An interesting stat (to me anyway): Nine (1/8) of the books on my library holds list are sequels to things I've already read. I think only six are non-series books by an author I've read before.
LHC #265: "Silver in the wood" by Emily Tesh. eBook, nice and short and delightful. The follow-up is on the list.
LHC #266: "How we learn to move" by Rob Gray PhD. Hard copy because that's what the library had. There are a lot of pics in this book and they are low-quality. While the concepts are interesting, I had to make an effort to relate them to the activities I participate in.
Most interesting perhaps was the brief discussion of habit and automatic portions of a movement, and whether automation is something we should even strive for. For me, if there's a portion of a movement I can automate, that's a win, because then I can focus on something else, e.g., automating the embusen of a kata. But is that even automated? At the same time, the idea that experts generally have more variability in their movement than noobs, that's really interesting from a karate perspective. I suppose we have more range of movement around the standard, whereas someone who is new has less options around their incorrect movement? And also with something like pole or hoop, where a person is comfortable with the apparatus they always have more options because they don't have to be afraid they're going to fall and hurt themselves as much.
Worth reading.
"Ring Shout" by P. Djeli Clark. The first book I've actually had to read for this season's deep dives on Writing Excuses. I read his Master of Djinn last year. For me it started slow, but the last quarter was great. Though I didn't see why Maryse should find the Cyclops' offer particularly compelling.
LHC #267: "Samak the Ayyar" translated by Feydoon Rassouli; adapted by Jordan Mechner. Hard copy because that's what the library had. I didn't find it very engrossing, it's all tell and no show, all plot twists and pretty much the same battle over and over. An interesting artifact for sure but it took me like six weeks to read.
LHC #268: "A marvellous Light" by Freya Marske. audio book because that's what came first, and also I had a long drive from Toronto to North Bay to Ottawa and then back to Toronto again. About halfway through there was a sudden turn to gay porn which was weird to listen to while driving. I think normally when there's a major sex scene in a print or e-book I probably skim it, so that was jarring. Nevertheless, really enjoyable. I loved how it really leaned into the theme of consent in various contexts.
LHC #269: "Before she Sleeps" by Bina Shah. ebook. Not that upbeat. I didn't find the writing that elegant. It was an interesting read while following the whole Gisele Pelicot case. She introduced me to Chilly Gonzales, so I guess there's that.