Surprising reading and the earth moved

 I was surprised to find, when I tried this collection of short stories

which involve faery, magic, real history and what if kind of musing, that I really like this writer.

 She's knowledgeable and good humored and she absolutely knows how to tell a story. This is an audiobook to accompany stitching. I've got it on a library site, but it's on youtube too, same recording.

I've now downloaded her much earlier Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell, as an ebook on my kindle. 

In other news: there was an earthquake during the night about half an hour from my house. Which I slept through, didn't even interrupt my dreams. I found out this morning in the news. If I still had cats I'd have known, because they would have gone into total hiding a couple of days earlier, unfindable.

We do get earthquakes but they're easily mistaken for a train passing, not a big deal. The last one I noticed was years ago, shortly after Handsome Partner died. I was in his bank with an officer, closing his account. The building swayed and creaked and shook.

 We finished signing and I cracked the old joke: did the earth move for you? Too late realized that someone from another culture 1. Doesn't make sex jokes 2. Never heard of this one.

 Anyway she said well, of course, it was an earthquake, as if I was a bit slow and needed help to understand..