Perfect for the cooking gardener

With all the kitchen gizmos out there, and there are a lot of them, every now and again I discover something perfectly simple and brilliant. This is one of those that I first saw last Christmas as a gift.

They're a set of herb scissors that are perfect for cutting chives or parsley for your food.

I know that I love fresh parsley and chives garnishing my soups and pastas, but using a knife and cutting board isn't my all-time favorite way of chopping them. I also know you can use a set of regular scissors and a glass to chop herbs, but again I don't find it all that efficient. These on the other hand? With five sets of blades perfectly spaced apart, each snip provides bits of herb that are just the right size. They're not that difficult to clean either. Most of the time I find running water washes away any clogging bits. The rare times it doesn't - or if I'm not done using the scissors to chop, a knife blade works well - just as I would use one to clear a pastry-cutter.

I will admit that these herb scissors aren't ideal for all types of herbs - thyme or rosemary are still better chopped against a cutting board. Still, since I got myself a set I've been finding that I duck out to the garden to get some parsley or chives a bit more often than I did last year. The convenience factor of these is great.

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth is only a couple of months away now

And I can't wait! I only wish I was able to visit Oxford to see the actual exhibit.

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth
Ed. Catherine McIlwane
Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Release Date: July 15, 2018
978-1851244850

The amazon.com product description:

The range of J. R. R. Tolkien’s talents is remarkable. Not only was he an accomplished linguist and philologist, as well as a scholar of Anglo-Saxon and medieval literature and Norse folklore, but also a skillful illustrator and storyteller. Drawing on these talents, he created a universe which is for many readers as real as the physical world they inhabit daily.

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth explores the huge creative endeavor behind Tolkien’s enduring popularity. Lavishly illustrated with three hundred images of his manuscripts, drawings, maps, and letters, the book traces the creative process behind his most famous literary works—The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion—and reproduces personal photographs and private papers, many of which have never been seen before in print.

Six essays introduce the reader to the person of J. R. R. Tolkien and to main themes in his life and work, including the influence of northern languages and legends on the creation of his own legendarium; his concept of “Faërie” as an enchanted literary realm; the central importance of his invented languages in his fantasy writing; his visual imagination and its emergence in his artwork; and the encouragement he derived from his close friend C. S. Lewis and their literary group the Inklings.

The book brings together the largest collection of original Tolkien material ever assembled in a single volume. Drawing on the extensive archives of the Tolkien collections at the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford, which stretch to more than five hundred boxes, and Marquette University, Milwaukee, as well as private collections, this hugely ambitious and exquisitely produced book draws together the worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien – scholarly, literary, creative, and domestic—offering a rich and detailed understanding and appreciation of this extraordinary author.

This landmark publication, produced on the occasion of a major exhibition at the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford in 2018 and at the Morgan Library in New York in 2019, is set to become a standard work in the literature on J. R. R. Tolkien. 

Over 400 pages of essays and Tolkien material from the Bodleian Library, Marquette University and private collections! I'm almost drooling just thinking about it! Of course, some of it may have been reproduced in other volumes (I'm thinking of the Letters from Father Christmas for example). I just wish I could see somewhere a list of who the essay-writers are. I can definitely think of some well-recognized Tolkien scholars who I'd love to read more from: Verlyn Flieger, Dimitra Fimi, Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull, John Garth, etc...

With the sentence in the description "...his concept of “Faërie” as an enchanted literary realm; the central importance of his invented languages in his fantasy writing; his visual imagination and its emergence in his artwork..." I wouldn't be surprised to see one or two of the above named scholars having contributed. I know that two of the more recent Hammond and Scull books were on Tolkien's artwork in the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Dimitra Fimi has written on Tolkien and language, and Flieger has written a fair bit on Tolkien and Faerie in the past. However, those are just my guesses. I guess I'll just have to wait until I order and receive a copy of Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth to see who's contributed.

New Tolkien Book: The Inklings and King Arthur

It's setting up to be a good year for Tolkien books so far.

The latest one I've discovered came out a couple of months ago:

The Inklings and King Arthur: J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, C. S. Lewis, and Owen Barfield on the Matter of Britain
Ed: Sørina Higgins
Apocryphile Press
Copyright Date: December 2017
978-1944769895

The amazon.com product description:

In the midst of war-torn Britain, King Arthur returned in the writings of the Oxford Inklings. Learn how J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield brought hope to their times and our own in their Arthurian literature.
Although studies of the “Oxford Inklings” abound, astonishingly enough, none has yet examined their great body of Arthurian work. Yet each of these major writers tackled serious and relevant questions about government, gender, violence, imperialism, secularism, and spirituality through their stories of the Quest for the Holy Grail. This rigorous and sophisticated volume studies does so for the first time.
This serious and substantial volume addresses a complex subject that scholars have for too long overlooked. The contributors show how, in the legends of King Arthur, the Inklings found material not only for escape and consolation, but also, and more importantly, for exploring moral and spiritual questions of pressing contemporary concern. —Michael Ward, Fellow of Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, and co-editor of C.S. Lewis at Poets’ Corner
This volume follows Arthurian leylines in geographies of myth, history, gender, and culture, uncovering Inklings lodestones and way markers throughout. A must read for students of the Inklings. —Aren Roukema, Birkbeck, University of London

Definitely a book I'm adding to my "wish-list"!
None of the names are ones I recognize - but I admit that until recently I've focused more on the "big name" Tolkien scholars like Verlyn Flieger and Tom Shippey. At any rate, the Table of Contents I found on the Goodreads page for The Inklings and King Arthur looks intriguing:

Introduction—Present and Past: The Inklings and King Arthur.
—Sørina Higgins

Texts and Intertexts
1. The Matter of Logres: Arthuriana and the Inklings.
—Sørina Higgins
2. Medieval Arthurian Sources for the Inklings: An Overview.
—Holly Ordway
3. Mixed Metaphors and Hyperlinked Worlds:
A Study of Intertextuality in C. S. Lewis’ Ransom Cycle.
—Brenton D. G. Dickieson
4. Houses of Healing: The Idea of Avalon in Inklings Fiction and Poetry.
—Charles A. Huttar
5. Shape and Direction: Human Consciousness in the Inklings’ Mythological Geographies. —Christopher Gaertner

Histories Past
6. From Myth to History and Back Again:
Inklings Arthuriana in Historical Context.
—Yannick Imbert
7. “All Men Live by Tales”: Chesterton’s Arthurian Poems.
—J. Cameron Moore
8. The Elegiac Fantasy of Past Christendom in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Fall of Arthur.
—Cory Grewell

Histories Present
9. Spiritual Quest in a Scientific Age.
—Jason Jewell and Chris Butynskyi
10. The Stripped Banner:
Reading The Fall of Arthur as a Post-World War I Text.
—Taylor Driggers
11. “Lilacs Out of the Dead Land”:
Narnia, The Waste Land, and the World Wars.
—Jon Hooper
12. “What Does the Line along the Rivers Define?”:
Charles Williams’ Arthuriad and the Rhetoric of Empire.
—Benjamin D. Utter

Geographies of Gender
13. “Fair as Fay-woman and Fell-minded”: Tolkien’s Guinever.
—Alyssa House-Thomas
14. Beatrice and Byzantium: Sex and the City in the Arthurian Works of Charles Williams. —Andrew Rasmussen
15. Those Kings of Lewis’ Logres:
Arthurian Figures as Lewisian Genders in That Hideous Strength.
—Benjamin Shogren

Cartographies of the Spirit
16. “Servant of All”: Arthurian Peregrinations in George MacDonald.
—Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson
17. Camelot Incarnate: Arthurian Vision in the Early Plays of Charles Williams.
—Bradley Wells
18. “Any Chalice of Consecrated Wine”:
The Significance of the Holy Grail in Charles Williams’ War in Heaven.
—Suzanne Bray
19. The Acts of Unity: The Eucharistic Theology of Charles Williams’ Arthurian Poetry.
—Andrew C. Stout
Conclusion—Once and Future:
The Inklings, Arthur, and Prophetic Insight.
—Malcolm Guite

I'll also admit that my reading and book-buying habits have been directed more towards J.R.R. Tolkien and scholarship about his life and works. However, I'm working on expanding from there, and this definitely looks like a book to get. All I know about most of the other Inklings comes from the Humphrey Carpenter book of the same name, although recently I've bought another book or two on the topic.

