Ronincats Returns to Read in 2018

I’m Roni in San Diego and I’ve been a member of the 75 book challenge group since 2008. I have a husband, 6 cats, 1 dog, a garden, many books, and am retired. I spend my time reading, gardening, crocheting, and making pottery and wire jewelry.

My main focus in reading is in speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy) but I also try to read at least a dozen nonfiction books per year and am keeping up, more or less, with 4 mystery series. Welcome to my thread.

Goals for 2018:

1. Read 150 books and 50,000 pages. So 2017 was the second year in a row that I didn’t meet this goal, reaching 141 books and 47,024 pages, but it is still quite doable.
2. Read at least 40 books off my own bookshelves (BOMBs). I have 295 books tagged “tbr” and that does not count my new acquisitions this month. Books acquired last year that I did not get read number 45. I only read 32 BOMBs this year, not meeting my high goal of 50. In two days, all of my books will be BOMBs.
3. It looks like I have been averaging about 85 books acquired for the last 6 years, so I will keep the goal of acquiring no more than 85 books. I need to do better at de-accessioning books from my stash, however, than I did this year (29). I will set the goal of 50 books out the door once more.

Best of 2017

Nonfiction:

It has been an outstanding year for nonfiction. Out of 23 books read, I easily have a top 5, oops, 6 spanning a wide range of areas.


John Adams by David McCullough
Dancing at the Edge of the World by Ursula Le Guin
The Dark Side by Jane Mayer
Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
Hidden Figures by Margot Shetterly
Evicted by Matthew Desmond

Top Non-speculative Fiction Reads:

Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Most Fun Reads:

All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Frogkisser! by Garth Nix
Arabella of Mars by David Levine

New Books out by my FAVORITE Authors (all in series):

Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan—final Lady Trent book
The Gathering Edge by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller—Liaden
Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner—Queen’s Thief
The Gates of Tagmeth by P. C. Hodgell—The Kencyrath Chronicles
The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire—Toby Daye
Vallista by Steven Brust—Dragaera
The Penric novellas by Lois McMaster Bujold—World of Five Gods

Best SF New to Me:

Provenance by Ann Leckie
A Matter of Oaths by Helen Wright
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Best Fantasy New to Me:

Heartstone by Elle Katharine White
Borderline by Mishell Baker
A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne
Kingfisher by Patricia McKillip

2017 Summary

Books read: 142
Pages read: 47,365
Average pages per day: 333
Average pages per book: 403

New reads: 124
Rereads: 18
Library books: 55
Books off the shelf: 32
New acquisitions read: 2 (purchased new)

Genre:
science fiction 22
fantasy 71
children's 13
nonfiction 23
fiction 3
romance 2
mystery 11

Author gender: 98 female, 46 male

Country of origin: USA 6, England 3

Books acquired: 82
Source: PaperBackSwap-6, Amazon-40 (31 Kindle), gifts-11, Early Reviewers-5, Mysterious Galaxy-15, Other-5
Read: 37
Genre: science fiction-18, fantasy-43, children's-3, nonfiction-16, fiction-2, romance-1, mystery-0
Cost: $425.53

Books out the door: 28

Book #1 Neogenesis by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (435 pp.)

Oh MY! This is NOT the place to start for those new to the Liaden Universe, but so many threads are gathered up here, it is very satisfying.

Many series have gone to the broader stage as they progressed and became more complex, such as David Weber's Honor Harrington series or Elizabeth Moon's Heris Serrano series, and thus become more political and less personally satisfying. Lee and Miller keep the focus personal and thus engaging, but the cost is the frequent shifting of points of view and the risk of losing track of characters. Nonetheless, one picks up the threads as one reads along and it is very good.

Book #2 Behind the Throne by K. B. Wagers (423 pp.)

Amazon has been advertising the Kindle version of this for 99¢ recently, and made me realize I had purchased it in December of 2016 (so it's a BOMB! Book off my Bookshelves). It's a fun read, very good for a first novel. Set in the Indranan Empire, a planet colonized by settlers of Indian culture in the distant past and a matriarchy due to events inthe early colonization period, the world-building is well-done and the characters are well-drawn, with lots of action. It's the kind of adventure science fiction that I enjoy reading. Now, though, the sequels are $9.99 on Kindle and that's rather steep for me.

Book #3 God Stalk by P. C. Hodgell (284 pp.)

I tried to go slow on this re-read, but lost the battle last night! This needs to be the last time I physically read this paperback--the 35 year-old pages are yellowed and brittle and I lost two corners off the front cover on this read. That's okay, I have the hardback omnibus with the story in it.

Some people may have noticed that we are doing a group read of this book this January, so it will be showing up a lot on the threads. There are 22 of us who have committed and checked in, as well as 4 who expressed an interest but haven't been around yet, and that is a huge group. I know that not everyone will end up sticking with it, but it is not a difficult read and so far everyone who has started seems to be enjoying it. I have loved this book for 35 years and think it is undeservedly below the radar for most fantasy readers, hence the promotion. For 15 years, there was no access to a sequel, and then only through Meisha Merlin Publishing in hardback. Finally, Baen took over as publisher and made all the books to date accessible. So, although this is the first of a series, it also works as a stand-alone, albeit with some unfinished business.

Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis (168 pp.)

I had enjoyed several earlier historical fantasies by this author and when this one came up on Amazon last fall, it sounded like fun--a fantasy set in a Regency-like alternative England. And it was fun, just the sort of light reading I needed today. Warning, though--this is basically a Regency romance with magic and elves (the glamorous scary type). But I enjoyed the heroine and the world-building and the atmosphere, so when the next one comes out, I will undoubtedly read it.



Book #5 Cloudbound by Fran Wilde (396 pp.)

Last year, Wilde's Updraft was nominated for numerous awards. A YA with highly original world-building, it deserved the acclaim. I've had its sequel out from the library for months now. I have renewed it for the five allowed 3 week periods and can't renew it any more so I finally finished it. Putting a society back together after tearing it apart is always more difficult, and that conflict slowed my reading. This is also the middle book of a trilogy (I think. At least three books, anyway) and so the politics is not resolved but a lot of new information about the unique environment certainly came out. Glad I went ahead and finished this.

Welcome back!

Thanks, Jenn!

Book #6 Dark of the Moon by P. C. Hodgell (354 pp.)

I have to confess that when I first read this book, 17 years after God Stalk, I was underwhelmed. But when I read it now and see all the fore- and past-shadowing, I appreciate the complexity and enjoy the story more than ever! Can't say much about it for fear of spoilering all those reading the first book right now, but hell, I'm going to have to move through the entire series.



Book #7 Seeker's Mask by P. C. Hodgell (526 pp.)

Third book in the series sees Jame continuing her disruptive influence and learning more about Rathillien.

Love these Meisha Merlin covers. Here's my other one:

Book #8 To Ride a Rathorn by P. C. Hodgell (452 pp.)

Since the Women's Quarters didn't work out, Jame is enrolled at the Randon's school at Tentir, which has its own secrets.

And today...



Book #9 Bound in Blood by P. C. Hodgell (308 pp.)

The year continues. And so does the story, unabated.

To Ride a Rathorn is still a Meisha Merlin publication, but unfortunately with a new cover artist. Still, it is far better than that for Bound in Blood, the first of Baen's publications. After hearing Jame bemoan her lack of breast endowment for 4 books, it is rather disconcerting seeing a decidedly buxom figure astride the rathorn on this cover. The blouse/vest looks like one that actresses wear to the Academy Awards, you know, the ones where the breasts are only about a third covered and it opens to the navel. Definitely not Jame's style.

Book #10 Honor's Paradox by P. C. Hodgell (267 pp.)

Book 6 of the series, which means I can't say much without spoilers for earlier books. Several of the subplots advance, and the stage is set for much more in the next book.



Book #11 Sea of Time by P. C. Hodgell (368 pp.)

Next book in the series, new venue, explication.
:)



Book #12 The Gates of Tagmeth by P. C. Hodgell (368 pp.)

Last completed book of the series, #8, but the author is working on #9. Hopefully we will get it before 2020. This one actually has something major happening in the final pages and we don't get to see the consequences!

Book #13 The Birds' Christmas Carol by Kate Wiggins Douglas

Someone in the 100 book challenge group had this on their yearly Christmas read list and, since the library had it and I have liked other Kate Douglas Wiggin books, I ordered it and read it. It is very sweet and sentimental and moralistic without being too heavy-handed, but definitely in the style of the times in which it was written. Can't say it will be a favorite of mine, but interesting nonetheless.



Book #14 To Visit The Queen by Diane Duane (367 pp.)

This is the second of a series about the feline wizards who "man" the worldgates that allow wizards to travel between places on earth and around the galaxy (see Young Wizards series). Much as I love the concept, these books always seem drier than the Young Wizards books, perhaps due to all the technical details about the mechanics of the gates. This is a reread before reading for the first time the third and final book in this series. Here, our team is called to London to trouble-shoot a gate problem, which turns out to involve an alternate Earth and the assassination of Queen Victoria in the past timeline. The Lone Power, as usual, is causing problems.



Book #15 Blood & Ivory: A Tapestry by P. C. Hodgell (229 pp.)

This review by bmig captures my thoughts exactly, so I'm posting it here:

I'm enjoying it, because I like Hodgell's books, and I'm happy to read more of Jamethiel Priest's-Bane regardless. The stories so far are fairly slight, giving more depth to backstory already established in the series. It's for fans, and I'm a fan, so that works out nicely. It probably wouldn't appeal to someone who hadn't read the series, or to someone who wasn't also interested in how a writer develops a character. Jame has been with Hodgell since her teens or childhood, by the looks of it, and has gone through many settings and incarnations. I had a little thrill of confirmation to see that Tai-tastigon was intentionally a Fritz Leiber setting, because that's what I thought it was back when I first began reading.

The other point is that this was published back in 2002, at which point it provided some major reveals, but most of the material here is incorporated into full-length books published since then. Only for completists.

Book #16 The Big Meow by Diane Duane (397 pp.)

You know what I hate. It's when you have the work page up of a book you want to add, right there on LibraryThing, and you click on "Add to My Books" and the page comes up and the work is nowhere to be found. Now, I understand that this is an ebook published by EbooksDirect.com and sold from the author's website and that it won't show up on Amazon. But I had the book in my sights. Why couldn't it just show me what I want to add in this case? And how can I force it?

Anyhow, this is the third and last Feline Wizards book, set in mid-20th century Hollywood with Damon Runyon as a major character. Rather noirish. The cats save the world again, Rhiow may finally get some R&R.



