Here’s what I’ve been working on since my last reading report.
- The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah: I was just starting this one at the time I wrote my last reading report. I liked the premise, and the beginning was encouraging. But, the way Shah described the locals and their actions, I couldn’t tell if he was an elitist, a rube, and/or making stuff up. That uncertainty made me uncomfortable, and I stopped reading.
- Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson: I did what I said I’d do. I applied myself to it and finished it within a few days. There’s not much to the story: some friends and acquaintances of the Moomins gather at their house, only to find that the Moomins are not at home; they stay there for a time, doing ordinary things, such as preparing dinner and raking leaves, and then they go their separate ways again. But it’s not really about the story. It’s about the turning of the seasons and experiencing that sort of sweet-and-melancholy feeling of Fall. It’s excellent if you’re in the right mood for it.
- The Maze Runner by James Dashner: I got stalled on this one. Then I saw that the movie was available to stream for free, so I watched it. Boy, was it lame. But I will probably finish the book, even though I know how it turns out, just because I’m more than halfway though.
- The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey: I keep meaning to get back to this one. I hope I will before I forget what I already read of it.
- I reread three books: City of Sorcery and Stormqueen by Marion Zimmer Bradley, as well as The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit was as adorable and light-hearted as I remembered, nothing like those atrocious films that Peter Jackson made from it.
- I also read What Art Does: An Unfinished Theory by Brian Eno and Bette A.. I gave the book a B+, because I found it to be, as the title says, “unfinished.” That is, though I appreciate the authors’ efforts and ideas, the book needs more meat to it.
- Currently reading: Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I’ve Learned by Alan Alda. I’m enjoying it so far (132/224 pages). One benefit of having watched so many episodes of M*A*S*H in my life is that I can hear the narration in Alda’s voice.