|
Bookshelf:Recently Read & Reviewed: Currently Reading: Next Up:
|
Changing TimesTwo weeks ago, as I said, I spent much of the week either cleaning or reading. I was reading Joan D. Vinge's The Snow Queen for the Keplers SF book discussion. It's a very good book, a Hugo Award winner and one I've wanted to read for a while. High tech, low tech, sophisticated and alien but not contrived-feeling societies, and it holds up very well 20+ years later. I've been going to the book discussion group for about four years, having wanted to find one after moving here from Madison. Since I started going, only the moderator, Lisa, and her friend (and former Kepler's employee Lori) have been with the group the whole time. The group has grown and shrunk from month to month, often depending on the appeal of the book we're reading, and usually with 4-to-6 people in any given month. It's been fairly successful, actually. Lori seems to tend to prefer fantasy, whereas I'm not a fan of fantasy and push techie science fiction when I can. Lisa's accommodated both of us over the years in her selections, and it's worked out fairly well (although in all honesty I haven't really discovered any fantasy novels I've particularly enjoyed through the group; the ones I've read which I enjoyed I'd already read, such as Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates). But Lisa's decided that time pressures force her to step down, so this month was our first discussion moderated by Joe, another Kepler's employee, and The Snow Queen was the last of Lisa's book selections (and actually I kind of browbeat her into doing it rather than Catspaw, to the dismay of another of the participants, but I kind of wanted to read the one that won the big award). It went pretty well, though Joe is more low-key than Lisa is and I think will take a few months to figure out how he feels comfortable running things. But I think the group will survive the transition. I'm just not sure I'll be able to motivate myself to re-read Snow Crash for next month's discussion. My memories of it have ended up not being so good, a few years after the first time I read it...
 Another project over the last couple of weeks has been talking with Debbi and then with Lucy ("on-line journaldom's travel agent") about Debbi and me going to Hawaii next month. I've been thinking about going ever since I got here, since it's so much closer (well, a few hours' less travel) than anywhere else I've lived, and it's a relatively exotic locale I've never visited (much like nearly every other exotic locale on - or off - the planet). Well, it turns out that September and October are the slow months in Hawaii, so we've made reservations to go for a week next month. Woo-hoo! We're going to the big island (because Debbi wants to see the volcano and lava, which seems as good a reason as any), staying in what looks like a nice hotel, and renting a car to see as many of the sights as we can in-between lazing around on the beach. We're pretty excited about it. Something new and different! And, after nearly eight months without a vacation, now I'm looking to empty my built-up vacation bucket in just a few months, since we also expect to head back to Boston for a week or so in October, the occasion being the imminent birth of Debbi's sister's third child, for whom Debbi will be the godmother. Yes, I'm actually going to go to a Christening. And Debbi says I can't bring a book, or my laptop either. Whatever shall I do? (Tell horrible puns, probably!) In other Lucy news, I bought her a book for her birthday, which she seemed pretty enthusiastic about. (I have a knack - when I try - for picking out pretty good presents.) Alas, one of her good friends in fandom passed away last week (an event also written about by Tracy and Juliebata), so I think it's been a tumultuous time for her as a result. Ouch.
I finally broke down and bought dorky biking shorts yesterday at a sale at the Outfitter. They're padded, which is the only reason I bought them, but today's trial run suggests that they do their job well! I may have to invest in another pair or two at some point. I'd also like to get some shoes, but my extra-wide feet may be a challenge there. I wear New Balance sneakers, size 11 width 4E. Wide. My cleats are size 12 in order to accommodate them. The guy at the Outfitter said they had only one pair (at $190) which might hold my feet, though he suggested I might be able to custom-order some. If any of my faithful readers have any suggestions on this score, I'd appreciate it. I think sneakers don't really do the job, and I'm also looking at moving to clip-on pedals at some point. But for that, I really need the shoes...
|
||
