Glenn McDonald is one of the people who worked on Spotify's music discovery algorithms, and he has a lot of opinions about music and music discovery, and he has some back-of-the-napkin math about Spotify's payment systems, and right now I'm wishing he'd stick with the music discovery stuff and not try to dazzle me with math trying to justify Spotify's model, since he keeps saying he had nothing to do with the finances anyway.

Needed a break from my assignment, so here's my April list for #BookSpin.

I am starting to think I should provide myself more free spaces somehow, because I read easily enough books for a blackout in March (31 books), but struggled to make so much as a bingo because I am a creature of whim (and I burn out if I don't follow my whims). But I stuck to the normal script for now.

At the last possible second, I got myself a #BookSpinBingo!

This book was okay, but it feels very much the same as Maiklem's other mudlarking book, and sometimes it's really just autobiography -- there are (few, but notable) sections and entries not about mudlarking at all. That wasn't something I clicked with well.

Not too surprisingly, I enjoyed these retellings and stories in the mode of myth quite a bit. I like Marie Brennan's work and I like this genre, so... as expected, pretty much.

This was fascinating. It seems at the start like it's a series of unconnected stories, revolving around some weird sketched pictures. There are some surprising links, though -- I won't say more than that.

I ended up reading it all in one go.

This felt very much introductory, like a pilot episode. I liked it well enough so far, would be curious to read more.

I'm beginning to think this might be how my #BookSpinBingo card looks to close out the month. I've been struggling to read much and I don't think forcing myself to read these specific books is a good idea, though I've been certainly trying to bully myself. MADE myself sit down and read something not on the card today, and y'know, that went perfectly well.

Sigh. Brains, right?

I'm not a huge fan of Austen per se (have enjoyed reading her work, but it's not something I return to). But I am a huge fan of “x in y objects“, and I enjoyed it here. The introduction is a bit pretentious or at least scholarly, and can be skipped if you're just interested in the objects. (The introduction, 22 pages long, took me 15 minutes to read; the rest of the book, 167 pages, just 50 minutes.) It was pleasant as such books go.

There, all finished! There are aspects of it that feel like they could be streamlined (a particular mystery feels like it takes forever to solve given it's only a stepping stone on the way, and I'd solved it before the narrative condescended to get there), but I found myself sad when it was over. I'm glad I have a copy of Confounding Oaths (a loose sequel) out of the library ready to follow this. I love the narrative voice.

I stalled out on reading this for a bit because of life stuff, and also it didn't feel like the right mood for me at the time. Enjoying it a lot now; it's interesting how intrusive the narrator is and yet how easily you can forget it for a moment and narrow the focus to the character interactions.

I should have just 20 mins ish left to read (Kobo and Bookly's estimates vary widely)... but not sure if I'll have the time until late this evening. 😱

Argh, why is there no more?? Aiden, speak to Harvard properly! Bobby, get home to Dante, and if you're not dating, start! Seiji, I cannot believe you asked Aiden for that advice, but GO YOU.

I loved a lot about this volume, BUT I had JUST been praising that it was realistic that Nicholas doesn't instantly improve, and then it makes the timeline clear in this book and... that's total wish fulfillment, guys. 👀 No way.

Seiji and Nicholas are getting so close... in their own special way. Really cute.

I'm very curious how/when the secret about Nicholas' father is going to come out to the others, and how he'll react.

I'm gonna be so mad when the story just *stops* at the end of next volume, aren't I.

Ugh, I couldn't resist it, I grabbed the next volume. I LOVED the scenes with Seiji helping Nicholas learn to hit the tennis ball, it was so unexpected and awkward and yet so perfect.

Also, Bobby continues to be adorable, and I love that nothing at all is said about his gender non-conforming.

Still predictable, still love the art, still enjoy these idiots.

And now I've run out of volumes on Kobo Plus and need more. Wailing, gnashing teeth, etc etc.

Basically carries straight on from volume 2, and continues the same themes/trajectory -- if volume 1 didn't work for you, nor will volume 2. Just as I said in the review of the first volume, it's predictable -- I think I know how things will end up.

I did find myself shipping Harvard and Aiden incredibly. I mean they're also good as best friends, and I love that for them too. The way Aiden drops everything for Harvard? Cute.

I read this before but never got chance to move on to the other volumes. They're in Kobo Plus, though, or some of them are, so that prompted me to get back to it... meaning I needed to reread this.