Book #17 Legacy by James H. Schmitz (346 pp.)

Also known as A Tale of Two Clocks when it was originally published in 1962, this is another reread. Schmitz was outstanding for his time for using female protagoists. He has a series of stories around Trigger Argee, featured here, and Telzey Amberdon, smart capable women taking center stage at a time when that was not the norm, and one of my favorite science fiction books, The Demon Breed. I've mentioned that book before, I know. Still fun 1960s adventure story involving aliens and starships and mysterious plasmoids.

Book #18 The Hounds of Spring by Lucy Andrews Cummin (161 pp.)

This is a day in the life of Poppy as she moves through her dog-walking appointments, meets her brother at the airport and accompanies her boyfriend to the doctor, then takes her brother out to her mother's health. So simple, yet in just a few pages vibrant and distinct characters and their backstories are sketched in unforgettable detail, including both humans and dogs. The settings and atmospheres of different settings don't overwhelm but are intensely present in the story as well. I loved the writing and the story, and would have even if the author were not our own Lucy (sibyx).

When this book showed up yesterday morning, I set aside the new book in one of my favorite series, Cast in Deception, which was published yesterday, to read it. So feel very, very complimented, Lucy! But I finished this during the night and this morning.



Book #19 Cast in Deception by Michelle Sagara (512 pp.)

This is the 13th book in the Chronicles of Elantra series. I very much enjoy the complex world-building and the characters of the series, but this one drug a little for me in the middle. A lot of action for relatively small progress. I wonder if some of this was because I read the first 12 books one immediately after the other, but it's been over a year since the last one came out. Still, I enjoyed being back with Kaylin and company.



Book #20 Strange Tomorrow by Jean E. Karl (135 pp.)

This is one of those post-apocalyptic or dystopic stories written for children in the 70s and 80s by authors like H. M. Hoover, Wilanne Schneider Belden, Peter Dickinson, and others. Aliens cleanse the earth of all life--but there are some humans deep enough to survive. This follows the story of two Janies, one at the time of the disaster, another several generations later, and their survival. I actually enjoy these books.

Book #21 The Earl's Return by Emma Lange (224 pp.)

A friend gave me this several years ago and it's been sitting on the TBR shelf and I decided to clear it out. I almost quite after the first few pages, but persevered and it was a quick read. A prototypical Regency romance, with thwarted young love and copious misunderstandings along with irresistible physical urges, it's no worse than many if not containing the humor and characterization that might be desired.



Book #22 A Weekend with Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly (346 pp.)

Chicklit, along the lines of Austenland, with a weekend at a manor immersed in all things Austen, and entertaining due to that more than the obligatory romance(s).

And that's three ROOTS in a row, 6 for the year, at least two of them rather elderly.

Book #23 Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (214 pp.)

This has been on my shelves for years, along with its sequel, which I will read next. I like Smith's books--adventure fantasies with a hint or more of romance. Only a hint in this book. LT suggests that readers who like this will like The Thief and The Blue Sword and you can't be in any better company than that. I would not put this tale quite at that level, but spending this time with Mel(iara) as she is chased around the kingdom by the evil king and does some growing up is a lot of fun.



Book #24 Court Duel by Sherwood Smith (245 pp.)

This continues Mel's story, dealing with issues unresolved in Crown Duel. Still a light YA read but perhaps not as much fun as the first.



Book #25 The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett illustrated by Paul Kidby (176 pp.)

Cohen the Barbarian has gotten bored with being Emperor and after Old Vincent dies of choking on a cucumber, decides to go out with a bang with his gang of Heroes (all of whom are pretty old and decrepit at this stage). He is going to return the gift of the gods to their abode of Dunmanifestin, atop the central and highest mountain in the Discworld. This book, abundantly illustrated, tracks his journey while Ponder Stibbons and Leonardo da Quirm work on ways to stop him, because if he succeeds, the world ends--for everyone. We have all the old crew here, whether the Librarian, Captain Carrot, Ridcully, Rincewind, Death, swamp dragons or Evil Harry the Dread Lord. And I think I can safely say a good time was had by all--of the Barbarians, at least. Also lots of gorgeous artwork.

January Summary

Books read: 25
Pages read: 7786
Average pages per day: 251
Average pages per book: 311

New reads: 13
Rereads: 12
Library books: 2
Books off the shelf (ROOTS): 8
New acquisitions read: 3 (purchased new)
Did Not Finish (DNF): 0

Genre:
science fiction 4
fantasy 17
children's 2
nonfiction 0
fiction 1
romance 2
mystery 0

Author gender: 22 female, 3 male

Country of origin: USA 22, England 2, Wales 1

Medium: Kindle 6, Hardback 9, trade paper 6, mass market paper 4

Books acquired: 5
Source: Amazon - 3, Good Will - 2
Read: 2 read this month
Genre: science fiction-1, fantasy-1, nonfiction-3
Cost: $39.97

Books out the door: none but I have 5 of my ROOTS ready to go.

Book #26 A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin (186 pp.)

PawsforThought has organized a group read of Le Guin after her death last month and I plan to reread the 6 Earthsea books as a result. Well, actually five of them, and the sixth I have but have never read. One reason is that there is a 18 year gap between the original trilogy and the fourth book. The fifth book is a collection of her short stories set in Earthsea, and then the sixth book was published 11 years after the fourth. Le Guin's conceptualization of fantasy and of the role of women in fantasy changed and matured dramatically over that time and this is reflected in the tenor of the later books, and is something I want to explore during this reread.

The first book introduces us to the young wizard Ged in his formative years and his first major works as he deals with the consequences of a deed done in pride and anger. The language is high fantasy, formal story-telling mode, and both this and Ged's early personality can be off-putting to some readers, but it is a beautiful tale of friendship and redemption. Very much not in the modern style, it is sparse and saga-like in its treatment of motivation and character in its 186 pages published in 1968, with the emphasis on the movement of the story itself.



Book #27 The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin (147 pp.)

I can remember when this book first came out. I was stunned, yes, taken aback, and not so sure I approved of the change in POV from Ged to this unknown girl, Arha, the Eaten One. It was not only unusual but perhaps unheard of for an epic fantasy to do this, and to have it be a girl...WTF!! Le Guin continues with the formal language proper to the genre in laying out Tenar's history and the setting for half the book--and then Ged appears. We see him as Tenar sees him, with all her biases and limited experience. By now, I am in love with the book and also with Ged. By the end, I am also in love with Tenar.



Book #28 The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin (197 pp.)

Taking place nearly 25 years after the previous book, Earthsea is experience a draining of magic and productivity across the archipelago. While the wizards of Roke debate, Ged takes action in seeking the source, accompanied by a young prince who came bringing word of the fading of magic in his own island of Enlad. Once again the POV shifts in this book and we see Ged and his actions through that prince, Arren. An epic voyage brings the two at last to the westernmost island of Selidor, scene of an epic battle between man and dragon long ago, still sung about. A true classic, this will linger in the mind for a long time.



Book #29 Tehanu by Ursula Le Guin (253 pp.)

Tehanu begins a few days before the end of The Farthest Shore. It inevitably contains spoilers for the previous books, so most of this will be undercover. However, one thing to note before moving to spoiler space--this book is from Tenar's POV and Le Guin is no longer using the formal epic style of language.
This reflects Tenar's choices in life. Rather than remain with Ogion as his pupil, she chose the life of wife and mother of two children, now grown, and her husband dead. No more formal style, now we are dealing with "ordinary" life with "ordinary" language. Called to Ogion's deathbed, she lingers at his cottage until Kalessin deposits Ged there. Emptied of all that his life has been previously, Ged is suffering from deep depression and loss of sense of self and spends much of the book healing. Tenar is exploring, with the help of Moss the village witch, the sense of who women are and what the male mages might be shutting out of their world that has value, as she searches for her own role now that her life as wife and mother is over. Tenar is not who she was 25 years ago. I do not get a sense of a "personality transplant" as someone (Paws) mentioned, but of choices and growth that have transformed her in many ways, but left the central core intact. I agree that the interactions with the mage of the lord of Re Albi were the most disturbing, signifying all that was rotten with the system of magery and power that existed prior to the return of the King. Especially his power over Tenar. But they also present the major dramatic conflict and resolution of the book, and so I see them as necessary. As a woman, now, older that Tenar at this point, I love this book and her character in a way I could not have done when it came out in 1990.

Note: I had only read Tehanu once before, probably 28 years ago, and remembered very, very little of it.

Book #30 Tales from Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin (296 pp.)

I have a beautiful, pristine first-edition hardback copy of this, with lovely maps on the inside covers, in color! And I remember nothing of it. I don't know if I ever read it back when I bought it from Borders in 2001. I know I didn't read the final book after I bought it. And so I am going to count this as a new read and a book off my shelf (ROOT). There are five tales of varying length, ranging from the founding of Roke to nearly 20 years after the events of Tehanu and they are interesting in the way that short stories are in filling in background and describing events that were not covered in the main books. Not the place to start reading about Earthsea, though.



Book #31 The Other Wind by Ursula Le Guin (246 pp.)

This book concludes the second trilogy of Earthsea, written some 20 years after the first one. By the time Le Guin came to write this second set, she had come to see gaps in her creation, and assumptions that bothered her. There is an excellent review by "Anne" on Goodreads, where she says, "In The Other Wind Ursula Le Guin has the guts to examine her world for its flaws and inconsistencies and successfully address them within its own myth. Earthsea is still recognizably Earthsea, but more soundly so." I think she succeeded in both deepening and broadening her world--and I'm sure I appreciate this much more now than I would have in my early 20s when I read and loved the first trilogy.

After reading much fewer than usual rereads last year, I seem to be making up for lost time. I always intended, after Diana Wynne Jones' death in 2011, to reread her Dalemark Quartet. The Spellcoats was one of the first of her books I ever read, well over 30 years ago, and read the others over the next ten years, and I don't think I ever read them together as one integrated read--if I did, I've forgotten it. I've read and reread most of her other books much more recently, so it was, and is, time.



Book #32 Cart and Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones (214 pp.)

The first three volumes of Diana Wynne Jones's spellbinding quartet of novels were originally published in this country in the 1970s, and soon won the mythical kingdom of Dalemark a place on the literary map.

Cart and Cwidder, the first of these intriguing novels, relates the fortunes of Clennen and his family, itinerant musicians who travel the villages of Dalemark in their colorful cart. With warring earldoms and spies everywhere, there is little contact between the North and South of the country, and so the musicians often carry news-and sometimes, as now, a passenger. Who is this Kialan? Is there any connection between him and the sudden violence that overtakes them? The family's fate and Kialan's are bound together in terror and flight-and in music, for the songs of Dalemark mean more than they say. from Amazon.

