Current Distractions, April 2015 Edition

This is going to be a longish post, because I'm about to be very distracted, I think. Read on or just scroll to the last section of the post to find out why.

Watching

Grey's Anatomy
I watched ten seasons of this show on Netflix and now my life is empty.

Furious 7
Excuse me, I seem to've gotten something in both of my eyes. This was a great movie.

Reading

Besides the readathon I did last weekend, obviously...

The Confusion
This is the sequel to Quicksilver, which I read the year before last. It's a monster and I expect to be in the process of reading it for something in the realm of months. I'm liking it better than the first book, if only because I had a better idea what to expect this time around.

The Hugo Awards
More seriously, I've been following the ongoing Hugo Award drama with interest and sadness. I gave serious thought to attending Worldcon this year, but most likely won't be able to for financial reasons. This would've been my first time attending, and my first time ever voting for the Hugo Awards. Now I'm feeling very bewildered. I've been reading a lot of blog posts, though, including some very very long ones. Namely, this one by Philip Sandifer, and this one by Matthew David Surridge. George R. R. Martin, a person I'd actually heard of before this mess, unlike the two previous, very charmingly maintains a livejournal, a half dozen years after everyone else abandoned the platform, and he's weighed in as well, with a lot of thoughtful words that have almost inspired me to read A Song of Ice and Fire. His posts on the topic start with this one, and he's still posting more, so we can officially blame the various Puppies for the next ASOIAF book being delayed another year. Kidding aside, GRRM obviously really cares about this, which is awesome.

Running

Zombies, Run!
I decided to finally give running a shot, despite hating it with every fibre of my being. Things were actually going really well, until the run I did late last week. My knees have been hurting ever since, so I'm on a temporary hiatus. I do recommend what I've done so far of the 5k app, though. Given that it kept me running despite not being a fan of either zombies or running, that should be read as a ringing endorsement.

Learning

This is why I'm going to be very distracted for the next several months. I'm taking a class this summer! I'm extremely uncertain at this point just how much of my time it's going to take up, but it lasts from May through August, and judging by how much time I spent studying for my exam back in October, I'm going to need to carve out a lot of time for it. While I don't think that this will have too much of an effect on my current One Post That's Actually About Anything per month schedule, it will almost certainly get in the way of ramping anything up like I've been wanting to do. Fear not, though! I'm still going to be reading List books, even if I have to slow down even more. You have no idea how determined I am to finish this project.

Read-a-Thon Post #2.7: End of Event Meme

Well, here I am much later to just quickly do this wrap up meme, and then it'll be back to business as usual.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
   The hour that I spent finishing up The Scorch Trials, which ended up being between 11:30 pm and 12:30 am. I am very bad at staying up late.
   
   
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
   Not really. I only read the one book, and while it was definitely engaging, I've read books that I was way more into. I guess if you want books that I didn't read for the readathon, then I'd recommend either The Troop or Wool, both books that I devoured earlier this year. They're a little long for the readathon though.
   
   
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
   Nope, everything was great :)
   
   
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
   I think the hourly posts on the readathon website are really well-organized and easy to follow/take in at a glance on a quick reading break.
   
   
5. How many books did you read?
   Like I said, just one!
   
   
6. What were the names of the books you read?
   The Scorch Trials by James Dashner.
   
   
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
   That one.
   
   
8. Which did you enjoy least?
   Also that one.
   
   
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
   I wasn't one, but I would like to say that I appreciated everyone dropping by. I'm going to try to visit all of their blogs over the next while, even if "the next while" ends up being "the next year or so."
   
   
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
    I'll most likely participate as a reader again next time it works with my schedule.

Read-a-Thon Post #2.6: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Pages read since last update: 40
Pages read so far: 360

Well. I clearly overestimated the speed with which I'd read James Dashner's The Scorch Trials, but I'm done that book now and I'm going to bed, because I'm way too old for all-nighters, even reading related ones.

If it weren't so late, I'd say a bit about the book I spent all day reading, but I'm afraid I'll have to leave that for my wrap up post tomorrow. Which will likely be posted long after the readathon is over.

Read-a-Thon Post #2.5: Taking a Break

Pages read since last update: 78
Pages read so far: 320

Well, I had to take a quick nap a little while ago because I couldn't keep my eyes open, and now, thanks to the snow, I need to leave early for my social outing of the night. So unfortunately I still haven't finished The Scorch Trials. That's ok, though. I think I have about an hour worth of reading to go when I get home tonight, and then I can post about it and pick my next book.

Woo!

Read-a-Thon Post #2.4: Book Spine Poetry Mini Challenge

Pages read since last update: 161
Pages read so far: 244

I'm back for another mini challenge, and then I will probably, finally, get out of my pyjamas for the day.

Here's Ticket to Anywhere's description of the challenge:

Using the titles on book spines, make a short poem at least three “books” long/tall.

And here's my poem!