I like the art; reminds me a bit of Jamie McKelvie's style in the cleanness of the lines (I say, as if I have art critic skills/knowledge at all). Plot-wise, it's fairly predictable, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

There! That was fun. Definitely one I'll recommend in future. I think at times it did focus on an individual TB patient to an extent that some might find bothersome (and verging into inspiration porn, right after discussing how that was a weird cultural thing that wasn't great), but I think it does also serve as a good illustration of some of Green's points. The science was accurate.

Loved that, like me, Green is fascinated by TB, and has OCD.

“We cannot address TB only with vaccines and medications We cannot address it only with comprehensive STP programs. We must also address the root cause of tuberculosis, which is injustice. In a world where everyone can eat, and access healthcare, and be treated humanely, tuberculosis has no chance. Ultimately, we are the cause.

We must also be the cure.“

☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️

I'm with Green on a lot of this; he's clearly done his research. Currently up to his chapter criticising DOTS (directly observed therapy short-course) and YES, though I think he's conflating DOTS and DOT wrongly (DOTS was a global strategy to use directly observed therapy, which has long been superseded; DOT is still used as part of wider efforts). Don't agree with him that streptomycin caused the decline in TB infections/mortality though.

“We know how to live in a world without tuberculosis. But we choose not to live in that world.“

Yep. Entirely true. We could drastically reduce the burden of tuberculosis in much less than a decade, if we were willing (even I can tell you how, and I'm just an MSc student who has specialised mildly into TB). We won't do it. That's a choice we've made. A choice we keep making. We're all culpable for this deliberate murder.

I genuinely got too excited thinking about this last night and couldn't fall asleep, so that is why, Your Honour, I did not get the seven+ hours of sleep my doctor has very firmly told me I should get...

And now it has arrived and I'm off work and can start reading it (and potentially arguing with it). Can you tell I have a Special Interest (TM)?

(I wrote my undergraduate dissertation on drug resistant TB and am now studying it during my MSc.)

I stalled in reading this because of personal stuff, but today seemed like the right day to get back to it. I read 150 pages of it in two big gulps, as usual with these books. It feels like a good place to leave the series, though I'm actually not sure if it's meant as a conclusion or not.

It was my #DoubleSpin book, though it still leaves me in search of a #BookSpinBingo. I really am not doing it on purpose this time...!

I'm really not doing it on purpose this time, but I remain bingoless... #BookSpinBingo

This one was OK, a light read. I'm not sure I'd continue with the series, and if I hadn't read a review I'd have been surprised by the light fantasy element (the main character experiences other people's memories). It didn't stick out to me a whole lot. Sort of “OK, and I finished it, but... 🤷“

Oh, infuriating, as usual with Carter Dickson/John Dickson Carr. Not a favourite, very over-engineered, though I found the footnotes pointing back to the clues an interesting touch.

When I first read books by Carter Dickon (John Dickson Carr), I really couldn't stand them. I don't know what clicked, but I quite enjoyed the last few I read, even though they're very much over-engineered. The mystery in this one so far is definitely intriguing. 👀

In retrospect, this sometimes felt like somewhat random information jumbled together, but I had an interesting time reading it, all the same.

Today I learned that “corset hoodies“ are a thing, and boggled.

I knew about some of the efforts to keep the public fit in WWII, but not the experimental basis behind them, and not all of the stuff discussed here. I found this very readable and interesting.

Warning: if you're phobic about insects (or at least biting ones), be careful. There's a whole chapter on them, and I definitely had some intrusive thoughts and a nightmare because of it.

I'm not entirely sure why I stuck with this one to the end, because I found it really boring. I just couldn't retain the information. I think it's the travelogue style, rather than any kind of focus on history. Just bits of information thrown in a blender as an excuse to write off travel to Italy on one's taxes, one suspects, cynically.

And that's my #BookSpin finished! It was a fairly cute romance, though the numerous mistakes and misunderstandings of Quimby (not to mention Nattie and Clem) were pretty embarrassment-squicky.

And here's a #BookSpinBingo update, too. I hadn't planned to use manga this month, but it's been an awful time so far, and I don't see it suddenly becoming a lot easier, so I might as well.

This volume actually gives us a glimpse of Lizel's “most precious person“... and of course it's his king. Except mostly Lizel's dad takes up the time they can talk together.

It also features Gil reading again, and a trip to the hot springs... from which both Eleven and Lizel need to be carried home. I feel that in my soul: a hot bath is wondrous, but I always have to sit down for quite a while afterwards.

Viscount Ray: “If Mr Lizel were a woman, I'm sure I'd be passionately seducing him right about now!“
Butler: “How is that different from your attitude toward him now?“

Say the quiet part out louder, why don't you?

Once again, cannot understand why people are so vehement that this isn't queer, just because there's no kissing. I can understand deciding to read it as healthy intimacy between men, sure, though I think it goes beyond that -- but why shout down the people who read it as gay? Look at it. It's not an unfair reading.

