Tag: Steve D

October Write Day: The Turn

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On LifeLeave a comment

October came upon me so quickly that I forgot to do this post last week. Luckily, I had a book review to post instead.

Halloween preparation is in full swing on our street–now that we know a fair number of our neighbors, we’re all enjoying the friendly decoration competition and watching the neighborhood kids get excited. And Halloween is on a Friday, so it’s likely to be crazy.

I feel pretty good about September. Everything is a work in progress, as always.

Last Month’s Goals

  1. Finish three books.
  2. Stretching & exercise.
  3. Organize around the house.
  4. Community resilience.

Finish three books?

I finished two books in September: I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole, on which I was lukewarm, and The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar, on which I was much warmer.

I’ve made marginal progress on a couple other reads, and I’ve started a sci-fi novel: The Terraformers, by Annalee Newitz. I’m enjoying its rich world-building and high-concept post-Earth civilization so far.

Stretching and exercise?

I stretched nearly every day in September, out of necessity. I also did a short resistance training routine five times, and a proper yoga session (20 minutes or more) once. Not great, but it was consistent across most of September, and it helped me feel good overall.

Organize around the house?

This is a never-ending process, so it’s more about getting things done consistently than actually “finishing”, unless there’s a larger project. I have yet to build the shelves in my shed, but we definitely cleaned out some old things. Now the focus is on Halloween decorations, which is a different sort of organization.

Community resilience?

Still mostly pondering. I’m getting more involved in the local chapter of an environmental organization, by going on hikes and such. And I’m trying to be more conscientious about reading the news from the sources I trust on a regular basis, including local ones. Still trying to find how I can meaningfully contribute, though.

Goals for October

  1. Finish three books.
    • Current reads: The Terraformers, by Annalee Newitz; A Promised Land by Barack Obama; The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Alan Poe, by Edgar Alan Poe and Benjamin Franklin Fisher (editor)
    • Likely next reads: I recently purchased The Children of Gods and Fighting Men, first in a historical fantasy series by Shauna Lawless about Vikings in Ireland — so it’s directly in my wheelhouse. The audiobook is also narrated by Aoife McMahon, who is a top-tier narrator.
  2. Stretching & exercise. The goal is to do better than last month, so 5-10 shorter exercise sessions, and 2-5 longer yoga or weightlifting sessions.
  3. Continue organizing around the house. Halloween is the priority, but yardwork needs to be done to prepare for next spring, too.
  4. Community resilience. Similar to last month, I need to find ways to contribute more directly and proactively in my community.
  5. Take writing notes. I’ve started doing this, just to get my stories back into my weekly/daily brain space. I’m also considering options for publishing stories online, just to get my stories out there again. No decisions have been made yet, but I want to keep pacing down this path.

Steve D

Book Review: THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On Storytelling, ReviewsLeave a comment

I’ve had The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar in my Audible library for several months, and I finally got around to listening to it. This is one of those books that, despite the blurb, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from it.

I was pleasantly surprised.

The Map of Salt and Stars is a powerful story of struggle, sorrow, hope, and love. The story follows Nour, a young girl whose family is forced out of their home in Homs, Syria by the outbreak of the civil war, and Rawiya, a tenacious girl centuries earlier who embarks on a journey across the Mediterranean.

The mirrored stories of Rawiya and Nour created a beautiful symmetry in the plot while deriving meaning from both. Nour, in trying to understand what is happening to her family, and through the grief of lost loved ones, discovers the true meaning of her family’s history, and what it means to find home after everything she knows is destroyed. Meanwhile, Rawiya, in becoming a mapmaker’s apprentice, finds the adventure she’d been seeking, and reveals her own power as a brave warrior and cunning tactician.

The characters’ journeys follow each other from one end of the Mediterranean to the other. This structure makes the overall narrative familiar, but the twists and turns that take each character from one location to the next propel the plot forward from chapter to chapter.

The very real circumstances around Nour’s family — war, hunger, a refugee crisis in the making — are contrasted well by the more fantastical dangers of Rawiya’s journey fraught with dashing princes, mythical creatures, and magical stones.

Zeyn Joukhadar is an emotive writer, whose prose was thoughtful and intricate without being overly embellished.

The audio version was fantastic, but I think this is a story worth reading on the page. This is definitely a candidate to buy in hard cover for the home bookshelf.

Steve D

Book Review: STAR WARS: I, JEDI is a solid story, but not for me

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On Storytelling, ReviewsLeave a comment

Star Wars: I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole is the first novel I’ve read from the “Legends” canon of the Star Wars universe.

I’m not sure I’m the target audience for this novel. While there were parts of this story I greatly enjoyed, there were a few parts that bugged me.

Corran Horn is arrogant and presumptuous as a protagonist. He constantly assumes that he’s the only person who could possibly have the correct solution to any given dilemma. Even when he expresses self-awareness over his own ego, he continues to act as if he’s the only person capable of anything. This is perplexing given his backstory as a pilot of Rogue Squadron. Presumably, he could have asked for help is rescuing his wife much earlier, and ends up being backed up by a few friends anyway.

This story is laced with Star Wars Easter eggs to the point that I just ignored whatever random characters or planets were name-dropped in every chapter. I’m not deep enough into Star Wars lore to get all the references, and they didn’t add anything to the story. Novelty appearances of Han, Leia, and Wedge (of original trilogy fame) also seemed to serve little purpose but to build up Corran’s chops as an in-universe person-of-interest.

Luke was an interesting character who helped drive some of the narrative, and I’m thinking I should read some of the Luke-centric Legends novels.

The plot is winding and overflowing with context about Corran’s past, his time served as a pilot, also a detective, and his relationship with his wife Mirax. Unfortunately, these experiences are only touched on through exposition, and Mirax is fridged until the final chapter.

I consider myself a more-than-average Star Wars fan, but perhaps this particular story just wasn’t for me. I think I just struggled to connect with Corran, and in an in-depth first-person narrative, that’s an issue for the reader. I don’t regret reading this, and I’m interested in exploring other parts of the Legends canon.

Steve D