This week a bunch of library holds came in all at once, so books and magazine I own are sidelined to make sure I hit the due date.

And now for the ritual clarification…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works, unless in a collection, or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross.  Enjoyed the nod to Modesty Blaise and Willy.  Overall, more tense and more “usual” horror so less appealing to my tastes.

Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey.  Audiobook.  Very different from her Alan Grant novels.  Large cast.  The problematic element doesn’t enter the book for a long while.  Recommended to those who don’t mind meandering with characters, not for those who get bored with slice of life.

The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham. Audiobook.  The first of her books to feature Albert Campion—a character who was not supposed to eventually become her on-going character.  I love when that happens!

In Progress:

Sabriel by Garth Nix.  Read by Tim Curry.  Audiobook.  The first of his “Old Kingdom” series where magic and mundane are side-by-side, and a necromancer may make the dead rest, rather than rise.

The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross.  Audiobook.  Second in the series, but I had to wait until a technical issue was resolved.  Having read books one, three, and four, for this one, it’s interesting to see how the series became more angst-ridden as it progressed.

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe.  Non-fiction.  Revisits the view of the Aboriginal Australians as “simple” hunters and gatherers.  Best when it sticks to history and agriculture (and aquaculture and hunting).  Stretches a bit with archeological dating.  Reading in bits and pieces.

Also:

Finally finished the Smithsonian special issue.  A thoughtful and interesting selection, although a little frivolous toward the end.

Read a couple of short stories.