Tricia reads in 2013

For 2013 I've mostly just tweaked my previous categories while adding one for ebooks. There is also a category for leftovers from previous challenges, those started and not finished, those that have been piled up waiting for their turn so that they can migrate to an actual shelf, and so on.

A full 13 books in 13 categories would be a real stretch so I am going to go for a minimum of 8 books each which will be 104 books. I'm also going to interpret the categories rather broadly so that most every book can find a home.

Rather than an overall theme for the year I like a structure that encourages variety in my reading with a fair amount of nonfiction but also allows for plenty of 'just because' reading.

The categories are:

I. Young at Heart -- mostly YA fiction.

II. Mystery and Suspense

III. Next Up -- for the next unread in a series that I have already started.

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds of fantasy and any interesting SF including alternate history. I suspect that urban fantasy will predominate here.

V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- This may end up being an overflow category for the most part.

VI. Catching up -- my leftovers category.

VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac -- I already have over a dozen of these and expect that I will acquire even more in 2013!

VIII. Rereads -- Fiction

IX. Who are we? -- Everything from myth and folklore to sociology and philosophy. Any book trying to explain why we are here, how society works, etc.

X. Short Stuff -- Story collections, poetry, essays, plays, whatever

XI. Science and techology -- including history of same.

XII. History, Biography/Memoir

XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction

I. Young at Heart

This would be mostly YA but might include some for a younger audience. I particularly enjoy YA fantasy.

1. Avalanche by Arthur Roth -- finished February 10, 2013
2. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein -- Finished March 6, 2013
3. Matched by Allyson Braithwaite Condie -- Finished April ?, 2013
4. 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy -- finished May 13, 2013
5. The Rising by Kelly Armstrong -- finished June 1, 2013
6. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull -- Finished June 11, 2013
7. The Raven Ring by Patricia C. Wrede -- Finished July 16, 2013
8. The Singing by Alison Croggon -- Finished August 2, 2013
9. The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan -- Finished August 10, 2013
10.

II. Mystery & Suspense

Any kind including romantic suspense.

1. Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin -- finished January 5, 2013
2. The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry -- finished January 9, 2013
3. Bloodline by Felix Francis -- finished February9, 2013
4. A Dangerous Mourning by Anne Perry -- Finished March 17, 2013
5. Deadly Stakes by J. A. Jance -- Finished April 12, 2013
6. Defend and Betray by Anne Perry -- Finished April 29, 2013
7. A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch -- Finished May 26, 2013
8. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn -- Finished July 1, 2013
9. A Sudden Fearful Death by Anne Perry -- August 22, 2013
10. Refusal by Felix Francis -- September 9, 2013
11. Thankless in death by J. D. Robb -- October 17, 2013
12. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith-- November 16, 2013

III. Next Up

There are lots of series that I have already read at least one book in and I would like to read the next one. Some I read out of order and I would like to find and read the one(s) I've skipped over. A secondary goal will be to spread this reading over several series.

1. Born in Shame by Nora Roberts -- Finished Feb 9, 2013
2. Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear -- Finished Feb 24, 2013
3. Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher -- finished March 29, 2013
4. Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs -- finished April 5, 2013
5. Calculated in Death by J. D. Robb -- finished April 7, 2013
6. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party -- finished April ?, 2013
7. The Mystery Woman by Amanda Quick -- finished June 28, 2013
8. Fables & Reflections by Neil Gaiman -- finished July 3, 2013
9. Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman -- finished July 31, 2013
10. World's End by Neil Gaiman -- finished August 16, 2013

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction

There will be some urban fantasy for sure and possibly some alternate history plus whatever catches my fancy. Of course lots of Sandman.

1. Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman et al -- finished January 7, 2013
2. Redshirts by John Scalzi -- finished Jan 30, 2013
3. The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman -- finished Feb 3, 2013
4. Dream Country by Neil Gaiman -- finished Mar 3, 2013
5. Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman -- finished April 10, 2013
6. A Game of You by Neil Gaiman -- finished May 1, 2013
7. Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway -- finished May 21, 2013
8. Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey -- finished June 20, 2013 (?)
9. The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambly -- finished July 20, 2013
10. The Kindly Ones: Sandman, Vol Nine by Neil Gaiman -- Finished Sept 5, 2013

V. Anything Goes: Fiction

This usually ends up being mostly an overflow category but there is the occasional book that just doesn't fit into another category. * This year it may end up being CATs that don't fit very well elsewhere. *

1. Dream Eyes by Jayne Ann Krentz -- finished January 18, 2013
2. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold -- finished January 20, 2013
3. Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry -- finished January 22, 2012
4. Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie -- Finished February 21, 2012
5. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier -- Finished June 5, 2013
6. The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt -- Finished June 11, 2013
7. Jane, the Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell -- Finished June 22, 2013
8. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King -- Finished July 11, 2013
9. Heat Rises by Richard Castle -- Finished September 13, 2013
10. Deception Cove by Jayne Castle -- Finished October 9, 2013
11. The Circle by Dave Eggers -- Finished November 16, 2013

VI. Catching Up

A left-over category. Those books piled up waiting for me, some for months or even years. Those started but never finished for previous challenges that I considered postponed rather than abandoned, and, finally, those on my many lists of books to track down and read. I could probably do a whole challenge just on these!

1. Blood Trail by Tanya Huff -- finished Jan 11, 2013
2. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness -- finished June 4, 2013
3. By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey -- finished June 7, 2013
4. Innocent as Sin by Elizabeth Lowell -- finished June 12, 2013
5. Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb -- finished June 13, 2013
6. Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb -- Finished December 2, 2013
7. Murder Goes Mumming by Charlotte MacLeod writing as Alisa Craig -- Finished December 27, 2013
8. 3 stories from The year's best science fiction 17th annual collection edited by Gardner Duzois -- December 31, 2013

VII. My Virtual Books

The books are accumulating on my iPad/computer much faster than I'm reading them and there are enough unread to complete this category. Besides I'll almost certainly download more!

1. Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster -- Finished March 15, 2013
2. Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey -- Finished November 13, 2013
3. The Year of the Jackpot by Robert Heinlein -- Finished November 19, 2013
4. Water Witch by Thea Atkinson - finished November 24, 2013
5. God Save the Queen by Kate Locke -- finished December 6, 2013
6. Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees -- finished December 27, 2013
7.
8.

VIII. Rereads: Fiction

Because...

1. Born in Ice by Nora Roberts -- Finished February 4, 2013
2. Cry Wolf and Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs -- Finished March 22, 2013
3. After Glow, Ghost Hunter, Obsidian Prey, and Midnight Crystal by Jayne Castle -- finished April ?, 2013
4. The Fairy Godmother, Fortune's Fool, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey -- finished April ?, 2013
5. The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey -- finished April 26, 2013
6. Come to Grief by Dick Francis -- finished July 8?, 2013
7. Blood Sport by Dick Francis -- finished July 18, 2013
8. The Foundling by Georgette Heyer -- finished December 29, 2013

IX. Who are we? How does society work?

Everything from myth and folklore to sociology and philosophy. Any book trying to explain why we are here, how society works, etc. Even how we use language.

1. Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in other Languages by Guy Deutscher -- Finished February 6, 2013
2. The Language Wars : A History of Proper English by Henry Hitchings -- Finished October 29, 2012
3. In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton -- Finished November 4, 2013
4. The World of Myth by David Adams Leeming --Finished November 11, 2013
5. Irish Sagas and Folk-tales by Eileen O'Faolain -- finished December 25, 2013
6. Spider Woman's Web by Susan Hazen-Hammond -- finished December 28, 2013
7.
8.

X. Short Stuff

Story collections, poetry, essays, plays, anything shorter than booklength, whatever

1. Hearts and Swords by Robin D. Owens -- Finished March 16, 2013
2. Alpha and Omega (novella) by Patricia Briggs -- finished March 21, 2013
3. Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs, et al.-- finished March 26, 2013
4. On Being the Right Size by J. B. S. Haldane -- finished March 31, 2013
5. Dangerous Gifts by Mary Jo Putney -- finished May 25, 2013
6. Counterfeit Magic by Kelly Armstrong -- finished July 17, 2013
7. The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster -- finished December 13, 2013
8. A Christmas Hope by Anne Perry (more a novella than novel) -- finished December 20, 2013

XI. Science and Technology

But I might throw in some history of science, etc. here.

1. Dry storeroom no. 1 : the secret life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey -- Finished ~ April 13, 2013
2. The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins -- finished June 2, 2013
3. Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms by Richard Fortey -- finished June 29, 2013
4. The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson -- Finished September 25, 2013
5. Tracking Trash by Loree Griffin Burns -- Finished October31, 2013
6. A world in one cubic foot : portraits in biodiversity by David Littschwager -- Finished December 14, 2013
7.
8.

XII. History, Biography/Memoir

1. American Lion by Jon Meacham -- finished March 12, 2013
2. The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson -- finished April 5, 2013
3. Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre -- finished July 14, 2013
4. The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman -- finished August 19, 1913
5. A World Undone by G. J. Meyer -- Finished September 28, 2013
6. The Path between the Seas by David McCullough -- finished November 26, 2013
7. The March of Folly by Barbara W. Tuchman -- finished December 16, 2013
8. Tiger in the Attic: memories of the Kindertransport and Growing Up English -- Finished December 18, 2013

XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction

There are always some books that don't fit anywhere else!

1. Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet by Jamie Koufman -- finished March 4, 2013
2. Fast, Cheap, & Written that Way by John Gaspard -- finished March 14, 2013
3. Tarzan: the Centennial Celebration by Scott Tracy Griffin -- finished July 28, 2013
4. Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss -- finished July 30, 2013
5. Christmas: A Candid History by Bruce David Forbes-- finished December 19, 2013
6. Rescuing the Children: The Story of the Kindertransport by Deborah Hodge -- Finished December 21, 2013
7.
8.

Bonus - since I usually need this category I'll just make space for it now.

This space is for listing possible novels to read (many are series continuations):

1. The United States of Atlantis by Harry Turtledove *
2. The Burning Ground by Jo Clayton *
3. Ill Met by Moonlight by Lackey and Gellis +
4. East by Edith Pattou*
5. Ragamuffin by Tobias S. Buckell *
6. The Wednesday Wars by Gary d. Schmidt#
7. The Charmed Sphere by Catherine Asaro
8. Knight of Ghosts and Shadows by Mercedes Lackey
9. Always Time to Die by Elizabeth Lowell *
10. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart*

11. The Sheriff of Bombay by H. R. F. Keating
12. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare *
13. Superior Saturday by Garth Nix *
14. Mastiff by Tamora Pierce *
15. Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones *
16. Shaman Winter by Rudolfo Amaya *
17. any unread Nero Wolf
18. Any unread Tony Hillerman
19. Game of Patience by Susanne Alleyn
20. any by Octavia E. Butler +

21. any by Neil Gaiman +
22. Goddess of the Sea by P. C. Cast *
23. Secrets of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst *
24. Night of the Wolf by Alice Borchardt +
25. Wolfblade by Jennifer Fallon *
26. Eona by Alison Goodman *
27. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell *
28. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett +
29. The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martínez
30. any unread by Joseph Bruchac

* public library
** public library downloadable
+ my own shelves
# CMS

This space is for listing other possible reads:

1. The Tao of Physics or The Web of Life by Fritjof Capra *
2. Where the Wild Things Were by william Stolzenburg*
3. Earth: An Intimate History by Richard Fortey *
4. The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo *
5. Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell

6. The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain +
7. The Tipping Point or Blink by Malcolm Gladwell *
8. The Colosseum by Keith Hopkins and Mary Beard *
9. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed -- Jared Diamond *
10. Fossil Legends of the First Americans -- Adrienne Mayor

11. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt -- Edmund Morris *
12. Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington +
13. The Family that Couldn't Sleep by D. T. Max *
14. any play by Shakespeare +
15. Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer *

16. After the prophet by Lesley Hazelton **
17. A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel +
18. The destiny of the republic : a tale of madness, medicine and the murder of a president by Candice Millard *
19. The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed *
20. Operation Mincemeat by Ben McIntyre *

21. Men of tomorrow : geeks, gangsters, and the birth of the comic book / Gerard Jones. *
22. Miss Leavitt's stars : the untold story of the woman who discovered how to measure the universe / George Johnson *
23. Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel+
24. Edwin Hubble : mariner of the nebulae / Gale E. Christianson *
25. The fly in the cathedral / Brian Cathcart *

26. Mindful Eating by Jan Chosen Bays *
27. Joseph Banks: A Life by Patrick O'Brian
28. The Big One: The Earthquake That Rocked Early America by Charles Officer*
29. The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley*
30. Cosmic Anger: Abdus Salam by Gordon Fraser

* public library
** public library downloadable
+ my own shelves

And still more books I MIGHT read:

1. The Lies that Bind by Kate Carlisle *
2. Across the Universe by Beth Revis *
3. Charlaine Harris : Shakespeare's Landlord* or Dead as a Doornail** or Real Murders*
4. Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur *
5. The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz * or **
6. Raven's Strike by Patricia Briggs
7. Any unread Louis L'Amour +
8. Fever Season by Barbara Hambly
9. The Necropolis Railway by Andrew Martin *
10. The Wild Wood by Charles de Lint

11. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield *
12. The Bookman's Promise by John Dunning *
13. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin *
14. The Cobra King of Kathmandu by P.B. Kerr *
15. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
16. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
17. Time and Again by Jack Finney
18. The name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss *
19. The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan
20. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett *

21. The Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin *
22. Shadow Valley by Steven Barnes
23. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein *
24. True Grit by Charles Portis *
25. Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber *
26. American Lion: Andrew Jackson by Jon Meacham *
27. Dr. Faustus by Christopher marlowe
28. The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West *
29. The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia
30. The Best American Science and Nature Writing by Freeman Dyson

* public library
** public library downloadable
+ my own shelves

More titles that I don't want to forget about.

1. Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis *
2. Dissolution by C. J. Sansom

* public library
** public library downloadable
+ my own shelves

CATS challenges: may be in my regular categories or in the bonus books but why not list them here too.

January

AlphaCAT: A & M
-- Considering American lion : Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham. Gets A & M and is an author new to me.
--Read Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry.

RandomCAT: A new-to-me author
-- Read Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin. This also gets a book for the AlphaCat.

AwardsCAT:Spur Award and Women's Prize for Fiction(Orange)
-- Read Comanche Moon by Larry McMurty for Spur Award; would also work for AlphaCAT and the author is actually another I've never read. So, a CAT trick!
-- Read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold from Orange longlist since I have a copy, also never read author. Another CAT trick if I use Alice for A.

February

AlphaCat: B & N
-- definitely Born in Ice by Nora Roberts
-- consider Reservation Blues by Alexie Sherman
-- READThe Doll's House by Neil Gaiman -- Feb 3, 2013

RandomCAT: read a book with a title, author, or character that brings to mind some of the weather events like cold, snow, etc. we typically experience during the month of February.
--Again Born in Ice; also consider Avalanche; Helliconia Winter; The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

AwardsCAT:American Book Award and Rita Award
-- ABA Reservation Blues by Alexie Sherman
-- RITA Born in Ice by Nora Roberts

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Year-long: Q & Z for AlphaCAT

They're cheap so why not reserve them now! I will return to see what your categories will be.

Yah Tricia! Like mamzel, I look forward to seeing the categories you choose.

Hi Tricia, I'm looking forward to following your reading again next year.

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by whether you left a comment or not.

Tentative categories are in Message 1 above and I should soon have the rest of the thread in shape. I'm still working on the 2012 though so I'm mostly over there for now.

It looks like a good balance of topics. Have a great reading year!

Definitely looks like I'll pick up some book bullets here next year, got you starred.

From reading the threads so far, this group will be supplying all of us with lots of book bullets!

Ack! The suspense. Looking forward to finding out what you do with your reserved spaces and what books you choose for your challenge.

Looks like a good spread, category-wise. Those ebooks accumulate a lot faster than you'd think, don't they?!

I've been resisting adding money to my Amazon account in order to limit myself to freebies for impulse purchases. But occasionally there's one I just have to have...

I've decided to keep track of books I want to read as part of my challenge. That's what the lists above are for. So far they are recycled from my 2012 lists with the ones I actually read deleted (leaving blanks in the middle which won't last long). Now to check everywhere else I've been listing books!

I'm using one of my reserved spaces to keep track of the CAT challenges even though I expect many (or even all!) to also be part of my planned categories.

The probable reads for January are

AlphaCAT: A & M
-- Considering American lion : Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham. Gets A & M

RandomCAT: A new-to-me author
-- Read Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin. This also gets a book for the AlphaCat.

AwardsCAT:Spur Award and Women's Prize for Fiction(Orange)
-- consider Comanche Moon by Larry McMurty for Spur Award; would also work for AlphaCAT and the author is actually another I've never read.
-- also consider The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold from Orange longlist since I have a copy, also never read author

These will take care of the CATs and fill in some spots in my challenge categories. I may also add a book by Alexander McCall-Smith and whatever else catches my eye.

I've read one of Akunin's so far, I enjoyed it quite a bit. :)

Comanche Moon is one of my possibilities for January as well! :) Will be interested to hear your thoughts on it.

II. Mystery & Suspense #1

1. Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin -- finished January 5, 2013

From my own shelves.
266 pages
Fiction
Translator: Andrew Bromfield

Random and Alpha CATS

This is one of a series of novels featuring Erast Fandorin, sometimes investigator, spy, and whatever else is required of him. The setting is the Balkins during the Russo-Turkish war with the novel opening in July, 1877. Treason, murder, and politics mix here in an adventure featuring Varvara Suvorova (who has traveled to the front to be with Pyotr, her intended) and Fandorin, who has rescued her from a bunch of ruffians. They find themselves given the assignment to ferret out any Turkish spies and so on.

