Susan's late start on the 2008 list

I think that, for me, the challenge would be to limit it to 75! lol (This is not necessarily a good thing -- you should see my ironing pile!)

I was littering my profile with all my titles and attendant comments and Ronincats pointed me here. So here I am -- and I'm looking forward to seeing what you're reading too.

So to date, from shortly after I joined LibraryThing, I've read -- or tried to read -- the following:

10/30 Spiritride by Mark Shepherd (Bk 1) -- basically a waste of time
10/31 Changelings by McCaffrey & Scarborough (Bk 2) -- so-so
11/1 A Horsewoman in Godsland by Edwards (Bk 3) -- interesting (once again, I have the second, but not first, book in a series)
11/3 The Black Beast by Springer (Bk 4) -- a thin book but not for YA. (I know, I said I was reading Rusch's book, and I am. But I lost it somewhere in the house yesterday -- I do that. A lot. By the time I found it I was already into Springer's book and so continued there -- but for a while I wondered where the bard and princeling went :)
11/4 The White Mists of Power by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Bk 5) -- surprising twists, satisfying ending
11/5 Reckless Love by E. Lowell (http://www.librarything.com/work/58779/book/37726595) (Bk 6) -- recycled
11/5 A Cry in the Night by M H Clark -- I stopped reading 1/2 way thru. Some folks dear to me are in a difficult marriage, and I don't need to read a creepy story about a controlling husband.
11/5 Bluesong by S VanScyoc (Bk 7) -- Delightful! Had no idea it was a sequel til I was 3/4 through and then only because I read the cover! Of course, now I want books 1 & 3 :)
11/6 Unbreathed Memories by Talley (Bk 8) -- Absolutely wonderful. Not my usual style & I'm so glad it came in that shipment!
11/6 tried to read Siegel's The Dragon Charmer. By p 32 of 325 I put it down. Turns out it too is a sequel. Maybe if I read the first one I could get into it...
11/7 Once Upon a Time... by Neggers, St George & Logan (http://www.librarything.com/work/973968/book/37453799) (Bk 9) -- A collection of 3 romances, the last of which I finished today (recycled).
11/8 Damiano's Lute by MacAvoy (Bk 10) -- very good. surprising ending. Ready for book 3.

Welcome, Susan! I hope you've battened down the hatches ready for the flood of curious questions :)

Welcome to the group, Susan. If you keep up at this rate, you will be keeping Stasia company (take a look at the AlcottAcre thread)! One thing I have been trying to figure out is the time differential between Romania and the Pacific Coast--you are so often online at the same time I am! Haven't gone to the internet to work it out yet, though.

Welcome! Some of these bear more exploration...Looks like the semi-infinite TBR pile may grow a bit more!

LOL Thanks to all of you. Time difference? 10 hours -- but my body, sadly, is solidly on US time, usually central. I manage to get my body to sleep nights for 3-4 days and then whoosh, I'm back to sleepless nights. Right now I'm trying the old stay awake until tonight thing, again. Last time I did I ended up falling asleep without realizing it about 9am!

Just finished:
11/10 King's Man and Thief by C Golden (Bk 11) -- really enjoyed it. Creative world with creative troubles. Doesn't appear to be a sequel, but I won't hesitate to try her stuff again.

Ooops, forgot. I was reading along in Golden's book and she introduced the place: Byrn. Having moved to Europe from the Philly area, I immediately thought of Bryn Mawr and how in fantasy one of the hard things must be names. Then, shebang!, in the next paragraph, she introduces the neighboring country: Mahr. Hmmm... :)

Welcome to the group, Susan! Hope you are braced for interesting conversations and tons of questions.

From my multiply site, here are the books which impressed me enough this year that I included them there, not that my 'reviews' qualify as such.
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March 5 Sudden Moves by Charlotte Vale Allen (Bk 12)

I planned on blogging on this, but then realized there's this review section, so...

I read a lot, usually scifi/fantasy, but have read & re-read all I have. Hubby brought back some books from another rabid reader in France which included this one.

