That is, I have finally gotten around to working on the research I should have been doing during the last time I had a hiatus. (Indeed, I should have been researching AND writing, or just researching. But I was also very busy and/or stressed so this did not happen. Also, I already Know Just Enough To Hang Myself concerning ecosystems and so on so I basically wrote by the seat of my pants in a very epic way.) Anyway, I checked out and/or put on hold some books on Libby that will help with Lord of the Black Mountain, due to the entire, “I decided to create an order of first responders who also handle environmental disasters and have spent the past thousand or so years on a huge soil amendment project because sometimes your environmental disaster is a kaiju.”
Anyway, the books I have on hold are:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmer
This is a book I also have in my shopping list on Amazon. It’s about indigenous agriculture techniques, and the science behind it. This is a topic I have been pretty fascinated by due to some articles on Tumblr about indigenous agricultural practices and food forests. (There’s apparently really strong evidence that Native Americans were essentially landscaping the territories they lived in by planting out various food or other useful plants for later foraging. This is slightly a spark point for Lord of the Black Mountain.)
The Rediscovery of America by Ned Blackhawk
A history of indigenous cultures in the U.S. This looks pretty interesting! Slightly relevant to the actual story.
The Shortest History of China by Linda Jaivin
Because I need something resembling an overview. (I also wanted some books on regional cultures but nothing seems to be on Libby.) Slightly less relevant to the story!
The current books I’m looking at are:
The Regenerative Garden by Stephanie Rose
This is a book about no-till permaculture gardening. I’ve only read a little bit so far, and I’m making sure to take notes.
Ecology by W Randy Brooks
This book seems to involve geography and how that shapes ecosystems. Which is super useful! I have not looked through this book just yet.
Will any of this actually appear in Lord of the Black Mountain? Yes, probably! Are we at that point yet? No, not yet! Hence why I’m quickly doing the research! (That I should have been doing during the last couple hiatuses but didn’t because meatspace is Complicated.)
Other things I want to write about but haven’t gotten around to:
I have a few ideas about Martha Wells Witch King. I’m currently listening to the Audible version. There’s a lot of wry humor and sarcasm that I missed, that the reader really conveys so well!
I (still) want to write about Martha Well’s Raksura books. Well, mostly about Moon technically being a pretty princess. (He is! Culturally speaking, Moon is basically Action Girl. A feral, feral Action Girl. And I love that about him.)
I started Steven Brust’s Tsalmoth. It’s gone somewhat back in time to an earlier version of Vlad, and covers Vlad planning his wedding with Cawti. (And being a lovestruck dork about it.) I want to compare/contrast Past Vlad with Future Vlad, maybe? I also kind of want to poke at the slight shift in the Narrative Device. (The Vlad books are told in a way that suggests that Vlad is relating this to someone who is recording the story with an object that may or may not be a tape recorder. A literal Narrative Device!” The person with the literal narrative device is described as, IIRC some Eastern dude. However, this time a different person provides the device.)
Notably, Brust’s writing also feels a bit different. And I want to write about that.
I am trying to read The Hands of the Emperor. And I’m afraid it and the sequel are going to be “Books that are good that I just don’t feel like reading.” This is a very rare and frustrating combo! Usually if I can’t read a book it’s because I it’s bad in some way. (Poorly written, poorly researched written by someone whose worldview leaks through and I dislike their worldview.) But sometimes a book is excellently written but I still can’t read it because there’s some kind of wall between me and being able to plunge into the story/worldbuilding and relate to the characters. It might just be a book I’m not ready to read. This is also a thing that happens. There are books I’ve gone back to after not being able to read them that I enjoyed. Of course the reverse is true. There are books I enjoyed that I can’t read anymore. (There is probably a potential post in that.)
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