the 366 meme, part thirty-seven: September 9-15

[castiron]

Sep 9: Are you a worrier? What’s something you’re worried about right now. Can you do something constructive about the situation? Often. I am working on worrying less about things I can do nothing about, though when I get in a loop it's hard.

Sep 10: Would you sign up to be a colonist on another planet if it meant you would never be able to return to earth? Not unless Earth was going to become completely uninhabitable during my lifetime.

Sep 11: Do you like having your picture taken? Why or why not? I'm extremely unphotogenic, but I like there being visual documentation of my existence, so overall I'm fine with it.

Sep 12: Do you experiment with your hairstyle often, or do you have a classic style you stick with? I've been wearing it in a braid, pinned up in a bun when I'm at work, for several years now. At some point I may cut it short again, but for now I like it.

Sep 13: What’s your favorite childhood story or fairy tale? Betsy, Tacy, and Tib, by Maud Hart Lovelace.

Sep 14: What are your Top Ten favorite books? If I have to narrow it down, and if I can't cheat and say "The Complete Works of So-and-So"....
* Rumer Godden, In This House of Brede
* Lois McMaster Bujold, The Curse of Chalion
* Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
* Maud Hart Lovelace, Emily of Deep Valley
* Dorothy Sayers, Murder Must Advertise
* Caroline Stevermer, A College of Magics
* Ann Leckie, The Raven Tower
* Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
* Janet Kagan, Hellspark
* Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

Sep 15: Do you plan, or are you flying by the seat of your pants? Yes. I have some rough guidelines for what I want to do, but I've long since given up on any hope of following a detailed plan for anything. And these days? Screw it.

Comments

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

I like Murder Must Advertise and The Raven Tower, too.

[castiron]

The Raven Tower is one of the few books that I've ever started rereading as soon as I finished reading it.

[methylviolet10b]

I am thrilled to pieces to see Janet Kagan on your list! (Also many others I love, but Kagan is relatively unknown, alas.) What a wonderful author she was.

[castiron]

So wonderful. Uhura's Song is another one of my comfort reads, and Mirabile is great fun, but if I had to choose only one, it'd be Hellspark.

A lot of what I like about Becky Chambers's The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (which barely missed this list, and if I'd compiled it on a different day might well have been on it) is things I find in Kagan -- a variety of nifty cultures, and people from those different cultures working together and trying to interact with goodwill and patience even when they clash.

[methylviolet10b]

Uhura's Song is one of my comfort reads as well. It's also a prime example of how, if you're a good enough writer, you can get away with breaking any number of rules. Under all the classic definitions, Tail-kinker is *absolutely* a Mary Sue, but it doesn't matter; it just works. And Mirabile is just a joy.

I'll have to check out the Becky Chambers. Anyone who gets a "is like Kagan" is definitely worth looking into!