In reading others' reviews, I learned this is a sequel. I had no clue! LOL I found Sudden Moves, a story about a woman struggling to overcome personal problems and interact meaningfully with those around her, quite moving. As usual, the characters' morals differ from mine, but aside from the unsanctified sex, this was thoroughly uplifitng, thought-provoking and motivating.

No, I'm not giving you the story line. But almost all the reviews on Amazon do, so if that's what you want read them there :) I absolutely hate it when the jacket of a book or DVD gives the whole thing away.
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July 15 A while back I had an evening in which I did two things I enjoyed very much. We watched a movie, and I read a book.

The movie, Next, was great, from my perspective. Steph couldn't follow it well, and I'm not sure how much it was related to his level of English. However, I found it intriguing, provocative & entertaining. Turns out the folks enjoyed it as well, and they're a bit fussier than I am. I also enjoy the writer, Philip K. Dick, upon whose work the film was based.

The excellent book I read was by Rosamunde Pilcher, a new-for-me fav author. Snow in April's cover (Bk 13) says "When you've finished one {of Rosamunde Pilcher's novels} you're ready for another." And it was true. I wanted more and I didn't want to wait. Imagine, then, my delight when I ransacked the books on my shelf I hadn't yet read and found Pilcher's Winter Solstice (Bk 14). It too was yummy :)
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July 19 Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan (Bk 15) -- Just finished a funny, bizarre, strange and charming book, by Amy Tan. Also interesting if you want to learn more about Burma/Myanmar. The other reviewers out there tell you more: http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?show=Hardcover:New:0399153012:18.86
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July 21 Heathcliff: The Return to Wuthering Heights by Lin Haire-Sargeant (Bk 16) -- I hurried through this book so I can return it to the lender when we get to France. The author does a commendable job weaving the tales of the Bronte sisters' Wuthering Heights & Jane Eyre featuring the sisters as key players in determining what happened to Heathcliff. If you enjoyed the other books this 'sequel' is a natural next step.

Welcome Susan to our nice group at LT!
Since my husband works at night, I am often late online too (I live in the Netherlands)
Anita

Welcome to the group! Which Philip K. Dick books have you enjoyed? He's one of my favorite writers in the field.

# Msg 9 Sorry Prop -- I'm not good with titles and most of my fantasy sci-fi books were incorrectly shipped to storage instead of here. So I can't tell you. The good thing about that is that it makes re-reading a little easier :)

Have any favorites for me to put on my tbrs?

Mostly I've read short stories of Dick's in the past, but this year I hit on two early novels: Solar Lottery and Eye in the Sky, and also A Scanner Darkly because the movie was out.

I have a great compendium of Dick's short stories. I don't think I could pick out one story from them. There are so many good ones.

Hello Susan and welcome to our group of curious, avid and interesting readers.

I added Heathcliff: The Return to Wuthering Heights to be tbr (to be read) pile. Thanks for the post regarding this one.

I look forward to reading your posts and checking your reading habits.

Hey Whisper -- My reading habits are not necessarily to be defined by my experience here as I'm stuck reading whatever is at hand. However, as I've been cut off from easy access to English books for 10 years now, maybe I should reconcile myself to these new reading habits and consider them my own ... you gave me something to think about. :)

These are books I read or tried to read this year before I joined LibraryThing. They're also all ones I decided not to keep in my library.

Her Father's House -- I didn't finish this. I have not enjoyed most of her stuff that I've read. This one based on deception and broken promises just didn't seem to be worth the trouble. Stopped on p. 82 of 380.

A Reputable Rake (Bk 17)

Freaky Friday (Bk 18) -- pleasant & fun. I liked it much better than the movie (very different). YA reading. Recylced (once was enough).

The Wind Singer (Bk 19) -- While not bad, my reaction did not match the blurber's words: 'a vivid and passionate adventure that grips like a vice'. However I can see kids (the intended audience) enjoying it.

The Faraway Tree Stories -- This is three stories in one. Intended for children, I can only imagine them liking it if they are very young. I didn't finish the first one.

The Rake's Mistress (Bk 20)

A Dark and Hungry God Arises (Bk 21) -- I thought it was very good. But it's too dark for me to want to read again. I feel the same way about his Thomas Covenant series. However I really enjoyed his Mordant's Need duo, The Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through, both read and re-read in years past.

