Category Archives: books

a Plan

Posted on March 29, 2011 by dichroic

I decided to celebrate the new office by getting a water-cooker. (I call them that because the Dutch name is ‘water koker’, though it actually means ‘water boiler’.) We have free coffee and tea at work, but it’s in tiny … Continue reading →

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DWJ

Posted on March 28, 2011 by dichroic

Much as I hate that she’s gone, I have been loving reading all the tributes to Diana Wynne Jones. (The one from Neil Gaiman is particularly nice, since he can talk about her as a friend as well as a … Continue reading →

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hanging out at the beginning of spring

Posted on March 4, 2011 by dichroic

It’s been a ridiculously busy week at work (not bad, just intense). So much for keeping the blood pressure down. It doesn’t really help that we are hiring nad hiring and the building size is not increasing to match; it … Continue reading →

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roundup of the weekend: the usual subjects

Posted on February 21, 2011 by dichroic

Such are knitting decisions made. Last night I got tired of knitting thread (actually lace-weight yarn from Spritely Goods for a Whisper cardigan) so I cast on some Dream in Color Classy my mother gave me and began a Saroyan … Continue reading →

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but other than that…

Posted on February 3, 2011 by dichroic

I’ve been rereading The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett, published serially in 1910 and as a book in 1911) and Laddie (Gene Stratton Porter, 1913) and it’s sort of like a literary version of Iron Chef – the two authors … Continue reading →

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Book rec: Shelf Discovery, by Lizzie Skurnick

Posted on January 29, 2011 by dichroic

Some time, i should try waiting until after I’ve read more than a little of a book before I begin to review it. Not today, though. Shelf Discovery is subtitled “Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading”, but that’s not quite … Continue reading →

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Steam-Powered: comment after buying but before reading

Posted on January 28, 2011 by dichroic

Yesterday, because it sounds like an interesting book and it features stories by a bunch of authors I like, I bought Steam-Powered. I bought it directly from Torquere Press, since it doesn’t seem to be at Amazon yet. I was … Continue reading →

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book rec: Slow Fat Triathlete, by Jayne Williams

Posted on January 25, 2011 by dichroic

I am really liking this book, despite having very little interest in triathlons. I will probably never use any of her sport-specific advice (on gear or tri training or transitions from swim to bike for instance). On the other hand, … Continue reading →

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last time I wrote this much about one book it was Deathly Hallows, and that had a whole series behind it

Posted on January 20, 2011 by dichroic

Jo Walton has an “Ask me questions about Among Others” post up. The question I’m not asking there is “How real (i.e. based on a real person) is Sam?” I want him to be based on a real person (or … Continue reading →

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one disagreement so far

Posted on January 19, 2011 by dichroic

Oops. I found one thing that I think Jo Walton Mori got completely wrong. There is no way Harriet Vane – the woman who spent all of Gaudy Night pondering intellectual honesty, who nearly ruined her life earlier (in society’s … Continue reading →

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