At this point, I really didn't know what I thought about the book but as I continued reading my interest in finding out what came next increased and in the end I did enjoy Akunin's novel. Thus I'll be returning this book to my shelves and I might read another of Akunin's books.

I've read several of the Erast Fandorin books and Turkish Gambit is my favorite of the ones I've read. He writes each one in a different style, so if you try another one in this series it might not feel like it's in the same series.

>36 hailelib:

It's a somewhat hard to classify book but in the end enjoyable.

If you decide to try another Erast Fandorin book, you might go with Murder on the Leviathan. It's a shipboard mystery that reminded me of some of Agatha Christie's works, particularly Death on the Nile.

The Lovely Bones is a favorite of mine, and I'm been meaning to read American Lion, so I'll make sure to keep an eye out for your reactions! Good reading :)

IV. Fantasy & Science Fiction #1.

2. Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman et al -- finished January 7, 2013

From the public library
235 pages plus Afterword
Graphic Novel
Sandman Volume 1

It's hard for me to judge this book since I've read so few graphic novels and it has been decades since I read DC and Marvel comics. Since there is a group read going on this year of the series it seemed a good time to try out Gaiman's Sandman. By the time I was a quarter of the way into Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes the stories and characters had caught my interest and I wanted to see where the author (and illustrators) would take the reader next. Captivity, revenge and a quest are all combined here to good effect. I will most likely continue on in the series in a couple of weeks.

____

Now back to Comanche Moon and I've also started The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry.

must get round to reading Sandman this month! glad you enjoyed it enough to continue

I was planning on pacing myself too for the group read since I've already read the Sandmans numerous times, but now that I've finished the first one, I just want to mow through the rest. Addictive!!

Yes, but I'm now in the middle of three other books!

Nice review! It's my least favourite volume I think, but still great.

double post

II. Mystery & Suspense #2.

3. The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry -- finished January 9, 2013

From my own shelves.
345 pages
Fiction
Anne Perry Group Read; AlphaCat

The Face of a Stranger takes place in Victorian London and is the first book in the William Monk Series of detective novels. Monk wakes up in a hospital ward with no memory of who he is after an accident. Sensing that his continued employment as a police detective may depend on hiding the extent of the memory loss Monk returns to work and is assigned to the murder of a Crimean war veteran, the Honorable Joscelin Grey. With his new assistant, Mr. Evan, Monk attempts to investigate while slowly rediscovering himself and not much liking the kind of person he seems to have been. With the help of Evan and also Miss Hester Latterly, Monk does eventually learn enough about Joscelin Grey to discover what really happened on the night of the murder. Along the way he also remembers enough of his past to function as a police inspector again

Since I'm interested in Monk's future and whether he does change and become less driven and judgmental and I rather liked the way this mystery was constructed I'll be reading more of this series. The second book is actually on my shelves already so that is definitely the next Anne Perry to read.
.

VI. Catching Up #1.

4. Blood Trail by Tanya Huff -- finished Jan 11, 2013

From my own shelves.
298 pages
Fiction -- Urban Fantasy

A true left-over as it has been hiding out in the pile on my side of the bed for over three years!

In Blood Trail (second in Vicki Nelson/Henry Fitzroy series) Vicki meets a family of wer when they ask Henry Fitzroy for help. Someone has guessed that they are more than just reclusive sheep farmers and has started killing them. Vicki and Henry need to find out who this is without involving the police. Oh, did I mention that Henry is a vampire and was once Henry, illegitimate son of HenryVIII, now writing historical romances to pay the rent. This is the second one of the series I've read and I may read another one or two when I'm looking for something fast and definitely not serious.

Still reading Comanche Moon and started American Lion but both are a bit slow going and keep getting interrupted by shorter books.

I finished Part II of Comanche Moon and decided to take a little break. Part III picks up some years later and is about 230 pages and should go quickly. Meanwhile I'm taking a definite break from Gus and Woodrow.

V. Anything Goes --Fiction #1

5. Dream Eyes by Jayne Ann Krentz -- finished January 18, 2013

From the public library.
325 pages
Romance with paranormal and suspense elements

A fast and moderately entertaining read for Krentz's fans. This is the second in The Dark Legacy books and features Gwen Frazier and Judson Coppersmith. Some characters from her book Copper Beach have minor roles in Dream Eyes and there is even a cameo by Fallon Jones, indicating that this is the same timeline as the one in which the Arcane Society exists.

And another before going back to Comanche Moon:

V. Anything Goes -- Fiction #2.
6. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold -- finished January 20, 2013

From my own shelves.
328 pages.
mostly a novel about relationships and family.
CAT-trick

With all the reviews on the site I don't need to say much about the book itself. It had been languishing on my shelves for years but somehow it was never the right time and I eventually forgot that I had it. This challenge reminded me and I searched it out.

The Lovely Bones was better than I expected but I think that reading it when I first acquired it would have been a mistake. Then I was still in a rut, reading mostly feel good romances and the occasional mystery. Since then, and especially since joining my first challenge, my reading has broadened. Not only am I reading nonfiction again but I cast a wider net when reading fiction.

In her book, Sebold explores loses, what family means, young love, and some ideas of what happens after death and how one can't always take a person at face value. She shows us that different people have different ways of coping with their lives. This is a book that I would recommend.

Since you are reading more nonfiction, you may like to look at Sebold's Lucky.

mamzel, thanks for the recommendation. I'll take a look at it one of these days -- like everyone else my lists of possibles is big and growing with nearly every thread I read.

Finally,

V. Anything Goes #3.

7. Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry -- finished January 22, 2012

From the public library.
742 pages.
Spur Award (Novel of the West, 1998)
CAT-trick

Comanche Moon takes place between the novels Dead Man's Walk and Lonesome Dove and I initially chose it because of the Spur Award but it also fit the RandomCat and the AlphaCat.

Although long and a little hard to get into I really did enjoy McMurtry's story and may eventually read one of the other books in the Lonesome Dove series. There were two reasons why it went slowly at first: the first short chapters were each about a different character or small group of characters and so the narrative seemed to be jumping around a lot until one got them all sorted out; then my husband found the video of the TV production at the library and wanted to watch it right away (mostly because Call was played by Karl Urban and McCrae by Steve Zahn). This was an interesting experience but I did slow down on the book until we had watched all three parts of the video. One thing I particularly noticed - most of the dialog was lifted straight out of the novel although there were some cuts and rearranging of some scenes.

Comanche Moon begins with Gus and Woodrow as Texas Rangers and follows their lives before and after the War Between the States. Much of their 'rangering' involves keeping the Comanches at bay and pushing them back in order to protect the settlers coming west. McMurtry also gives us the point of view of the Comanches through characters such as Buffalo Hump and Kicking Wolf. The descriptions of the Texas countryside and life in the city of Austin at that time were also very good. The novel became a real page-turner in both Part Two and Part Three and I would recommend it.

interesting. I feel that lonesome dove was great but as a standalone, never really felt like reading the others in the series, I am wondering now about the others having read your review...

I am a big fan of both westerns and Larry McMurtry, so it's nice to see the AwardCat has encouraged a few to try his Lonesome Dove books.

Hi Tricia -

This is my first visit to your thread - we seem to have a number of books in common!

I really like Boris Akunin's Fandorin books - The Turkish Gambit is one of my favorites. I agree with Carrrie, though, the his writing style changes enormously between books. Murder on the Leviathan is another good choice.

I only started reading Tanya Huff's books in the last few years, but I've become a big fan of hers. If you like Science Fiction at all, you might like her Valor series.

I recently read Dream Eyes - like you I wan't wowed, but at least with Jayne Ann Krentz (or whatever name she's writing under) you know what to expect.

I'm interested in the books you may read this year - some I've already read, others not. I'm looking forward to your reviews!

Dejah_Thoris, I used to read a lot of science fiction and still occasionally pull a favorite off the shelf or bring home something new. However these days I'm more into fantasy, urban and otherwise.

Right now I'm reading a couple of nonfiction books but I keep picking The Doll's House up and then talking myself into waiting a bit longer. I'm mostly spending the afternoon in front of a fire and listening to the sleet coming down. At least I was able to arrange a day at home today!

> 58 although I tried to talk myself into waiting till February I cracked and read doll's house tonight

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction #2.

Thanks to everyone who recommended this book as I really enjoyed it!

8. Redshirts by John Scalzi -- finished Jan 30, 2013

From the public library.
306 pages.
SF laced with humor and references to StarTrek (among others)

Redshirts begins with a Prologue that hints at some of the problems faced by the crew of the starship Intrepid. When the main story opens Ensign Andrew Dahl is on his way to his new posting on Intrepid and anticipates that he will have the chance to explore on the Away Missions. But soon Andrew and his new friends among the recently assigned junior officers notice that there is something odd about their new ship and its crew and the really high mortality rate among new crew members when a bridge officer accompanies an Away Mission. However, unlike others of the crew, rather than accepting that this is how it is, they try to find out what is going on.

Spoofing all things Trek, referencing Galaxy Quest, and bad TV (especially bad SF TV) Redshirts is both humorous and serious as we watch Andy and his mates attempt to take control of their lives. After all, what have they got to lose?

Recommended but don't skip the Codas! I might even read it again before long.

January Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (0/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (2/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (0/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (2/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (3/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (1/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (0/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (0/8)
IX. Who are we? (0/8)
X. Short Stuff (0/8)
XI. Science and technology (0/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (0/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (0/8)

I suspect that the standout books (once I have a little more distance from them) will be Comanche Moon and Redshirts and perhaps Sandman.

So 5 fiction categories started. I'm also well into 2 nonfiction books: American Lion and Through the Language Glass. My next fiction will probably be Sandman: The Doll's House.

AlphaCat: Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry; Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin; The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry

RandomCat: Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin; The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry

AwardsCat: Spur: Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry and Orange: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

CAT-Tricks: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry

Minor goal for February will be to put some books in the untouched categories as I would like to keep my reading from getting too lopsided.

February CATS may be

AlphaCat: B & N
--definitely Born in Ice by Nora Roberts
--consider Reservation Blues by Alexie Sherman

RandomCAT: weather events like cold, snow, etc. we typically experience during the month of February.
--Again Born in Ice; also consider Avalanche; Helliconia Winter; or The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

AwardsCAT:American Book Award and Rita Award
-- ABA Reservation Blues by Alexie Sherman
-- RITA Born in Ice by Nora Roberts

Tricia, I'm going for the CAT trick with Born in Ice too! I downloaded it yesterday from the public library's Overdrive site.

It will be a reread for me but I don't remember any of the story it was so long ago.

Glad you enjoyed Redshirts its such fun!

Hooray! Another Redshirts fan!

Enjoying all the love for Redshirts :-)

Well I like StarTrek and I really like Galaxy Quest so how could I not like Redshirts?

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction #3.

9. The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman -- Feb 3, 2013

From the public library
234 pages
Graphic Novel
Sandman Volume 2 -Feb AlphaCat for N

There are several excellent reviews already so I'll just write down a few short remarks. Not only am I still enjoying The Sandman but Volume 2 is even better than "Preludes". As several people have noted the artwork is much better and I liked the stories better. Particularly good was how Gaiman picked up characters that he introduced in Volume 1 and features them and how a few were referenced briefly here and there. For me, the best stories were "Tales in the Sand" and "Men of Good Fortune" although Rose Walker's adventures were also interesting. I will definitely continue with The Sandman.

VIII. Rereads: Fiction #1.

10. Born in Ice by Nora Roberts -- Finished February 4, 2013

From my own shelves.
352 pages
Romance
CAT-Trick --Rita Award, Random(Ice), Alpha (B & N)

This book has been on my shelves a long time, and while I didn't really remember the story I probably had read Born in Ice before. Brianna is the younger of the two Concannon sisters and this is the second book in one of Ms. Roberts' trilogies. It won the RITA Award for Best Romance of 1995 and was interesting enough that I have tracked down the third book at the library and will read it. However, this can be read as a stand alone book and in fact I found out enough about the older sister's back story that I don't really feel any need to find and read Born in Fire (book #1).

The setting is rural Ireland in the 1990's and the relationships in the family and the local community are important elements in the story. Born in Ice is a romance with only a hint of mystery/suspense and definitely none of the supernatural/paranormal elements that are included in some of Robert's more recent trilogies. However, completists and fans will probably enjoy Brianna's story.

Hi hailelib, wanted to come and drop a comment for some times now.

Reading your good review of Boris Akunin, I remembered about starting Léviathan and liking it. I didn't finished it at the time but now I definetly will go back to it in the near future.

Looking forward your categories Science and Technology as well as History, Biography/Memoir.

Of course, following the rest as well :)

> 70 -- I probably will eventually read another book by Boris Akunin although I understand that the books are each different from the others.

IX. Who are we? How does society work? #1.

11. Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in other Languages by Guy Deutscher -- Finished February 6, 2013

From the Public Library.
239 pages + Appendix, Notes, & Bibliography
Interaction of culture and language

In Through the Language Glass Deutscher examines whether or not a society's language affects its habits of thought, its way of viewing the world, and its culture. He discusses color perception and naming, the differences in treatment of noun gender in various languages, and how different groups of people will use different coordinate systems to orient themselves in the physical world. It turns out that not only are there different ways of ways of doing this but it may be that some peoples do perceive the world slightly differently from other groups. But Deutscher explains all this much better that I can and he does it in an entertaining manner.

I enjoyed this book and learned some interesting things but I remember his The Unfolding of Language as a really outstanding book and I would recommend it over this one. (There several excellent reviews of his books on LT to help one decide where to start.)

thanks for the heads up - I've been contemplating that book so perhaps will get the unfolding of language instead

Good review and thanks for the tip reminder about The Unfolding of Language -- I went to add it to my wishlist and it was already there! :)

Through the Language Glass was an impulse pick from the library that I grabbed because Jim and I both liked The Unfolding of Language and once I was into it the book went pretty fast.

I now have six books started and keep picking up new ones... Maybe this weekend I'll settle into just one. Most of my reading the last couple of days has been skimming through children's books to decide where we want them (new ones) and to improve the records for older ones. (As cmslib29631).

II. Mystery & Suspense #3.

12. Bloodline by Felix Francis -- finished February 9, 2013

From the public Library
354 pages
English mystery (with horses of course) - another impulse choice from the local library.

The LOC title is Dick Francis's Bloodline with his son Felix as the author. Continuing writing mysteries in more or less his father's style, Felix Francis did entertain me with this novel. Mark Shillingford works around racetracks as a race caller and TV presenter. At the beginning of the book, Mark is calling a race where his twin sister, a jockey, loses when he is convinced she should have won. Soon after confronting Clare with his suspicions Mark is informed of her death and finds that the police believe it was suicide. He embarks on a mission to discover the truth about her death and stirs up all kinds of trouble.

I enjoyed this well enough but I would still recommended some of Dick Francis' best mysteries as the place to start. Among my personal favorites are Enquiry and High Stakes.

III. Next Up #1.

13. Born in Shame by Nora Roberts -- Finished Jan 9, 2013

From the public library.
357 pages
Strictly romance.
AlphaCAT -- B & N

The best thing about this book was that it satisfied my curiosity about what would happen when the third sister was found. However Shannon's story wasn't as good as Brianna''s. Again, the main setting is County Clare with Shannon staying at Brianna's B&B and many of the characters we met in the previous books of the trilogy appear. If one is a fan of Ms. Roberts and doesn't mind a bit of "we've lived and loved before" then Born in Shame might be worth a read.

Oh dear! I just finished Born in Ice and felt like it left enough threads hanging that I wanted to read Born in Shame. I'm not a big romance reader, though, and if it's not as good as the one I just finished I'm afraid I won't like it.

Born in Shame does tie up those loose ends pretty well. Also it's not the kind of romance where the bedroom scenes totally take over.

That's good to know. I did like Murphy in this book and I figured out that he would probably have a prominent role in the next one. I actually liked Murphy better than Grayson (or whatever his name was).

> 69 - Nice CAT Trick!

I. Young at Heart #1.

14. Avalanche by Arthur Roth -- finished February 10, 2013

From my own shelves.
140 pages.
Adventure and survival.
Random CAT

Avalanche is a survival story aimed at children in about the 10 to 12 age range with a 14 year old hero. Chris has a day off from school and goes cross-country skiing taking his twenty-two along. After bagging some grouse, Chris to decides to go further from home than usual and try to make Hidden Lake further up in the mountains before heading back. On the way he spots a coyote and decides to try for it but this time the crack of the rifle sets off an avalanche burying Chris. The story is about how Chris survived for a week trapped in the snow and it is also about the thinking he did during that time about his relationships with the members of his family.

At the time I was reading this story it rang true and I didn't really notice that it was a bit dated (It was published in 1979.) until I had finished. Some children might take issue with the lack of cell phones, etc. but many would appreciate the old fashioned adventure story and cheer Chris on as he survives another day.

this book was originally my son's and is one one (among many) that he left here. The school has this as well and I would recommend it to some of the students there.

later...

Is is possible to live for a week buried in the snow? Ah, the good old days, when kids were allowed to go off on their own. With a rifle!

Well if you don't mind SPOILERS -- He ate a lot of snow and there were three large grouse in his backpack which he used for food. There was also an air hole above him. Of course, the author made it fairly clear that he wouldn't have lasted another day...It seemed realistic while I was reading...