Interesting, your comments on Book 21. I've only read the first two of the Gap books. I had loved the Mordant books and liked the Thomas Covenant books but the first Gap book did nothing for me. A couple LTers talked me into giving it a longer try—I just haven't gotten around to the third, so far. Maybe I won't rush them to the top of the TBR pile. :-)

My shipment of books arrived this fall. Here are some regencies I read from that lot. These, unlike Msg #15, are ones that, at least for now, are remaining in my library.

Ruled by Passion (Bk 21) -- the title suggests it might be steamy. But instead it was just pleasant -- I'm glad.

A Grand Deception (Bk 22) -- ridiculous, but fun.

Mansfield Park (Bk 23) -- What struck me about this one is what the big moral issue is. It was interesting for me to see the view of the clergy held by some of the other characters. Written in 1814 the book shows the disaffection with which the church was held by some.

Bewitching Hearts (Bk 24) -- pretty stupid & kind of fun. The writer involves many players in Greek mythology in the story (psyche, mercury, hera...).

The Husband Hunt (Bk 25) -- kind of fun.

A Place of Execution by Val McDermid -- I didn't read this one this year. But as I have no idea when I'll re-read it, I wanted to mention it now. This book is an excellent, scary mystery. The blurbers say "One of the most ingenious mystery novels ever," "inventively conceived and wonderfully written...a marvel from start to finish," and "compelling & atmospheric...a tour de force." Can't say I disagree.

More books from this summer & fall.

The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks (bk 26) -- I enjoyed this one and have already recommended it to my book sharing pal in France. Apparently it is a sequel of sorts to his novel The Notebook, but my unfamiliarity with that story did nothing to diminish my enjoyment.

A Comfortable Wife by S Laurens (bk 27) -- I liked this regency a lot.

A Most Exceptional Rogue by Sarah Westleigh (bk 28) -- I have absolutely no recollection of this book at all! Perhaps, then, it is unmemorable. It also must have been unobjectionable as it did not make it into my 'recylce' pile.

Raleigh's Eden by I Fletcher (bk 29) -- Not only did I enjoy reading this historical romance/mystery, but I learned a lot too about the Revolutionary War period. I hope to get more of this series if possible.

Bath Tangle by G Heyer (bk 30) -- Not my favorite Heyer but kind of fun.

Life of Pi by Y Martel -- When I first moved to Romania I had no books. My neighbor loaned me this one raving about it. I tried, but just couldn't read it. Sadly, the neighbor moved this fall and I got a mess of her books including this one. So I tried again. Nope can't do it. Not going to trouble with it further but am passing it on to my friend in France.

Missing: When Lightning Strikes by M Cabot (bk 31) -- Oh this was fun. Quirky and light, but fun. Also on its way to France.

Alphabet Weekends by E Noble (bk 32) -- I enjoyed the book, but even more, perhaps, I liked the alphabet idea so much I proposed it to my hubby. He kind of gave me the 'huh' response. But I think I'll try it again sometime.

Play it Again? by J Highmore (bk 33) -- I liked this one a lot -- hmmm it's in the 'going to France' pile, but I think I'll ask for this one back.

Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella (bk 34) -- I really thought this book might be the death of me! I laughed and laughed and called my girlfriend in PA to share some quips. She, a dedicated magazine-only reader, was so inspired she went out and bought the book!

The Red Hat Club by H Smith (bk 35) -- I like books about community and friendships lasting through the ages, so this one really fit. Did make me wonder how well the book fit the real Georgia, but afraid I would offend I haven't asked my Georgian friends. Hmmm....maybe that's a silly thing to think!!

The Summer of the Fancy Man by S Fraser (bk 36) -- She can write, but boy howdy did I hate the book because of the ending.

Some Old Lover's Ghost by J Lennox (bk 37) -- I thought this was excellent. Poignant, good characters, interesting way the story is revealed. I liked it.

Another take on The Summer of the Fancy Man:

Tired of books with happy endings? Bored with truth winning out?
Fatigued by justice being served?
Then read this book!

