extra book goal 2025: Lois McMaster Bujold & Jane Austen

I didn't set out to do this, but I accidentally ended up reading the majority of Lois McMaster Bujold's novels this year. I read all 16 Vorkosigan novels plus all the short stories (though not Dreamweaver's Dilemma since it's not really canon). I also read both Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls. With the exception of one novel (Gentleman Jole & the Red Queen), I had fun reading everything, and overall her work has given me so much joy and happiness this year.

It was also the 250th birthday of Jane Austen on December 16th. In consequence I also read all of her novels, including two I had not read before: Emma and Lady Susan. I enjoyed them all to varying degrees, and hopefully will get round to more written down thoughts, but what struck me most is the difference in how I felt about Mansfield Park. I first read it around age 16, and I hated it so much. In the intervening time I think I also merged it with some of my feelings from Jane Eyre (which I do like) and the scenes from Lowood. But this time many of the elements like Fanny Price's meekness did not bother me nearly so much, and I did enjoy a lot of it. I think it's a combination of being prepared, a much higher tolerance of maddening characters, and also a taste for difficult female protagonists.

in other news - Big Fat Quiz

For a few holidays now, my brother and I curl up on the couch and watch/try to do Big Fat Quiz of the year, the one hosted by Jimmy Carr in the UK. As we are not British, have never lived there, and are reading the news in small chunks, we are VERY BAD at this quiz. Even though it's a comedy show, we always do worse than all the rest of the teams, like getting 10/50 points kind of bad. The hardest questions are the ones about minor British political gaffes (no idea, though one year I did learn of the Rishi Sunak Sky TV thing) and, hardestof all, the See What You Say segments, where you have to guess a piece of news based on sounding out about 10 pictures. Usually they feature celebrity faces and if you don't know that's George So-and-So then you are just stuck. But I am pleased to report for the first time ever this year we have managed to place 3rd!!! out of 4. We beat 2025's Roisin & Katherine! BY ONE POINT!!