Showing posts with label Myst. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Myst. Show all posts

Monday 1 May 2023

My Year in Books 2023: April

Well, this month's post is slightly longer than last month's. There are three books on this month's list! I'm quite pleased with that, as we've both been so ill I'm surprised I got chance to read anything at all!

My mini-reviews of the books I read in April are below, but in case you're interested, here are my posts for the rest of the year so far: January, February, March

Myst: The Book of Atrus by David Wingrove, Rand Miller and Robyn Miller (1995)


A while ago, me and my brother decided that we’d replay the Myst videogames together. We have very happy memories of playing the original Myst when it first came out in the 90s, and some vaguer memories of playing some (we’re not 100% sure which) of the sequels. We’ve been merrily (or should that be frustratedly?) working our way through the games, and we’re up to Uru: Ages Beyond Myst now. Sadly, we’ve had to put our weekly game sessions on hold in April due to illness. So this seemed like a good time to go full completist and read the novels! My brother read The Book of Atrus back in the 90s, but I’ve never read any of them before. If you know anything about the Myst games, then you might have guessed that the novels aren’t straightforward novelizations. Nothing as mundane as that! The Book of Atrus is more a prequel to the first game, which fills in a lot of the backstory and – much as I hate the word – lore that sits behind Myst. It’s a bit weird reading it several decades after first encountering the game, but I did enjoy the way it works as a parallel text to the game, and it’s very readable. Obviously, you don’t need to read the novel to understand the game itself, but it adds some interesting extra layers. It also adds some detail to Uru that perhaps would have been useful to us before we started that particular instalment!

Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood (2016)


The next book I read this month was another library book. I’ve had this one checked out for ages, but somehow never seemed to get around to reading it. I got a bit of a nudge from the library, as I discovered this month that I’d renewed it the maximum number of times! I don’t know why it took me so long to get around to reading Hag-Seed because I generally really like Margaret Atwood’s writing (and I love a couple of her books), but I guess it just ended up buried in my to-read pile. I’m glad I dug it out though (at the library’s prompting), as I thoroughly enjoyed Hag-Seed. The story is a riff on Shakespeare’s The Tempest – partly a retelling, and partly an exploration of the themes of Shakespeare’s play. Felix Phillips is a theatre director who is ousted from his position as a director of a prestigious festival during preparations for a production of The Tempest. For twelve years, Felix lives in a (semi-)self-imposed exile, planning his revenge against the people who destroyed his career. He takes up a post teaching literature in a prison and devises a Shakespeare programme for inmates. The stage is then set for him to lure his enemies to his ‘island’ for a very special production of The Tempest. Hag-Seed is compelling and readable, with surprisingly sympathetic characters and some rather moving considerations on loss, revenge and imprisonment. I’m very glad it finally got to the top of my pile!

Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan (2019)


Another library book now… though not one that’s quite as overdue as the previous one! I’m not sure what led me to pick up Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel. Even a glance at the cover suggests it is not my usual sort of reading material, so it’s a bit of a mystery. However, I have to say I’m glad I picked it up. Yes – Hogan’s novel is absolutely not the sort of book I would normally read, but I actually really enjoyed it. The story is told across two different times and in two different voices. In the present day, we meet adult Tilda, a rather closed-off, even cold woman who had a difficult relationship with her mother. Tilda’s mother has died and we find the protagonist moving into her mother’s flat to sort through both the physical and psychological reminders of her childhood. These chapters are alternated with chapters about Tilly, a rather charming seven-year-old who lives with her mother after her father leaves for work. Essentially, the book is about Tilda’s task of reconciling her memories of childhood (including her stay at the eponymous Paradise Hotel with the larger-than-life Queenie) with revelations about what really happened – helped along by some diaries kept by her mother, and by her ability to see and speak to ghosts (something that I would normally find a bit annoying but actually works well here). It’s a story filled with warmth and – ultimately – forgiveness, but it steers on the right side of sentimental and saccharine.

Sunday 5 February 2023

Imbolc: Day 7


The last day of our Imbolc celebrations this year. Rob was on shift on Thursday day/night, so I was left to my own devices for the final day. Here's what I got up to on Thursday...

‘Valentines’



Looking ahead to the rest of February, I read the 'Valentines' chapter in Ronald Hutton's The Stations of the Sun today.

Library Visit



Not exactly a seasonal thing, as I do this every month, but I was at the Avenue Library in Blackley this morning. At least one of the books I checked out had 'January' in the title, so that sort of counts!

