Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

I haven't done an actual "recent reading" post since summer, though I've been recording authors and titles as I went. So, here's a somewhat sketchy three-month book writeup, including books I realized I didn't need to finish.

( book discussion, cut for length: Abraham, Taylor, McHugh, Beagle, Petroski, Pratchett, Gentle, Thurber )