summer reading

A short early ride to the lake on my very sound (and a bit crazy) horse, yeah!

not spoiled. Nope, he's not spoiled at all.

It was 105+ degrees Saturday and Sunday. With more to come. An "excessive heat warning" in effect all week. (I know Arizona and some places have it even worse!) Forget heat training. Just living here is heat training (in a house with no air conditioning). Major got another carrot popsicle and an alfalfa cube cool mash, I went to the river with a book. Then I sat in a hammock with a book. Then a pool.

cat will not be posing for this picture

Thomas the cat is not amused. And will later drink my water.

It really isn't that bad if you don't have to be doing manual labor outside. I had a book I was devouring, which I couldn't believe I'd never read: The Hero and the Crown! (Thanks Funder for the recommendation) a great story, actually good horse stuff (so many horses in fiction are so bad) a tough lady, dragons. I need more!

Every day. I could sit here every day.

Don't you want to dive right in? The water was perfect.

I usually stick with hard sci-fi (probably 80%) but veer into fantasy sometimes too. Or murder mystery. Or cops and lawyers. OK, I read whatever I can get my hands on (yes, I'm old school and like "real" books.)

But I also just read another awesome non-fiction book: Endurance by Alfred Lansing. Not about horses or running. But the 1915 expedition by Ernest Shackleton to cross the Antarctic. These guys are tough. Not tough like you can imagine. Tough like living on ice, will-they-make-it, who's gonna die type of book. Like Into Thin Air. But tougher. Just the ice descriptions…just read it, you'll see.

I was on a re-reading binge for awhile. Work was stressful, nice to read old friends. I re-read all the Robin Hobb Far Seer, Liveship Traders and Tawny Man series of books (epic fantasy) Also the Stolen Child by Keith Donahue (about a changeling, based on a Yeats poem), Midworld by Alan Dean Foster, which is a simple read that I love and have read every year. Because he creates a super awesome planet and ecosystem I want to visit. But never meet a silverslith. I have nightmares where the silverslith is hunting me.

Oh, and With Friends Like These, short stories also by Alan Dean Foster. There is a pretty awesome sci-fi horse story, (yes, that's an odd genre) called Dream Done Green. Makes me cry. Every. Single. Time. Don't say I didn't warn you.

(Ok. I also know I'm supposed to do my blog award I was so nicely nominated for by Liz. I am not good when presented with lists and questions. Too much structure! I think I may cheat and just answer questions, coming up with more would be too hard. Gee, I feel guilt over a blog post. First world problems)

Reading anything good this summer? I just devour books this time of year, and need some recommendations for my next trip to the used book store (though usually I just dig around, find something different, and see how it works out!).


P.S. I had this written and ready to post when I read of the terrible tragedy, in Arizona, where 19 brave firefighters were overcome by wildfire and died. I will be doing no more complaining this time about the heat. I had a friend who was a smoke-jumper here in California, an amazing, dangerous, necessary job. My heart goes out to their families.