It's pretty abstract, and also the lighting in my house today is abysmal. The snowfall warning has turned into actual snowfall.

Plowing the dark

of human bondage.

Who has seen the wind?

A little bit about each of these books, again:

Plowing the Dark by Richard Powers

This is one of the very few books that I read in university (not for university, but for recreation, while I was there). I remember it being a cool concept about the creation of a holodeck type of technology, connected with a hostage in the Middle East. I've never read any of Powers' other books yet, though.

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

A Top 100 whose review I haven't posted yet, but which you may remember that I called the best book I read last year.

Who Has Seen the Wind? by W. O. Mitchell

This is the prototypical Saskatchewan prairie novel, which I read a little while before I started blogging.  It's ok, and talks about the wind a lot.

Read-a-Thon Post #2.3: 4Seasons4Books Mini Challenge

Pages read since last update: 63
Pages read so far: 83

Here's the mini challenge description from Bart's Bookshelf:

This mini challenge is to convey the four seasons in four book covers, by colour, title, author, cover, or something a little less obvious. Just arrange your covers, snap a photo and then upload it.

And here's my photo!

To be clear, the fifty book at the bottom is intended as a sort of caption. Here's hoping it doesn't disqualify me from the challenge or something!

In case it isn't obvious, a brief note of which book is intended to portray each season.

Spring - The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

Bare birch trees do have something wintry about them, but trust me, spring in Saskatchewan is mostly bare birch trees as well. For example, today there's a snowfall warning for up to 20 cm. I'm not kidding. None of the trees have leaves yet. I wrote about this book here.

Summer - The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

I feel like winter never comes to Sherwood Forest. It's always just men cavorting in the sun, laughing and doing target practice. I read this book in pre-blog times.

Autumn - The Magicians by Lev Grossman

I think this is pretty self-explanatory. I reviewed the sequel here.

Winter - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Unfortunately I wasn't able to carry my tree theme through all four books, but some sort of iceberg seems pretty fitting, again considering the snowfall warning for today. The setting also fits, as the planet in the book is called "Gethen," aka Winter. I wrote about this book here.

Read-a-Thon Post #2.2: Opening Meme

Pages read so far: 20

It occurs to me that I should have numbered the first post this year "2.0", but whatever. Also I'm going to be titling my posts with hyphens, but ain't nobody got time for hyphens, so you won't see them in the actual bodies of my posts. Deal with it!

Here are my responses to the opening meme.

1. What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
   Saskatchewan! Woo!
   
   
2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
   I started with it! James Dashner's The Scorch Trials. With any luck I'll be through it in the early afternoon?!
   
   
3. Which snack are you most looking forward to?
   I did a lousy job of getting snacks together, but my sister just bought groceries and we have strawberries and cheese in the fridge, so probably those!
   
   
4. Tell us a little something about yourself!
   To quickly rehash my blog gimmick for any new readers: I'm an engineer who loves to read. I live with my sister and we have two cats who will probably show up at least once today. When I'm not reading, I'm usually watching tv, crocheting, making a costume of some kind, or working on my house.
   
   
5. If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
   I didn't do the last readathon, but I did one a year and a half ago. Today I basically just have a lot more free time. I'm also going to try to be a bit more active on Twitter and with some of the other readathon activities.

Read-a-Thon Post #2.1: Books!

At long last, I have a chance to participate in my second Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon. The first time I did this was back in October 2013 (posts from that time are here, here, and here, and you'll have to forgive my post title numbering silliness). I read very little last time due to Thanksgiving and seeing Gravity. This time, I hope to read more, although I have housework to do, no snacks available, and plans that will take up something like four hours this evening. But! I'm determined to read a bunch as well.

If I'm not mistaken, I'm one hour away from the starting line, so I'm going to share the small stack of books that I've assembled for the day. Once again I didn't get any library books, and have selected a couple of my own, and a couple of my sister's. My 2015 reading goal is to get through as many of my own books that I haven't read as possible, and I'm a bit behind, so if I can read a couple of them this weekend, that'll be excellent.

From top to bottom:

Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner
383 pages
This is the longest book in terms of page count, however! it's actually sort of a short story collection. According to the back cover, it's intended as one work (i.e. I'm not supposed to be picking and choosing between the various stories), but my intent is to read a story or two between books. Unfortunately the second story is about a hundred pages long, so we'll see how this plan actually works.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
219 pages
My sister hated this book but I've had it recommended to me as well. It's short and it looks interesting.

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
360 pages
I plan to read this book first. My book club read The Maze Runner a little while ago, and I've been semi-spoiled for and curious about the next book since. I'm certain it'll fly by.

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
128 pages
I dunno, I just need more ladies in my life now that I've exhausted Grey's Anatomy on Netflix and am still just working with men all the time. I'm hoping for good things.

Anyway, it's a smaller stack than I had last time around, and of course I reserve the right to pick something else off of the shelf if these books aren't working for me or whatever. And here's hoping that I have more time for posting and participation in the actual event this year!

