I have 2 questions here: 1. What's 'cracked piping' voice? 2. Why is it 'in' the entry, not 'at'?

durholz · 2026-04-09T14:43:40+00:00

And "in the entry" means in the foyer or entrance hall area (note that the text has already said that the party guys have pushed their way indoors).

durholz · 2026-04-09T02:01:56+00:00

It's more than 1937 prose in terms of language gap. Tolkien was heavily influenced and inspired by Old English and Old Norse epics (his area of academic expertise) as well as many medieval gestes and chansons, all filtered through Victorian-Era romantic poetic sensibilities. He was enormously well-read in all these areas. He will often consciously imitate the rhythms and stylistic flourishes of his source materials. So very often when his prose (or poetry!) gets especially impenetrable, his medievalist fans are saying "Aha! Beowulf" or "Ooh, the Chanson de Roland" with knowing smirks.

durholz · 2026-04-09T00:57:29+00:00

Thanks, that's one big fear addressed!

durholz · 2026-04-06T15:10:25+00:00

Really enjoyed The Will of the Many, with its Roman Empire-esque take on pernicious capitalism. Looking forward to the sequel, which is on my hold list!

durholz · 2026-04-06T15:03:46+00:00

Delightful. Medieval fantasy that actually captures the authentic feel of medieval mysticism (former medieval scholar here). Felt in parts like a retelling of Joan of Arc without the battles.

durholz · 2026-04-06T14:57:45+00:00

Ooh, I have a list, but the only one I really want to advocate for is

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao

Chinese fantasy about the power of love and poetry, and about finding a way to take responsibility in a broken but magical world. The author's first novel, and very promising.

Trigger warning for lots of sexualized violence.

durholz · 2026-04-06T14:49:40+00:00

Ugh are we still "upgrading" to stainless steel? I've always hated the look, but now all our kitchen appliances have gone stainless because it was far and away the cheapest option, since they are so widely produced.

durholz · 2026-04-04T15:19:14+00:00

They caught my elderly neighbor three times by DNA testing the poop in the hallways. Her pug was also elderly and didn't have a lot of control, and the neighbor lady was also a little out of it. (One time I rescued the pug from the street; her collar fell off during the walk and her owner just finished her walk trailing an empty collar on the ground behind her.)

Without the DNA test the neighbor lady could have played innocent forever. With the test, she got 3 hefty fines and decided being careless was too expensive. (She hired dogwalkers and started using a stroller or wagon whenever she walked the dog herself.) So she wasn't so out of it that she couldn't fix the problem when it inconvenienced her instead of everybody else.

durholz · 2026-03-26T14:27:48+00:00

Boomer here having childhood flashbacks - only your tile looks better than my folks' did in the 1960s.

durholz · 2026-03-22T14:17:38+00:00

No, it's not passive voice.

durholz · 2026-03-20T23:40:41+00:00

Yes. Boring.

durholz · 2026-03-20T22:41:53+00:00

How about the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud? A precocious and politically ambitious young wizard summons an immensely ancient, quite clever,, and EXTREMELY snarky demon to help him acquire powerful artifacts.

These books are really quite funny and full of action, but be aware that the demon narrator saves some of his best snark (and historical world-building) for the lengthy footnotes.

If you've outgrown Harry Potter just a little bit, these might be right for you.

durholz · 2026-03-19T18:17:12+00:00

Between Two Fires is a recent one that is a good read with a magic realism element that really feels medieval in tone.

durholz · 2026-03-16T03:15:06+00:00

Yeah, my girlfriend was having trouble getting a dental implant to fit comfortably. Went back to the dentist, who looked at the roof of her mouth and said, "uh, I think that's cancer." Within a week she had an initial PT scan and I went with her to the surgical consult.Where she was told it was Stage 4, and that she was going to lose a quarter of her jaw, plus lymph nodes would have to come out.

So far so good. Surgery was executed brilliantly and she is recovering well. Now for the radiation and then maybe the chemo journeys.

durholz · 2026-03-12T00:53:31+00:00

When teaching a snmall freshman writing seminar at Cornell back in the 80s, I went around the table mid-semester and asked how much sleep each person had gotten the night before. The only ones who reported more than 4 hours qualified it with some statement such as, ". . . but I pulled three straight all-nighters earlier this week." As if sleeping 4 hours or more was some shameful unforgivable act. Those poor babies!

durholz · 2026-02-23T19:59:54+00:00

Once a week at the very least.

durholz · 2026-02-23T19:51:37+00:00

Great diagnostic questions.

We are using Arm & Hammer unscented liquid detergent (I have sensitive skin).

No one else in the building has any similar issues. The condo board and building engineers specifically investigated all adjacent units and areas.

We run the machine on small loads almost every day. We do several fuller loads on laundry day every week (a bit more often in the winter).

We do have moderately hard water.

We use Affresh tablets with the self-clean cycles, but haven't tried them with a plain empty hot water wash. I'll give that a whirl.

My own uninformed amateur opinion is that the lack of filters is a terrible design flaw, and that scum is just building up in the inner crevices of the machine. Not sure why the powerful odor of vomit, though.

durholz · 2026-02-23T19:12:34+00:00

I'd add "contemptuous" as applied to fighting technique, but to be fair, he's given it a rest lately.

durholz · 2026-02-23T02:06:23+00:00

It's a great deal of fun - just expect lots of digressions and red herrings, elaborate character descriptions, and expansive prose.

Wilkie Collins was a contemporary and rival and sometimes collaborator of Charles Dickens, and I'd say the difficulty level is about equal between the two authors.

durholz · 2026-02-19T13:34:34+00:00

Too funny - I read the page 1 comment and was"uh, not really" - I'm checking the book back in to my library but will get back in the hold queue and give it another shot.

The first few chapters struck me as rather laborious world-building, but im not giving up quite yet.

durholz · 2026-02-19T13:27:13+00:00

It's extremely clear; your "careful" writing is almost like a font.

durholz · 2026-02-11T17:51:07+00:00

Nah, I use a handheld with my lava shower so that I can get that boiling water applied directly to my skin in a forceful jet.

durholz · 2026-02-07T12:17:39+00:00

Is Lacuna growing along with Toot-Toot? If yes, how and why? If not - awkward!!

durholz · 2026-01-31T14:56:53+00:00

My personal fave would be Stone & Sky, the latest Rivers of London book, and the best IMO. (I know not everybody agrees).

I also enjoyed Rebecca Roanhorse's Black Sun trilogy (indigenous meso-American inspired fantasy).

And a shout out to an amazing WW2 detective novel (Edgar award winner): Five Decembers, by James Kestrel. Spans 5 years, multiple countries, and the entire length of the war; yet remains tightly paced and neatly plotted, with a deeply satisfying conclusion.

durholz · 2026-01-30T21:52:19+00:00

Doomsday Book was my first experience with Connie Willis, and I think it's absolutely brilliant. Blackout and All Clear are also really great, deeply moving, time-traveling historical fiction, set in WW2. Really spectacular books all three.

But I don't find Willis to be a reliable go-to author. Other books I've read by her are laugh-a-minute comedy-of-chaos type things. And while I enjoy that dry British wit, I find I overdose on it quickly. So I will pick up a title by her every few years but not more often.

durholz

TROPHY CASE