CassieBash Continues the Challenge

Hi! I’m CassieBash. I live with my mom and 2 sisters (I’m middle child) on the family farm. I own a tuxedo cat named Peppa and a hermit crab (simply The Crab) and any number of caterpillars, chrysalises and cocoons (I release the adults) but the household collectively has 2 dogs, 3 equines, and 9 cats, in addition to my critters. Shameless plug time—My fiancé owns a used bookstore in Muncie, Indiana on the south side of Ball State University called White Rabbit Used Books. (Check out his Facebook page.) One week out from the New Year and I still have one book to go for 2021–and I’m already plotting out 2022. This year’s big goal is to finish up that 20 volume set of classics—mostly so I can get them out of the house. I also plan on reading some big books so I’m putting aside my long-standing rule of no picture or easy read books. This year is like a Cole Porter musical—anything goes!

I read a lot of different genre though romance isn’t one. I prefer a different genre for the A plot, especially fantasy. I also read nonfiction, with an emphasis on nature, history, folklore, funeral customs, and medicine. This leads to some of my “disturbing” reads on some pretty nasty diseases or parasites, or books on mummification, or poisonous plants. There’s at least one in every year. So come join me, if you dare….

Welcome back for 2022! I didn’t realize your fiancé has a bookstore - I’ll check out his Facebook page.

>1 CassieBash: woo! Your thread is now starred.

Hi! I'm interested in that set of classics, and the sheer range of nonfiction books. Are they somehow related to what you're doing/learning or are they just an afternoon read with the purpose of getting to know the world better?

This group always helps me to read; welcome back, Cassie.

Happy reading in 2022, Cassie!

Enjoy your 2022 reading!

Thanks for the stars and well-wishings all!

>4 zuzaer: I’m a librarian at a small liberal arts college with a small staff so usually peer-reviewed articles are my professional reading while books are my escape/de-stress thing. Nonfiction is usually for my general interests, which come to think on it really does seem to lean towards the macabre. I have an extensive collection of books on mummies alone….

>8 CassieBash: This may seem as a weird question, but how do you find the time, opportunities and will to read something outside your job? My life right now is centered a lot around reading or working with books (which means reading or paging through them) and I might be joking about it but the truth is I used to read so much, and now I have stacks of books to read, because I'm always trying to read all that I'm supposed to and there's usually no time for my own choices. Not that I don't like that readings, I really do, but it's not the same.

>9 zuzaer: In part, I separate my home and work life now that I’m back on campus. Working from home sucked for me because I really like keeping the two apart. So I read professional lit at work and recreational stuff at home (and during lunch because that’s part of my off the clock time). And I get some book time in my hour a day commute when I’m in the mood for an audiobook (I’m in a music kick right now). OverDrive through my local library and LibriVox.org and its accompanying free app let me download audiobooks for free offline listening. (Some housework goes well with audiobooks, too—folding laundry and washing dishes, for instance.). Some days I nickel and dime (second and minute?) my reading time because I’m busy at home, too—10 minutes here, five there. Even then I usually have to do a lot of children’s chapter books and slim YA or adult titles as quick reads. That’s why this year I’m going to go easy on myself and allow some younger children’s titles so I can read some of my larger tomes and not stress too much over trying to make my goal. Even reading a couple of picture books a month would go a long way towards making the 75.

What’s your job, if you don’t mind me asking?

>10 CassieBash: I'm still at the university, and my studies are centered around literature. Since the first term and huge TBR lists for every literature class (by the way, everyone knows it's almost impossible to read them all, yet everyone acts as if they did) I've realised that me, a person who could devour a book (let's be real, a novel) in no time, has a) problems with reading every day a bit, even if all the books are fascinating, and usually they are, and b) reading apart from the uni work. "It makes you stop reading", I would laugh, but that's actually not funny and now, on the way to my MA, I'd like to change that. (I think reading in the bus and such may be a good start. Sadly, I can't focus on audiobooks.)

I agree that working from home without some knowledge, organisation and proper mindset was awful (I keep in mind I will probably work from home, and I'm starting to wonder how will I do that). For the best results, it would probably require to have a separate room, a study, if you will, to do work and only work there. But I'm also living with my family, so that'll be an option for a future, "grown-up" home.

>11 zuzaer: I had a difficult time working from home last year, but if I'd had a room instead of using the living room (laptop on my lap) I probably would have been more productive. It's hard to concentrate with all the distractions from pets and family.

>11 zuzaer: Don’t forget that all books can count towards the 75 goal so even if it’s for class, if you read it, it counts. (I’d count my work reads if they were books instead of journal articles.). I used to read in high school on the bus in the afternoons but since I live so far out in the country that public transport isn’t an option, I can’t really do books unless they’re audio.

>12 fuzzi: Amen! When we first shut down mid-semester, mom still needed a lot of care as she’d just gotten out of the nursing home where she was doing rehab after a bad case of pneumonia, and her cancer treatment hadn’t progressed to her maintenance drug so she was still doing the IV chemo treatments. I was balancing full time work and caregiver duties, logging everything I did for work and the time I spent doing it; most weeks I had to work some on the weekends too in order to get my full time in.

A dedicated work space would have been nice, yes.

>13 CassieBash: I definitely intend to count all my readings into the 75 goal.

I gather you're the one driving? That definitely removes paper books from the list of possibilities. Audiobooks are really a thing. (My friend from primary used to listen a lot when her mum was driving her to the city to go to school, and they worked their way through all 7 Harry Potter books. At the time, that felt like a lot; of course, the audio part makes reading a lot slower.)

>12 fuzzi: Distractions are everywhere! :) That's why I wrote about a special room, because I spent three semesters on-line and everything in my room (my bed, radio, other tabs on the browser, various books, etc.) was sometimes way interesting than MS Teams and current course. So, I imagine a study that I can shut the doors of for the rest of the day would be the best option. But, then, I had my room to work in, so that was at least something.

>14 zuzaer: Yep, I’m driving. No carpooling options here; I work at an out of the way rural campus at odd times for most peoples’ schedules.

OK, let’s start the ball rolling for this year with a children’s chapter book, written for maybe 5th and 6th graders: Alistair Grim’s Odditorium, book 1 of what is obviously a multiple book fantasy adventure that centers around a young chimney sweep boy named Grubb who due to an unfortunate run-in with some unpleasant bullies finds himself in the Odditorium, a most unusual building with an even more unusual power source—the mysterious animus. Grubb meets many unlikely friends including the Yellow Fairy, a talking pocket watch, and the mysterious Nigel, who was falsely accused of murdering his brother. There are enemies, too—the Black Fairy and Prince Nightshade—who are out to destroy the Odditorium and take the coveted blue animus for themselves. This adventure fantasy is PG-13 for some violence but language is clean and it would probably make a decent bedtime read-aloud for a boy, as there isn’t any romance even though there are some good girl characters. You can read this first book as a stand-alone but there isn’t full closure so keep in mind that your children may want more.

The Book of Animal Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong is book 2 and the first nonfiction read. It is a quick and light read (my next nonfic pick, on smallpox, probably won’t be), arranged alphabetically by animal. Rather than the focus being on animal intelligence, it focuses on little-known facts about the animal, some species of which are surprising familiar; dogs, cats, horses, sheep, goats, and pigs share the pages with cicadas, hoatzin (a type of bird), platypuses, hyenas, tardigrades, and more. Ever wonder what animal group has the most species? What makes hyena births so difficult? What animal starts life with 3 eyes? Fascinating and I learned a few interesting trivia bits, which is nice because a lot of animal “fast facts” type books usually don’t have much in them that I didn’t already know. Still—a word of warning that some of the trivia may be disturbing, and the authors include a lot on different species’ mating and the anatomy needed, so if sex talk offends you probably should look at another book for your animal trivia. I’m not sure if the reason for so much emphasis was because the authors felt some of the sexual oddities were too bizarre NOT to include or if they just thought that sex sells. Maybe both.

First time visitor here, Cassie. I do hope your reading year continues for you as well as it has started out!

Welcome, alcottacre! Thanks for the well-wishing! Our water heater crapped out on us on Sunday and we scrambled for two days before finding plumbers who would come out short notice to replace it. New one was installed yesterday. We can’t really complain about the old one; it’s the same one that came with the house and we’ve been here since 1971. The darn thing was older than me and I’m pushing 50. They built things to last back then.

>19 CassieBash: ack! Sorry to hear about the hot water heater. Our house was built in 1970 and the heater was still working when we bought the house 16 years ago. It was in an outside closet (part of the house but unheated) and had rusted badly, so we requested a new heater as part of the deal. That one is still working, so far.

>17 CassieBash: I think I would appreciate that book. I can always skim if the hot & heavy stuff gets too hot & heavy... :)

>18 alcottacre: glad you stopped by Cassie's thread. She raises butterflies and keeps us up to date during the milder months of the year.

>21 fuzzi: Raises butterflies! As in, breeding?

>20 fuzzi: Hopefully your water heater lasts for several more years.

You probably would appreciate it; it’s cleverly written and has some sketch-style illustrations that frequently compare unusual features of the animal with machines and tools.

>22 zuzaer: I have a find, raise, release policy. Find caterpillars or eggs, raise through larval and pupal stages, release adults. It was a poor year for the Leps (short for Lepidoptera, the butterfly/skipper/moth order) in my neck of the woods, with most species’ numbers down considerably. The only ones to increase in numbers were the black swallowtails, and I’m not quite sure why. Most years I find maybe a handful of them despite stocking their larval host plants (members of the carrot family) in plenty, while their close cousins the spicebush swallowtails can usually be found by the dozens on the numerous sassafras trees in the pasture. While still not found in spicebush quantities, I had over twice my usual number in black swallowtails while spicebush swallowtails barely showed double digits. The only other species I had in relatively large numbers was the Io moth, and that was mostly because I found the caterpillars while they were still small and feeding together in their cluster. All are “ sleeping” for the winter.

>19 CassieBash: Glad that the hot water heater situation got fixed. I agree that they did build things to last back then. My house is still standing and it was built in 1928.

>21 fuzzi: Cool beans!

>23 CassieBash: That's very interesting! And amazing. I never would've thought that Leps need help sometimes too.

>23 CassieBash: we had a poor year, too, and I don't think it was just me not being outside enough. I have plenty of butterfly attractants like lantana, pentas, canna lilies, and milkweed. I saw ONE Monarch, some skippers and sulfurs.

>24 alcottacre: Nice! I love old houses.

>25 zuzaer:, >26 fuzzi: I’m hoping last year is a fluke and that the numbers this year are better. I had been hoping this past year was a northwest indiana thing but apparently not.

>10 CassieBash: I had difficulty working from home last year (and 2020) as well. Mainly as there were three other people woking/schooling from home as well and me and my partner were sharing a workspace...by which I mean when he was using it I couldn't. Erugh. It was a full house with no silence.

>28 LovingLit: Yeah, and I had to track my time and what I was doing so I had that as an extra stressor.

Book 3 is a total fluff read that I’ve been doing here and there to help drop my stress levels, Ghostbusters: Total Containment, a collection of the first several issues of the graphic novels published by IDW. The dialog is very much of the movies, clever and witty and capturing the personalities of the original characters from the first two movies. Aside from the four Ghostbusters, familiar faces include Walter Peck, who now is overseeing the Ghostbusters’ operations, Janine—still smitten for Egon—and Janosz Poha, now in an institution, yet still targeted by supernatural forces. Bonus if your a fan of The Real Ghostbusters cartoon series—see how many references you can find in the artwork; characters, creatures, and locations from the series are scattered throughout the pages—sometimes subtle, sometimes not. Great for times when I just don’t have the time to settle in for a long session of reading.

Book 4 is doing double-duty since I’m reading it for in-service professional development. Teach Yourself How to Learn: Strategies You Can Use to Ace Any Course at Any Level is a short, quick read of the author’s experiences guiding her students (and sometimes students outside of her classes) on ways to study more efficiently and effectively. Most of these tactics deal with different approaches to time management and study/review skills that are very simple to do but that just don’t occur to students. With bullet points and appendices summarizing the important tools and tips, it may be tempting for students to skip the reading, but I advise not to. The reading puts into perspective why and how the strategies work and give some good insights into why (and when) they should be used. Creating flash cards may work great for anatomy courses but may be totally unsuited for a philosophy course. A very quick read that any student who feels he or she is struggling in college at any level should read.

I’m so very close to finishing up volume 12 of Classic Tales by Famous Authors. For long time followers of my 75 challenge, you probably remember me starting this 20 volume set some time ago; my ambitious goal is to finish the bleeping set this year so I can finally get all 20 out of my house. For those disappointed that I didn’t start 2022 with one of my trademark “disturbing” reads—don’t worry. The other book I’m reading is on smallpox. And for children’s fantasy fans? I’m practically done with an audiobook.

>30 CassieBash: That sounds like a very educational book! It's good to see the author is aware of the differences between various courses. On that note, I still have Umberto Eco's How to write a thesis, written for humanities, and of course allowing for different approaches. I think I started it on my second year of university... Maybe I'll finish it before graduating!

>31 zuzaer: Maybe you will at that! How long do you have, and how much of the book is left? Maybe we can get a math major to calculate your chances! :D

Now for the triple decker: Book 5 is an audiobook of a children’s fantasy by Avi, The Book without Words. Sybil is the servant girl to an alchemist with highly questionable morals—he is working on stones that will let him regain his youth, one of the many secrets in The Book without Words that the alchemist has in his possession. When he seems to be dying, Sybil enlists the help of her master’s raven, Odo, and two green-eyed boys in an effort to learn the book’s secrets, for only a person with green eyes can see the words that hide on the pages of the book. But things get complicated when her supposedly dead master returns to life—and she discovers that her own life is in jeopardy by her master’s actions. Avi doesn’t tend to disappoint and while darker than some of his other works, the tale is gripping and even adults may have a tough time deciding on who to trust. An excellent fantasy adventure for younger chapter readers.