Interesting article on e-readers and their future

I just finished reading this article on the future of e-readers: Is the E-Reader Dead? (not e-books I have to note) and I'm wondering what your opinion is.

Personally, I hope not! I love my Kobo Glo e-reader! I've been using one since the very first generation Kobo came out - which I think was around 2010? I still have my 2nd gen one around somewhere too. For a while I used a Kobo Vox, but I've happily gone back to the e-ink e-readers for several reasons.

The primary reason I've returned to the e-ink e-reader - I bought my latest one a couple of years ago, the Kobo Glo HD is the battery life. Overall, my opinion since is that I love it - the touch screen, ability to read footnotes, and the adjustable light, but overall the battery life!

I can take it on a week-long camping trip and not have to worry about running out of battery and reading-time. What's more, I don't have to read with a flashlight/headlamp at night either in the tent or by the fire. Personally at night I find that 2-4% brightness for the lighting works well, which is also dim enough that it doesn't always bother my camping partner.

I compare that with my iPad, which has about a ten hour battery life before I need to recharge it, or my old Kobo Vox which was about 6-8 hours of battery life and slow! Or at least looking back on it it seems slow.

One of the best things with the e-ink e-reader over using an app on my phone/tablet - besides it's habit of sucking battery-power - is the ease of loading the many non-Kobo e-books I have on my computer - the early Honor Harrington series thanks to the CD that came with the hardcover edition of War of Honor, similar collections from other CD's, electronic ARC's and even small-site purchases of e-books. Run those into Calibre, make sure they're in the right format, and then load them onto the e-ink reader.

If I'm doing the same thing with books on my iPad e-reader, I have to do the format checks, then e-mail the e-pub file to myself and then download it into the Kobo app on my iPad. Much more of a hassle in my mind. However, there may be a faster method that I'm not aware of.

Maybe it's a personal thing, but I like having a dedicated device for reading - I remember with the Kobo Vox how easy it was to read for a few minutes then get side-tracked with the games I'd loaded onto that device before coming back again to read for a bit more. Reading on a dedicated device reduces that temptation - though the fact I'm generally carrying a phone with games on it mitigates that.

For the most part, while I prefer paper books, the one thing I can't deny is the convenience of an e-reader of any sort for books like The Mists of Avalon, or The Deed of Paksenarrion - both books that are 800 pages plus, and often over a thousand pages each. Forget taking something like that traveling! Camping or otherwise. Even when traveling, I'm spoiled for choice, with probably a hundred e-books or so with me. Despite that, I'll still carry a couple of paper books too - no way I'm going to risk my e-reader taking it out on my kayak. An inexpensive mass-market paperback that I bought used - and can find again easily? That I'll take, sealed inside a zip-lock bag.

One of the other bonuses with e-books is the "instant gratification" factor. Finished one book and want to read the next in the series? Go online to the store and purchase/download it right away. No having to order the book and wait for it to come in. I will admit to buying some series this way for exactly that reason.

And finally, there's no need to be embarrassed by a book cover any more. Romance novel? No-one's going to see it and judge it - especially if you have a cover on your e-reader. Racy cover? same thing. Again, I have a couple of series that I'm only buying in e-form for just that reason.

Really for me, the dedicated e-ink e-reader really comes down to three main points that raise it over the e-reading apps for phones and tablets (though I'll admit to using the Amazon.com app on my iPad, and I also have the Kobo app on it, though I rarely use it).

First of all, the battery life - it's challenging enough keeping my phone and iPad charged when camping. Having a device for a pastime I do a lot of where I don't have to worry about the battery is a really big plus (I'll easily read for two or three hours a day sometimes).

Second is the convenience of being able to quickly and easily load on non-Kobo or non-Amazon.com books.

And the third point in favor of the e-ink e-readers: No screen-glare! Which does actually raise a fourth point - how easy it is to read on an e-ink screen under any lighting conditions - bright sun in sunglasses? no problem. Dim shade? Easy. Late at night? Simple. It's so much easier on my eyes. What's more, the e-ink readers give you more control over how the text is laid out on the page/screen I've found. More font-options, margin and line-spacing controls as well.

Overall, as you can see, I'm really hoping that the article linked above isn't correct in it's predictions.

What's your take on the issue?

And another new book arrival

I'm starting to run out of ways to title these posts. Anyway, the final book in last month's ordering/buying spree arrived this morning.

The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender in Medieval Europe
Ed. Judith M. Bennett and Ruth Mazo Karras
Oxford University Press
Copyright 2013 (reprint 2016)
978-0198779384

The amazon.com product description:

The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender in Medieval Europe provides a comprehensive overview of the gender rules encountered in Europe in the period between approximately 500 and 1500 C.E. The essays collected in this volume speak to interpretative challenges common to all fields of women's and gender history - that is, how best to uncover the experiences of ordinary people from archives formed mainly by and about elite males, and how to combine social histories of lived experiences with cultural histories of gendered discourses and identities. The collection focuses on Western Europe in the Middle Ages but offers some consideration of medieval Islam and Byzantium.

The Handbook is structured into seven sections: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim thought; law in theory and practice; domestic life and material culture; labour, land, and economy; bodies and sexualities; gender and holiness; and the interplay of continuity and change throughout the medieval period. It contains material from some of the foremost scholars in this field, and it not only serves as the major reference text in medieval and gender studies, but also provides an agenda for future new research.

With all of the other history books I've bought recently, I don't know when I'm going to have a chance to really get into this one, but it's one I really wanted to add to my collection. I'm hoping it will start to fill some gaps in my collection - which is fairly heavily focused on the U.K. and on the Crusades (for which interest I thank a couple of really good teachers I've had, and also my interest in historical fiction). Many of the remaining books are former textbooks I've kept since my university student days. Still, it's time to branch out a bit, and this is a start.

I know I've had quite an interest in women's lives during the Medieval period - part of my interest in people's day-to-day lives. and that's the direction I've been taking my library to an extent.

Anyway, it's time to step back from my ever-growing bookshelves, and refocus on this book.
Looking at the table of contents, there are essays on: Women and Gender in Islamic traditions, Women and Laws in Early Medieval Europe, Slavery, Gender at the Medieval Millennium, Women and Gender in Canon Law, Urban Economies, Gender and Daily Life in Jewish Communities and so many more articles.

I have the feeling that I'm going to be wishing I'd bought the hardcover version and not the paperback - despite the fact that I can't really justify ether purchase with the number of unread books I already have.

More Newly Arrived Books

Yesterday I picked up two more books I'd ordered last month, and also ended up buying two other books - one a planned purchase, but the other was spur-of-the-moment. Endcaps in my favorite bookstore can be dangerous to the budget!

The books are (ordered books first):

The Disposessed
Ursula K. Le Guin
Harper Voyager
Copyright Date: 1994 (reprint)
978-0061054884

The amazon.com product description:

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. he will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.

