The Witch King and new Ann Leckie! Plus a few other books I'm looking forward to.

Look what just arrived on my Kindle! Martha Wells' new fantasy. I have no idea what it's about and I don't care!

I've pre-ordered Translation State, by Ann Leckie, an Imperial Radch novel that features a Presgr translator (that culture was so interesting in Ancillary Mercy!) It will drop on June 6.

So I'm going to have a lot to keep me occupied while I travel for the next month! (Yes, I'm travelling again.)

What else is on my Kindle right now? 

A couple of romances:

Lucy Parker, Act Like It

Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner, Star Dust

An East of the Sun, West of the Moon retelling: Troll-Magic, by J.M. Ney-Grimm

Rachel Neumeier's Tarashana, which I've already read; it's in the Tuyo series, which I love.

A couple of famous philosophy books I figure I should read one day.

And some Victoria Goddard short stories.

Here's my Libby app, if we're going to be complete about this:

I'm reading Little Thieves right now, and it's excellent! Sort of a Goose Girl retelling, with a likeable unlikeable heroine (she's the maid!)

The Things We Leave Unfinished is a contemporary romance

Chilbury Ladies' Choir is historical I think

Merci Suarez is middle-grade contemporary

Oh, and C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner, (not in the picture) because I am definitely going to read it this time!

Does anyone else want to post a snapshot of your reading apps right now? Or a photo of the pile on your side-table? I'm curious!

Recent reads

I had a lot of books on my phone for my recent trip: did I read them all? Did I like them? I have zero memory and must go back to Libby and Kindle and check ...

The Beekeeper's Apprentice, or, the Segregation of the Queen, by Laurie R. King. 

This one was promising, but I just can't do audiobooks. The main character is a precocious teen who befriends Sherlock Holmes, and I think I would have liked her if I had been reading, but on audio she seemed to go on and on about how clever she was, and it started to bore me. I might pick this one up as a book if I'm in the mood for a nice setting and what will probably turn out to be a cozy mystery. Verdict: successfully put me to sleep on the plane!

Castles in Their Bones, by Laura Sebastian.

This was fun, if a little predictable. Three princesses trained to be spies and assassins head to three different kingdoms to marry princes and bring down the kingdoms from within. I didn't end up finishing it because a book on hold arrived on my phone when I was three quarters of the way through this one, and it looked way more interesting. Verdict: if you like the idea of assassin princesses, this fits the bill. An easy read, suitable for the end of a long flight.

Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki

This was the way-more-interesting-looking book. And it was! I was a little afraid that a book mashing demons with aliens and a donut shop might be trying too hard, or being too obvious in its metaphors, treating the spec fic elements as cute props. But I thought it was all handled quite deftly; it was funny and heartfelt. Gorgeous writing. Verdict: Compelling enough to blot out several hours of travel.

Republic of Dirt, by Susan Juby.

This contemporary humour novel set on a BC island was as funny as expected. A mule provided much hilarity. Themes of responsibility, parenting and found family were explored with some truly endearing characters. Verdict: Juby never disappoints. Excellent laugh-out-loud-so-the-people-on-the-airplane-look-at-you-strangely choice.

Chalice, by Robin McKinley.

An easy re-read. Not my favourite by her, but the bees and honey magic are lovely. Verdict: Robin McKinley can always take me out of whatever tedious circumstances I'm in and send me to a beautiful place. Great for delayed flights.

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, by K. J. Parker

This was exactly as advertised: lots of detailed engineer-solves-problems-while-enemies-shoot-things scenes, and a very snarky, self-hating, unreliable narrator to tell us what's what (except that he never tells us what's truly important: we have to figure that out.) Not sure how I feel about the ending. Verdict: highly entertaining, and I probably would have got more out of it if it wasn't being read in little snippets here and there.

Strong Wine, by A. J. Demas

I think I finished this one before I even got on the plane. This is the most feel-good series ever! Romance, family dynamics, kidnappings: it has it all, in an awesome fantasy-Mediterranean world. Verdict: Makes any situation better. Must always have all three Sword Dance novellas
available on my phone.

