Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup! This last week turned out to be rather annoying in terms of my reading. Unusually for me, I had three false starts (awful clunky writing) before turning to something more tried and tested. The extreme heat didn’t help. In the end, I returned to the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold, as I knew that I would enjoy her writing.
Here is the book…
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
I am still trying to tackle this series in the reading order, rather than publishing order, although, in this case it didn’t really matter. Ethan of Athos is a kind of side story to the series and doesn’t involve any of the previous main characters. Anyway, this is the short blurb:
“Dr. Ethan Urquhart, chief biologist from the all-male world of Athos, must travel to other planets in search of new genetic material, as their current supply of ovarian tissue is no longer viable. Ethan encounters what to him is practically an alien species — women! — and also finds himself hunted by Cetagandan ghem lords and helped out by Miles’ Dendarii officer Elli Quinn.”
I am really enjoying the Vorkosigan Saga so far but I think that this book is not my favourite. Just a note that I am using Bujold’s reading order for the series.
The idea behind the book was interesting: a world without women and how a man from that world would cope when he left the planet. I just found the whole thing irritating after a quite amusing beginning. There was definitely Bujold’s wry humour in parts and this lifted the story, but I became rather lost in the plot twists this time.
So, I am not sure what to read next. I only gave this book three stars – is the Vorkosigan Saga losing its spell? Oh dear! Anyway, you will find out my choice of book in next week’s post.
Welcome to a new week on the blog. Phew! We are just coming to the end of a heatwave in this part of the UK. Those of you who live in much hotter climes are probably rather surprised that we react so badly to temperatures that are much more common where you live. The thing is that the infrastructure here cannot cope with extremes of weather. Our houses don’t have thick walls, in the main, most of us don’t have air conditioning or window shutters. That’s because we only need these for a few days every couple of years. It’s the same with snow. Some years we have quite a lot, other years we don’t have any at all. So it is not worth investing in counter measures.
But… with climate change we have to face a different world and that will be difficult or even extreme for many people.
I am not going to go into a political rant on here, so I will bring this subject to a close. All I will add is that the heat has had an impact on my health and I have been really struggling. It has also had a bad effect on tempers in this house, so I hope everything will calm down soon!
Now, I will leave you with a beautiful image or two…
Vases found on Twitter
I found both of these lovely images on Twitter. Aren’t they beautiful?
Now, I will try to return to my latest book. I am finding it so hard to concentrate in the hot weather, so I hope I will have something to write about in Wednesday’s Reading Roundup post!
Apologies dear readers! We are again under a heatwave in this part of the UK and my health issues are giving me real difficulties. Therefore, it is proving impossible to concentrate on writing a proper post today. And, to be honest, my “outfits” consist of a vest and knickers – definitely unsuitable for posting on here 😂🤣😂🤣!
The sheer elegance of this woman is a vision to behold…
NOT!!!!!!
Anyway, I will stagger through the next few days and try to put something together for Monday’s post. I will leave you with this image from Twitter:
Seashells by Florence Pindrys – womensart1 on Twitter (accessed 10/08/22)
Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup! Unfortunately I have been struggling a lot with my illness and family issues, so have only managed to finish one book because my concentration has been so poor. Let’s hope everything improves in the following week.
Here is the book that I have read:
Femlandia by Christina Dalcher
This week’s book was Femlandia by Christina Dalcher. I have read her debut novel, Vox, and really rated it, so I was looking forward to this book. This is the blurb:
“The United States has sunk into total collapse.
Men in positions of power have wrecked the economy and left women to suffer and pick up the pieces.
Miranda Reynolds has lost her husband, her job and her home. There’s only one place left that she and her daughter Emma can go. Femlandia.
Femlandia is a female-only community. A utopia for women. There’s a reason Miranda never joined before. Now she has no choice.
With what Miranda knows about Femlandia’s founder, she’s right to be wary. While life outside the gates is fraught with danger, there’s something just as sinister going on within.”
I was really excited about the book after reading the blurb. Here is my response on the Goodreads website:
Goodness, I don’t really know how to react to this book. I am a feminist, married to a man and a mother of two sons, so my feelings about it are coloured by my background. The idea that a feminist “utopia” could turn out like this feels like a slur on feminism. So much about the lifestyle and relationships were not even tackled; so much was missed out in the cause of what seems to be sensationalism.