Snowdrops




Hooray! I was worried I was going to get all the way through Imbolc without seeing any snowdrops, but look what I spotted in Heaton Park this afternoon!

Lunch at the Hidden Gem




Me and my mum went for lunch at the Hidden Gem coffee shop in Heaton Park today. Love this place.

Myst Replay



My brother came round tonight to continue our replay of the Myst games. It was the last day of Imbolc, so we had one last seasonal snack with our game.

And so the wheel of the year turns. We'll be celebrating again at the Spring Equinox.

Friday 23 September 2022

Autumnal Equinox: Day 6


The penultimate day of celebrating the Autumn Equinox! It felt like today was very much about work, but I still got to do a couple of nice things. I'm not completely sure all of these count as seasonal activities, but I think they were probably close enough.

Autumn Equinox Earrings



Today's Autumn Equinox earrings were these gorgeous wooden apples. I think these might be my favourite ones of the season. I love them!

The Book of Atrus



Today's tram reading... my little bro is away this week so our weekly Myst replay isn't on tonight. I thought I'd fill the gap with The Book of Atrus instead. (Is this seasonal? I'm not sure.)

Visit to City Library



I popped into City Library in between meetings today. I'm counting this as an Autumn Equinox library visit, because some of the books I got out were almost seasonal.

Bailey’s Wood Autumn Equinox Walk






I had a wonderful time leading tonight's Autumn Equinox walk in the woods for the Friends of Bailey's Wood, and sharing a few seasonal stories and a bit of history.

Saturday 30 July 2022

Lammas: Day 3


I'm a little bit late posting this, but here's our third day of Lammas celebrations (Thursday)!

Lammas Earrings



Thursday's seasonal earrings were citrus slices.

A Trip to Southport




I went on a day out to Southport with the residents of Castlerea Care Home on Thursday. It was a little bit drizzly but otherwise we had fun. Is Ferrero Rocher a traditional Lammas treat? Because I had a Ferrero Rocher ice cream!

Myst: Revelation



Not really a Lammas-specific thing, but me and my brother are replaying all the Myst games, and we got together for a game night on Thursday. We were really hoping we get through the end of Revelation, because it's been a bit of a slog. We did not get to the end.

More Lammas Earrings



I'm still not sure if Ferrero Rocher counts as a Lammas treat, but I switched to my new Ferrero Rocher earrings for the evening anyway.

Cornflake Pie




Our Myst replay drove us insane, so we're cheered ourselves up with a Lammas treat. As Lammas is a celebration of the first cereal harvest, we're having a cornflake pie from Bury Market.

Friday 24 June 2022

Midsummer: Day 6


Another day of celebrating the summer season! Today was a day of Midsummer-themed snacks and nice things with family members - and that's no bad thing at all.

Afternoon Tea at Heaton Park





Me and my mum went out for a nice spot of afternoon tea at the Hidden Gem Coffee Shop at Heaton Park Garden Centre today. Lovely carrot cake!

Midsummer Earrings



Since I was going out for tea, I wore possibly my weirdest Midsummer earrings today... a pair of cucumber slices! (Sadly, I didn't have cucumber sandwiches to go with them. Just cheese.)

Midsummer Tea



Today's Midsummer tea (from the Whittard selection box) was Earl Grey.

Midsummer Myst





My brother came round tonight for our weekly Myst replay session (we're up to Revelation now). Tonight had a Midsummer flavour, though , as we had Pimm's and Pina Colada-style fruit and nut mix!

Friday 15 October 2021

31 Days of Halloween: Day 14


My Halloween month continues! I have to admit after the excitement (and terror) of yesterday, I felt like I should take it a little easier today! But I still had some nice seasonal things to enjoy.

Halloween Gifts!



My mum got me a present to say well done for last night. How cute are these little fellas?

Myst Rum



For the past couple of months, me and my brother have been replaying the Myst games for the first time since they came out (although I think we only ever played the first two all the way through, and then part of the third one). So far, we're up to Riven, as we only get to play for a couple of hours on a Thursday, and we don't always get chance to meet up every week. It seemed only fitting to accompany our replay tonight with some Myst Drinks spiced apple rum liqueur. Tis the season after all!

Today's Story



Today's story was 'Suspicion' by Dorothy L. Sayers. I'm not sure if I've read this one before but gosh... I LOVED that ending!

Today's Tea





Today's tea was Spiced Pumpkin Pie from Suki Tea. It's a herbal tea, and it looks like you could just eat it straight from the packet! It's incredibly light and delicate, but not unpleasant for it. Not as spicy as I was expecting, but still a nice flavour.