83. Technically, you can live for a couple-three weeks as long as you have air (duh!) and water - snow would provide the latter so it's definitely possible. I'd be more worried about hypothermia. Even if it isn't THAT cold with the snow insulating, you'd probably get wet and that makes it a whole lot worse.

Hey Tricia -

I recently read Born in Fire with the intention of reading Born in Ice (I couldn't resist the CAT Trick). Don't make much effort to get Born in Fire - it was strictly ok, although I enjoyed the glass blowing descriptions. Born in Ice should be arriving at the library for me soon, along with Born in Shame. Now that I've read your review, though, I'm not sure I want to bother (with Born in Shame)!

Dejah, I would definitely say that Born in Shame is not Robert's best!

I finally finished another book. Took it with me when I had to go to Greenville yesterday. Jim was driving so I had almost an hour of reading time each way.

V. Anything Goes: Fiction #4.

15. Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie -- Finished February 21, 2012

From the public library.
306 pages
Novel told from a Native American point of view.
AlphaCAT (B); AwardCAT (American Book Award - 1996)

According to Wikipedia, this was Sherman Alexie's first novel although he had published both poetry and short stories prior to Reservation Blues. After reading a little about the author it is apparent that he used some of his own experiences to create this picture of reservation life in the 90's. One of the questions explored here is "What does it mean to be Indian today, especially reservation Indian?".

I think that Reservation Blues would have caught me sooner if I hadn't been going through a bit of a reading slump when I started it. I did know pretty early on that I would finish it and half-way through I was definitely hooked. Alexie somehow manages his mix of comedy and tragedy very well and I particularly loved the way he referenced so much pop culture. In fact the story begins with the sudden appearance of legendary bluesman Robert Johnson at a crossroads on the Spokane Indian Reservation along with his guitar.

Recommended. And my library copy had a very attractive cover too.

For the next few days I'll be concentrating on finishing at least one of the three books I still have going: American Lion, Messenger of Truth, and Fast, Cheap, & Written that Way. All are interesting in their own way and I do want to finish them.

III. Next up #2.

16. Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear -- Finished Feb 24, 2013

From the public library.
319 pages
part mystery, part novel about hard times in London in 1930 when jobs were few and far between

The fourth book in the Maisie Dobbs series finds Maisie and Billy exploring the art world when a client asks Maisie to investigate the circumstances of her artist brother's death in a supposed accident. Maisie is getting over a bad patch left over from her previous case and she is also very much alone here, being still estranged from Maurice and feeling that Andrew wants more than she is prepared to give. Billy is also distracted by his youngest child's illness and the crowding at home since his brother-in-law came to London with his family looking for work and are now living with the Beales. As is usual in this series, many of the problems being explored in Messenger of Truth have their roots in the Great War and many of those who find themselves out of work during the early thirties are veterans of that war.

Another good entry in the series which I will continue to follow both for Maisie and for the social history.

Next -- try to finish at least one of the nonfiction books I'm currently reading.

I've never been able to get through the first Jacqueline Winspear / Maisie Dobbs novel - I've tried twice. Maybe I should pick up a book from later in the series. What do you think?

Dejah> I actually liked the first one much better than the 2nd and 3rd. I liked the 4th one better than the 2nd and 3rd. I put off reading the 3rd for a long time because I simply didn't like the 2nd one. I probably would have never made it to the 4th one if others hadn't told me they improved.

If the first one doesn't appeal to you then I doubt that the others will either.

February Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (1/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (3/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (2/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (3/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (4/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (1/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (0/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (1/8)
IX. Who are we? (1/8)
X. Short Stuff (0/8)
XI. Science and technology (0/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (0/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (0/8)

16 Total

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth and perhaps Sandman.

So 6 fiction categories and 1 nonfiction started. I'm also well into 2 nonfiction books: American Lion and Fast, Cheap & Written that Way and I've started 3 others. My next fiction finished will probably be Sandman: Dream Country.

AlphaCat: Born in Ice by Nora Roberts, Born in Shame by Nora Roberts, and Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie

RandomCat: Born in Ice by Nora Roberts and Avalanche by Arthur Roth

AwardsCat: American Book Award and Rita Award
-- ABA Reservation Blues by Alexie Sherman
-- RITA Born in Ice by Nora Roberts

CAT-Tricks: Born in Ice by Nora Roberts

Minor goals for March will be to put some books in the untouched categories as I would like to keep my reading from getting too lopsided and finishing American Lion which I have been reading off and on for a long time!

March CATS may be

AlphaCat: C & O
--definitely Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein}
--consider looking for one for "O"

RandomCAT: Judging a Book by its Cover - Read the book off your TBR with the most attractive/intriguing cover.
-- undecided as yet -- still thinking about this...

AwardsCAT:The Morning News Tournament of Books and The Agatha award
-- The Agatha award -- Code Name Verity is a 2012 nominee
-- if I have time also read Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben Macintyre - another 2012 nominee
-- Tournament of Books -- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell -winner 2005 (if it ever comes from the library!)

Double Cross was excellent! Hope you like it if you have time for it :)

Good to know!

I may have to give Double Cross a try, too. Thanks for mentioning it!

Note to self: check on Amelia Peabody's Egypt - a Compendium

Amelia Peabody's Egypt really is entertaining. I hope you like it!

We've had it for ages but neither of us did anything but look at some of the illustrations before it ended up on a high shelf out of reach and so forgotten. I think I'll pull it down and see if this is the month to read it. After all, it did win an Agatha in 2003.

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction #4.

17. Dream Country by Neil Gaiman -- finished Mar 3, 2013

From the public library.
161 pages with the extras.
Graphic novel comprised of four stories + the script for one of them.
Sandman Volume Three

First of all, I really liked the cover of this one and considered using it for the RandomCAT. My eyes kept being drawn back to it and I also liked several of the interior illustrations a great deal. The artwork here was a real plus.

As far as the stories go I liked all of them but my favorite was A Dream of a Thousand Cats about equally for the cats, the ideas and the art. The script at the end was interesting for its glimpse into how a comic is created although Gaiman points out that this is just one way of doing it.

Only complaint - I'm reading copies from the local library and both Calliope and Facade had a sheet torn out of the middle thus losing two pages each. For Facade it was easy enough to figure out what was in the missing panels but in the case of Calliope the script was necessary to fill it the missing piece - and it was a crucial piece.

For others new to Sandman: keep on reading!

Oh, too bad about the missing pages. That would make me so angry! I have just picked up the next volume, Season of Mists, but probably won't be starting it until next week sometime.

I haven't had a library book with any missing pages yet but i guess it is bound to happen to someone somewhere.... just sorry it had to happy to you with Sandman!

While I've had torn and loose pages in library books before this is the first time there were completely missing pages.

XIII. Anything Goes -- Nonfiction #1.

18. Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet by Jamie Koufman -- finished March 4, 2013

From the public library.
181 pages
Health and self-help

After reading about this book on Amazon I checked it out of the library to see what I thought. The science seems sound enough but there is not much information in the book that isn't already online. Most of the book consists of 75 suggested recipes ( with photos ) and while the layout is nice there is a lot of white space. I am going to try the author's eating plan and see if it helps but my advice would be to borrow this book before buying to see if it is worth the money for you.

I. Young at Heart #2.

19. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein -- Finished March 6, 2013

From the public library.
332 pages plus author's note.
Fiction -- World War II
AlphaCat for letter 'C'
AwardCat -- Agatha nominee for 2012 (Best Children's/Young Adult)

There are so many excellent reviews already that I really don't have a lot to add. About two young women and the roles they played in WWII this is a brilliant book. It's well researched and had me turning pages for hours until I finished. Just be aware that it would be best to vet the book before giving it to a young teen as some may not be ready for such an intense book. Interesting, sad, and highly recommended.

Yay, glad you liked Code Name Verity!

Nearly everyone here seems to have liked it!

XII. History/Biography/Memoir #1.

20. American Lion by Jon Meacham -- finished March 12, 2013

From the public library.
361 pages + prologue, plates, notes, bibliography
Nonfiction -- Andrew Jackson; concentrates on his years as President

American Lion is probably not for everyone. While there is a brief explanation of Andrew Jackson's life before he became President and some further details of his years afterwards, this book is mainly concerned with the eight years he spent in the White House. It's densely packed with details of the politics, the social scene, and Jackson's private life during this period. Those around him, whether family, ally, or foe, are pictured in detail along with their effect on Jackson and on the political scene. Meacham had access to a number of new sources such as letters between various members of the Jackson 'family' and extensively quoted from them to give a portrait of life in the White House during his Presidency and to show additional details of some of the political shenanigans they were affected by.

This was a critical period for the United States and Jackson held the Union together almost by the force of his will alone. I was surprised a bit by the part that John Calhoun played in the Nullification crisis as I had largely forgotten about it. Meacham makes it very clear that a possible war between the North and South was only narrowly averted and of course 30 years later such a war did come to pass.

Recommendation: Read several of the reviews here to decide if this is for you. It did win some awards and I am very glad to have read it.

XIII. Anything Goes: Nonfiction #2.

21. Fast, Cheap, & Written that Way by John Gaspard -- finished March 14, 2013

From the public library.
304 pages
Nonfiction -- writing for low-budget movies
AlphCat -- C

In his afterword, Gaspard paraphrased Somerset Maugham:

"There are three rules for writing the screenplay. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."

The book is organized as a set of interviews with the screenwriters of 23 low-budget movies (many of which I had never heard of) and, at first, I thought that this wasn't a very interesting book. Then I became fascinated with how different the process was for each of the authors. For many it was their first feature screenplay and many of them also directed their movies. There was a great deal of discussion about how the script changed during production, both while shooting and while editing. A good book for anyone who thinks they want to write screenplays with some really interesting bits of advice for the first time writer.

I read this in bits (one or two 'interviews' at a time) between other books and between chunks of American Lion. The next nonfiction finished will probably be Dry Store Room No. 1 by Richard Fortey.

I spent some time with fiction the last few days...

VII. My Virtual Books #1

22. Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster -- Finished March 15, 2013

Downloaded from Amazon.
423 "pages'
Paranormal Romantic Fantasy

Kiss of Steel was a pleasant read but not particularly memorable. Set in London with a Steampunk backgound Ms. McMaster had a somewhat unusual version of both vampires and werewolves. I may read the next in the series when it is available.

X. Short Stuff #1

23. Hearts and Swords by Robin D. Owens -- Finished March 16, 2013

Recent purchase.
452 pages
Anthology -- romantic fantasy

Four short 'novels' featuring Celta, with the first one being the story of the colonists finding a planet to settle and landing shortly before their generation ships became uninhabitable. This story has somewhat less romance than the other three and without the psi powers it would be a fairly straight forward colonization story. The main conflict here is between the newly awakened Captain and members of the crew born on the Ship who want to abandon the mission.

The other three stories are set in the Celtan society that exists a little over 400 years later. These stories are very much in the style of Owens' other stories in the Celta series and I was pleasantly surprised by their quality.

I read Kiss of Steel last year and felt as you did not bad, but not particularly impressive. I don't think I've read any Robin D. Owens I may have to give her a try.

Owens has other books, not about Celta, that I haven't read but I always enjoy this series especially the Fams, most of which are cats. There are recurring characters so they should be read in publication order if one is bothered by spoilers.

I also read a mystery over the weekend...

II. Mystery and Suspense #4.

24. A Dangerous Mourning by Anne Perry -- Finished March 17, 2013

From my own shelves
330 pages
Victorian mystery: 2nd in the William Monk series

This is another good mystery from Anne Perry with great period detail and a fairly interesting mystery. A beautiful young widow is found stabbed to death in her own bed and the case is assigned to Monk. It soon appears to have been the work of someone in the household, either one of her relatives or one of the servants. Hester Lattery once again helps with the investigation, taking a position as a nurse for Lady Moidore in order to observe the various suspects. I will definitely be reading more of this series.

I have three non-fiction books started: Dry Store Room No. 1, On Being the Right Size, and The Ghost Map. They are all good so far.

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on The Ghost Map! It's on my "request from library" list.

I hope to hear good things about Dry Store Room No. 1. I have it in my stacks somewhere. I need to find a way to kick start my non-fiction reading. They keep getting moved aside for the fiction books.

112 & 113

Still liking both, but I'm currently concentrating on On Being the Right Size by Haldane.

When in the library exchanging videos last Thursday, I glanced at the New Book shelves and found a novella that I had been halfway looking for included in a new hardcover release of the book that it was a prequel for. So naturally I checked the book out and proceded to have a two day fiction bout. I'm back to my nonfiction reads now but I don't know if more than one will be finished by the end of the month. bookstores and libraries are dangerous.

Also behind on reading threads, never mind posting on them!

X. Short Stuff #2.

25. Alpha and Omega (novella) by Patricia Briggs -- finished March 21, 2013

From the public library.
65 pages
Paranormal romance; The Marrok series aka Mercy Thompson
Could be an AlphaCAT?

Originally an ebook, I think, as well as part of the anthology On the Prowl, this short novella tells the story of how Charles and Anna met. The Marrok sends Charles to investigate when he receives a call from Anna about strange goings on in her Pack. While I enjoyed the story, the important events are mentioned in Cry Wolf so that this prequel isn't a necessary read in order to understand the background for Cry Wolf. This is also in the Mercy Thompson universe and so the rules are familiar from those stories.

VIII. Rereads #2.

26. Cry Wolf and Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs -- Finished March 22, 2013 -- counting as one.

Cry Wolf -- From the public library
285 pages
Picks up where Alpha and Omega leaves off.
AlphaCat - C

I reviewed this when I read it before so I'll just say I still like it.

Hunting Ground -- From my own shelves.
286 pages
paranormal; urban fantasy

The second novel in the Alpha and Omega series, this book finds Charles and Anna attending a conference of Alphas in Seattle to discuss the Marrok's plan to have his werewolves go public. It's getting harder to hide their existence in the modern world and people have more or less adjusted to the existence of the Fae so Bran feels that it is time. Some Alphas are opposed to going public and others are attending with personal agendas. Then there's the powerful Fae who has contracted to act s Moderator for the conference. With Charles and Anna still relatively newly mated and all the other undercurrents, this visit to Seattle promises to be quite an adventure.

This series is recommended for Mercy Thompson fans. And the third book, Fair Game was pretty good too.

I really like the Alpha and Omega books, too, Tricia. Alpha and Omega is one of two really good stories in On the Prowl - the other is by Karen Chance. Do you read her work as well?

I haven't read Anne Perry. Sounds fun. I love period mysteries.

> 117 -- I don't think I've read anything by Karen Chance except in the anthology. My local library has some of her books though. Might try them sometime but right now my list of 'someday' books is really long so I don't think it will be anytime soon.

X. Short Stuff #3.

27. Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs, et al.-- finished March 26, 2013

From the public library.
112 pages
Graphic Novel
Paranormal; Urban Fantasy

I seem to be on an urban fantasy kick at the moment. Anyway, this Mercy Thompson adventure was a quick and enjoyable read. I rather liked the art and the only character who looked a lot different from my mental picture of them was Stefan. The story follows Mercy's arrival in the Tri-Cities and shows how she became friends with Stefan and also why she ended up working as a mechanic for Zee. Then there was her introduction to Adam...

If you like Mercy and graphic novels don't miss this prequel to the series.

III. Next Up #3.

28. Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher -- finished March 29, 2013

From the public library.
404 pages
Paranormal; Urban Fantasy

Another good episode in The Dresden Files. Harry has his hands full with White Council business plus the strange goings on that Molly Carpenter asks him to look into. And the ongoing problems of the war with the Red Court, his brother's secretiveness, and the pesky Fallen Angel in his head have taken their toll. By the end of this book, Harry really needs a vacation! One of those series with an ongoing storyline so best read in order.

X. Short Stuff #4.

29. On Being the Right Size by J. B. S. Haldane and edited by John Maynard Smith -- finished March 31, 2013

From my own shelves.
191 pages.
Essays -- popular science
AlphaCAT -- "O"

These essays by Haldane are collected from several sources including some that originally appeared in the Daily Worker and many are short. All were selected by the editor to not only illustrate Haldane's characteristic habits of thought but also to be accessible to laymen. Haldane lived from 1892 to 1964 and while a brilliant scientist was also known as a leading communist for a while. He admitted enjoying his service at the front during WWI but at the end of his life was in India writing on non-violence. The essays are arranged in more or less chronological order and I rather enjoyed them for the subjects and the humor (of a type that I really appreciate). My husband read them some years ago and would recommend them as well.

March Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (2/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (4/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (3/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (4/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (4/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (1/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (1/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (2/8)
IX. Who are we? (1/8)
X. Short Stuff (4/8)
XI. Science and technology (0/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (1/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (2/8)

29 Total -- (counted 2 rereads as 1)

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth and perhaps Sandman. Added this month: American Lion and Code Name Verity.

So 8 fiction categories and 4 nonfiction started. I'm also well into 2 nonfiction books: Dry Storeroom No. ! and The Ghost Map as well as Amelia Peabody's Egypt. My next fiction finished will probably be Sandman: Season of Mists or Frost Burned.

AlphaCat: Dream Country (Sandman); Code Name Verity; Fast, Cheap, and Written that Way; Hearts and Swords by Robin D. Owens; Alpha and Omega (novella and Series); Cry Wolf; and, On Being the Right Size. Some of these were planned but several just happened
RandomCat:none -- the two books I was considering didn't happen, at least this month.

AwardsCat: The Morning News Tournament of Books and The Agatha award
-- The Agatha award -- Code Name Verity is a 2012 nominee
For the other one I meant to read Cloud Atlas and it's sitting here but I just didn't get to it.