In internal chronology, The Spellcoats come first although it was the third written (it's a kind of pre-history), and the fourth book was written 15 years after the others. I think I'll read it next as there are references to it in Drowned Ammet, and I'll react to the books as a whole after I finish.



Book #33 The Spellcoatsby Diana Wynne Jones (279 pp.)
Book #34 Drowned Ammet by Diana Wynne Jones (312 pp.)
Book #35 The Crown of Dalemark by Diana Wynne Jones (471 pp.)

The first three books of this quartet were published in the mid to late 1970s and I read them then. The final book was published in 1993 and I don't think I found it until over 10 years later. I'm not sure I've ever read all four consecutively. These are children's fantasy, set in an alternative world of somewhat medieval character, as so many of them are. The Spellcoats is prehistory, occurring long before the other three books, and so shares no characters, while the other three are interconnected in "modern" Dalemark and deal with political oppression and freedom fighting as a background to the children's characters. These were some of Jones' earliest novels and more traditional than most, I would say, but The Spellcoats is both original and beautiful, a true classic.

Book #36 The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden (383 pp.)

Futuristic science-fiction/fantasy set in South Africa, this is the author's debut novel. It took me quite a while to read as I did so in short segments due to two features of the book--the multiple viewpoint characters and quite a bit of violence. Both always affect my ability to lose myself in a book and I had to force my way through. That said, the characters are wonderfully diverse, but by splitting my time between 5 major viewpoint characters, I had trouble getting close to any of them. Similarly, there are nearly half a dozen major story threads weaving themselves through the book, and it was not until nearly the end that everything began to link up and make sense and carry me along with it. It is brash, modern, fast-moving, kaleidoscopic--the author definitely has potential! And she spends a large paragraph in her acknowledgements thanking a certain Richard Derus for his mentoring in making her an author! Way to go, Richard!!

>Book #37 Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce (218 pp.)
>Book #38 In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce (211 pp.)
>Book #39 The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce (228 pp.)
>Book #40 Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce (308 pp.)

These books came out when I was in my thirties and so I was not the target audience when I encountered them. I am rereading Pierce now because she has just released the first book of a new series focused on a character we meet in the Tortall books (although in the next series, not this one) and it's been so long since I read them that I didn't remember anything besides his name. This series is very beloved of many who read them as young girls and women and loved this tale of Alanna disguising herself as a boy and earning her Knighthood and then figuring out what she wants to do in this medievalistic alternative world. Reading it as an adult, this first series by Pierce is definitely not her best writing, but foreshadows her continuing concerns with personal liberty, acceptance, and respect embedded throughout her books. Yes, her heroines tend to be Mary Sues, but her kingdom of Tortall and its world are enjoyable places to visit and interesting people to think about. Continuing on into The Immortals quartet.



Book #41 Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce (299 pp.)
Book #42 Wolf-Speaker by Tamora Pierce (281 pp.)
Book #43 Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce (294 pp.)
Book #44 The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce (281 pp.)

I am too old for this series. Pierce's books are labeled YA, but I'd really put them at 12-13 year old girls optimum level. I know Daine's story of her discovery of her wild magic and her heritage, and of Tortall's problems both with Carthak and the immortals the Carthakian mages have unleashed on the mortal world, are some readers' favorites. While I agree with Pierce's ecological issues, I feel they come more to the fore in the story than I like, becoming preachy and obvious. And then there is Daine, seen from age 13 to 16. While Alanna was nearly perfect, she had to work very hard for it. Daine, although granted she had to suffer because of it, is able to use her "natural" gifts to destroy whole cities without much training at all. And there's too much "deus ex machina" in these stories--granted, that's because the gods are present a whole bunch in this quartet!! And then there's the relationship with Numair...

So, I'm not going straight on to the Protector of the Small quartet as I'd originally planned. I need a break. And I have to decide if I want to keep these on my shelves. That's 12 paperbacks that could move off and make room for books I am more likely to reread again. These, I can always get from the library. But what to do with them? I gave the Circle of Magic books, which I do really like, to my school library, thinking them quite age appropriate. I have concerns about giving these books to that library because in the first quartet, Alanna does engage in sex as a young and unmarried woman. I actually like the way Pearce makes it normal and no big deal, but in an elementary school library? Nothing so explicit in this quartet, other than the recognition of the romantic relationship at the end, but still a large age imbalance. I don't remember if there is anything in the last quartet that would be objectionable.

Book #45 Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt (219 pp.)

Schmidt does his usual excellent story-telling work, but this tale, based on a true historical event, is truly heart-breaking.



Book #46 Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor (308 pp.)

This was so good! And it was her FIRST book! Amazing! Yes, it's a children's book, but very well-written and excellent world-building and very entertaining.

Both of these last two are not only books off my shelves (ROOTS) but also will be some of the 6 books I am donating to the Otis School library when I go to read to classrooms for Read Across America Day on Tuesday.



Book #47 Omens by Kelley Armstrong (487 pp.)

Peggy (LizzieD) strongly recommended this book and my local library branch had it so I picked it up. The book is very readable--I read it in two days and it flowed smoothly throughout. The characters are interesting although their situations (she, confused and trying to find her balance; he, unfeeling, obnoxious, potentially redeemable) are very predictable and so common in urban fantasy that it often puts me off the genre. This first book barely scratches the surface of what is going on, only hints of fantasy, and I probably will continue the series, especially since I've already ordered the second book from another library branch.

February Summary

Books read: 22
Pages read: 6424
Average pages per day: 229
Average pages per book: 292

New reads: 6
Rereads: 16
Library books: 2
Books off the shelf (ROOTS): 4
New acquisitions read: 0
Did Not Finish (DNF): 0

Genre:
science fiction 1
fantasy 20
children's 1
nonfiction 0
fiction 0
romance 0
mystery 0

Author gender: 21 female, 1 male

Country of origin: USA 18, England 4

Medium: Kindle 0, Hardback 5, trade paper 1, mass market paper 16

Books acquired: 2
Source: Used Book Stores - 2
Read: 0 read this month
Genre: science fiction-2
Cost: $6.29

Books out the door: 7, all ROOTS
PaperBackSwap 2
Donated to school library 5

This was the month of the rereads, with 4 of Le Guin's Earthsea books, 4 of Diana Wynne Jones' Dalemark series, and 8 of Tamora Pierce's Tortall series. However, I also read 4 books off my shelves, the final two Earthsea books and two Children's books that were then donated. The other two were a science fiction and a fantasy from the library.

Happy to see you have caught up with your reviews; they're always interesting to read! Your reviews of Le Guin's Earthsea series reminded me I've been meaning to reread them for years (and also read the fifth and sixth books which I have not yet read).

I have to read the Earthsea series - they sound wonderful. The only Le Guin book I've read is The Dispossessed, which I loved.

So sorry, I've really been neglecting this thread! I'm going to catch up now.



Book #48 The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (800 pp.)

I may have started this book, lo, those many years ago, but I certainly never finished it. I would have remembered. Even after over 20 years. Anyway, I had picked up this paper copy after Sanderson finished the series, figuring I would get back to it eventually. Now, spurred on by the Tor read-along as well as the desire to get the physical book off my shelves (I had also gotten the Kindle version at some point as a 99¢ special and that turned out to be more convenient to read), I have started the series once more, and this definitely counts as a ROOT, a book off my shelves. Classic epic fantasy here, owing a lot to Tolkien and even more to the tropes of epic fantasy, this series is so beloved of so many that I have to read it just to maintain my reputation of being knowledgeable about the genre!! I would have bought the next books for my Kindle, but they are still around $10 there, so I have the next on order from the library.



Book #49 The Witches of Echo Park by Amber Benson (294 pp.)

Well, that was a waste of $7.99 and a couple of hours. Should have read the reviews here on LT before picking it up on a whim at the bookstore. Her first series, Death's Daughter, was better even if it wasn't my cup of tea. The obligatory sex scene, a lot of setting up situations, and dwelling on abusive relationships...won't be giving Benson another chance.



Book #50 The Dispatcher by John Scalzi (128 pp.)

To cleanse my palate, I read this novella by Scalzi, a science fictional exploration of a situation where persons who are killed come back to life in their home, stark naked. It's actually an interesting mystery set in this alternate world.

Book #51 Visions by Kelley Armstrong (449 pp.)

Continuing this urban fantasy series recommended by Peggy (LizzieD). Armstrong knows how to tell a story, and this keeps you reading, but doesn't pull me in or create any emotional attachments to the characters.



Book #52 Into the Fire by Elizabeth Moon (462 pp.)

I enjoy milsf by Moon--as a former Marine, she gets it right. This is the second book of the Vatta's Peace series, following the five-volume Vatta's War series. However, this series has been planet-bound following the opening scene and the detailed planning involved in rescuing personnel and thwarting a rebellion got to be a little claustrophobic. Still well done but not recommended unless you've read the previous 6 books. This could be the final book, but there is still one major loose cannon so maybe not.



Book #53 The Queen's House: A Social History of Buckingham Palace by Edna Healey (394 pp.)

Someone was reading this on the nonfiction challenge thread; it sounded interesting and the library had it, so this was my first nonfiction reading of the year. The early part was the most interesting, especially since I had recently finished a biography of George III. I now have a fairly good idea of the lineage of the British crown for the Hanoverian/Windsor line, at least.



Book #54 A Moment of Silence by Anna Dean (300 pp.)

A delightful mystery set in Regency England, I enjoyed it very much!

Because the movie is coming out (and I am not at all sure that they can successfully do this) I did a reread of Ready Player One.



Book #55 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (400 pp.)

I enjoyed this book just as much the second time through--it was one of my top books several years ago just for pure enjoyability. Improbably although parts might be, the world-building, nostalgia and characters carry it through into fun adventure.



Book #56 Call of Fire by Beth Cato (397 pp.)

I've been on the wait list for this at the library for several months. I do really, really like the world-building and the questioning of assumptions in this fantasy series (this is book 2) but found the story dragging for me at points.

Book #57 Black Panther #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates (144 pp.)

Enjoyed the encounter with the Fantastic Four in the final vignette (if my mom hadn't thrown them away, I would have had pristine copies of the original FF and X-Men comic books from the 60s) but there was no on-going story line here. It jumped about and seemed to presume some prior knowledge that I do not have. Some beautiful artwork, but left me confused.



