kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall, but you go on

I am currently reading Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, and it has taken me nearly a week to get through less than 100 pages. I suppose it's because it's not particularly gripping me. Which is not to say it doesn't interest me, because it does. Parts of it give me the same sorts of feeling as the bits of House of Leaves that I like (i.e. the parts about the house).

I'm frustrated with the lack of detail - as far as I'm concerned, all the characters are amorphous blobs who probably look human and have faces but...IDK. I know that sort of fits with the fact that they're not meant to refer to each other by name (only by their job titles) and so on but. It just. I don't know. I think I expected it to be wordier?

Hmm. This all makes me sound like I like it less than I do, which is untrue.

OH ALSO! When I requested a hold for this book, the copy in my local library was out. I checked the catalogue the other day to see what other Jeff VanderMeer books they have in the system and not only has the local copy been returned now (I could've saved myself the request fee!) but the person who had it has asked the library to get the next one! So at least I will be able to read that, eventually.

I also discovered, searching for the books on Wordery, that Mr VanderMeer has written a short story or comic for the Halo universe, and now I am intrigued (I think it's a comic because the details also listed illustrators, but I'm way too lazy/not that bothered to check).

~

I listened to a documentary about chiptunes, but I think it was aimed at people who didn't really know what they were, or how they are made. Which is fair enough. (I suppose Radio Four listeners aren't the sort of people who are into chiptunes, but I don't know what sort of person the average R4 listener is anyway).

I did learn that The Archers theme tune sounds better as a chiptune, so ??? (I guess it has the right amount of bounciness to it? Chiptunes, to me, seem to be inherently bouncy*, so that works for that).

*I read somewhere recently-ish that a good method for studying is to put a game soundtrack on, because the music is often very driving, and there to keep you focussed on the game, so the same principle should work for studying. This is more true of older soundtracks than newer ones, though. But that's presumably why so much music from games in the eighties/early nineties has that bounciness to it. Does this even make any sense to anyone? I haven't been sleeping well recently.