Eleven's a lot of fun and a good foil for both Gil and Lizel, with his impulsiveness. He's very young compared to them.

Totally lacking in any kind of bibliography or sources, unfortunately, so definitely one to take with a heaping of salt.

However, it's an entertaining enough read for the purpose as far as I'm concerned. 100 short entries about various objects, sometimes tenuous, but nonetheless, an interesting survey.

It's hard picking a screenshot for this volume, because there's so much good stuff with Eleven. But there's this whole scene where Lizel shows how scary he can be, and then pets Eleven's hair and comforts him after...

Again, really don't understand how anyone reads this series as straight. (And also, how anyone reads Lizel as a fundamentally good person. He is *likeable*, but amoral as fuck.)

Trying to get back to normal a bit, so I've planned myself a lot of reading time today. Finished this off at last -- it's a very quick read, and does feel kinda middle-grade/YAish, though I think the translation is doing some of that.

Mostly, the plot itself is a little simplistic and the conclusion more or less inevitable.

I forgot how early Eleven starts trying to join the party! And I really don't understand how Judge and Studd's behaviour isn't supposed to be indicating crushes on Lizel... And I don't understand how this isn't a love declaration.

Getting back to my reread for comfort after bereavement -- Grandma passed a little after dawn on Tuesday, with me and Mum at her side. I miss her.

See, this is why it's interesting reading again right away -- here in volume 2 we get the first hint of a mystery that the reader won't see fully solved until volume ten.

Fewer standout moments between them in vol 2, but I love that Gil seems to get into reading because of Lizel!

I only read this just before Christmas, but it's basically all I'm in the mood for right now, and it's a good opportunity to make more notes on the characters. It's amazing how quickly the relationship (of, ahem, “deep camaraderie“) between Gil and Lizel deepens.

I could screenshot half the book... Even in this first volume, there's so much, like the handholding in the bar when Lizel thinks they're parting ways and Gil hates it.

I spent... probably too long this evening on this, and I'm still not entirely happy, but I am not a very visual person nor a graphic designer of any kind, so this'll do.

Happy March 2nd, let's get down to it!

This book was apparently a bestseller, but I've never heard of it. Kinda wondering if a romance via telegraph is close enough to letters/postcards for Postcrossing's blog, since I review books there every so often. I think maybe not, but it's tempting. It's charming enough so far; I picked it up today via Serial Reader.

And apparently it's the #BookSpin choice for the month!

Fun classic mystery, but very obviously OCR'd without much editing. I don't remember the previous book being so badly done.

This is my last post about my February #BookSpinBingo card; I decided not to complete it, even though I'm so close to the blackout. I just lost interest due to personal circumstances, and feel more inspired by getting set up for my new card.

I'm still thinking about this one and how I want to review it. I liked it, but it's weird; I can't quite say how much yet.

I didn't make a #BookSpinBingo blackout in February, as you see. But maybe I'll make it before the new numbers are announced -- in my heart, that still counts! And either way, this is what... six bingos? I'm happy.

I enjoyed it well enough, but I miss when Fortey mostly wrote about palaeontology. Or maybe I miss when he had a stricter editor. I don't know. I was much less hooked on this than his earlier work, anyway.

Despite/because of the personal turmoil (sick rabbit, wife with broken ankle & NHS shenanigans about who will treat it, anxiety flareup) I'm going all-out trying to get a blackout on #BookSpinBingo, ideally before the end of February, or if not, before the new card is announced at least. So this morning I started the day in bed reading about fungi.

My Oura Ring agrees it's a good idea! I don't usually get that amount of restorative time in a DAY.

There we go, two bingos with one book. #BookSpinBingo

It's pretty pessimistic about the prospects, but fascinated with Britain's native mammals.

A very light pick. I just find it a bit... half-baked, I guess? Comparing it with the other book I was reading partly at the same time (The Tomb of Dragons), the world-building is pretty lacking. I'm sure it's great if you just want a cosy fantasy romance, but even in cosy reads, I often need a bit more; I wasn't really feeling this one. Might or might not read more of the series.

This was my last book in my game of avoiding a #BookSpinBingo!

(Received to review via Netgalley.)

This didn't end the way I wanted it to, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I certainly enjoyed the read, and there were parts I thought were lovely, but... I'm not entirely happy about it. I thought things were going somewhere in particular, and I'm rather thrown that they weren't.

This was... incoherent and nonsensical. Like there were huge chunks missing. The art was completely indistinct -- I kept mixing up several characters who I think were separate people.