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The Viy by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, Translated by Claud Field. Described as a horror novella from 1836. Uneven, didn't really get it.

Within the Wall - Patrick Kuklinski, January, 2024. This is entirely from the point of view of a rat living in a colony in the wall, but it has some interesting things to say about aspects of human society as well. 4/5

Regarding the Childhood of Morrigan, Who Was Chosen to Open the Way - by Benjamin Rosenbaum, Nov 19, 2025 - This story is doing some interesting things. I absolutely did not give a damn, and noped out, mostly because I didn’t have the brain space to track what was going on. But also because child neglect.

The person who reminds the other person to cast a spell - by Bogi Takács, December 2024 - short poem, does very interesting things with language. 4/5

The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For by Cameron Reed, April 2025 - before reading: this is dystopia, so I may not make it through, but the title has me intrigued (I'm a bit hmmm about the one sentence summary though). After reading: It's clever, but at no point did I warm to the characters, and I think it would have been necessary to do so to really appreciate this. 3/5

The Specialist’s Hat by Kelly Link (undated) - this is a very clever ghost story, where exactly what happens is never made clear. 4/5

The Starlight on Idaho by Denis Johnson, 'winter' 2011 - odd epistolary fic from a person in drug and alcohol rehab; quite a lot of unreality, beautifully written. 4/5

[001: JAVELIN] - Derin Edala - this is a web serial; I'm not sure if it is finished. Far future science fiction. ... technically not short fiction, and I haven't finished it because the tab it is in keeps getting lost in the sea of open tabs

fred_mouse

For reasons I don't remember, Youngest bought sago, and then we discovered that there was some still in the cupboard. In discussion about what to do with this surplus, Youngest commented that they didn't know how to make sago pudding*, so we set out to do so. This is a bit variant on what I learned as a kid, so I'm capturing it now, because this was much closer to what I want it to be than it usually is. It is to be remembered that this is a dessert that is more about texture than flavour, and I make it with more flavour than the family friends I learned it from. Next time, I'll try soaking the sago in the soy milk, and then add water after, because the taste was a little thin.

1/2 cup sago plus 2 cups of water, in bowl, put in fridge for ~30 hours (it was going to be less, but I forgot last night; the fridge is because I am not leaving wet starch out in nearly 40°C heat).

Cooking: I used a heavy bottom pot, which I vaguely remember is important, but I don't remember why. Started on the too high burner, which was good for getting it to the boil, but I had to move it to the medium heat once it came to temperature.

Soaked sago plus somewhere between 1/2 and 1 cup of soy milk, a tsp (estimate; it was what was left in the tub) pandan extract, and 2 somewhat heaped tbsp white sugar went in the pan (for slightly more flavour, use brown sugar; it will be a weird colour but it tastes fantastic). Bring to boil, turn heat down to gentle simmer, stir constantly, making sure to scrape down the sides of the pan regularly (do not be tempted by the idea of taking a break. This will burn in what feels like a moment if the heat is just a tad too high). I use a silicone spatula for this, so as to be sure to get into the corner of the pan. Check regularly for translucence - when all but one sago ball is completely translucent, and that one at least half done, I call it done, and pour into bowls to set. I have a lovely set of thin metal dessert bowls that are perfect for this, because they don't cool down too fast.

* not to be confused with sago pudding, which is a steamed pudding I vaguely recall, and have a recipe for that I've never used

fred_mouse

aiii, I have gone back through my posts, and the most recent of these that I've found is from last august. I am not going to attempt to work out what I have started or progressed; I will start with 'what I've finished' and if I still have any oomph (and it is not bed time) I'll go poke at what I've abandoned. In reverse chronological order. I'm putting the list in, and then maaaaybe I'll have the cope to put a commentary. (finished today but not yet reviewed: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie)... oh, and if I notice that it is a short story, I've left it out, because I think I captured that before.

