#TBR Challenge – It Came From the 1990s!: Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader’s Companion

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Victoria Janssen

It Came From the 1990s!: Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader’s Companion by J. Daniel Gifford and James Gifford was published in 2000, but that’s the end of the 1990s, it counts!

This is a nonfiction catalog of all the writing by Robert A. Heinlein, almost all of which I have read in the course of my life; the first straight-up science fiction I ever remember reading was a copy of his juvenile space adventure Have Space Suit, Will Travel. Heinlein was notable for his strong narrative voice, rollicking plots and, in his later novels, characters who had a lot of sex outside of marriage, which was not usual in the science fiction of his period!

I didn’t read this book cover to cover; it’s been more interesting to jump around the entries, which are in alphabetical order, in my own way, so I can read about the juveniles, read about the Hugo-winners, etc.. The most interesting section of each entry is “Curiosities and Anomalies,” which includes a lot of little facts that I didn’t already know.

It’s a great book to read when you are tired and have a short attention span, that is if you’re interested in this author. When culling my book collection before a big move, I discarded all but a couple of my aged, used Heinlein paperbacks because I had no desire to re-read. However, I’m still interested in reading about his significant place in the history of American science fiction.

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My October Reading Log

Posted on November 15, 2024 by Victoria Janssen

Fiction:
Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis is fantasy romance novella set in an alternate nineteenth century England (Angland) where women do politics and men do magic. Humans have an uneasy truce with the powerful Elves. The protagonist Cassandra Harwood, a unique woman who formally trained in magic until suffering an accident, has broken up with her magician betrothed, but her beloved brother and pregnant sister-in-law drag her to a house party where, you guessed it, her former betrothed is also a guest. The story has romance, but is more focused on a terrible bargain Cassandra is forced into with a elf lord, and how she finagles her way out of it and also figures out a path forward for her life without using her magic.

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne, from newish Romantasy line Bramble, was a very lowkey novella that owed a lot to Travis Baldree’s Legends and Lattes and Bookshops and Bonedust, in that a warrior leaves their past behind to open a teashop that also sells books. Reyna, a former guard for a cruel queen, and her powerful mage lover Kianthe, who feels trapped not by her role in the Magicary but by the other mages, hide out in a border town where they easily make friends and set up a thriving business. But of course, Reyna is wanted for treason, and the town suffers from repeated dragon attacks. It was a fluffy book with an established romance that, to me, felt a little flat, probably because the relationship didn’t have much tension or conflict. A secondary couple is set up in the course of the story, and there’s an open-ended plot element that seems destined for a sequel.

A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas is eighth in the Lady Sherlock Series, and I think you need to have read at least book three, The Hollow of Fear, to get the most of out it. This installment had a lot of poignant moments relating to murder victims and their loved ones, which I appreciated. The plot has more moving parts than I can accurately sum up, as well as some jumping forwards and backwards in time, something Thomas excels at. I loved the range of costumes Charlotte Holmes wore this time around, and her lover Ash played the role of a couple of old men that amused me greatly. Livia played a smaller role this time but characters from book three play a major part relating to murders both old and new.

Fanfiction:
skate the line with me (let’s fall in love) by andromedabennet is a figure skating alternate universe featuring characters from The 100, a show I’ve never seen. I enjoyed it anyway! There were a few small skating-world things that didn’t ring true to me, but nothing too obvious. Clarke Griffin is an excellent singles and pairs skater with a pushy mother; after being badly injured, she shifts to ice dance with her childhood friend, Bellamy Blake. Eventually, romance ensues between them, but I felt the focus is more on the skating and Clarke figuring out what makes her happy, at least until the final chapters, which are very romance-y. I was impressed the writer kept me interested despite knowing nothing about the canon.

Cadena Base by Mireille is a Blake’s 7 “Post-Gauda Prime” story, which in B7 parlance means after the end of the series. It’s interesting because it eliminates the most popular character, instead focusing on my personal favorite, Vila Restal.

The Soul Is An Idiot by impertinence is a really long, really great threesome story about Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Bruce Wayne. It’s so fun. Go read it.

Do Every Stupid Thing by thepartyresponsible is another DCU story, this one from the point of view of Jason Todd/Red Hood, except it’s the early 1990s and he ends up interfering in the assassination of Howard Stark. Things change from there as he interacts with Bucky Barnes and Tony Stark. This story has a terrific narrative voice; the writer is clearly having fun with their wish-fulfillment mashup.