R34. Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

Year Published: 1992
Pages: 381

First Sentence: Now consider the tortoise and the eagle.

Review:
I’m not sure I ever would’ve encountered Terry Pratchett’s work if not for a friend I had in grade seven who lent me the first few of his books that I read. Many of them were also available in the public library, of course, but I wouldn’t’ve thought of checking them out. As it was, I began with Good Omens and then moved into the Discworld, a comedic/fantastic world which is a flat disc resting on the backs of four elephants standing on the shell of a turtle swimming through space. Originally the series lampooned fantasy tropes, but as the years have gone by, it's evolved into something smarter and more satirical. Anyway, so much time has passed that I can’t remember which Discworld book I read first. Suffice it to say that I’ve read many more since.

Sir Terry Pratchett died March 12 this year, and it was the saddest “celebrity death” that I’ve experienced so far, in a year seemingly full of them. I’ve never been able to understand the outpourings of grief before, but I get it now. No other writer’s work has been with me for such a long time, with the possible exception of Charlotte Brontë’s, but she died well over a hundred years before I was even born, and with her it’s really just the one book that I keep rereading at various points in my life. Pratchett’s work is different. Since I started reading his books, I’ve always known that I could pick up any one of them, anytime, read it and like it. Or love it. The only other writer who even comes close to that is Stephen King, but I didn’t start on his books until well into my teens, and I’m a little more skeptical of the quality of his body of work, his writing tics and politics. My love for Pratchett is uncomplicated and unique, anyway, and I’m sad that he’s gone.

I’d been planning a reread of Small Gods for a long time, and this was the time to do it. I tend to recommend this book to Discworld beginners, although, upon further consideration, it’s a bit atypical in the series, so I may have to revise that. The trouble is that people end up having their own preferences within the series (I like the Witches and the “Industrial Revolution”) so it’s hard to know what to recommend. I do still think that Small Gods is one of the best of the Discworld books I’ve read, in terms of its ideas if not its humour.

Small Gods is the story of Brutha, a novice in the Omnian Church, and the last true believer of the Great God Om, who is less a Great God and more of a tortoise at the moment. Brutha gets recruited by Vorbis, the head of the Quisition, to go with what amounts to a war mission to Ephebe (somewhat analogous to Greece) because of his amazing memory. There isn’t really a whole lot to the plot, honestly, although I’ve left pretty much everything out.

I’ve talked a little bit about my own “faith journey” of sorts here before (and am hoping to find some time to review Shusaku Endo’s Silence in the near future, where I may finally elaborate), and I think the reason I like this book so much is because of the ways it explores ideas of religion: how gods just want people to believe in them, and how people want so much more from gods, and how a religion is built up and shaped or distorted by the different people in the upper echelons, and on and on. These are things that I often find myself thinking about despite the fact that I haven’t been to church for anything other than a funeral in something like two years at least.

I don’t think everyone out there is going to love the Discworld series, honestly. If you aren’t into comedy or fantasy you probably won’t care for it much. Pratchett’s effortlessly funny, though, and keenly observant. If you need Tolkien-style worldbuilding, you may not want to pick up the Discworld books, either. If you want really deep character studies or explicit sex, you won’t find it here. The Discworld books, though, are entertaining, snappy, and much deeper than they seem. I never met Terry Pratchett, but I’m glad that his books have been a part of my life for so long. If you’re curious after reading this, I encourage you to make them a part of yours, too.

- - - - -

Humans! They lived in a world where the grass continued to be green and the sun rose every day and flowers regularly turned into fruit, and what impressed them? Weeping statues. And wine made out of water! A mere quantum-mechanistic tunnel effect, that'd happen anyway if you were prepared to wait zillions of years. As if the turning of sunlight into wine, by means of vines and grapes and time and enzymes, wasn't a thousand times more impressive and happened all the time...

- - - - -

He says gods like to see an atheist around. Gives them something to aim at.

- - - - -

Five Years Ago This Month: April 2010

Five years ago this month...

Easter eggs! I have so few candid photos from my pre-smartphone era!

...I reviewed Sophie's Choice. It's written by board member William Styron, which made me rather uneasy. In retrospect I sort of didn't get it, but I stand by not liking it much despite gaining a bit of new insight.

...I reviewed The Single Dad's Virgin Wife. Basically it didn't have enough virginity in it for my taste.

...I got a job, so I poked my head up out of the obscurity of incredibly regular reviews to say I was still alive. It was the same job that I still have to this day, fyi!

...I reviewed Under the Net. It's made almost literally no longterm impression on me besides the comment about being "in a kettle of fish," which I still like a lot.

...I reviewed In the Flesh. Though I was dismissive of it at the time, I can safely say that it's still the sexiest book that I've read for the blog. I've got some more erotica lined up, though (because why not?), so we'll see if that changes or not...