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A bunch of ground to cover today, as last week I focused on the Johanna Kinkel book, but I also read a bunch of other stuff. Also I am in the middle of not one but two SF novels with complex worldbuilding.
Elizabeth the Queen by Maxwell Anderson. Readaloud; this is a Broadway play from 1930 that just entered the public domain. Generally fun Elizabeth/Essex drama. Contains a Prince Hal/Falstaff play within a play, but it didn't feel the most effective use of metatheatre. Also it is silent on the Shakespeare authorship question -- I thought it might be a Baconian play because Francis Bacon appears and Shakespeare doesn't, but it doesn't drop any hints in that direction, nor does it mention Shakespeare's, though Burbage and Heminges are characters. Arguably this is realistic; people don't talk all the time about who wrote a play.
As You Like It, William Shakespeare. Readaloud. I've lost track of how many times I've read this aloud, but it is still a very good play. This time around I mainly noticed all the talk about how winter's not so bad really, which hits differently when you're in the northern US and in the middle of weeks of sub-freezing weather. But the Forest of Arden has olive and palm trees, so it's clearly a different climate.
Swept Away, Beth O'Leary. Jo Walton recommends going into this one entirely unspoiled; I didn't, but I enjoyed it anyway. This is one of the books I had in mind when titling the post; the woman is 31, the man 23, which is not something I've seen much of in the genre.
Alien Clay, Adrian Tchaikovsky. Slowly making my way through this; the plot is progressing as I'd expect it to and we are getting to see alien biology up close! Excited to see where it's going.
Chroniques du Pays des Mères, Élizabeth Vonarburg. Post-apocalyptic matriarchy with complex worldbuilding and good writing. Not only is it a meaty SF book, it's in French, so I may not be picking up everything that I could be. On the other hand I'm reading it at a set pace for an online book group, so I get to hear other people noticing things I'm not. There have been some exciting revelations and I'm restraining myself from reading ahead, but might reread to help figure out what's going on.
Elizabeth the Queen by Maxwell Anderson. Readaloud; this is a Broadway play from 1930 that just entered the public domain. Generally fun Elizabeth/Essex drama. Contains a Prince Hal/Falstaff play within a play, but it didn't feel the most effective use of metatheatre. Also it is silent on the Shakespeare authorship question -- I thought it might be a Baconian play because Francis Bacon appears and Shakespeare doesn't, but it doesn't drop any hints in that direction, nor does it mention Shakespeare's, though Burbage and Heminges are characters. Arguably this is realistic; people don't talk all the time about who wrote a play.
As You Like It, William Shakespeare. Readaloud. I've lost track of how many times I've read this aloud, but it is still a very good play. This time around I mainly noticed all the talk about how winter's not so bad really, which hits differently when you're in the northern US and in the middle of weeks of sub-freezing weather. But the Forest of Arden has olive and palm trees, so it's clearly a different climate.
Swept Away, Beth O'Leary. Jo Walton recommends going into this one entirely unspoiled; I didn't, but I enjoyed it anyway. This is one of the books I had in mind when titling the post; the woman is 31, the man 23, which is not something I've seen much of in the genre.
Alien Clay, Adrian Tchaikovsky. Slowly making my way through this; the plot is progressing as I'd expect it to and we are getting to see alien biology up close! Excited to see where it's going.
Chroniques du Pays des Mères, Élizabeth Vonarburg. Post-apocalyptic matriarchy with complex worldbuilding and good writing. Not only is it a meaty SF book, it's in French, so I may not be picking up everything that I could be. On the other hand I'm reading it at a set pace for an online book group, so I get to hear other people noticing things I'm not. There have been some exciting revelations and I'm restraining myself from reading ahead, but might reread to help figure out what's going on.