Decisions…
On my Kindle, I had, waiting in the wings, Catherynne M. Valente’s This Is My Letter To The World: The Omikuji Project, Cycle One
But I had not started reading it, because I knew that if I did, I would use all my non-DayJob, non-gym time reading it. And I’m supposed to be using that time writing.
Yes, I was STRONG!
But then…
This morning, my Kindle automatically downloaded my pre-purchased copy of Jo Walton’s Among Others
Zing! It shows up on my Kindle.
Oh, look, say I. Maybe I’ll just take a peek…
And you can guess the rest.
Seriously, this is such a lovely book.
I ought to read it really fast, so that I can get back to writing…
But I now feel I owe it to The Omikuji Project to read that next, because it’s been waiting so long.
Okay, I’ll finish Jo’s book, then spend some time fictionless (except for my own), and hit Valente’s book sometime next week.
Actually, I want to do everything simultaneously. Alas, not possible.
January 25th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Write your own book, don’t waste your time reading mine!
January 26th, 2011 at 6:32 am
Jo —
Too late!
PS: Loved it! (I’ll say more at length when I have a moment.)
Everybody else: Go read it!
January 29th, 2011 at 7:42 pm
You should both just go and live in writers’ monasteries and write, write, write. (I know. Real life & all that…) People like me are sustained by people like you. Mary – you know I’m breathlessly awaiting your next novel. Well, Jo, after reading Among Others you are on my list of must-read authors too now. You’ve probably validated the childhood & high-school experiences for countless many of us. Besides that, it was a genuinely entertaining read, on many levels.
January 29th, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Melinda —
If you haven’t read Jo’s other books yet, you’re in for a treat. My favorites are Lifelode and Tooth and Claw, but she’s probably best known for the “Small Change” series: Farthing, Ha’penny, and Half a Crown. I’m not usually a fan of alternate history, but I really enjoyed these books. (Oh right: Alternate history = “small” change… coins = small change… I just got that it works two ways.)
January 29th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
Oh, and I’d LOVE to live in a monastery. Do they have good health insurance? Is it absolutely required that you be catholic?
and can I keep my laptop?
January 31st, 2011 at 3:23 pm
On my list of things to do when I win the lottery:
1. Add to the many excellent world-wide efforts to improve the lives of children everywhere. On many levels. (This is my stand-in phrase when the lack of space/time doesn’t allow for complexity.)
2. Ditto for the environment and animals.
3. Create wonderful places all over the world (artistically refurbished old hotels, ruins, castles, insane asylums, or newly built structures with 100% eco-friendly materials, using only fair labor practices, and architects who love SFF as much as nature. All with permission from – and substantial kickbacks to – the true local communities. Serving organic meals etc.) where artists, scholars & researchers of all manner & stripe can come for a few weeks or months EVERY YEAR to do whatever it takes to be rejuvenated in themselves and their life’s work. All at no monetary cost to themselves.
The last bit is important, because it seems the creatives & explorers who need this kind of space & time the most, are usually the ones who has least access to it. What would the world be like if all that creativity can bloom unhindered?
I would love that.
That makes me think: add to my lottery list:
4. Provide complete health insurance (at no or little cost) to said creatives & explorers above.
If you want a fulcrum to move the earth – that’s probably it.
The energy it would release!
February 1st, 2011 at 6:35 am
Melinda —
What a lovely thought! I think a lot of people have that dream.. I know that if I were to win the lottery, I’d buy this old thread factory I know of in Rockville CT, built over a stream, and filled more nooks and alleys than a medieval village, and I’d turn it into a colony for all kinds of artists!
But you know what? Just the health insurance would make a huge difference. That’s the biggest chunk of monetary outlay that an unmarried, self-employed person can’t do without. If you’re not under some full-time employer’s umbrella, it’s insanely expensive.
January 31st, 2011 at 3:26 pm
I’ve started Tooth and Claw. Since I only have time to read when I attend my son’s sport practice (thanks to the powers that be for sport practice) it is going slower than I would like. I’ll let both you and Jo (over at Tor.com) know what I think. Like it so far.
January 31st, 2011 at 3:35 pm
Oh. The Omikuji Project! I haven’t dived into it yet. I’ll wait until I’m prepared to drown or grow gills. Reading Valente is like that. You morph into something else while reading. Quick little dips into her work is simply impossible.