Once again the responses on here are widely mixed and I can see why so many readers enjoyed the book. It would certainly make a great discussion topic! Just not to my taste.
Welcome to a new week on the blog. Today I want to respond to the comments on here and elsewhere about last Monday’s post. Thanks to all of you who took the time to write to me, I really appreciate you all.
So, I had a bit of a moanfest last week about how I should or shouldn’t move forward with the blog. These are the kind of questions that I am asking myself at the moment. Shall I simply post less frequently? Are the topics that I cover useful or interesting enough? Can I sustain posting when I am becoming increasingly housebound? Am I becoming addicted to buying stuff so that I can post about it here?
You all gave me very sensible and helpful answers. I felt very encouraged and uplifted as I read them and basically came to the conclusion that I was overthinking everything! Thank you all so much for your generosity in taking the time to respond.
So… I have decided to carry on with the same pattern on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but not get worried when I feel too ill to post. After all, it is only one little blog in amongst millions out there on the web!
I will probably continue to buy one Hermès scarf per season (sometimes maybe two) until I disappear under a mountain of orange boxes! But, I must try to wear them more often, even if I am not leaving the house. I am also planning to list them all and put a label on each box so that I can get them properly organised. Now, that’s definitely something that I will be able to write about!
Another aspect of the blog that I am intending to change is the section on my career in school librarianship. It is such a long time since I retired that I am sure the profession has moved on by leaps and bounds. So, I think that my CV and other pages about my working life can now be archived as they are not relevant to my new life. I think I will also work through some of the other stuff that is now very dated and remove it – The Diet and Exercise Plan, for example. I don’t diet and I can’t exercise!
OK, I think that is enough for now. I will leave you with this lovely image that I found on Twitter…
Long Summer by Katharine Burns – Twitter (accessed 08/08/22)
I just love that gorgeous sparkling sea! Aren’t we so fortunate that technology allows us to see such wonders from the restrictions of our bedrooms?
Welcome to Friday’s post! Today is a very special day as it’s Younger Son’s 30th birthday. Time has passed so quickly and Lovely Husband and I sat looking at photos of our two “boys” over the years wondering how it has gone in the blink of an eye.
The weather is still hot and sunny in this part of the UK with no change in sight, so it has not really been a week for scarf wearing. I did manage to wear Mythiques Phoenix Coloriage by Hermès, tied in a necklace knot, for an hour or so on one day, but soon had to take it off. Here you can see the two sides of the knot. Apologies for the photos. My arms aren’t long enough to get the knot in proper focus!
The full outfit consisted of a navy Lands’ End vest with my Isle Collection linen trousers. I also wore pretty gold and silver feather earrings and a matching necklace.
Outfit of the day 04/08/22 with Hermès’ Mythiques Phoenix Coloriage scarf
Here is an image of the full scarf:
Mythiques Phoenix Coloriage by Laurence Bourthoumieux for Hermès
Earlier in the week my Marks and Spencer navy and white dress coped well with a hot day, but I couldn’t bear to try a scarf and instead chose this Bill Skinner lapis lazuli pendant…
Outfit of the day 02/08/22 with Marks and Spencer dress
This is a larger picture of the Bill Skinner necklace:
Lapis lazuli and gold pendant by Bill Skinner
I must thank everyone who has responded to last Monday’s post, either on here or elsewhere. Over the weekend, I am going to look through your comments again and try to respond next Monday.
Welcome to the first Reading Roundup post for August! During the last week, I have read and enjoyed two very different books. This is the first one…
Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold
Yes, I decided to return to the Vorkosigan Saga once again. This book is number five in the series’ reading order: Cetaganda. Here is the blurb:
“Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan are sent on a diplomatic mission to the court of the Cetagandan Empire, Barrayar’s former enemy. This sophisticated, genetically advanced but in many ways alien society both fascinates and repels, and when the Cetagandan Empress and her attendant die suddenly, Miles and Ivan find themselves embroiled in intrigues that are hard to fathom. Ivan’s romances and Miles’ infatuation with a nobel Cetagandan lady further complicate matters in this novel by four-time Hugo Award winner Lois McMaster Bujold.”