Book #58 Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popovic (405 pp.)

I've been working on this book since early March. Pluses: it's set in Montenegro and uses Eastern European legends rather than Celtic, the language is rich and descriptive. Minuses: the plot seemed to move at a snail's pace and I had difficulty moving through the story. Until the end when everything happens in a rush, and then a cliff-hanger is dropped on us unexpectedly (Spoiler Alert: there will be a second book!). It's a debut novel and I feel like the pacing needs to be tightened up. Still, an interesting concept.



Book #59 Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor (500 pp.)

This follows Sunny of Akata Witch as she continues to discover what it means to be a Leopard Person and again has to confront an evil maskerade. The setting in Nigeria continues to catch the reader's interest, as does the magic system. One might wish Sunny to stop crying so much (and her allergy to certain elements of magic results in constant draining of sinuses), but she does eventually step up to the plate. This book meanders a bit more, I think, resulting in a slower pace, but I enjoyed the story.



Book #60 Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (465 pp.)

This children's fantasy was recommended by Anne (AMQS) last month, and it is totally delightful. I'm so glad she brought it to my attention and that the library had it. Intended for 4th through 7th grade levels, don't read it if you don't enjoy good children's fantasy. And be aware that it is the first of a proposed 7 book series. See her review here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/279706#6407514



Book #61 Besieged by Kevin Hearne (237 pp.)

These were interesting to persons familiar with the Iron Druid series and its characters, but would have little interest for newcomers, I would imagine. The amount of violence in these stories does seem concentrated when you get all these separate doses, methinks.

Book #62 After the Crown by K. B. Wagers (397 pp.)

This is pure unabashed space opera. Suspend disbelief and prepare to be entertained. The second book of a completed trilogy, this picks up where Behind the Throne left off and is pretty much nonstop action.



Book #63 Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (175 pp.)

This is the third of the Wayward Children series of novellas. Fortunately my library is investing in them, as I probably wouldn't pay that much for a novella. This seems to have been the most popular of the series so far judging from comments on LT and it is certainly the least violent and most typical of the fantasy genre, having a definite quest format, so I can see why. McGuire's fertile imagination in settings is on full display and it was an entertaining read that was not too demanding after a busy day.

And after I finished it, I went right on to my latest ER book.



Book #64 The Tale of Angelino Brown by David Almond (258 pp.)

I've been a David Almond fan since Skellig came out and my school librarian asked me to read it to be sure it was suitable for an elementary school audience. Offbeat fantasy for children is his genre, so I requested this book from Early Reviewers and was fortunate to win it.

This book would be perfect for second and third grade students, and a great read along with parents for that age group as well. The story is undeniably cute (not the usual Skellig adjective) and charming, with that distinctive British humour underlying the story's events. Lessons are learned, losses are made up, and all ends with a smile. Definitely recommended for its target audience; adults who are not into children's fantasy will probably not be amused.



Book #65 The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White (368 pp.)

This was a reread in preparation for reading the sequel, The Skill of Their Hands, which came out recently. It's rather a strange book, taking place mostly without much overt action. A lot happens in people's heads. That's the point.



Book #66 Altered Traits: Science reveals how meditation changes your mind, brain, and body by Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson (331 pp.)

I received an ARC of this book last year via the Early Reviewers program. This is only the second nonfiction I've completed this year, my pace being much slower than my usual one a month for some reason this year. It was a good summary and critique of the research done to date on meditation. Although technical, it was readable large in due part to the authors folding in some of their own life experiences with the practice. Recommended to anyone interested in meditation, with the caveat that it is not, and not intended to be, a how-to.



Book #67 Honor's Knight by Rachel Bach (359 pp.)

This is the second book of a trilogy. I almost Pearl-ruled it halfway through. It's space opera and with an interesting plot but I think the pacing was the problem for me. I did sally through and since I have the third book here from the library already I'll probably finish the series just to see what happens.

Book #68 Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce (465 pp.)

This is the backstory of a major character in the Wild Magic quartet. This one is about Arram's training, and although there are hints of the major event that is referred to in the quartet, we stop before that occurs. Not the place to start but definitely a must read for Tortall aficionados.



Book #69 A Lot Like Christmas by Connie Willis (519 pp.)

This book combines the short stories in Willis' Miracle and other Christmas Stories, the novella All Seated on the Ground and a selection of new short stories. I went through and read all the new stories first and tonight I am finishing up the rereads from the previous book. Willis loves Christmas and these stories clearly illuminate that. Recommended!



Book #70 To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (434 pp.)

When you are feeling lousy, nothing like a good comfort re-read!



Books #71 and 72. First Test and Page by Tamora Pierce (240 pp. & 268 pp.)

You may remember I was reading my Tamora Pierce with an eye to culling the paperbacks from my collection. She is popular enough that I would always be able to find her books at the library. I got a little YA'd out with the first eight books and took a break, but after reading the new one from the library and needing some light reads for my poor achy brow, I decided that finishing off the Protector of the Small Quartet was just what the doctor ordered. I had only read these books once before, unlike the others.They are perfect for the situation, and I am now working on the third book.



Books #73 & 74 Squire and Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce (409 pp. & 431 pp.)

I know I've read these before, but I remembered nothing of them, except that I like them better the second time around.



Book #75 Tricksters by Tamora Pierce (591 pp.)

This is an omnibus edition of the books Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen, books which feature Alanna's daughter, Aly (Alanna was the focus of Pierce's first quartet, Song of the Lioness. I like these books, but they are still YA from back when YA was the 12 to 16 year old range.

Book #76 The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty (533 pp.)

This book is receiving some buzz, and it probably deserves it. The world-building is intricate, the politics complex and reflecting some real-life issues. The Middle Eastern setting/mythology is well-done. I would say character development is weaker, but that may be in part because of my lack of enthusiasm for alternating chapters for the two POV characters. And this is clearly the first book of several--all of the figures we have gotten close to are dead, injured, banished, or trapped and a whole new dimension emerges.

ETA And when I went to my desktop this morning to add the image of the book, the listing clearly labels this as the first of an expected trilogy.



Book #77 Tricks for Free by Seanan McGuire (420 pp.)

The newest in the Incryptid series, this continues to follow Antimony as she hides out from the Covenant in a huge theme park. For Incryptid fans.



Book #78 Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor (164 pp.)
Book #79 Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor (208 pp.)

These are the second and third books of the Binti trilogy. Warned by others, I did not read the second book, which I purchased last year, before the third book became available from the library. Thank goodness! And thank you all, as well, for avoiding all spoilers so that I could experience the story as it rolled out before me. These will probably become a classic in the field.



Book #80 Heaven's Queen by Rachel Bach (379 pp.)

This is the third book of the Paradox series. The story is pure space opera with a "kick-ass heroine"--these seem to be a popular subgenre. It really isn't too bad, with some interesting universe-building going on and a lot of action. A little too romance-y in places but thankfully with really limited sex, it was tolerable. I went in fits and starts in these books and I don't know if it was the author's pacing or just me, but I would recommend them for the space opera lovers out there.



Book #81 The Flowers of Vashnoi by Lois McMaster Bujold (1380 KB)

Too short, but very, very good! Ekaterin rules!



Book #82 Scourged by Kevin Hearne (269 pp)

This was an absolutely excellent wrap-up of the series!

Book #83 Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel (191 pp.)

I've had this on my Kindle for a while, (April 2012), and the impetus to read it now was for the non-fiction challenge this month. This short book chronicles the work of John Harrison, self-taught clock-maker, and the quest for an accurate means of measuring longitude at sea, dominated by astronomers. Interesting but not outstanding.



Book #84 How Much For Just the Planet by John M. Ford (253 pp.)

This is an infamous book. Book 36 of the Star Trek oeuvre, and I don't read tie-in novels as a rule. But this particular book has become a classic and for years was very hard to find in print. When Klingon and Federation forces discover an "unclaimed" planet with rich lodes of dilithium, the material that powers spaceships, they each rush to the planet to get the inhabitants to choose THEM to mine the materials. But the inhabitants have other ideas. I only wish for an appendix telling me the musical score each of the songs is based upon. This is an out-and-out slapstick farce in the grand old tradition, a tour-de-force!



Book# 85 The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry 424 pp.)

Jenn (Nittnutt) sent me the ARC of this book that had been sent to her by Beth (BLBera) last year, which was much appreciated, and I just won the sequel from Early Reviewers last month so decided I really needed to get this one read. This is very atmospheric and ethereal in places, but it is NOT fantasy. Set in Victorian England, it focuses on several key characters as they interact with each other and with the settings, both Essex and London, which are almost characters in themselves. The characters are well-drawn, the settings even more so, and the plot is almost an extended character study fashioned around a few events.



Book #86 I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land by Connie Willis (88 pp.)

This short novella appears to be somewhat of a thought experiment. Obviously not fully developed. Interesting but not absorbing.



Book #87 The Scent of Magic by Andre Norton (388 pp.)

Lots of people seem to be rereading Andre Norton lately, from our own Richard Dear to several of the Tor.com bloggers. I have a complete collection of her books in dead-tree form and a number on the Kindle, and just felt like rereading this one. Being one of her later ones, I'd only read it once before and didn't remember any details. It starts strong, with two strong female protagonists, but ends up in the misty woo-woo land that so many of her later books do. Still one of her stronger ones at this point in her career.



Book #88 Foiled by Jane Yolen (160 pp.)

This book was recommended by Kelly (violetbramble) some time during the four years she was a member of the 75ers, 2009-2012, and I put it on my PaperBackSwap.com wishlist. And lo, at the end of March it showed up. This is a YA graphic novel and the first of a series. A lot of it is set-up about Aliera: her family, high school issues, and fencing. The fantastical elements don't show up until 2/3 of the way through the book and then they are surprising, puzzling and not yet understood. Still, I enjoyed what was there and thought it a great basis for a series. I picked it up because I am a Jane Yolen fan.



Book #89 No Time to Spare by Ursula K. Le Guin (240 pp.)

This is the final collection of blog posts by Le Guin, published before her death earlier this year. I did not find it as powerful or thought-provoking as Words are My Matter but Le Guin is always worth reading if only for her use of language, and the posts about Pard, her cat, are definitely entertaining.

Book #90 What Makes This Book So Great by Jo Walton (446 pp.)

I think I may have mentioned a bit ago that I got a pristine hardback copy of this book through PaperBackSwap.com in mid-May. I had read a library copy a couple of years ago and loved this collection of her blogs about books she was rereading at the time, and wanted a copy of my own. Of course, once I got it I couldn't resist reading it again, first the sections on Bujold's Vorkosigan series, Brust's Jhereg series, and Cheryh's Merchanter/Alliance series, all favorites, and then the varied individual books. Such a great reference!



