Studying

As it's been a number of years, I am currently focusing on refreshing my Russian and Japanese language studies, as well as learning some Chinese. For these purposes I am using the Golosa, Genki, and Integrated Chinese textbooks respectively, as well as watching media in those languages and translating such materials as I come across including fiction books, instructional booklets, item packaging, brochures, etc.

Reading

The Witcher Series - Having enjoyed the first two seasons of the Netflix show I am working my way through the book series. Of note: The first two books are anthologies of short stories, published before the novel series which begins with Blood of Elves.

The Sin in the Steel - The first book in the Fall of the Gods series by Ryan Van Loan. I was recommended this by a friend and fellow author, and he was quite right to do so. It's a fantasy novel that edges into steampunk with the presence of muskets and pistols, steam-and-magic driven ships, and other near-industrial technology, but it also includes a fascinating magic system. The main characters are engaging and the mystery is fascinating, I'm looking forward to finding out how this resolves and what the next book covers.

Islamic Civilization in Thirty Lives - Once a historian, always a historian. One of my favorite things to read as far as non-fiction goes is a survey of a culture, country, period of history, religion, or social group through the life of one or a handful of people, and this book hits the spot. It begins with Muhammad himself, considering the history of the person through the few sources existent as well as the history of the religious figure. Then it goes on to Muhammad's family and successors, and that's as far as I've gotten so far. I try to read one life at a time, separating the book into thirty bite-sized pieces.

Watching

Call the Midwife - At the moment, familiar comfort watching and listening is more what I'm up to, and that means British cozies. I was raised partly with British tv as a staple thanks to my grandparents' tastes, and Call the Midwife hits that spot nicely. And since it's my third viewing through I often put it on while I do crafts or cook, as I don't need to give it my full attention.

Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization - Having a husband who's as fascinated with history as I am is very nice. I have a Wondrium subscription and sometimes we'll sit down together and watch a series of historical lectures; lately it's the history of Mesopotamia. Wondrium lectures are about 20-30 minutes apiece, which fit them very well in between our schedules. We sit down, watch a lecture or two, and discuss them while he gets ready to go to work.

Dark - Not the most optimistic or reassuring of series', and it's been a couple of hard weeks since I last saw an episode: Dark is a German science-fiction show on Netflix that can be quite bleak but manages to stop short of being fully nihilistic. It invites the usual set of questions about time travel: are things inevitable? can events be changed? how do we deal with changing things for the worse? This is my second viewing of the show, my first viewing knowing fully all the twists and causes and the full context of the events as they happen rather than finding out later, which is also an interesting way to watch it.

Word of Honor - Much lighter in tone, although with its own disturbing implications in some character actions and plot developments, I'm watching the wuxia drama Word of Honor. I've always been a fan of the choreography and performance of wuxia going back to my youth, and now that I'm learning Mandarin I can make it a language exercise as well. It's just fun, really.

Listening

The Amazing Devil - Not a new artist, but they release a new album last Halloween and I've been listening to their first two albums for the last year. One of the two singers is the actor who plays Jaskier on The Witcher, and who was a musician in fact before he was cast; the other is his long-time co-artist. Their music is self-described as folk-punk, and it's the kind of music that I don't think would be out of place in a caravan of friends going to a Renaissance Faire. Their music is available on Bandcamp and for those who like this sort of thing, I highly recommend it.