Book 6: Classic Tales by Famous Authors volume 12: The Orient contains three selections from The Thousand and One Arabian Nights as well as well as the novellas The History of the Caliph Vathek by William Beckford and Murad the Unlucky by Maria Edgeworth. Two of the “Nights” tales—Aladdin and Ali Baba—are common ones in collections of the “Nights” stories but the third, “The Three Calenders” is a little more obscure. Most have elements of fantasy with jinns and sorcery and magic, and all take place in eastern countries such as Arabia, China, India, etc. But those of you who have read my other reviews on this series know that these books are very Western centric and they are very much a product of their times, so racial and gender prejudice and bias are pretty rampant. But unlike some volumes, these tales held my interest and were enjoyable enough. Keep in mind that this version of “Aladdin” will be much different than the “Disneyfied” version most are familiar with today.

Book 7 is a retelling in prose of Gilgamesh by Bernarda Bryson. A heavily illustrated chapter book, the story is adapted from the epic text and the illustrations Bryson made for the book are adapted from relics such as jewelry, pottery and wall art fragments, sculptures, etc., and many of the relics used as direct illustrations are listed by Bryson in the back of the book. The story follows Gilgamesh and his soul brother, Enkidu as they find each other, become friends, and are then separated by Enkidu’s death. Gilgamesh then goes on a quest to bring Enkidu back to life if he can. The illustrations compliment the story very well; it’s almost worth finding a copy just to look at he artwork.

I have 180 pages and a year and a half left :D

Book 5 sounds really interesting; an idea of needing to have green eyes in order to read a book? Marvellous.

The whole series, Classic Tales by Famous Authors, sounds like a good one. (By the way, the touchstone is linking to a work with 0 books). But do I read correctly that they're quite old, as in, "old but not in a good way"? Just wondering, how and when the series was established and was/is it popular in the English-speaking world.

>33 zuzaer: Avi comes up with some great plots. Most are set in a medieval or Renaissance time in a European country and there’s usually an element of suspense/mystery. I don’t usually keep his books though because they’re everywhere in the public libraries so I can always borrow a copy if I want something of his. I’m on the fence with the audiobook. It’s got a great reader, it’s a great story, and I am wanting to expand my audiobook collection, so I may hang onto this for a while. I’m investigating Kindles and Nooks specifically for downloading (not streaming) books and any advice on which I should get that anyone wants to give is welcome.

The “Classic Tales” is a 20 volume set from the 19-teens and early twenties and thus has a rather racist and sexist slant in many of the works chosen because they are a product of their times. Each volume is themed; I’m reading “Prose Idyls” right now. The first volume in the set has an introduction, which slams African and African American works as childlike and unsophisticated while praising white authors (and men in particular). I got nothing from the introduction except the editors’ reasoning for why the works included were selected, so read it through the lens of the era and acknowledge that the selections chosen were made by white American men and that this set is not at all a representation of world literature, even from that era. The selections are indeed classics so it’s not necessarily bad (if there were no redeeming qualities, I wouldn’t be wasting my time reading them), but because the series was published 100 years ago, more modern classics won’t be included, so naturally the works included will sometimes have racist and sexist content. Previous volumes included excerpts from books by Victor Hugo, Herman Melville, Charles Dickens, and Robert Lewis Stevenson. I doubt this series is or would be popular now—at least not without updated selections—but I can see literature majors appreciating the set from an historic perspective.

>34 CassieBash: "Classic Tales": well, I think one can always take the good and leave the bad from that collection and then turn to other sources.

Books and audiobooks: I was going to suggest Audible, which is from what I gather more and more popular, but since you specified no streaming... Unfortunately I only know non-English sources and online bookstores for that. Apart from LibriVox. Oh, and I was looking for that Wizard-Baking book everyone was talking about here, and I stumbled into Barnes & Noble (by the way, I thought it's a British bookshop) that apart from seeking books -- and maybe audiobooks also? -- sell ebooks in couple formats, including their own for their own e-readers or app.

Avi sounds like an interesting author! I like renaissance/medieval setting, and Europe is, well, my home. Any particular books of him/her that you could recommend?

I have never read anything by Avi but snagged a couple of his books at the used book store.

>35 zuzaer: It has to be downloaded because I live in a tech dead zone—my Internet is 4G through my phone right now. Our rural electric company has been working on putting in Internet lines along their poles on our route but service isn’t running yet and I haven’t heard anything yet about when it will be. I do have the LibriVox app on the phone and I do download those sometimes but it does limit you to public domain books. I also have the OverDrive app on the phone and have checked out audiobooks from the public library in the past through that but there are some I’d just like to own because I’d listen to them over and over again.

>36 fuzzi: I think you will like the mystery/intrigue in his books. Do you remember which ones you snagged?

>37 CassieBash: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Crispin: The Cross of Lead!

>38 fuzzi: Nice! I liked Crispin in particular.

Well, we _were_ having a rather dry winter, relatively speaking, up to now. Tomorrow we’re getting rain during the day, switching over to sleet, then snow for three and a half days with blowing, drifting, serious wind chills—you get the idea. You know they expect it to be bad when the local meteorologist predicts the National Weather Service will switch the winter storm watch over to a warning in 24 hours—but they call it about 15 hours sooner. Sounds like we’ll be getting pretty much all of February’s precipitation in one go. I sense that a lot of reading will get done between bouts of shoveling….

OK, enough about that—y’all want book talk, no? Book 8 is the second graphic novel collection Ghostbusters: Mass Hysteria, which picks up where the last one left off, as levels of PKE point to something very big approaching—something very much like Gozer, something that loves to mess with the natural laws and cause chaos. If you’re up with your Sumerian/Babylonian mythology (or are a Dungeons and Dragons fan), you’ll recognize the major bad’s name. It does seem that each successive volume gets a little weirder but I’m good with weird. The next 2 volumes involve alternate versions of Ghostbusters and multiverse theory—fun.

I’m a little over halfway through the next volume of “Classic Tales”, getting close to finishing an audiobook, not far from the end of my work lunchtime nonfiction (which is also my first disturbing read of the year), and I just started a chapter book for tweenagers. With the upcoming snow event, I’m thinking I’ll be able to easily finish at least two before the week’s end, so I feel that I’m on track going into February at least.

>40 CassieBash: hope you have some alternate source of heat in case the power goes out!

>41 fuzzi: Fortunately we live in an old farmhouse with a working fireplace. I’m stopping by the grocery to pick up food that either doesn’t require heating or that we can cook over open flame in the fireplace.

REMC, our power company, knows mom is on nighttime oxygen and they will prioritize us accordingly. Glad that TSC employee talked me into getting a big box of AA batteries since most of our flashlights take those and it’s hard to recharge batteries if there’s no power. I’ll also make sure my portable iPhone battery is fully charged tonight.

Since our merger with Marian University (Indianapolis not the one in Wisconsin), our office computers are all laptops so tonight I’ll take Evil (yes, that’s his name) home with me. That should make working from home much easier. Since they keep increasing the snowfall totals every time I get a forecast update (we’re now pretty much guaranteed 12-16 inches or more), I’m thinking that pretty much everyone is planning on switching their classes from face to face to online for the next few days.

>42 CassieBash: one of the things I added to my "in case the power goes out" box is a power bank for a phone. I can supposedly recharge my phone 3x if the bank is charged up. I took one with me when we spent a long weekend at a cabin without electricity and it was very helpful!

Yep, we were told today to go virtual. I have one of our hotspots and the office computer so I am planning on doing a little work—but I’ve also warned my supervisor that unless they want to pay me for the digging I’ll be doing, I’ll be taking vacation time.

Book 9 is the audio version of book 1 of the series Lockwood and Co.—the first one is The Screaming Staircase. Part mystery and part fantasy-horror, this YA series takes folklore elements of ghosts and creates a world where ghosts—known as “visitors”—intrude on the modern world. (“Modern” being up to interpretation since personal computers and cell phones haven’t been mentioned.) The only ones who can rid the world of these manifestations are tween-aged kids who are psychically sensitive. They are recruited by companies that specialize in ghost removal, most of which are run by adult supervisors who have lost their abilities to see, hear, and sense ghosts. Lockwood & Co. are the exception; with only 3 kids on staff, they operate independently. Unfortunately, they receive a lot of flack from the oversight agencies—especially when they accidentally set fire to the upper floors of a client’s house. Desperate for money to pay off the damages, Lockwood and his team, researcher George and audio-sensitive Lucy, accept an eccentric rich man’s job—but is that job also tied to the locket of the myrdered girl whose ghost they encountered in their previous job? I’m calling this a fantasy horror mystery because it combines elements of all 3 genres in much the same way that Rowling did in the Harry Potter books. If you can handle those last three books in that series, you should be OK with the “Lockwood” series. And like “Harry”, saving the world falls on the kids’ shoulders. It’s kind of like a more folklore-based junior Ghostbusters concept; instead of using proton guns, they use salt, iron, silver, running water—all the good standbys for warding off evil spirits. Nice that the author did some homework on the subject.

>44 CassieBash: Good for you.

>44 CassieBash: how did you fare with the storms?

>46 PaulCranswick: Ended up taking 2 1/2 vacation days over three days. Best of all, I got to use flex time so my 4 hour work day was spread out over 2 days. Freakin’ awesome!

However, we return to in-person on Monday and I’m still not done with my disturbing lunch read—but I’m getting close enough that I need to decide what lunch read I should tackle next. Here’s where you get to help—should I read….

A. The disturbing true crime book
B. Another disturbing disease book
C. The disturbing book about food safety
D. A nature book (which may or may not be disturbing)
E. Take a break from nonfiction and read one of your many fiction books.

You should have a few days before I need to make a decision. Vote now! :))

Book 10: I did finish Classic Tales by Famous Authors volume 13, Prose Idyls. This one wasn’t the worst theme for me but it wasn’t the best, either. (Looking forward to the next volume, “Enchantment”.) It was just a tad too romance-y for my tastes overall, particularly the story A Love Marriage; Ludovic Halevy gets the award for the most saccharine entry in this volume. Entries of note include “What Makes People to Live” by Leo Tolstoy (liked it), A Child’s Dream of a Star and The Cricket on the Hearth, both by Charles Dickens (really liked the first, second was OK), and Dream Children: A Revery by Charles Lamb(meh). There are others but those are the most famous of the famous.

>48 CassieBash: Easy one for me Cassie. Give yourself a break and read some fixating fiction!
One vote registered and I'm sure that the rules state that first vote counts double in the event of a tie!

>49 PaulCranswick: I agree, fiction!

>50 fuzzi: Yay! That's five votes already and my maths is improving with age!

Don't know about those five, but I too vote for fiction!

Hmm…sounds like fiction is going to be the hands-down winner. Now the big question is…should it be disturbing??? :D

Actually, I will probably just randomly choose one off the pile. A pile. Not sure which pile. A random fiction book from a random pile.

OK, after an extremely busy week (my only other full-time person was out sick so I worked some extra hours) and an extremely busy weekend with my guy for Valentine’s Day, I didn’t get much print reading in, but it was enough to be able to make this a double post (thanks also to another audiobook). Book 11 is the audiobook 2 in the Lockwood series: The Whispering Skull, in which we find out that Lucy not only has strong touch and audio psychic powers in regards to ghosts, but also can talk to the more intelligent ones. Included in this group is the odd ghost that they have contained in a special jar; the agents put it to use to try to solve a case that involves a dangerous artifact that’s gone missing from the tomb where it had been discovered. Can Lockwood, George, and Lucy, with questionable help from the skull, recover the mirror before it kills someone? Again, there is an element of mystery/thriller genres in this light horror, with a hint of romance as Lucy begins to notice Lockwood in a different way.

Book 12 is actually the scarier of the two—more so because it’s nonfiction. Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox opens with a medical history, describing the disease and the birth of vaccination, through the history of the massive undertaking of making it extinct “in the wild”, and continuing into the early 2000s, where we still have it in select known labs (and maybe some unknown ones). In the last chapter, the author describes a role-playing scenario that a group of high-ranking politicians, some CDC and HHS people, and other invested government officials did that actually brought home to them how out of control a smallpox epidemic would be if it ever emerged again; with the disease no longer on GP radar and stockpiles of vaccine limited to a few million at best, the US would be ill-equipped to handle an outbreak. The good news? While not impossible, the author notes there are several logistical barriers to just anyone being able to release the virus successfully. Still, a grim reminder that humans came so close to completely eradicating a deadly disease of ours, only to drop the ball out of fear and greed.

Here's a book that made me think of you...that you'd like it:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/338756#7762979

>55 fuzzi: Direct hit!! Your BB aim is good! :D

Books 13 & 14 are the next two audiobooks in the Lockwood & Co. series, The Hollow Boy and The Creeping Shadow. Because the B plot about the corruption in the highest agencies dedicated to defending Britain from the ghostly visitors is coming more and more to the front, I can’t go into too much detail for fear of spoilers, but the group is getting closer to uncovering something hugely disturbing about what’s really going on at the agencies. Lucy also begins to realize how deep her feelings for Lockwood are becoming, as well as learning more about controlling her unusual abilities to communicate with ghosts. YA fantasy-horror fans will love the character growth, the action, and maybe the hint of romance (all hands-off so far) while parents will approve of the innocence of the romance (nothing sexual or suggestive) and the lack of swearing. I just started the last book of the five and expect to be done no later than the beginning of next week—if only because the audiobook is due in 8 days.

>56 CassieBash: woo hoo!