CAT-Tricks: None

Minor goals for March will be to finish the books I've started and perhaps to even up the categories a bit.

April CATS:

AlphaCATS: D and P

Since I still have them Maybe Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and Dry Store Room No. 1 for 'D'
Also have out of the library Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs for 'P'

RandomCAT: read a book that has something to do with Mother Nature or a 'force of nature' in the title or in the author's name.

Dry Store Room No. 1 and The Ghost Map could both fit here without much of a stretch... but I may look for something else.

AwardsCAT: IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and a local award -- Probably South Carolina Book Awards which is given by SC Association of School Librarians.
SC Young Adult Book Award Nominee (2012-2013) -- Matched by Ally Condie
IMPAC -- The Indian Clerk

XII. History, Biography #2.

30. The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson -- finished April 5, 2013

From the public library.
256 pages plus Appendix, Notes, Bibliography
Nonfiction - medical mystery; cholera outbreak in London and implications

I liked this book about the cholera outbreak in London during the summer of 1854. Johnson begins with a description of London and the scavengers who disposed of and recycled the waste of the city. Then he moves on to an account of the Broad Street outbreak along with details of how cholera attacks the body of the infected person.

The middle section of the book concerns the investigations that were carried on, especially those of Dr. John Snow and Rev. Henry Whitehead into the progress and possible causes of this particular cholera invasion. There is a great deal of discussion of the theories of the cause of disease, in particular the miasma theory that disease is caused by bad air and if air smelled bad then it was making one sick. Many of the recommended ways to treat diseases such as cholera involved making the air in the sickroom smell better. Hardly anyone believed in waterborne diseases. So, much of Snow's problem was how to show that cholera was waterborne.

The last section of the book shows how the eventual acceptance of Snow's theory led to cleaner water and better waste disposal in large cities in the industrialized nations. Then he discusses possible futures for today's cities that dwarf the cities of the mid-1800's. In some ways the discussion here may be even more important than the fascinating story of how cholera was tamed in Europe and North America along with other waterborne diseases.

Recommended.

III. Next Up #4

31. Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs -- finished April 5, 2013

From the public library.
340 pages
Urban fantasy with werewolves, etc.
AlphaCAT: "P"

A fairly good Mercy Thompson adventure which was a fun read for me. However, if her enemies keep getting more powerful how long will she be able to keep up? The most recent book in the series and some overlap with the Alpha and Omega series. I liked Asil showing up in the Tri-Cities.

I've been taking a break from the nonfiction I have lined up since there were a few days that I was a bit under the weather and didn't want to have to think too hard! Thus the Books by Briggs and Robb.

III. Next Up #5.

32. Calculated in Death by J. D. Robb -- finished April 7, 2013

From the public library.
386 pages
mystery featuring Eve Dallas
AlphaCAT -- "D"

A new police procedural in Robb's " in Death" series that I liked a bit more than the previous one. The world of Eve and Roarke seems less 'futuristic' all the time since many of the authors projections of where technology was going between the 1990's and the 2050's are happening now. I did notice some subtle updating of the tech available to Eve in her work. Also we did get some brief appearances by a few of my favorite characters but I would like a book where we see more of these secondary people. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the series.

We really do read a lot of the same books, Tricia. Your last three: Ghost Map, Frost Burned and Calculated in Death I've read recently - Calculated in Death while I was sick last week!

I hope you enjoyed your sick books - I liked them!

Those three were pretty good! Not that I was all that sick but after seeing how sick my husband was I went to bed at the first sign of symptoms. he tried to tough it out and got really pulled down.

Now I need to catch up on a weeks worth of category threads...

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction #5.

33. Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman -- finished April 10, 2013

From the public library.
224 pages
graphic novel -- Sandman, Vol. 4
RandomCAT for Season & Mists (if I don't find something better)

I'm still enjoying the Sandman series and Season of Mists has some very good stories with an interesting introduction by Harlan Ellison. I liked the meeting of the Endless where Dream decides that he must rescue Nada from Hell and thus sets in motion what follows. Well, what would happen if Lucifer Morningstar resigned and closed Hell?

Well, what would happen if Lucifer Morningstar resigned and closed Hell?

Okay, I know I am a volume.... or two.... behind the group read, but that is a darn good question, IMO!
*taps foot while waiting for answer*

You need to catch up and find out!

*pouts and places hold with library for copy of Sandman Vol. 4 Season of Mists*

Good to baby yourself with some "lighter" books. Hope you and your hubby are both all better.

> 130

I'll be interested in what you think of this volume when you get it.

> 131

Some lingering congestion but we are mostly better. I'm still going for mostly light/predictable reading...

II. Mystery & Suspense #5.

34. Deadly Stakes by J. A. Jance -- Finished April 12, 2013

Deadly Stakes is the latest in Jance's Ali Reynolds series. I didn't really get into this book at first and soon put it down in favor of the Gaiman volume but when I returned to Ali's current adventure it did go faster and in the end it was an OK read although I've liked some of the earlier books better. Two bodies are found near one another and their murders may be connected. Ali is asked to investigate by the mother of one of the accused and agrees to ask some questions in the guise of a freelance writer. While one of the murders has a pretty good solution the other one was less satisfactory. I would only recommend this particular book to readers already following the series. For me this series is more of a 'check out the latest if I happen to see it at the library' than one I would track down deliberately.

Hi Tricia - I hope you're well and getting lots of reading done!

I'm still here. Just life caught up with me so haven't been posting much anywhere. I have been lurking in other people's threads, however.

Reading wasn't what I had really intended for April since I needed books where I didn't have to think much for a lot of the last half of the month. Hope I'm more or less back to normal.

Just posting a quick list with few comments...

I. Young at Heart #3

35. Matched by Allyson Braithwaite Condie -- Finished April ?, 2013

From the public library.
AwardCAT: nominated by South Carolina Association of School Librarians for their Book Awards

I can see why teens would like this book, BUT I wouldn't really recommend it.

II. Mystery & Suspense #6.

36. Defend and Betray by Anne Perry -- Finished April 29, 2013

From the public library
AlphaCAT -- "D"

Still enjoying Monk.

III. Next Up #6.

37. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith -- finished April ?, 2013

From the public library.

I always like visiting Botswana.

VIII, Rereads - Fiction #3, 4, & 5

38. After Glow, Ghost Hunter, Obsidian Prey, and Midnight Crystal by Jayne Castle -- finished April ?, 2013

These were from my own shelves grabbed when I didn't feel like doing much of anything (another nasty virus that just wouldn't go away). They take place on Harmony where paranormal is normal.

39. The Fairy Godmother, Fortune's Fool, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey -- finished April ?, 2013

From my own shelves and much the same reason for rereading. These are fairytale retellings from the 500 Kingdoms series and one that connects to the Elemental Masters series.

40. The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey -- finished April 26, 2013

Here I was feeling better and finished my rereading from my own books by visiting Pern with Jaxom and Ruth.

Before all the above rereads I did manage to finish one nonfiction book.

XI. Science & Technology #1.

41. Dry storeroom no. 1 : the secret life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey -- Finished ~ April 13, 2013

From the public library.
335 pages.
508 -- How science museums work and the people who inhabit the back rooms.
AlphaCat -- "D"

I did mostly enjoy this book but I liked Trilobite! better.

So caught up to the end of April!

Congratulations on finishing up April's books! The Jayne Castle, Mercedes Lackey and Anne McCraffrey I've all read, but none of the others.

I'm still trying to post comments on books from March. *sigh*

April Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (3/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (6/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (6/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (5/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (4/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (1/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (1/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (5/8)
IX. Who are we? (1/8)
X. Short Stuff (4/8)
XI. Science and technology (1/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (2/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (2/8)

41 Total -- (counted some multiple rereads as 1)

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth, Sandman, American Lion and Code Name Verity. Added The Ghost Map in April.

All categories have at least one book in them.

AlphaCat: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs; Calculated in Death by J. D. Robb
RandomCat: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman for season and for mists.
AwardsCat: Matched by Ally Condie was nominated by South Carolina Association of School Librarians for their Book Awards
CAT-Tricks: None

May CATS: Still thinking -- they may just happen...

AlphaCATS: E and R

RandomCAT: Read a book listed in the Group Zeitgeist

AwardsCAT:

--Pulitzer

--The Kitschies (speculative fiction)

I sure hope you have managed to shake off that nasty virus and are feeling better. Good luck with your May reading!

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction #6

42. A Game of You by Neil Gaiman -- finished May 1, 2013

From the public library.
192 pages
Graphic Novel

Volume Five of The Sandman and an interesting story. I liked the cover art and the in-between chapters art but the the panel art was just OK for me. I also liked that this was a more connected story although there were some references to previous stories. As several others have said, this volume was largely about identity and gender. There also seemed to be a theme about dreams and putting away dreams. I think that other volumes will be favorites rather than this one but it was still worth reading.

I love the Mercy Thompson series & have the first two Alpha & Omega books in my TBR stacks. Are they as good as Mercy?

I didn't even know there was a GN of Mercy, but I'm going to HAVE to check my library to see if they have it!

I. Young at Heart #4.

43. 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy -- finished May 13, 2013

From the public library.
40 pages
Picture book based on a real event.

After reading Carrie's review of this book I wanted to see if it would be a good addition to our school library and so got it from the public library. It's now on our wishlist.

14 Cows for America is a beautiful book with wonderful illustrations inspired by photos taken by Josh Haner. These illustrations give a sense of the land and the traditions of the Maasai. The text invokes the sadness felt by many when they remember the events of 9/11 and tells the story of one man who was in New York that day and how he and the people of his remote Kenyan village dealt with that sadness. Their symbolic gift of their precious cows was a remarkable memorial for those who died and their loved ones. Well worth the time that I spent with this short book.

Recommended.

As you can see, I haven't been posting much but I have been reading.

Nearly two-thirds of the way through The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins; about halfway through The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt; and, about a third of the way through Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway.

I have been sort of keeping up with other people's threads in lurking mode...

>142 hailelib: I'm glad you liked it Tricia!

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction #7.

44. Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway -- finished May 21, 2013

From the public library.
475 pages
Speculative fiction with lovers, spies, gangsters, and seriously bad guys.
AwardCAT: The Kitschies Red Tentacle Award for 2012

I had to devote some serious reading time to this novel since someone had requested Angelmaker and I couldn't renew it.

First, there are several thoughtful reviews for Angelmaker so I would suggest skimming some of them for anyone trying to decide whether or not to read Harkaway's book.

I found this novel a little slow in the beginning although that may have been just because I was reading it in small bits when I had had enough of my other books for one day. At about a third of the way in it picked up in pacing and I found it easy to make it my only book for a couple of days.

The story alternates, though much of its length, between Joe and Edie and between past and present with elements of steampunk, thriller, and romance. It can also be seen as a cautionary tale about good intentions leading to bad consequences along with big government run amok. Overall I enjoyed Angelmaker quite a lot and will eventually read more by Harkaway.

Recommended.

X. Short Stuff #5.

45. Dangerous Gifts by Mary Jo Putney -- finished May 25, 2013

ebook -- impulse download from public library
78 pages
Short Regency romance with a bit of fae magic

This was a short tale that was really a Regency romance framed by a couple of Fae using their magic to interfere with the lives of the hero and heroine. Although it suited my mood on the day that I read it, this wasn't something that I would be likely to read again. The main story was really rather slight and the framing story with the two Fae was predictable. While I like Ms. Putney's novels the short form doesn't seem to be her metier.

II. Mystery & Suspense #7.

46. A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch -- Finished May 26, 2013

From the public library
309 pages
Historical mystery - Victorian
RandomCAT -- a group characteristic work

A Beautiful Blue Death was a good 'first in series' mystery and a series that I will likely read more of eventually. Lennox and Lady Jane are both nice people and he is believable as an amateur sleuth. While some of the reviewers compare him to Sherlock Holmes I was also reminded of Lord Peter Wimsey.

Back reading The Ancestor's Tale and The Indian Clerk.

I have Angelmaker on the wishlist, so looking forward to seeing what you think.

May Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (4/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (7/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (6/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (7/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (4/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (1/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (1/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (5/8)
IX. Who are we? (1/8)
X. Short Stuff (5/8)
XI. Science and technology (2/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (2/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (2/8)

46 Total -- (counted some multiple rereads as 1)

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth, Sandman, American Lion, Code Name Verity, The Ghost Map, and added 14 Cows for America and, perhaps, Angelmaker in May.

All categories have at least one book in them but some 6 or more. I need to even up a bit.

AlphaCat: none
RandomCat: A Beautiful Blue Death
AwardsCat: Angelmaker
CAT-Tricks: None

June CATS: Still thinking -- they may just happen...

AlphaCAT: F and S

RandomCAT: June Brides

AwardsCAT: Costa Awards and National Outdoor Book Award

June: Women Authors especially in speculative fiction -- There are a lot of unread women authors on my shelves so it should be easy to work in a few of them.

As long as I'm catching up...

I. Young at Heart #5.

47. The Rising by Kelly Armstrong -- finished June 1, 2013

From the public library.
406 pages
YA paranormal fantasy with shapeshifting

This is the final book in Kelly Armstrong's second YA trilogy and it connects both to the first trilogy and to the Otherworld series. Not a standalone book, The Rising starts where the previous volume left off with our teenage protagonists still on the run and few options for their next move. While I didn't feel that this was a particularly strong entry in the series it did tie up a lot of loose ends and had something of a real conclusion. However there is room for Ms. Armstrong to pick up some of these characters when they are a few years older and involve them in further adventures. Only recommended if one is already invested in this series.

And finally!

XI. Science and Technology #2.

48. The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins -- finished June 2, 2013

From the public library.
614 pages recommended reading,notes, bibliography -- There are also footnotes in the text.
Biology with an emphasis on evolution

After many weeks I finally read the last few pages early this morning...

The Ancestor's Tale is Richard Dawkins attempt to explain life and evolution. He begins with Homo sapiens and works his way back in history. The story is in the form of a pilgrimage to the dawn of life and along the way we meet many other pilgrims as they find their way to the same common ancestor (Concestor in Dawkins vocabulary) while on their own pilgrimage. Sometimes a bit rambling, often humorous, and always interesting enough to keep me wanting to read more, he fills over six hundred pages full of facts, interesting asides, theories, and his own opinions. There is also a substantial contribution by Yan Wong. While I'm sure there have been advances in some of the areas discussed since the publication of The Ancestor's Tale it would still be a good place to start for an overview of biology and evolution.

There is still about 25% of The Indian Clerk to finish and I have read the first few pages of Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier.

I love reading about evolution but the dry textbook format of a number of books makes it a slog reading and tends to get rather 'boring' for me, even with my interest in the subject matter. The Dawkins' book sounds better suited to me as reading audience, even if it is a 600 page book!

I'm always on the look out for good books with evolution themes as well, good review.

> 151 & 152 : If you do read I hope you enjoy it. The organization may not be for everyone but it worked for me.

VI. Catching up #2.

49. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness -- finished June 4, 2013

From my own shelves -- This book has been on the stack next to the bed since last October...
577 pages
fantasy with vampires, witches, daemons, and time-travel; sequel to A Discovery of Witches
AlphaCAT: S for Shadow
Also female author for June

This sequel starts where A Discovery of Witches leaves off and finds Diana and Matthew in England in the year 1590. We meet a lot of historical figures and learn as lot about life in Elizabethan England as Diana learns to fit in at the same time she is trying to find how how her powers work and they pursue the search for the undamaged version of the manuscript that brought them together. Their relationship is still new and still a cause for problems within the supernatural community.

I enjoyed the story for the most part and will certainly read the third volume in the trilogy whenever it is published.

V. Anything Goes - Fiction #5.

50. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier -- Finished June 5, 2013

From the public library.
303 pages plus postscript plus further reading list
historical fiction with many of the characters being actual people including the two narrators
Female author.

I really enjoyed Remarkable Creatures which followed the lives of Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot through the early years of the 1800's. They both lived in the small town of Lyme Regis on the coast of England; Mary all her life and Elizabeth along with two of her sisters after their brother's marriage. The beaches thereabouts abounded with fossils which the locals called "curies" and which the Annings sold to the tourists and collectors. Elizabeth took up fossil hurting for a hobby and became known for her knowledge of fossil fish. The two women became friends and hunted the beaches together although they were of different social classes.

There is a lot in these pages about social position, how women were treated by men, about fossils and how some of Mary Anning's discoveries raised questions about how the earth was created and where these unfamiliar creatures came from. In the postscript the author tells her a little about her research, who was definitely a historical person, and where she departed a bit from the strict record. After all, this is a novel rather than a biography.

Recommended.

Currently reading the last part of The Indian Clerk and a fantasy by Mercedes Lackey. Also have Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms to start.

VI. Catching up #3.

51. By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey -- finished June 7, 2013

From my own shelves.
482 pages plus timeline
fantasy with magic
AlphaCat - S for Sword
also a female author for June.

One of Lackey's books that take place in the world of Valdemar during the reign of Selenay. This one could be read as a stand alone book but does mention many characters that show up in other books. By the Sword follows Kerowyn from her father's death though her career as a mercenary and Captain of the Skybolts. It had been a while since I read a Valdemar adventure and this one had been languishing in a pile of unread books for some months. I would recommend this novel for anyone who has enjoyed other Valdemar stories.