Book #91 The Iron Khan by Liz Williams (358 pp.)

I also mentioned this book above. I had bought the ebook directly from the author when it wasn't making it into print, because I love this series set in an alternate Singapore with connections to the Chinese Hell and Heaven, making for some interesting political maneuvering, and our Detective Inspector Chen gets caught up in the middle of it all. Highly recommended original and fun fantasy crime procedural! And now it is available in paper as well. Hope she writes some more.



Book #92 A Gentleman of Fortune by Anna Dean (335 pp.)

Suzanne (Chatterbox) mentioned this series in 2010 and I put it on my wishlist, and then Lucy (sibyx) sent me a copy of the first book for Christmas. It's historical mystery set in the Regency period, not in the glittering world of the aristocracy but in the quieter countryside with the lesser nobility and country people. Dido Kent, an unmarried woman filling her role as an aunt did in those times, is a keen observer of people and setting and when a murder occurs at the estate where she is temporarily visiting with her niece, she cannot resist following where her curiosity leads. Austenites are likely to enjoy these mysteries particularly.



Book #93 Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge (266 pp.)

This is the bit of fluff I read at the hospital last Friday. Standard urban fantasy and the first of a series, it was an Amazon freebie that I had picked up on my Kindle. Exactly the sort of thing appropriate for whiling away a couple of hours in an emergency room. Yes, there are vampires and werewolves and witches, but not totally stereotypical and the only romance likely to develop is nipped in the bud by a murder. Fun at a very light level, and I haven't decided if I'm going to get the second book yet (for which I would have to pay actual money!) because I fear it may devolve. Guess I'll read the reviews of the later books and see.



Book #93 A Short History of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn and Edward James (285 pp.)

Heather (souloftherose) was reading this a short while ago and it sounded interesting. I bought it used online and my copy had a VERY opinionated previous owner who made copious comments throughout disagreeing with author choices. The key work here is SHORT. The authors cover a lot but so much is totally omitted; since both authors are British, a lot of the omitted work is American. Good for a Cliff Notes type of summary of the huge oeuvre of fantasy out there, but one longs for more depth.



Books # 94, 95, and 96 Terrier: the Legend of Beka Cooper, Bloodhound, Mastiff by Tamora Pierce (568, 551, 593 pp.)

I mentioned a while ago that I was deaccessioning most of my Tamora Pierce books after a final reread. I was all ready to pack up the 3 Tortall quartets, 12 mass market paperbacks, when Blue (bluesalamander) reported a reread of the Beka Cooper trilogy and I suddenly realized I had 3 HUGE hardbacks that I also needed to reread before donating all 15 books to the middle school across the street. And since this was a fairly recent series, I had only read the first book more than once. I think I liked them better this time, reading them altogether rather than reading them as they came out. I had absolutely no memory of the second and third book and so it was like reading them for the first time. Beka is an ancestor of George Cooper, an important character in the Alanna books, and she is a Dog, a member of the primitive emerging police force of the time. I thought the historical verisimilitude was quite well done, and the adventures were absorbing.

What Makes This Book So Great looks like an entertaining read. I picked up a copy a few months ago. But Im unsure whether I should only read the entries of books I've already read or read the whole thing? Wouldn't I get spoiled on books I haven't read yet?

>35 iftyzaidi: Hi, Ifti. Good to see you around this year. I found that her discussion just made me want to go buy the books I didn't know about and didn't find it very spoilery, BUT I had read and loved all the long series she was rereading (Bujold's Vorkosigan books, Brust's Vlad Taltos books, Cherryh's Alliance books) and I can imagine that talking about the later books might be spoilery for earlier books. On the other hand, with my memory, I won't remember any spoilers anyway! ;-)

And Ifti's post reminds me that I badly need to update my thread!



Book #97 The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker (563 pp.)

What to say? Warning: spoilers abound.

This is a portal fantasy (translation: person from this world ends up unexpectedly in another world, usually one with magic) that was so stereotypical in the first 60 pages that I set it down for weeks. I finally picked it up again this week (hell, I paid $17 for the MF) and after her escape from the illusions/magic of Faery, the story seemed to pick up again as Nora settles into the magician Aruendiel's castle doing household chores and then studying magic. For the next 400 pages. Then the Fae escape their reservation imprisonment and Aruendiel is captured and neutralized and then Nora finds him with the aid of an ice demon and frees him and they win (although the big baddie and her son escape) and then she returns back to Earth, sent by Aruendiel and another magician. And then the book ends.

This book suffered at the beginning with the same problem I had with The Magicians--I was bored and just didn't care. And then I did for a while, I like Nora's voice, but nothing happened. And then, finally something happens and then it just ends. Obviously, there will be more. Also obviously, the author is making some sort of statement about portal fantasies but I'm not sure what it is. And I don't know that I will be bothered with finding out.



Book #98 The Hidden Queen by Alma Alexander (389 pp.)

This book came to my attention in 2013 when Susan (suslyn) recommended it (she hasn't had a thread in the 75ers this year) and I received a copy through PaperBackSwap in April of 2014. So this is definitely a book off my shelves! And it's good. Epic fantasy: 9 years old when her father the king is killed at war and her illegitimate half-brother takes the throne, Anghara goes through years in hiding and in training while her brother pursues a policy of eliminating all the Sighted women in the kingdom and any who seek to protect them. Granted sanctuary and training of her Gift in a foreign land, this book ends as she prepares to return to her Kingdom. I have ordered a used copy of the second (and final) book in the series forthwith.

Book #99 Promised Land by Connie Willis and Cynthia Felice (362 pp.)

Talk about a Book Off The Shelves (BOTS), I can tell you exactly when I acquired this one as the receipt is stuck in the book as a bookmark about 85 pages in where I stalled out when I first tried to read it. The date? 7/24/98, nearly 20 years ago. I bought it because I loved Willis' and Felice's earlier collaboration, Water Witch, which was a clever and cute science fiction/fantasy about a con (as in con game) on another planet. This one, despite stalling on it some 20 years ago, was exactly as promised, basically Harlequin Romance on another planet. Great summer reading entertainment, as seen by the way I blew through it in a day.



Book #100 The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson (117 pp.)

This slender book just has one idea, explicated in different areas. Clean out your stuff before you die so no one else will have to be stuck with it. The author is "between 80 and 100" but she suggests starting in your 60s so you can do it gradually. If you read an article summarizing it, you will not need to read the book.



Book #101 The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman (367 pp.)

This is the fourth book in the Invisible Library series and I think it may be the best one yet. We have most of the world-building behind us, as well as the inevitable heroine angst, and that makes space for a headlong rush at a tightly-plotted romp of an adventure.

Book #102 The Pride of Chanur by C. J. Cherryh (224 pp.)

Ahhhh, science fiction doesn't get any better than this! Meetpoint, the space station where 7 different alien species come together for trade in a fragile equilibrium known as the Compact. An Outsider, an entity of a previously unknown species, escapes from the kif onstation and takes refuge in a hani ship, and all hell breaks loose. I have reread this numerous times since its publication in 1982 (my DAW edition costing $2.95) and it is just as good every time. I've strongly recommended it on this list before but not for a few years now. This one is a stand-alone, a complete story in itself, but there are 4 more books, with Chanur's Venture, The Kif Strike Back (think George Lucas knows this series, huh?), and Chanur's Homecoming being three parts to a single story following directly on from this one. Chanur's Legacy takes place some 15 years later. Beware of the omnibus editions. They bundle the first three and the last two, splitting the middle story (covering the middle 3 books, remember) in two and if you read the first two of the three, you will want the third IMMEDIATELY!

Why I'm rereading it now--LolaWalser has an excellent thread called Reading the oldies (pre-1994): would you give this book to a child? v. 5 at
http://www.librarything.com/topic/265022
and this book is coming up next.



Book #103 The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare (273 pp.)

This is a romantic fantasy, fantasy in that while it is set in the Regency period, the characters and subplots are totally modern in character and unrealistic in that setting. The main plot involving the Duke and the seamstress vicar's daughter he marries is a sexual romp, while of the two subplots, the one involving the servants is totally off for the time period and the other only there to provide insight for the female lead character, neither fully realized. That said, it is definitely sassy, entertaining and titillating for all that it is pure cotton candy wrapped around a vibrator. Not an author I'm going to follow up on, however, as it's not really my style.

Half-year Summary

Books read: 104
Pages read: 34293
Average pages per day: 189
Average pages per book: 330

New reads: 61
Rereads: 43
Library books: 23
Books off the shelf (ROOTS): 23
New acquisitions read: 5
Did Not Finish (DNF): 2

Genre:
science fiction 17
fantasy 65
children's 9
nonfiction 6
fiction 2
romance 3
mystery 2

Author gender: 92 female, 14 male

Books acquired: 27

Read: 14 read
Genre:
science fiction 4
fantasy 13
children's 1
nonfiction 5
fiction 0
romance 2
mystery 0
Cost: $160.75

Books out the door: 33

Book #104 ...And the Earth Did Not Devour Him by Tomás Rivera (120 pp.)

This slender volume was started months ago as part of a guided group read. But between the book being slender and constantly misplaced under other detritus and my attempts to read the original Spanish parts of the book in addition to the English translation, I have only now decided to go ahead and finish the English section, since I am running out of renewals at the library. I did enjoy reading the Spanish, but it took all my concentration and so at bedtime didn't work and I just didn't get to it. The page count reflects the pages I actually read, but I am counting it as a complete book.



Book #105 Silence by Michelle Sagara (330 pp.)

I picked this up at Mysterious Galaxy earlier this year since (as you all know) I love her Cast in... series. I thought it was something new but it is the first of a YA trilogy published from 2013 to 2017. The characters are very well drawn and are what pulled me in so that I read the whole thing this afternoon. It's our world, and our days, but there are elements we don't really understand involved when Emma accepts a lantern from a ghost in a graveyard. Some things are resolved by the end of the first book, but we still do not (nor does Emma) understand about necromancers and the City of the Dead.



Book #106 Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward (288 pp.)

So here's another off of my shelves book, acquired several years ago. The Publishers Weekly blurb says "Hogwarts goes to sea." NOT. Now, I realize that this book is to some extent a take-off on the Aubrey/Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian, which I have not read but many have loved. I don't know if the stilted language and situations are a result of imitation of these books or the author's own short-comings. It's okay but really not that interesting a book for adults.