That's not the total list: stay tuned for more!

Also stay tuned for another author interview, with dragons!

One of the Louis Vuitton stores in Paris:

What I actually read when I was travelling

Quick update now that I'm back from my trip. [See previous post for all the books (including authors and goodread links) I brought with me when I went to Ottawa (travel! how exciting to do it again! seeing my children made me so happy!)]

So what engaged me enough that I actually read it?

Stargazy Pie: chaotic but in the funnest possible way. Here's my short review on goodreads.

Zero Sum Game: exactly what I wanted it to be, fast and exciting (super violent, crossed my line a few times), with great characters I was really engaged with. Will read the sequel next time I need an adrenaline kick.

City of Brass: great world, great characters, intriguing plot. Loved the details of the world-building, loved the magic and mythology. Great writing. Got a little dark: I'm not a fan of the impossible choices and inevitable betrayal that are staples of so much YA fantasy, but she sold it well and I care enough about the characters that I'll keep going in the trilogy.

Vampires in the Lemon Grove: I read a couple of stories—well-written and weird, they were more melancholy than funny, so I wasn't inspired to read any more. Would probably pick up the book again if I was more in the mood for it.

Victories Greater than Death: got partway through and lost interest. It's an odd combination of goofy and earnest that didn't work for me. 

The Serpent's Secret: got far enough along and liked it well enough that I decided to renew the library loan.

Becoming: Michelle Obama is a great writer and an excellent narrator. Didn't get far in the audiobook but really enjoyed it.

And a book I saw at the airport bookstore and then discovered my library had an ebook copy: Successful Aging: a Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of our Lives, by Daniel Leviton. Engaging writing and really interesting (and relevant to my life!) ideas. Helpful personality traits to work on (to stay vibrant and functional into old age); the science of brain plasticity that means it's possible to change our personality; cool discussions about how memory works, what intelligence is ... that's as far as I've gotten so far. Going to buy a copy for myself and one for my parents!

Here are some really intriguing titles I noted at an independent bookstore in Ottawa, one novel about Johannes Kepler's mother and three non-fiction books (I want to read more non-fiction: it's good for my brain!):

Do you have any non-fiction titles you can recommend?

What I'm taking on the plane when I go to Ottawa to visit my kids!!!

 How long has it been since I did a "What I'm taking on the plane" post? I am so, so excited! (Not to be going on a plane, because that always sucks, no matter how many good books you have.) I haven't seen my two youngest kids since January 2020! I am vibrating with impatience and anticipation! (I have a potential son-in-law I haven't met in person yet!)

But the important thing, of course, is what I'm going to read while I'm sitting in the airport and on the plane, wearing my mask (I assume we'll all still be masked. I'm double-vaxxed, but still ...)

As usual, I go to my ridiculous Goodreads TBR. (It's 17 pages long. I have nothing to say about that.) I open a random one of those 17 and then go to my library app and start searching. Here's what I got this time:

Vampires in the Lemon Grove, by Karen Russell. Looks quirky, and short stories are a good bet on a plane.

Foreigner, by C. J. Cherryh. This is not supposed to be a good place to start reading Cherryh, (I've already read a few of hers, so it's not my very first taste) so I doubt it will be a good mindless plane read! But it's the only one of hers my library had, so why not?

Zero Sum Game, by S. L. Huang. Fast paced action and math! Sounds like a perfect plane read.

The Serpent's Secret, by Sayantani DasGupta. Fun-looking middle-grade adventure with Indian-inspired setting.

The City of Brass, by S. A. Chakraborty. I think there are Djinn in this one and the cover is pretty!

Becoming, by Michelle Obama. An audiobook to help me fall asleep (no disrespect to Michelle Obama intended! I'm sure it's a very interesting book.)

There are always a few things I think are worth purchasing as e-books, particularly if the price is right.

Victories Greater than Death, by Charlie Jane Anders. Got this one for free from Tor's book club! Teen chosen one space adventure. Looks light and fun!