Bound by the Blood - Cecilia Tan. 4.5 stars. review - BDSM speculative erotica that is just so clever, but also very emotionally hard going.
The Quest for Corvo: An Experiment in Biography - A.J.A. Symons. 4 stars. review - presented as a biography, but it reads as a story of an obsession, and the biographical details are highlights.
The Siege of Burning Grass - Premee Mohamed. 3 stars. review - despite being well written, fantastic world building, good characterisation, passable plot I felt like I just missed the point.
The House that Horror Built - Christina Henry. 2.5 stars review - I usually love Henry's work, and yet this one just never quite gelled for me. (content note: pandemic) 5.Nest - Inga Simpson. 5 stars. review - recommended for those who like slow moving slice of life stories; each chapter is a tiny lightly sketched moment that adds to a nuanced and complicated story of getting old, making mistakes, and reconciling with your past.
Building a second brain: a proven method to organise your digital life and unlock your creative potential - Tiago Forte. 4. stars. review - some really good ideas, but dry and easy to put down and forget about it. I feel that 'less annoying than the majority of self-help books' is a low bar, but it cleared it.
Digital Sociology - Deborah Lupton. 4 stars. review - There is a lot going on with this book, looking both at how sociology as a process / research field is changed by using digital tools, and how sociology of the digital world works.
Angel of the Overpass - Seanan McGuire. 4 stars. review - very satisfying set of conclusions; well worth reading if you liked the previous ones. Possibly slightly darker horror than the last one.
The Viy - Nikolai Gogol. 3.5 stars. review - This was well written, and individual scenes are great, but I don't think I understand how the story fits together.
The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting - KJ Charles. 4.5 stars. review - I really enjoyed this, and finished it in an afternoon.
Vertigo - Karen Herbert. 3 stars. review - I noted this as "a little thriller in a literary public service story"; I found it really hard to engage with
The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman. 3.5 stars. review - excessively contrived plot, adversarial workplace relationships verging on farce, well written, complex full of interesting characters.
The Coffee House Witch and the Grumpy Cat - Ariana Jade. 2 stars. review - The writing is good, but the entire thing is set up and no payoff. And for something marketed as a romance, it really isn't.
A Sorceress Comes to Call - T. Kingfisher. 4 stars. review - solidly written fantasy / horror / regency romance with a heavy emphasis on body horror and loss of control, and I don't recommend it to people who have trauma over dangerous and controlling parents
Bad Actors - Mick Herron. 2 stars. review - I listened to an interview by the author, this was the Slough House book I found in the library. Author loves their characters, but I found them so badly written.
The Sea Mystery - Freeman Wills Crofts. 4 stars. review - perfectly readable murder mystery, more thinky and less personality driven in comparison to Agatha Christie.
Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller - Oliver Darkshire. 3.5 stars. review - lots of short, self-contained anecdotes. Dry and gets a bit same-old and repetitive.

Abandoned

Fly with Me by Andie Burke reason - not for me
Doing research: A new researcher's guide by Jinfa Cai, Stephen Hwang, James Hiebert, Charles Hohensee, reason - out of scope
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness Jonathan Haidt reason - came across as disingenuous
The Pleasure of Drowning by Jean Bürlesk reason - do not share the author's sense of humour.
Unmasked: The Ultimate Guide to ADHD, Autism and Neurodivergence by Ellie Middleton reason - I kept finding myself contrasting it with Matilda Boseley's The Year I Met My Brain and finding it lacking.

fred_mouse

.. I'm not being grumpy at all philosophy today, although I have days when I encounter bits and I have Thoughts and Opinions that can be summed up as 'philsophy sucks'. I have not, historically, engaged very well with particular bits of philosophical thinking and/or the way it is presented.

Today, I'm struggling, because I am being too literal. And because the starting point is swan == white, and then the author is extrapolating out from that. I, however, fall over at the first hurdle, because I have to stop and parse swan==white, and spend time getting out of my comfort zone, rather than starting in my comfort zone. And I get that this is Western Australia is a niche case (and, presumably, anywhere our swans have gone and set up communities) issue.

And not only do I struggle when I encounter this damn thinking. But I get annoyed. Black swans have been known about *in Europe*---the source of most of the philosophy I try reading---for at least 150 years (the Swan River Colony was established in 1829, there were French and Dutch explorers in the vicinity before). These explanations don't start with 'let us assume that there are only white swans' or anything acknowledging this. Or at least, the ones I remember encountering don't.

I hate not being able to grasp the foundational thought on which the next n pieces are built. It makes it so hard to read. I suspect I'm going to skip this chapter and see whether the next one (different authors) is better.

Cohorts and Others of Ill Repute

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short fiction - november & december 2025

Recipe notes: Pandan Sago pudding

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Today's grump: philosophy

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