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james_davis_nicoll Dec. 4th, 2025 08:55 am)
james_davis_nicoll Dec. 4th, 2025 08:55 am)
Cleric Chih's quest to record the tragic history of a famine succeeds all too well.
A Mouthful of Dust (Singing Hills, volume 6) by Nghi Vo
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Cleric Chih's quest to record the tragic history of a famine succeeds all too well.
A Mouthful of Dust (Singing Hills, volume 6) by Nghi Vo
Books read in the last couple of months:
Sofia Samatar, The Winged Histories:. This is odd and somewhat disjointed, set in the same secondary world as A Stranger in Olondria (which I read ages ago and remember very little about). The threads all come together at the end. I’d been displeased earlier because I thought we’d lost both the first narrative voice, which I liked, and the continuity of the narrator's story. The book does get back to her story, or at least her sister and cousin’s stories.
James Thurber, The Thirteen Clocks: read aloud, because Adrian had never read it. Still delightful, a fairy tale set in a world where people have at least heard of fairy tales.
Lorraine Baston, Rules: A Short History of What We Live By. Baston talks about rules as measuring devices, as sets of instructions, and as models, and various shifts in meaning over time. She talks about thick and thin rules, thick rules being ones with (more) examples and details, and which anticipate more exceptions. A about the change in how people learn/are taught all sorts of things, including math. I enjoyed this, and if that description sounds interesting you probably will too.
Edward Eager, The Time Garden: Children's magical adventures while spending the summer with a relative because their parents are in London, working on the premiere of a play. Another read-aloud, this one was new to me, and fun.
Helen Scales, What the Wild Sea Can Be: The state, as of 2023, and possible futures of the ocean and ocean life in the Anthropocene, according to an oceanographer. I asked the library for this because I liked the author's book about mollusks.
Sofia Samatar, The Winged Histories:. This is odd and somewhat disjointed, set in the same secondary world as A Stranger in Olondria (which I read ages ago and remember very little about). The threads all come together at the end. I’d been displeased earlier because I thought we’d lost both the first narrative voice, which I liked, and the continuity of the narrator's story. The book does get back to her story, or at least her sister and cousin’s stories.
James Thurber, The Thirteen Clocks: read aloud, because Adrian had never read it. Still delightful, a fairy tale set in a world where people have at least heard of fairy tales.
Lorraine Baston, Rules: A Short History of What We Live By. Baston talks about rules as measuring devices, as sets of instructions, and as models, and various shifts in meaning over time. She talks about thick and thin rules, thick rules being ones with (more) examples and details, and which anticipate more exceptions. A about the change in how people learn/are taught all sorts of things, including math. I enjoyed this, and if that description sounds interesting you probably will too.
Edward Eager, The Time Garden: Children's magical adventures while spending the summer with a relative because their parents are in London, working on the premiere of a play. Another read-aloud, this one was new to me, and fun.
Helen Scales, What the Wild Sea Can Be: The state, as of 2023, and possible futures of the ocean and ocean life in the Anthropocene, according to an oceanographer. I asked the library for this because I liked the author's book about mollusks.
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https://domestic-medicine.com/
This website is an unromanticized purview of historical health care, with an emphasis on household and community practices shared and recorded by women, along with the overlaps of medicine and cookery.
Author Stephany Hoffelt’s credentials: ( Continue. )
(Content note: Hoffelt, with her lived experience, research into historical context, and insistence upon practical results, has a whole catacomb apiece to pick with both the patriarchal medical establishment and the proponents of a Magical Pagan Witch Sisterhood who got burned by the millions for providing safe and reliable herbal abortifacients.)
This website is an unromanticized purview of historical health care, with an emphasis on household and community practices shared and recorded by women, along with the overlaps of medicine and cookery.
Author Stephany Hoffelt’s credentials: ( Continue. )
(Content note: Hoffelt, with her lived experience, research into historical context, and insistence upon practical results, has a whole catacomb apiece to pick with both the patriarchal medical establishment and the proponents of a Magical Pagan Witch Sisterhood who got burned by the millions for providing safe and reliable herbal abortifacients.)
This new Worlds Without Number Bundle presents Worlds Without Number, the tabletop fantasy roleplaying game of far-future sword-and-sorcery adventure from acclaimed designer Kevin Crawford of Sine Nomine Publishing.
Bundle of Holding: Worlds Without Number
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(james_davis_nicoll Dec. 3rd, 2025 08:53 am)
james_davis_nicoll Dec. 3rd, 2025 08:53 am)
A study of the carefree life of an animal at the bottom of the food chain.
Bambi (Bambi, volume 1) by Felix Salten (Translated by Jack Zipes)
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Shadowrun 5th Edition scenarios and campaign sourcebooks.
