Survival mode

It's that time of the school year - I'm barely keeping my head above water! A taxing week, and tomorrow still has a number of demands, but I am hoping to spend the weekend doing little other than exercising, reading novels & generally lounging around the apartment with cats.

(Five more weeks and the semester is over. But they are five weeks mightily packed with things that must be done....)

Far behind on the light reading log. Too frazzled to post, frankly! But here is a go (I have had a lot of time on trains):

Juliet Macur, Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong (readable, some interesting bits, but I have perhaps already read too much of this story in other places - Tyler Hamilton is more psychologically revealing, this one is better on the money side).

Rain prequel Graveyard of Memories and an omnibus edition of Barry Eisler's first three John Rain thrillers, All the Rain: Part One. I'd read the middle one of those three before (memorable opening assassination scene in weight room!), they are not quite my cup of tea but eminently readable.

Seanan McGuire, Midnight Blue-Light Special: An Incryptid Novel. I do not know how she manages to write so much fiction at such a high level of quality - only problem is that as soon as you finish one of her books you are hungry for the next one.

Charles Stross, Equoid: A Laundry Novella. The original conceit does not get old, and this is a very funny little installment.

Imogen Robertson, Circle of Shadows (mixed feelings about the genre of the historical mystery, but this series is very good).

Terry Pratchett, Raising Steam. Pretty weak, alas - it's partly just that the railway isn't an institution in the way that the post office or the mint is, so that it is inferior on that ground alone to Making Money and Going Postal - there is also a misty-eyed belief in progress that I have a hard time stomaching. Worth reading for old times' sake.

Daniel Price, The Flight of the Silvers. This book is amazing - first thing since FRINGE finished that has really scratched that itch, a superb recommendation from Michael Trask who responded to my Facebook plea last week. Alas, there is never enough perfect light reading in the world - I want the next installment of this one NOW!

(Ditto volume 3 of Knausgaard, which I might have to order in hard copy from the Book Depository since I am not sure I can wait till it appears in the US....)