#beyourowntailwind

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I've run out of good books to read, I naturally thought of you as someone to recommend others. I read the riddle master trilogy because of you and liked it so hunting for anything you like really! Pretty please

You read Riddle-Master!!! I really cannot overstate how excited I am whenever someone tells me they’ve read those books, so this makes me very happy!

Other recs...let’s see. I don’t know your taste in books, really, so I’ll just toss out some random ones. If you’ve already read them all, let me know and I’ll try again.

1. His Dark Materials will probably feature on just about any recs list I ever make, because these books were my Formative Fantasy Experience at age 7 and I never got over them. They also feature two of my favourite characters in fiction, and one of my favourite...well, ‘relationships’ is not really the word I’m looking for, but it’ll do in a pinch. This is one of those series that reveals something new every time I read it; I loved the story as a child and I love it as an adult and some of the things I love have shifted, but there are enough layers in there to be intriguing no matter what you’re looking for. These books are also somewhat Controversial and admittedly not for everyone - if you (or anyone else reading this) want more detail/explanation of that, feel free to message me. 

2. If you enjoyed Riddle Master, I’d recommend Alphabet of Thorn, also by Patricia McKillip. It features more of her beautiful, lyrical, dreamlike prose, along with a rather fascinating take on the nature of stories. It’s probably my favourite of her standalone novels.

3. Neverwhere might be my favourite of Neil Gaiman’s works. A familiarity with London takes this book from good to excellent, because he doesn’t stop at the surface level; the nature of the city is woven through the story and warped in a way that somehow perfectly captures the reality while at the same time painting a picture that is nothing like it at all. Gaiman is always good at twisting the mundane in alongside the magical to both juxtapose and seamlessly combine, and this book hit that balance just right for me. If you like his weirder side, American Gods is also incredible. The ‘I believe’ monologue has been burned into my brain since I first read it, because wow. If you are not as much a fan of his weirder side, may I suggest Stardust?

4. You may have heard of some guy called Brandon Sanderson, so I’m not going to spend that much time on his books here, but I’ll toss out a recommendation for The Emperor’s Soul, which is probably one of the lesser-known stories in his Cosmere universe, but is also one of my favourites. Shai is such a compelling and fascinating character, and the novella deals creatively with the nature of identity.

5. Time travel is usually a pet peeve of mine rather than a fondness, and I’ve never been all that into historical fiction, but Connie Willis’s Doomsday Book might be the exception that proves the rule. 

 6. In a sea of vampire stories that range from uninspiring to cringeworthy, Sunshine by Robin McKinley stands out as an excellent exception. This is dark urban fantasy done right with a side of freshly baked cinnamon rolls (literal, not figurative, and . If you imagine a story that is its own coffeeshop AU, this is precisely nothing like that. Well, except for the coffeeshop. The narrative is very stream-of-consciousness and if you find loose ends frustrating this book is probably not for you, but if that doesn’t bother you, it’s definitely worth a read. (Even the loose ends are done well). 

7. Speaking of Robin McKinley, The Blue Sword is another childhood favourite. I haven’t read it in probably over a decade, so I suppose I should go back to it before recommending it, but I read a lot of your standard fantasy hero’s journey stories in that time, and this is one of the ones that stands out in memory, so that probably says something.

8. It’s not fantasy or scifi, but I really loved The Still Point, by Amy Sackville. The prose is beautiful, and the way the chronology is split, with two separate and not-quite-linear timelines anchored more by the evocation of still summer heat and frigid arctic winter, suits the story (stories?) perfectly. It’s definitely one of the better examples of nonlinear storytelling I’ve come across. “It is exhausting enough, grasping at the past as it slides through the present, without letting the future interfere.”

9. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is one of those books where I know full well it has its flaws, and some of those would maybe put me off if it were any other book, but I love it to pieces. You know those books (or characters) that feel like they were written either as a personal attack on you or a personal gift to you or really a combination of the two because damn you, author, why must you do this to me? Yeah.

10. Throwing a random nonfiction rec in here with A Primate’s Memoir, by Robert Sapolsky. It’s worth reading even if you’re not particularly science-oriented, because the science and research is really only a backdrop against which the story is set. I laughed out loud, in public, on numerous occasions while reading this and it’s another regular feature whenever I recommend things.

11. I see Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein recommended frequently, and I wholeheartedly agree. Another historical fiction story, which again is not usually my thing, but it’s excellent and surprising, and very well-told.

12. Kushiel’s Dart, by Jacqueline Carey, is another that is very much Not For Everyone, and actually when I think about it it should in so many ways have fallen into the Not For Me category, but it didn’t and I enjoyed it immensely. I liked the first book better than the rest in the series, but YMMV.

