It's too damn hot + Reading Wednesday

[yuuago]

31C?

Well, looks like summer is here.

Seriously, wasn't it just a couple of months ago that it was -20C or something... I swear it was.

This time of year, all you can do is flop down and try not to expire from the heat. Bleh. I want to go for a run later, but I might need to make it more brief than usual. It's soooo dry... eugh.

Anyway! A brief Reading Wednesday, since I'm here.

Recently Finished: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart. Like I've mentioned in previous entries, it's a very good novel; one of the best I've read in a while. If you haven't read this one, I do suggest giving it a try. It's set in a fantasy version of ancient China, with a delightful cast of characters, a wonderfully light narrative style, and the sort of twisty narrative that takes a million strings and pulls them all together in a really satisfying way. As an aside, there are so many scenes in this book that would make for absolutely beautiful illustrations, oh man....

Currently Reading: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Or rather, re-"reading" via audiobook. It's been a while since I read this one, and I'd forgotten most of it, even though I read the rest of the MaddAddam trilogy more recently. It's very... I find the world in this novel interesting, but there is a lot that I could do without. The Crakers are just a little too weird for me. And everything just seems like it's covered in grit, though I can't remember if the other novels were like that too, or if it's mainly due to Snowman's POV. Maybe I should re-read the others in order to see about it.

Reading Next: Nnnot entirely sure at this time. When it's so fucking hot out, I want to read something cold. Maybe I'll finally read Luminous Spaces, that recent translation of Olav H. Hauge's poetry and journals. I've been meaning to, and anyway, he writes the most beautiful winter landscapes.

Comments

[the_rck]

I remember, back in the 1980s, my then best friend (who is now my SIL) who is Chinese American was over the moon to find something like Bridge of Birds. She didn't care that Hughart wasn't Chinese or Chinese American; the story was very recognizably Chinese enough to be a long drink of water in a great desert of Celtic inspired fantasy novels.

I haven't asked her if her opinion has changed now that there are more Chinese inspired fantasy novels available in the US.

The section on porcupine cookery makes a very funny read aloud that stands well enough even for people who haven't read the rest of the book.

[yuuago]

Ahh yeah, I can see how it would excite someone at a time when so few things like this were being published.

I figure, ideally, there'd be room for both.

[the_rck]

It was the first time I ever ran into the idea of representation. We didn't have a word for it then, but my friend was very clear with me about what it meant never to see people who looked like her or to be able to read about them.

There was a RuneQuest game we played where she made a character who was an elf raised by humans who assumed that she was ugly because of not looking like the people around her. My friend explained that that bit was based on her own experience growing up surrounded by things telling her that only certain types of white people were attractive. It was quite clearly poisonous.

[minutia_r]

o_O

Gosh. I was prepared not to take your complaints about the heat seriously, but it's only expected to reach 25 here today.

[yuuago]

Ahh man. When someone from a warm place is like "wow, you're not joking".... /sob

Yeahhh it's pretty gross. We swing between extremes; -40 and +40 at the height of the relevant season. Luckily for me, summer is short.