V. Anything Goes - Fiction #6.

52. The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt -- Finished June 11, 2013

From the Public Library.
478 pages + notes on sources and acknowledgments
historical fiction featuring two mathematicians and their colleagues
no CATS

This award-winning novel tells the story of G. H. Hardy and his association with the Indian mathematician S. Ramanujan beginning in 1913 and lasting until Ramanujan's death in 1920.

It was Hardy and his fellow mathematicians Littlewood and Neville who arranged for Ramanujan to come to Cambridge University, arriving in 1914 and remaining in England until a few months before his death at the age of 32. Leavitt tells the story primarily from Hardy's point of view and while a number of mathematical discussions are scattered throughout the book one doesn't have to fully understand them to read The Indian Clerk. There is a great deal of detail about English academia of the time, about WWI and life for those on the 'home front', and, about the life of a homosexual during that period in England. (Hardy and some of his friends were more attracted to men than to women and this naturally influenced their relationships.) Also several of the characters were pacifists which created difficulties for them once war was declared. While mathematics was a recurring theme in the novel, Leavitt also explored the friendships, loves and careers of many of his characters, the prejudices and politics of academia, particularly at Cambridge University, and even touched on the racism that made Ramanujan's election as a Fellow more difficult.

This was an interesting book but I did tend to read it in sections with other reading between those sections. Cautiously recommended.

I. Young at Heart #6

53. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull -- finished June 11, 2013

From the public library.
351 pages
YA aimed primarily at middle grades; fantasy; folklore
AlphaCat - F for Fablehaven

Fablehaven is the first in a series featuring Seth and Kendra, their grandparents, and the sanctuary where the grandparents are caretakers. This preserve is a place where various magical beings from folklore can safely live away from humans and is just one of several around the world. Seth is naturally curious and soon breaks the rules their grandfather has given them which sets in motion events that could destroy Fablehaven. Saving the day is up to the children ...

This series reminds me somewhat of the Sisters' Grimm series by Michael Buckley but is for readers a couple of years older. I may check out the next book by Mull to see what else is in store for the children. These might work as family reads where the children are into fantasy and fairy tales.

VI. Catching Up #4 & #5

54. Innocent as Sin by Elizabeth Lowell -- finished June 12, 2013

From my stack that has been hanging around since October without ever making it to a shelf.
402 pages.
romantic suspense, a St. Kilda novel
AlphaCat - S for Sin
Female author

In Innocent as Sin Kayla is a personal banker who has been set up to take the rap for money laundering and Rand has been offered a chance by St. Kilda Consulting to prove that Kayla's client is the former arms dealer known as the Siberian. Naturally they are attracted to one another.

While I have read many of Lowell's books in the past, I only occasionally pick up one these days as they are only average reads for me. I just don't enjoy this type of book as much as I did a few years ago before LT introduced me to so many new authors and the challenges encouraged me to broaden my reading. But Lowell's fans will probably like Innocent as Sin.

55. Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb -- finished June 13, 2013

From my own shelves. Had forever but never read.
Short at 135 pages plus author's note.
mystery, humor, SF and fantasy fandom
Part of an omnibus that also contains Zombies of the Gene Pool which I am saving for later this year.
AlphaCat - S for Sun and Sharyn

Engineering professor Dr. J. O. Mega wrote a hard SF novel and a small publisher accepted it but then changed the name to Bimbos of the Death Sun. He's invited to be a guest author at a local Con but has no idea what to expect. There are Trekkers, Star Wars fans, nerds of every description, and fantasy gamers dressed as their favorite characters everywhere he looks. And then his fellow guest author, the writer hated by almost everyone even though his hero is beloved by a host of fans, is found murdered. The mystery wasn't particularly hard to solve but Jay's introduction to fandom was quite interesting. I'll be reading Jay's second adventure later this year and may investigate some of McCrumb's other novels.

Bimbos of the Death Sun is an amazing title. I'm adding that to my wishlist!

> 158

It is an interesting title and the book was written (according to the author's note in my edition) to take advantage of a title she had used on a short story spoof while in graduate school. It was meant to be an SF joke played on one of her colleagues but since the title was too good to waste...

I quite like the title of the second book in the series as well :)

I can't believe that I had a book called Bimbos & Zombies on my mystery shelves for over a decade without checking it out! Then someone, somewhere on LT, mentioned Bimbos of the Death Sun and I followed the link to see what this title was about and discovered that it was on a shelf right behind my chair.

-------------------

On another note, this morning I stopped in at the thrift shop for the first time in ages and came out with three books for $1.34.

The Raven Ring by Patricia C. Wrede and The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King, both paperbacks.
A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester, a hardcover with a book jacket than unfolds into an interesting poster.

--------------------

Haven't been posting much but I have been reading other people's threads and taking a few book bullets here and there.

I've enjoyed the books by Winchester I've read. Sounds like you got a great deal!

I loved Bimbos to when I read it. I'm a little reluctant to read more of that series though. I've heard they aren't as charming as the first one. I love her Scottish mysteries though, the few that I've read.

There is a limit to how naive and uninformed Jay could remain as regards fandom and that was a lot of what made Bimbos fun.

I've neglected the books I meant to read in favor of new and shiny ones from the library.

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction #8.

56. Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey -- finished June 20, 2013 (?)

From the public library.
298 pages
part of the author's Elemental Masters series
AlphaCat -- S for Steadfast and fantasy by a woman

Not the best book in this series and one that feels like Lackey is starting to repeat herself. However, she did explore the lives of some mages who are not powerful enough to become masters. The locale is Brighton, the time is not long after the Boer Wars and the magic act at the Palace isn't all illusion. Then there's the abusive husband that our heroine is trying to escape. This novel was OK while I was reading it but if I wanted to reread one of this series I would probably choose an earlier one.

V. Anything Goes: Fiction #7.

57. Jane the Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell -- Finished June 22, 2013

From the public library.
312 pages plus author's note
Jane's meeting with Tarzan as told by Jane Porter to E. R. Burroughs
another woman author and one new to me

I read all the Tarzan books decades ago and he was one of my favorite characters although very different from the movie versions. However some people would have trouble with the originals because of some of the attitudes expressed in the books. After all, Burroughs began this series before WWI and he was tailoring his tales to the expectations of the audience for pulp adventure stories.

Robin Maxwell, in this duly authorized story, has retold the initial story from Jane's perspective. She has a chance meeting with the struggling writer Ed Burroughs and decides to tell him her story. The beginning is in Cambridge, England in 1905 where Professor Porter has arranged for his daughter to attend classes at the University although women can't receive degrees. Jane also assists her father in his home laboratory. The opportunity arises for the pair to go on an expedition to Africa to search for evidence of Darwin's "missing link". Once there various problems lead her into Tarzan's orbit and they do come to care for one another.

This version is very interesting and I enjoyed it a great deal. One of the best things about Maxwell's retelling is that she made some of the elements of Tarzan's origin more believable for today's audience and Jane is in no way a clinging vine.

III. Next Up #7.

58. The Mystery Woman by Amanda Quick -- finished June 28, 2013

From the public library.
357 pages.
historical romantic mystery with paranormal elements; woman author
AlphaCat -- Q for Quick

The second in "The Ladies of Lantern Street" novels and a fun, quick read. About middling for JAK's recent books regardless of which name she is using. Much of the story is set in Victorian London and the paranormal elements are very important to the story. Those who have read many of her other books will quickly realize that the author is recycling characters and plot elements. She is very good at telling the same story over again and yet making it intereting while one is reading. A bit fluffy but an OK bit of fluff.

Touchstones were hanging but seem to have fixed themselves.

A reminder to myself to finish some of the books I've started --

Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms by Fortey -- should be able to finish today or tomorrow if I don't get sidetracked.
The Sparrow -- good so far but need to get back to it
Operation Mincemeat -- just started
Fables & Reflections --been reading a story from this in between other things
Tarzan: The Centennial Celebration -- a coffeetable book with story summaries for all the books, publication timelines, wonderful reproductions of cover art, and more. I'm having fun with this.

Wow I can't read more than 1 book at any time!

I figure that keeping up with two or more is good brain exercise! However a lot of books do get read without breaks. It just depends on the book.

I did finish the Fortey book...

XI. Science and Technology #3.

59. Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms by Richard Fortey -- finished June 29, 2013

From the public library.
300 pages plus glossary and Reading list
Natural history focusing on Fortey's selection of ancient animals and plants that have survived into the 21st century
AlphaCat -- F for Fortey

Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms is the story of ancient plants and animals that have somehow survived through many millions of years and several mass extinctions changing just enough to hang onto their ecological niche while still being recognizable as the same as their fossil ancestors. This is another approach to telling the story of evolution and covers some of the same ground as Dawkin's "The Ancestor's Tale". The creatures that Fortey includes are ones that he visited in their natural habitat whether it was in his own home (cockroaches) or at the other end of the earth (velvet worms in New Zealand). He also appears to agree with other scientists who argue that we are participating in a new mass extinction largely caused by human activities. I enjoyed Fortey's travels and the stories he had to tell about fascinating habitats and the plants and animals he found there.

June Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (6/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (7/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (7/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (8/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (7/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (5/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (1/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (5/8)
IX. Who are we? (1/8)
X. Short Stuff (5/8)
XI. Science and technology (3/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (2/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (2/8)

59 Total -- (counted some multiple rereads as 1)

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth, Sandman, American Lion, Code Name Verity, The Ghost Map, and added 14 Cows for America and, perhaps, Angelmaker in May. For June the standouts are Remarkable Creatures and Jane: the Woman who Loved Tarzan. Also Bimbos of the Death Sun for its title.

I've been picking slow reads for my nonfiction categories so they are pretty far behind compared to the others. But that is usually the case about this time of year.

AlphaCat: F and S

Fablehaven, Steadfast, Shadow of Night, By the Sword, Innocent as Sin, Bimbos of the Death Sun, and Horseshoe Crabs by Richard Fortey

AlphaCat: Q

The Mystery Woman by Amanda Quick

RandomCat: Jane, the Woman Who loved Tarzan
AwardsCat: None
CAT-Tricks: None

July CATS: Still thinking -- they may just happen...

AlphaCAT: G and T

RandomCAT: Travel related

AwardsCAT:The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and The Edgar Award

June: Women Authors especially in speculative fiction -- Actually managed to read nine books by women authors with most of them having at least an element of fantasy or SF.

Bimbos of the Death Sun is indeed a great title!

I'm planning on reading Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan later on this month. I love all things "Tarzan" and have been looking forward to this one.

Hope you enjoy Jane. Maxwell's retelling inspired me to check out the Centennial book from the library.

II. Mystery & Suspense #8.

60. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn -- Finished July 1, 2013

Picked this up to see what it was about and got sucked in and proceded to ignore the ones I already had going.

From the public library.
509 pages (But it reads a lot faster than that since there are a lot blank and almost blank pages.)
historical mystery -- Victorian society in London
AlphaCat for "G"

Silent in the Grave, a historical mystery set in Victorian England, is Deanna Raybourn"s debut novel and the first in a series featuring Lady Julia Grey. I loved the cover of this edition and the overall design of the book. I also liked the introductory quote for each chapter.

The novel begins with the death of Sir Edward Grey of presumably natural causes but months later Lady Julia finds evidence that her husband had secrets so she asks Nicholas Brisbane to help her find out the truth about her husband's last days and his death. The mystery and setting were interesting enough but much of the story concerns Lady Julia herself, why she had been trying to lead a totally conventional life and how she finally gave herself permission to find out who she truly was beneath her conventional mask. The author also had a way of ending chapters so that one wanted to continue and find out what happened next.

This is a series I will eventually continue. However, a number of other readers didn't like it as much as I did. I would suggest reading several other opinions before taking the plunge.

III. Next Up #8.

61. Fables & Reflections by Neil Gaiman -- finished July 3, 2013

From the Public Library.
264 pages.
fantasy, graphic novel, Sandman
AlphaCat -- G for Gaiman

Volume Six of the Sandman is a collection of stories that, as the title says, are variations on fable and myth and reflections on certain moments in history with Dream in the background of the stories. I'm sure that I missed many of the allusions that Gaiman tucked into these stories but the ones I caught were interesting and sometimes surprising.

My favorites among the stories were "Three Septembers and a January", "The Hunt" and "Ramadan". On average, the art here was an improvement over some of the earlier volumes.

Now on to Brief Lives.

I am one of those readers that wasn't overly taken with Silent in the Grave but only because it came across with stronger romance elements than I was expecting. Given the way my reading has been going lately, I could probably pick up book two in Raybourn's series and be completely captivated! ;-)

I really liked "Three Septembers and a January", too.

Way behind again!

Part of the reason is that I spent most of the weekend migrating most things over to a new laptop. My wonderful MacBookPro died some time ago and I have been using an older MacBook for most everything that I wanted more than my iPad for. The laptops (as is most of our computer equipment) were hand-me-downs from our son. Since he needs the latest versions of most things for his work we are among the people who benefit when he upgrades. When he was here in May he inquired why I was using the regular Macbook and I told him that we were now down to that as our only laptop and I mentioned that the iPad he gave us two Christmases ago was better (because of the great resolution) for just browsing the web and reading books though not for typing, etc. So for my birthday I got a "new" MacbookPro via FedEx. Not quite two years old and with many fewer airplane/work miles on it than the older one had! Only problem -- some of my solfware didn't make the cut as the newer Mac OS doesn't support those applications. But we purchased a bare bones word processor and spreadsheet that will do the things I need. And if I want the games I can just use the old one. Still I really like the new one even though he had removed the CD/DVD module as he was using that space for an extra drive when this was his main mobile work device. When he moved on to another computer he never got around to putting it back. But that's not something that I care about as my music did move along with my photos, etc. so I have more than I can play in one day and I wouldn't use it for movies anyway.

Then yesterday was the day the carpenter finally showed up to replace the front door. Jim has been editing science and engineering papers for an editing service based in Mumbai and we've been using the money from that to do much needed house maintenance (among other things). In fact, he's upstairs on his computer setup trying to meet today's deadline right now.

Meanwhile, I've managed to accumulate a stack of four books I haven't yet added and I'm way behind on reading the threads as my LT time has been spent on playing with the new features. I particularly like the new homepage module for recently uploaded covers for my books and I've replaced a number of wrong, Amazon, and poor quality covers by using it.

Enjoy the new computer and the new LT features! :)

I spent most of the weekend migrating most things over to a new laptop.

There is always some work involved when new technology enters the house, or in my case when a backup is long over due. Enjoy your new laptop!

Setting up everything also involved backing up both laptops to an external hard-drive...
I've also discovered that that the two people in the office where I work part-time have forgotten the password to get the wireless network in that building to recognize a new computer! (The network is closed because there is student and financial info on the office computers.) So until I finish there I'll be carrying the old laptop. Or at least until the remodeling is done and the the files are in searchable order. But by then I hope to be in the building with the open network.

I'm going through our school's library and making sure all the books are actually catalogued on our LT account, correcting info, mending books, etc. It's amazing how many were missed the first time through and how many just appeared on the shelves without ever being processed in. I'm about 90% through the collection in that building.

But on to the books I've been reen reading...

Rereads: Fiction #6.

62. Come to Grief by Dick Francis -- finished July 8?, 2013

From my own shelves.
308 pages
mystery, British, horses and horse racing
AlphaCat; G for grief
Random Cat: I've been to England twice and would like to go again! Also riding horses could be a form of transportation.
Award Cat: Come to Grief won an Edgar (1996) and Francis became an MWA Grand Master that same year.

So a CAT trick.

This mystery held up pretty well as a reread although I did remember who was maiming the horses. However it had been long enough since i read Come to Grief previously that the why and the details were like reading a new book. Sid Halley is the investigator and while he isn't my favorite Francis hero this is, for me, the best of the books featuring him. The novel begins with the upcoming trial of Ellis Quint and the suicide of Quint's mother. We learn from Halley how he came to believe in Quint's guilt and then we begin to learn along with Sid just what else is going on behind the scenes. Overall, the story follows the standard Francis plot so his fans will enjoy the book, especially those who have read Whip Hand and Odds Against.

More books soon.

Anything Goes: Fiction #8.

63. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King -- Finished July 11, 2013

From my own shelves - recent thrift shop find
mystery, Sherlock Holmes, England, early 20th century
woman author

The Beekeeper's Apprentice purports to be a manuscript sent by person or persons unknown to the author which she eventually edited and submitted for publication. The novel features the young Mary Russell and her mentor, the "retired" Holmes. Immediately after meeting Mary, Mr. Holmes realizes that she has a mind much like his and begins teaching her his methods. Mrs. Hudson also takes to Mary and between them they supply her with something of the home life Mary is missing under the guardianship of her aunt. This volume recounts their adventures from the time that that Mary and Sherlock met through the period of Mary's University career and their encounter with a particularly clever criminal mastermind. On the whole I enjoyed the book but at first the idea of Holmes as a beekeeper seemed a little odd. Still, I will probably continue on with the series.

Thanks for the reminder - I read Beekeeper's Apprentice a while back and meant to continue with the series, but, alas, never did. More stuff to add to the wishlist... :)

> 180 - Don't we all have more books stacked up and on lists than we will ever get to?

XII. History, Biography #3.

64. Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre -- finished July 14, 2013

From the public library.
325 pages plus appendix, notes, index
history, WWII, fooling Hitler

A really interesting book about a rather bizarre operation initiated by the British during WWII, this book keep me reading past my bedtime on several occasions. The basic idea was to plant some misleading papers on a dead body and arrange for the Germans to have a chance to copy the papers. When carried out, if successful, it would lead the German High Command to divert troops from Sicily to other areas thus making the invasion of Sicily easier and less bloody. The author was able to use sources not previously available and therefore give a fuller picture of Operation Mincemeat than Ewen Montagu was able to include in his 1953 book about this operation. (Although Montagu was one of the men in charge of the operation he had to leave out a great of information in his officially vetted book.) Anyone interested in espionage and covert operations during WWII should consider reading this book.