It's only fair, you've hit me with so many BBs...

>57 fuzzi: I get hit more often than I let on, actually! XD

I’ve had books 15 & 16 read for a few days but haven’t gotten around to posting. Book 15 is the last book in the Lockwood series, The Empty Grave. Lockwood & Co. are not about to let the big secret they’ve discovered about the Fitz Agency’s unethical and dangerous activities go uninvestigated; in this volume, questions are answered and loose ends tied up. Obviously, if you make it to book 4 and are still enjoying the characters and suspense, you’ll want to finish the set.

Book 16 is by Susan Fletcher and is an historical fiction-fantasy for younger readers—Shadow Spinner—based on the setup story behind The Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Shahrazad married the murderous Sultan and tells him stories every night to gradually change his habit of killing his wives, but there’s a problem. Shahrazad only knows so many stories and she’s running out of new ones.When the crippled girl Marjan is overheard telling a story Shahrazad has never heard before, she enlists Marjan’s help getting more. But they can’t be discovered doing this, especially by the Sultan’s cruel and overbearing mother, who doesn’t trust her son’s wives any more than he does, and would love to see him return to his murderous ways. Full of suspense and danger, Marjan is a strong female character every bit as much as Shahrazad. A good read for young girls though since there are not many male characters with “screen” (page?) time, it might not hold boys’ attention unless they don’t mind girl-heavy plots.

Book 17, The Secret of Zoom, was my lunch read children’s fantasy. Christina’s mother died in a lab explosion and ever since her father keeps her in their house or fenced yard, separate from other kids and, more importantly, from Lenny Loompski, head of the lab ever since his uncle Leo disappeared. Lenny is clearly up to no good, and his evil scheme involves orphans, singing, and a very unusual rock called zoom, all of which will get Lenny recognition in the scientific world and make him very rich indeed. How they all fit together, you’ll have to read to find out, but the book is very reminiscent of Roald Dahl’s children stories, where there are neglected and/or abused kids, often orphans, and the villains get what they deserve in some horrible and fitting way in the end.

>5 PaulCranswick: I like this!

Book 18 is Classic Tales by Famous Authors v. 14: Enchantment. This is one of the volumes where I think they put stories that they badly wanted to include that they didn’t think they could include in one of the other volumes due to space reasons. Abdallah by Edouard Laboulaye could easily have been a selection in “The Orient” volume, being similar to an “Arabian Nights” story in plot and telling. John Ruskin’s The King of the Golden River is very much a fairy tale, while The Bell Tower, In the House of Suddhoo, and The Bottle Imp by Herman Melville, Rudyard Kipling, and Robert Lewis Stevenson, respectively, could have been in the upcoming “Occult” volume or the previous horror one. There’s not a poetry volume for the story-poem by William Morris, The Writing on the Image, which is a bit surprising, but there is a “ Gods & Heroes” one you could arguably fit. But the stories were well-developed and more to my taste than the last volume, as each of these stories has a bit of a fantasy element to them. Next is volume 15, “Occult Tales”; only 6 more volumes and I’m finally done with the set!

>62 CassieBash: good for you to keep plugging at this set. Will you keep it or rehome once you're done?

>63 fuzzi: Rehome. While there are stories I really liked in some of the books, it’s not worth keeping the entire set, especially since they’re public domain. I doubt I’d re-read most anyway, and they’re a large set that takes away a lot of space from comfort reads I’d be more likely to read. So they will be going to Derek’s store when I am done.

Book 19 is the third Ghostbusters graphic novel compilation Interdimensional Cross-Rip. This collection starts us down the multiverse storylines, with the cartoon “Real Ghostbusters” crossing over to the main universe as they battle an ancient and egotistical god, Proteus, as well as a sandman who takes eyes, and a mysterious man who is looking for a very dangerous book.

I wanted a short break between “Classic Tales” volumes so Book 20 is a tween collection of horror stories by Jim Murphy, Night Terrors. Only they’re not really that scary. Maybe if you’re young enough, but the stories have an urban legend or campfire feel to them—you can see how each story is going to end well before you get there, at least in basics. There are a few twists in delivery but the endings are pretty foreseeable. However, taken as supernatural fantasy, a few of the stories are not bad, particularly “Cat’s Eye”, in which a selfish, mean-spirited girl who steals a cat’s eye marble from an old lady gets exactly what she deserves. All the stories are told by “Digger”, an old gravedigger who got his first cemetery job in his teens during the Depression; his personal story is last.Short, easy, and fast, the book took 2 days of reading and would have taken less except that I spent much of Sunday doing housework.

Back to the tales; volume 15 is “Occult Tales” so maybe I’ll experience some chills with this one. First story is more philosophical than horrible, though, at least right now. Then there’s the last of my “Ghostbusters” graphic novel compilations, my audiobook, and my lunch read—a realistic fantasy, if that makes sense. I’d see if I could squeeze in a fifth only it would slow me down elsewhere. No, better stick with these four for now…

Oh, crap… putting the graphic novel on hold until it’s prequel arrives. I wasn’t exactly lost but I had 3 references to the previous volume in the first dozen or so pages, so I figured I ought to catch up.

I did finish the audiobook Crooked Kingdom, which ties up the loose ends from Six of Crows, a spin-off from the original Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. His world is gritty and dangerous but you have to admire the cleverness of Kaz’s next “Mission Impossible” scheme to bring down his merchant enemies, get the money he was owed from them for the job he and his gang pulled off in the first book, smuggle a young boy out of the city before he’s either killed or enslaved, AND prevent a massive world war—but only if he can successfully pull it off. There are lots of moving parts to the plan—which means there’s a lot that can go wrong….

Book 21 was Crooked Kingdom if I’ve counted right, so book 22 is Ghostbusters 101: Everyone Answers the Call, which draws in for the first time the ladies (and Kevin) from the 2016. They
“Prime” (think original movie characters) set of Ghostbusters come up with an idea even Walter Peck approves of—create a program where interested people pay to learn the basics of Ghostbusting, while keeping an eye out for promising new recruits. Problem is, there are some curious kids in the first batch and they decide to play around with the interdimensional portal, which leads to an upset in the world of the “Prime” Ghostbusters and the 2016 version-dimension, causing the two dimensions to co-exist in the same place and time, like an overlap, and now they have to figure out how to separate them again before irreparable damage to both dimensions occurs. This is a good stand-alone volume, unlike the first three, which have a pretty seamless flow.

For the next one, if you’re not familiar with the Ghostbuster multiverse, you might want to make a scorecard, because all main cannon characters from all movies (prior to “Afterlife”, which wasn’t released until after this volume) AND both cartoon series (“Real” and “Extreme”), plus a lot of characters created for this graphic novel, will be in the last volume. More interdimensional stuff—this graphic novel team really loves the multiverse theory….

But before that, I’m getting close to finishing the latest audiobook, and I’m getting close to finishing volume 15 of that classics set. I’m about halfway through my lunch read and I have a professional development book started, so I’m hoping that by the end of this month, I’ll have at least 2-3 more finished. That would put me at 24-25 through March—a good amount for staying on track.

I’ve noticed that I have several juvenile nonfiction books that I should just take to Derek’s store because they’re taking up space and they’re too simplistic and basic for my nonfiction needs—but I’ll read ‘‘em before sending them on. Book 23, then, is The Monarch Butterfly by Judith Pinkerton Josephson, written for about a third or fourth grade level. It’s a pretty standard type beginner chapter book, with lots of full color photos of various life stages of the insect. It does have reproductive information so if you don’t want to get into a birds and bees (and butterflies) discussion on sex with your youngster, you might want to wait another year or two. However, junior entomologists here in the States just starting to explore the insect world will love this introduction to an iconic American species. My only quibble is that its age (1988) means that it doesn’t go into the modern-day concerns of the monarch population and ways kids can help (the main one, of course, is planting milkweed if possible). But it’s a nice intro to the species, with some interesting trivia thrown in, and would be a nice companion piece for a child raising a monarch for the first time.

I’m almost done with my audiobook—another day or two will see that done—and I’m on the last story in the 15th volume of that “Classic Tales” set. My work read progresses slowly but surely though I’m not sure I’ll get it done before April. Still, it’s exciting that the end of the 20 volume set is in sight, and Derek has kindly accepted and set aside the first 14, so they’re not taking up space in my house. I’d like to think that I could finish the last 5 by the end of June but we’ll see. I am getting my car worked on this Friday so I anticipate having some time in the waiting room to read—though I confess that those books are so old and delicate that I don’t usually take them anywhere but read them at home. Well, there are plenty of other books begging to be read….

Book 24 is volume 15, “Occult Tales”, of the Classic Tales by Famous Authors set—and one of the better volumes in my opinion. With the exception of The Time Machine by H. G. Wells and “The Life Magnet” (no touchstone found) by Alvey A. Adee, which are more science fiction, the stories dealt with ghosts and demons, and included Washington Irving’s The Devil and Tom Walker (a personal favorite), “The Metempsychosis” by Robert McNish, What Was It? By Fitz James O’Brien, and Amelia B. Edwards’ work The Four-Fifteen Express. Of the group, I’d already read the works by Irving and O’Brien, both being probably (along with Wells) the most well-known and reprinted in the U.S. All were quite enjoyable though not particularly scary—they have some atmosphere that may feel a little creepy for the more faint of heart, but there are no jump scares, no scenes of extreme violence or twisted sexual encounters found in a lot of modern sensational horror anymore. If you’ve followed my threads before, you may recall that moody pieces like this, and psychological horror, are more my speed with this genre, so this one was spot on.

I’ve decided to hold off on tackling the next volume, “Barbarians and Savages”, in favor of taking a less fragile tome to my tax appointment and car dealership on Friday. Since every volume so far has had uncut pages that I’ve had to separate myself (and carefully since the pages are extremely brittle with age), I don’t want to subject any of the remaining volumes to too much travel.

Book 25 is The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. I wanted to have a re-listen to this audiobook version before using my next Audible credit to get The Witness for the Dead by the same author. If you love fantasy and political intrigue then this book is perfect for you! Maia, the young half-goblin son of the Emperor, suddenly finds that an airship carrying his father and brothers has exploded and he is poised to become the new Emperor. Raised far from court by an abusive guardian, Maia is unschooled and unaware of how to conduct himself at court and rule over his elf and goblin peoples. On top of that, he is informed that the airship “accident” that thrust him upon the throne was actually sabotage. Can he and his kind nature survive the treacheries at court?

Don’t be discouraged if you, like me, found The Game of Thrones to be too heavy and difficult to follow at times. I listened to several of George R. R. Martin’s books prior to this and frankly got tired of it after awhile. A big part of that was that I found it hard to truly like hardly any of the characters, but with “The Goblin Emperor” you have a few that it’s easy to like, especially Maia. You also have fewer intrigues overall and fewer main characters so it’s easier to follow the storyline.). Told exclusively from Maia’s point of view, it’s also more linear, following him and only him. The only drawback to listening over reading is that many of the names and titles sound similar so this might be best read—though I loved the reader and his performance of each character—like Jim Dale reading “Harry Potter”. Whether read or listened, this is a must read for fantasy lovers.

Book 26 is the audio The Witness for the Dead, as mentioned above. Unlike The Goblin Emperor, this story is told first person by Thara Celehar, the Witness himself. Now stationed in Amalo, Celehar finds himself investigating several deaths, the most prominent being an opera singer who was murdered—but by who and for what purpose is unknown. Simultaneously, he also investigates the murder of a lady whose whirlwind romance and marriage to an unknown man leads to her death by poisoning. Throw in a ghoul hunt and a trial by ordeal, and this stand alone sequel is more action-driven than Maia’s story, which focused much more on characters and their interactions. An excellent read and if you’re not into the heavy political intrigue, this one is much lighter on that (though not devoid of it).

I’m taking a break in my audiobook listening to preview a few CD collections of old-time radio programs. Because they aren’t strictly books, I’m not counting them as part of the 75, but I would be happy to supply reviews.

I just realized that this is my 8th 75 book challenge, and I’ve been part of the LT community since fall 2011. I’ve had my MLS for almost 10 years. Wow, where did the time go?

It only goes faster as you get older...

>74 drneutron: ain't that the truth!!! 🤣

Yep. These students seem to think the semester is dragging while the rest of us are wishing we were still back at midterms! :D

Book 27 is volume 16 in the Classic Tales by Famous Authors set, “Barbarians and Savages”. Except for Herman Melville and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, most of the authors in this volume are probably largely forgotten outside of literature scholars. Their contributions are excerpts from their longer works: “Captive Among Cannibals” from Typee and “Paupukeewis” from The Song of Hiawatha, respectively. (The latter was my favorite selection from this collection, as I found this volume a little dull—a lot of natives going to war against each other, a lot of action-adventure with too little character development, not to mention the racial stereotypes and slurs commonplace in that era (the set was copyright 1902-1905). Other works included in the volume are:

Quest of the Copper by William C. Scully

History of a Slave by H. H. Johnston

The Passing of Penglima Prang Semaun by F. A. Swettenham

Excerpts from various works by Louis Becke

The most exciting thing about finishing this book is that I have only 4 more volumes until I’m done with the entire set, and I think the rest will be more my speed—the next volume I believe is “Gods and Heroes.

Hey Cassie! I'm reading and enjoying Nature From Your Back Door. Thanks for the recommendation.

>78 fuzzi: That was the one written by the nature columnist in Michigan, right?