This is one of the books I ordered after I heard about Ursula K. Le Guin's death. I'd been meaning to read more of her books, and never got around to it.

A Wizard of Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin
HMH Books for Young Readers
Copyright Date: 1968
978-0547773742

The amazon.com product description:

Originally published in 1968, Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea marks the first of the six now beloved Earthsea titles. Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tumultuous tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

It's been a very long times since I read this one and it's sequels. Long enough to be honest that I don't remember any of the story-line or plot points, just that I did read it as a kid. As a result, I am planning to include this one on my unread fiction books list.

Into The Fire
Elizabeth Moon
Del Rey
Copyright: February 2018
978-1101887349

The amazon.com product description:

In this new military sci-fi thriller from the Nebula Award–winning author of Cold Welcome, Admiral Kylara Vatta is back—with a vengeance.

Ky beats sabotage, betrayal, and the unforgiving elements to lead a ragtag group of crash survivors to safety on a remote arctic island. And she cheats death after uncovering secrets someone is hell-bent on protecting. But the worst is far from over when Ky discovers the headquarters of a vast conspiracy against her family and the heart of the planet’s government itself.

With their base of operations breached, the plotters have no choice but to gamble everything on an audacious throw of the dice. Even so, the odds are stacked against Ky. When her official report on the crash and its aftermath goes missing—along with the men and women she rescued—Ky realizes that her mysterious enemies are more powerful and dangerous than she imagined.

Now, targeted by faceless assassins, Ky and her family—along with her fiancé, Rafe—must battle to reclaim the upper hand and unmask the lethal cabal closing in on them with murderous intent.

Into The Fire is the sequel to Cold Welcome, which I have to admit I haven't read yet - time to dive back into the world of Kylara Vatta - possibly from book one, Trading in Danger. It also has a great cover image!

The final book I bought was a complete impulse buy:

Victoria The Queen 
Julia Baird
Random House
Copyright Date: October 2017 (reprint)
978-0812982282

The amazon.com product description:

The true story for fans of the PBS Masterpiece series Victoria, this page-turning biography reveals the real woman behind the myth: a bold, glamorous, unbreakable queen—a Victoria for our times. Drawing on previously unpublished papers, this stunning new portrait is a story of love and heartbreak, of devotion and grief, of strength and resilience.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
JANET MASLIN, THE NEW YORK TIMES • ESQUIRE • THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

“Victoria the Queen, Julia Baird’s exquisitely wrought and meticulously researched biography, brushes the dusty myth off this extraordinary monarch.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice)

When Victoria was born, in 1819, the world was a very different place. Revolution would threaten many of Europe’s monarchies in the coming decades. In Britain, a generation of royals had indulged their whims at the public’s expense, and republican sentiment was growing. The Industrial Revolution was transforming the landscape, and the British Empire was commanding ever larger tracts of the globe. In a world where women were often powerless, during a century roiling with change, Victoria went on to rule the most powerful country on earth with a decisive hand.

Fifth in line to the throne at the time of her birth, Victoria was an ordinary woman thrust into an extraordinary role. As a girl, she defied her mother’s meddling and an adviser’s bullying, forging an iron will of her own. As a teenage queen, she eagerly grasped the crown and relished the freedom it brought her. At twenty, she fell passionately in love with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, eventually giving birth to nine children. She loved sex and delighted in power. She was outspoken with her ministers, overstepping conventional boundaries and asserting her opinions. After the death of her adored Albert, she began a controversial, intimate relationship with her servant John Brown. She survived eight assassination attempts over the course of her lifetime. And as science, technology, and democracy were dramatically reshaping the world, Victoria was a symbol of steadfastness and security—queen of a quarter of the world’s population at the height of the British Empire’s reach.

Drawing on sources that include fresh revelations about Victoria’s relationship with John Brown, Julia Baird brings vividly to life the fascinating story of a woman who struggled with so many of the things we do today: balancing work and family, raising children, navigating marital strife, losing parents, combating anxiety and self-doubt, finding an identity, searching for meaning.

Thanks to the show The Crown, I've gotten a lot more interested in the British Royal Family, so I couldn't help but pick up this book. Now I've just got to find the time to read it (along with the several hundred other unread books in my collection). 

Two new books arrived

Silence Fallen
Patricia Briggs
Ace
Copyright Date: January 2018
978-0425281284

The amazon.com product description:

In the #1 New York Times bestselling Mercy Thompson novels, the coyote shapeshifter has found her voice in the werewolf pack. But when Mercy's bond with the pack--and her mate--is broken, she'll learn what it truly means to be alone...

Attacked and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use against Alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In coyote form, Mercy escapes--only to find herself without money, without clothing, and alone in a foreign country.

Unable to contact Adam through their mate bond, Mercy has allies to find and enemies to fight, and she needs to figure out which is which. Ancient powers stir, and Mercy must be her agile best to avoid causing a supernatural war.

I've got to play catch-up with this series! I'm sure I haven't read the last book, but I'm not sure about the one before that (though technically it's part of the Alpha and Omega spin-off and not the main line of the series, the Mercy Thompson books).

Nonetheless, I think it's time to do a re-read and catch-up - this has been one of my favorite urban fantasy series since I picked it up (around the time Bone Crossed came out I think).

The other book I picked up yesterday was one by Ursula K. Le Guin:

The Left Hand of Darkness
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ace Books
Copyright: 1987
978-0441478125

The amazon.com product description:

Ursula K. Le Guin's groundbreaking work of science fiction—winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.A lone human ambassador is sent to Winter, an alien world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants can change their gender whenever they choose. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...

Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.

I've not read much of Ursula K. Le Guin's books, other than the first three or four of the Earthsea series, and that was so long ago that I've forgotten all of it. So, after hearing of her death last month, I ordered several of her books - ones I'd meant to read, but have yet to get around to. This was the first of those orders to arrive.

Tea Infusing Spoons

Okay, I am officially nuts. Feel free to say that if you want, but yes, I am about to rave about tea infusing spoons.

Over the years since I've become a tea drinker (favourite variety being the Murchies Orange Spice loose leaf variety), I've gone through more than a few different infusers: Tea balls, ceramic mug infusers, metal mug infusers, and my favorite has quickly become the tea infusing spoon when making single mugs of tea.

For pots of tea, you can't beat the old-fashioned tea ball - at least most of the time. I've had a run of bad luck with those lately, with my latest few leaking enough tea leaves into the pot that I practically have to pour through a strainer.

As I'm usually making my tea by the mug, I thought I'd try something else. I've had a couple of the ceramic-based infusers with silicone handles. They worked well enough, holding just enough tea leaves to make that mug of tea without wasting any, but there's one big downside to the lot of them:  getting the used tea leaves out when you're done. The opening's too small for fingers to pull the leaves out and they stick inside. Gravity's certainly not going to do the job! I've spent too much time trying to pry the drippy messes of leaves out with a spoon handle with mixed success - to the point where I was deliberately selecting other varieties of tea in bags rather than using the infuser.

Last year I saw one of these tea-infusing spoons for the first time and decided to give it a try. I haven't used the ceramic infuser since! No more spilled tea leaves when I'm trying to fill it - just pinch the handle and scoop the tea out with the spoon itself. No more spoon handle trying to scrape the used leaves out at the other end of the process either! Squeeze the handle open and give the whole thing a smart rap against the edge of the compost bucket and the wet leaves fall out in a mass. There are no edges for the leaves to get caught up on either or to make it difficult to clean.