Well, the blurb above does not really explain enough of the complex story and is also inaccurate! Anyway, this is my response on Goodreads:
This had so much to like and enjoy: fantastic world building, clever and witty writing, an interesting and satisfying plot, unusual and well drawn characters. So, it gets four stars for all of those plus points. However, it just missed the full five stars for me because Miles is becoming so irritating as a character. I am trying to read the books in the recommended order and I hope that the next one is better.
The second book of the week was Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman. This is the blurb:
“London, 1799. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents’ famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle’s suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. Edward sees the ancient vase as key to unlocking his academic future. Dora sees it as a chance to restore the shop to its former glory, and to escape her nefarious uncle.
But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth she starts to realise that some mysteries are buried, and some doors are locked, for a reason.
Gorgeously atmospheric and deliciously page-turning, Pandora is a story of secrets and deception, love and fulfilment, fate and hope.”
This book was such a fortuitous choice. My review reveals all:
This was such an unexpected and enjoyable book for me. I chose it at random from the Library’s ebook catalogue because I have a love of historical fiction and also Ancient Greece. However, I didn’t expect to read a fiction book about one of the great interests of my life: Ancient Greek vases! I have a Masters degree in aspects of Ancient Greek vase painting and never thought that I would encounter these ceramics in a book like this: full of mystery, mayhem and murder!
The book itself is good, but has distinct flaws in some areas such as character building and accuracy. I must admit that I also found a few mistakes in the writing about Greek pottery itself. On the other hand, I did enjoy the plot and most of the major characters were well drawn. The cover design is also gorgeous!
I am so glad that I came across this book and I have probably overdone the number of stars, but the melding of themes for the tale just tipped it into the four star category!
I have never heard of a vase like the one in the book, but one of my Hermès scarves depicts pithoi in the corners: Les Secrets de Minos. You can see more on my Scarf of the Moment post about the scarf and I have included an image of one of the corners below:
Les Secrets de Minos by Hermès
Right, I will stop here before I end up writing a whole article about Ancient Greek ceramics!
I gave both of the week’s books four stars and hope that my next book turns out to be a good one. You will find out my verdict in next week’s Reading Roundup post.
Hello and welcome to a new week on the blog. I am in rather a pensive mood today and I want to share a few thoughts with you about the future of the blog.
The Librain…… retired is now in its sixth year and I am so pleased that it still attracts quite a number of visitors. It was started as a way to occupy myself when I became mostly housebound through illness and I have continued to write since I had the stroke in 2019. I am sure that the rediscovery of my ability to think and write reasonably clearly has a lot to do with maintaining the blog. More recently, WordPress quite drastically changed its structures and I had to force myself to learn a complicated new system. I hope that this has been successful.
On the other hand, there have been some negative impacts. I can be quite a driven person. At the beginning, I decided to write a post on every week day and I kept that going for a long time. This was rather difficult to achieve as, because my day to day life is so limited, I had to search around for something to write about. Eventually, I had to drop the posts down to three per week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. That has been manageable most of the time. On occasion, when my illness has become overwhelming, I have taken breaks of up to a week, but I have tried to keep those to a minimum.
Another issue for me has been subject matter. Simply, I don’t want to write long complaining or moaning posts about my illness or the difficult issues surrounding our family life. Over the years, I have vented on here from time to time and everyone has been supportive and kind, but I don’t want the blog to be a negative moanfest! So, I have tried to write as positively as I can about more trivial matters, mainly books and reading, clothing and accessories, and the curiosities that I find whilst wandering around the web.
One thing that this has led to is that my passion for scarves and costume jewellery has become rather overwhelming. The lovely, positive responses that I have had to my scarf posts here and elsewhere have resulted in my spending on these luxuries getting a bit out of hand. Nothing too over the top, I must hasten to say, but rather it’s a bit silly when I can’t wear any of these items out of the house. I sometimes feel very foolish that I own this wonderful Hermès collection, but I can only wear the scarves in the house or for medical appointments!
So, I am in a bit of a dilemma. I need to think about whether I should continue with the blog and also decide its purpose. Perhaps I also need some deeper thoughts about my own future and purpose. I don’t really know.
Apologies for the lack of an Outfits of the Week post today. I have been really under the weather all of this week and have spent most of my time in bed, feeling sorry for myself. I just haven’t had enough energy to get dressed properly. Let’s hope that next week is better.