Book #107 Changer of Days by Alma Alexander (339 pp.)

This is the sequel and finale to The Hidden Queen, which I read in mid-June, reviewed here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/290870#6507473

This concludes the story as the hidden queen seeks to retake her throne, meets with difficulties, and works through them. Epic fantasy, medieval-type setting, decent characters.



Book #108 The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea (326 pp.)

Ro (luvamystery) put this on my wishlist in April and I finally made it to the top of the Hold list at the library. I had previously read his Into the Beautiful North, also because it was set in San Diego. This portrait of a Mexican-American family living in the vicinity of Paradise Hills (between National City where I worked for 31 years and Chula Vista) is complex, multi-layered, emotional, and rings very true. The last days of the family's patriarch bring up all matter of past history and relationships and deals with some current relationships as well, while the setting of San Diego is very true (except for their little fictional neighborhood) and fun to recognize. Not my usual bill of fare, but well worth reading.



Book #109 American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon by Stephen Prothero (364 pp.)

A fascinating history on how the figure of Jesus moved from relative obscurity in the 1700s (the focus was on the Father, for those who were religious in the New World, and the majority were not) to become a celebrity and the singular focus of many Protestant denominations, as well as a look at how Mormons, Jews, Blacks, and Asians have remade Jesus in their own images as well.

Book #110 Why Kill the Innocent by C. S. Harris (335 pp.)

I'm not sure why I like this historical mystery series so much, but I think it's the characters. This is the 13th in the series, and St. Cyr still has a passion for justice in a Regency England that has way too little of it to hand out. Outstanding!



Book #111 The Turnaway Girls by Hayley Chewins (258 pp.)

I received an advance reading copy of this book through the Early Reviewers program in return for an unbiased review.

This is a first-person fantasy novel set on the strange island of Blightsend, where Masters make music and turnaway girls are imprisoned in a cloister to draw gold from music for the kingdom. When Delphernia escapes the cloister thanks to the intervention of a twelve-year-old named Bly, she learns that the kingdom is based on lies and that she has a role to play. Poetic, lyrical, dreaming, moving, this was a quick but intense read. Strongly recommended!



Book #112 Latchkey by Nicole Kornher-Stace (326 pp.)

In Archivist Wasp, Isobel overturned a deeply flawed system for protecting the remnants of humanity from dangerous ghosts. In Latchkey, she has spent three years establishing a new egalitarian system for protecting her community but a pending invasion from another community puts all at risk. In seeking to defend her community, Isobel delves into the complex of tunnels under her town and once again encounters the two ghosts who were so pivotal in the first book. Trapped underneath, Isobel seeks both to find her way back to the surface and to solve the mysteries of the complex's ghosts.

And that catches me up to date! Now I'm going to go stroll through some other threads here in the group.

Oh dear, I've been remiss here! Time to catch up again.



Book #113 One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews (340 pp.)

Ilona Andrews is a husband and wife team that writes urban fantasy. I read their very first and thought it pretty typical but not a standout. When they started a new series, I thought I'd give it another try since I figured their writing chops might have improved and I got Clean Sweep for 99¢ in November of 2016. Again, it was okay, some nice variations on the usual vampires and werewolves (they are actually aliens and this is really science fiction--well, except for the magic), but I didn't see any reason to pay $5 for the sequels. But this third book in the series popped up the other day for $1.99 and I was in the mood. The basic hook is that there are these places on Earth that are set up to house aliens who are passing through and also to protect the populace from the knowledge that there are aliens around. There are Conventions and Rules. But these places are Inns and the humans who bond with an Inn, Innkeepers, have access to considerable powers to make their guests comfortable and keep them safe. I figured, given the nature of these types of stories, that I wouldn't actually miss much by skipping the second book and, indeed, just knowing that there had been a major peace conference settling relations between two hostile races of aliens in that book wasn't sufficient. In this book Dina grants entrance to an alien of a race being hunted to extinction by another race and has to respond to a call for help from her sister on a distant planet at the same time. When the other aliens turn up trying to break into the inn to kill the alien Hiru, and Dina has to acquire and safely install a number of arbitrators in the inn through their blockade, the action ramps up. The werewolf/vampire triangle of the first book is happily resolved in this book. If you like urban fantasy tropes--romantic tension, constant conflict with the supernatural (or alien in this case), magical powers--this is definitely a series to consider. Unfortunately, for me it's like sugar or fried food--I can only take so much at a time and then I'm sated.

My favorite exchange of the book:

"They won't release the Archivarian but it doesn't mean what you think it means."
"Inconceivable," Sean said. "What do you think it means?"

Book #114 So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (256 pp.)

The author has a gift for communicating hard truths. I have lived with a black man for 42 years and I still learned a great deal. Highly recommended for EVERYONE!!!



Book #115 The Hills Have Spies by Mercedes Lackey (360 pp.)

I brought this book home from the library when I returned So You Want to Talk About Race on Monday when I went out for my haircut--it had come in over the weekend in response to my hold request. I love Valdemar, especially the first dozen books or so, but never finished the second group of Mags books. But this starts a new story arc featuring Mags' children, so I gave it a try and it was good, entertaining Valdemar. And a quick read. The enemy is pretty straightforward, once identified, and all the politicking at the King's Court was absent as most of the action took place up near the Pelagirs and there were lots of intelligent animals. So maybe not Misty at her best, but certainly better than many. Funny thing--the synopsis on the dust jacket has NOTHING in common with the actual story. Misty has replied: "Because they wrote the cover blurb referencing my pitch synopsis without checking with the actual book prose.

They’re stripping all the ones in the warehouse to put on corrective jackets, which means the uncorrected ones are now Collectors’ Items."

So the library has a collector's item!



Book #116 The Girl in the Green Silk Gown by Seanan McGuire (336 pp.)

Seanan McGuire is a very busy lady with a very twisted mind. While I can't read some of her stuff (Mira Grant vampire books) and am on the edge/uncomfortable with others (the Wayward Children books), I love and adore her Toby Daye series and her Ghost Road books, of which this is the second. I've been taking it slow to make it last, and it is just as good as the first, Sparrow Hill Road.

McGuire's mind is amazing. Listen to this:

If Laura's car is neat and new and practical, her apartment is what happens when a used bookstore and a grandmother's bedroom love each other very, very much.

And the places in the twilight called Bradbury's, that lure you in and you never want to leave.

Book #117 Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger (287 pp.)

This book was a gift from luvamystery (Hi, Ro!) and a Book off My Bookshelves (BOMB). It's another light (very light) urban fantasy with the conceit that mixing up different cocktails can give bartenders different special powers which they use to protect the public from demons called tremens that feast on the life force of drunk humans. It takes place in Chicago and the Sears Tower plays a major role. The main character is a Chinese-American girl looking for a job after college (where she was an over-achiever) while living with her parents. So target audience would be teens and twenties, for best identifying with her. The plot is basic, character development minimal, lots of action, and then there are the cocktail recipes with history of the elements infused between chapters. A good beach read.



Book #118 A Corpse at St. Andrew's Chapel by Mel Starr (300 pp.)

This is a medieval mystery set near Oxford, the second in a series first brought to my attention by FicusFan, who used to be active in this group 6 or 7 years ago. I liked the first one, The Unquiet Bones, a good deal but must confess to getting either bored or irritated by Hugh's voice in this one, although the mystery was still interesting as was the historical detail. YMMV. I received this book from my wishlist at PaperBackSwap.com earlier this year and it brings me to having read 21 of 30 books acquired this year.

July Summary

Books read: 14
Pages read: 4231
Average pages per day: 136
Average pages per book: 302

New reads: 14
Rereads: 0
Library books: 5
Books off the shelf (ROOTS): 2
New acquisitions read: 7
Did Not Finish (DNF): 0

Genre:
science fiction 0
fantasy 8
children's 0
nonfiction 2
fiction 2
romance 1
mystery 2

Author gender: 8 female, 6 male

Country of origin: USA 13

Medium: Kindle 1, Hardback 4, trade paper 7, mass market paper 2

Books acquired: 3
Source: Early Reviewers-1, Amazon-2
Read: 3 read this month
Genre: fantasy-3
Cost: $17.99

Books out the door: 5

Book #119 Touch by Michelle Sahara (330 pp.)

This is very much a second book in a trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger--fortunately I have the third book right at hand and ready to go. This is a YA story about teenagers and Necromancers and ghosts and it is much more realistic and gritty than that description sounds, but what lifts Sagara's books for me are the quality of her characters. These won't be for everyone, but they deal with some major issues and I want to see where the author goes with them.



Book #120 Grave by Michelle Sagara (423 pp.)

The culminating book of the trilogy. For a YA book, this is a heavy consideration of death, grief, families, friendships, responsibility, and choices in an imaginative fantasy setting. I found it worthwhile to read but if you are not into YA, I'm not sure what your reaction will be. I would definitely recommend it to teens.



Book #121 The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (336 pp.)

This is the first book of a new science fiction series by John Scalzi and it was entertaining space opera. There are several story threads being juggled and they are still all up in the air at the end of this book. It is interesting that most of the viewpoint characters are women, and that the women are the more aggressive and active characters.



Book #122 Competence by Gail Carriger (309 pp.)

I think Gail Carriger may have run her course with me. I did very much enjoy her 5 book Parasol Protectorate series and the Finishing School quartet was interesting in seeing how the world in her first series developed. This is the third book of the Custard Protocol series, following the adventures of the daughter of the first series' heroine and her friends. So far there's not been an overarching purpose in this series; it's been more of a picaresque adventure and most of this one has to do with Primrose coming to terms with her sexuality--well, there is finding and rescuing a nest of fat-sucking vampires from Cuzco, Peru. Sent them to LA, where they will do just fine. It's cute but not as clever or original as the first series, and it's getting a bit repetitious to me. She's no longer on my must read list and I was happy to get this one from the librar

Book #123 Alliance by S. K. Dunstall (389 pp.)

Book 2 of the Linesman series, this is an entertaining space opera. I like the main character and the conceit of the "lines" that underlie space travel.



Book #124 To Kill a Warlock by H. P. Mallory (430 pp.)

This is a forgettable urban fantasy involving a fairy Regulator involved in investigating crime.



Book #125 The Android's Dream by John Scalzi (396 pp.)

This reread occurred because we've been discussing Scalzi and I really liked this book when I first read it, but I'd only read it once and I wanted to see if it held up to a reread. Yes, it did. Funny, fast-paced, positive--what's not to like?



Book #126 Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff (331 pp.)