A movie, The Man Who Never Was came out in 1956 based on Montagu's book (and Montagu had a small cameo in it though he was played by Clifton Webb). Our library had a copy of it so we watched it after I finished reading Operation Mincemeat. It was very interesting seeing the differences in that version and Macintyre's version, both the things that were left out and the difference in emphasis. There were also some deliberate changes to obscure the actual facts in Montagu's book which duly made their appearance in the movie. Macintyre discusses all this towards the end of his own account.

I. Young at Heart #7.

65. The Raven Ring by Patricia C. Wrede -- Finished July 16, 2013

From my own shelves, recent thrift shop purchase
342 pages.
fantasy, young heroine as main character, woman author

The Raven Ring is one of Wrede's books that is set on the world of Lyra. After receiving word of her mother's death, Eleret Salven must travel down from the mountains to the city of Ciaron to claim her mother's personal effects, as is the custom of the Cilhar. Unfamiliar with the ways of the city folk and obviously one of the Cilhar, she finds trouble almost immediately on her arrival. It also seems that someone wants her mother's ancient Raven ring. However Eleret finds allies and friends among some of the city's inhabitants. I labeled this as YA but it somewhat straddles the border between teen and adult and fantasy fans of both groups may find it appealing.

Keeping the comments short or I will never catch up.

X. Short Stuff #6.

66. Counterfeit Magic by Kelly Armstrong -- finished July 17, 2013

From the public library.
136 pages including several full page illustrations.
urban fantasy, contemporary, paranormal, from the Otherworld series
woman author

Counterfeit Magic is a novella featuring Paige and Savannah investigating some odd deaths associated with a supernatural fight club. Added to this, there are tensions that have arisen between Paige and Lucas since he has had to get more involved in the Cortez Cabal. A moderately good story set between books 10 and 11 in Armstrong's Otherworld series.

VIII. Rereads - Fiction #7.

67. Blood Sport by Dick Francis -- finished July 18, 2013

From my own shelves.
232 pages of tiny print
mystery, depression, travel in US, race horses
RandomCat - lots of travel (fictional) involved starting with a day trip on the river (England) then to New York, Kentucky, a dude ranch in the Rockies, California, and Las Vegas and more. Some places I've been to and a lot that I haven't.
AwardCat - Edgar Award nominee 1969
AlphaCat - Main character is named Gene Hawkins
So a CAT trick.

You would think from all the CATs that I planned the reading of Blood Sport but I just pulled it randomly from the books by Francis because once I read a novel by him I nearly always read another one.

We open with Hawkin's boss telephoning to ask him to come on a Sunday outing on the river. Immediately Gene knows that something is up because his boss never socializes with his underlings. We also quickly realize that Gene is in an almost suicidal state of mind. Also along on the outing is the American horse breeder Dave Teller. It turns out that Dave wants Gene to investigate the disappearance of a very valuable horse which was recently stolen from him. Gene is reluctant but eventually agrees after Dave is injured in what may have been an arranged accident on the river. The action moves to the states where he asks questions, thinks about all the possibilities and comes up with a solution. But, as always, it isn't clear sailing and the unexpected happens. Not one of my favorites by Francis but still an interesting story and something of a trip back to the late sixties.

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction #9.

68. The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambly -- finished July 20, 2013

From my own shelves - recent purchase at a used book store
311 pages
fantasy, wizards, mercenaries
Woman author with several females as important characters

When the Ladies of Mandrigyn attempt to hire the mercenary Sun Wolf and his troop to rescue their men from enslavement in the mines of the Wizard King, Altiokis, he turns them down. Then their leader, Sheera Galernas goes to Plan B and kidnaps Wolf. The Ladies give him poison and threaten to withhold the antidote if he refuses to teach them how to handle weapons so that they may rescue the men themselves. In the end he agrees and is surprised at how well many of them do. Of course there are some who decline to participate because such things aren't ladylike but times are changing and many women are doing the jobs that the absent men used to do. After all someone must run the businesses and do the work. And then there's the problem of how to outwit the very powerful wizard...

I read this novel rather quickly and enjoyed it enough that I may try another of Hambly's fantasy books.

Glad you enjoyed Operation Mincemeat, as it's one of my favorite reads of the year! You've also reminded me that I really need to track down Wrede's Lyra series.

I have to track down the movie of The Man Who Never Was -- saw Clifton Webb in Laura earlier this month.

> 187

We did enjoy the movie. It held up better than a lot of movies from that time.

XIII. Anything Goes -- Nonfiction #3.

69. Tarzan: the Centennial Celebration by Scott Tracy Griffin -- finished July 28, 2013

From the public Library
320 pages, coffeetable book with many full page illustrations
the character, the books, the movies & more
AlphaCAT - T for Tarzan and Tracy, G for Griffin

This was a fun book that I got after reading Jane, the Woman Who Loved Tarzan. It is large format and while there is considerable text there are also numerous examples of magazine, book, and comic cover art. Some interior art is also included as well as panels from several of the comics. In the section about the numerous movies we have stills from them as well as photos of some of the cinema and TV Tarzans with the other actors and even with Burroughs.

From the biographical information, I think that Burroughs had an interesting life from a stint as a "cowpoke" at the age of 15 to serving as a war correspondent in the Pacific during WWII. Many of his experiences made their way into the background of his stories although he once claimed that the less he knew about something the better his writings.

There was also a lot of film history in the section about the movies (which ranged from silent films up until today) which included facts about the careers of the various actors who took part. Tarzan was very much an international phenomenon with many of the movies making much of their revenue from foreign distribution. As far as the books and the comics were concerned, they also found a wide distribution all around the globe with Burroughs books being translated into 32 languages. Although this book concentrated on Tarzan the other characters created by him were represented as well with some discussion of their stories and with artwork.

I would recommend this volume to any fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs and his works.

@ 189 -- That reminds me -- in the bio of Lou Gehrig that I read earlier this year, I believe I saw something about him being cast as Tarzan in one of the film adaptations! I don't think the film ever actually came out, though...or they replaced him with somebody else.

I think the author said that Gehrig was considered but in the end they went with someone else. The book is back at the library now so I can't check to see.

XIII. Anything Goes - Nonfiction #4.

70. Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss -- finished July 30, 2013

From the public library.
367 pages + main sources, notes, bibliography
science, nutrition, big business, marketing, health

The subtitle for Moss's book is "How the Food Giants Hooked Us" and he gives convincing arguments that many people are in fact addicted to sugar, fat, and especially salt. There is also a lot of discussion about the synergy between these ingredients and how they combine to enhance the average person's desire for MORE. More chips, more cola, more everything. Of course the 'more' is also more calories and more weight and more obesity. While this is nothing new, the book was interesting and had a somewhat different emphasis from others I have read about our heavily processed foods. If you are interested in learning more about the changes that have occurred in the way we are eating in North America (and increasingly in other parts of the world) then this is a good place to start. I recommend this well-researched and interesting book.

III. Next Up #9.

71. Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman -- finished July 31, 2013

From the public library.
256 pages
fantasy, graphic novel, Sandman
AlphaCat for Gaiman

Another good volume in the series.

Brief Lives has a more connected story than some of the other volumes, being the story of Dream accompanying Delirium while she searches for their brother Destruction. We meet some interesting characters along the way and find that the world has been changing with some adapting to the changes and others trying to keep things as they were. I generally liked the art in this volume better than several of the previous ones.

The only bad thing is that my local library seems to have totally lost The Wake and Endless Nights... But I do have World's end and The Kindly Ones to look forward to.

I think Brief Lives may be my favorite of the lot. I know I say that about all of them, but this one might actually be it. :)

July Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (7/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (8/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (9/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (9/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (8/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (5/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (1/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (7/8)
IX. Who are we? (1/8)
X. Short Stuff (6/8)
XI. Science and technology (3/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (3/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (4/8)

71 Total -- (counted some multiple rereads as 1)

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth, Sandman, American Lion, Code Name Verity, The Ghost Map, and added 14 Cows for America and, perhaps, Angelmaker in May. For June the standouts are Remarkable Creatures and Jane: the Woman who Loved Tarzan. Also Bimbos of the Death Sun for its title. In July I will add Operation Mincemeat and maybe The Beekeeper's Apprentice.

I've been picking slow reads for my nonfiction categories so they are pretty far behind compared to the others. But that is usually the case about this time of year. I think that in August I'll try to pick up the pace on these.

AlphaCat: G and T
Come to Grief, Blood Sport (for the main character, Gene), Tarzan: the Centennial Celebration by Scott Tracy Griffin (two T's and a G!)

RandomCat: Come to Grief has riding horses and takes place in England. I've been twice and would love to go again.
Blood Sport - Gene travels from England to New York then back and forth to several states, most of which I've visited and some I would like to visit again.

AwardsCat: Come to Grief won an Edgar (1996) and Francis became an MWA Grand Master that same year.
Blood Sport - Edgar Award nominee 1969

CAT-Tricks: Come to Grief, Blood Sport

August CATS: Still thinking -- should be able to get one in somewhere...

AlphaCAT: H and U

RandomCAT: Family Matters

AwardsCAT: Scotiabank Giller Prize and The Thriller Award

July: Women Authors especially in speculative fiction -- Read five books by women authors with three of them having at least an element of fantasy or SF.

I. Young at Heart #8.

72. The Singing by Alison Croggon -- Finished August 2, 2013

From the public library.
454 pages plus Appendix (fictional)
epic fantasy, 4th of a 4 book series, magic, war

no CATs

The Singing is The Fourth Book of Pellinor and follows both Maerad and her brother Hem, along with their companions, as they search for one another across Annar. They must combine their forces in order to defeat the Nameless One and the Black Army that is marching north to conquer all the kingdoms and has already laid waste to a number of cities. While both of the siblings are quite young and these books are generally considered YA they can also appeal to older readers as well.

I did enjoy the series and this last book. The young Maerad and even younger Hem did a considerable amount of maturing over the course of their adventures and some of the other characters were also well developed. I definitely recommend reading them in order beginning with The Naming.

Hi Tricia, being a huge Tarzan fan, Tarzan: the Centennial Celebration has definitely caught my eye. Unfortunately my library doesn't have it, but I've added it to my wishlist in case I run across it someday.

> 197

Hope you are able to locate a copy. I think most fans would enjoy it.

I. Young at Heart #9.

73. The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan -- Finished August 10, 2013

From the CMS library.
448 pages
YA, fantasy, based on Egyptian Mythology

Possibly could stretch the RandomCat to fit since Sadie and Carter are siblings. Have to think about that.

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan is number three in the Kane Chronicles. The "heroes" are Sadie and Carter, twins who are descended from ancient Egyptian Pharoahs and who are magicians by virtue of their bloodline. Their accomplishment in finally defeating a powerful enemy in book #2 only brought about a short respite from their misfortunes and an even more dangerous enemy awaits. A fairly fun romp with Egyptian gods and adventure in the same style as the Percy Jackson series. A bonus in this edition was a short story where Carter and Percy meet...

Recommended for Riordan fans. Kids who enjoyed the Percy Jackson novels will probably like these as well.

Currently reading The Guns of August, The Invention of Air and World's End (Sandman).

It's been a while since I last posted. Just too much going on! Anyway I've finished three books and I've started some others. Comments will be brief.

III. Next Up #10.

74. World's End by Neil Gaiman -- finished August 16, 2013

From the public library.
168 pages
graphic novel, Sandman Vol 8

Another good Sandman volume. I really liked the story within story organization. The colorful artwork for most of the stories was great and the foreshadowing of the funeral procession was interesting.

II. Mystery and Suspense #9.

75. A Sudden Fearful Death by Anne Perry -- August 22, 2013

From the public library
359 pages
mystery, British, Victorian, the fourth Monk

Monk has established a private inquiry service with the help of Lady Callandra and when she asks him to investigate the murder of a nurse at the hospital where she is on the Board of Governors, he naturally obliges. Hester also becomes involved in the investigation and other recurring characters turn up. There are courtroom scenes in the latter part of the book though probably not as extensive as in the previous one. I enjoyed the mystery and will most likely read the next volume in this series.

XII. History, Biography #4

76. The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman -- finished August 19, 1913

From the public library.
Foreword by Robert Massie (9 pages); Preface (6 pages); Author's note, contents, Maps, Text (524 pages) ; Sources, Notes, Index
There are also in text maps and illustrations.
history, World War I

While The Guns of August started off slowly for me it soon became one I really liked. My main complaint was that the edition available to me was a mass market paperback and the maps were, therefore, too small and indistinct so that they were hard to read. While I would recommend the book, I would also recommend that the reader find a larger format edition.

Tuchman begins with a funeral, that of Edward the VII of England in May, 1910, and uses it to introduce us to some of the characters who would be making the decisions that led to a world war just four years later. Then we have all the planning and in some countries the lack of coherent planning by the various military and government leaders of Europe. Really bad decisions, insecurities, and misunderstandings were rampant in the weeks leading up to Austria declaring war on Serbia and Germany invading Belgium. By the end of August it only took von Kluck's turn to set up conditions for the Battle of the Marne and the following protracted trench warfare that occurred all along the Western Front.

So where to begin, too many good books implies many BB. The good thing is that lot of them are nonfiction and I don't have so many planned so far. The bad thing is I have already way too many BB which should account for my next 5 years reading. Well I will have to endure, I suppose ;)

The ones about biology, evolution and paleontology are really helpful as I tend to read more physics than anything else in the science category.

Bimbos of the Death Sun is a too good title to pass up. Oh and now I have Tarzan cry in my head ...

That's the problem with reading other peoples threads! Too many good books!

Isn't that true ...

Ha! Operation Mincemeat was featured prominently in Cryptonomicon which I read a couple of years ago. In that book, there was a lot of infighting between those who had to carry out the Operation and the NCOs who weren't in on the secret mission (Traitors! You have to destroy the codes!).

Lots of real life stuff going on so not much reading since my last post and only now doing the August summary...

August Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (9/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (9/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (10/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (9/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (8/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (5/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (1/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (7/8)
IX. Who are we? (1/8)
X. Short Stuff (6/8)
XI. Science and technology (3/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (4/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (4/8)

76 Total -- (counted some multiple rereads as 1)

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth, Sandman, American Lion, Code Name Verity, The Ghost Map, and added 14 Cows for America and, perhaps, Angelmaker in May. For June the standouts are Remarkable Creatures and Jane: the Woman who Loved Tarzan. Also Bimbos of the Death Sun for its title. In July I will add Operation Mincemeat and maybe The Beekeeper's Apprentice. For August I think The Guns of August as it has inspired me to read another book about WWI.

I've been picking slow reads for my nonfiction categories so they are pretty far behind compared to the others. But that is usually the case about this time of year. I really need to concentrate on leveling out my categories now.

AlphaCat: none

RandomCat: The Singing by Alison Croggon since a large part of the book concerns a brother and sister searching across a war-torn land for one another.
Also The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan is about a brother and sister saving the world - again.

AwardsCat: none

CAT-Tricks: none

September CATS: none planned - might fit one in.

AlphaCAT: I and V

RandomCAT: Lablit

AwardsCAT: The Man Booker Prize and The Hans Christian Andersen Award (children's/YA)

GOAL: finish the books I've started!

The Invention of Air
A World Undone
Refusal

Try to get to Night Thoughts of a Classical Physicist.

IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction #10.

77. The Kindly Ones: Sandman, Vol Nine by Neil Gaiman -- Finished Sept 5, 2013

From the public library. (This copy missing a sheet.)
352 pages - the longest one yet...
Graphic novel, Sandman

While rather longer than previous volumes of Sandman, The Kindly Ones really needed the extra length because Gaiman picked up many characters from previous stories and let us see what came next for them thus tying up lots of loose ends. I enjoyed both the stories and the art but its hard to say much without giving away things for those who haven't yet gotten this far.

I am rather disappointed that the library doesn't have a copy of The Wake. Apparently there was once one but it comes up in their catalogue as "No item information available." Maybe I'll come across it somewhere else... Or maybe investigate interlibrary loan.

->205 hailelib:
If they have all the others, not having the last one is a bit of a cheat. ILL is a great invention, isn't it!

II. Mystery And Suspense #10.

78. Refusal by Felix Francis -- finished September 9, 2013

From the public library.
371 pages
mystery, investigator, Sid Halley, horse racing

I'm not sure that bringing Sid Halley back and setting the story in today's world was the wisest move for Felix Francis as it resulted in a just average mystery. Not as good as Dick Francis at his best and not really as good as the other mostly Felix books. Still, it was acceptable entertainment for a few days between chapters of my nonfiction books. Sid is now retired from investigating and is a family man with a wife and daughter but circumstances cause him to look into possible corruption in the horseracing scene. Naturally this leads to all sorts of mayhem for Sid and his family. Mostly recommended for fans of the Francis style of British mystery.

V. Anything Goes - Fiction #9.

79. Heat Rises by Richard Castle -- Finished September 13, 2013

From my own shelves.
397 pages
mystery inspired by the TV show "Castle"

We picked this up in a used bookstore while at the beach (Pawley's Island) in August because my husband just had to have it. (He's a really big Castle fan and is even more hooked on the show than I am. We practically have all the episodes memorized.) Well, he couldn't finish it because even though he recognized some of the characters and situations as being based on the show the writing didn't make him care about knowing how the story played out.