So, I will wish you all a Happy Weekend and leave you with this gorgeous photo that I found on Twitter…
Hello fellow readers! I have three books to tell you about this week. Two were great, but one was a real miss, as you will find out later.
Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Those of you who follow these posts may remember that I have really enjoyed Adrian Tchaikovsky’s books in the past. So, when I saw this one: Dogs of War (#01 Dogs of War), I was intrigued. I don’t usually like books about pets or animals in general, but this one confounded my expectations.
Here is the blurb:
“My name is Rex. I am a good dog.
Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy calibre weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instil fear. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he’s part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, south-eastern Mexico.
Rex is a genetically engineered Bioform, a deadly weapon in a dirty war. He has the intelligence to carry out his orders and feedback implants to reward him when he does. All he wants to be is a Good Dog. And to do that he must do exactly what Master says and Master says he’s got to kill a lot of enemies.
But who, exactly, are the enemies? What happens when Master is tried as a war criminal? What rights does the Geneva Convention grant weapons? Do Rex and his fellow Bioforms even have a right to exist? And what happens when Rex slips his leash?”
I rated this book with the full five stars on Goodreads and also added to my “favourites”. This was my review:
First of all, I must say that I have very little knowledge of dog behaviour. Does that matter? I loved the melding of dog brain (as I imagine it to be), robot brain and human brain. The switching from obedient soldier to blood-thirsty monster to cringing “Bad Dog”. The other “characters” in the team were also interesting and their development in understanding and intelligence was masterfully written.
The author’s inventiveness that I have experienced in his other books reaches an amazing level in this one. There are also thoughtful and philosophical passages that make the reader think about the consequences of technological development in the future.
There is another book in the Dogs of War series and I intend to read it soon!
Now I will turn to the second successful read of the week…
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison is the second book in her series: The Cemeteries of Amalo. I loved the first two of her books set in this fantasy world and this is the third. Here is the blurb:
“In The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin Emperor with a direct sequel to The Witness For The Dead…
Celehar’s life as the Witness for the Dead of Amalo grows less isolated as his circle of friends grows larger. He has been given an apprentice to teach, and he has stumbled over a scandal of the city—the foundling girls. Orphans with no family to claim them and no funds to buy an apprenticeship. Foundling boys go to the Prelacies; foundling girls are sold into service, or worse.
At once touching and shattering, Celehar’s witnessing for one of these girls will lead him into the depths of his own losses. The love of his friends will lead him out again.”
I really enjoyed this sequel to Witness for the Dead. The melding of fantasy and detective/mystery is very well done indeed. In fact, I think that this book was even better than the one before. The main character is very well drawn and I enjoyed the tea-drinking and opera-visiting parts of his life alongside the more deadly aspects. The world building is superbly done, apart from my difficulties with names of all kinds!
I chose The Beijing Conspiracy by Shamini Flint from our Library’s ebook catalogue completely at random. Let’s begin with the blurb:
“One man is caught up in a lethal global conspiracy in this explosive spy thriller.
“I need your support. There is no one else I can trust. Please help her. Please help our daughter.”
When ex-Marine Jack Ford receives a letter containing news of a daughter he never knew he had, he feels compelled to return to China, a country he hasn’t visited since 1989 when, as a young American spy, he fell in love with a beautiful student activist and found himself caught up in the horrors of the Tiananmen Square massacre. But why has Xia got in touch now, after a thirty-year silence?
On arrival in Beijing, Jack finds himself accidentally in possession of an explosive piece of information both the Chinese and American governments are desperate to get their hands on. Alone in a strange city, suspected of being a traitor by his own side, not knowing whom to trust, Jack is faced with an impossible dilemma: should he save his new-found daughter or prevent a new world war from breaking out?”
Oh dear! As I have written on here many times before, please look up other reviews of this book, read it if it interests you, and make up your own mind about it. The book wasn’t for me, but plenty of other people have liked it.
OK, that’s all for this week. I will now return to my current book, which I will write about next week, all being well.
Former professional school librarian, now retired through chronic illness. Trying to keep cheerful by reading, drinking lots of tea, blogging my new life, and my love of bling!
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Librain
The Librain......retired 
Dear Lauren, you always write the loveliest comments! Thank you so much, love Anne X