Reading Roundup #79: Here I Go Again

Well, it’s happened: I’ve fallen into obsession with another long series. I tried to pace myself with the Vorkosigan books — I really did!! — but somewhere around last Friday I lost all control, and here we are, three full books and three short stories later, and with no sign of slowing down. I did manage to squeeze in a couple of others books before forgetting myself, and my reading schedule is definitely suffering for it. I’ll try for balance again next week… but I don’t make promises I can’t break (where TBRs are concerned, anyway 😉).

Vorkosigan Saga #5-7+9-11 by Lois McMaster Bujold: This stretch of stories shows Miles coming into his own (and coming of age), as well as setting us up for the next arc of the books with the introduction of his brother Mark. As always, the series is at its strongest when navigating Barrayaran culture (bonus points if Cordelia and Aral are around), and nowhere is this on better display than in the short story The Mountains of Mourning. A masterpiece of both craft and content, LMB does more in the less than 100 pages of The Mountains of Mourning than most authors do in a full book. Aspiring writers should read it for plot and pacing, and everyone should read it for the deep reflections on responsibility, prejudice, and humanity at its best and its worst. You’ll notice that I skipped over book #8, Ethan of Athos — and that’s because while this book takes place in the Vorkosigan universe and while I do want to read it, it’s not part of the main story, and frankly, I just wanted to get to more adventures with Miles!

Murder by the Book: Mysteries for Bibliophiles, edited by Martin Edwards: An anthology of what the editor calls “bibliomysteries,” Murder by the Book is a wonderful introduction to Golden Age detective fiction. Each short story is, of course, a mystery connected somehow to books or writers, and each one is an engaging read — though some mysteries are more straightforward than others. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be seeking out more by the included authors, using Edwards’s helpful introductory notes to find more titles. My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St. James: If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw me freaking out about this one for a full day. Admittedly, I’m a big scaredy-cat, so this may not be as spooky for you as it was for me, but I was thoroughly creeped out at a couple of points — decaying hands clawing at windows and cats staring at a space where nothing should be will do that to me. Wonderfully atmospheric, An Inquiry Into Love and Death has just a little bit of everything, and it’s an excellent book to read… on a bright sunny day with lots of people around!

—b