14. Vicious, by V.E. Schwab, is just fun, if you enjoy friends-to-enemies and/or villains and/or superheroes. It’s unapologetically edgy and honestly kind of ridiculous, and doesn’t at all try to be anything else, which is what makes it work.

15. Howl’s Moving Castle, by Dianna Wynne Jones. If you’ve seen the movie, the book is...well. It’s sort of the same story, by which I mean if you were to write out the main plot points on index cards you’d end up with a roughly matching set, but other than that it’s almost completely different. And kind of incredible.

16. It’s definitely for younger readers, but one of the series that’s held up well for me is the Young Wizards Series, by Diane Duane. The first one reads a bit like the first Harry Potter book in the sense that it’s almost too young to work well as a starting point if you’re older, but even by the second book it grows up quite a bit. I’ve always enjoyed the way she’s constructed her magic system, and you can tell she’s a writer who knows her science but also sees art and beauty in it.

17. Bone, by Jeff Smith, is my favourite graphic novel, though it’s frustratingly difficult to get hold of a complete copy. It’s weird and fun and surprising.

18. Operation Mincemeat, by Ben Macintyre, is another nonfiction book, and I know there are a million and one WWII stories out there, but this one is wild. If you’re even remotely into espionage/intelligence type stories, give this a read. 

My goodreads is also here. It’s not even close to a complete list, but anything I’ve given three or more stars is something I’d say is probably worth a try. Also if anyone else reading this has recommendations to add, please feel free!

[mari-musing]

Dry July: The Next Step

feabhsu

You're doing so well Mari! Also great cause... 

Thanks Laura! I feel proud of myself. The confronting truth is that for the entire first six months of this year, I probably had fewer than 20 alcohol-free nights, so it is a big deal for me.

beyourowntailwind

Do you think that you'll begin drinking again Mari? Or was this the beginning of cutting alcohol out completely?

I’m really not sure about cutting alcohol out completely Joey, but I do know I want to be very sparing with alcohol consumption in future. I certainly do not plan to rush to the bottlo on the 1st of August. There’s no doubt abstinence would be the best thing to do, particularly with my IBD. Societal pressure to drink is immense; the alcohol industry is gargantuan and powerful; and alcohol is integrated into the fabric of our culture at every level, so one must be very determined. There have been a few - not many - times when I fancied a wine or a beer this month. But staying strong for a finite period is relatively easy. Long term will be harder, particularly once the shield of saying I am doing Dry July is gone.

It’s a hard fact that people are uncomfortable around non-drinkers; they go to great lengths to make a sober person join in and drink. People don’t want to argue with supporting a cancer charity but once the official period is over, Dry Julyers will be fair game for judgement and ridicule.

You save a lot of money if you don’t drink alcohol, and you really notice how seriously it blunts the manners and wits of people (although they think otherwise). What is hilarious and clever when you’re drinking appears boorish and stupid when you’re sober - and you realise you are probably just as bad when you drink too much. And that’s at the mild end of negative behaviours - at the other end is risk-taking, aggression, violence, drunk driving, which all can lead to death and destruction.

Abstinence comes with a ton of recognised mental and physical health benefits. My health has not been great this month so I may well have been feeling a whole lot crappier had I been drinking (actually, booze is like a sledgehammer on the bowel, so I mean that literally as well). The benefits of not drinking have crept up I think, so I can’t say, “oh wow, I look so fabulous and feel so sharp!” July is our most miserable and blustery Winter month, and the height of the cold season - no-one looks that great! But I suspect if I suddenly had a few wines tonight, I would feel like shite in the morning.

No-one likes to think alcohol has a grip on them. But it does. On millions of us. Quite scary really.

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beyourowntailwind replied to your post “malatov01 replied to your post: fun things to do...”

You climb! Do you boulder, sport or trad? or a mix?

I was predominantly a sport climber when I did it competitively, but now I mainly boulder because it’s easier to do casually, around here. Trad has never really been my thing. 

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CW - rape mention (in a very small way) Every time you write another liveblog I think I've found my favourite, but then you go beyond that as well. I loved the most recent two and I love the way that you criticise and praise at the same time, it's well thought out and doesn't belittle the passion you put into this, also the way that you talk about rape in these blogs is well done and it's refreshing to see it spoken about frankly and to the point. I hope that comes across how I mean it.

This is such a lovely message, thank you!

I’m glad to hear that the combination of criticism and praise works for you. Doing this in ‘real time’ and without much in the way of a filter does mean I periodically jump between the two very quickly, and I do sometimes wonder how that comes across. (Of course, I’m sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s nice to know it’s at least enjoyed by some!)

As for the discussion of rape...yeah, I mean it’s obviously a topic I have a hard time ignoring when it comes up, but I also just feel like as long as I’m doing a close reading of everything else, I should do the same with that. And as long as I’m giving my honest reactions on everything else, I should again do the same. So again, I’m glad you appreciate it!