Another reread, this is the first of what turned out to be a trilogy about a Keeper and her sidekick cat traveling around trouble-shooting gates to Hell that pop up (or are created). This is some of Huff's early work, but still pretty fun urban fantasy.



Book #127 The Levin-Gad by Diane Duane (80 pp.)

Diane Duane started her Tale of the Five series in 1979 with The Door Into Fire. The second book, The Door Into Shadow, came out in 1985, followed by The Door Into Sunset in 1992. The series has its devoted adherents, including me. It is epic fantasy with one of the earliest m/m protagonist duos of which I am aware. Ever since, we've been clamoring for more. Finally, Duane is coming out with a series of novellas based around each of the main characters, preceding a final book The Door into Starlight. This is the first novella, available from Ebooks Direct, Duane's direct marketing site.
https://ebooksdirect.dianeduane.com/products/the-levin-gad-tales-of-the-five-1



Book #128 The Second Summoning by Tanya Huff (416 pp.)

I wasn't going to go on to the second book in the series but when I went to record the first book in the Reading Challenge on Goodreads, Lois McMaster Bujold had reviewed the book and said the second was even more clever and funny, so I did. And I agree. There are some Good Omens vibes as both an angel and a demon have to deal with some human issues, as well as some clever topical sniping for the era (18 years ago).

Book #129 The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs (162 pp.)

This was recommended by Diana (libraryperilous) last month and the library had it--it came in while I was gone. At first I thought it a pleasurable distraction but the further I got, the more I liked it and by the end I wanted a copy myself for all the references! And he does the notes as an essay at the end, a very nice novelty. I want to do a summary with lots of quotes and plan to, but not right now.



Book #130 An Informal History of the Hugos by JO Walton (576 pp.)

This is Jo Walton musing over what books (and novellas and novellettes and short stories and all the rest) were nominated each year from 1953 to 2000 and what else was available and whether the nominations were a good representation of the field, with comments by such integral contributors to the field as Gardner Dozois. Fascinating to enthusiasts of the genre, I couldn't put it down.



Book #131 Night and Silence by Seanan McGuire (368 pp.)

This is book #12 in the October Daye series. Don't start here. The action is fast and furious as always, but it's starting to seem a little repetitious. The best thing about this book was more development of Gillian as a character, but the Miranda bombshell seemed to come out of nowhere. Still, I can see where it will lead to further developments. Still enjoyable.



Book #132 Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (159 pp.)

Brought this home from the library on Thursday and decided to dive in right away. Love Murderbot but this seemed way too short. Glad I'm not buying these. Loved ART as well, hope we meet up again.



Book #133 The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (408 pp.)

Someone, I know not who, put this book on my radar, and I found it in a thrift store and so picked it up. I nearly Pearl-ruled it at page 75. But then Jean Perdu got out of Paris and I did enjoy his voyage through the canals and rivers of France and the descriptions of towns and food. But the plot itself is sentimental and somewhat saccharine and not something I would choose to pick up on my own. This has been my bathtub book which is why it got finished before Spinning Silver, sitting on my nightstand.



Book #134 Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (466 pp.)

This is SO GOOD!!! Says me, who usually doesn't care as much for multiple perspective books! I didn't have any difficulty following the shifts in person, and it didn't distance me from the storyline or characters. Intricate, rich, embellished, distinctive characters and families...this is fantasy at its best.

Book #135 Gabriella by Brenda Hiatt (246 pp.)

This was picked up as part of my perpetual quest to find Regency romances that approach those of Georgette Heyer. This was not too bad--no egregious errors, some attempt at individualization of the family characters at least, but no twisting of the tropes or clever banter. Final judgment--decent.



Book #136 Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells (158 pp.)

So I did stop by the library on the way to have my hair cut, and picked up all 5 of the books listed above. I read 60 pages while I was there and finished it up when I got home. Murderbot continues to be a hit! Can't say too much about the plot, but rest assured there is lots of action as well as lots of media and unwanted interactions with humans.



Book #137 Witchmark by C. L. Polk (320 pp.)

I wanted to like this one a little more than I did. Parts were done well, but overall it felt like too little time was spent on anything and too much was being crammed in. Plus it stopped at a pausing point but the story is by no means complete and it threw in a romance at the very end...YMMV.



Book #138 Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne (364 pp.)

I wanted to like this more than I did. I loved the premise--it was time to make fun of white male power fantasies, the formula for which almost always involves some kid in a rural area rising to power in the empire after he loses his parents, usually because somebody comes along and tells hem not to worry, he's special.

And I can tell the authors had a lot of fun writing it, giggling to each other as they topped one outrageous pun or scene with another. And yet...it was too heavy-handed for me. For one, it made me feel ignorant, knowing that I was missing the majority of the entendres (I did get "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up." For those not watching American TV, that is the tag line of an egregious commercial for life alert pendants. And the characters were such anti-stereotypes that they were stereotypical in their own ways and that made it hard to fell any empathy for anyone in the story. And it felt like a mish-mash. Now, I love Terry Pratchett and Jasper Fforde and even though I know that, especially in the latter's books, I am missing allusions, the characters carry me through. And I adore Diana Wynne Jones' send-up of fantasy trophes in Dark Lord of Derkholm with a passion. So I don't think it is the subject matter or the humorous take that turns me off (or at least to dim) but the execution. If you like Piers Anthony's later Xanth books or love Monty Python's broad humor, you'll like this. Otherwise, venture at your own risk. YMMV.

Book #139 Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen (329 pp.)

It's a cold miserable winter in 1933 in London, with the economy in shambles and Binky and Fig in the London house making life also miserable for Georgie. Seems like everyone is going to the Riviera to get warm, if they can afford it, which Georgie can't. But then the Queen has a mission for her in Nice...

Love these Her Royal Spyness mysteries--this is the fifth in the series.



Book #140 Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones (345 pp.)

I reread this to get the taste of Kill the Farm Boy out of my mouth.



Book #141 A Name Among the Stars by Mark Henwick (321 pp.)

This book came to my attention when I read a review by Charles de Lint in the March/April F&SF magazine. When I went to Amazon, the ebook was now $4.99 rather than the $2.99 it had been at the time of the review, so I just got the free sample sent to my Kindle. I enjoyed that and so went ahead and bought the ebook and finished it rather promptly. Now, this is not outstanding fiction, nor is it groundbreaking, but it ended up being a very enjoyable space opera-ish adventure/romance told from a woman's POV written by a man. Just fun and interesting and well done.



Book #142 Angel Isle by Peter Dickinson (500 pp.)

This was a reread as I intend to donate it to my neighborhood middle school library. I read it about 10 years ago when it first came out. I have loved Peter Dickinson's work since I first read the Changes trilogy in the early 70s, and I enjoyed the first book in this world, The Ropemaker. But this epic fantasy seemed much longer than it needed to be, even though the world was fascinating.

Book #143 The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss (402 pp.)

>104 AND I have just this minute finished The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter and join others in their enthusiasm for the book! Such fun storytelling! And I count myself fortunate that I am of a generation that would have read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Frankenstein, Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. I must confess, however, to not having read Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. All of these added depth and context to what would in any case have been a most entertaining story. Thank you so much for pointing me in its direction.



Book #144 Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett (503 pp.)

This didn't look like the most appealing book, so it wasn't the first of my library books to be picked up. But once I did, I read straight through! The world being built isn't quite as mind-boggling as in his Cities series, but still very complex and original. The characters were stronger, I think, and the action is still nonstop. Very well done!

9 Month Summary

Books read: 144
Pages read: 47591
Average pages per day: 174
Average pages per book: 330

New reads: 98
Rereads: 48
Library books: 38
Books off the shelf (ROOTS): 27
New acquisitions read: 29
Did Not Finish (DNF): 2

Genre:
science fiction 25
fantasy 88
children's 9
nonfiction 10
fiction 5
romance 4
mystery 5

Author gender: 128 female, 27 male

Country of origin: USA , Canada , England , Wales , Australia , Germany

Medium: Kindle , Hardback , trade paper , mass market paper

Books acquired: 45
Source:
Read: 29
Genre: science fiction-, fantasy-, romance-
Cost: $255.23

Books out the door: 39

Book #145 A Hero for Antonia by Elisabeth Kidd (201 pp.)

This is strange. When I go to "Add Books", the title gets me the ebook version and the ISBN # on the book's publication page gets me an entirely different book. Published in 1986, this book was brought to my attention by Jenn (jjmcgaffey) early in September when she read it. It is, as she said, an excellent piece of fluff. Not Heyer, but about as close to her as you can get. I shall remember the author when I get the Regency Romance itch.



Book #146 Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold (422 pp.)

So at Tor.com the Vorkosigan reread has just reached Captain Vorpatril's Alliance in the Vorkosigan reread and, since I had only read it when it first came out 5 years ago, I had to sit down and reread it myself to be ready for any discussion. Still a whole lot of fun!



Book #147 European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss (708 pp.)

These are just so much fun. Despite being a bit of a tome, I powered through this one in just a few days, and enjoyed it every bit as much as the first. Can't wait for the next one...unfortunately.

Book #148 Unhinged by Omarosa Manigault Newman (334 pp.)

What can I say? This was sitting on the new books shelf next to the holds at the library the last time I was there. I knew Omarosa's name and that she had been on the first season of The Apprentice with Trump where she functioned as the villain, but I never watched The Apprentice in any of its incarnations so really knew nother about her. I had no idea she had worked in the Clinton White House, for example. The book gives her backstory, so that was interesting. She admits that she was sucked into the cult of Trump based on her early experiences with him and that it took her way too long to see how his behaviors were interfering with the running of the country. I would even say that little of what she says here is controversial. She makes a strong case for responsibly trying to build bridges to and represent minority organizations, saying she was opposed every step by others in that he is notot the sharp dealer with a memory that she knew back in Apprentice days, but is increasingly confused and overwhelmed. It's her story and her perspective, but was quite unvitriolic in general.

Book #149 The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal (33 pp.)

This novella has been out for several years (and was nominated for several awards when published) but the author has now followed it up with two books that are garnering very good reviews. I'm on the waiting list for the first at the library so purchased and read this short novella. I enjoyed it a lot. The books are basically the prequels to this story, the history referred to in the context of what is going on, and I am looking forward to them.



Book #150 Daughters of the Winter Queen by Nancy Goldstone (453 pp.)

