unspoiled. But if you enjoyed The Martian, you're going to enjoy this.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot (1972, audiobook)
Several people on my reading list have been talking about this, and my mom is watching the TV series, so I checked it out. And it turned out to be the perfect audiobook for me: I've been having some problems focusing on audiobooks, so I can't listen to anything which has a complicated plot or where it's important not to miss any details. But this is episodic and rambly and engaging and I like the audiobook reader, and overall it has been extremely soothing to listen to a story about a vet sticking his hand up a cow's bum or arguing with a cranky farmer when one is stressed out over work and doing the dishes.

Comments

[sanguinity]

We were reading aloud James Herriot's Dog Stories (the dog anecdotes from a bunch of books collected into one volume) at bedtime for a while, but I had to pre-read all the stories because while MOST of the stories are soothing and charming, every so often there's horrific trauma and/or the dog dies, which is not great "last thing you think about before sleep" reading.

We've watched quite a bit of the original TV series from the 70s and like it quite well, but have not checked out the new one yet.

[luzula]

Oh, I can imagine these short anecdotes make for good bedtime reading (minus the dog death, of course)! And good for reading aloud in general, they've got such a nice rambly narrative voice.