Finished a free Audible book—one included with my membership. At first, I thought book 28, The House on Widows Hill by Simon R. Green, was going to be one of those “no wonder it was free” books but once I wrapped my head around the weird mix of genres—science fiction, mystery, horror—I really enjoyed it. The premise almost sounds like the opening of a joke: a journalist, a psychic, a ghost hunter, a white witch, and an alien and his human partner all walk into the old, abandoned “haunted” house—and it’s their job to ind out if it’s really haunted. Weird things start happening and one of them ends up dead. Can the incognito alien Ishmael and Penny, his human companion, solve the case before daybreak, when people will come to let them out. The alien thing seems a bit odd at first but trust me—Mr. Green knows what he’s doing. Just the right blend of atmospheric horror, moody mystery, and the alien—plus a big dose of humor.

>79 CassieBash: yep, that's the one. My review is posted.

>80 fuzzi: Glad you enjoyed it! Mom commandeered Rose in a Storm and really loved it. I have a confession—I have yet to read it since she got to it first and it’s not in my “to read” piles taking up space in my room. But I know where it is when I want it.

Y’all wanted me to read fiction for my lunchtime de-stress read, so I chose a more advanced read than a chapter book, since I was waaaayyyy ahead of the requisite 6.25 books/month average needed to meet 75 by year’s end. I was so close to the finish that I brought it home this weekend and everyone saw the cover and now wants to read it, too.* Book 29 is Maldicte by Lane Robbins—Miranda and her beloved childhood friend Janus are forcibly parted when a relative comes for Janus, the bastard son of an otherwise heirless earl. Miranda swears to kill this man and reclaim Janus; desperate, she makes a deal with Black-Winged Ani, an exiled and all but forgotten goddess of death and destruction, taking on a new persona—Maldicte. But still she needs help; under the wing of a lecherous old baron and his servant, Gilly, Maldicte learns the way of the court, slipping into society to reunite with Janus. But their reunion is on rocky ground as her vengeance must be complete, and murder begets murder….

Intrigue and a body count like you wouldn’t believe. It’s like Game of Thrones with fewer key players and self-contained in one book. There are some short, not exceedingly detailed sex scenes that establish character personas and relationships, and some minor swearing. There’s also some homosexuality and gender fluidity, as Miranda, donning the Maldicte persona, starts thinking in terms of masculinity. If you aren’t bothered by any of this, it’s an excellent read.

*We have a dedicated shelf set up for books we feel one or more of us want to read. “Rose in a Storm” is there, along with a couple of books mom and I’ve read already that are there waiting for my sisters to read. “Maldicte” has joined their ranks.

“Beyond the Grave” isn’t a true book so I’m not counting it as one of the official reads; it’s a compilation of several radio program episodes themed around ghosts, vampires, monsters, etc. it includes adaptations of some famous works like Casting the Runes (film buffs will know it as Night of the Demon or Curse of the Demon, depending on the version), and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Those who grew up listening to such radio programs may remember the names of Maurice Tarplin, Charles Boyer, and Madeline Carroll—and of course most everyone will recognize Peter Lorre. Some sections even include some of the ads for sponsors like Lipton and Camel to add to the experience. An excellent collection for radio horror and suspense show fans!

I have 2 collections of Sherlock Holmes radio dramas I’ll listen to and review later, so stay tuned!

>81 CassieBash: I've done a huge purge, I'll see if there are any similar books like Rose in a Storm for your mother.

One author I never see mentioned here on LT is Joyce Stranger, who wrote about people and animals in a realistic way. I've managed to collect most of her books, but it's not been easy, the majority were internet purchases.

Check out the local used book stores to see if anything written by her is hiding on the shelves.

Hmm...planning a Muncie trip to see my guy this weekend....

Book 30 is a short audiobook, Faith Hunter’s Junkyard Cats, a sci-fi action story. Shining is a war hero in hiding; she fought against an alien invasion. Now she lives in a junkyard, surrounded by unwanted scrapped cars, tractors, and other items no longer used by humanity. But the junkyard holds secrets, too—powerful tech and weapons hidden away, and Shining thought no one else but her and her companion, Matteo, knew about—until unexpected company shows up. Twice. But Shining doesn’t just have hidden tech around her; it’s also inside her…and anyone who comes in close contact with her, including the cats who also call the junkyard home.

How could I not at least try this book available free on Audible when it features cats? It was pretty good for a book that’s non-stop action; almost the entire 5 hours is a massive fight for control over the junkyard and a setup for the next book (also available on Audible free of charge until May 7, so you know what I’ll be listening to next). Usually I’m not a huge fan of heavy action but the action is interspersed with Shining’s memories which provides background and character establishment, so you do get to know her fairly well (it’s first person). And of course there are the cats—feline fans will appreciate their substantial parts to play. Recommend to science fiction lovers who like tech action. And cats.

Book 31 is The Tao of Pooh in which Benjamin Hoff explains the basic principles of Taoism using examples from A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books. Does a decent job as an introduction but if you want a scholarly, in-depth look at Taoism, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Still, the concept of taking a beloved character well-known by just about everyone in the Western world and applying Eastern philosophy and lifestyles to them makes it a much more fun and interesting way to get the basics than just by reading a textbook or reference book. The author even has little side conversations with several of the “Pooh” characters in addition to quoting the “Pooh” books (and traditional Chinese folk stories). We have the follow-up volume at work as well, The Te of Piglet, which I may read later. (The only reason I read “Tao” now was because it was on my pull pile—we have multiple copies but no longer needed that many—and it was convenient after I finished Book 29. I’m ready for another work read, OR maybe I’ll just take my evening read with me tomorrow—I’m nearly done with it so another hour or so would probably do it.

Decided to finish that Caroline B. Cooney book I had been reading before bed, Book 32: Goddess of Yesterday. Anaxandra is the child of a pirate father who is taken from the only home she’s known by King Nicander, who raids her home island and takes her back to his island kingdom to be friends with his crippled daughter, Callisto. When this new home is also violently taken from her, she takes Callisto’s name when she’s rescued by Meneleus. Do these names sound familiar? Anyone who has any familiarity with those epics written about the Trojan War will recognize them. Cooney researched the war and the legends surrounding it and came up with this fresh take on it as well as a major factor of it—Helen of Troy. Told from Anaxandra’s first person perspective, it reads like part history, part fantasy as the belief in Greek gods and goddesses are quite real to the characters—even though nothing technically can be attributed directly to them, the characters believe and half-convince the reader. An excellent choice for fans of Ancient Greek tales and fans of works like The Iliad.

Book 33 is The Witch’s Spoon by Mary Cunningham—a children’s chapter book (without chapters). Too few pictures for a picture book and too many words and advanced vocabulary for an easy read, so despite the lack of official chapters, I’m sticking with beginner chapter book. Tom and Lauren are visiting their grandma for a week, and their cousin Elizabeth is arriving, too—a cousin that Tom and Lauren haven’t ever met. They are certain they won’t like her, but at least their grandmother has something exciting planned—June Day, where they can do anything they like, provided they’re responsible about it. They are warned that anything they do that has a nip of danger about it should be considered carefully, but of course Tom and Lauren get into trouble, and quite predictably it’s Elizabeth who must lend a hand. Woven very lightly into the story is an antique spoon supposedly used by a relative who was supposed to be a white witch to make love potions. While I got this thinking it would have the same eerie and mysterious feel as The Haunted Cove by Elizabeth Baldwin Hazelton, it’s actually got much less a supernatural thriller feel and more an adventure feel. It would make a good read-aloud to younger children who like a hint of danger but are too spooked by the supernatural. It is an older book so tech-savvy kids might wonder why there aren’t any cell phones or computers.

Book 34 is the sequel to #30, Junkyard Bargain, in which our heroine (and some of her cats) go on a mission to retrieve a special attack vehicle buried under the dirt of West Virginia in order for her team to go on a special rescue mission and take out the nasty nanobot queen in the process. Definitely read/listen to them in order because you will be lost otherwise. The plots are building and the characters developing in a very linear way. Still plenty of action but this story has some down times for our characters and allows for them to be a bit more proactive than reactive.

Apparently the third book in the series (and presumably the final one?) hasn’t been released yet but is scheduled out sometime this year. I’m sure that since I listened to the first two, Audible will likely alert me to the next one’s release.

I’m taking a break from audiobooks for a week or so and am going to listen to music instead. The next two weeks are stressful for everyone (this is the last week of classes, next week is finals, graduation, and moving out for dorm students) so a little music sounds like good de-stressing to me. I’m far enough ahead (25 books is the average number for 4 month in if you’re pacing yourself) that I feel pretty good about slowing down and maybe reading some thicker books.

Book 35 may or may not be a repeat read; these types of feel-good animals-help-humans books were commonplace once. For a good reason, because most people like to read feel-good stories and most of us like animals. So Animal Miracles: Inspirational and Heroic True Stories by Brad Steiger and Sherry Hansen Steiger. There are 2 ways to approach reading this book. The Steiger are clearly passionate about communing with animals and have a New Age-ish approach that they outline in the back on how to make mental connections and communicate directly with your animal companion(s), OR you can just enjoy the stories submitted to the couple about animals saving lives and being compassionate to their two-legged friends. Some stories even involve wild animals helping people they’ve never seen before. With all the bad things happening in the world, it’s nice to read something positive, even if the stories are all pre-2000.

Going to read one more fiction book of mine at work before tackling a couple of nonfiction books we have as part of our rotation collection—books from Baker & Taylor that we can keep as part of our collection for a year before switching them out for another group. Among them are a couple I’m interested in: Fox & I and This Is Your Mind on Plants. Not sure which to start first—any preferences? Vote now!

Not a lot of reading going on; been busy with end-of-semester stuff and gardening when I can. (Those extra-hot days were murder!) I did have a black swallowtail butterfly from last fall emerge on Saturday afternoon—first of the season. Hopefully more will be on the way soon….

Book 36 is the graphic novel Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds and artwork by Danica Novgorodoff. This gritty urban story starts with a 15 year old boy see his brother die from a shooting. He’s been told there are 3 Rules:
1. Don’t cry. Ever.
2. Don’t snitch.
3. Get revenge.
It’s tough, but Will does one and two, and early the next morning, he takes his brother’s gun from its hiding place to do Rule 3. He knows who it is (probably), and he gets in the elevator to go stake out his victim’s home to shoot him when he comes out. But on the way down, at each floor the elevator stops, and a new murder victim connected to his life gets on, their ghosts trying to convince him not to carry out Rule 3. Gritty and powerful, the book shows how violence can beget violence in a perpetual circle.

Ooohhh, Katherine Addison is coming out with a sequel to The Witness for the Dead; guess who’s used one of her precious Audible credit to pre-order it! ;D

Book 37 is The Prince of Two Tribes is the second book of a series by Sean Cullen that follows a faerie boy, Brendan, who has been raised in a human family. Brendan had been unawares of his fae heritage until his early teens, when some of his fae relatives introduce themselves and their world to him. He faces a nasty fae woman and defeats her;all this is fortunately revealed by the author/narrator who interjects throughout the story via footnotes and mini-chapters previous plot points as well as odd personal “experiences” (many unbelievable), which is fortunate for someone like me who hadn’t read the first book. In this one, Brendan must juggle his human and his faerie lives while prepping for his “Proving”—a public series of tests performed on the winter solstice to prove to all fae that he is one of them, and it lets him choose a Clan who will help protect him. But Lord Pukh, who hates humans, seems to have more interest in Brendan that seems natural; can Brendan survive the Proving and if so, can he survive Pukh’s plans for him?

This is a nice faerie book and a bit of a change of pace from the usual faerie books, which tend to have a female protagonist. There are strong female characters but it’s refreshing to have a boy who ends up discovering his fae heritage. Girls will like tomboy Kim, and there’s plenty of magic and action for everyone. Recommend for fantasy fans.

Book 38 is volume 17 of the Classic Tales by Famous Authors set , this one focuses on mythology, almost exclusively Greek (with one Norse one). Two authors in particular, Charles Kingsley and G. W. Cox, are responsible for the lion’s share of stories, including those of Perseus, Theseus, the Argonauts, Prometheus, Hercules, and others. The one Norse tale is that of Baldur, the god loved by all but Loki the trickster, who plots Baldur’s death. I did really appreciate this volume as I love mythology and it’s been a while since I’d looked at the old Greek myths. I now have only 3 more volumes to read before this entire set is ready for sale at Derek’s store.

Book 39 is A Study in Emerald, a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman. Well illustrated and an unusual plot combining Victorian England detective mystery and H. P. Lovecraft’s Old Ones monster concepts to come up with a plot that has a huge twist at the end. You may think you have it figured out, but looks can be deceiving….

Book 40 is an audiobook of Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day by Jonathan L. Howard. Decidedly clever word play and Cabal’s (mostly) unflappable demeanor make this more comedy than horror—consider it black comedy fantasy rather than horror, despite Cabal’s occupation as a necromancer (though with very limited success). The book is a collection of short stories, mainly of how he manages to avoid being killed by various enemies—some of whom he didn’t even knew existed. I personally didn’t find this frightening at all, despite the zombies that seem to crop up everywhere, probably because the approach is more comedy than horror. However, this is more suitable for adults (or at least the older young adults, depending on your definition of YA age) due to language, themes, and adult situations.

Book 41 is the children’s poetry book Locust Pocus: Poems to Bug You by Douglas Kaine. The poems each feature a creepy crawly arthropod (mostly insects) and describe it generally. The illustrations are cute and colorful, and children who like bugs will appreciate the sing-song flow of the poems about katydids, crickets, spiders, cockroaches, etc. G rated, could be good for a very quick bedtime story since all the poems are short.

