Books: Tolkien, Expanse, Delicious, And Josephine

The History Of The Lord Of The Rings by Christopher Tolkien

Being volumes 6-8 and part of 9 of The History Of Middle-Earth, bundled separately. It is fascinating the degree to which Tolkien was making it up as he went along. The epilogues with Sam's family were quite moving, though I see why they were cut. It's also interesting how little of the assorted notes and plans pertain to character development as such. It's far outweighed by JRRT musing about distances, geography, and calendars. If you're interested in this sort of thing, recommended, but it's specialized fare.

J.R.R. Tolkien: Architect Of Middle Earth by Daniel Grotta-Kurska

An early, unauthorized biography. Not lengthy, and lacks the personal touch, but useful for understanding the outline of Tolkien's life.

Cibola Burn and Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey

Being 4th and 5th in the Expanse series. There are moments when the grinding tragedy of the Expanse books gets to me, but they're gripping, and I like that our heroes maintain hope. These volumes cover the Roci's trip to one of the first colony worlds, and the (fairly by-the-numbers) Precursor-technology-related problems that follow, while the second is about a new war, and Naomi's past. Highly recommended.

Delicious In Dungeon Volumes 3-5, by Ryoko Kui

The continuing adventures of our D&D-style heroes as they delve deeper into the dungeon and eat wyverns, tentacles, and dragons. An interesting (and often hysterical) deconstruction of the gaming notion of "megadungeons", and how they would affect the local economy and society. Recommended.

Josephine Baker by Catel & Bocquet

A thick graphic novel chronicling the history of this remarkable woman. I can't speak to its accuracy, but it was engaging, often funny, and occasionally moving. Recommended