Dragons, Privateering and waiting for packages

I have just finished reading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonsdawn, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is about the colonisation of Pern, set around two thousand years before the other Pern books I have read. It was a page-turner and a wonderful read, full of suspense and exciting events. I suddenly understood much more of the names of the places in the books set to later millennia. This book was more of a science fiction book than the Dragonriders trilogy (the ones set in later milennia), with interplanetary travel, colonisation of new worlds and a lot of interesting technology. It appears that the people of Pern lose their sophisticated science and technology in later generations, and revert to something of a medieval system.

The omnibus containing Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey,
Privateering by Mark Knopfler, and autumn trees outside

I thoroughly enjoy both the time periods and, more than anything, Anne McCaffrey's writing. Her style and technique is wonderful and draws you into the story. I have become accustomed with following several characters at once, and I really like the way it gives me a bigger picture of what's going on. Well, in short, the books about Pern by Anne McCaffrey are highly recommended. I recommend starting with the Dragonriders trilogy for an exciting introduction to Pern and the dragonriders, but I guess you could start with Dragonsdawn too, if you want to read the books in chronological order.

Since I last posted, Privateering (the new album from Mark Knopfler) has come in the mail. I was told by Amazon that it would arrive about a week after the release, but I was anxiously waiting for a full two weeks, trying not to spoil myself by listening to it on Spotify. I was very happy when it finally arrived in my post box. I have been listening to it a lot, and some of my favourites are 'Dream of the Drowned Submariner', 'Go, Love', 'Yon Two Crows' and the two pre-releases 'Redbud Tree' and 'Privateering'. I love the album, and the fact that there are two discs and a total of 20 songs makes the whole thing really wonderful.

Talking of waiting for things to arrive in the mail, 'The Casual Vacancy' by J. K. Rowling has finally been published. Once again, Amazon tells me that it will arrive a week after the release, which means I could have it by the coming friday. But if my last experience tells me anything, it is not to trust the estimates amazon gives. So I will have to be patient and try not to expect it before friday in almost two weeks. Which is hard, considering that I have already seen the book in a bookshop. Actually, I saw it in a new and wonderful bookshop here in Trondheim called Bookstars. It is a combined bookshop and coffee bar, and they have decided to drop all the other things, and focus entirely on books. I like their concept very much, and I have already added it to the list of places to visit when I'm in town shopping. A perfect place (a little difficult, though) to practice not buying books.

Autumn has really begun here, with vibrantly coloured trees and a heightened need for tea, blankets and a good book. I am going to enjoy the season sitting in my favourite reading spot with tea and books about dragons and small villages in England. And maybe with some soothing music from Mark Knopfler in the background. All this, of course, in between all the other things I will be busy doing.