Book 42 is an Audible original and as far removed from book 41 as you can get, since it’s an adult horror. I chose The Darkwater Bride by Marty Ross because it sounded like what I wanted: a creepy psychological Victorian ghost story. What I got instead was a Victorian murder mystery with supernatural elements and a lot of violence and misogyny. And I mean A LOT. Sadly, the basic story premise was good (a ghostly woman who drains the life from men and dumps their bodies into the Darkwater river; a girl tries to solve the mystery behind her father’s death at the hands of this ghost) and the full cast production made it just like listening to an old-time radio show—if, of course, the censors back then would have allowed the rape, prostitution, other sexual content and innuendo, the swearing, and other seedy stuff. Really, I ended up tuning out parts of it because, in the end, the only reason I kept listening was to find out what happened to the Darkwater Bride, and to find out what happened with our once-innocent first person narrator heroine, determined to find the truth behind her father’s death.

I’m glad it was free because if it hadn’t been, I’d feel I would have wasted a credit, because I’m going to remove it from my library. I prefer the creeping subtle horrors over the blatantly blood and gore ones, but if that is your cup of tea, go for it, because for that kind of horror, it’s pretty good.

I’m in the middle of five books now—2 nonfiction (one work lunch read and one professional literature), the new Katherine Addison book in Audible, volume 18 of the classics set (so close to being done!), and a fantasy stand-alone title. Whew! Tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday we will have a brief break from the premature heat wave, and then it’s back up into the 90s for next week. Did I blink and miss spring?

I wasn’t thinking of doing another children’s book so soon but my younger sister had her copy out and it was handy, so…well, we all know how this goes!! Book 43: Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm is a classic by Alice Provensen and Martin Provensen. (If it’s not considered classic child lit, it should be.) This narrative nonfiction about the animal life on a farm (including wildlife as well as domestic) features lively illustrations, a conversational approach, and smooth transitions between animals. It discusses death but never directly mentions it (a fox carries away one of the roosters, a neighbor’s dog that killed sheep was “put away”, previous animals owned are buried in the woods, etc.). Much of the book focuses on current animals, however, and is upbeat and funny at times. While not a complete picture of farm life (unless the Provensen’s were vegetarian, since they never mention any of their animals ending up on the table), it could be used as a nice introduction to farm life for a city kid, especially an animal lover. It’s a bit long—there’s quite a bit of text on some pages—but it’s a fun read that could be used as a leisurely bedtime read, provided the death innuendo isn’t too much for your particular child.

>95 CassieBash: hmm. Intriguing.

I put a photo of a toad on my garden thread, do stop by.

>96 fuzzi: And there just happens to be a toad in book 43, lol! Heading over, because I can never get enough animal pics, you know!

Book 44 sees the return to professional literature with Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead). This collection of personal stories of teachers in both the K-12 and higher education scene in the U.S. gives examples of how they personally moved their class(es) from the traditional graded format to one based on student reflection, self evaluation, and metacognition (thinking about their thinking/learning). The thoughts behind this movement is that grading students detracts from true learning by creating a stressful environment that pits students against each other (via “the curve”), promotes cheating and plagiarism, is arbitrary and is not necessarily reflecting or measuring true learning. Instead, the authors set up their classrooms to give their students a more active role in their learning. While most have to supply a letter grade in the end (their institutions require it), the grade is usually given based on individual teacher-student conferences in which students must prepare evidence of their learning to justify the letter grade they feel they deserve. At least one used a contract that student and instructor agreed on at the beginning of the semester that settled what needed to be done for the projected grade (student will do x to earn letter grade y). Each anecdote came with the successes and mistakes (and often what they revised based on those mistakes). It’s exciting as an educator to think of going that route BUT (and this is a big one, obviously) what the book lacks is any practical advice on how to approach your administration at your institution for blessings. Some of these instructors had tenure and some (a fair few, actually), did it on the sly because they still reported a letter grade in the end, and one middle school instructor obviously had support from her principal, but nowhere do they provide advice on how she did it or how others did it. Maybe they never did and continue to do this on the sly.

Whether you believe that grading is a system that should be revoked or if you believe the system isn’t broke and doesn’t need fixing, it’s an interesting read nonetheless and one that educators from the entire spectrum should read, if only for the philosophical arguments.

I’m now down to 4 simultaneous books; I’m savoring The Grief of Stones like a proverbial fine wine—which is funny because all alcohol has this nasty medicinal aftertaste to me so proverbial is the only way I’ll savor wine. I don’t have another audiobook planned (I have several free horror titles saved in my Audible library but am not in the mood for that genre right now), so I’m not worried if “Stones” takes a few weeks. I’m also well ahead of the halfway mark to meet the 75 goal; it’s nice to have wiggle room.

Book 45: Been awhile since a book made me teary, but Fox & I: An Uncommon Friendship did it. It’s a chronicle of how the author met and befriended a wild fox on her isolated country property. A biologist by training and education, she had been taught that animals don’t have personalities and that scientists didn’t anthropomorphize their subjects. Yet despite that, she can’t deny that Fox has a distinct personality and that despite everything she’s been taught, Fox does seem to value his connection to her. He listens to her read, he hangs around her house in order to catch her attention, brings prey to her as if she were one of his kits. When he misses any of their habitual meeting times, Catherine Raven is beside herself with grief, imagining the worst. Anyone who has bonded with an animal will share her worries and grief over each disappearance and share in her joy at the reunions. My one quibble with her is that she attributes negative traits to some animals and sympathizes with others, often in a haphazard way. I understand her animosity towards the feral cats—one of which killed one of the foxes (though Fox and his vixen kill one of them, too)—any animal that could be a threat to her friend is the “enemy”. That’s human nature to side with your friend. But she has only disdain for the voles, even though they prove to be cleverer than she’d first thought, sympathy for the starling (despite its being an invasive species that kills out other native ones), finds the magpies disagreeable, and the deer come across in her writing as rather stupid, though I don’t think she actually says it directly. Actually, what every single animal is doing, they’re doing because they’re trying to survive. Did Fox care for her? I would say yes, as much as a wild animal can care for anyone, including mates and offspring. Clearly there was some affection there or he wouldn’t have spent the time with her as he did. The book is good, though, and it makes a good argument for people reconnecting with nature in a quiet, peaceful way. Recommend—if you don’t mind flirting with a few tears.

>99 CassieBash: Tears normally denote a good book, Cassie.

Raven writing about fox - interesting!

>99 CassieBash: Agreed on the negtive traits, Cassie, I grumbled a bit about the magpies, as I love the pair that lives around my garden :-)
I wrote about Fox & I Like Frans de Waal she concludes that the large gap scientists created between "animals" and "humans" is artificial. Humans are mammals, and emotions are found in all mammals.

>100 PaulCranswick: Yes, it does, though some may want the heads-up, I figure. Just in case now is not the time for someone to read that kind of book, even though the overall message is positive. I was glad I waited until summer when there aren’t many students around so that my tears went unnoticed and unremarked.

I noted the name thing too, just didn’t comment on it. :D

>101 FAMeulstee: I have a fondness for certain birds even though they may have "negative" traits. The cowbird lays its eggs in other birds' nests, crowding out its nest mates, but I find them striking: glossy black with a completely brown head:

>103 fuzzi:. And they’re social which adds another element of interest when you’re observing them. We leave our cowbirds to do their thing, and are grateful for their insectivorous natures.

We have a northern water snake living in the skimmer of our koi pond. He’s small right now but he must go before he reaches his mature length of 4 feet 5 inches and eats the goldfish and frogs. While some might see only the negatives, we’re actually thrilled that our water environment is healthy enough to attract water snakes. We think he came over from the neighbors’ stock pond; they routinely fish out there and theirs is as close to a natural pond as you can get, so we think most of our snapping turtles, bullfrogs, and water snakes are spillovers from theirs. I rather think he’s cute but then I’m not creeped out by snakes, and knowing he’s non venomous means I can rest assured the cats won’t get hurt too badly if they decide to tackle him.

Wowza! I finished book 46, The Grief of Stones, the follow-up to Katherine Addison’s The Witness for the Dead. Celehar is once again the protagonist as his investigations into two murders, seemingly unconnected, both lead him into an underside of the city that deals in pornography and prostitution. An excellent read again and one that seems to hint at more to come—here’s hoping! The world of elves and goblins is as rich as ever, even if the investigation is in some ways darker this time around. HIGHLY recommend if you’re a fantasy fan.

>104 CassieBash: I have snakes around my ponds, too, but they're black racers. I am sad that some of my frogs disappear but understand I'd be overrun with them without the snakes. Also, we have at least one bullfrog that's taken up residence, grr. I don't like bullfrogs because they EAT EVERYTHING. I've seen bird feathers by the pond, my frogs disappear, as do most of my minnows. I no longer have goldfish as the bullfrogs wiped them out, my beautiful shubunkin fish. I blame the decimation on the bullfrogs. They get removed when I can find them, but they're usually pretty elusive. Figures.

I've fished a couple snapping turtles out of the ponds, too, but I generally find them in the late fall or early spring when I clean out some of the debris from the bottom. I have learned to NOT put my hands where I cannot see!

>105 fuzzi: I’ve seen a green frog eat a bird before, too, so it’s not just bullfrogs that do that. Our snake is still fairly small and maybe not up to eating the fish or larger frogs yet, but that’s mainly a matter of time, so we’ll try to relocate him before the summer ends. Our biggest problem right now is some sort of mammal (leaning towards raccoon or mink); they managed to snag at least one of our fish and left it’s body on the ground, and left wet, I’ll-defined paw prints on the top of the skimmer. I’m guessing raccoon right now based on the round, fat puddles on the top of the skimmer where it probably dragged itself back out. Mink don’t tend to be that round.

>106 CassieBash: so sorry about your fish. I remember past threads where you posted pictures of your koi, recall a white one, too.

>106 CassieBash: Both koi are fine; we still have that big white one.

What better way to celebrate the first of July than with a book review! Book 47 is A Psalm for the Wild-Built, a science fiction fable about a world where robots became self-aware and their human creators refused to keep them enslaved. Instead, the world was divided into cities and villages for humans and the Wilderness for the robots. Human Dex finds themself (Dex always is in the plural) drawn away from the City to the villages’ countryside, changing occupations to become a traveling tea monk. Still dissatisfied, Dex then leaves for the Wilderness, where he meets robot Mosscap, who has been charged with discovering how humans have fared in the long absence of the robots. Together, both learn from each other about life, human nature, and friendship. Part philosophical, part allegorical, this book may lack action and thrills but the quiet story touches on the intangible needs of humans and how we relate and fit into the natural world. Highly recommend for those who like uplifting spiritual (not necessarily religious) journeys.

Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David is book 48, a comedy/fantasy about a bastard son of a tavern server who was raped by knights. Lame of leg but not of wit, bitter Apropos sets off to the king after his mother is killed by wandering knights under another ruler, only to wind up a squire who, eventually, is given the dubious task of helping escort the princess home from her exile to a nunnery. This leads to a series of problematic events that require all the quick-thinking Apropos can muster. Fun story for adults—sex is not explained in long, lusty detail (to me, typical sex scenes slow the plot too much when dragged out) but they are there, as is language and violence so definitely a book for mature readers. Apropos is not noble or grand and not even remotely heroic—and he’d be the first to tell you so—and yet you find yourself rooting for him.

Book 49: Classic Tales by Famous Authors volume 18 is comedy, usually in the form of a comedy of errors. Includes Sam Slick, the Clockmaker by Thomas Chandler Haliburton, who’s enterprising business venture relies on human gullibility and pride, “The Skirts of Chance” by H. B. Marriott Watson, following a few of the misadventures of Lord Francis Charmaine, whose pastimes seem to be getting himself into trouble with the ladies by pretending to be something he’s not, and The Tachypomp by E. P. Mitchell, who’s mathematically challenged protagonist must solve a complex math problem to stand a chance of getting the object of his affections, a math professor’s daughter. These stories are OK, but I found my favorites to be “The Ghost Baby” from the pages of Blackwood’s Magazine, in which a living human bachelor is charged with raising a ghostly baby, “Mending the Clock” by J. M. Barrie, who admits (only to himself) that he’s not mechanical but feels the need to prove to everyone else that he can. But my favorite is “An Inspired Lobbyist” by J. W. DeForest, about the close partnership with a certain fallen angel and an expert lobbyist.

I say that’s my favorite but there is one more story that is a great one—but it’s a misfit in my mind. While Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow does have some humor, it’s not what I would consider belonging to the comedy volume.

Only 2 more volumes; next up—Tragedy.

Started Tragedy volume. So close to being done….

Book 50 is Agent 355, an historical fiction by Marie Benedict. During the American Revolution, a woman’s place was in the home, but fictional Elizabeth Morris, based on a real spy known only in letters as Agent 355, risks her life to help uncover important British information for the Culper spy ring. Her brave actions helped inform General Washington about certain goings-on (nope, not giving spoiler details here) that helped lead to an eventual American victory (which I hope is NOT a spoiler for anyone, lol!). There is a bit of romance but it doesn’t detract from the plot. Language and content is appropriate for tweens up. Due to the book’s short length, I hesitate to go into any more detail other than that there is a short author’s note about her research at the end—always nice to see in a book based on real events and people. Highly recommend for historical fiction fans wanting a solid female lead.

Book 51 is a children’s science fiction chapter book called Liar of Kudzu by Bob Schooley. Nicknamed Liar for his habit of embellishing the truth, he falls head over heels for new kid in town, Justine, whose father is stationed at the military base outside of the tiny southern town of Kudzu. The awkward boy can’t seem to catch a break making a good impression on Justine until he offers to show her around town. He’s even about to kiss her out in the woods when a spacecraft narrowly misses them, crashing into the ground. This starts an adventure for the young couple and a new friend, science guru in their class Bobby Ray. Suspicious government agents, wormholes, and a mysterious CD-ROM with front pages of “The New York Times” published in the future creates a story that’s got a little romance, a little mystery, a little comedy. Those just starting to read chapter books may find some of the words challenging but more advanced readers will breeze through this short and fast-paced book. Also would be good for a bedtime read-aloud, as the language is G and the highest level of romance is kissing—very innocent.

