end of an era

I'm quite torn about the news that Stephen Fry is going to be replaced by Sandi Toksvig as the host of Q.I.

On one hand, Sandi Toksvig is hosting a panel show again, and this time it's on television? YES PLEASE.

But on the other hand, they're messing with the partnership at the heart of my show and I don't like it.

And also: shouldn't Sandi Toksvig get her own permanent panelist for her N-Z tenure on the show? I'd suggest Susan Calman based on their work together on the News Quiz, personally.

Wednesday reading — hotly anticipated titles

I haven't just been watching way too much baseball; I've also been reading books! Sometimes at the same time as I'm watching baseball. I mean, not a Royals game, but the other games, sure.

What I've been reading

I read Zeroes, Scott Westerfeld's new book that is also a collaboration with Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti, although their names are relegated to tiny print on the cover, and it definitely feels like a Scott Westerfeld book. Actually, the one that it reminds me the most of is So Yesterday, even though there isn't anything supernatural in that book, because the Zeroes' superpowers (almost) all end up explained with psychology. ( mild spoiler )

I read Cul de Sac Golden Treasury, an omnibus collection of the comic strip which includes Richard Thompson's comments on most although not all of the strips that are included. You can definitely see why Bill Watterson broke his otherwise near-complete silence to rave about this strip; it has a lot in common with Calvin & Hobbes, even though one of those things is its own very distinct sensibility. All the syndicated strips (starting in 2007) are available on GoComics, incidentally.

I read Ancillary Mercy, the final book in the Imperial Radch trilogy. It's an interesting book—it resolves the main conflict from the end of the first book, and ties in the seeming sideplot from the second book, and yet it is mostly about feelings. It kind of actually is everything that a certain class of haters seemed to think that the first book was, which amuses me because those people are jerks. My feelings about the book itself are a little more mixed, but on the whole I really enjoyed all the emotional resolution.

I read Carry On, the companion book to Fangirl. It feels a little like it was actually written the way Cath supposedly writes her fic—straight through, without ever pausing or going back and editing—but honestly I basically enjoyed it too much to mind. Also, unlike Fangirl, which I thought was still a bit lacking in structure like an unplanned first draft, it has more of a structure based on Harry Potter and the other Chosen One narratives it's riffing on. Not to mention the fanfic it's riffing on.

All my formative Harry/Draco reading was in the three-year summer between Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix, so I was also interested in the subtle differences in Rainbow Rowell's take, since she came to the fandom after the series was complete. The references to the year when Simon Snow was obssessively following Baz around are so Half-Blood Prince.

I read/reread Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology, the book incarnation of Myths RETOLD. I love that site and I love it even more nicely arranged and with illustrations.

victory! \o/

For a while it seemed like we were in for another terrible nailbiter, where another epic last-minute Royals comeback was the best outcome we could hope for. In the middle of the game the Royals decided that they would rather cruise to an easy victory instead, which was much kinder to my nails, not to mention a lot of fun to watch.

The Astros were so young and bright-eyed that I almost felt bad watching their dreams get crushed. Almost.

Champagne bukkake continues in the Royals clubhouse.