Bundle of Holding: SR5 Missions (repeat from 2024)
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(james_davis_nicoll Dec. 2nd, 2025 10:02 am)
james_davis_nicoll Dec. 2nd, 2025 10:02 am)
Handy advice for overly enthusiastic bookworms (you know who you are)
Things I Wish I’d Known When Starting a Book Collection
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Having saved hapless human Tully from the kif, hani star captain Pyanfar Chanur is faced with the consequences of saving hapless human Tully from the kif.
Chanur’s Venture (Chanur, volume 2) by C J Cherryh
2024: Scutigera coleoptrata become established in the UK, a Trident missile suffers performance anxiety during a test and refuses to leave its sub, and Labour sweeps to victory in the General Election, with surprising little effect on the subsequent frequency of cruel and vindictive legislation.
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2024 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Corey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel Waidner
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
The Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
Poll #33896 Clarke Award Finalists 2024
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 27
Which 2024 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
View Answers
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
1 (3.7%)
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
1 (3.7%)
Corey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel Waidner
2 (7.4%)
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
26 (96.3%)
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
11 (40.7%)
The Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
2 (7.4%)
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2024 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Corey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel Waidner
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
The Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
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Impress your friends and potential significant others! Join the legions of James Nicoll Reviews supporters! James Nicoll Reviews is the only SF review that promises to be pyroclastic flow-free!
December 2025 Patreon Boost
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Happy Kalends of Decembris! Are you ready for Saturnalia?
I signed up for a 2026 Medicare Advantage (part C) plan today. I had it narrowed it down to two plans, and decided yesterday which one I like better. There are minor differences--in particular, the one I chose has a lower copay for physical therapy--but there don't seem to be significant differences. It also has a slightly better rating, according to the Medicare.gov site, by half a star, but that might not be significant (an average 3.7 rounds to 3.5, and 3.8 rounds to 4).
Now, it should just be a matter of telling various doctors and pharmacies that my insurance has changed as of Jan. 1st, and maybe dealing with a new mail-order pharmacy for the Kesimpta.
They gave me a confirmation number, and if I don't hear from the company in the next few days I will call. (Normal open enrollment ends Dec. 7, but I have a "special election period" that runs through February.)
Now, it should just be a matter of telling various doctors and pharmacies that my insurance has changed as of Jan. 1st, and maybe dealing with a new mail-order pharmacy for the Kesimpta.
They gave me a confirmation number, and if I don't hear from the company in the next few days I will call. (Normal open enrollment ends Dec. 7, but I have a "special election period" that runs through February.)
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21 works reviewed. 11 by women (52%), 10 by men (48%), 0 by non-binary authors (0%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (0%), and 8 by POC (38%).
Book by book, closer to aleph null.
November 2025 in Review
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(james_davis_nicoll Nov. 30th, 2025 09:17 am)
james_davis_nicoll Nov. 30th, 2025 09:17 am)
An academic's dismal prospects are transformed by a magical umbrella.
The Incredible Umbrella (Incredible Umbrella, volume 1) by Marvin Kaye
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Hello, friends! It's about to be December again, and you know what that means: the fact I am posting this actually before December 1 means ![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png)
karzilla reminded me about the existence of linear time again. Wait, no -- well, yes, but also -- okay, look, let me back up and start again: it's almost December, and that means it's time for our annual December holiday points bonus.
The standard explanation: For the entire month of December, all orders made in the Shop of points and paid time, either for you or as a gift for a friend, will have 10% of your completed cart total sent to you in points when you finish the transaction. For instance, if you buy an order of 12 months of paid time for $35 (350 points), you'll get 35 points when the order is complete, to use on a future purchase.
( The fine print and much more behind this cut! )
Thank you, in short, for being the best possible users any social media site could possibly ever hope for. I'm probably in danger of crossing the Sappiness Line if I haven't already, but you all make everything worth it.
On behalf of Mark, Jen, Robby, and our team of awesome volunteers, and to each and every one of you, whether you've been with us on this wild ride since the beginning or just signed up last week, I'm wishing you all a very happy set of end-of-year holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and hoping for all of you that your 2026 is full of kindness, determination, empathy, and a hell of a lot more luck than we've all had lately. Let's go.
karzilla reminded me about the existence of linear time again. Wait, no -- well, yes, but also -- okay, look, let me back up and start again: it's almost December, and that means it's time for our annual December holiday points bonus.The standard explanation: For the entire month of December, all orders made in the Shop of points and paid time, either for you or as a gift for a friend, will have 10% of your completed cart total sent to you in points when you finish the transaction. For instance, if you buy an order of 12 months of paid time for $35 (350 points), you'll get 35 points when the order is complete, to use on a future purchase.
( The fine print and much more behind this cut! )
Thank you, in short, for being the best possible users any social media site could possibly ever hope for. I'm probably in danger of crossing the Sappiness Line if I haven't already, but you all make everything worth it.
