Variations on the same theme

I've DNFed three books this week. I think one of the things I'm accomplishing this year is not reading books I'm feeling meh about.

Books
The Librarians, by Sherry Thomas. Charming mystery thriller with romantic inclinations set in an Austin library. Well done in all respects but it particularly charmed me with its love of Austin.
Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian. First in a series of queer murder mysteries set in a small English town after WWII. He's a doctor, he's a spy, they solve murders. Solid B class murder mystery and I expect to read more.
Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life, by Lulu Miller. One-third memoir, one-third biography of David Starr Jordan (founding president of Stanford), and one-third philosophy. I was interested in the Jordan pieces, especially since it seems that he may have covered up the murder of Jane Stanford in a way that made me think of the murder of William Marsh Rice. Unfortunately Miller isn't as engaging of a memoirist or philosopher as she is a biographer. (She's an NPR reporter and now a host of Radiolab)

Short Stories
Deficiency Agent, by Andrew Liptak. What happens when the fog of war is nominally cleared by AI. Like isn't the right word for the sting of this story but I appreciated the point he was making.
Tony Roomba’s Last Day on Earth, by Maria Haskins. I don't think any of my cats would do that for a scout for invading bots.
Wounds, by Celia Marsh. A magical realism story about healing, unsurprisingly.

I forgot to set up a tickler to do the actual 101 in 1001 posts so I missed the mid-January post. So here, a day late, is the first February post. I've spent most of the last couple of weeks flaring and sick because of the weather, so I'm glad I now have my ticklers set up properly.

( Under the cut to protect your flist. )

Technically I'm behind on the numbers but I generally am early on and for a long period given that I have a bunch of items I won't finish until the end. I have a good start on books though, and while I haven't got it planned completely, the Houston trip should happen next month along with Ambercon US.

No TTRPG stuff because our house is still flattened because of the kitchen cabinet thing. At least decluttering the cabinets as we put all the dishes back in will probably count for a Dreaded Task.

Books
Red City, by Marie Lu. Billed as "The Godfather meets the Magicians" and that's probably a decent shorthand. The magic system is fantastic and I'm going to steal bits and pieces of it for games I'm in. The story and characters and twisty plot full of people with questionable morals was also very good. I'm in for the next one, though I can't tell if this is two or three for the series.
The Conductors, by Nicole Glover. First in a series of post-Civil War (US) fantasy mysteries featuring a married couple who were conductors on the Underground Railroad. She has the magic (and it's an intriguing system) and he's got brawn. They both have brains. The mystery is good and by the end of the book they're nicely set up for more stories. I'll read the next one.
The Last Note of Warning, by Katharine Schellman. Third and next-to-last, apparently, in this queer Harlem nightclub mystery series. Our protagonist runs into another murder that's connected to the lady boss she's into and puts her in need of help from the Commissioner's nephew, the other side of the romantic triangle. I think the romantic arc is coming to a climax so the next one may be a good endpoint, but I'm there for the rest of the ride.
Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man, by Emily J. Edwards. First in a series about a NY private investigator's Girl Friday in the 50s. This time she's solving the mystery of an heiress who apparently has a secret boyfriend. These came with the recommendation of a friend and they're fluffy and cute and I quite enjoyed the first, so I'm in for more.
Unabridged: The Thrill of and Threat to the Modern Dictionary, by Stefan Fatsis. I've had the Kory Stamper book in my to-read for a while so this one was a natural. I quite enjoyed the history and was depressed by the modern prospects for the dictionary. Fatsis did a great job of showing what dictionary work has been like over the decades and how it could improve. It's still going to require money to do it, though, as is the problem with every kind of pure knowledge acquisition.
These Summer Storms, by Sarah MacLean. Halfway between a romance and a family saga, this is the story of the four kids and widow of a billionaire tech overlord who can't stop fucking with people even after he's dead. The main POV character is the daughter who walked away for reasons you find out during the book but other characters get their chance too. The just too good to be true romantic foil is the one whose interior I really wanted to see and didn't The final twist is perfect, though.

Short Stories
The Final Voyage of the Ouranos, by Marie Brennan. I always enjoy Brennan's work (except for her Victorian pastiche, which lost me) and this is no exception. Super creepy raypunk-esque history of a lost/destroyed aether-ship.
Bots All the Way Down, by Effie Seiberg. A perfect little bot bedtime story, with a lovely ending twist.
Slake, by Victor Manibo. A horror story about a high rise and a hurricane which was kind of freaking me out (I grew up in hurricane country and have been flooded in).

In the distant future of the universe, there is the empire of Chaos, the empire of Amber, and the Free Republic of Ygg, which is all that stands against their tyranny.

Rumor has it that the agents of Chaos have stolen a dragon's egg. Tree, the scholar and wizard who sits at the heart of the Free Republic of Ygg, thinks it would be a bad idea for them to have it, or for the agents of Amber who are seeking it to do so. Your team has the skills and powers to find and steal that egg. Assuming it doesn't hatch first, which could present a whole 'nother set of problems.

FRY uses Amberway (Everway + Amber) rules. Contact the GM to use your boons (experience) from previous games or to build a new character. New characters will be built on 20 points using Amberway rules; +1 point for doing Q&A before the con.

This time we ate at The Reserve at the Highland which I keep writing as the HighlandS because of Lake Highlands. It's the fancy hotel restaurant for this boutique hotel and I suspect they lured us in because they need word of mouth for the new place that's replacing John Tesar's Knife. There's a lot of chef gossip there about how Tesar broke up with the people who run this place but it's out of my bailiwick so I've already forgotten it.

I took photos of the five courses but they're not labelled so I'll describe them here. As I mentioned on Instagram, the first course was a savory flan with mushrooms. It was the big winner of the five courses because it was unexpected and so tasty.

Second was a caesar salad with chicories that was fine but a little too bitter for me. Between that and the avocado-tuna tower that was course three, my mouth was starting to burn. The avocado and tuna were good even though they were too acidic for my tender tongue.

The fourth course was braised short rib with polenta. I thought it was well done but I kept hearing Whitney say that it was so easy to do a braised short rib. Some carrots also came with this and in a surprising turnabout for me, Michael liked them. He generally doesn't have any time for carrots but they weren't sweet and they had a nice texture so they were unusual. Finishing us out was a cheesecake with gingersnap crust and raspberry puree. Again, a nice course but not hard to execute well.

The menu had several mocktails on it so I had my chance to drink something grownup and tasty. None of the usual crowd was with us so we talked with some new folks and nerded out on medieval history, which was fun. Overall this was a decent outing but I don't think we'll go back to the restaurant.