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Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven
Dec 6 2016, 3:50pm
Post #1 of 15
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It's the December-already reading thread!
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I suppose it just shows my advancing age that the years seem to whirl around faster and faster. 
I'm listening to A Lonely Death by Charles Todd. Inspector Ian Rutledge is sent out from Scotland Yard to investigate a series of murders of WWI veterans in Sussex. For a book written in just the last few years, it captures the feel of a Golden Age (20s and 30s) British mystery very well. For one thing, the PTSD (as we would call it now) of the veterans, including Rutledge himself, is a constant undercurrent, as it no doubt was.
I just finished reading Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch. I read one of his Bryant and May "Peculiar Crimes Unit" mysteries while I was out of town in October and enjoyed it. In that one, the PCU investigates crimes in contemporary London that may or may not have a supernatural aspect.
Midnight Riot is the first in the Peter Grant series, which also takes place in contemporary London, except in this one, Grant is a constable with magical abilities who becomes an apprentice to Scotland Yard's resident wizard. It's a delightful blend of police procedural, London geography and history, and imaginative weirdness.
Normally I'm not fond of first-person narrative, but if you give me a strong voice like that of Peter Grant (or of Corinna Chapman in Kerry Greenwood's contemporary series set in Melbourne) I'll happily accept just about any plot twist.
Now I need to catch up on magazines---two issues of Smithsonian and the recent issues of Archaeology and British Heritage
What have you been reading?
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....
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Eledhwen
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Dec 6 2016, 4:33pm
Post #2 of 15
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Your Midnight Riot is published in the UK as Rivers of London, which I think is a better title really. I wonder why they changed it? London and the rivers are so key to the plot!
I just finished The Kiwi Pair, a (ghost-written) autobiography by rowers Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, aka the Kiwi Pair, who won men's pair gold in both London and Rio and have an unbeaten winning streak of 69 international races. It was really good, a great insight into two very different men striving for the same goal. Might be a bit of a rowers-only book, or one for fans of sporting autobiographies!
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Annael
Immortal
Dec 6 2016, 4:40pm
Post #3 of 15
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still rereading the Kencyrath series by P.C. Hodgell
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there was a lot I missed the first time 'round. Now on Honor's Paradox. Next up is Sea of Time which will bring me up to date and ready for The Gates of Tagmeth when it's released this spring. (Alas, another series author who works s l o w l y )
It was someone on this board, many years ago, who turned me onto Hodgell. At that point only Godstalk, the first book in the series, was available. I cannot recommend this author highly enough to fans of high fantasy. It's on the dark side, but avoids horror.
I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.
-- Gaston Bachelard
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NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
(This post was edited by Annael on Dec 6 2016, 4:42pm)
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Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven
Dec 6 2016, 5:14pm
Post #4 of 15
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From what I know of marketers...
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...I'm guessing some bright spark thought potential readers would think Rivers of London was a history and/or geography book, whereas Midnight Riot implies action/adventure/thriller/crime.
I agree that London and its rivers are key to the plot, and delightfully so!
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....
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Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea
Dec 6 2016, 5:18pm
Post #5 of 15
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Bryant and May - London's Glory
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The author, Christopher Fowler, introduces each case with a bit of background on where he got the idea. He has a dry wit that had me laughing until I must have looked like an idiot. (I was listening to the book in my car in traffic.) The stories are fairly short and don't give much time for character development but there's always some sort of twist or bit of goofiness that leads the detective pair to their conclusions. The book is more of an homage to the fans of the two main characters than a stand-alone book to be read as an introduction. Those in the know will get a kick out of going behind the scenes of some of the bigger cases to those that filled in between.
_
Heed WBA when building blanket forts.
ITLs don't get enough FAS. :)
Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
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Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven
Dec 6 2016, 5:24pm
Post #6 of 15
(396 views)
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That's what I get for posting without the book in front of me. Of course the Bryant and May stories are written by Christopher Fowler, not Ben Aaronovitch. I can only plead that there are great similarities between the different series, including a lovely wry tone to the narrative.
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....
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Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea
Dec 6 2016, 5:30pm
Post #7 of 15
(393 views)
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I might need to put those on my reading list then!
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Christopher Fowler's descriptions are so dry and spot on. He has me chuckling hours later when I remember a particularly good passage. That kind of humor, the understated nudge or the unexpected comparison is really tickling me lately.
_
Heed WBA when building blanket forts.
ITLs don't get enough FAS. :)
Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
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Darkstone
Immortal
Dec 6 2016, 7:25pm
Post #8 of 15
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The Martian and The Martian fanfic
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I really hadn’t read any fanfiction since Jacqueline Lichtenberg’s Kraith series (aka “Spock Falls in Love With Mary Sue”) way back in the 1970s. How I got sucked back into it should be a warning to all.