>52 zuzaer: Creatures of Light and Darkness by Roger Zelazny is a fantasy/science fiction book based (very loosely) on mythology, mostly Egyptian with some Greek. Osiris and Anubis are both trying to destroy The Prince, an immortal who seems to keep to himself. Osiris’s champion is Horus; Anubis’s is an unknown and mysterious being returned from the dead and trained for this purpose for 1,000 years. But The Prince is a master of magic and won’t be easy to defeat.

Now, I’m a bit ambivalent about this book. I enjoyed the story in general but cringed at the way the author mangled Egyptian and Greek legends. Yes, there was mingling of the two cultures and that I had no problems with, but the relationships and alignments of the characters in this book are off—in mythology Anubis, for instance, was never at odds with Osiris, and in fact as god of embalming, he helped Isis bring Osiris back to life after Set killed him and hacked him to pieces, binding him together with strips of linen and making him the first mummy. (Anubis thus became the god of embalming, while Osiris, who died, was god of both fertility—life—and of death.). Typhus was a Greek Titan and more a chaotic creature, not the personification of death, and his form was more snake than horse. If you read this, don’t think you’re getting a good overview of mythology; I can’t go into all discrepancies because of spoilers but it’s best to approach this book the way I did eventually, which was simply ignoring the mythological origins of the characters and treating the story as a stand-alone, imaginative piece rich with imagery and details.

It’s a triple-decker book-wich! OK, so I didn’t finish them all in one day, but they were in quick succession—one on Friday, one on Sunday, and one today. So without further ado:

Book 53 is an audiobook by Mira Grant, In the Shadow of Spindrift House, in which 4 intrepid teenage sleuths just on the cusp of adulthood go after one final, big mystery with an even bigger payout. But for Harlowe, orphaned early in life due to the mysterious murders of her parents, this last shot at keeping the four of them together is worth more than the money. All they need to do is figure out which of the three families contesting ownership has the rightful claim—but did I mention the house is haunted? And does it have anything to do with her parents’ deaths, considering one of the families is her own lineage? Part horror and part mystery, this is a figurative page-turner (obviously not in this format) for a mature YA audience. It has humor and is a bit quirky, and at first is reminiscent of Scooby-Doo without the dog, but as you get further along, things definitely get darker. On the up side, the author relies on building creepy atmosphere and psychological horror rather than excessive blood and gore, so it’s perfect for my kind of horror. If you like the horror genre and enjoy the slow build stuff, give this a try. Otherwise, pass.

Book 54 is a children’s nonfiction by Ron and Nancy Goor about the lifestyle changes of insects, Insect Metamorphosis: From Egg to Adult, which is pretty much what it says, written for 3rd graders or so. It covers complete metamorphosis, such as butterflies, bees, and flies do, as well as incomplete, like grasshoppers, dragonflies, and praying mantises do. The best part is the color photos—I can never look at enough insect pictures—but I’m going to pass this book on because I need the space and the info is obviously way too basic. Hopefully some child will love to have it.

Book 55 is This Is Your Mind on Plants, Michael Pollan’s study on three types of chemicals naturally produced by plants and how they alter our minds. He has sampled all 3 and gives his personal account of what using each of them is like. The three chemicals and their plants are opium (poppy), caffeine (coffee/tea), and mescaline (peyote/San Pedro cactus). He provides some history of each and provides arguments that none of these should be banned (only Native Americans are supposed to use peyote for their ceremonies). Now, I’m not an expert on the psychedelics so I can’t speak from experience, but Pollan was very safe about his experiences, with his wife watching over him and doing it at home rather than behind the wheel. I suspect that others, given the opportunity, wouldn’t be as thoughtful. (My sister and I picked up and threw away an empty marijuana container someone threw out along our roadside—someone had obviously taken a trip to Michigan). I don’t know if legalizing opium or mescaline would do more harm than good (or do more harm initially but then level off as the no-longer-taboo status makes them less appealing?). But the history of our attitudes towards these chemicals and their respective plants is fascinating and Pollan’s writing style is never dull. Recommend for those with a botanical bent.

Book 56 is another youth nonfiction, this one more suitable for upper elementary/middle school. Called The Egyptian Echo, it’s set up like a newspaper divided into sections, with the main headline news covering the highlights of Old, Middle, and New Kingdom periods of time (think 3100-1069 B.C.) and the cultural stuff following, including health, beauty, arts, and sports. The dead center of the book is a 2 page spread of a board game, and there’s even a “contest” page where you can quiz yourself on what they covered, including content from the “advertisements”, which also included short facts on ancient Egyptian lifestyles. Plenty of humor (often in the form of anachronisms and play-on-words) and colorful artwork makes the book fun for the age group. Because of the family-friendliness, reproductions of ancient Egyptian scantily clad men and women have been cleaned up, with black stars censoring key areas, for better or worse. I’m sure some parents will appreciate that and others won’t; I don’t have a boxer in that ring so to speak so I personally don’t feel strongly one way or the other, but some may so I have let you all know so you can’t be surprised. A good way to try to hook younger readers with an interest in history.

I haven’t been on here for a while; I’m trying to remember if I need to post two books or three…hmm, we’ll, I’d better post the two I know I need to post….
Book 57 is an adult historical fantasy audiobook called The Girl with Ghost Eyes by M. H. Boroson. At the close of the 19th Century, Chinese immigrants are arriving in San Francisco and have formed their own community, Chinatown. Li-lin is the widowed daughter of a famous ghost exorcist and she has a secret she keeps from even her father: she can see ghosts. Her father, who is hired by wealthy families in Chinatown to protect their homes and businesses from the unseen spirit world that runs parallel to that of the living, is injured and cannot fight the evil spirits. When circumstances find Li-lin having to face the prospect of stopping the creation of a monster spirit that will destroy everything in its path, she recruits help from some unlikely places. Full of a rich cast of humans and Asian folklore spirits, this story sounds like it should be a horror but, despite the “ghosts”, lacks the atmosphere of dread common in the horror genre for the most part. If you can handle the Harry Potter series, you should be fine. I can’t tell you more because I’d be risking some major spoilers, but I loved this story and have already decided that I shall use one of my precious hoarded Audible credits to get the sequel. Interestingly, one of the minor spirits in the book was a boy trying to sell Li-lin tofu—a spirit mentioned in a podcast I listened to today on Japanese spirit folklore. Very cool if you love folklore from different cultures—and there is a nice author notes section that explains where she was accurate with her history and culture and where she created things.

Book 58 is Nightingale’s Nest by Nikki Loftin, an early YA base on The Emperor and the Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen—if you don’t know the story, read it first so you can see the parallels. It’s a modern retelling—told first person by the protagonist, a boy named John whose family are on the brink of collapse—broke financially and emotionally by the death of John’s little sister. When John starts to help his father with a job for the small town’s wealthiest citizen known as the Emperor, he meets the neighbor’s foster girl who calls herself Gayle. Gayle can sing so beautifully that she seems to work magic, healing animals and humans alike. The Emperor offers John $500 if he can get Gayle to sing for him in his home recording studio; the Emperor is known for always getting his way, and John doesn’t like the greedy looks the Emperor gives Gale. $500 would help out a lot—but is it worth the price? This is a blend of realism and fantasy; John’s real-world problems are authentic and believable while Gayle’s fantasy world seems at first that of a child trying to escape her unpleasant situation. As John starts seeing the similarities between Gayle and his sister, he feels more and more responsible for her. I enjoyed this reworking of the classic tale and if you like modern fairy tale retellings, this is an excellent one. Recommend!

Boy of the Pyramids: A Mystery of Ancient Egypt by Ruth Fosdick Jones is book 59 and my latest audiobook. A children’s chapter book, it’s a cross between historical fiction and mystery—though the mystery shows up closer to the end, and there’s not much doubt who’s guilty, but it would make a good bedtime read-aloud for parents whose children are old enough to sit (or lie, as the case may be) still for short chapters. Kaffe is the son of an Egyptian nobleman, who watches as a down-on-his-luck and shifty nobleman tries to buy the slave Sari for a dancing girl. Kaffe’s father bought her parents and the 10-year-old boy can’t stand to see the family broken apart, so he buys her out from under the nobleman, and the two children strike up a friendship. The rest of the plot is a slow build to the crime and the guilt of the perpetrator—who most of you (if not all of you) can probably guess. What it lacks in suspense it makes up for in the youthful friendship between the kids, and the trouble they get up to being kids.

Now Audible has this listed as a romance and while maybe you could argue that the two kids might develop a romance later in their lives—well, they’re 10 in this story and any romance you want to read into this story (so to speak) is very, very innocent. No kissing, no mushy talk, not even fluttering hearts. No foul language either. Slavery is an aspect because it is primarily (in my mind) an historical fiction and slavery was commonplace in many countries at that time, so you might want to be prepared to talk about that with your kids.

Just finished reading a book I borrowed using our library’s new inter-library loan system, because hey, if you’re going to test the system, you might as well request a book that you’re really going to read, right?

Book 60 is South Bend Ghosts by Stephen Osborne. A collection of northern Indiana ghost folklore, Osborne draws on other sources primarily for his book, including Haunted Heartland by Beth Scott and Michael Norman, Mark Marimen’s Haunted Indiana, and websites like “The Shadowlands”. The stories include most of the big ones—The Gipper, Primrose Road, Little Egypt cemetery, the Moody Lights, Diana of the Dunes, and many more. Actually, I find the title a bit of a misnomer since most of the book is about non-South Bend spirits. I suspect Mr. Osborne is from South Bend and is merely hyping the home town. The retellings are nothing new to me but I will say that between Osborne and Mariman, choose Osborne because he at least seems to have run his work by a proofreader. (There are a few structural and grammatical problems but nothing like in Mariman’s works.). If you’re into ghostly folklore and live in the region it might be worth your perusal if you’re just starting out, but it’s not got enough in-depth coverage for my needs. He also approaches the subject as a believer instead of a skeptic or even an unbiased scholar, and he concludes the book with a suggestion to join one of the ghost hunting societies, so be prepared for a little dramatization in the stories. Not bad for what it is but not a must read.

Book 61 is The Girl with No Face, the sequel to Book 57. This time Li-Lin, her father, and a few old friends from the spirit world must find out what ghost is trying to become the spiritual overlord and is rivaling the gods, while also dealing with a man dabbling in black folk magic and coming to terms with the past. In some ways, this is a heavier book because it’s a lot about relationships, and not just the strained one between Li-Lin and her father. While the book does mainly have a resolution, it hints at a future book. I’m keeping this short so as to avoid spoilers for either book; though each is self-contained, like many sets of books built on the same characters, things that happen in a book may be mentioned in any subsequent books.

Book 62 is a tween book, Tanglewreck by Jeanette Winterson. I would say the best way to describe this book by genre is a science fiction fantasy blend, with a hint of mystery and just a touch of historical elements. It’s also complex, dealing with the concepts of time travel, worm holes, black holes, teleportation, and quantum physics. Probably more for girls than boys (even though Silver is befriended and helped on her journey by a boy), she must find the Timekeeper as prophesied before either the mysterious and sinister Abel Darkwater or the equally mysterious and sinister Regalia Mason. Both want to control time and rule the world—and Silver is pretty sure that neither should. There’s some pretty disturbing concepts in this book that focus on transferring time from person to person, and the teleportation using twins is just horrible to think about, but science nerds will appreciate the theories about links between all atoms, the theories of multiverses, and a chance to meet the famous Schrodinger cat (who does flux between life and death). My only complaint is that the climax seems rushed and maybe a little too easily resolved considering everything else Silver and Gabriel had to go through. The book’s ending is bittersweet but believable because of it.

I have been going through some of my children’s books and will be reading some folk tales that I think I will adapt for retellings before passing along through Derek’s shop, so I’ll soon have some of those to post. I’m still reading v. 19, Tragedy, and my work read is about half done; I’d like to get at least one of those finished before my next Muncie trip in a couple of weeks.

I’m going to soon be starting an audiobook that collects a six book set into one collection. Time to vote—is an audio (or print) compilation set, that combines multiple books originally published separately into one title counted as one, or is each book counted separately? How would you do it?

>120 CassieBash: Usually I would count them as seperate books, unless the total number of pages (of the print edition) is very low.
Three books under 100 pages lumped together would be counted as one book. Three books together over 500 pages would be counted seperate. In between, depending on mood ;-)

>121 FAMeulstee: These are about 200-300 pages each book, I would guess. Total running time is a whopping 30 hours 9 minutes. Definitely not a collection of children’s picture books—but speaking of which….

OK, so book 63 isn’t a picture book collection, but it is a picture book retelling of a folktale about a man who thinks his wife has it easy doing the housework while he works in the fields. In The Man Who Kept House, P. C. Asbjornsen, relates the disasters that plague the man when he agrees with his wife’s suggestion that they switch jobs for a day. Who knew just churning butter could be a hardship? Well, for this man it is, and the illustrations of this luckless fellow is sure to bring a grin if not a laugh from children readers. The ending is a predictable one for adults and maybe for older children, but it’s an ending that’s funny and fair, as his comeuppance is absolute and he learns that maybe “woman’s work” isn’t as easy as he’d thought.

Book 64 is an audio version of How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals, read by the author herself, Sy Montgomery. This bittersweet book is nevertheless inspiring, as the lessons learned on how to live life from her interactions with dogs, a pig, emus, and even an octopus are rewarding and even at times life-saving. Her roller-coaster ride with deep depression as she deals with family and personal problems, as well as loss (including loss of some of these beloved animals—a feeling anyone who deeply loves their pets can understand). If you don’t mind a little flirting with tears now and then, the book is an awesome read (or listen) for any animal lover.