This book came up for sale as a Kindle edition and looked interesting. It follows the English monarchy from King James 1 to George 1 as it tells the story of James' daughter Elizabeth, who married Frederick of the Lower Palatine in what is now Germany, and her many children, but especially her four daughters, three of whom made substantial intellectual contributions towards the Enlightenment and one of whom, Sophia, maneuvered her son George into the English monarchy after both William & Mary, and Mary's sister Anne, died without heirs. Having recently completed a history of George the third, I finally now understand how these German nobles came to be English kings. I did find it quite interesting.



Book #151 The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs (162 pp.)

As close as I get to horror, this favorite is an annual October reread. Nowadays I do it on the Kindle because my mmpb is falling apart.



Book #152 The Black God's Drums by P. Djeli Clark (112 pp.)

Set in an alternate history at the time of the Civil War, the North and South have called a truce and New Orleans is an independent neutral territory. But there are forces trying to change all that...and forces to counter it. Very interesting and novel, but the dialect is a touch challenging.

Book #153 The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope (266 pp.)

Such a dull cover! I really prefer this one

but it's not the one I have.

Elizabeth Marie Pope only wrote 2 books, both YA, but they were both of excellent quality. This one was originally written in 1958, but was republished after The Perilous Gard won a Newbery Honor Medal in 1975. I was originally going to reread the latter, but can't find my copy (I suspect it is in the bookcase behind my husband's tv cart), so while I wait to pick it up at the library, I decided to reread this lovely little ghost story set in the then present (mid-20th century) but with the ghosts' lives during the American Revolution. It is clever and romantic and historic and a lovely little spot of entertainment.



Book #154 The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard (96 pp.)

I've seen this novella promoted a lot and chose it for one of my Thingaversary books. I am unfamiliar with de Bodard's Xuya Universe and her mindships; according to the LT series page there are a lot of works, mostly shorter ones I think. This was very interesting--a mystery, a mysterious detective, a mindship with PTSD--a lot to assimilate in a few short pages, but I definitely want to explore her work. This is definitely science fiction with a different vision.

ETA this is what Lois McMaster Bujold wrote about this book in her Goodreads review!

This novella reads like the lovechild of Sherlock Holmes and the Ship Who Sang, dropped into a wormhole inside a space capsule made of Asian history. My first sample of de Bodard: while it is a part, or at least inside, of a longer series, and I suspect the world-building might make for a more leisurely unpacking if one started at the beginning novel, I thought this story worked just fine as a stand-alone.

Now I want to hunt up the proper beginning.

Book #155 A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (280 pp.)

One chapter (generally only a few pages) for each day of the month, coming to its final climax tonight! This is so much fun, I have to repeat it every October.



Book #156 The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope (280 pp.)

And I jumped into this as soon as I got the library copy home (my copy is still trapped behind the tv cart in the front bedroom!) and thoroughly enjoyed this reread. Elizabethan history interacts with Tam Lin in a most satisfactory way.



Book #157 Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (378 pp.)

Reread of one of the Witches books in the Discworld series.



Book #158 Stone Mad by Elizabeth Bear (183 pp.)

While I approve of the new flexibility in the length of works published that ebooks seem to have fostered, still I am glad enough when I can find these shorter but expensive for their length novels in the library.

Enjoyable but slight. Karen and Priya start working out the nuts and bolts of their relationship while dealing with a borghum knocking down the Rain City Riverside Hotel. Definitely read the first book before this. Then you can just enjoy the brief visit to this environment and its characters without worrying too much about the brevity of plot.

Book #159 The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (513 pp.)

I had not necessarily intended to read this, but the reviews of the sequel piqued my interest and so I got this from the library. At 100 pages, I would have thrown the towel in and Pearl-ruled it except for the sequel and going and rereading the reviews by LTers like Meg (Familyhistorian) who deemed it worthwhile. And indeed, once the adventures started happening on page 101, I flew through it yesterday and finished it this morning (unable to invoke >98 because I got too sleepy). Won't ever make my Best of list but I really do like what the author is doing here and am looking forward to Felicity's book (which is awaiting me at the library).



Book #160 The Phoenix in Flight by Sherwood Smith and Dave Trowbridge (442 pp.)

I needed something that wasn't at all challenging and none of my library books caught my fancy (two were more challenging, with multiple timeline and POV changes), so I decided to start this 5 book space opera series that I am reading now because I need to bulk up my ROOTS, books that have been on my shelves for years. It's one of those epic space opera series from the mid-90s and, this being the first book of the series, it consists of many, many deaths as the bad guy inflicts maximum damage on the system as it is. Not perhaps what I was looking for, but it did read quickly and I'm on to the second book now.



Book #161 The Witches of New York by Ami McKay (535 pp.)

This has been my bathtub book for the last month. I bought it last December, so it also is a Book Off My Bookshelves in my stats. Partly historical fiction, part fantasy, this is a book with literary pretensions and it does pretty well at it. I have found that I do not enjoy books where we spend much time in the antagonists' minds, especially when they are rigid, hateful hypocrites. So I spent too much of the book fearing their impacts when I probably should have been enjoying the positive characters, 3 female and 1 male, who are indeed charming and interesting and gifted.



Book #162 Exit Strategy by Martha Wells (172 pp.)

The last of the quartet of Murderbot books, I enjoyed it and thought the resolution reasonable.

My final book for November:



Book #163 The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (450 pp.)

A fun YA adventure yarn featuring an asexual female careening around Europe and Northern Africa. Lee is clever and has good intentions--I admire her efforts, and think they are great YA material, so I won't pine for more depth.

November Summary

Books read: 8
Pages read: 2953
Average pages per day: 98
Average pages per book: 369

New reads: 6
Rereads: 2
Library books: 5
Books off the shelf (ROOTS): 2
New acquisitions read: 0/0
Did Not Finish (DNF): 0

Genre:
science fiction 2
fantasy 6
children's 0
nonfiction 0
fiction 0
romance 0
mystery 0

Author gender: 7 female, 2 male

Country of origin: USA 7, England 1

Medium: Kindle 0, Hardback 4, trade paper 2, mass market paper 2

Books acquired: 0
Source:
Read:
Genre:
Cost:

Books out the door: 0

Book #164 Ruler of Naught by Sherwood Smith and Dave Trowbridge (470 pp.)

This is book 2 of the 5 volume Exordium series. Eusabian the Avatar has wrecked the Panarchy and taken over its capital planet and the last heir has fled. Now in this second book, there's lots of positioning and feints, ending with the heir reaching the last bastion, the war-sphere Ares. Lots of fighting and multiple viewpoints and actions across star systems--was this considered mil-sf or had the term been invented yet? Can't pin down first usage quickly on Google. But Wikipedia says that writing after the Vietnam War increasingly used the conventions of mil-sf and these books are 20 years after that. Honestly, if I didn't want the figures for my Books off the Shelf stats and to get these off my bookshelves honorably, I might not finish them, as I think they haven't aged all that well, but I do want those things so am on to book 3.



Book #165 A Prison Unsought by Sherwood Smith and Dave Trowbridge (473 pp.)

Book 3 of the Exordium series has finally sucked me into the story. Can't say much without spoilers, but have immediately gone to book 4.



Book #166 The Rifter's Covenant by Sherwood Smith and Dave Trowbridge (462 pp.)

Book 4 of the Exordium space opera series, action proceeds apace--rooting out the traitors inside while preparing to attack the enemy outside.

Book #167 The Thrones of Kronos by Sherwood Smith and Dave Trowbridge (604 pp.)

Lots of action again, space battles and lots of plots wrapped up, with two major new possibilities showing up in the final pages, but since the authors haven't done anything with them to my knowledge for the last 22 years, they probably won't. On the other hand, I see that they are rewriting the books prior to publishing them in e-format. I don't know that I will reread these, though. They were okay and quite multicultural with strong women characters, but at the end, I just really didn't care that much. On the third hand, that's 5 Books Off The Shelves in the last week or so! And 5 thick paperbacks off my shelves. Off they go to my sister.



Book #168 Cold Magic by Kate Elliott (509 pp.)

I finished this back on October 4 and forgot to record it on LT (luckily, I did record it on my spreadsheet), so I remember very little about it at this point. I enjoyed it but didn't find it outstanding.



Book #169 Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (368 pp.)

The Good Omens reread on Tor.com finished up this week, and my reread with it. Now I'm ready for the TV adaptation next year (only two weeks away!).

Book #170 The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen (311 pp.)

Reading this in conjunction with participating in the LT scavenger hunt on the same theme kept me up to date on all the clues and considerably ahead of Georgie in this entertaining mystery. #6 of the Royal Spyness series.



Book #171 Bless Your Heart by Kimbra Swain (256 pp.)

Subtitled "Fairy Tales of a Trailer Park Queen Book 1", yes, it is a "Southern USA" genre book about a fairy princess exiled from Faery who likes living in a trailer park and living up to every stereotype thereof, occasionally using her powers to help the local police, but then is framed for a heinous crime herself. Deal with it, lady! I wanted something light and fun to read on Christmas and this fit the bill.



Book #172 The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi (316 pp.)

This was my bathtub book, good for going slow because of all the politicking going on and fear of bad things happening, but I should have trusted Scalzi more because he pulled it all off in the end in this second book of the ongoing space opera series The Interdependency. Now I wait for the next one.

Book #173 Regency Christmas Gifts: Three Stories by Carla Kelly (212 pp.)

Anne (AMQS) had this on her thread yesterday and as I had not gotten my Regency Romance Christmas itch scratched yet this year, I immediately put it on my Kindle and read it. Three stories, suitably romantic and Christmasy, with no significant historical errors--it fit the bill.



Book #174 Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi (336 pp.)

This book sounded very interesting. Space opera from an author with a vested interest in representing minorities, "queers", open relationships, chronically ill and other disabilities as normative features in her universe. But I agree with other LT reviewers that unfortunately the story is very thin and wanders off into woo-woo land at the end. I would especially point you to SadieSForsythe's review on the review page. Very cogent points!

Book #175 The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (431 pp.)

My final book of 2018 is this outstanding science fiction alternate history book.

2018 Summary

Books read: 175
Pages read: 58359
Average pages per day: 160
Average pages per book: 333

New reads: 122
Rereads: 55
Library books: 50
Books off the shelf (ROOTS): 33
New acquisitions read: 4/0
Did Not Finish (DNF): 2

Genre:
science fiction 37
fantasy 102
children's 9
nonfiction 12
fiction 5
romance 6
mystery 6

Author gender: 145 female, 38 male

Country of origin: USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa

Medium: Kindle, Hardback, trade paper, mass market paper

Books acquired: 62
Source: Amazon; Costco; Mysterious Galaxy; gifts
Read: 33
Genre: science fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, fiction
Cost: $379.25

Books out the door: 49