Reading right now

I've got a couple books going (I always do, I like to trade off what I read).

I've already talked about "Home," which is a bit about archaeology in the British Isles and talks a bit about our changing ideas of how Paleolithic people lived (they were less "uncivilized" than first imagined, is probably the simplest way of putting it).

I almost finished "The Castle Of Llyr" last night - I had to get as far as the point where I could ascertain everyone was okay after the castle was destroyed, even though it was getting quite late. I have really enjoyed this series - generally the peril is mild at best, I've made it through the three books without any major characters dying. (And a friend assures me that Gurgi - my favorite character in the series - makes it through to the end, even despite his volunteering to be the sacrifice at one point earlier)

(I have also found I now sometimes think of the food I fix myself as "munchings and crunchings," because of good old Gurgi).

I want to read the remaining two books and then....well, either I pick up a novel for "grown ups," or maybe I start on the Arthurian trilogy (The Seeing Stone, In the Crossing-Places, and King of the Middle March) that I bought from Folio a while back.

Those kinds of YA fantasy or "legend" stories are good before bed; they tend to detrack one's mind from the day. And the classic ones at least, it seems much of the violence is muted (I need any violence seriously muted down) and the "good guys" win (and there are pretty unequivocally "good guys," which is not something you get in the real world, more's the pity)

I remember enjoying The Chronicles of Narnia immensely as a child (I still have my set) and in a way, these novels are reminiscent of it.

I also have a few of the one-off Rosemary Sutcliff novels (after reading her Roman Britain ones, which I enjoyed).

Though maybe I start the Betsy-Tacy books a friend sent me for my birthday - that would be something similarly nice and restful.

I am also reading a mystery novel, one of John Dickson Carr's called "The Crooked Hinge," which centers on a contested identity - two men claim to be heirs to the same fortune and house - they both claim to be the same man. This being the early 20th century (they both were rescued from the sinking of the Titanic as boys), and because there is no way of testing DNA (as we'd do today) and really not that many records kept (especially with the Titanic!), there's some question. I'm not very far in - maybe about 45 pages - but it's interesting so far and I may track down more of Carr's novels.

It very much has the air of the "English Country House" mystery, which is a sub-genre of the Golden Era novels that I particularly enjoy. Apparently the amateur detective in this novel is loosely based on GK Chesterton, who of course invented Father Brown, another amateur sleuth...

For work-reading, I'm currently going through "The Evolution of American Ecology: 1890-2000" and let me tell you, most of those early botanist/ecologists do not exactly cover themselves with glory. Lots of them were Machiavellian plotters to get the most acclaim possible for themselves (while screwing over others), or who fought over minutiae, or some of them were - even considering the times - pretty shockingly racist. (There were a few who seemed more interested in just doing their work and not picking fights or seeking glory, but they seem to be in the minority. I suppose that's always the way, and that also reminds me why I took a job at a teaching-oriented regional university rather than shooting for an R1 - even though I'm not convinced I'm good enough for an R1)

Anyway. That's why I want to read books about "good guys" when I relax. Because so much of humanity is a little bit of good mixed with an awful lot of selfishness and even bad.

I also ordered Crosby's book on the 1918 pandemic - which Kolata quoted in her book - because I want to learn more about it. Weirdly, I don't find that kind of reading upsetting; it's more like "I am trying to understand this" and also "what did people do then?" I particularly want to find out what universities did, though knowing they were VERY different then (smaller classes, probably students who didn't party/commute nearly as much), still....That may be the next one I read, though I also have one on teaching online (just in case, just in case we get the word early on, or we have to pull an "abandon campus!!!" a few weeks in) and I have some various other things - another book on probability, one called "The Least Likely Man" about the person who figured out the codon code, some more natural history books....

I have promised myself I can get some more-expensive and "ridiculous" item as a reward if I read through ten "continuing ed" books this summer (I have completed six, if you include Kolata's book on the Flu pandemic, even though that's not that closely related to my discipline). I am thinking - if the Moomin dollhouse is still to be had, I will order myself that; I have looked at it for several years and wanted it (It is quite expensive for a toy dollhouse, probably because it's important and shipping is high)

But tomorrow is fieldwork, I am hoping it goes well. I am always apprehensive as I've had a few times out there where I literally did not thing I'd have the strength (the wind, mainly - summers here can be incredibly humid and hard to breathe in) to get back to my car with the samples. I am contemplating taking the first half, making the long walk back to the car - or at least back to the trail that will take me to the car - and dropping those there before I get the second half.

However, we may actually be less hot here than in the upper Midwest - weird. (It's supposed to be absolutely awful this weekend, which is why I want to get this done NOW)