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My September Reading Log

Posted on October 18, 2024 by Victoria Janssen

Fiction:
Payback in Death by J.D. Robb is fifty-seventh in this futuristic mystery series, and I continue to enjoy, from a writerly perspective, how Robb/Nora Roberts manages to both provide enough information for new readers and reward longtime readers with running gags (the obstreperous vending machine near the interrogation rooms, for example) and ongoing secondary character events (the continuing saga of the house being renovated by Mavis, Leonardo, Peabody, and McNab). This one also had a few good twists to the mystery of who had killed a retired Internal Affairs policeman. This is pretty much the only police detective series I can tolerate, probably because the nearish-future setting gives some distance from our contemporary system of policing. Like all mystery novels, it’s about Justice more than anything else, but simplistically doesn’t go beyond Putting the Villains in A Cage; it’s not part of the formula, but one day I would like to see Eve Dallas grapple with that a bit more.

Random in Death by J.D. Robb is fifty-eighth (!) in this series and is a serial killer plot in which the killer has no empathy and chooses victims on the spot. This plot structure is popular for a reason; if the reader’s interest flags, another death with new clues increases the momentum. In this particular one, the victims made me very sad even though they were fictional. Two victims, thankfully, survive. This one was pretty stressful but definitely kept me reading.

Growing Good: Seasonal Celebrations (Clorinda Cathcart’s Circle Book 22) by L A Hall returns to the friends of Clorinda Cathcart and their children, spread among many estates and celebrations. The plot inches along, the cast increases, and I am there for it.

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian is the first romance I’ve ever read set in 1958-1959 New York City. Andy Fleming’s father owns the newspaper where Brooklyn-born Nick Russo is a city reporter. Nick takes Andy under his wing while trying to fight off attraction to him, which goes about as well as you might imagine when they swiftly become close friends. Andy is a bisexual sweetie who probably has ADHD as well as a fear of abandonment; Nick is not only closeted but the door is barred and chained since an arrest in his teenaged years. Their friendship is charming and believable; woven in among their romance are several key moments in gay history, including a landmark article in The Village Voice and the American publication of Mary Renault’s The Charioteer. The protagonists work through issues with their families as well as with how they can safely be together in the way they want to be. This was a lovely, low-stress book and I recommend it.

My TBR Challenge book for September is Drama!: Blackout by Connie Willis.

Fanfiction:
The Cross Purposes Job by solomonara was a very fun crossover between the new Leverage series and the Batman comics (including most of the current Batfam). After Wayne Enterprises disrupts a con at a critical moment, Leverage decides to investigate. As you can guess from the title, they are working at cross purposes, each party investigating and outsmarting the other until almost the very end.

Friends of Cordelia by PhoenixFalls and sanguinity writes up, in academic style, Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan’s impact on the queer communities of Barrayar and Sergyar.

American Dreams by Miri1984 is a series of often very poignant snippets from the perspective of Steve Rogers, mostly when he’s recently defrosted.

Five Times Frederick Wentworth Had the Breath Knocked Out of Him On the Ice (and one time he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding) by AMarguerite is one of the best Olympics AUs I read in a recent series of them. In this modern-day Persuasion AU, Frederick Wentworth, a hockey player from the rez, and Anne Chan Elliott, a well-off figure skater, become pairs partners, but break up just before leaving Juniors for the Senior Ranks because, ostensibly, Frederick is being recruited by the NHL but actually so Anne can be sent to the Olympics as a Senior singles skater (for Reasons). They’re reunited years later after Frederick is a successful NHL player and Anne is working as a sort of event/project planner. They work through it. The happy ending is satisfying. I especially liked Frederick’s family, characters we don’t really see in the Jane Austen novel.

Soldier/Ghost by Miri1984 combined comics!Captain America with MCU!Captain America in a way I found delightful. Post-“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Bucky Barnes is struggling to regain his memory while Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson have gone to England where Steve is reunited with members of his WWII group, The Invaders. I read some Invaders comics back in the day, and I very much enjoyed seeing them integrated with MCU plotlines. Also there are vampires and flashbacks to WWII. You’re welcome.

Thy Soul, Alight In The Dark by Aerlalaith is a Reboot!Star Trek alternate universe in which the crew of the Enterprise have left Starfleet and are working as salvagers after the end of a long war with the Klingons. They find a huge, abandoned Vulcan ship and Creepiness In Space ensues. Spock, who never joined Starfleet (and whose planet was not destroyed) is defending against an ancient evil with no hope of rescue. Kirk can do something about that. This had romance, but what I really loved was the worldbuilding of Vulcan history and mythology and the science of telepathy.

