Reading
I DNF’d Red Mars. I know last week I said that I knew what I was getting myself into, but I guess I didn’t. The info dumps just kept coming. I thought I was prepared, but my eyes started to glaze over once I hit page 200. There is almost no dialogue in these chapters. It happens once every few pages. I read reviews on Goodreads and Reddit and everyone who didn’t enjoy the novel had the same problem. I think this is the final nail in the coffin for Kim Stanley Robinson and me. I’ve enjoyed a few of his books, but have DNF’d more at this point. He just isn’t the author for me anymore. My reading tastes have changed since my last experience reading a KSR novel a few years ago. Who knows, my tastes might once again swing the other way and I’ll pick up his books again. But for now, this one is going to a little free library.
I did finish We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. This mystery novel about a private security guard, Amy, who gets involved in a murder conspiracy and enlists her ex-cop father-in-law Steve to solve the case was a surprise hit for me. I loved the wry British humor, and all of the characters were fun without being caricatures. I liked the modern aspects of this book, like dealing with social media and a criminal who uses ChatGPT to write emails so cops can’t profile him. It’s managed to slot itself into my top 10 for the year, which has been notoriously hard to do recently.
I decided to read The Magician’s Nephew in paperback rather than listen to it in audio this time around, and I’m glad I did. The illustrations in this book really add a lot to the story, and I was able to polish this book off in 2 days. This was my favorite book of the entire series so far. This one takes place way before The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and serves as a prequel and origin story of Narnia. I’m a sucker for prequels. I know that might not be a super popular opinion, but I love getting a look at a fictional world’s past and seeing how we got here. It’s the same as studying history, really.
I have already requested the last book in the series, The Last Battle, from the library. I want to finish this series, and I’m currently listening to a very long book (more on that in a little bit), and I don’t want to interrupt that listening experience. The only downside to reading this in print is the god-awful cover. You can tell this was done in the 90s, back when computer imaging software was in its infancy and people were just excited to use it. Honestly though, this cover beats every single book cover made with AI (yes, every single one).
Next I picked up Someone You Build A Nest In by John Wiswell, which is last year’s Nebula-award winning novel, and this year’s Hugo and Locus finalist. It’s about Shesheshen, a shapeshifting monster who falls in love with a human monster hunter. I liked the concept, and John Wiswell’s short fiction always puts a smile on my face, so I decided to try this one, despite its label of “cozy horror.” I learned by reading Legends and Lattes that cozy genre fiction is fine with me, but it will never hold a candle to a straight up cozy mystery. Not sure why, but there you go.
I should have gone with my instincts on this one. I DNF’d it about 60% of the way through. I came to the realization that I just didn’t care how the story ended. I was enjoying the beginning, but then the monster, who isn’t human and has been alone all their life, started making observations about the monster hunter Homily’s family trauma using therapy-speak. I was getting bashed in the face with its themes. Wiswell writes without subtlety, and it looks like that wins awards now. The romance aspects of it were also a bit too cutesy for my taste. This is definitely a case of me being the problem rather than the book or the author, as this book looks like it will sweep all the awards. I just don’t get it, and that’s fine.
Lastly, I started listening to Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I read Piranesi last year and it was my number 1 book of the year, so I was excited to read Clarke’s only other novel that she’s published in the last 20 years. I tried to read this book years ago, but I wasn’t ready for its structure and promptly put it down, knowing that I would likely pick it back up at some point. Well, that time is now.
One of the most intimidating things about this book is that it’s long. The audiobook (narrated by the lovely Richard Armitage) is 36 hours long. I’m about a quarter of the way through, and already I’ve passed the spot where I previously DNF’d it. This book won’t be for everyone. The plot moves very slowly, and there’s a lot of asides and tangents (and footnotes). Normally, this wouldn’t work for me (see my comments on Red Mars above), but I think it works here because Clarke writes magically. Every sentence is a gem, and though the book drags, none of the words feel superfluous. I think listening on audio also helps, as my eyes might go crossed reading the dense paragraphs in print. Richard Armitage is also very good with voices, and brings every one of the large cast of characters to life. This audiobook is making my long commutes worth it.
Writing
Last week I said I was going to work on the outline of my novel. I can report back and say this was the right move. When I first decided to restart my novel, it was because the scope of the narrative was too large. I didn’t have confidence that I could do something suitably epic on my first go around. Instead, I reduced the scope of the narrative and started over. But I ran into another wall. I still had too many characters, too many plot threads, and too many interactions with the wider world.
So I reduced the scope even further. I plucked 3 characters that I felt the most excited about and focused on them. When I did that, the scope narrowed to a fine point. I will now be following two characters as they navigate an alternate reality. Their choices will impact the rest of their lives. That’s about as simple as I can make it.
I feel excited again. I think this will help me stay on task and make progress. I’ve been working on this novel for 3 months now, but I’m not discouraged. I know once I get going, I’ll make progress.
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What have you been reading and/or writing this week? Let me know in the comments below.
The Night Bulletin 