After a year of use (including leaving the leaves in over several hours at a time while I re-steep them for new mugs of tea), there's no signs of rust either, which is more than I can say for some of the regular tea balls I've had over the years!

New arrival to add to my Tolkien Collection - There Would Always Be A Fairy Tale by Verlyn Flieger

Guess what arrived in the mail today! I'd actually forgotten I'd ordered it, so it was a nice surprise:

There Would Always Be A Fairy Tale: More Essays On Tolkien
Verlyn Flieger
Kent State University Press
Copyright Date: December 2017
978-1606353080

The amazon.com product description:

Devoted to Tolkien, the teller of tales and co-creator of the myths they brush against, these essays focus on his lifelong interest in and engagement with fairy stories, the special world that he called faërie, a world they both create and inhabit, and with the elements that make that world the special place it is. They cover a range of subjects, from The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings and their place within the legendarium he called the Silmarillion to shorter works like “The Story of Kullervo” and “Smith of Wootton Major.”
From the pen of eminent Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger, the individual essays in this collection were written over a span of twenty years, each written to fit the parameters of a conference, an anthology, or both. They are revised slightly from their original versions to eliminate repetition and bring them up to date. Grouped loosely by theme, they present an unpatterned mosaic, depicting topics from myth to truth, from social manners to moral behavior, from textual history to the micro particles of Middle-earth.
Together these essays present a complete picture of a man as complicated as the books that bear his name―an independent and unorthodox thinker who was both a believer and a doubter able to maintain conflicting ideas in tension, a teller of tales both romantic and bitter, hopeful and pessimistic, in equal parts tragic and comedic. A man whose work does not seek for right or wrong answers so much as a way to accommodate both; a man of antitheses.
Scholars of fantasy literature generally and of Tolkien particularly will find much of value in this insightful collection by a seasoned explorer of Tolkien’s world of faërie.

I'm looking forward to reading Verlyn Flieger's newest book on Tolkien, and yet I have to admit that even though I own most of her other Tolkien books, I have yet to actually read them! Anyway, this one is destined for both my Unread Tolkien books list, and my latest Tolkien collection post. Hopefully I'll be able to get around to reading it (and some of her other books) in the near future.

Non Fiction Unread Books of 2018

My Unread Books List 2018 - Non Fiction:

1. Women In Medieval Society - Ed. Susan Mosher Stuard (History)
2. The Lady In Medieval England 1000-1500 - Peter Coss (History)
3. The History of the World in 100 Objects - Neil MacGregor (History)
4. The Zero Mile Diet: A Year Round Guide To Growing Organic Food - Carolyn Herriot (Gardening)
5.  The Crusader States - Malcolm Barber (History)
6. Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades - Johnathan Phillips (History)
7. Alexander The Great - Philip Freeman (History, Biography)
8. The Rise And Fall of Ancient Egypt - Toby Wilkinson (History)
9. The Ruin of the Roman Empire: A New History - James J. O'Donnell (History)
10. Atlas of Medieval Europe (History)
11. The Axe and the Oath - Robert Fossier (History)
12. A Short History of the Middle Ages - Barbara Rosenwein (History)
13. The Grand Design - Steven Hawking 
14. The Last Apocalypse - James Reston Jr. (History)
15. Medieval Households - David Herlihy (History)
16. Special Sisters: Women In The European Middle Ages - Arthur Fredrick Ide (History)
17. Medieval Costume And Fashion - Herbert Norris (History)
18. Sex, Dissidence And Damnation: Minority Groups In The Middle Ages - Jeffrey Richards (History)
19. Daily Living In The Twelfth Century (History)
20. Cathedral, Forge And Waterwheel - Francis And Joseph Gies (History)
21. Medicine And Society In Later Medieval England - Caroline Rawcliffe (History)
22. Londinium - John Morris (History)
23. The Archaeology Of Roman Britain - R. G. Collingwood (History)
24. Londinium - John Morris (History)
25. The Archaeology Of Roman Britain - R. G. Collingwood (History)
26. Women in Early Medieval Europe 400-1100 - Lisa M. Bitel (History)
27. An Illustrated History of its First 12000 Years: Toronto edited by Ronald F. Williamson (History)
28. Becoming Modern In Toronto: The Industrial Exhibition - Keith Walden (History)
29. The Complete World Of The Dead Sea Scrolls - Phillip R. Davies, George J. Brooke and Phillip R. Callaway (History)
30. Dictionary Of Mythology
31. Hadrian - Anthony Everitt (Biography)
32. The Inheritance Of Rome - Chris Wickham (History)
33. The Ties That Bound - Barbara Hanawalt (History)
34. Making A Living In The Middle Ages - Christopher Dyer (History)
35. The Art Of Medieval Hunting - John Cummins (History)
36. Eleanor Of Aquitaine - Alison Weir (Biography)
37. Growing Up In Medieval London - Barbara Hanawalt (History)
38. The Lost Capital Of Byzantium - Steven Runciman (History)
39.  Readings In Medieval History - Patrick Geary (History)
40.  The Real Middle Earth - Brian Bates  (History)
41. Khubilai Khan's Lost Fleet: In Search of a Legendary Armada - James Delgado (History)
42. The Medieval World - Eds. Peter Linehan & Janet L. Nelson (History)
43. Europe And The Middle Ages - Edward Peters (History)
44. The Age of the Cathedrals - Georges Duby (History)
45. A History Of Private Life I (History)
46. A History Of Private Life II (History)
47. The Peasantries Of Europe - Ed. Tom Scott (History)
48. Law And Life of Rome - J. A. Crook (History)
49. The Temple And the Lodge - Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh
50. The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception - Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh
51. The Battle Of Salamis - Barry Strauss (History)
52. The Knights Templar - Piers Paul Read - Non Fiction (History)
53. The Lost Tomb Of Alexander The Great - Andrew Michael Chugg (History)
54. Rome And Jerusalem - Martin Goodman (History)
55. The History of Britain - Simon Schama (History)
56. Caesar - Adrian Goldworthy (History, Biography)
57. The Fall Of The Roman Empire - Peter Heather (History)
58. Xenophon's Retreat - Robin Waterfield (History)
59. Isabella - Alison Weir (History, Biography)
60. An Imperial Possession - David Mattingly (History)
61. The Peloponnesian War - Donald Kagan (History)
62. Augustus: The Life Of Rome's First Emperor - Anthony Everitt (History, Biography)
63. Cicero - Anthony Everitt (History, Biography)
64. God's War - Christopher Tyerman (History)
65. Life In A Medieval City - Francis and Joseph Gies (History)
66. Life In A Medieval Castle - Francis and Joseph Gies (History)
67.  Steve Jobs - Walter Isaacson (Biography)
68. Armies Of Heaven - Jay Rubenstein (History)
69. Sea of Faith - Stepehen O'Shea (History)
70. Beyond Book Indexing - Ed. Dianne Brenner and Marilyn Rowland (Indexing)
71. The Medieval World Europe 1100-1350 - Friedrich Heer (History)
72. The City in the Greek and Roman World - E.J. Owens (History)
73. The Greek World After Alexander 323-30 B.C. - Graham Shipley (History)
74. A Great And Terrible King: Edward I And The Forging Of Britain - Mark Morris (History, Biography)
75. Cleopatra - Stacy Schiff (Biography, E-book, History)
76. Antony and Cleopatra - Adrian Goldsworthy (Biography, History)
77. Cleopatra A Biography - Duane W. Roller (History, Biography)
78. Cleopatra the Great The Woman Behind The Legend - Joann Fletcher (History, Biography)
79. Cleopatra The Search For The Last Queen Of Egypt - Zahi Hawass and Franck Goddio (History, Archaeology, Biography)
80. Cruelty and Civilization: The Roman Games - Roland Auguet (History)
81. Nova Scotia Shaped By The Sea - Lesley Choyce (History)
82. Ancient Cities - Charles Gates (History, Archaeology)
83. Getting In TTouch With Your Horse - Linda Tellington-Jones (Animals)
84. Greek Art and Archaeology - John Griffiths Pedley (History, Archaeology, Art)
85. Roman Art - Nancy H. Ramage and Andrew Ramage (History, Art, Archaeology)
86. Fighting For The Cross - Norman Housley (History)
87. The Middle Ages: Everyday Life In Medieval Europe - Jeffrey L. Singman (History)
88. A Medieval Miscelany - Judith Herrin (History)
89. Gothic Art: Glorious Visions - Michael Camille (History, Art)
90. Early Medieval Art - Lawrence Nees (History, Art)
91. Great Harry's Navy - Geoffrey Moorhouse (History)
92. Ghost On The Throne - James Romm (History)
93. Blueprint Crochet Sweaters - Robyn Chachula (Crochet)
94. Elizabeth The Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch - Sally Bedell Smith (Biography) 
95. Dr. Radcliffe's Library: The Story of The Radcliffe Camera in Oxford - Stephen Hebron (History)
96. The Material Culture of Daily Living in the Anglo-Saxon World - Ed. Maren Clegg Hyer and Gale R. Owen-Crocker (History, Archaeology)
97. The Real Jane Austen: A Life In Small Things - Paula Byrne (Biography)
98. The Iron Ship: The Story of Brunel's ss Great Britain - Ewan Corlett (History)
99. Monastic Life in Anglo-Saxon England c. 600-900 - Sarah Foot (History)
100. Women, Crusading And The Holy Land in Historical Narrative - Natasha R. Hodgson (History) 
101. How To Plan A Crusade - Christopher Tyerman (History)
102. The Crown: The Official Companion, Volume 1: Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, and the Making of a Young Queen - Robert Lacey (History, Biography)
103. The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender In Medieval Europe - Ed. Judith Bennett and Ruth Mazo Karras (History)  
104. Victoria The Queen - Julia Baird (History, Biography) 
105. The Silk Roads: A New History of the World - Peter Frankopan (History)