Grounded by Margo_Kim is thoughtful, hopeful, and rewarding. Post-Avengers: Endgame, Bucky Barnes is given a journal, but the main focus of the story is how he begins to form new connections and build social support, woven in and out of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and then adding in a Bucky/Sam relationship amidst his bonding with Sam’s family. Bucky actually makes use of his therapist and other useful things like that. I would like more stories like this.

reasons why you don’t want to talk (about reasons why you don’t want to talk) by napricot is another thoughtful Bucky recovery story set after Avengers: Endgame in which Bucky grapples with Steve leaving him behind and, spoiler, Steve returning. This was a new twist on this subgenre, I felt, and I was totally there for it.

skate the line with me (let’s fall in love) by andromedabennet is a figure skating alternate universe featuring characters from The 100, a show I’ve never seen. I enjoyed it anyway! There were a few small skating-world things that didn’t ring true to me, but nothing too obvious. Clarke Griffin is an excellent singles and pairs skater with a pushy mother; after being badly injured, she shifts to ice dance with her childhood friend, Bellamy Blake. Eventually, romance ensues between them, but I felt the focus is more on the skating and Clarke figuring out what makes her happy, at least until the final chapters, which are very romance-y. I was impressed the writer kept me interested despite knowing nothing about the canon. (I finished this one yesterday, so it’s technically an October read.)

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#TBR Challenge – Spooky (Gothic): All Clear by Connie Willis

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Victoria Janssen

October 16, Spooky (Gothic): All Clear by Connie Willis (2010) is the second half of Blackout, which I read for the September Drama theme. It actually does fit the Spooky theme a bit, as the characters navigate London during the Blitz in World War Two, stumbling through blackouts and huddling in Underground Stations as bombs drop overhead.

In Blackout, three time-traveling historians who’ve landed in different times and locations in England during World War Two are reunited and have begun trying to figure out what’s happened to them and how they might get back to their home of Oxford in 2060. The continuation in All Clear is even more stressful, with more of the anxiety-dream feel of constantly being thwarted, while at the same time making connections with others and learning how to cope and endure the horrors happening all around.

I have no idea how accurate all of the World War Two historical details were, but it certainly felt real to me. I am not sure this was the right time for me to read these two books; in recent years, I’ve lost a lot of my desire to read books that require large quantities of emotional energy. That said, I was gripped by the characters’ plight and by various mysteries involving time travel, historical events, and characters throughout that propelled me forward whether I liked it or not. They were both page-turners!

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Quick Stovetop Fudge Drops

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Victoria Janssen

Quick Stovetop Fudge Drops

1/4 cup milk
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup oatmeal [preferably uncooked rolled oats]
1/2 cup diced nuts, salted peanuts, or fruit

Over medium heat, melt butter in a saucepan with sugar, milk, and cocoa powder, stirring often. Bring to boil, let boil two minutes. Remove from heat.

Quickly stir in vanilla and peanut butter. Stir in oatmeal and whatever extras you desire. Drop by teaspoons onto a greased cookie sheet and let them firm up.

Store in something other than plastic – plastic keeps humidity inside.

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#TBR Challenge – Drama!: Blackout by Connie Willis

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Victoria Janssen

Blackout by Connie Willis came out in 2010, the first of two books that are really one book, so it ends on a cliffhanger and continues in my next month’s book, All Clear. Does it fit the theme? Oh, yes, it does.

The book opens in Oxford, England, in 2060. For the past forty years, historians have been traveling into the past to observe events; from experience, they have figured out a few rules, such as you can’t be in two places at once, so if you’ve been to a time period, and you go there again, it’s a “deadline” and you die. There are also certain major events that no one is able to visit, which seems to be a sort of natural phenomenon of the timeline. Here, Willis takes the time travel conceit and begins to explore it in depth, because what if the “rules” are not truly rules? What happens when all the time travel does begin to affect the timeline and time travel? And how do they figure it out?

This book and its second half are both very long and very tense. At first, Willis’ trademark rapid banter obscures (deliberately) the seriousness of what’s about to happen. The head of the program, Mr. Dunworthy, has begun to change the dates and times of when historians leave the lab and where they’re going, which throws their preparations into chaos without much explanation. For the most part, the point of view characters are three historians who travel to different points in World War II England. They are supposed to report back frequently, and return at a set time through their “drop,” a set point that gets them back to 2060 Oxford. Instead of progressing smoothly, their difficulties mount and their solutions don’t work out. This happens again, and again, and again, while they become more and more emotionally entangled with the “contemps,” or people who are native to the time and place.

