State of the h-l report

Happy 2014 to those to celebrate such things. I personally don't, nor do I make New Year's Resolutions. It's the wrong time of year where I live. Between winter viruses and chronic fatigue and seasonal affective disorder, my body's been in hibernation mode for the past month. Some days it's a miracle that I'm out of bed and dressed. So it's totally the wrong time of year to try making lifestyle changes. "Do more exercise and eat more healthily"... Not going to happen when my body just wants to sleep!

But it's still interesting reading other people's New Year Resolutions :)

The one thing I have been doing for the past couple of weeks is deliberately attempting to eat more fruit by buying bags of clementines and leaving them around the house. I eat plenty of vegetables, at least with my main meal of the day, and I generally drink innocent smoothie equivalent to "2 of your 5 a day", but I'm really bad at eating fruit even though I like it, because of the "hassle". So I'm trying to make sure that there's fruit lying around so I don't have to struggle down the stairs, don't have to wash anything, can just pick it up and eat it when I'm hungry and want something sweet.

I may be eating less chocolate as a result. We shall see.

Haven't done any College work in over a month, again. I've had a cold, or several colds in a row, since 3rd December and spent about 2 weeks too freaking wheezy to think. (It is a well-known fact amongst my asthmatic friends that not being able to breathe makes you stupid). Feel like I might be coming out of it, touch wood.

Of course, it would all be a lot easier if people didn't dose themselves up and carry on going to the shops as usual when contagious :/ My immune system's better than it has been in the past, the various supplements recommended by the Chronic Fatigue Clinic seem to be making a difference. But it's still terrible. This is not a request for advice.

I have mostly been sitting or lying around, reading books and playing video games. I've read a huge number of books. Haven't done anything creative though. Haven't really had enough brain.

The approximately Mid-Week Reading Meme

What am I reading now?
Nothing (!). I finished the book I was reading yesterday and haven't started a new one yet. I have six library books out right now, and a further three (?) to pick up once the library opens.


What have I read recently?
As predicted last time, The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold (re-read). And then I went onto Paladin of Souls (also a re-read). Oh gods, I absolutely love that universe.

I have a distinct feeling I've written about the religion in Chalion before, but I can't seem to find it. It's remarkably similar to the religion in the Elder Scrolls games, at least to the Aedric part of it. ( Read more... )

Other novels:
Dragon's Bones and Dragon's Blood by Patricia Briggs. More re-reads.

The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs. A Christmas present. I would say that while it's not as good as Dragon's Bones, Dragon's Blood, Masques or Wolfsbane, it was certainly worth reading. I'd recommend one of those other books first though.

Bones Are Forever by Kathy Reichs. It's a Temperance Brennan story, or if you prefer, a "Bones" book. If you can swallow your disbelief about the job of a forensic anthropologist, and believe that she can travel 3,000 miles on a whim with the police who are investigating the case which she provided consultation for - and believe that as a highly-qualified intellligent woman she would go putting herself in direct danger, again, when she's already been killed several times by previous villains - well, then it's a good book. I like Tempe, but she needs a good slapping. Which she isn't likely to get in a first-person story. It has a better story than several of the other "Bones" books, and each of the separate threads come together nicely. (As opposed to at least one of the previous books, where they were still working out who did what while recovering in hospital).

Doors Open by Ian Rankin. This is not an Inspector Rebus book. It is about a self-made multi-millionaire who is bored, and gets himself involved in a massive art theft. It's described as a "heist thriller", and I read the entire thing in one sitting, without even skipping to the back to see how it ends (!). Which is pretty much unheard of for me - I skip ahead in books all the time. But it was good enough and fast-moving enough that I didn't want to spoil the story for myself. Nor do I want to spoil the story for anyone else. If you like crime fiction, you should read this. End of.

A couple more short-story collections:
Chicks Kick Butt, edited by Rachel Caine and Kerrie L. Hughes. Who on earth named this book? I mean, seriously, who wants to be caught on public transport or in a cafe reading a book called Chicks Kick Butt?! So, the theme of this collection is clearly Women Being Capable. About half the stories were nauseatingly chick-lit, complete with obligatory heterosexual romance with the Perfect Man (TM). However, I particularly liked Hunt by Rachel Vincent, Vampires Prefer Blondes by P.N. Elrod, Nine-Tenths of the Law by Jenna Black, and Beyond the Pale by Nancy Holder.

My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, edited by P.N. Elrod. You'll never guess what the theme of this book is! I enjoyed most of the stories, but particular favourites were Spellbound by L.A. Banks, Dead Man's Chest by Rachel Caine (which is rather the opposite of most chick-lit), and All Shook Up by P.N. Elrod.


What am I going to read next?
Haven't a clue. Something from this pile of library books, most likely.