A few things

[regshoe]

Last week I decided to brighten up the new year by ordering some books, and all three of the very exciting books have now arrived! I've been enjoying admiring the covers and reading the epigraphs and other bits and pieces at the front—not being able to go to the library, most of my reading lately has been ebooks, but I really do prefer physical books and it's nice to have some new ones to enjoy. I have The Bull Calves by Naomi Mitchison, a post-'45 Scottish/Jacobite family story (it's actually about her historical family members—I'm not sure just how closely based on real history it is, but there's a family tree in the front which goes all the way down to 'Naomi' at the bottom) which I'm really looking forward to; Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson, which I read several years ago and thought was a beautiful work of genius—flipping through it now, I think it's even better than I remembered, and I'll definitely re-read it soon; and (a first edition of!) Return to Night by Mary Renault, which certainly looks intriguing—it has a very dramatic cover illustration with a shirtless man in a big gloomy cave, so we shall see what that's all about.

Before I get to those I'm reading another D. K. Broster book, Ships in the Bay!. It's been a while since my last Broster, and it's lovely to return to her writing, historical detail and intricate long sentences and gorgeous nature descriptions and all (somewhat unexpectedly, it's set in Pembrokeshire near St David's, a part of the world that richly deserves Broster's descriptive skills). And the plot is very much her style too, so it's great fun.

I also caught up on the Doctor Who New Year's special today, which I enjoyed! Well, that was certainly a good episode to ship Thirteen/Yaz. :) I'm sad to see Graham and Ryan go, but I thought their exit was well done—I like that they chose to leave the TARDIS, and that they'll clearly continue living good and adventure-filled lives on Earth. (And, hey, now we might get even more of the Doctor and Yaz together...) And the return of Jack was great, of course.

In other TV, I watched the Christmas specials of both Ghosts and All Creatures Great and Small over Christmas—both very heartwarming stories. They are going for the drama with James/Helen, aren't they, but I liked Tristan in this episode too. Julian backstory was fun—and, aww, that scene with Alison and the ghosts singing carols together...

Comments

[ohveda]

As a Thasmin shipper I loved the New Year's episode. At the same time there's a lot of building and absolutely no happening. I want a heart-to-heart!

Enjoy your new books! What a great way to start the new year.

[regshoe]

I know! I really wanted a proper discussion about the Doctor leaving the companions for so long (apparently it was decades for her—does Yaz know that??), and the Doctor learning what Yaz was doing in the TARDIS at the beginning, and lots of delicious angst... I suppose this is what fic is for. :)

[luzula]

Yes, it's lovely to receive new books! Very much looking forward to your thoughts on The Bull Calves. Also on Ships in the Bay!--I haven't read it yet.

[regshoe]

Ships in the Bay! is... interesting so far! I'm enjoying the setting, and there are more of Broster's tangled complications of honour and loyalty, this time on the British side of the French Revolutionary Wars. But, yes, I'll certainly write proper posts about both it and The Bull Calves at some point :)

[starshipfox]

Ordering books is always a good way to cheer oneself up! :) I hope you enjoy them -- I'll be curious to hear! I've kind of dropped the ball on Doctor Who recently, but a Thirteen/Yaz shippy episode sounds very enticing.

[regshoe]

I'm certainly post about my thoughts once I've read them :D Yes, I'd definitely recommend the episode on shippy grounds, it was good fun.