Fair warning: if you read this, have both volumes on hand. They are both very long, but you don’t want to be dangling while you wait for the second volume to show up.

For me, this book was like an anxiety dream. It was stressful and frustrating, at times feeling like an impossible task. But I couldn’t stop reading, which says something to me about Willis’ skill at creating relatable characters I cared about.

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My August Reading Log

Posted on September 13, 2024 by Victoria Janssen

Fiction:
Encore in Death by J. D. Robb/Nora Roberts is fifty-sixth in this massive series, which I continue reading not only because it’s a comfort read for its familiar characters and justice prevailing, but because I enjoy seeing, from a craft perspective, how the author walks a fine line between the formula that keeps readers returning and her own desire to mix it up; also, it has to reward new readers at the same time. This particular installment features famous actors and had a couple of good plot twists that kept it from being stale. I realized, partway through, that Roberts seems to have dropped Peabody’s humorous obsession with her weight, replacing that trait with obsessing about decorating her new house, which makes me very happy; at one point, Peabody gets eggs and bacon sandwiches for her and Dallas with zero comment. Long may that continue.

Fanfiction:
Faster, Higher, Stronger by everwitch is an Olympics AU of Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston in which figure skaters Henry Fox and Alex Claremont-Diaz are both determined to win gold at the Olympics. I found it pretty gripping, and loved how easily elements of their characters from the canonical material transferred to a new arena (see what I did there?).

Hot Ice by SlantedKnitting is a Merlin Olympics AU in which Arthur is a short-track speedskater, his sister Morgana is a snowboarder, and Merlin is a figure skater. Arthur is dealing with the fact that his disparaging father is a terrible coach for him, and what that means for his career. Then Morgana drags him to see Merlin compete and he gains a new perspective.

Advertise what makes you crazy (The Olympic Figure Skating AU) by Khashana is a Check Please! AU in which Kent Parson is a trans figure skater who doesn’t meet Jack Zimmermann until after Jack’s breakdown, and their relationship works out better. Kent’s mother is a thinly-veiled version of Tanya Harding. Eric Bittle adds an extra element to that relationship in the sequel. The Olympics are more of a starting point for the story, which then moves on to their college experiences at Samwell.

The Consultants by thebratqueen is an Avengers/White Collar crossover in which Tony Stark and Bruce Banner are a couple who call in the FBI and their art theft expert about a stolen painting. I loved this and would read another hundred thousand words or so of it.

The Making of Monsters by shuofthewind is a massive Daredevil AU series which adds Darcy Lewis, The Little Black Dress of Fandom, into Columbia Law School with Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson, and adds in a familial relationship with another major Marvel character as well. The story was written soon after the first season of the Daredevil Netflix series, so other Marvel characters who appear have characterizations distinct from what eventually happened in various Disney Plus series. There is an eventual Matt/Darcy romance and a lot of discussion of vigilantism and justice, as you might expect. Warning for canon-typical violence.

Of Twin Stars and Other Eccentric Satellites by winterhill is a much more lowkey Reboot movies version of the ST: TOS episode “Amok Time” in which T’Pring ends up with a much better role and a much superior future.

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#TBR Challenge – Everyday Heroes: Dancing Bearfoot by Elva Birch

Posted on August 17, 2024 by Victoria Janssen

August 21, Everyday Heroes: Dancing Bearfoot by Elva Birch is a confection, a short paranormal romance set in Alaska between single dad Leland/Lee, who owns a construction company, and his daughter’s preschool teacher, Patricia. Lee is a big bear of a man who can turn into, you guessed it, a bear; Patricia struggles to stay afloat by working as a waitress when she’s not teaching.

Lee knows Patricia is his soulmate as soon as they meet. Patricia doesn’t get the greatest first impression of him, but their interactions via his daughter Clara, and their experience subsequently of being trapped together in a snowstorm, quickly lead to a low-angst resolution with some humor when his shifting ability is revealed. I actually read this earlier in the year because I was in the mood for something light, and was pretty happy with my choice.

This story is part of a long series, “Green Valley Shifters.”

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My July Reading Log

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Victoria Janssen

Fiction:
The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki (Author) and Jesse Kirkwood (Translator) is set in contemporary Japan and opens with a former tv scriptwriter whose career took a downward turn; she is now writing scripts for a dating game. The eponymous Full Moon Coffee Shop appears, as you might imagine, at the full moon; the waiters are talking cats who can read your birth chart and help you with your problems. I felt this was a mosaic novel; there are different narrators who all experience similar events, but their life experiences in the past have a link that is fully revealed at the end. The experience of reading it, from a narrative standpoint, is fairly static, an exploration of character rather than a plot that surges forward and up into a climax; it was very mindful, if that word can be applied to reading. I felt it could definitely fit into the “cozy vibe.”