The Iron Will of Genie Lo, by F. C. Yee. Sequel to the very awesome Epic Crush of Genie Lo, so presumably there will be more punching of demons in ice cream shops and other Monkey King shenanigans. 

The Pride of Chanur, by C. J. Cherryh, because this one is supposed to be a good place to start with Cherryh, and I'm pretty sure I'll like it. Feline-looking aliens and a hapless human.

One Night in Boukos by A. J. Demas, otherwise known as Alice Degan, whose From All False Doctrine I really enjoyed. This one is m/m romance in an intriguing-sounding alternate world.

Stargazy Pie, by Victoria Goddard. I've been slowly reading her other work after loving The Hands of the Emperor. Most have been shorter and lighter but still very enjoyable. This one is set in the same world but with entirely different characters and possibly a different time period.

And I have to have a few real books, just in case! These are from a random browse of the library (don't tell anyone I'm taking them to Ottawa!), except for Now I Sit Me Down, which is a natural history of the chair, and is the reason I was in the library. The other two were chosen because they looked interesting and were small and light!

And a paperback that's been sitting on my night-side table for a few years because I'm convinced it's the next thing I will read! Julie Czerneda is a Canadian spec fic writer I really like, so it's about time I finally get around to what is apparently her first novel.

I will try to let you know how all of these books turned out for me, if I even get to most of them!

Top Ten books to take travelling right now

Whooosh! That's the sound of May rushing past before I had time to blink. My reading in May was almost exclusively comfort rereading. Things are going on IRL—some good, some not-so-good—and sometimes you just need to fill your head with beloved characters and a plot you know by heart.

Now it's almost June, and I'm leaving on a jet plane next week, which brings me to my annual (or so it seems to be becoming) What Books Am I Going to Put on My Phone For the Trip post. I'm perusing all your blogs for ideas and would love to get more suggestions in the comments.

Travel reading needs to be easy and light; after a few hours on a plane your brain turns to mush, so complex plots and dense prose just aren't going to go down. (Rereading is actually perfect for flights, but I've done enough of that.) You also need to bring a lot of different options, because sometimes travel brain wants one kind of thing and sometimes it just doesn't.

I usually try to find books set in the places I'm going, just to get me all inspired. This time it's Italy—Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Venice—so maybe I should revisit Mary Hoffman's Stravaganza series. Any other suggestions?

What I've got so far:

From the library:



Ghosts of Greenglass House, by Kate Milford: been on my TBR forever!

The Mortal Word, by Genevieve Cogman: newest Invisible Library book—so excited! Absolutely perfect airplane reading: fast-paced and funny.

Sourdough, by Robin Sloan: my engineering student son just learned how to make sourdough, so how can I not read a novel about a programmer taking care of a neighbour's sourdough mother. (Also you must listen to the funny Stuart McLean story about taking care of a neighbour's sourdough mother. (story starts at 19:20))




The Lost Girl, by Anne Ursu: I've been looking forward to getting my hands on this one.

The Chocolate Kiss, by Laura Florand: Paris, not Italy, but chocolate. Loved the first one.

Nights of the Round Table, by Tanya Huff: funny short stories are ideal plane fare.

Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho, audiobook: the new one is out, so I should reread this one, and all the better if I can do it with my eyes closed!

Decided to buy:



Toad Words and Other Stories, by T. Kingfisher: more short stories and I love every word this woman writes, so this was a no-brainer

The Starfighter Invitation, by Andrea K. Host. Always willing to try new Andrea Host.

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis. Because I haven't actually read this series yet, and why haven't I?

A Sword Named Truth, by Sherwood Smith (preordered; it comes out on June 11): extremely excited about this one. If you've read Crown Duel and A Stranger to Command, you're probably excited, too.

Lent, by Jo Walton: I love her writing, and this is fantasy about Savonarola, a key figure in Florence history. How fortuitous!

By now you can tell there's nothing Top Ten about this list—clearly I can't count, and this is a pretty random collection based on what was available at the library, what I've read about on blogs recently, and fave authors I decided to look up on Amazon. But it would make a great Top Ten list idea, wouldn't it?? What would go on your list?