On behalf of Mark, Jen, Robby, and our team of awesome volunteers, and to each and every one of you, whether you've been with us on this wild ride since the beginning or just signed up last week, I'm wishing you all a very happy set of end-of-year holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and hoping for all of you that your 2026 is full of kindness, determination, empathy, and a hell of a lot more luck than we've all had lately. Let's go.
He were brilliant.
Mr Ford took me to London (first class, yet, as he had to use up a lot of frequent flyer miles on a reorganizing airline, so we went fancy) to see Arcadia at the NT. It was stunning.
Glad we had him on the planet. He will be missed.
Mr Ford took me to London (first class, yet, as he had to use up a lot of frequent flyer miles on a reorganizing airline, so we went fancy) to see Arcadia at the NT. It was stunning.
Glad we had him on the planet. He will be missed.
(elisem Nov. 29th, 2025 08:59 pm)
elisem Nov. 29th, 2025 08:59 pm) I test negative for COVID these days, and feel a lot better. As directed by many people who learned some of it the hard way, I continue to rest LIKE A POTATO. And no, the giggle-inducing power of that phrase has not worn off. Juan has a way of intoning it at various sleeptimes that brings even more amusement due to the solemnity. And these things are good.
HOWEVER, what is not so good is that I'm considerably behind on getting things into the Etsy store.
Also what is not so good is that a new computer is needed. (Shopping will be done, the passive voice will be employed, and so forth.) Also, since other debts are also had, the means to pay them must be acquired.
YOUR KINDNESS is hereby requested in the form of sending people to my shop (or going yourself, yes please!) so that I may exchange the fruits of my labors for money that I can then give the computer-making people and the other-stuff-I-have-to-pay-people. If it works out right, we're all happy. (Also it will help me not freak out about money, which turns out to make resting LIKE A POTATO a little harder.)
The shop is: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LionessElise
Also also, being at the workbench is the most calming thing I know, so I'm doing a tiny bit of that, but I need to put things into the shop for people to be able to see them. Commerce does not work so well otherwise. (I am reminded of Patricia C. Wrede, who upon receiving a sheepish negative answer when she asked me if I had sent a certain story in yet, declaimed in ringing tones, "PUBLISHERS DO NOT CONDUCT HOUSE-TO-HOUSE SEARCHES FOR PUBLISHABLE MANUSCRIPTS! SEND IT IN! YOU HAVE TO SEND IT IN!")
Anyhow, yeah, I very much need to make some moneys happen, and the most direct route for me is making shinies happen for people that want shinies, so if you can help them find my work that would be awesomely helpful.
You have my deep gratitude, and if there's anything I can do for you, please let me know.
HOWEVER, what is not so good is that I'm considerably behind on getting things into the Etsy store.
Also what is not so good is that a new computer is needed. (Shopping will be done, the passive voice will be employed, and so forth.) Also, since other debts are also had, the means to pay them must be acquired.
YOUR KINDNESS is hereby requested in the form of sending people to my shop (or going yourself, yes please!) so that I may exchange the fruits of my labors for money that I can then give the computer-making people and the other-stuff-I-have-to-pay-people. If it works out right, we're all happy. (Also it will help me not freak out about money, which turns out to make resting LIKE A POTATO a little harder.)
The shop is: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LionessElise
Also also, being at the workbench is the most calming thing I know, so I'm doing a tiny bit of that, but I need to put things into the shop for people to be able to see them. Commerce does not work so well otherwise. (I am reminded of Patricia C. Wrede, who upon receiving a sheepish negative answer when she asked me if I had sent a certain story in yet, declaimed in ringing tones, "PUBLISHERS DO NOT CONDUCT HOUSE-TO-HOUSE SEARCHES FOR PUBLISHABLE MANUSCRIPTS! SEND IT IN! YOU HAVE TO SEND IT IN!")
Anyhow, yeah, I very much need to make some moneys happen, and the most direct route for me is making shinies happen for people that want shinies, so if you can help them find my work that would be awesomely helpful.
You have my deep gratitude, and if there's anything I can do for you, please let me know.
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Eight books new to me. Five fantasy, one horror, two science fiction, of which two are series and six may not be.
Books Received, November 22 — November 28
Poll #33890 Books Received, November 22 — November 28
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 62
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
Kill All Wizards by Jedediah Berry (June 2026)
21 (33.9%)
The Franchise by Thomas Elrod (May 2026)
10 (16.1%)
Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden (July 2026)
3 (4.8%)
Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer (June 2026)
30 (48.4%)
Inkpot Gods by Seanan McGuire (June 2026)
20 (32.3%)
Cursed Ever After by Andy C. Naranjo (June 2026)
7 (11.3%)
For Human Use by Sarah G. Pierce (February 2026)
3 (4.8%)
The War Beyond by Andrea Stewart (November 2025)
10 (16.1%)
Some other option (see comments)
1 (1.6%)
Cats!
44 (71.0%)
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