The Martian, by Andy Weir. A nice mixture of epistolary monologic (Mark Watney’s written and audio logs) and universal omniscient (Mark’s dreams, scenes on Earth, etc.) Reread it for the third time. (The first time before the 2015 film, the second soon after seeing it.) What’s great about it (and the film) is there are no bad guys, there are no romantic subplots, and nobody does anything stupid. (Sorry, LOTR is 0 for 3 there.) Anyway, the book has way more bad stuff happening to Mark Watney than the film, and a lot more explanation. Odd thing: In the film Venkat Kapoor’s name was changed to Vincent Kapoor. Not so odd thing: The film omits all the references to cannibalism.
-Highly recommended
People Mark Watney Needs To Buy a Beer, by StillTryingToFly. Okay, so I’m Googling reviews of The Martian (book and film) and this comes up. It’s a 6 part series with Mark buying 6 (actually 7) people who helped him survive a beer (Mindy Park, Venkat Kapoor, Annie Montrose, Rich Purnell, etc.) Over the course of the stories you see Mark’s PTSD and paparazzi issues gradually worsen, culminating in the 6th beer with Commander Lewis. Short and episodic, but intriguing.
-Cannot recommend due to copyright issues.
The Hermes Mutiny Golf Club, by blackglass. The “People MarkWatney Needs To Buy a Beer” series referenced this one, so I looked it up. Almost everyone involved in Ares III begin regular golf dates (including those who can’t golf.) Teddy and Mitch are still friends. It also follows Beck and Johannsen’s dodging the media as they try to keep their growing relationship private. All in all a nice concept. BTW, I learned the word “headcanon”, meaning non-canon stuff that a fanfic writer or group of fanfic writers accept as canon in their own writing universe. (For example, headcanon for writer blackglass and others is that Mitch Henderson is homosexual.)
-Cannot recommend due to copyright issues.
Ancient Mars, by Greglet. Okay now this is where footnotes in "The Hermes Mutiny Golf Club” sent me. Started in May of 2016, and last updated in November, it is a 26 chapter (and still growing) fanfic about a budding romance between Mark Watney and Mindy Park that is still in the “will they or won’t they” stage after (did I mention it?) 26 fricking chapters! Some interesting non-canon (headcanon?) details about their private lives. Mostly from Mindy’s POV, but it occasionally switches to Mark so we can see how bad he has it with PTSD and paparazzi.
-Cannot recommend due to copyright issues, but God help me I can’t wait for the next chapter!!
So take warning from my sad example: Be careful on the internet or fanfic will get you if you don’t watch out!
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"Mister Frodo, hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good frying pan at your side. I’ve been from one side of this garden to the other, I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Providence controlling everything. There's no Music of the Ainur that controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."
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Annael
Immortal
Dec 7 2016, 4:07pm
Post #10 of 15
(358 views)
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they'll take you right through everything for free. Ask your friends who they used.
I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.
-- Gaston Bachelard
* * * * * * * * * *
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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Old Toby
Grey Havens
Dec 7 2016, 5:11pm
Post #11 of 15
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I've been there, done that myself, as have some of my friends. It pays to do your research, and the main thing is knowing what options you will choose, whether to go with one of the Advantage plans (like Kaiser) or with something like HMSA (or maybe it's called Blue Cross/Blue Shield where you are, or something else) where you select your various doctors out of the list of those belonging to that organization. In the latter case I think you also have to sign up for a Drug Plan (Part D) Anyway, the actual signing up with Medicare is simple and surprisingly enough, the Social Security Administration offices have, in my experience, been really good and efficient. Also, Medicare sends out a wonderful, easy to understand booklet about what you need to know. Call them for one if you haven't received one already.
You just need to make an appointment over the phone to meet with someone if you want to do it in person like I did (which is easier than it sounds) and when you meet with the Social Security person, they take all your pertinent information. Be sure to take along: your picture ID (drivers license or passport or state ID) and a copy of your birth certificate. If you're married I suspect you might need other documents as well, but being single myself, I don't know what those might be. If you want the Medicare payment automatically deducted from one of your bank accounts, you need to provide your bank's routing number and account number and tell them which account you want it deducted from - checking or savings. Bring along a blank deposit slip, that's easiest, so they can have that information.
They send you your Medicare card very quickly. I received mine within several weeks. One of my friends who lives in California had the same easy experience, and I hope yours goes as well. Good luck!
"Age is always advancing and I'm fairly sure it's up to no good." Harry Dresden (Jim Butcher)
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Mar 6 2017, 12:51pm
Post #15 of 15
(161 views)
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That wasn't so bad, now, was it? 
(And speaking as someone who's done medical billing and has had to deal with all sorts of insurance companies, Medicare is actually a lot better than many of them...!)
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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