Unread Primary Sources - 2018

Unread Books 2017 - Primary Sources List:

1. The Histories - Herodotus - Non Fiction (History)
2. The Peloponnesian War - Thucydides - Non Fiction (History)
3. Greek Lives - Plutarch - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
4. Roman Lives - Plutarch - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
5. Beowulf - Trans. Seamus Heany - Poetry
6. Anthony And Cleopatra - Shakespeare - Fiction
7. Romeo And Juliet - Shakespeare - Fiction
8. Richard III - Shakespeare - Fiction
9. The Comedy Of Errors - Shakespeare - Fiction
10. All's Well That Ends Well - Shakespeare - Fiction
11. Troilus And Cressida - Shakespeare - Fiction
12. Henry IV Part One - Shakespeare - Fiction
13. The Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer - Poetry
14. The Saga of Grettir The Strong - Fiction
15. The Conquest Of Gaul - Julius Caesar - Non Fiction (History)
16. Metamorphosis - Ovid - Poetry
17. Greek Lyric Poetry - Trans. Sherod Santos - Poetry
18. On Sparta - Plutarch - Non Fiction (History)
19. A History Of My Times - Xenophon - Non Fiction (History)
20.  Roman Poets Of The Early Empire - Poetry
21. Troilus And Criseyde - Geoffrey Chaucer - Poetry
22. Medieval English Prose For Women - Eds. Bella Millett & Jocelyn Wogan-Browne - Non Fiction 
23. Josephus - Non Fiction (History)
24. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English - Non Fiction
25. The Life Of Christina Of Markayte - Trans. C. H. Talbot - Non Fiction
26. Lysistrata/The Clouds  - Aristophanes - Fiction (History, Play)
27. Pausanias Guide to Greece Volume One Translated by Peter Levy - Non Fiction (History) 
28. The Landmark Arrian - Non Fiction (History)
29. The Crusades A Reader - Ed. S. J. Allen and Emilie Amt - Non Fiction (History)
30. Women's Writing In Middle English - Ed. Alexandra Barratt - Non Fiction (History)
31. The Landmark Hellenika - Ed. Robert Strassler - Non Fiction (History)
32. Chronicles of the First Crusade - Ed. Christopher Tyerman - Non Fiction (History)
33. Everyman And Medieval Miracle Plays - Ed. A. C. Crawley - Non Fiction
34. Juvenal The Sixteen Satires - Trans. Peter Green - Poetry
35. Aeschylus II - Play
36. Euripides I - Play
37. Sophocles II - Play
38. Reading The Middle Ages - Ed. Barbara Rosenwein - Non Fiction (History)
39. The Song of Roland - Poetry
40. Rome And Italy - Livy - Non Fiction (History)
41. The Early History of Rome - Livy - Non Fiction (History)
42. Odes and Epodes - Horace - Poetry
43. Joinville And Villehardouin Chronicles of the First Crusade - Non Fiction (History)
44. The Book Of Contemplation: Islam and the Crusades - Usama Ibn Munqidh - Non Fiction (History)
45. The Book of Margery Kempe - Non Fiction (Autobiography)
46. Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management - Non Fiction (Cooking)

Unread Fiction Books - 2018

My Unread Fiction Books 2018:

