Phew!

5 books to blog, I'll do them in reverse order, starting with the "Phew!".

The "Phew!" was my completion of "The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice", by Catherynne Valente, 2007, 512 pages, 148k words. This is Book 2 of The Orphan's Tales. I blogged Book 1 here; I found its tales within tales (nesting 4 deep) confusing, but in the end I think I liked it OK. This 2nd book, not so much. I just wound up being really confused and wanting it to be over. When I was done, I was like "what happened to that character? Or that one?". I almost gave up a few x. I persisted, but at the end, definitely "Phew!"

The 1st book had a bit of an Arabian Nights feel to it, this 1, hardly at all. ?!?!?

I think the author should provide a tree diagram of the chapters/stories & the characters therein! ;-P

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Before that I read another cheap ($1.99) 2-novel reissue of some classic sci-fi, this time Roger Zelazny. "Isle of the Dead, Eye of Cat", 402 pages, 109k words.

"Eye of Cat" was originally published in 1982. It follows the Zelazny formula of "Lord of Light" (Indian religion/mythology) and "Creatures of Light and Darkness" (Egyptian religion/mythology) of borrowing memes from religion/mythology. This time it is Navajo religion/mythology, seemingly studied very lovingly and in depth. The protagonist winds up being a really old guy, the last living human who still has a true Native American mindset. It is a good adventure.

"Isle of the Dead" was originally published in 1969. Another really old guy, who is also the galaxy's 67th richest person. He is also the only human trained in world-building by the alien race whose speciality this is. We again have borrowed religious/mythological memes, this time from the religion/mythology of the world-building alien race.

LOL, in the 2nd book, our ultra-rich, really old guy goes on a tirade against the service industry due to their wanting to be tipped. I guess Roger had just come into some book $$$ & was starting to think like a conservative ... Social commentary in SF in general ages very poorly more often than not.

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Before those, a totally pleasant surprise! A 5 star rating! Recommended by Cory Doctorow, in his incredibly informative blog "Pluralistic".

"An Absolutely Remarkable Thing", by Hank Green, 2018, 376 pages, 102k words. Book 1 of "The Carls". A totally charming tale of 1st contact. Totally up on social media, online fame, etc. Great characters, great plotting. If you haven't read it, please do so now! ;->

Of course I forged straight ahead into the 2nd book, "A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor", 2020, 542 pages, 142k words. A pleasant read, but not as charming as the 1st book. Plus the plot got a lot more "duh duh DUH!!!", more ominous & stressful. I guess there was some stress in the 1st book, but it was overwhelmed by the joy & optimism of discovery.

Music In, 2022, Batch 1

Not too too many albums to get caught up on. I'll do maybe the 1st 1/2 for now.

• The New Pornographers, "In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights", 2019, 11 tracks. This is the 7th NP album I have. It is yet another collection of catchy pop songs. NP is very reliable, 4 stars. Here's the 1st track, "You'll Need A Backseat Driver". Note the album title in the 4th line of the lyrics.

• Neil Young & Crazy Horse, "Barn", 2021, 10 tracks. A nice effort, these guys are definitely keeping on keeping on. 4 stars. Here's "Canerican", which definitely seemed to get stuck in my head - totally vintage Young?

• My Morning Jacket, eponymous, 2021, 11 tracks. Louisville's finest delivers again. What a great guitar band! 4 stars. Here's a great guitar song, "In Color".

• Cleo Sol, "Mother", 2021, 12 tracks, bandcamp. Very nice, chill piano & vocals. I guess R&B rather than Alternative Rock. Out of London, her 2nd album. Born Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic, mother Serbian-Spanish, father Jamaican, both musicians.
  The melting pot that is London is producing some great musician mixes. Makes me think of Lianne La Havas, Greek dad, Jamaican mom - or visa versa?
  4 stars. Here's the 1st track, "Don't Let Me Fall".

• Bright Moments, "Fracture", 2022, 9 tracks. Bright Moments is 1 of the bands of Lexington and Dunbar HS fav son Kelly Pratt. This is a good effort. 4 stars. Here's the 1st track, "Lonely Child".

• katie dey, "forever music", 2022, 10 tracks, bandcamp. dey certainly is prolific lately. I have 1 album/year of hers since 2019 for a total of 4 albums. Her vocals are definitely ... quirky?!?!? A good listen nonetheless. 4 stars. Here's the title track:

• Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, "Georgia Blue", 2021, 13 tracks, bandcamp. A Georgia-themed album, with guest artists??? Ahh, explained on the album notes on bandcamp: a labor of love, conceived after the 2020 elections, dedicated to turning Georgia blue (democratic). Proceeds to:
  • Black Voters Matter - blackvotersmatterfund.org
  • Georgia Stand-Up - www.georgiastandup.org
  • Fair Fight - fairfight.com
  So, totally a worthy cause. But, I didn't need a cover of "Midnight Train to Georgia" in my collection at this point. 3 stars.

• Various artists, "French Disco Boogie Sounds Vol.3 (1977-1987 - selected by Charles Maurice)", 2018, 13 tracks, bandcamp. I really enjoyed Vol.4 - every time a song from it came on and I was up, I would start dancing. More dancing please! 4 stars. LOL, here's something different: a 41 second prerelease teaser for the album.
  Note, if you are offended by the suggestive album cover, I apologize.

• Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong", "Ella and Louis Again", 1957, 19 tracks. 4 stars. Apparently a double album. I didn't like it as much as their 1st duo album, which makes sense. The 1st album had the best songs, these are their 2nd-best songs. I am all about the songs. Already in the Jaz Dumoz songbook are:
  • let's do it (let's fall in love) [red flagged]
  • i won't dance
  • love is here to stay
  Added to the list to be worked up:
  • autumn in new york
  • gee, baby, ain't i good to you?
  • i've got my love to keep me warm
  • i get a kick out of you
  Here's the 2nd of those:

• Willie "The Lion" Smith & His Cubs, 1958, 24 tracks. Nice, per Wikipedia his full name was William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholf Smith.
  Hmmm, this album does not show up in the Wikipedia discography. The earliest album they have listed is 1957, somehow I thought this album was 1958. The tracks are all from 1935-1937. I've written about how my college friend Delbert Lionel Hilgartner III turned me on to Fats Waller > 50 yrs ago. He also was a fan of Willie "The Lion", so it seems odd that I'm just now getting around to checking him out.
  4 stars. Here's the album cover:
  

  Here's "Echos of Spring". Not a lot of choices on YouTube.

• Delta Sleep, "Spring Island", 2021, 12 tracks, bandcamp. Brits, out of Canterbury, Kent. Great guitar rock. 4 stars. Listen to this song. 2 guitar parts playing seperately, together, in harmony, not in harmony. Really well done. "The Detail".

11 down, n to go ...