Then, I had a couple of days of not feeling like doing anything serious and there it was on top of the pile... The mystery isn't particularly complicated or all that great but the book is fun because of all the references and because the characters are thinly disguised versions of characters from the show. Not really recommended as a mystery but definitely recommended for fans of Castle who enjoyed the earlier Nikki Heat books

Still reading A world Undone It's slow going but I've gotten over halfway through the book and am well into 1916 which means a horrific battle at Verdun. The invention of air will have to go back to the library soon so I need to make it a priority to finish. It was my read a little before going to sleep book but I've been skipping the book to get to the sleep lately!

Last Sunday was my Thingaversary so when I needed to go by the thrift shop to leave off some stuff I decided to see if they had any books I would be interested in having. They had an unusually good selection and I found nine books for a grand total of $5.35.

3 paperbacks two being trade size in excellent condition:
the Singing Sword by Jack Whyte - Britain after the departure of the Roman legions and an author I've been meaning to try.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - I keep rereading these so maybe I should have my own copies...
When Christ and His Saints Slept - the group read and all the comments on this series has me interested in trying this one eventually.

6 hardcover, five with dust jackets, all in very good condition:
The Keys of the Kingdom - I have an old paperback but I rather liked the looks of this one.
Wild Cards: Deuces Down - a shared world anthology that looked interesting, edited by George R. R. Martin
Cloud's Rider by C. J. Cherryh
The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler - a nicely produced version from the ImPress Best Mysteries collection
The Peabody Sisters of Salem by Louise Hall Tharp - A biography of three sisters whose lives intwined with the New England literary scene that included Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, and others. Written in mid-20th century it looked interesting and a little different from my usual reading.
The World in 1492 by several writers for middle school and YA audiences. Large format and great illustrations. Each author covers a region of the world such as Africa or Asia.

Now to figure out when I'm going to read them. I'm beginning to think that my 2014 challenge should be structured to give priority to books I own ... but there are so many great books at the library ...

Nice haul! Will be interested to hear what you think of the Jack Whyte novel; he is also one of my "one of these days I really need to read something by him" authors.

Great picks for your Thingaversary books! I'm just now getting into the series Castle thanks to the mini-marathons on TNT (which has cut into my weekday reading time quite a bit). The Nikki Heat books wouldn't have appealed to me before I saw the TV series, but now that I've become a fan I've added them to my wishlist.

"nine books for a grand total of $5.35"
You could hardly have done better! Great thingaversary-haul!

I was really lucky that I picked that day to check out their books. Maybe I should go more often.

That particular shop uses their profits to help maintain a shelter for abused and otherwise homeless children so I like to support them.

Belated Happy Thingaversary - and it looks like it was very happy with such a great book haul!

Thanks, DeltaQueen!

There's a Friends of the Library Bag Sale coming up in mid-October which I will probably go to as well. At $5 a bag that's not one I want to pass up even though most of the books will be popular fiction. After all, there's a lot of popular fiction on my wishlists.

Finally finished one of the nonfiction books I've been reading...

XI. Science and Technology #4.

80. The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson -- Finished September 25, 2013

From the public library.
Author's note; 215 pages; notes, bibliography, index
science,history,religion,politics, England and the establishment of the United States

The Invention of Air was much easier to read and more interesting than the length of time I spent from start to finish would seem to indicate. I had two periods when I put it down in favor of my other nonfiction reading and some impulse novels. So the first hundred or so pages were mostly read early in August and the rest last week partly because I'm out of renewals and partly as a break from A World Undone and WWI.

This is, in part, a biography of Joseph Priestley but it is also the story of how science was beginning to change and how science, religion, and politics were intertwined in the intellectual life of the late 1700's. Priestley was a minister and a radical political activist as well as a scientist. He formed an early friendship with Benjamin Franklin while Franklin was resident in London and also corresponded with many eminent men both in England and on the Continent. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1794, Priestley formed a friendship with John Adams which eventually came to an end over political differences and one with Thomas Jefferson which lasted until his death in 1804. (Much of the correspondence between Adams and Jefferson during the final years of their life revolved around their debate over the ideas expounded upon by Priestley in his religious and political writings.) While I choose this book because of Priestley's scientific discoveries the other ideas explored by Johnson were even more interesting.

XII. History Biography #5.

81. A World Undone by G. J. Meyer -- Finished September 28, 2013

From the public library.
Fore-matter including Chronology, List of major characters and Introduction; text - 618 pages; Notes, Bibliography, Indes.
Organized into six parts with "action" chapters alternating with short Background essays.
Copyright 2006.

A World Undone was a very readable account of the events leading up to and during World War I with a short chapter at the end describing the eventual fates of various nations and major characters. My recent reading of The Guns of August left me with an unfavorable opinion of many of the military and political leaders and Meyer's book reinforced this view for the most part. Many of the Heads of State were preoccupied by trying to stay in power or were incompetent to manage their inherited position. The military leaders tended to be inflexible and often sacked the few innovative commanders, especially those who disagreed vocally with military dogma. They didn't appear able to learn that the current strategies weren't working and kept on making the same mistakes over and over. This led to a stalemate on the Western front and the horrors of the trenches. By the end of 1917 the common soldiers in all the armies were on the verge of revolt, there were strikes everywhere, and Russia was undergoing a regime change. After the war the world had changed and Meyer attempts to pin down the reasons why this happened. The maps included in the text were very helpful in keeping the various battles straight and the number of characters introduced was huge so a little knowledge of events would help one keep up. I do, however, recommend this book to those interested in WWI and I particularly liked the short background chapters.

Only finished five books in September as this was another slow reading month.

September Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (9/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (10/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (10/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (10/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (9/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (5/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (1/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (7/8)
IX. Who are we? (1/8)
X. Short Stuff (6/8)
XI. Science and technology (4/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (5/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (4/8)

81 Total -- (counted some multiple rereads as 1)

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth, Sandman, American Lion, Code Name Verity, The Ghost Map, and added 14 Cows for America and, perhaps, Angelmaker in May. For June the standouts are Remarkable Creatures and Jane: the Woman who Loved Tarzan. Also Bimbos of the Death Sun for its title. In July I will add Operation Mincemeat and maybe The Beekeeper's Apprentice. For August I think The Guns of August as it has inspired me to read another book about WWI.

The standout reads for September were the nonfiction books A World Undone and The Invention of Air.

I'm over the goal of eight in several categories and woefully behind in others but this is usual for October in my challenges so I may yet catch up.

AlphaCat: The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson

RandomCat: none

AwardsCat: none

CAT-Tricks: none

September CATS: A couple of AlphaCats are possible.

AlphaCAT: J and W

RandomCAT: Dark, Shadows,etc.

AwardsCAT: The Nobel Prize in Literature and The Bram Stoker Award (horror)

GOAL: finish the books I've started! They are

The Language Wars
The World of Myth
The Path between the Seas

Not much reading happening this month but I did finish two fiction reads that came in from the library much sooner than I expected.

V. Anything Goes - Fiction #10.

82. Deception Cove by Jayne Castle -- Finished October 9, 2013

From the public library.
354 pages
From the Harmony series. Colony planet, paranormal

Very much like all her Harmony books. This one mostly takes place on Rainshadow Island and has a few returning characters in secondary roles as well as dust bunnies. Mostly for fans of Ms. Castle's books when something light is wanted.

II. Mystery and Suspense #11.

83. Thankless in death by J. D. Robb -- Finished October 17, 2013

From the public library.
~ 350 pages
mystery, Eve Dallas, future

Again, this book was pretty much as expected though there was a theme of being thankful for the good things in your life. The book, besides the police procedural (we know the killer from the beginning but can Dallas and her team catch him before the bodies mount up?), had a Thanksgiving gathering of Eve's extended "family" - Roarke and his relations and all the friends she has made over the course of the series. Then the killer who couldn't be thankful if he tried. Again, a middling entry in the series and recommended for fans.

Still plugging away at the three nonfiction books.

I did make it to the library bag sale in Easley yesterday and came away with two large bags for ten dollars total. That was for 32 books or a little over 31 cents per book. I got two trade paperbacks (didn't even get to the room with the mass market paperbacks!) and the rest were hardcover with good dust jackets (except for the one that never had a dust jacket). Even the few that were discards from the library were in good to excellent condition so I was very happy with my finds. The two duplicates were deliberate as they replace a couple of mass market paperbacks and one was from the ImPress collection of mysteries. Mostly fiction with lots of mysteries in the mix and authors that I know I like plus a few authors to try for the first time.

Among them I have

1776 by David McCullough
The Lying Stones of Marrakech by Stephen Jay Gould
The Amazing adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurtry
World without End by Ken Follett
Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier
three books by Tony Hillerman
Territory by Emma Bull
two by J. D. Robb since I like to reread these
two by Laura Joh Rowland
four by Anne Perry

Now to find a place to put them!

Then, today we ordered four books from Amazon...

Great haul! The Streets of Laredo is on my to-read list after I was thoroughly charmed by Lonesome Dove.

IX. Who are We? How does our world work? #2.

84. The Language Wars : A History of Proper English by Henry Hitchings -- Finished October 29, 2012

From the public library.
336 pages + Notes, bibliography, index = Total of 408 pages
Language, especially English, history of English, its usage, dialects, etc.
420.9

Most of the chapters were entertaining although I did get a little bogged down in the section about punctuation. Hitchings shows a sense of humour in his writing and I did learn a few things about English that I didn't already know. I was amused to find Joseph Priestley figuring in a section about whether an Academy to police English was desirable. (He apparently thought such a thing to be unnecessary and futile.)

I haven't managed to read much this month and don't really see finishing anything else but that didn't stop me from acquiring more books!

After cataloging the haul from the book sale and looking at the piles lurking about and the disorder of most of our shelves we decided that SOMETHING had to be done. On his next trip to Walmart, Jim bought a short (and cheap!) bookcase that we put together that evening. It has to be small because the only available space has a fourbox of light switches at the standard height and these were ones that we couldn't cover up. The fact that many of our outlets are behind bookcases is inconvenience enough! Anyway I moved biographies and memoirs to that space which put them close to the history books. That freed up just enough room to reorganize mystery and general fiction (over 2500 books) which took all weekend. Now those shelves look nice and neat even though the paperbacks are double rowed. But we have the same problem in another room where another 1000 + books are in even more need of reorganizing. Maybe next weekend...

I've pretty much decided that this year's challenge isn't going to work out quite the way I hoped. I may read the number of books I had set as a goal but several of the categories will probably fall short. Guess I'll just keep plugging away and see how it all falls out... At worst, I will have read a variety of mostly very good books and that's what it's really about.

Just experimenting. Finally figured out how. Now will I remember this when I want it?

Nice book haul and ever better - nice new bookcase to store books in!

Some challenges just don't work out the way we plan and that's okay.

Well done on posting the picture! Looks like an African violet... I tend to kill African violets. Actually, I have no green thumb when it comes to house plants in general. I love house plants, I am just not a good house plant owner.

Yes, an African violet. It was blooming and generally looking pretty healthy because it had been repotted just a few months before. All our plants were looking rather sorry before they were repotted...

I did get in another book before the end of October but it was a short one aimed mostly at middle school children.

XI. Science and Technology #5.

85. Tracking Trash by Loree Griffin Burns -- Finished October 31, 2013

From the public library
64 pages with plenty of illustrations and recommended books and websites
trash, ocean currents, science

This is a nice overview of both the ocean currents and what happens to trash when it is spilled into the oceans of the world. While aimed at children from about 10 years and up it is a very good introduction for anyone. The author takes one of the scientists involved in tracking trash on its journeys around the Earth and shows us how he got involved in this particular area of research into ocean currents and how they transport objects across great distances. Along the way the reader meets other people who study ocean currents and the Eastern Garbage Patch - a huge part of the Pacific Ocean that is literally covered in mostly plastic debris. Located between California and Hawaii, it can take as long as a week for a research vessel to cross it. While I have seen some of the material covered in other places this was the first place that I saw it all brought together.

Recommended.

October Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (9/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (11/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (10/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (10/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (10/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (5/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (1/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (7/8)
IX. Who are we? (2/8)
X. Short Stuff (6/8)
XI. Science and technology (5/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (5/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (4/8)

85 Total -- (counted some multiple rereads as 1)

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth, Sandman, American Lion, Code Name Verity, The Ghost Map, and added 14 Cows for America and, perhaps, Angelmaker in May. For June the standouts are Remarkable Creatures and Jane: the Woman who Loved Tarzan. Also Bimbos of the Death Sun for its title. In July I will add Operation Mincemeat and maybe The Beekeeper's Apprentice. For August I think The Guns of August as it has inspired me to read another book about WWI. The standout reads for September were the nonfiction books A World Undone and The Invention of Air.

While I liked the books I read none of them stikes me as being either great or awful.

AlphaCat: The Language Wars by Henry Hitchings for W and Deception Cove by Jayne Castle for J

RandomCat: none

AwardsCat: none

CAT-Tricks: none

September CATS: A couple of AlphaCats are possible.

AlphaCAT: K and Y

RandomCAT: Pilgrim Tribute

AwardsCAT: National Book Award and Hugo Award

GOAL: finish the books I've started! They are

The Path between the Seas
The World of Myth
In the Beginning
Riders of the Purple Sage

IX. Who Are We? #3.

86. In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton -- Finished November 4, 2013

From the public library
158 pages plus bilbliography
myths,creation stories,YA,multicultural,Newbery Honor
291.1

A collection of 25 creation stories from around the world simply told for all ages. While Hamilton's retellings are very good the full page illustrations by Barry Moser add a great deal to one's enjoyment of this book. A well organized collection that would be good to use with middle school students or even older elementary students. It also made a good companion book to The World of Myth which I am also working my way through.

I've added The Circle to the books I'm trying to read and I've made some progress on the others.

Also yesterday I dropped by the thrift shop on a whim on the way home. They were having a bag sale - all one could fit in a plastic grocery bag for $2.00 plus tax. So I walked out with nine hardcovers for slightly less than 24 cents each. All but one with dust jackets and only the library discard in less than good condition. Included were five science fiction and fantasy books, a couple of mysteries and two books by Lauren Willig. Those last two were great finds since I've been thinking about trying her books next year after all the favorable mentions I've seen here.

Wonderful book haul! I keeping reading great reviews for the Lauren Willig books so sounds like your got some good reading in store for you.

@ 228 -- What a great deal! Which Lauren Willig books did you get? I'm a fan of hers, so I hope you enjoy them!

Apparently they are the first and third books by Willig. I'll definite get to the first one in a couple of months. Do they need to be read in order?

@ 231 -- Well, kind of. Each entry in the series has a fairly self-contained historical story, but there's also a present-day framing narrative that progresses with each book. And come to think of it, there are a lot of plot threads that continue throughout several books. So yeah, I'd read them in order if you can.

> 232

Thanks for the info.

IX. Who are we? mythology #4

87. The World of Myth by David Adams Leeming --Finished November 11, 2013

From the public library.
348 pages including bibliography lists at the ends of sections + index
myths, commentary on themes, retellings and long quotes from, for example, Homer, Virgil, etc.
291.1

This anthology was more than just a collection of myths. There were lists of suggested further reading and of the sources for the different sections. The book was organized by types of myths and Leeming spent some time explaining these types and wrote a short introduction to each featured story. While I was familiar with many of the stories there were also a number that I was seeing for the first time. A good book for those who want more than just a retelling of some myths but aren't ready for the rather dense writings of authors like Joseph Campbell.

Vii. My Virtual Library #2.

88. Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey -- Finished November 13, 2013

Free Kindle download from Amazon.
139 pages
western, early 1900's, fiction

Just finished Riders of the Purple Sage. Although the last half of the story was more interesting than the first half and I rather liked the chapters that followed Venters, I don't think I'll read any more of Zane Grey for a while. However, I do have West of the Pecos which I may read eventually.

V. Anything goes -- Fiction #11.
89. The Circle by Dave Eggers -- Finished November 16, 2013

From the public library.
491 pages
One LibraryThing One Book, social media, privacy, fiction

The Circle will get all kinds of reviews and the ratings on LT already range from half a star to five stars. I read this because Tim picked it to be the first book in the One LibraryThing, One Book group and my local library actually got a copy that I could check out in time to read it pre-discussion. Because of the First Impressions thread I wasn't expecting to like the characters very much and I didn't. Even so, the book was hard to put down because of the way it was written. There weren't many natural places to stop and I believe that that was a deliberate choice on Egger's part along with the generally unlikeable characters. For anyone thinking about reading this book I would advise looking at a couple of reviews from each end of the spectrum beforehand. While it can be thought provoking I doubt that it is for everyone.

Amazing, isn't it, how comments from fellow LTers can influence us. We really give them a lot of trust. I had actually set it aside after reading those comments. Then I saw the article that Margaret Atwood wrote and decided to go back to it. I had read an earlier book of Egger's and nicknamed it A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Ego.

II. Mysteries & Suspense #12.

90. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith-- November 16, 2013

From the Public Library.
257 pages
detectives, life in Botswana

The story of Mma Ramotswe and her friends is continued in this addition to the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. In this one, there is an unexpected visitor from the U.S. who is most welcome at the detective agency and the usual problems to be sorted out. A nice read for fans of the series.

VII. My Virtual Books #3.

91. The Year of the Jackpot by Robert Heinlein -- Finished November 19, 2013

Free Kindle download from Amazon.
49 pages (novella)
SF, cycles, apocalypse

Although I didn't remember any details something about this story seemed very familiar. I must have read it before in the dim, distant past. It's a classic fifties SF story with two main characters: the male who knows nearly everything and the female who needs rescuing. Society is falling apart and disasters are happening everywhere. Is there any hope for mankind?

