Currently Reading
The Hard SF Renaissance - Edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer
Empires of the word: a language history of the world - Nicholas Ostler
Already Read...
March
Hawkmistress - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Set a few generations after Stormqueen. Going into some more detail about the roles of women in society. The main character, Romilly, seems pretty random sometimes, but then she is a teenage girl, and I've heard that they can be pretty random. Many of the same crazy and destructive weapons, warring families, etc. which seem to put the society on the brink of disaster.
Stormqueen - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Wonderfully absorbing & trashy sci-fi. This is so many generations after the original colonists that no memory of having come from a different planet remains. Lots of different little sub-cultures, magical psi-powers running in family lines, promoting breeding programs. Lots of developing fancy new weapons which have devastating effects. Good characters & some wonderful concepts.
February
Darkover Landfall - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Wonderful sci-fi fluff. Spaceship crash-lands on a beautiful planet with it's own unique problems. Colonists gradually learn to cope with the problems and the fact that they will never be able to leave this planet and proceed to their planned destination. This is the first book, chronologically, in the Darkover series, however it was not the first book to be written, and so it isn't quite as gripping a story as it would be if it had been intended to stand alone, but as a starting point for reading the entire Darkover series I think it's fine. Jo Walton mentioned Darkover on her blog as a series that isn't actually very good, but quite readable, and something that she really enjoys re-reading when she's sick...and re-reading badly written fiction is something I love to do when my brain isn't quite at its best, so I figured there was a very good chance I'd enjoy it.
The Memoirs of Catherine the Great - Catherine the Great, Markus Cruse & Hilde Hoogenboom
I saw an exhibit at the AGO on Catherine the Great. Paintings she had owned, ones she had commissioned, various objects she had owned during her reign. She was originally a German princess from a very minor family, distantly related to the ruling house of Russia. She was married very young to the nephew (and heir) of Elizabeth, then queen of Russia, who had no children of her own. It's a fascinating story of a young girl set adrift in a foreign court, needing to learn a new language and fend for herself in an environment where she often had no one to advise her. It's an amazing story of using her natural intelligence and social abilities to triumph in a situation where most people would have simply given up. She seems to have had a very great ability to make people care about her, and a natural talent for social manipulation, combined with an absolute faith that she would be able to do a better job running the country than anyone else. She's a very impressive woman to have overcome the odds she was presented with growing up.
Persepolis 2: the Story of a Return - Marjane Satrapi
The sequel to Persepolis, written (or illustrated) in the same style. Satrapi describes growing up in a foreign country, far from her family, and without anyone who can really empathize with the situation she finds herself in. Returning to Iran after such a prolonged absence, she doesn't quite fit in there either. I really wish that I had been able to read this when I was a teenager. Especially the part where her father encourages her to marry the young man she is dating, even though he is quite confident the marriage won't last, because he realizes that without getting married she won't be able to see why this isn't the right guy for her. Both her parents are absolutely amazing as far as making sure that she is as free to make her own decisions and live her own life as possible. It's pretty inspiring.
Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood - Marjane Satrapi
I've read this one before, it's a black and white graphic autobiography of a young girl growing up in Iran surrounded by older men and women who remember what it was to be free and are fighting against the new and very repressive regime. The perspective of a young girl is really fascinating, and Satrapi manages to communicate a great deal very simply through her drawings. It's a really quick read and quite worthwhile.
January
A Deepness in the Sky - Vernor Vilge
Wonderful. In some ways this is very typical Sci-Fi, but it isn't just the same story everyone else has already told. The characters are wonderfully complex, their decisions aren't black and white, and the aliens are really alien. Another book off of Jo Walton's required reading list.
Going to pieces without falling apart - Mark Epstein
Buddhist philosophy mixed with phsychology. A very easy read, and has gotten me interested in learning more about Buddhism. He's got some ideas about personal growth which mesh quite nicely with some of Sky's philosophies, and aren't things that I've heard elsewhere. The author uses himself as an example quite a bit, and tells some very interesting stories about his patients.
A Game of Thrones - George RR Martin
Sky's been bugging me to read this series (Song of Ice and Fire) for ages. Now that I started, I can see why! It's a fabulous story, and is completely absorbing. I sat down and read the first book in just a few days. It's messing a bit too much with my emotions though, so I'm going to try reading the next few books one chapter at a time...which will be hard, but probably worth-while from the point of view of sanity!
2005
2004
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