I rescued myself from Spelling Bee by cancelling my subscription to NYT Games. Now I can play it only up to the rank of Solid (or Good if they’re feeling stingy). I play right up to whatever the number is, then hit the pangram. It gives me a reachable goal and limits the damage to my internal hamster wheel.
Isles of the Emberdark is Sanderson’s best book in a while - if you are current on the Cosmere, pick it up! I have also been working my way through Michael J. Sullivan’s Elan books, enjoying them immensely. I’d recommend starting with Theft of Swords.
Another vote for The Sun is a Chariot, The Fifth Sun is too much like The Fifth Season. Or the Fifth Element. Or something.
The Spelling Bee is a time suck, I play the Merriam-Webster Blossom instead. You're limited to twelve words so I just go for the pangram(s) and then the longest words I can find. A lot of the allowed words are RIDICULOUS but whatever.
Did you reread David Copperfield before reading Demon Copperhead? I hadn't read Copperfield in forty years and didn't remember it at all so the reread was worth it to see how Kingsolver overlaid the new story making it completely different yet exactly the same. Astonishing. A masterpiece. Also so depressing I will never read either of them again.
Loved Long Bright River by Liz Moore, even more than The God of the Woods which was so good. Presumably you've read The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet, both by Maggie O'Farrell, really great, also A Town Called Solace and Crow Lake, both by Mary Lawson (little known and underrated.) Starter Villian by John Scalzi made me laugh out loud multiple times.
It’s almost a decade old now, but The Hike by Drew Magary is a great read. Quite surreal, but manages to land the plane. And contains two very satisfying twists.
I'm also a Harris fan. Yes, the Cicero series gets a little yawning, but it's because Cicero can be a pompous (and misguided) bore. My #1 Harris is "An Officer and a Spy", it's brilliant. Going back to Romans, his "Pompeii" is a ton of fun. No you're not the last one to read Demon Copperhead, I still have it on my pile ... Happy trails! I also do a book review on my Stack when I'm pressed for time, lol.
I saw someone else say (THE) CHARIOT SUN and am yes to that, and THE SUN IS A CHARIOT!
For a mystery/thriller with a different narrative pace and structure, I suggest Catriona Ward's LOOKING GLASS SOUND.
I most recently loved listening to Stephen Graham Jones's THE BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER but my hold ran out of time and am waiting earnestly for it to come back around. Thank you for your writing and for being here!
Trying to keep up with my wife reading through Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere (she’s several novellas/short stories and a whole Stormlight book ahead of me).
A couple chapters of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe out loud to our boys each night at bedtime. (When our daughter ((whom my wife was still pregnant with when you signed our copy of the Bright Sword last year in Boston)) gets older, I look forward to reading her the Silver Arrow!)
Part-way through Haruki Murakami’s latest, the City and Its Uncertain Walls. And yesterday I downloaded Seveneves by Neal Stephenson and Shogun by James Clavell, both long-standing on my to-be-read list, onto my Kindle because they happened to be on sale for just $1.99 each.
Good recs to add to my tbr list, thanks. I just finished Once Was Willem by Mike Carey. If the Seven Samurai with medieval monsters is your thing, this one is for you. Also finished the AI Con by Emily Bender. We are living in the grift.
Another enjoyable piece. Thank you for taking the time to write the newsletter. I particularly like the part about Niland because that's how I feel as a writer. So much discipline and hard work but it's up to you to find the reward, and it doesn't always feel rewarding (though I try to live by TE Lawrence's "Happiness is the byproduct of absorption".) Ah, enjoy Celsius. I had to back out because of illness this year, sadly. Such a great line-up.
The Sun is a Chariot!
The Sun is a Chariot. The Fifth Sun is good, but it has the ring of something someone's already used.
I rescued myself from Spelling Bee by cancelling my subscription to NYT Games. Now I can play it only up to the rank of Solid (or Good if they’re feeling stingy). I play right up to whatever the number is, then hit the pangram. It gives me a reachable goal and limits the damage to my internal hamster wheel.
