Sunday Status Update: January 31, 2021

Kat: I finished R.J. Barker’s Call of the Bone Ships which is the sequel to The Bone Ships. It was better, I thought, but I didn’t like it as much as others do. It’s beautifully written, but I just didn’t connect with the characters. Today I’m starting C.J. Cherryh’s Merchanter’s Luck which has recently been published in audio format. This book, first published in 1982, has been on my TBR list for decades, so I’m pretty excited about it.

Bill: No finished books this time as I’ve been prepping for the start of classes this week. I did start Michael Johnston’s Silence of the Soleri but unfortunately gave up at the halfway point. Brief DNF review to come. In video, Wandavision took a welcome turn into the broader world beyond the sitcom tour and turned in an excellent episode, while The Expanse showed yet again why it’s the best sci-fi on TV. And genre-adjacent, I’ve been zipping through Murdoch Mysteries, since I can get a lot of work done while it’s on in the background. The mysteries are OK, but I quite enjoy the little in-jokes regarding future events, such as Murdoch scoffing at investing in “risky” newfangled companies like IBM or telling his boss to put down the “silly rubber” he invented for fingermarks because “it’s not a toy!”

Kelly: I’ve just started Hide and Seeker, a middle-grade horror novel by Daka Hermon. So far it reminds me a little of Stranger Things (which I love) and has some deeper, heartfelt stuff going on beneath the scares in much the same way that Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces does.

Marion: I’m currently revising the Project That Cannot Be Named, with a deadline of mid-February, so the only other book I’ve browsed through is the Machiavelli one, Be Like the Fox which continues to give a fascinating picture of Florence, various flavors of “republics,” and all too often creates a frisson of resonance with recent events. On the “watching” front, I’m still committed to American Gods, although I’m experiencing Laura Fatigue. Please, we’re in Lakeside now! Buckle down! And, I’ve guardedly decided to give The Watch another shot, mainly because of the first Dance Routine episode.

Terry: I took a hard turn into mysteries/thrillers this week, tearing through David Baldacci’s Memory Man and The Last Mile. I’ve now started the third in the MEMORY MAN series, The Fix, and I’m likely to continue until I’ve read the whole series. This guy is a master at plotting!

Tim: This week, I read a good portion of Erin Morgenstern‘s The Starless Sea. I enjoyed The Night Circus (her first novel) when I read it some years ago, though I felt that the imagery and characterization were really what carried the book, and that the plot wasn’t as refined. I have similar feelings about The Starless Sea.