Monthly Archives: March 2018

Urban birdwatching in Frankfurt — Urbane Vogelbeobachtung in Frankfurt-am-Main

Posted on 25 March 2018 by Spuggy

If you follow me on social media, I’ve probably been driving you mad recently with lots of bird pictures. Lots and lots of bird pictures. In order to have them all in the same place – and not just have … Continue reading →

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Thoughts: Heart of the Dragon, by Gena Showalter

Posted on 25 March 2018 by Dove

Oh my goodness, where do I start? Let’s start at the beginning. Once upon a time, a husband found two incredible-looking books in a free bookshelf and brought them home to his wife. One day, the wife picked one up … Continue reading →

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Thoughts: Hild, by Nicola Griffith

Posted on 25 March 2018 by Dove

After the high-speed frolic of Golden Hill, the syrupy slowness of Call Me By Your Name and the spare elegance of Lady Into Fox, Hild was a thick, soft blanket, and I sank gratefully into it. Another impulse book, because … Continue reading →

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Thoughts: Lady Into Fox, by David Garnett

Posted on 22 March 2018 by Dove

I picked this one up because I read a review of a ballet production of it, and thought it sounded exactly like the sort of thing I’d wish I’d written. Is it? I’m not sure. It’s very of its time. … Continue reading →

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Thoughts: Call Me By Your Name, by André Aciman

Posted on 20 March 2018 by Dove

After seeing the film I bumped this one right up the list, and I’m glad I did. With the film so fresh in my mind, I felt like I really got to see a bigger picture than I would have … Continue reading →

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What is the top-heaviest country?

Posted on 15 March 2018 by Spuggy

This post is based on an interesting Twitter thread about country populations! In particular, this pair of tweets from Josh Fruhlinger: https://twitter.com/jfruh/status/974194917273563136 It’s an interesting thing – how top-heavy is a country or federation? In other words, how much of … Continue reading →

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Thoughts: Golden Hill, by Francis Spufford

Posted on 15 March 2018 by Dove

Oh, this was fun. I put this on my list purely on the basis of a Guardian review of it, and it delivered in spades. This is going to be a hard one to review because it was just so … Continue reading →

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Thoughts: Truth and Duty: the Press, the President and the Privilege of Power, by Mary Mapes

Posted on 11 March 2018 by Dove

Finally back here, whew. Busy weekend doing exceedingly badly in the German iai nationals. Don’t worry; there’s always next year. Anyway, it’s time to talk about a very frustrating book that was quite a competent film. More below.

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Thoughts: The Girl With All The Gifts, by M. R. Carey

Posted on 8 March 2018 by Dove

Tl;dr, it is very good. It made waves in 2014 for a reason. Bonus tip: the film is also very good! Seeing it is the reason I put the book on my list, and I’ve been looking forward to it … Continue reading →

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Thoughts: The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin

Posted on 4 March 2018 by Dove

In the normal order of things, it would take me about three years to get around to this, after Ursula K. Le Guin left us in January, but I bumped her up to the top of the list because a) … Continue reading →

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