![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Grandparents, Camps, Islands
Jul. 10th, 2023 02:09 pmSandy Island was good. Despite some ups and downs in the weather and some packing mishaps (forgot my rain boots, Erica's didn't fit; Erica's socks were forgotten, though the few random pairs squirreled away in random bags got us through) the week was pretty good.
Got in some reading at camp:
Along the Saltwise Sea by "A. Deborah Baker" - Sequel to the YA book-within-a-book from Seanan McGuire's Middlegame. Was fun. Apparently there's a third book in the series now? I really need to read the sequel to Middlegame, and maybe reread the original.
Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow - Thriller relating the final caper of a freelance forensic accountant, first book in a series written in reverse chronological order, set in our cyberpunk present.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - My favorite book of the vacation by far. It's a quiet, small, science fiction novel with an unusual and really deep setting. It's a fun, light-hearted, contemplative book.
The Private Provision of Public Transport by Jonathan Richmond - An academic book by a late family friend. It's a set of case studies (organized by city), not popular nonfiction, so it's rather dry. The first few chapters are mostly about efforts to privatize regional blocks of bus transportation in various cities and the political conflict about that (plus Las Vegas, which always only had contract bus operators), the political conflicts described were on pretty familiar lines. The later chapters about New York and Miami focus more on the relations/conflicts between public transit and the regulation of jitney services (licensed or illegal, often serving and originating from immigrant communities) were more interesting.
after the quake by Haruki Murakami - An anthology, this collection of short stories are connected by theme and vague setting but not otherwise tightly tied together. Like much Murakami stuff, it's hard to describe. You'd like it if you liked stuff like After Dark, probably. (Trivia: The story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" here is (somewhat obviously, if you're familiar with both) one of the influences for Makoto Shinkai's Suzume.)
Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix - A prequel to Sabriel. If you like the rest of the series, you will probably like this book.
Reading aside, enjoyed spending time with Melissa and Simon and Elliott (who made it for the first few days this time) and my parents. Erica had a great time.
After we got home, it was time for laundry and packing for Erica's next trip. Went climbing with Erica Sunday morning, had dinner with Julie's parents Sunday afternoon, and Erica's off for her trip with them and her cousin Emilia this morning. Erica's first trip away from parents (she's had some overnights before, but that's different). Seems to be going well so far but, well, it's a big adventure. They're headed up to Canada this week, to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Today is my birthday. Last prime number before I'm middle aged (by my standards, anyways, it's just neater to divide things by two decade increments).
Got in some reading at camp:
Along the Saltwise Sea by "A. Deborah Baker" - Sequel to the YA book-within-a-book from Seanan McGuire's Middlegame. Was fun. Apparently there's a third book in the series now? I really need to read the sequel to Middlegame, and maybe reread the original.
Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow - Thriller relating the final caper of a freelance forensic accountant, first book in a series written in reverse chronological order, set in our cyberpunk present.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - My favorite book of the vacation by far. It's a quiet, small, science fiction novel with an unusual and really deep setting. It's a fun, light-hearted, contemplative book.
The Private Provision of Public Transport by Jonathan Richmond - An academic book by a late family friend. It's a set of case studies (organized by city), not popular nonfiction, so it's rather dry. The first few chapters are mostly about efforts to privatize regional blocks of bus transportation in various cities and the political conflict about that (plus Las Vegas, which always only had contract bus operators), the political conflicts described were on pretty familiar lines. The later chapters about New York and Miami focus more on the relations/conflicts between public transit and the regulation of jitney services (licensed or illegal, often serving and originating from immigrant communities) were more interesting.
after the quake by Haruki Murakami - An anthology, this collection of short stories are connected by theme and vague setting but not otherwise tightly tied together. Like much Murakami stuff, it's hard to describe. You'd like it if you liked stuff like After Dark, probably. (Trivia: The story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" here is (somewhat obviously, if you're familiar with both) one of the influences for Makoto Shinkai's Suzume.)
Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix - A prequel to Sabriel. If you like the rest of the series, you will probably like this book.
Reading aside, enjoyed spending time with Melissa and Simon and Elliott (who made it for the first few days this time) and my parents. Erica had a great time.
After we got home, it was time for laundry and packing for Erica's next trip. Went climbing with Erica Sunday morning, had dinner with Julie's parents Sunday afternoon, and Erica's off for her trip with them and her cousin Emilia this morning. Erica's first trip away from parents (she's had some overnights before, but that's different). Seems to be going well so far but, well, it's a big adventure. They're headed up to Canada this week, to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Today is my birthday. Last prime number before I'm middle aged (by my standards, anyways, it's just neater to divide things by two decade increments).