1. Star Wars: X-Wing Omnibus 3 - Michael Stackpole (Graphic Novel)
2. A Flame In Hali - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross (Fantasy)
3. The Fall of Neskaya - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross (Fantasy)
4. Zandru's Forge - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross (Science Fiction)
5. Masters of Fantasy (Anthology)
6. Sword and Sorceress XV - Ed. Marion Zimmer Bradley (Anthology)
7. Sword and Sorceress XIV - Ed. Marion Zimmer Bradley (Anthology)
8. Sword and Sorceress X - Ed. Marion Zimmer Bradley (Anthology)
9. Sword and Sorceress VI - Ed. Marion Zimmer Bradley (Anthology)
10. Sword and Sorceress IX - Ed. Marion Zimmer Bradley (Anthology)
11.  Rocket Ship Galileo - Robert Heinlein (Science Fiction)
12. Falls The Shadow - Sharon Kay Penman (History)
13. The Reckoning - Sharon Kay Penman (History)
14. Sword and Sorceress I - Ed. Marion Zimmer Bradey (Anthology)
15. Sword and Sorceress V - Ed. Marion Zimmer Bradley (Anthology)
16. Sword and Sorceress VII - Ed. Marion Zimmer Bradley (Anthology)
17. Against The Odds - Elizabeth Moon (Science Fiction)
18. Alexandria - Nick Bantock 
19. Morningstar - Nick Bantock 
20. Gryphon - Nick Bantock 
21. Lord of the Two Lands - Judith Tarr (Fantasy)
22. Variable Star - Robert Heinlein and Spider Robinson (Science Fiction)
23. Zoe's Tale - John Scalzi (Science Fiction)
24. The Forgetting Room - Nick Bantock 
25. The Venetian's Wife - Nick Bantock 
26. The Museum At Purgatory - Nick Bantock
27. Shadow Of The Swords - Kamran Pasha 
28. The Forest Laird - Jack Whyte (Historical Fiction)
29. American Vampire - Scott Snyder, Steven King (Graphic Novel)
30. A Game Of Thrones - George R. R. Martin (Fantasy, e-book)
31. Queen By Right - Anne Easter Smith (Historical Fiction)
32. Dreams of Joy - Lisa See (Historical Fiction)
33. Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire (Fantasy)
34. By Fire By Water - Mitchell James Kaplan (History)
35. Heaven To Wudang - Kylie Chan (Fantasy)
36. Stalking Darkness - Lynn Flewelling (Fantasy)
37. Traitor's Moon - Lynn Flewelling (Fantasy)
38. The Empire At War Vol 1  (Graphic Novel, Science Fiction)
39. The Empire At War Vol 2 (Graphic Novel, Science Fiction)
40.  The X Factor - Andre Norton (Science Fiction)
41. Star Gate - Andre Norton (Science Fiction)
42. Stargate SG1 Do No Harm - Karen Miller (TV Tie-in, Science Fiction)
43. Stargate SG1 Relativity - James Swallow (TV Tie-in, Science Fiction)
44. Stargate SG1 The Morpheus Factor - Ashley McConnell (TV Tie-in, Science Fiction)
45. Stargate SG1 The Cost of Honor - Sally Malcom (TV Tie-in, Science Fiction)
46. Stargate SG1 A Matter of Honor - Sally Malcolm (TV Tie-in, Science Fiction)
47. Stargate SG1 Roswell - Sonny Whitelaw and Jennifer Fallon (TV Tie-in, Science Fiction)
48. Stargate SG1 Alliances - Karen Miller (TV Tie-in, Science Fiction
49. Masks of the Outcasts - Andre Norton (Science Fiction)
50. Stargate SG1 The Price You Pay - Ashley McConnell (TV Tie-in, Science Fiction) 
51. The Renegade - Jack Whyte (Historical Fiction)
52. The Guardian - Jack Whyte (Historical Fiction)
53. Written In My Own Heart's Blood - Diana Gabaldon (Historical Fiction)
54. An Echo In The Bone - Diana Gabaldon (Historical Fiction)
55. A Breath Of Snow And Ashes - Diana Gabaldon (Historical Fiction)
56. In The Shadow Of The Banyan Tree - Vaddey Ratner
57. The Light Between The Oceans - M. L. Stedman
58. The Third Gate - Lincoln Child 
59. Equal Of The Sun - Anita Amirrezvani (Historical Fiction)
60. The Lake Of Dreams - Kim Edwards 
61. The Forest - Edward Rutherfurd (Historical Fiction) 
62. The Second Empress - Michelle Moran (Historical Fiction) 
63. The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill (Historical Fiction)  
64. Tempest: All New Tales of Valdemar - Mercedes Lackey (Fantasy) 
65. Cold Welcome (Vatta's Peace) - Elizabeth Moon (Science Fiction) 
66. Written In My Own Heart's Blood - Diana Gabaldon (Historical Fiction)
67. Seven Stones To Stand Or Fall - Diana Gabaldon (Historical Fiction) 
68. The Tea Girl Of Hummingbird Lane - Lisa See  
69. A Bear Called Paddington - Michael Bond 
70. Pathways: All New Tales of Valdemar - Mercedes Lackey (Fantasy) 
71. Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World Of Mercy Thompson - Patricia Briggs (Fantasy) 
72. Thunderlord - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross (Fantasy)
73. Silence Fallen - Patricia Briggs (Fantasy, Urban Fantasy)
74. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin (Science Fiction) 
75. The Disposessed - Ursula K. Le Guin (Science Fiction)
76. A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin (Fantasy)
77. Into The Fire - Elizabeth Moon (Science Fiction) 
78. The Emperor's Agent - Jo Graham (Fantasy, Historical Fiction)

Evolving understandings of racism, preferred terminology and historical fiction

I participated briefly in a very interesting exchange on Twitter on the term "gypsy" a week or so ago, mostly by reading the thread, but I did ask one question, one I'd love to get some more thoughts and answers on.

The question I was trying to ask, though I don't think I worded it very well then was about historical fiction. I'm asking it again here in hopes of getting some more responses and thoughts.

"How do you handle terms and attitudes that are now considered racist/inappropriate when dealing with a story set in a time when those attitudes were considered normal/acceptable?"

Personally, I lean on the side of authenticity - if the terminology or attitude was common in primary sources of the time then I don't see an issue with using it - if appropriate for the characters and storylines. Don't go using it just because you can. A fine line... But one that can be trodden I think. Examples include the Book of Negroes (TV series at least), and Outlander (books and TV series both).

I should note that the responses I got to the question when I asked it on Twitter ranged from "yes, authenticity is good, but add warnings so people can chose if they feel like dealing with the attitudes right now" to what felt like "don't write or read those stories. They're racist", though that was never actually said. A fair enough point, but doesn't that cut out most of the past then as fodder for writing?

At least if you don't want "modern characters in period dress" which is an issue I've felt with quite a lot of popular historical fiction, and those books tend to end up on my DNF pile pretty quickly. Not every character in a time period is going to be "enlightened" and "modern" by our standards. Is it realistic of us to expect that in our reading? and if so, doesn't that then construct false impressions of a particular time period?

I'm forever debating variations of this with people I know - mostly on topics of women's rights and legal standing in ancient Rome or Greece (I come down on the "that's the way it was, now how was it justified/accepted/understood in that time" side of the debate, vs. the "that's wrong, it never should have been that way, they're so backwards, how did we ever accept it" side of the debate, which to me gets in the way of trying to understand the way people thought and acted in the past).

This is a question I'm poking at a bit, trying to find an answer that works - I have dreams of one day writing a novel or two myself, and the ideas I have are mostly historically-oriented, so this is something I'm trying to figure out (around reading books about the times I'm interested in to try and lock down facts and ideas that I could use). Whether it'll actually happen or not, I don't know.

What solutions are there to this question? I'd love to know - and not actually being a writer, I'm sure I'm missing some ideas and options. Thing is, while I know I prefer "realism" in what I'm reading when it comes to historical fiction, I also don't want the books I like to be offensive to people either - thus trying to figure out the balancing act.

Judith Tarr blog post series

There's an ongoing series of blog posts by Judith Tarr, who wrote the e-book on Writing Horses: the Fine Art of Getting It Right, over on the TOR books website. This time the main thrust is what an alien society based on horses might look like. Makes for some fascinating reading, as she's been going on the topic for a few months now. What's more, the comment threads are just as interesting as the originating posts, which makes for a really nice treat in this day and age.

There are also some posts on other horse-related topics more geared towards fantasy writing and movies as well. I highly recommend any of her writings on the subject of horses, as well as her numerous novels.

Signs of Obliviousness

Despite the amusing title, I'm absolutely serious about this one - and furious too!

Really it's two issues, though the second one grows out of the first.

Every time. Every time I am in a park - regional, provincial or national - I see people ignoring the posted signs.

"PLEASE KEEP OFF THE RE-VEGETATED AREA"
The signs are posted, the area is clearly fenced off - at least from the path side - I'm slightly willing to cut some slack when it comes to people crossing from the other side. The beach continues along past the re-vegetated area with no access paths - but it's not clearly marked from that side. I've managed to do it once without realizing right away. In my defense, I think the tide was coming in pretty quickly too. However, I've also seen people just hop over the fence to go wander in that area - kids chasing the rabbits, or people not wanting to walk all the way back to the proper beach access path from the washrooms. The other day I even saw some people with bicycles on the wrong side of that fence! And if someone confronts a person doing that, they're likely to get told to F*** *** and mind their own business. I've seen that very response - and it makes me feel very uncomfortable about speaking up when I see this kind of behavior.

