pedanther

. I recently got an achievement in Duolingo for having been doing the lessons continually for an entire year. At this point, I'm not sure I'll ever have a practical use for having German as a second language, but it gives my brain exercise and I learn fun things from time to time like the existence of a German expression that translates as something like "He's missing a few cups from the cupboard".


. The production of Hello Dolly has concluded successfully; up next is a season of short plays. The one I'm in is an absurdist comedy about a married couple having a very trying day: he's been fired, and she's murdered somebody but can't remember who it was.


. My morning walking routine has become somewhat less regular since winter brought in the cold dark rainy mornings, but it still happens often enough to have a claim to existence. My most common route these days is a lap around the outside of the racecourse, part of it on a nice wooded walking trail dotted with war memorials that I keep telling myself one day I'll actually stop to look at. If I'm feeling ambitious I'll widen the loop a bit and continue on to the north end of the walking trail, at the park with the sound shell where they do concerts in the summer. Most days it's pretty deserted at that time of the morning, but one time there was a car boot sale on, and one morning this week they were setting up for what looked like an inter-school sports day.


. Something else that's been getting less regular and less frequent lately is our roleplaying sessions, due to difficulty getting everyone's schedules lined up. At our most recent session, one of the other players turned out at the last minute to be unable to join in, so we couldn't continue the campaign, but everybody who did turn up had been looking forward to getting some roleplaying in, so I volunteered to run a one-shot session of Lasers and Feelings, a mini RPG whose design features include being able to be run with no preparation whatever. There were some rough patches, but everybody had fun.


. I caved and got Disney+ about halfway through the run of Loki so that I could keep up with what friends were talking about on Tumblr without worrying about spoilers, and I don't regret it. Now that I have it, I'll probably circle back and watch WandaVision at some point; I still don't much care about the MCU versions of Wanda or Vision or especially about the MCU version of their relationship, but apparently it's also got Darcy Lewis and Monica Rambeau in it and I want to find out what they're doing these days. Black Widow I went to see in the cinema, since I'm fortunate enough to have that as an option and even here where cinema tickets aren't cheap it cost literally half as much to see it on the big screen with other people than it would have to watch it on a little screen by myself at home.

Fiction books
(none completed)

In progress
Michael Ende, tr. J Maxwell Brownjohn. Momo (re-read)

Non-fiction books in progress
Adrian Goldsworthy. Philip and Alexander (e)

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Jason Aaron, Esad Ribic. Thor, God of Thunder: The God Butcher

Fiction books
Aliette de Bodard. The Tea Master and the Detective (e)
PC Hodgell. By Demons Possessed (e)

In progress
Terry Pratchett. Snuff (e) (re-read)

Abandoned
Kim Newman. An English Ghost Story

Non-fiction books
Bob Altemeyer. The Authoritarians (e)
Tess Thomson. Paddy Hannan: A Claim to Fame

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Tim Powers. Hide Me Among the Graves

Fiction books
Terry Pratchett. Mort (e) (re-read)

In progress
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Saltation (re-read)
Terry Pratchett. Sourcery (e) (re-read)

Non-fiction books
Daniel Boyarin. The Jewish Gospels
Nigel West. MI5

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Agent of Change

Fiction books
Jason Aaron, Esad Ribic. Thor, God of Thunder: The God Butcher
Ben Aaronovitch. Moon Over Soho (e) (re-read)
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Conflict of Honors (re-read)

In progress
Ben Aaronovitch. Whispers Under Ground (e) (re-read)
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Fledgling (re-read)
Terry Pratchett. Equal Rites (e) (re-read)

Non-fiction books
(none)

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Terry Pratchett. Mort

Fiction books
Ben Aaronovitch. Broken Homes (e)
Diana Wynne Jones. Deep Secret (e) (re-read)
Sharon Lee. Carousel Sun (e)
Sharon Lee. Carousel Tides (e) (re-read)
Terry Pratchett. The Colour of Magic (e) (re-read)

In progress
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Conflict of Honors (re-read)
Terry Pratchett. The Light Fantastic (e) (re-read)
Patricia C Wrede. Talking to Dragons (e) (re-read)

Non-fiction books in progress
Adrian Goldsworthy. Antony and Cleopatra
Nigel West. MI5

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Jason Aaron, Esad Ribic. Thor, God of Thunder: The God Butcher

Fiction books
Babette Cole. Truelove
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Ghost Ship (e)
Mary Shelley. Frankenstein
Walter Simonson, et al. Thor by Walter Simonson
Caroline Stevermer. A College of Magics (re-read)
Caroline Stevermer. A Scholar of Magics
Eve Sutton, Lynley Dodd. My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes (re-read)

Non-fiction books
(none)

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Kim Newman. The Hound of the D'Urbervilles