I'm rearranging our library to accommodate the new books and keep stumbling upon another group of books I've read this year. That's in case you were wondering why all these posts!

The Principessa by C Dickinson (bk 38) -- I went into this fully expecting not to enjoy it. To my surprise I enjoyed it quite a lot and am hoping to get the next one sometime.

A Price for Everything by M Sheepshanks (bk 39) -- I was very disappointed to find this wasn't written by Rosamund Pilcher (Her name is larger than life on the cover of the book). However, it turned out to be a good thing. Provocative, real enough and dealing with some topics dear to my heart: house restoration, family heritage & marriage preservation.

A Family Affair by Maeve Haran (bk 40) -- I found this to be a satisfying if somewhat light read.

Remembered Death (aka Sparkling Cyanide) by A Christie (bk 41) -- not my preferred but interesting as the reader gets to approach the same event through the eyes of different people.

The Devil Went Down to Austin by Riordan (bk 42) -- I found this hard to read but persevered. In the end I'm not sure that's such a great thing.

Locked Rooms by L King (bk 43) -- I had no idea this series was out there and was shocked -- shocked!! -- to find Holmes married. It was a pretty good read.

Treasures by B Plain (bk 44) -- This is one of her books that I liked. Again, the themes probably influence that a great deal: reconciliation, family.

Set in Stone by R Goddard (bk 45) -- A strange little ghoststory/haunted house book that I kept to read again.

Termination Dust by S Henry (bk 46) -- This murder mystery set in Alaska was a good read -- I especially like the way the author tied in events from the 1800s to her modern day story. Nice.

Silks & Secrets by M J Putney (bk 47) -- Set in the 1840s this isn't a regency but was still close enough for me to tag it that way. The fun thing is the book takes place mostly in Central Asia and is full of intrigue. Highly improbable but a good choice for a light read, if a longer one than the standard regency.

Love's Parole by I Northan (bk 48) -- a typical regency with a bit of espionage thrown in, but this time involving Americans (War of 1812) and not just the French.

The Talisman Ring by G Heyer (bk 49) -- one of her mystery romances. Quite tolerable ;->

At this rate, you'll hit 75 sometime next week! 8^}

well, I'm no AlcottAcres but I do read a bit...

The Warslayer by R Edghill (bk 50) -- Finished this today. What can I say? I didn't have expectations that I'd really enjoy the book, and I didn't.

And more from this summer:

Skeletons -- Actually I think I read this one last year, but I'm sharing about it now because I don't know when I'll get around to re-reading it (which I've already done once). This book is a pretty darn good mystery. I can't think of anything to say that isn't a spoiler, so, sorry, that's it.

The Heart's Companion by H Newman (bk 51) -- nice regency. C'est tout.

Taste of Fire by S Dustin (bk 52) -- a kind of stupid readable romance.

Velvet Savage by K Drymon (bk 53) -- a really stupid romance. Why is this still in my library?

To Catch a Flame by K Cates (bk 54) -- Sort of interesting romance set in the late 1700s

The Ice House by M Walters (bk 55) -- I thought this one was pretty good. Nice twists and a pretty satisfying ending.

Sunset in St. Tropez by D Steel (bk 56) -- the only book of hers (read thus far) I'd recommend without hesitation.

Looking for Peyton Place by Delinsky (bk 57) -- This isn't my favorite work by her that I've read, but I can't find the title now of the one I really loved.

Country Flirt by J Smith (bk 58) -- Pretty stupid regency that I'll probably keep around for a slow day (it's so short it's a good quickie).

Next of Kin by J Trollope (bk 59) -- Good, kind of sad, well done.

September by R Pilcher (bk 60) -- I really loved this book. It may be my favorite Pilcher.

Ring of Truth by N Pickard (bk 61) -- About a true crime writer and the last crime she investigated, I found the style of the book (alternating between the writer's book and Pickard's narrative) difficult. I think I'll move this one out of my library too. It was a good mystery. The style was just not fun for me.

The Men and the Girls by J Trollope (bk 62) -- I really loved this one. Some great characters who are real characters ;->

Pentecost Alley by A Perry (Book 63) -- This is a pretty good book. Not deep, but well done. The blurber says 'Excellent period thriller...admirably well written.' The period is Victorian England.

