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.

Summer reading

And I'm back! After a long break from both reading novels and writing blogposts, also known as exam time, I have come back to talk about what I'm going to read this summer. This summer will be different than usual, field courses and trips to go on, and an exam at the end of the "holiday". Nonetheless, I will be getting back to reading books, catching up with the 50 books challenge (according to goodreads, I'm one book behind), and finishing Les Misérables.

That is actually a major goal with my reading this summer - finishing Les Misérables. I have been reading it since Christmas, and as you can see from the picture, I am almost halfway (the green bookmark marks the page). I actually like it quite a lot, but reading it requires a good portion of concentration and time. I mean, I'm almost halfway, but I still have over eight hundred pages to go! And I will finish it!

In addition I will finish The Wind in the Willows, which I started during the exam period, but didn't finish. It's a pleasant children's book, perfect for getting back into reading. Next on my list is to read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. This is for a youtube book club that sablecaught is arranging, and I am looking forward to reading and talking about a book with others. Next up after that, is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, which lots of people have recommended. The cover and design of the book are lovely, and I can't wait to know what's inside that beautiful cover.

During the summer, I will also read three Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. I discovered that my local library actually have many Pern books, so I borrowed three of them for summer reading. I love the world of Pern, and I can't wait to visit it again.

And then I have the "just in case"-books. If I finish the previous books, I will read one of the ones in the picture.  Name of the Wind and the two last books of His Dark Materials have been sitting on my shelf for far too long, so they will be priorities. Everyone I talk to who have read Name of the Wind have loved it, and they all assure me that it is a gem, and something to look forward to. I just hope it lives up to the hype. I haven't read The Help yet, or seen the movie (I pledged, remember?). So that will be done soon, if not during the summer. I have also heard good things about Between Shades of Gray, so I'm looking forward to reading that one too.

This is shaping up to be a summer full of the reading of good books and learning to name nature. I'm almost becoming a child again, running around in the woods or along the beach being amazed by nature, shouting out when I find something cool. Many organisms have earned this label lately, spiders among others. I am a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of animals and plants we have to know, but i think it's fun. It's almost like going treasure hunting, and who doesn't love that?