Thoughts

[raven]

I've got a book. Excession by Iain M.Banks. It occurred to me, while I was reading it, that it's been so long since I just took a book and read it. A book, not my own writing, nor a piece of fanfic, or a beta, or anything at all fangirl-related. Just a book.

How odd. I've been in various fandoms for the last four years or so, and it's only just beginning to hit me.

This is the most beautiful song.

Comments

[dougs.livejournal.com]

A book in loneraven's hands: an extremely unusual object in an unaccustomed situation.
Excession by Iain M Banks: a story about an extremely unusual object in an unaccustomed situation.

My suggestion for a name for a Mind: "An extremely unusual object in an unaccustomed situation".

Re:

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*laughs* How astute you are, to be sure!

The names of the Minds are my favourite part of the book. How can you not be entranced by a name like Sleeper Service or Death and Gravity or Grey Area?

My suggestions - Leaving through the Window and August and Everything After. The fact those are both the names of albums has absolutely nothing to do with it.

[dougs.livejournal.com]

There's a list of Mind names here:
http://www.mattstan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/culture/cultureshiplist.txt
I think my favourite was always "A Series Of Unlikely Explanations".

Re:

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Ravished By The Sheer Implausibility Of That Last Statement!

Novacon

[dougs.livejournal.com]

You'll have read earlier in my own LJ about Novacon, the Birmingham SF Group's annual convention three weeks ago.
Ian M Banks was there, being generally tall and hairy and Scottish at us, like he always does.