A Breath of Fresh Air by E James (Bk 64) -- It lived up to its title. Fun, confronting serious issues but with the humor found in small towns & regular families.

The Ruby in the Smoke by P Pullman (Bk 65) -- A nice YA mystery, with no God-bashing ;->

And you were worried about hitting 75 before December 31? LOL here!

If you haven't read any other Minette Walters, I heartily recommend just about any of her works. She does not write in series format, and thus, each book is a unique story and stands well by itself. My newest favorite mystery writer is Henning Mankell with his Kurt Wallender series set in a small Swedish town--but they have to be read in order to make sense of the background in the stories.

Thanks for the tip -- and, no, I wasn't worried :) I figured there was a good chance I'd read 75 between the time I joined and the end of the year, but that remains to be seen ...

I was worried, perhaps, because my list wouldn't be complete -- and it won't. but so what :)

What's the correct order of reading for the Mankell books? They sound interesting.

They're listed in the Series in Common Knowledge (which is how I'm following them because publication dates are all over the map), but here goes:

a collection of short stories (which I have not read)

Faceless Killers
The Dogs of Riga
The White Lioness
The Man Who Smiled
Sidetracked
The Fifth Woman
One Step Behind
Firewall

I'm through four of them thus far and enjoying the trek immensely. But this is a series where, while you can probably enjoy each story individually, it is best to read them in order to follow the background story.

And if you haven't read Minette Walters--absolute gem of a mystery writer.

Great! another series just as I'm finishing up Dennis Lehane.

I've read a good amount of Walters...I agree with your recommendation on her. I picked up The Scold's Bridle one day on a whim and loved it.

I'll see if I can find Faceless Killers somewhere and give Mankell a try.

Bright and Shining Tiger by C Edwards (bk 66) -- Just finished this lovely little book. It seemed to me very unlike her other works (although I couldn't articulate why or how), except in that I enjoyed it :) {edited 'cause I was about as clear as mud and the post was full of typos!}

That's on my bookshelf, has been for nearly 20 years. I read it back then and said it's a keeper, but haven't read it since. I only ever found one other of her books, the first in a series called Eldrie: The Healer, but never found the sequels. See, part of the problem is having too much history. At this stage in my life, I have to go back and read all those 20 and 30-year-old books if I want to have any idea except that I liked it back when, in addition to reading all the new books coming out--can you say overwhelming?

# 33 Overwhelming -- I can indeed, and often do. Edwards died so the series didn't get done. What's odd is that her death isn't noted in the biography here. I've read Eldrie a couple of times and each time wanted the sequel, but for the life of me can't tell you what it's about. I'm in the middle of Perry's Slaves of Obsession. But all of a sudden I'm feeling quite unwell and even that not-so-challenging book is too much for me, so I picked up a 'new to my shelves' Darkover book. Turns out I've read it but it's comforting, like an old friend, and may be better for what ails me than chicken soup :) Just hope I'm well by tomorrow -- hubby has a special weekend planned but hasn't told me what it is. he's a doll.

Hope you are feeling better for the weekend and have a wonderful time of it!

Star of Danger by Bradley (bk 67) -- This one's so small I wonder if it counts as a 'book'! But it was good to revisit this one today. Feeling slightly better -- Thanks Stasia.

Here's the final lot, I think, of my books that I've read already this year. In the interest of time, I think I'll not say much on these.

Haywire by Mills (bk 68)
Texas Blossom (bk 69) -- despite the horrid cover and historical inaccuracies this was a pretty good story.
The Shipping News (bk 70) -- I'm so glad I read this book.
Love and Splendour by Patricia Hagan (bk 71)
Bird of Paradise by Elizabeth Daniels (bk 72)
Starfire by Barbara Bretton (bk 73)
A Warrior's Passion (bk 74) -- I was surprised by how much I liked this one. Don't know enough about that period in England's history to know if it's historically accurate, but it made me want to know more.
Don't Cry Now (bk 75)
Dark Assassin by Perry (bk 76) -- Monk
The Bookman's Wake by Dunning (bk 77)
For Love Alone by Barbara Leigh (bk 78)
Dulcie's Gift by Langan (bk 79) -- Post Civil War romance
Homecoming (bk 80) by Plain
The Codex by Preston (bk 81) -- good read
A Place of Hiding by George (bk 82) -- nice twists
Southern Cross by Cornwell (bk 83)
Midnight Magic by Betina Krahn (Bk 84) -- whimsical regency