Book 65 is The Magicians by Lev Grossman. I have to say that for a book that apparently has been marketed as “Harry Potter for grown-ups”, I expected much more. Honestly, if my sisters hadn’t kept telling me that it was going to get better, I would have quit reading it after chapter 3. It has the same basic “magic is real and exists beside non-magical people and things” concepts of HP and of course there is a boarding school where young magicians study, but that’s where it stops resembling HP. In fact, it makes a much stronger of to C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia books as Quentin and several of the others grew up wishing they could visit Fillory—Grossman’s Narnia equivalent. In fact, so much emphasis is given to the place that by the time you reach the point in the book where Fillory is really important, you’ve begun questioning why they keep hyping it. I would say that my sisters enjoyed it more than me but even they don’t want to keep it so off it goes to a new home.

Here’s what I didn’t like:
1. Too much teenage angst and sex.
2. Wow, there are a lot of F-bombs (and swearing and drinking and sexual innuendo). I don’t mind some of this but it seems excessive in places.
3. It takes waaaaaaaayyyyyy too long for anything to happen—this includes character development and the major plot point.
4. Speaking of characters—there are few I really liked for most of the book. In fact, I wanted to punch Quentin, our protagonist, several times throughout the book for being annoying.
5. Did I mention timing and pace? Yes? Well, I’m mentioning it again because it’s such a big problem for me that virtually nothing of major interest happens until well after the halfway mark. Really—their schooling is boring, which is more realistic than the yearly problems Harry encountered—but it makes for dull reading.

What I liked:
1. When you do get to the action, it gets good.
2. Parallels between Narnia and Fillory are fun to discover.
3. There are some interesting concepts about how magic works.

If you don’t mind really slow builds then go ahead and give it a try. If you prefer a faster-paced “Harry Potter for grown-ups”, try J. R. R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy or, hmm…I don’t know…maybe Harry Potter? Because sometimes, there’s just no substitute for the real thing….

>120 CassieBash: these are my thoughts on what constitutes a book:

Children's books are books
Picture books are books
Novellas are books
Huge 1000 page tomes are books

They balance out, so I count each as a book.

Thanks for the input, all! I’ll be counting the six books separately (relatively) soon. I’m down to the last 9 hours. But until then….

Book 66 is The Aviary by Kathleen O’ Dell, and it’s a children’s genre-crosser. Part historical fiction, part mystery, part fantasy, it centers on a decades-old cold case of kidnapping—a mystery that draws in our protagonist, Clara. She’s a sheltered and isolated girl growing up at the turn of the 20th century, daughter of a caretaker to an ailing old woman whose children, with the exception of one, were found drowned after being kidnapped. Her husband and most of her children dead, one child still missing—all old Mrs. Glendoveer has are Clara, he mother, the other caregiver Ruby—and her precious birds in the aviary. But when the mynah starts talking, and Clara listens, things start down a strange and mysterious path….

There are some supernatural elements but rather than classifying this as horror, I’m looking at it more as fantasy since these elements are not the source of the threat in the plot but rather are in the position of helpers to Clara—friendly ghosts, if you will. More suspenseful than scary, it wouldn’t be a bad introduction to the mystery genre for girls, or for boys who don’t mind a plot driven by mainly female characters. I put down the Classic Tales Tragedy volume because, frankly, this was more engaging. I’ll be working on finishing that book too (and that will be volume 19–one left to go!). With one last volume left, I’m planning on finishing the set in November.

Book 67 is volume 19 of Classic Tales by Famous Authors—Tales of Tragedy. Like many of these, they are white male-centric and few I feel hold up well (or perhaps that’s in part that I found most of these selections a little tedious). The best selections were:
The Man without a Country by Edward Everett Hale, an historical fiction about a hot-headed youth who, unthinkingly in a fit of passion, forswears the United States and is punished by serving on Navy boats but is forbidden from all references to the country for which he pines.

Tales of Mean Streets by Arthur Morrison, a sampling of vignettes about the working poor in a newly-industrialized England.
The Song of the Shirt, a story-poem by Thomas Hood that captures the pitiful state of the working woman of the same era as “Mean Streets”.
I’d long wanted to read Hale’s work, so it was nice to find it included. But this volume took some time to finish because several sections’ plots were slow, based heavily on romance, and I frankly found them a little dull. But…this volume is the penultimate one and I’m planning on finishing the last one up by the end of this year.

But now that we’re so close to October, it’s time for Halloween horror reads!

Count the books separately! And I had all the same issues underwhelming The Magicians as you did!

Don't forget A Night in the Lonesome October!

>128 ronincats: We’ll, that looks like a fun one! Book bullet direct hit!!!

>127 CassieBash: back in the 1970s there was a TV movie made also titled The Man Without a Country. I never watched it but do recall it being advertised.

Here it is, good cast:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070364/

>130 fuzzi: That looks like the same basic plot. If it’s faithful to the original and with that cast, it’s probably really good, though maybe a little slow-paced for many of today’s audiences.

I’m under 3 hours away from finishing my 6-book audio and over halfway through my print horror. I’m almost halfway through my disturbing nonfiction lunchtime read, so I’ve started my Halloween reads off strong. Other than Mexican Gothic and maybe a collection of ghost folklore or two, I’m not sure where else my to read piles may take me. Now that the weather has suddenly made up its mind to be firmly on the side of fall, I feel I can keep CDs in my car again and not have them warp or melt, so I have a few horror and fantasy titles on disc to help me round out the year in audio. I don’t have plans for November but I think in December to finish up the year, I’ll take a day or two to read a bunch of children’s books and maybe also share some crafting books starting in November (though they won’t be counted as part of the challenge—just shared). So hopefully there will be a little something for almost everybody over the next few months.

So, y’all chimed in saying I should count The Blackwater Saga by Michael McDowell as the individual books they were first published as, so here they are:

Book 68 The Flood
Book 69 The Levee
Book 70 The House
Book 71 The War
Book 72 The Fortune
Book 73 Rain

Rather than provide a synopsis for each, though, I’ll provide an overview instead, because while the set is broken into six parts, the whole details the rise and fall of the Caskey family of a small town in Alabama, from 1919 through the 1950s, and the supernatural forces that were behind it all. It starts when Oscar Caskey, son of Mary Love, the matriarch of the family, “rescues” a strange woman from an upper story of the Perdido hotel from the aftermath of a flood. Beautiful, intelligent, and mysterious, Oscar falls in love with this woman, Eleanor, who he eventually weds (despite Mary Love’s attempts to sabotage). From that point on, Eleanor machinates on how to secure a fortune for her family. A Southern gothic, this epic can seem more historical than supernatural, as many chapters can occur where it’s more about family dynamics than the haunting and horror. But in a way, that makes the horror scenes really stand out. The deaths, with few exceptions, are violent and while with some of the body counts, it’s hard to feel sympathy (the rapist and the wife beater in particular), others are victims of circumstance or convenience—and almost all ran afoul of the Caskey family.

Eleanor makes an interesting character study as (and this is not a spoiler really as the reader comes quickly to understand what she is) her monstrous nature can be channeled towards positive outcomes. Yes, she kills but as mentioned above, some of them arguably deserved what they got and Eleanor is very loving and protective of her family. She deals with perceived threats quickly and effectively, and it makes her at least a bit sympathetic. Atmospheric and creepy in places, this is a great read for horror fans who enjoy a slow build to terror and who prefer psychologically-disturbing stories over endless bloodbaths and gore.

With only 2 more books to go, I should hit 75 easily by the end of this month, providing nothing untoward happens.

And here’s book 74, The Asylum by John Edward Ames, which is part detective mystery and part horror. Reno Sloan is a down-and-out PI (is there any other kind in these sorts of books?) who is hired to look into the apparent brutal suicide of a girl staying at an exclusive mental health treatment center that is having an excellent track record curing schizophrenia. The victim’s sister, who hired Sloan, is convinced it wasn’t a suicide but murder—and the more Sloan digs around, the more likely murder seems. He just has to figure out how all the pieces fit into place, including an Indian (as in India, not Native American) god of death fits in—and, of course, to stay alive. There’s a hint at the possibility of a supernatural element but it keeps you guessing up until the end whether there’s something paranormal going on or not. Most of the horror is man’s mistreatment and greed against his fellow humans, so in that sense, there’s nothing supernatural there—it reads like a detective crime novel for the most part. But there’s a lot of violence and sexuality and swearing, so I’m placing this firmly in the “adult” category. I skimmed the sex scenes as I always do, but the rest was good, with great pacing. Its biggest flaw, however, is that it wouldn’t hold up to younger generations because the author had a tendency to drop product names, many of which don’t exist anymore, and younger audiences will be wondering why he isn’t using his cellphone. With now-obscure products and companies referenced, this book will seem out of touch with today.

Huzzah—Book 75! Disturbing non-fiction banned book week pick In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is a fitting enough book for October, as some of the most chilling stories are not the fictional ghosts and monsters, but instead are the “real” monsters—humans who do horrible things to other humans. The two killers in this true crime “nonfiction novel” are Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, who killed 4 members of a family in rural Kansas in 1959, ostensibly first to rob them, but after only turning up $40 or so, things escalate until murder is done. Capote did extensive research and frequently quotes people—the family and friends of the victims, the investigators, townspeople, and of course Smith and Hickock themselves. Despite its triggering a new way to approach true crime books, it was considered very violent by its 1960s audience and is still challenged today on the grounds of violence, sex, and language. Frankly, I’ve read far worse. I can see the appeal of the genre for true crime aficionados and this one must certainly be considered a classic of its kind. A must-read, I would also say, for anyone interested in criminal psychology, as a lot of the book—and especially towards the end—goes into the psychology of Smith and Hickock and whether insanity pleas, if they’d been allowed, would have changed the outcome.

Congrats on hitting the goal!

>134 CassieBash: what a book to read for #75.

Congratulations. :)

If you've not yet read it I will recommend Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi. I've read it twice, though the second time I skipped the first half where the murders are described, and instead focused on the procedural and courtroom stuff.

Thanks for the congrats!

>136 fuzzi: That title sounds familiar; maybe we have it in our collection…? Perhaps I’ll tackle that the next time I’m in the mood for violent crime disturbing. (I’m leaning towards a disturbing medical history book for my next nonfiction.)

>134 CassieBash: Congratulations on reaching 75, Cassie!

>138 FAMeulstee: Thanks!

Been off LT while we prep for our annual Halloween party this weekend. But I do have 2 books to post so I thought I’d better do it before I lose track….

Book 76 is a self-published collection of folklore by Max A. Miller called Tales from the Graveyard Shift: Adam’s County, Indiana Strange Stories and Urban Legends. True to the subtitle, the book collects some of the weird yet supposedly true stories of ghosts, mysterious deaths, urban legends, and unexplained things from this northeast county in Indiana. I’d not heard of several of these so the contents were refreshing in that way, and it’s researched with many stories taken from local papers and books. That’s the good. The bad is that, despite giving credit to two people in his acknowledgments for proofreading, his work still suffers from a few spelling errors, many punctuation issues, and more than its fair share of awkward sentence structures, mainly fragments. Some sentences were so poorly constructed that even reading multiple times, I couldn’t quite understand what the author was trying to say. And his lack of apostrophes to show possessiveness practically drove me crazy. This isn’t the first self-published, poorly proofed Indiana ghost book I’ve read that had great need of an editor—the Haunted Indiana series by Mark Marimen also falls into this category. If you’re of the ilk that could get a job as a grammar policeman, it may reduce any joy you might get reading this book. However, if you can ignore these sorts of things, and you like the paranormal, this book is at least a good one-time read.

Book 77 is Richard Matheson’s The Box, a collection of short stories of unusual bent. Not all are horror stories; you’ll find amused irony, loss and healing, poignant and deep sociological issues, even wry and ironic humor. Matheson is probably most often associated with I Am Legend but these short tales will provide entertainment, even if most of the stories are not really scary. And yes, the movie The Box is indeed based on the titular first story in the collection.

Book 78 is Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which does live up to its name. Following the mood and tone of standard gothic fiction, the story weaves a plot that may or may not have anything supernatural to it through most of the book. You also have to figure out whether Catalina, cousin of our heroine Noemi, is truly going mad, is in danger from her husband, both, or neither. The mystery part that seems to be the crux of all good gothic fiction has roots that go deeper than that, however, and you’ll be racing against Noemi to try to figure out what’s going on. A must read for any fans of gothic lit and fans of slow-building, not-too-graphic horror. There is some mild sexual moments but nothing too descriptive.

Book 78 is Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which does live up to its name. Following the mood and tone of standard gothic fiction, the story weaves a plot that may or may not have anything supernatural to it through most of the book. You also have to figure out whether Catalina, cousin of our heroine Noemi, is truly going mad, is in danger from her husband, both, or neither. The mystery part that seems to be the crux of all good gothic fiction has roots that go deeper than that, however, and you’ll be racing against Noemi to try to figure out what’s going on. A must read for any fans of gothic lit and fans of slow-building, not-too-graphic horror. There is some mild sexual moments but nothing too descriptive.

>141 CassieBash: I did indeed enjoy that one. She did a great job of incorporating Mexican culture and setting into a very English style.