"NO DOGS ALLOWED ON THE BEACH BETWEEN THESE DATES"
Inevitably I'll see dogs running freely on the beach, off leash with their owners throwing balls or sticks. Ask them about it and the response is usually "I didn't see the signs". Said signs are placed at every access path. How could you not see them? Perhaps you just didn't want to see them?

Same thing is true for the signs that say "ALL DOGS MUST BE LEASHED".
Or, you'll hear "My dog is well behaved and doesn't need to be on a leash". Which suggests that the owner doesn't think that the rules need to apply to them.

The other one - one I haven't seen in person yet, but have definitely seen evidence for is people ignoring the "NO BICYCLES" signs along the trails. It's kind of hard to disguise the tire-tracks left behind in the mud, so I know this sign is another frequently ignored one.

Those are all bad enough. Here is the one that has me finally going ahead with this rant.

I live in British Columbia. This year we're having a real problem with forest fires all across the province. There's a fire ban in place for nearly all of the province. All the parks have clearly posted signs to say "NO FIRES" and also "NO SMOKING"  at the entries to each trail and also posted along the trails. I was out two days ago enjoying a wonderful hike up in the mountains two days ago - except that as I came along the route back, I was stuck behind a group who insisted on smoking - despite the signs. There were four of them, and only two of us, so I didn't feel comfortable about speaking up. Perhaps I should have anyway. I could see the cigarettes in their hands, and most definitely smell the smoke!

They're not the only ones though. Despite clear announcements of the fire ban, people are still lighting campfires! I just can't fathom the attitude.

Fire Restrictions Ignored By Campers
Ignored Fire Ban and Evac
Some Campers On The B.C. Coast Ignoring Open Fire Ban Despite Interior Wildfires
Campfire Ban Ignored
B.C. officials to investigate after firefighters reportedly breach campfire ban

And those are just a selection of articles on the topic. I just can't understand people sometimes. We're seeing the devastation caused by fires all around the province - not to mention more of them in the USA. It's bad enough when those fires are caused by lightning. There's not a lot we can do about that. But to risk causing more fires through human stupidity?

I sincerely hope that nobody reading this blog condones behavior like this, but I won't apologize for my attitude towards it all.

I am so sick and tired of the obliviousness to clearly posted signs and rules, either because people don't think they should apply to them, or they think they can get away with breaking the rules - sadly this is probably true all too often. I'm tired of it. Tired of going to the beach and seeing the remains of fires. Tired of hearing people in campgrounds stamping around in the brush to find wood to burn - when the rules clearly say it's not allowed. Tired of seeing dogs chasing birds in areas where dogs aren't allowed off leash. Tired of seeing unauthorized trails ground into the parks by people who figure they can just go anywhere they please. I'm tired of it all! And I don't know what can be done about it. 

Or, am I just an old-fashioned kill-joy of a stick in the mud who wants to take away peoples fun when I believe that these rules should be followed? Do we live in a society where rules don't mean anything anymore? Should I simply get used to seeing this kind of behavior and start closing my eyes towards it?  Sometimes I wonder.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - May 8, 2017

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

 Well, I had a fantastic week of reading, as the last few days of posts shows. A somewhat rainy camping trip will do that.

Let's start with the book from the week before:
Owlflight
Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books
Copyright: 1998
978-0886778040

The amazon.com product description:

Apprenticed to a venerable wizard when his hunter and trapper parents disappear into the forest never to be seen again, Darian is difficult and strong willed--much to the dismay of his kindly master. But a sudden twist of fate will change his life forever, when the ransacking of his village forces him to flee into the great mystical forest. It is here in the dark forest that he meets his destiny, as the terrifying and mysterious Hawkpeople lead him on the path to maturity. Now they must lead the assault on his besieged home in a desperate attempt to save his people from certain death!

I finished this one not last week, but the week before. However, as I didn't participate last week, I don't feel guilty about including it in this week's post.

A snippet from my review:

I can't forget the scene where Darian is thinking about the villagers who tend to harangue him and what that says about them, either. It's one of my favourites in the book. Also the variation on the "road to hell" proverb makes a whole lot of sense too.

Now for this week's reads.
The Ship Who Sang
Anne McCaffrey
Del Rey
Copyright: 1969 (I think?)
978-0552091152

The Amazon.com product description:

Helva had been born human, but only her brain had been saved and implanted into the titanium body of an intergalactic scout ship. But first she had to choose a human partner, to soar with her through the daring adventures and exhilarating escapades in space.

An excerpt from my review:

Not the most exciting of descriptions, but worth looking past and reading the book. The Ship Who Sang is the first book in the Brain Ships series. I have to admit that for a long time, this hasn't been one of my favorite Anne McCaffrey novels. However, I'm not sure why at this point. When I was reading it this time, I loved it!

Four and Twenty Blackbirds (Bardic Voices 4)
Mercedes Lackey
Baen Books
Copyright: 1997
978-0671878535

The amazon.com product description:

A MAGICAL MANIAC IS LOOSE IN ALANDA!

A magical murderer is loose in Alanda. The victims are always women, always lower-class, and the weapon is always a three-sided stiletto, most often found among Church regalia. But the killers are never churchmen, and they always commit suicide immediately after the bloody deed.

Tal Rufen is just a simple constable. But he really cares about his job, and when one of these murder/suicides happens on his beat he becomes obsessed. His superiors don't care—the victims will never be missed, and their murderers are already justly dead. But every instinct Tal Rufen has cries out that he has seen only one small piece of a bigger and much nastier puzzle....

At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

A snippet from my review:
Despite the many frustrating references to previous books, this turned into one of those reads that I couldn't put down. Every spare moment I had for a couple of days I was reading. And there are plenty of "spare moments" when it's a rainy day in the campground.

A Shadow in Summer: Book One of the Long Price Quartet
Daniel Abraham
Tor Books
Copyright Date: 2007
978-0765351876

The amazon.com product description:

From debut author Daniel Abraham comes A Shadow in Summer, the first book in the Long Price Quartet fantasy series.
The powerful city-state of Saraykeht is a bastion of peace and culture, a major center of commerce and trade. Its economy depends on the power of the captive spirit, Seedless, an andat bound to the poet-sorcerer Heshai for life. Enter the Galts, a juggernaut of an empire committed to laying waste to all lands with their ferocious army. Saraykeht, though, has always been too strong for the Galts to attack, but now they see an opportunity. If they can dispose of Heshai, Seedless's bonded poet-sorcerer, Seedless will perish and the entire city will fall. With secret forces inside the city, the Galts prepare to enact their terrible plan.
In the middle is Otah, a simple laborer with a complex past. Recruited to act as a bodyguard for his girlfriend's boss at a secret meeting, he inadvertently learns of the Galtish plot. Otah finds himself as the sole hope of Saraykeht, either he stops the Galts, or the whole city and everyone in it perishes forever.

An excerpt from my review:

For me, this was one of those rare books I really struggled to finish. The opening absolutely grabbed me, but I found myself a bit lost about a third of the way through the book. Once I was lost, I never really figured things out again either.

And one final book finished in the last week:

Owlsight
Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
Daw Books
Copyright: 1999
978-0886778033

The amazon.com product description:

It has been four years since Darian saw his village sacked and burned by barbarians. Taking refuge with the Hawkbrothers, he soon finds his life's calling--as a Healing Adept. But even as he learns the mystical ways of this ancient race, Darian cannot escape the dangers threatening his future. Another tribe of barbarians is approaching. The time has come...to stand up and fight.

An excerpt from my review:

My one complaint with Owlsight is just how quickly the story ends up winding down. Most of the book is leading to the build-up, and it feels as though only a few pages are devoted to the climax of the story.

