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It isn't Wednesday anywhere in the world yet. OH WELL.
Currently Reading: DuMarier's 'Rebecca'; Rohinton Mistry 'A Fine Balance'; and the latest Meanjin. Trying to get through a chunk of these, or some thesis text re-reads, before I start the next pulp item.
Recently Finished:
The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Is it 'hygge' or is it socialism? We may never know. Actually Wiking does touch on the importance of the robust social system in Denmark to this phenomenon, but... not in much detail. And the bits about putting aside politics and not talking about controversial subjects are, well, good advice for being snowed in with your relatives in Scandinavia all winter, I guess.
The Lifted Brow issue 37 by Justin Wolfers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Interesting! i think I'm going to find this a worthwhile subscription, all up.
Of note:
- Michael Delany's 'The Eyes of Genius', a really interesting article about human interactions with birds
- 'UFOs in Australia', by Nick Taras - interesting, and odd in that Meanjin also ran a piece on UFOs this year, with similar coverage.
-Jessie Berrie-Porter, '2 Write Down the Anorectic Body' - powerful prose-poetry
- Poetry, esp. Ali Coby Eckerman's 'There Is a Void'
- Some of the short pieces in 'Levity', especially the one on public toilets
- 'Debilitation', Andrés Barba trans. Lisa Dillman, a short story about residents in an eating disorder ward
- Translated (Jamie Berrout) poems by Esdras Parra
- And the column which essentially prompted me to subscribe in the first place, 'Law School' by Ben Law and Jenny Phang, was A++, do recommend
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Re-read this for the first time in maybe a decade, and... I should make a DW post for it in its own right. I've tweeted a lot of little snippets: new appreciation for the slow beginning; no longer find book 4 tedious; completely forgot the Woodwoses; more annoyed by Eowyn than I used to be. Complicated feelings, too - aside from being more aware now, thanks to movies/fandom/lit scholarship/just being aware of the Tolkien Race Issues, I found the discourse of 'borders', protection and valorisation thereof, pretty disconcerting this time around.
Death Before Wicket by Kerry Greenwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a delightful romp, albeit one which had me madly cross-referencing historical USyd figures to see who was fictional and who wasn't. And the Hours of Juana the Mad was absolutely never held in Sydney, let alone stolen from a filing cabinet!
Up Next: For funsies? Hard to say. I've got a fair few in my Kobo awaiting attention, plus Death on the Cherwell in hard copy. And I wanted to get at Dad's copy of 'A Blink of the Screen'.
Of note: I bought Dad Jacalope Wives pretty much as soon as I finished reading it, and it has Earned His Approval.
On the basis of having seen a poster exhibiting spectacular butch energy, I bought an album by 'Christine and the Queens' and am not disappointed. A bit baffled, in that the English tracks seem queer-er than the French, but not disappointed.
Music
Currently Reading: DuMarier's 'Rebecca'; Rohinton Mistry 'A Fine Balance'; and the latest Meanjin. Trying to get through a chunk of these, or some thesis text re-reads, before I start the next pulp item.
Recently Finished:
The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik WikingMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Is it 'hygge' or is it socialism? We may never know. Actually Wiking does touch on the importance of the robust social system in Denmark to this phenomenon, but... not in much detail. And the bits about putting aside politics and not talking about controversial subjects are, well, good advice for being snowed in with your relatives in Scandinavia all winter, I guess.
The Lifted Brow issue 37 by Justin WolfersMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Interesting! i think I'm going to find this a worthwhile subscription, all up.
Of note:
- Michael Delany's 'The Eyes of Genius', a really interesting article about human interactions with birds
- 'UFOs in Australia', by Nick Taras - interesting, and odd in that Meanjin also ran a piece on UFOs this year, with similar coverage.
-Jessie Berrie-Porter, '2 Write Down the Anorectic Body' - powerful prose-poetry
- Poetry, esp. Ali Coby Eckerman's 'There Is a Void'
- Some of the short pieces in 'Levity', especially the one on public toilets
- 'Debilitation', Andrés Barba trans. Lisa Dillman, a short story about residents in an eating disorder ward
- Translated (Jamie Berrout) poems by Esdras Parra
- And the column which essentially prompted me to subscribe in the first place, 'Law School' by Ben Law and Jenny Phang, was A++, do recommend
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. TolkienMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Re-read this for the first time in maybe a decade, and... I should make a DW post for it in its own right. I've tweeted a lot of little snippets: new appreciation for the slow beginning; no longer find book 4 tedious; completely forgot the Woodwoses; more annoyed by Eowyn than I used to be. Complicated feelings, too - aside from being more aware now, thanks to movies/fandom/lit scholarship/just being aware of the Tolkien Race Issues, I found the discourse of 'borders', protection and valorisation thereof, pretty disconcerting this time around.
Death Before Wicket by Kerry GreenwoodMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a delightful romp, albeit one which had me madly cross-referencing historical USyd figures to see who was fictional and who wasn't. And the Hours of Juana the Mad was absolutely never held in Sydney, let alone stolen from a filing cabinet!
Up Next: For funsies? Hard to say. I've got a fair few in my Kobo awaiting attention, plus Death on the Cherwell in hard copy. And I wanted to get at Dad's copy of 'A Blink of the Screen'.
Of note: I bought Dad Jacalope Wives pretty much as soon as I finished reading it, and it has Earned His Approval.
On the basis of having seen a poster exhibiting spectacular butch energy, I bought an album by 'Christine and the Queens' and am not disappointed. A bit baffled, in that the English tracks seem queer-er than the French, but not disappointed.
Music