Yep, great story. This one is a bit of fun, too, even if it’s not that scary by adult standards. It’s a children’s chapter book called All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn, who’s written more than one book with hauntings in it. When Travis and Corey, his sister, visit their grandmother at her inn in Vermont, they think it’s going to be a boring summer—until they overhear a couple of guests talking about the ghosts that are supposed to be there. Grandmother firmly denies any ghosts exist, but Travis and Corey are determined to give the guests what they want, even if it means faking the ghosts themselves. Unfortunately, doing that causes the real ghosts to wake up from their long slumber—young “lovely bad ones” who can’t rest until Travis and Corey put things right. These ghosts are mischievous and I’ll-behaved children; the really nasty ghost is the one who frightens the bad ones—and she isn’t going to let Travis and Corey lay the children’s ghosts to rest…. A good build and like many of Hahn’s supernatural fiction, there’s an element of mystery. If you’re looking for something to keep you awake at night and you’re over 12 years old, this likely isn’t it. Younger children, however, might get some chills. I’m not calling this one of the author’s best; the end seemed contrived a bit, like she couldn’t think of any other way to get rid of the big bad, but it’s also fitting in its way. It just seemed to be a bit rushed at the end. But it’s still a good story and worth a look if you’re looking for such a read for your kid.

Am I really posting book 80? All right, let’s do this thing!!

So my next two reads were chosen as sort of a transition away from horror (though my current audiobook is definitely part horror), and while I’m still working on the longer of the two, I did just finish up Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach, a children’s chapter book mystery/adventure. When brothers Simon, Henry, and Jack move to Arizona when their father’s uncle passes away and leaves them his Arizona home close to Superstition Mountain. When their cat Josie disappears up the mountain, the boys stumble across a canyon ledge with three human skulls lined up side-by-side. Along with a new friend, they start investigating the history of disappearances on Superstition in an effort to learn more about the skulls—and possibly even discover the List Dutchman gold mine. Based on a real mountain and its legends, this is a good mystery for the target age group or a great read-aloud for chapter-book bedtime reads—it’s G rated (maybe PG for a couple of scary scenes). There are a few things left unsolved at the end—maybe there’s a continuation book??—but on the other hand, the ending seems real for that because often in life, mysteries aren’t always solved at the end of the day. Maybe turn this into an opportunity to have your kids come up with conclusions.

Book 81 is Fearless, a children’s historical fiction chapter book by Elvira Woodruff. Based on the life of an eccentric British gentleman named Henry Winstanley, who built the lighthouse on the Eddystone Rocks in Cornwall, England—a particularly dangerous stretch of ocean. We meet Mr. Winstanley through the misfortune of two boys, the sons of a sailor reported as dead. The boys, Diggory and Cubby, are at first wary of the man who takes them in, but his kindness and weird mechanical creations win them over. But when a huge storm threatens the lighthouse, Diggory fears that his new friend may put himself in danger rushing to make the repairs. There is a longish setup before we meet Winstanley but there is a lot of danger and adventure in there so action-loving kids won’t mind. At the end, there are author’s notes on the historical and biographical aspects of the story. No romance or sex, no bad words—very G and suitable for read-alouds. Recommend for adventure-loving kids, particularly boys.

Book 82 is a very short modern fairytale called Cinderellis and the Glass Hill by Gail Carson Levine, probably best known for Ella Enchanted. This story features a boy by the name of Ellis, whose brothers renamed him Cinderellis after an unfortunate accident involving the chimney, not unlike a certain princess of similar name. And that’s almost all the similarities between Cinderellis and Cinderella, at least until the end. Much of the story resembles another, more obscure fairytale about a princess whose father wants to make it almost impossible for a suitor to claim her, so he puts his daughter at the top of a glass mountain that’s so smooth and slick, no one can make it up the mountain (without magical intervention anyway). Fortunately for Ellis, he has magical assistance from 3 special horses as well as his own magical inventions. Another G-rated, perfect for read-aloud story, with no unsuitable language and only the most innocent of wooings. I don’t think kissing is even mentioned, so no super-mushy stuff that kids sometimes think gets in the way of the action. It’s cute, funny, and inventive in the way it creates a mashup of fairytales.

Book 83 was my last transition book from my Oktoberfest-horror-thon, Skulduggery Pleasant, which was more dark fantasy than horror. The good news is that its quirky, witty dialogue was right up my alley; the bad news is that it’s one of a whole series. Good news—it works as a stand-alone. The author, Derek Landy is Irish and that wonderful UK humor comes shining through, balancing out the dire circumstances of the end of the world being brought about by an evil rogue necromancer. Skulduggery is a “living” skeleton who works closely with the wizarding world’s leaders to help keep magic secret from non-magic users (a la “Harry Potter”) while watching for problems from within. When 12- year-old Stephanie’s uncle dies and leaves her his estate, she suddenly finds herself immersed within the world of magic and all the intrigue surrounding her uncle’s death—which Skulduggery thinks was murder. While this is indeed a series, I’m grateful that the story was self-contained since I’m trying very hard to avoid getting involved in series—at least until I get a bunch more books read. Good for YA audiences and older who like dark humor and wry comedy.

Thank you as always for books, thank you for this group and thanks for you. Have a lovely day, Cassie.

Thanks, Paul! I hope you and everyone else also had a happy Thanksgiving. And what’s Thanksgiving without a disturbing read review?

A friend has been slowly bringing over unsold books left over from their church’s rummage sale, which I then scan for titles I might enjoy before passing them along. Usually I don’t find anything but this little volume, Germophobia: Dumb Doctors, Botched Operations, and All Manner of Bad Medicine, from the illustrious Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader set. These collections are one or two page snippets of stories that center around a theme—in this case, the medical profession. If you’re at all the nervous type about doctors this probably isn’t the book for you, even though these stories are mainly anomalies and rarities. Still, one probably doesn’t want to read about killer nurses and people who got away with posing as doctors for a frightening long period of time. While some of these stories are historical in context (the origins of “snake oil”), there are some from the early 2000s. But if you don’t mind a bit of gross while you’re doing your business, then maybe this book is just right for your bathroom.

I am taking everything in it with a grain of salt, though, since one story about drug-resistant germs states that penicillin helped keep flu pandemics at bay—a big mistake since penicillin is an anti-bacterial agent and not an anti-viral; it would do nothing against the influenza viruses. Obviously, someone didn’t do their research properly on that one.

I think this will be the last disturbing read for the year. Right now, I’m finishing up my last volume of Classic Tales by Famous Authors, The Stage, a light animal fantasy at work, and another fantasy that was clearly one of those inspired by Harry Potter. With Christmas coming up faster than we think, I’m going to stick with lighter reading after this last classic book is done. And I still want to get in a day or two of picture book reading.

>149 CassieBash: the Germophobia book sounds mildly interesting. Could the author(s) be referring to penicillin holding off the secondary bacterial infections that actually killed people during influenza pandemics?

>150 fuzzi: I’d like to think so, because that would be a valid statement. But they were very clear that antibiotics were used against flu. I don’t think it was supposed to be intentionally misleading but rather an unintended mis-reporting from people who don’t really know the difference. This isn’t like reading peer-reviewed, evidence-based journals or even a book written by doctors, nurses, or other experts. These are primarily to entertain so I’m guessing that not a lot of cross- or fact-checking went into this.

The stories were interesting and I think that at least the core of the stories are true, but some of the details could be off.

Books 85, 86, and 87, respectively:

Bruja Born was an audiobook; written by Zoraida Cordova as the second book in a trilogy. It would have been a little easier probably if I’d started with book 1 but this had been a gift and I wanted to see (hear?) what it was like. I debated what to classify this as beyond the obvious YA and I’m going to land on fantasy horror. Bruja is Spanish for witch and that’s exactly what the books revolve around—a family of witches. The basic plot is that after the events from book one, where a rift is formed between the main character, Lula, and her sister Alex, who was the main character in the first book and who was responsible for causing her family a lot of trouble. But her former actions may be nothing compared to the mess that Lula ropes her sisters into when, the only student who is supposed to survive a terrible bus wreck, she attempts to revive her boyfriend who is on the cusp of death. The spells she and her sisters cast rip Lady Death from the world, leaving Death trapped in a sort of limbo, while Lula’s boyfriend—and every other victim of the crash—become undead creatures craving human hearts in an effort to regain their own souls. As the death toll in the city mounts, Lula and her sisters find it increasingly difficult to keep this problem a secret from their parents—let alone the witch hunters who would love an excuse to get rid of the family. It can be a stand-alone but would be best read in order. Still, I was able to catch up and the story was good, though sometimes it seemed a little disjointed in its transitions. A good YA read with some romance, a bit of folklore, and a lot of gore.

On the other end of the spectrum was a quick juvenile animal fantasy called Out of the Nest by P. M. Malone, which seems to be a self-published first-of-a-trilogy book. My biggest problem with self published books is (as you may remember from previous posts) is the obvious lack of editing and proofreading. Fortunately, that’s not a huge issue here as we follow the adventures of Ephran, a most unusual gray squirrel who befriends ducks, attacks hawks, and even accepts a temporary truce with a fox. A good book about friendship and family and the power of love and courage, even when you don’t feel yourself as brave. A straightforward and simple story, it would be good as a chapter read-aloud IF you have children who can handle animal death. If they can handle Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, they will be fine.

A School for Sorcery by E. Rose Sabin is a more complex—think tween—youth read fantasy that felt, at first, like a Harry Potter inspired book, and there are some similarities—non-magical folk living alongside magical ones, a boarding school for magic users in training, even the edict from her father that she not use her powers-a la Vernon Dursley. But this book takes the learning idea from a set and regulated curriculum into one that is tailored for each student, and that you advance not through grades as much as through levels, so that you can attain more than one level in a year merely by excelling in your abilities. Ethics and morality in magic also features prominently and is integral to a student’s level attainment. When Tria joins the school and is forced to room with the snobbish and power-hungry Lina, things get off to a rocky start. That’s nothing, however, compared to the plans hatched by one of the boys at the school—Oryon, who is determined to ensnare and destroy everyone in the school in his quest for power, and only Tria can stop him.

This last book has me split regarding whether to recommend, which is actually pretty appropriate. The book does come across as very disjointed after a while but once you figure out WHY it’s presented in this way, it actually makes a lot of sense. Space and time and multiple worlds coexisting simultaneously are important themes to keep in mind while reading. I’m going to recommend to fantasy readers who appreciate a bit of multiverse science fiction and for those readers who don’t mind a hidden riddle in their story. But if you’re confused by nonlinear reads, skip this one.

I have started volume 20–the final one—in that Classic Tales by Famous Authors set but am not sure I’ll even try to finish before the new year starts. This volume is slow and then, with the end of semester and the holidays, and then my recent bout of COVID, I haven’t done much reading. But I did hit my 75, so anything now is just icing on the Christmas cookie.

Thanks to our local electric co-op REMC, and their partnership with RTC ( I believe that’s the Rochester Telephone Company), we have the opportunity to get honest to goodness Internet, not just the 4G I’m currently forced to use. REMC arranged for cable to be strung along their poles, and then RTC provides the access and service. Installation is free if you’re house is within 1,000 feet of the road (it is) and we’d only pay for whatever speed package we decide to do; we’re going to sit down as a family and figure out what we want to do with Internet and how much speed we need. Once we get set up (which may not happen until spring thaw, considering our upcoming forecast), I will be able to easily add book cover photos, embed pictures of myself and/or my cat and other critters, and so many other things to make my threads a bit more attractive. Plus, it’ll be nice doing all this on my laptop with a real keyboard and not just on my phone’s little touch screen. So close, and yet so far….

>153 CassieBash: so sorry to hear you've been sick, I hate it for you.

But I'm happy to hear about internet cable!

>154 fuzzi: Thanks, and I’m so excited at the prospect of being able to share pictures again. Maybe I’ll be able to revive my Critter of the Week….

Or at least post wild turkey pictures for you, lol!

Book 88 is The Vengekeep Prophecies by Brian Farrey, a tween fantasy about Jaxter Grimjinx, a lad who comes from a family of professional thieves—and they’ve made arrangements to pull off their biggest heist yet! There are two problems, though—Jaxter is a klutz and thus a poor thief, though he IS good at coming up with workarounds for magical licks and wards. The second problem? Their setup involved creating a fake prophecy tapestry, and while the prophecies it shows are supposed to be fake, they are coming true with uncanny accuracy. Can Jaxter and his family, along with his new friend Callie, figure out why the prophecies are coming true and, more importantly, figure out how to stop them? This book has a great balance for tween readers—lots of danger, a touch of mystery, and just the hint of romance. It’s also about doing the right thing even when it’s not the easy way out, and it’s about being true to yourself, learning who you are and following your own path even when that path diverges from the one you always envisioned for yourself. Perfect for those ages where learning about yourself is so important. Highly recommend; this one’s a keeper!

I had one last book squeezed in—book 89 was The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh. Young Jack’s last memory of his dead mother is of her standing by an NYC fountain, holding his hand while staring at the fountain. Years later, he and his father are no longer living in New York. When he’s hurt in an accident that should have killed him but that only resulted in minor injuries, Jack merely thinks he’s lucky. But the accident left him with something more—the ability to see and hear ghosts. He discovers this ability when his dad sends him to a suspicious doctor for a “second opinion”. The doctor tells Jack nothing; merely takes his picture and sends him on his way. Confused, Jack meets a girl named Euri, who leads him to a place where Jack crosses over into the realm of the dead—and his quest to find his mother’s ghost begins.

While the book centers around ghosts, it’s far more fantasy than horror, as the ghosts, for the most part, are just going about their business. Most are trying to just find peace so they can move on.

This is a great read for younger readers who are fond of Greek myths; Orpheus and Eurydice features prominently in the story. (Orpheus tried to bring Eurydice back from the land of the dead). Suicide is mentioned but the ghost who did it regrets it and wishes they hadn’t done it, so it’s mentioned but not glorified. Because of the death themes, I’d give this a PG rating. There’s a hint of possible romance but it’s implied and subtle—no age-inappropriate behavior or language. Probably equally suited to both boys and girls.