I'm currently reading:
Owlknight
Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books
Copyright: 1999
978-0886778514

The amazon.com product description:

Brand new from Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon, "an unbeatable team in fantastic magic and adventure" (Kliatt)--the third and final book in the Darian's Tale trilogy, a powerful saga charged with war and magic, life and love.

Two years after his parents' disappearance, Darian has sought refuge and training from the mysterious Hawk-brothers. Now he has opened his heart to a beautiful young healer. Finally Darian has found peace and acceptance in his life. That is, until he learns that his parents are still alive--and trapped behind enemy borders....

I'm reading this one for the Valdemar Reading Challenge.

I want to read:
Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt For the Lost Franklin Expedition
Paul Watson
W. W. Norton and Company
Copyright Date: March 21, 2017
978-0393249385

The Amazon.com product description:

The spellbinding true story of the greatest cold case in Arctic history―and how the rare mix of marine science and Inuit knowledge finally led to the recent discovery of the shipwrecks.
Spanning nearly 200 years, Ice Ghosts is a fast-paced detective story about Western science, indigenous beliefs, and the irrepressible spirit of exploration and discovery. It weaves together an epic account of the legendary Franklin Expedition of 1845―whose two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, and their crew of 129 were lost to the Arctic ice―with the modern tale of the scientists, researchers, divers, and local Inuit behind the recent discoveries of the two ships, which made news around the world.
The journalist Paul Watson was on the icebreaker that led the expedition that discovered the HMS Erebus in 2014, and he broke the news of the discovery of the HMS Terror in 2016. In a masterful work of history and contemporary reporting, he tells the full story of the Franklin Expedition: Sir John Franklin and his crew setting off from England in search of the fabled Northwest Passage; the hazards they encountered and the reasons they were forced to abandon ship after getting stuck in the ice hundreds of miles from the nearest outpost of Western civilization; and the dozens of search expeditions over more than 160 years, which collectively have been called “the most extensive, expensive, perverse, and ill-starred . . . manhunt in history.”
All that searching turned up a legendary trail of sailors’ relics, a fabled note, a lifeboat with skeletons lying next to loaded rifles, and rumors of cannibalism . . . but no sign of the ships until, finally, the discoveries in our own time. As Watson reveals, the epic hunt for the lost Franklin Expedition found success only when searchers combined the latest marine science with faith in Inuit lore that had been passed down orally for generations.
Ice Ghosts is narrative nonfiction of the highest order, full of drama and rich in characters: Lady Jane Franklin, who almost single-handedly kept the search alive for decades; an Inuit historian who worked for decades gathering elders’ accounts; an American software billionaire who launched his own hunt; and underwater archaeologists honing their skills to help find the ships. Watson also shows how the hunt for the Franklin Expedition was connected to such technological advances as SCUBA gear and sonar technology, and how it ignited debates over how to preserve the relics discovered with the ships.
A modern adventure story that arcs back through history, Ice Ghosts tells the complete and incredible story of the Franklin Expedition―the greatest of Arctic mysteries―for the ages.
8 pages of color illustrations

I've been hearing a lot of good things about this book. Now, I'm looking forward to reading it myself.

Strawberry Fields Forever Shawl Progress Update

Last week I blogged about starting a new crochet project. Well, I definitely made progress over the week. I'm loving the pattern and the yarn colors! In terms of hard progress, I'm up to either row 19 or row 20 and am going to be starting the repeat rows soon. I think this is going to end up being a large shawl - though I wish the pattern maker had given dimensions for the different sizes.

The pattern is just what I was looking for, simple enough for the most part, but enough variety to keep things interesting. And yes, the variegated yarn does add to that variety. I'm never sure what color yarn is going to be next.

Strawberry Fields Forever is a pattern where complacency is a killer. I've already found one error that I've had to correct on the fly. Fixing it properly would have meant ripping back about five rows. With this yarn, that's not something I want to do! So, I improvised.

I know I had some doubts about the yarn, but as I've gotten farther into the ball, it's been no problem at all. Other than snagging back on itself when I've had to unravel stitches to fix mistakes. But, that's been no worse than say the Pattons Lace yarn I used on the Goldberry Shawl a couple of years ago.

This pattern displays the colors of the yarn (Red Heart Unforgettable Stained Glass) gorgeously. I think this may well be the brightest shawl I've ever done - if not the brightest crochet item ever for myself. Yep! this one I'm planning to keep. I hope to keep up the pace though as the rows get longer. I know I've had issues in the past and stalled out for a while - more than a year to finish the Goldberry shawl I linked earlier, and I'm still working on the Elise shawl I started back in 2013/2014 - though that one is getting closer to finished.

As I said, I'm loving this pattern. It's got plenty of variety, even within the rows - double crochet, single crochet, chains, shells clusters and more! The overall motif is a pineapple stitch - which I've never done before. Lots of fun! But keep checking your stitches and the pattern. It's easy to make a mistake and not pick up on it right away!.

New crochet project: Strawberry Fields Forever Shawl

I've started a new crochet shawl project today - and no, I haven't finished any of my other projects yet. However, I do have some extenuating circumstances. With the usual camping trips coming this summer, I absolutely refuse to take a project in expensive (Madelinetosh), cream coloured yarn into the great outdoors - with risk of smudges from soot, grease etc. Ditto for the laceweight scarf project, which is also being done in Madelinetosh yarn.

Both sock projects are currently stalled out too because I'm having trouble figuring out what I'm supposed to be doing next. Which problem probably mostly stems from the fact that I'm teaching myself how to knit on these projects and I seem to have a ton of trouble every time I run into a new stitch.

So, I wanted a project I could do in a cheap yarn (or at least relatively cheap, anyway). A run through Ravelry's pattern database turned up this gem: Strawberry Fields Forever. And, I even like the look of the yarn it calls for. Acrylic, so washable if something happens during the making.

On the other hand, although the yarn feels nice and soft in my hands, it's horrible if it tangles. I fished out the center of the first ball, only to find a nasty frizzy knot in the yarn about three colour-changes in. So bad that I ended up pulling the yarn apart and spit joining it again after taking out the knot. I simply couldn't separate the yarn strands enough to loosen them.

The yarn is a singles-type - not something that usually bothers me - I loved the Bernat Mosaic line, which sadly has been discontinued. Had it not, I'd probably have gone with another of their shawls. However, this time, the yarn really doesn't seem to have a lot of twist. In places it spreads out to show the individual fiber strands and then frizzes.

Still, that's only my impressions after handling it for about fifteen to twenty minutes max. My opinions may change with more experience. I have to admit that I found that issue in only the one place. If I see it more often... we shall simply have to see. And, I really should get more than ten or so stitches into the project.

For now, I have to say that the pattern instructions seem to be clear and straightforward. It's all a written pattern, with no charts. In my mind, that can go either way. I started using written patterns only, but have since grown to quite like having charts as well (sometimes it's only the chart that I'll use, depending on the pattern).

Saturday Snapshots - April 22, 2017

Saturday Snapshots is a meme hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. The rules of the game are:

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Personally, I find that this is one of the most fun memes that I've participated in. Not to mention that it's a bit of an incentive to get out and take more photos every week!

For this week I'm not posting new shots, but older ones - much older. I had a bit of fun over the last week scanning some photos from a trip I took fifteen years ago. These three were the best of the lot.

The temple of Athena Pronaia in Delphi.

A row of Corinthian style column capitals I found in Athens.

And, an iconic portion of a Venetian/Byzantine fortress. My notes says simply "Methoni" for this one, along with the fact that it's near Pylos.