Book Review

Lady of the Light
by Donna Gillespie

On the lighter, more "popular" side of historical fiction, this book was a very entertaining read. Set on the Germanic frontier during Trajan's reign, it's the sequel to The Light Bearer, which I read several years ago. Gillespie continues the story of Auriane, a woman of a Germanic tribe who has come to live with a Roman patrician, Marcus. In Lady of the Light, Auriane's divided loyalties lead both her and Marcus down the path of destruction due to the increasing tensions between her people and the Roman Empire. It's not great literature, but it was very pleasing to read. Gillespie is quite good at keeping the plot moving and the reader interested in the story and characters.

Book Review

The Musical Experience of Composer, Performer, Listener
by Roger Sessions

This book is short but covers a lot of ground and has a lot to say. Sessions talks about music and musical aesthetics in great depth but without relying on lots of technical detail. So much of what he says resonated with me and got me thinking about musical issues. I was particularly impressed with his insights on composing, performing, and listening and the way in which he explored the relationships between them. Plus, his observations on the place and future of music in modern America were extremely astute and still quite relevant even though the book was written in 1949.

Halloween

Halloween itself was something of a bust for Other Kenjari and I this year. Finally we have a street-level private entrance and a porch, complete with a light. We live in a building that has families and we are right across the street from a playground which gets plenty of use. It's a fairly safe, quiet neighborhood - not the kind of area I would think of as an undesirable place to take kids. So we happily bought candy and prepared for trick-or-treaters - we were looking forward to handing out candy to cute children in costume. But nobody came. In fact, the neighborhood was completely empty of children all night. We were disappointed.
At least I got to have Halloween fun on Saturday night, when I went to a fun party hosted by sen_no_ongaku and sigerson. I dressed up as Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service; it's the same costume I used last year, but I went to a completely different party that year. As always, there was lots of good food and good conversation. And some good costumes, too. The hosts were Night and Day; stealthmuffin and thomascantor came as Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter. There was also a Pantalone (from the commedia dell'arte), a Crazy 88 member, and a White Witch.