Reading Wednesday

[brigdh]

What did you just finish?
The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic- and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson. Sometimes I do not understand how humans managed to survive until the invention of modern medicine. Discoveries from this book: in 1849, 1 in 20 of the houses surveyed in London had human waste piling up in the basement. Also, acceptable ways to treat dirty water: let it sit for a few days until the dirt (...and other things) sank to the bottom. Totally drinkable now!

Seriously, humanity, how did you all not die of cholera?

Saraswati Park by Anjali Joseph. Part of my 'Read 50 books about South Asia' effort, which I had been neglecting the last month, but I'm back on now. This was a really beautiful novel, but left me feeling a bit unfulfilled at the end. I liked reading it, but I'm not sure what the point of it all was; nothing much happened, nor did the characters change in an describable way. Ah, well. Enjoyable!

Graveyard Dust by Barbara Hambly, because yes, I still want to read nothing except Benjamin January books. This one is the third in the series, and features Benjamin's sister being accused of poisoning someone, thus forcing him to investigate to prove her innocence. This one also features a lot of scenes of Benjamin, Rose, and Hannibal hanging out, making jokes in Ancient Greek, and sharing groceries while cooking lunch together, and I really want there to be endless OT3 fic that basically repeats that exact set of things over and over again. Maybe with fewer scenes of Hannibal coughing up blood; he has to be able to breathe to have sex.

What are you currently reading?
Sold Down the River by Barbara Hambly: Benjamin and Hannibal go under cover as slave and master!

The Englishman's Cameo: Murder mystery in 1600s Delhi!

Comments

[darkelf105.livejournal.com]

I read Ghost Map! It was super interesting....and also distressing, so distressing.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Yes! It was a really good book, I should have been more clear about that. I liked the one by the same author about complexity, that I read last year, as well.

[darkelf105.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I did not know he had another book! To the library forthwith!

[somebraveapollo.livejournal.com]

... Well, I need to acquire these Benjamin January books like yesterday.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

*discrete cough* Depending on your feeling about pirating (and, well, ebooks in general), I may be able to help you with that.

[somebraveapollo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the offer, I pirated them yestereve! About to read the first chapter now.

[somebraveapollo.livejournal.com]

... four chapters in and thoroughly smitten. Thank you so much for reccing this.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm so glad you're liking it. Rose doesn't get introduced till the second book, alas, but the first one is really good, and has a character twist near the end that I love.

[pasahiko.livejournal.com]

The Ghost Map sounds like just the kind of nonfiction book I like--about something you never would have thought of, but fascinating nevertheless. Thanks for the heads-up, it now goes on my list of books to pick up at the library.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

It's really good, so I hope you like it! I have a weird fascination with cholera, despite the facts that a) I'm incredibly unlikely to ever catch it, and b) it's actually quite easy to treat in the modern day. "The Dress Lodger" by Sheri Holman is a good novel about a different cholera epidemic in London.