I have it bad -- no sleep till GENIUS
Isles of the Emberdark is Sanderson’s best book in a while - if you are current on the Cosmere, pick it up! I have also been working my way through Michael J. Sullivan’s Elan books, enjoying them immensely. I’d recommend starting with Theft of Swords.
I vote for The Sun is a Chariot.
P.S. Connections is my personal obsession, I’m just grateful it
is not an open-ended game!
Another vote for The Sun is a Chariot, The Fifth Sun is too much like The Fifth Season. Or the Fifth Element. Or something.
The Spelling Bee is a time suck, I play the Merriam-Webster Blossom instead. You're limited to twelve words so I just go for the pangram(s) and then the longest words I can find. A lot of the allowed words are RIDICULOUS but whatever.
Did you reread David Copperfield before reading Demon Copperhead? I hadn't read Copperfield in forty years and didn't remember it at all so the reread was worth it to see how Kingsolver overlaid the new story making it completely different yet exactly the same. Astonishing. A masterpiece. Also so depressing I will never read either of them again.
Loved Long Bright River by Liz Moore, even more than The God of the Woods which was so good. Presumably you've read The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet, both by Maggie O'Farrell, really great, also A Town Called Solace and Crow Lake, both by Mary Lawson (little known and underrated.) Starter Villian by John Scalzi made me laugh out loud multiple times.
I like the Fifth Sun 😄
The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish, and The Actual Star by Monica Byrne are very good
It’s almost a decade old now, but The Hike by Drew Magary is a great read. Quite surreal, but manages to land the plane. And contains two very satisfying twists.
Just finished The Great When by Alan Moore and his love of English is extraordinary.
My rule for Spelling Bee is to stop after finding a word using all 7 letters, or after 20 minutes if I’ve found the magic word earlier. Is enough!
Mysteries- I like the Lindsey Davis series set in Rome, featuring Falco (but not so much the later Flavia set).
I'm also a Harris fan. Yes, the Cicero series gets a little yawning, but it's because Cicero can be a pompous (and misguided) bore. My #1 Harris is "An Officer and a Spy", it's brilliant. Going back to Romans, his "Pompeii" is a ton of fun. No you're not the last one to read Demon Copperhead, I still have it on my pile ... Happy trails! I also do a book review on my Stack when I'm pressed for time, lol.
Have you read The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer?
I saw someone else say (THE) CHARIOT SUN and am yes to that, and THE SUN IS A CHARIOT!
For a mystery/thriller with a different narrative pace and structure, I suggest Catriona Ward's LOOKING GLASS SOUND.
I most recently loved listening to Stephen Graham Jones's THE BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER but my hold ran out of time and am waiting earnestly for it to come back around. Thank you for your writing and for being here!
Trying to keep up with my wife reading through Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere (she’s several novellas/short stories and a whole Stormlight book ahead of me).
A couple chapters of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe out loud to our boys each night at bedtime. (When our daughter ((whom my wife was still pregnant with when you signed our copy of the Bright Sword last year in Boston)) gets older, I look forward to reading her the Silver Arrow!)
Part-way through Haruki Murakami’s latest, the City and Its Uncertain Walls. And yesterday I downloaded Seveneves by Neal Stephenson and Shogun by James Clavell, both long-standing on my to-be-read list, onto my Kindle because they happened to be on sale for just $1.99 each.
Good recs to add to my tbr list, thanks. I just finished Once Was Willem by Mike Carey. If the Seven Samurai with medieval monsters is your thing, this one is for you. Also finished the AI Con by Emily Bender. We are living in the grift.
Another enjoyable piece. Thank you for taking the time to write the newsletter. I particularly like the part about Niland because that's how I feel as a writer. So much discipline and hard work but it's up to you to find the reward, and it doesn't always feel rewarding (though I try to live by TE Lawrence's "Happiness is the byproduct of absorption".) Ah, enjoy Celsius. I had to back out because of illness this year, sadly. Such a great line-up.