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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2238 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 30, 2026

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So, what are you reading?

I finished al-Ghazali's Banes of the Tongue, which was well worth the read. I can dimly see some aspects of Islam, and in particular the hadith "Beware of the believer's intuition because he sees by the light of God" has caught my eye. There is a sense of leaving uncovered what God has covered and not speaking about what doesn't concern you; in particular, if one is gossiped to, the gossip says more about the gossiper than the one who is spoken about. It has kindled an interest in ways of knowing which might arise from an Islamic mindset.

What is forbidden is supposition [about another's alleged evil ways], and supposition is an expression of what the soul believes is reliable, and the heart inclines toward. God says, O you who have believed, avoid much negative assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin [Q. 49:12]. The reason for its unlawfulness is because the secrets of the hearts are known only to the Knower of the unseen, so it is not for you to believe in another’s wickedness unless it is disclosed to you by observation and cannot be explained away.

The book is quite comprehensive, talking about things like arguments, joking, praising or being praised, and I'm sure to be revisiting this often.

I read three books last week: The Letter of Marque, instalment 12? 13? in the Aubrey-Maturin series. Very fun book as usual, including maybe the funniest subplot about opioid addiction ever?

Also read A Canticle for Leibowitz, a sci-fi classic I had never got around to. My Dad mentioned he had it for assigned reading in grade 10 back in the day. Deserving classic, very interesting premise with great execution, handles multiple different tones very well and builds up to a terrific finale.

Also because of his death I read John Crowley's short fiction collection. Never read him before, sort of a "magical realist" along the lines of Borges or JG Ballard. Enjoyed it on the whole, especially the novella "The Great Work of Time."

The Letter of Marque, instalment 12?

I think yes, 12. Though The Golden Ocean and The Unknown Shore are both worth reading at some point, they are not part of the Aubrey-Maturin universe.

I recommend setting aside a decent block to read the next five novels as a reasonably tightly woven block, which The Letter of Marque sets the stage for. Though, as @CertainlyWorse says, it's not the first of the continuing voyages of Aubrey and Maturin.

Thankyou for the shoutout.

I'm still in somewhat of a reader's depression at the end of the series. I haven't found its like.

To anyone that has not yet read the Aubrey Maturin series, I highly recommend it. As someone wittier than myself put it, 'It's Jane Austen for boys.'

It's Jane Austen for boys.

I ended up unironically reading Austen after, because I couldn't find anything else to fill the hole it left. Makes a lot more sense once you are used to the social norms from Aubrey-Maturin.

Did you include 21, The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey, in your circumnavigation? I like that it ends unfinished, like the series can just keep sailing, with our heroes continuing their never-ending adventures. Though I know some people prefer a sense of finality with an "ending" from Blue at the Mizzen.

Ha, I was going to comment that this novel really feels the most of the series like it starts and ends at arbitrary points (which I find charming, as no modern novelist would do so). Or maybe it was the previous, which literally cuts mid-scene. I thought they were really going to go to Chile in this novel, as it was set up as their next voyage in the previous. But come the end of the novel they still haven't got around to it!

I recently read Angel Down, half the gimmick of which was that it pretended to start and end mid-event. It's nonsense of course, the beginning and end points were deliberately chosen by the author and there's a clear narrative arc in between.

The Solar cycle by Gene Wolfe also has a habit of cutting out the transitions between books. Supposedly it was out of protest against a publisher who wouldn't let Wolfe finish his books as he liked, but maybe it pulls double-duty for allowing him to leave out some parts he himself considered boring. Or maybe he just liked leaving more mysteries around. Wouldn't surprise me.

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