The short essays included about Galaxy magazine, SF novellas and novelettes, the author, and the foreword by Paul di Filippo are pretty good, maybe more interesting than the story. But do read the story before the Foreword.

VII. My Virtual Books #4.

92. Water Witch by Thea Atkinson - finished November 24, 2013

Kindle download (don't remember if it was free or a Daily Deal.)
195 pages
fantasy, battle, magic, cliffhanger ending

At first this book wasn't doing anything for me but it did get better then it just ended on a cliffhanger. I have a strong impression, after looking at the Amazon page for the next book in this 4 book series, that the whole thing is just one long story arbitrarily divided into four parts without any real resolution until the last one. While I had the vague intention to track them down some day, now after a few days, with the story fading from mind, that intention is almost non-existent. There are just too many books out there that I would rather spend my time with.

XII. History #6.

93. The Path between the Seas by David McCullough -- finished November 26, 2013

From the public library.
617 pages plus notes, etc.
Canals, Panama, engineering, construction, disease
AwardCAT -- National Book Award, 1978, History

This book was meant for the group read but someone had requested it from the library and I had to turn it back in. However, I finally got one of their copies back and was able to finish and it turned out to be a CAT.

The Path Between the Seas was a great book about a very interesting subject - the building of the Panama Canal. With the successful completion of the Suez Canal many people were looking for a good canal route across Central America to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. There were various proposals, some for the Panama Isthmus and others for Nicaragua, Then there were those who wanted a sea level canal and those who thought locks would be better. Having triumphed at Suez, Ferdinand de Lesseps became involved in the plans for a French attempt and because he believed that a sea level Panamanian canal was the best choice that was what the French company attempted. This effort finally failed and in the process brought down the French government and lost the investors' money.

Afterwards, the Americans began looking seriously at the idea of a Nicaraguan Canal financed by the government rather than by a private company. However, Theodore Roosevelt and some powerful Senators became convinced that Panama might be the better choice. After a great deal of backroom politicking, Congress approved the Panama route by a narrow vote. Meanwhile the Colombian government began dragging its feet and an impatient Roosevelt helped along the secession of Panama from Colombia.

Next came the construction, the triumph over yellow fever and a great reduction in deaths from malaria, visits by Roosevelt and Taft and the opening of the canal just as WWI was in its early stages. The photos and maps were helpful in picturing the progress of the canal as it was described in the text.

A really good book that I am very glad to have read. Recommended

I won't be finishing anything today so time to recap:

November Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (9/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (12/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (10/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (10/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (11/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (5/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (4/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (7/8)
IX. Who are we? (4/8)
X. Short Stuff (6/8)
XI. Science and technology (5/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (6/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (4/8)

93 Total -- (counted some multiple rereads as 1)

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth, Sandman, American Lion, Code Name Verity, The Ghost Map, and added 14 Cows for America and, perhaps, Angelmaker in May. For June the standouts are Remarkable Creatures and Jane: the Woman who Loved Tarzan. Also Bimbos of the Death Sun for its title. In July I will add Operation Mincemeat and maybe The Beekeeper's Apprentice. For August I think The Guns of August as it has inspired me to read another book about WWI. The standout reads for September were the nonfiction books A World Undone and The Invention of Air. Nothing really for October.

In November I really liked The Path Between the Seas and The World of Myth. The Circle was interesting and generated a lot of discussion on LT but ...

AlphaCat: the novella The Year of the Jackpot by Robert Heinlein

RandomCat: none

AwardsCat: National Book Award - The Path Between the Seas by McCullough

CAT-Tricks: none

December CATS: A couple of AlphaCats are possible. I'm definitely planning on Zombies of the Gene Pool.

AlphaCAT :L and Z

RandomCAT: A book by an author previously read -- I've begin The March to Folly by Barbara Tuchman and hope to finish by mid-December.

AwardsCAT: probably won't do this one.

GOAL: I probably am not going to manage eight in each category since my reading this year has been less steady than most years and definitely not as balanced as I had hoped. But I think six in each is doable so I'll try for that.

Meanwhile I have three library books that I really want to finish:

The March of Folly - history
A World in One Cubic Foot - science
The Tiger in the Attic - biography, Kindertransport

VI. Catching Up #6.

94. Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb -- Finished December 2, 2013

From my own shelves.
262 pages
SF fandom, reunions, murder

Another book featuring the author Jay Omega and also deals with SF fandom. A more serious book than Bimbos of the Death Sun but still has a murder and some twists. The descriptions of the Tennessee countryside and the lake drawdown were good.

AlphaCat for December.

VII. My Virtual Books #5.

95. God Save the Queen by Kate Locke -- finished December 6, 2013

Kindle app download
360 pages
fantasy, urban with vampires, werewolves, goblins, halvies

Interesting enough that I will probably read the next one in the series.

(Keeping comments short!)

I've finished three items since my last post!

X. Short Stuff #7.

96. The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster -- finished December 13, 2013

A free download.
~ 38 pages in print form
Science fiction, dystopia

This is a short piece first published in 1909 and made a very interesting story to read soon after finishing The Circle. In Forster's story technology has advanced and man has built a machine that does everything for them taking over more and more aspects of their life. The story opens in a room that is Vashti's home far underground, a room like all the other rooms. Food is delivered, beds appear on request, and nearly all communication is through the machine with face to face contact being very rare. Visits to the surface are also rare and require special equipment.

A very interesting story that still has relevance today as far as man's dependence on technology.

XI. Science and Technology #6.

97. A world in one cubic foot : portraits in biodiversity by David Littschwager -- Finished December 14, 2013

From the public library.
203 pages
577.
science,ecology,biomes,biodiversity

This lovely book is what some would call a coffee table book with David Littschwager's photography of the flora and fauna in the habitats he visited being the major part of the book. The edition I had is a book tall and a foot wide echoing in its form the concept he explored. The author took an open cube that was one foot in each dimension, placed it in various locations and then observed the space for 24 hours, recording all of the creatures that visited. His experts at each location helped count and identify the various species and each one was photographed individually. There is a foreword by E. O. Wilson and an essay for each of the six locations which were 1) a salt water bay - San Francisco, 2) coral reef - French Polynesia, 3) cloud forest - Costa Rica, 4)deciduous forest - Hallett Nature Sanctuary - Central Park, NY, 5) freshwater river - Duck River, Tennessee and 6) mountain fynbos - Table Mountain, South Africa.

My favorite was the one on Duck River just a few miles from Columbia, TN. I've visited sites on the river and used to live just yards away from the river, in Columbia, when I was a child. It is one of the most pristine rivers remaining and its watershed is protected now so there is still remarkable diversity there.

Overall, I would recommend this for both the essays and the photography.

XII. History, Biography #7.

98. The March of Folly:From Troy to Vietnam by Barbara W. Tuchman -- finished December 16, 2013

From the public library.
387 pages + notes,bibliography,index
909.08

December RandomCAT

Here Folly is defined by Ms. Tuchman as a pursuit of policy contrary to self-interest and must meet three criteria: it must have been seen as counter-productive at the time; a feasible alternative must have been available; and it must have been action by a group rather than an individual that extended beyond one political lifetime, for example, a succession of office holders. She uses four historical periods to illustrate "folly': the Trojan War, the Renaissance Popes in the period before the Reformation, the events precipitating the American Revolution, and the escalating involvement of the U.S. in Vietnam.

While the whole book was interesting, the Renaissance era was the hardest for me to follow because I wasn't very familiar with the people and events the author was covering. The section on the British loosing its colonies was the most enjoyable and the one on Vietnam the most maddening since I lived through it and while I knew it was a stupid war at the time, she had amassed a lot of details that I wasn't aware of. This book was very detailed and would work best for those who want all the facts rather than a brief overview. Also be aware that "Folly" was published in 1984 so an accounting of the Vietnam War written today might well have a different emphasis.

You are making great reading progress!

Thanks, Lori. Of course two of the last three were short as far as number of words go!

XII. History, biography, memoir #8.

99. Tiger in the Attic: memories of the Kindertransport and Growing Up English -- Finished December 18, 2013

From the public library.
241 pages; published 2005
940.5318
WWII, German Jewish children, England during wartime, memoir

Tiger in the Attic was a great story told from the viewpoint of Edith Milton. Just eight years old, she travels with her sister Ruth from Karlsruhe to England as part of the Kindertransport shortly before the beginning of the war. There the two of them lived with the Harveys and their two daughters who were between Edith and Ruth in age.. There is not a lot about the Kindertransport here but rather a great deal about learning to be English and about everyday life in England during wartime. Meanwhile, some other members of their family, including their mother, had managed to make their way to the U.S. So, the last part of the book covered the girls' journey to New York after the war and the author's adjustment to still a third culture.

The story is entertainingly told and may be one of my best books of the year as well as a quick and easy read. Not a "just the facts" recitation but told as the memories would naturally surface with a digression here and there and a bit about how the adult Edith came to interpret her memories. She also carefully points out how unreliable some memories can be after so many decades.

Recommended.

I am adding Tiger in the Attic to be wishlist, I can only imagine how difficult it was for these children to be literally dumped into a new culture and language and yet, many lives were saved by this Kindertransport.

She kept in touch with the Harveys and describes her last visit with one of the girls when they were both on up in years. Apparently there were a number of visits to Europe, including England, over the years. I had the impression that Milton's experience wasn't as bad as, perhaps, some others were. Anyway, I got Rescuing the Children from the library today. It appears to be about middle school in level with a number of illustrations.

And another book finished!

XIII. Anything Goes -- nonfiction #5.

100. Christmas: A Candid History by Bruce David Forbes -- finished December 19, 2013

From the public library.
159 pages
394.2663
Christmas,history,changing customs,Santa Claus

I really enjoyed this little book about how Americans came to celebrate Christmas in the way(s) that we do. Easy to read and interesting text with a number of facts that I didn't actually already know. The author also includes some notes and a nice bibliography.

There are a couple of great reviews on the work page that I can't top so I will just recommend it as a good overview.

And speaking of Christmas

X. Short Stuff #8.

101. A Christmas Hope by Anne Perry (more a novella than novel) -- finished December 20, 2013

From the public library. Just published this year.
197 small pages
Victorian, London, investigation, related to Monk series

A fairly good story taking place in London during the days before Christmas and centering on having the courage to stand up for what is right and making good choices rather than socially acceptable ones. The year is 1868 and the story is about Claudine Burroughs who is connected to the main characters in the Monk series. She witnesses the tragic end of a streetwalker and thinks that an innocent man is being accused of the deed. Therefore Claudine determines to discover what really happened.

XIII. Anything Goes -- Nonfiction #6.

102. Rescuing the Children: The Story of the Kindertransport by Deborah Hodge -- Finished December 21, 2013

From the public library children's section.
60 pages
940.53
WWII, Germany just before the war, children refugees, rescue efforts

This is a good overview of the Kindertransport itself. Included are the events leading up to it and how the children were actually transported plus some about their lives during and after the war. I particularly liked that Hodge included a list of other books for both children and adults and wish that my local library had some of them.

A good introduction for both children and adults to this subject with lots of great illustrations. Recommended.

Will have to add this to my reading list as well.

It's an interesting subject. One of the featured children became an author who has apparently written fiction books for children using some of their experiences.

Merry Christmas! Wishing you lots of good reading in the new year!

I didn't get around to all the threads earlier this week so here's hoping that everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday.

We had our usual low key Christmas with our son traveling down from Boston and talking to my Dad and the rest of the family by phone. Dad was in the middle of a noisy family party when we talked but he sounded happy and was enjoying himself. Not our style but just the thing for some people.

Finish a book on folklore just before bed last night.

IX. Who are we? #5.

103. Irish Sagas and Folk-tales by Eileen O'Faolain -- finished December 25, 2013

From the public library.
242 pages
398.2
folklore, Ireland

I was vaguely familiar with a few of the heroes and stories presented here but a number were new to me. A fairly enjoyable collection in a fifties style. This book is apparently part of a series of world folktales and seems to have been designed with the Junior High and High School library in mind. This is a reasonable introduction to Irish folklore but might be hard to find although Amazon lists a later reprinting.

I'm well into a couple more books for this challenge which will give me my (modified) goals for this year so I really need to make a decision on next year's. Haven't set up a thread yet because I keep changing my mind!

Finished 2 more:

VII. My Virtual Books #6.

104. Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees -- finished December 27, 2013

ebook read on my iPad
290 pages
fantasy, first published in 1926, fairy

A slow start and then the wish to know what happened next took over.
Some good descriptive writing in parts of the book.
Undecided about recommending it. Several good reviews on the work page.

Had a hole-up-in-bed-and-read day yesterday in an effort to shake a cold before it got really serious so I also finished one that I pulled off my shelves almost at random. It had been here for some time but I had never read it.

VI. Catching up #7.

105. Murder Goes Mumming by Charlotte MacLeod writing as Alisa Craig -- Finished December 27, 2013

from my own shelves having come from my Dad's house
184 pages
mystery, Christmas, Canada

This mystery featuring Madoc Rhys, from the RCMP, takes place in an isolated house in New Brunswick. Think country house party mystery Canadian style...

Madoc has a four day Christmas holiday and ends up at the annual Christmas celebration of the Condrycke family. Ms. MacLeod often writes about eccentric families full of quirky personalities and she has given us one here, as well as a murder for her detective and his new fiance to solve. While not a favorite author I've decided that her books do make a good occasional change of pace.

Almost finished with a book of Native American folklore and have pulled out a started but never finished anthology of SF stories to read a least some of.

Possibly my last two except for 2 or 3 short stories.

IX. Who are We? Folklore, etc. #6.

106. Spider Woman's Web by Susan Hazen-Hammond -- finished December 28, 2013

From the public library
224 pages
398.2
stories featuring women's issues, North American Natives, exercises and meditations

There are twenty-five main stories in this collection. Each story has a short introduction and is followed by short versions of other similar Native American stories. Then there is a section about connecting to story to one's own life. Some may find that section useful but I was mainly interested in the story itself and in the variety of stories the author collected. There is also an extensive bibliography for those who wish to do further reading.

VIII. Rereads #8.

107. The Foundling by Georgette Heyer -- finished December 29, 2013

From my own shelves.
312 pages
historical fiction, a little romance, a little adventure, family

What can I say? I've read this one so many times that, like some of my other Heyer's, it's falling apart.

This one follows the adventures of the young Adolphus Gillespie Vernon Ware, known as Gilly to most of his family, as he discovers that he is not just a Duke but also a man...

I had forgotten just how much I enjoy this story and it kept me well entertained for most of the day.

One last addition:

VI. Catching up #8.

108. 3 stories from The year's best science fiction 17th annual collection edited by Gardner Duzois -- finished December 31, 2013

From my own shelves
66 pages
science fiction, short stories

The stories were

Green Tea by Richard Wadholm
The Dragon of Pripyat by Karl Schoeder
Written in Blood by Chris Lawson

and are "hard" SF. I had read a few of the other stories in this volume several years ago and liked them well enough but the book got buried under others and somehow I never got back to it. These three were interesting enough that I think I should continue, especially since the next one is by Pohl and I'm going to read Gateway in the next few days. If I enjoy it then I'll want to read more by him.

And that is 2013's reading!

December Summary:

I. Young at Heart -- YA fiction. (9/8)
II. Mystery and Suspense (12/8)
III. Next Up -- next unread in a series already started. (10/8)
IV. Fantasy and Science Fiction -- All kinds (10/8)
V. Anything Goes : Fiction -- other especially CATs (11/8)
VI. Catching up -- leftovers category. (8/8)
VII. TBR ebooks on my iPad/Mac (6/8)
VIII. Rereads -- Fiction (8/8)
IX. Who are we? (6/8)
X. Short Stuff (8/8)
XI. Science and technology (6/8)
XII. History, Biography/Memoir (8/8)
XIII. Anything Goes : Nonfiction (6/8)

108 Total -- (counted some multiple rereads as 1)

The standout books so far are Comanche Moon, Redshirts, Reservation Blues, Messenger of Truth, Sandman, American Lion, Code Name Verity, The Ghost Map, and added 14 Cows for America and, perhaps, Angelmaker in May. For June the standouts are Remarkable Creatures and Jane: the Woman who Loved Tarzan. Also Bimbos of the Death Sun for its title. In July I will add Operation Mincemeat and maybe The Beekeeper's Apprentice. For August I think The Guns of August as it has inspired me to read another book about WWI. The standout reads for September were the nonfiction books A World Undone and The Invention of Air. Nothing really for October. In November I really liked The Path Between the Seas and The World of Myth. The Circle was interesting and generated a lot of discussion on LT but ...

December standouts: The World in One Cubic Foot; The March of Folly; Tiger in the Attic - all nonfiction!

AlphaCat: Zombies of the Gene Pool
RandomCat: The March of Folly
AwardsCat: none

CAT-Tricks: none

GOAL:I did manage 8 or more in most categories and 6 in the others which met my modified goal. Also I had originally set the minimum number of reads as 104 and in the end I counted 108 done. THEREFORE I'M DECLARING THE CHALLENGE A SUCCESS! Since my main goal at the beginning of the year was to read a variety of things, both fiction and nonfiction, I'm pretty satisfied with the way my challenge turned out. Also, there were several really excellent reads (see above) throughout the year which is always great.

Next: Set up my 2014 challenge which will be rather similar to this one.

Congratulations! Looking forward to your 2014 challenge!

Hurray, completed challenge! I'll look for your thread in the 2014 group!