Fanfiction:
K’diwa: A Steamy Novel of Interspecies Romance, by Jim Kirk by branwyn is a Reboot Star Trek AU, K/S slash, set at Starfleet Academy. On a bet, Jim Kirk has written a human/Vulcan romance novel; then his abusive ex-boyfriend Gary Mitchell posts it to everyone. Meanwhile, Spock is assigned to read the novel to see if there’s any speciesism in it…when he was already reading it with fascination. Fair warning that Kirk is a bit woobiefied in this story, but I love the meta commentary about Romance novels that’s happening throughout, and the characterization of the Orion cadet (Uhura’s roommate), Gaila. There’s also some good McCoy happening.

floating, sinking by shuofthewind is an AU sequel to Star Wars: Rogue One in which the characters survive and then must deal with their injuries, their traumas, and the politics of the Rebellion amid the events of A New Hope. Also of interest as the story casts Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor as greysexual demiromantics.

Ready for Love by idiopathicsmile is an adorable Singin’ in the Rain threesome followup. Cosmo Brown FTW! This is great.

Ekphugion by fourteenlines for Loligo is a really cool Vorkosiverse/Reboot Battlestar Galactica crossover, and oh how I wish it was longer.

you said love fills you up by napricot is an AU splitting off from Avengers: Endgame. When Steve Rogers goes back in time to dance with Peggy Carter, he creates a new universe and gives her all the information she needs to, first, rescue Bucky Barnes and second, hopefully stop Thanos. And also find his other self in the Arctic. I loved this. I loved the slow build between Peggy and Bucky; I loved non-traumatized Bucky; I loved the eventual threesome and the happy ending.

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#TBR Challenge – What a Wonderful World: The White Mosque: A Memoir by Sofia Samatar

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Victoria Janssen

What a Wonderful World: The White Mosque: A Memoir by Sofia Samatar (2022) hasn’t actually been on my TBR for very long; I just couldn’t wait any longer! I’ve been a fan of her poetic prose since reading her 2013 novel A Stranger in Olondria.

“A pilgrimage has a trajectory: the end is already known. But I’m interested in the randomness of movement. More than just interested: I’m desperate.”

The title of the book references the whitewashed church of a nineteenth-century group of Mennonites, who followed their leader to Uzbekistan, where they settled to await the return of Christ which their leader had predicted for 1889. Samatar, whose mother is Mennonite, began to research this fringe group and their long journey; the memoir begins when she is on a tour of Uzbekistan, but it’s not only about the trip, it’s also a thoughtful reflection on her own past and identity, a mosaic of history and memory. And, the best part, unexpected connections and insights along the way.

The tour was organized by a Mennonite group, so as Samatar writes of the associated memoirs she’s researched for this trip, she intersperses times when their guides read sections of the same memoirs aloud on the tour bus. This results in a vivid overlay of the past over the present. The historic travelers, leaving Russia because they were no longer protected from the military draft by the tsar’s decree, travel doggedly across the desert, knowing that the government of the place they want to settle does not want them but heading their anyway. There is epidemic illness, and the death of their children from disease and hardship; they are attacked and cast out by soldiers; they endure having their crops destroyed and their houses robbed, even a murder. Even after their prophet was proved wrong, more than once, and lapses into mental illness, they stayed until cast out. Their journey was harrowing and didn’t improve much after they settled, but it’s a compelling narrative. The contrasts with the comfortable tour bus and a valley that was desert in the past, but now is crammed with irrigated crops, throws their travails into sharp relief. I felt I understood Mennonites more, as when Samatar points out the determined pacifism of the “Bride Community” under attack, and the pain of separation when some of the community acknowledge they cannot stay, and depart for new lives in America.

I know this is not the cheeriest book, yet at the same time it’s clear-eyed, thoughtful, and compelling as she thinks on communities, being part of communities, and being being broken from them. Some of the chapters are very short, more like meditations spinning off from the previous section of narrative. It feels poetic, which makes sense, as Samatar is also a poet. I loved this book, and recommend it highly; for me, it resonated with today as well as with the past. “In the collective will to harmony, personal failings are subsumed, caught up, stripped of significance, transformed into music. From this inside, this concord feels like grace. It only hurts if you’re outside.”

If you’re an audiobook reader, a friend highly recommended the audio version, which is read by the author herself.

An excellent interview with Samatar at the Chicago Review of Books.

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