Vermilion Sands
An occasional journal
Clouds That Look Like Things: Donald Trump Sneezing
Apr 27th 2017
Admin1 is reading New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson, which was superb, something like Stand on Zanzibar as re-imagined by Ian McDonald … and Stan has discovered a sense of humour! Full of finely drawn characters who are better than they think they are, it’s the best book of the year so far. Guardian review by Adam Roberts.
Admin2 is rereading The Word of God by Thomas M Disch. Tom cobbles together a load of random stories, essays, poems and instructions and presents them as Holy Writ. Bit like the Bible in fact.
Hail on Earth
Apr 25th 2017
After our coldest night this month, our coldest day, with bits of ice falling from the sky.
Admin1 is reading The Thirst by Jo Nesbo.
Critter of the Day: Speckled Wood
Apr 24th 2017
Pararge aegeria on a hazel tree.
Admin1 is reading Hide and Seek by MJ Arlidge. Admin2 is reading Want You Gone by Chris Brookmyre.
Cloud of the Day: Lenticularis
Apr 23rd 2017
Flying saucers attack the tower block on our first >10kWh day of the year.
Admin1 is reading Death Do Us Part by Steven Dunne (readable, but a bit soapy and melodramatic with too many easily spotted red herrings).
The Hearts of the Jungle
Apr 22nd 2017
Bleeding Hearts amid luxuriant spring growth.
Admin2 is reading Conclave by Robert Harris, which was gripping but guessable.
We scored, um, 5.5 on the Guardian Weekend quiz.
Toad in the Hole
Apr 21st 2017
Admin1 is reading Want You Gone by Chris Brookmyre (the return of Parlabane, and terrific fun). Admin2 is reading The Secret of This Book by Brian Aldiss. The secret is that Brian had amassed a collection of odds and sods not previously published in book form and reckoned he could make them into a book.
Hot Noodly Appendage Buns
Apr 16th 2017
Happy EPaster everybody.
Admin1 is rereading The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell.
We scored, er, 6 on the Guardian Weekend quiz.
Critter of the Day: C for Caterpillar
Apr 14th 2017
Good Friday, and our first shower this April.
Admin1 is reading Out of Bounds by Val McDermid (plotting-by-numbers, but leavened by some interesting and capable women and a fine selection of useless men). Admin2 is reading Luna: Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald, which is, as the jacket copy says, Game of Moons, with much plotting and mayhem.
Stop!
Apr 11th 2017
Admin1 is reading The End of the Day by Clare North. Admin2 is reading Platform by Michel Houellebecq, an entertaining novel about sex and travel with a lot of bad-tempered social comment and literary criticism thrown in.
Simply the Nest
Apr 9th 2017
Admin1 uncovered this bird’s nest while trimming an overgrown viburnum bush.
Admin1 is reading Malice by Keigo Higashino. Admin2 is reading A Midsummer’s Equation, also by Keigo Higashino; an engrossing murder mystery solved by physics.
Gin and Tonic on the Veranda
Apr 8th 2017
After the coldest night this month (1.7 °C), the warmest (22.2 °C) and sunniest (9.38 kWh) day this year.
Admin1 is reading Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino.
We scored 9.5 on the Guardian Weekend quiz.
Cloud of the Day: Cirrus spissatus
Apr 6th 2017
Lacy on a sunny afternoon.
Admin1 is reading A Midsummer’s Equation by Keigo Higashino. Admin2 is reading The Special Dead by Lin Anderson.
Tit among the Plum Blossoms
Apr 4th 2017
Admin1 is reading The Obelisk Gate by NK Jemisin. Admin 2 is reading 334 by Thomas M Disch: the 1984 of the 2020s.
Cherry Blossom Time
Apr 2nd 2017
Admin1 is reading All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai, in which a self-obsessed twat goes time travelling; a disappointing book. Admin2 is reading None but the Dead by Lin Anderson; nice enough, with an interesting Orkneys setting, but with characters who seem to have been cooked up on a spreadsheet. We scored 5 on the Guardian Weekend quiz, thanks to a mention of 808 State on the radio today because the founder of the Roland company died, and thanks also to our generosity to ourselves.
Crowd of the Day: Save the NHS
Apr 1st 2017
Admin1 is reading Marked for Life by Emelie Schepp (implausible, and rather unpleasant).
We watched Arrival.
Pinstripes and Polka Dots
Mar 30th 2017
Barking up a tree.
Admin1 is reading None but the Dead by Lin Anderson.
Great Red Spot
Mar 27th 2017
Sunset with a slight resemblance to the atmosphere of Jupiter.
Admin1 is reading The Special Dead by Lin Anderson, which was readable, well-plotted and, most importantly, had nothing wrong with it — an author worth reading, who interestingly mixes forensic science with a smidgen of weirdness. Admin2 is reading The Truth by Terry Pratchett.
Magnolia
Mar 26th 2017
First flower of the season.
Admin1 is reading Liar Liar by MJ Arlidge — readable, but marred by loose plotting (an attempted murder ignored) and authorial tics (“truth be told”, why does every chapter end with a question?). Admin2 lost a lot of time reading Lost Time Accidents by John Wray: an epistolary chrononautical family saga. We scored 7 on the Guardian Weekend quiz.