What I'm Reading Now

I'm having the worst insomnia, which means although I have time to read -- all those extra hours when I could be sleeping -- I am in no shape to read anything even the slightest bit challenging.

Here's what I've been reading:

Ann Leckie, Provenance 

Leckie's one of my favorite writers, and my public library is apparently never going to buy this book, so I went ahead and bought a copy. It's more or less a mystery novel set in the universe of Leckie's Ancillary universe. We meet a different society than the Radch culture, however -- one in which no one has a gender until they choose one upon reaching adulthood (that's how they reach adulthood, in fact, by choosing their gender). And there are not only two genders -- there are males, females, non-binary people, and another gender which is not entirely clear. Further, families are constructed both by bearing children and by adopting children, and the latter is far more common.

The trouble arises when a set of (more or less) religious artifacts is stolen (or not stolen) and our main character gets involved, somewhat against her will, in untangling the guilt or innocence of the person believed to have stolen them. There's also a murder mystery.

As always with Leckie, this is a complex and interesting read, not in the least because of the interesting worldbuilding.


Georgette Heyer, False Colours, Beauvallet, The Corinthian, The Nonesuch.

Of these, I enjoyed both The Corinthian and The Nonesuch very much. The other two were okay, but not the best Heyers I've read. Still very readable, however!


Gail Godwin, Grief Cottage

I liked reading this one a lot, and the writing was lovely in places. But the ending is flat. It's like Godwin just got bored and quit. However, the novel is worth reading for the voice of the main character and the details of living on this barrier island.

Sarah Elizabeth Miller, Caroline: Little House Revisited

This is a novelization of the events of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie told from the point of view of Caroline Ingalls. There's some attention to historical accuracy (that is, events as they actually happened, rather than as they're told in the Wilder book), and as a lifelong fan of the Little House books, I enjoyed this a lot. If you're not a Little House junkie, this one probably isn't for you.