Now you have to head over to the 'acclaim your brilliance here' thread and sign in.... not bad for four days since joining ;-)

lol my husband would find me brilliant if I'd do as well as on the ironing (see first post) ;->

Well, that's why you have wrinkle-free fabrics today. Or just shove the iron and the vacuum to the back of the closet, together with the dust mop and bleach.

LOL -- we don't have a dryer!! And, the dryer we do have in storage in France sucks the water out. In the US they usually blow hot air through. The sucking water out version doesn't leave them wrinkle-free. The good thing is that your clothes wear out much more slowly because drying them removes the fibers (hence the full lint filter). Given the choice, I might choose buying clothes more often than ironing.

Well, I sometimes buy clothes instead of finding a laundromat. Same principle, different day.

Was reminded while reading another 75 book post that I re-read McKilip's Winter Rose this year (bk 85). Yes, for me re-reads count :) I saw that question arise on somebody's post today. Another question that came up was posting books you own versus those you have read but don't own. I've seen just about everything here. Bascially in my library, if it's there and not marked otherwise (like 'recycled' or 'unread), then I own it and have read it -- including the cookbooks :)

Oh yes, cookbooks:
Casseroles: Over 160 Step-by-Step Recipes (bk 86 -- Their veggie recipes are really good. By 'casserole' these folks mean one pot on the stove top.

The Garden of Vegan: How It All Vegan Again! (bk 87) -- very strange book with everything from egg substitutes to dog biscuits, and a serious concentration on sweets.

I must add here two old fav cookbooks, full of good stuff and super for inspiring new dishes:
Sundays at the Moosewood and Picnics. My French husband and I prepared a meal for a big group of French folks out of the latter. In general the French are convinced Americans can't cook.

These recipes converted the group -- good stuff!

PS What does it mean when the touchstone info to the right of this edit box show up in red (the color)? That's the way the casserole book is showing.

Red means the database search returned a null result - ie, LT couldn't find anything that matched the touchstone text.

Thank you!

Msg 41 -- I'm glad we said we like divergent threads as I think "ironing" qualifies! I made a conscious decision to become a homemaker. It is my job. This means that to do my job well, among many other things, I need to keep up with the ironing.

I first caught the vision for homemaking when studying Marriage Without Regrets, the workbook version, in 1983. The workbook doesn't say that's the choice you should make, by the way. Then I had to wait until I was 40 to get married in 2001 to have a chance to put it into practice.

The husband does an absolutely marvelous job at performing his responsibilities. I really feel I must do my best to do the same -- this is why I feel a 75 book LIMIT would be a great, if unattainable, goal for me. I'm just not that disciplined! But if you pray and feel like asking for help for me, that would be most welcome :)

Ooops, left the iron on! Gotta run :)

Couldn't resist your book no. 39 -I had to break down and buy it. I mean, how often does one see the name Sheepshanks? (I wonder what that might translate to - sheep legs? And if so, how did the family ever get that name.)

Hi Erika

Hi yana

What about me??

what r u doing

Hi vanessa

thnx

leave this talk now

What the heck was that?????

I suspect it was a drive-by. Three teens who just joined today, have 5, 7 and 7 books respectively in their libraries, just flitting through threads to talk at each other. Their visit lasted 2 minutes total.

Weird that there is such a thing as an internet drive by posting.....what would that be called? "Post-by", "Write-by"

lol -- go to Bulgaria and the whole place turns upside down! I'm writing from Varna, "the pearl of the Black Sea." It really is lovely and e can see the Sea from the balcony, walked on the beach today and window shopped.

Also finished Confession by N Pickard (Bk 88) -- as well written as the last one I reviewed, this one's style was easier to get into. Funny, good mystery, real life situations (and a few further out there), I found this a good read and won't say 'no' to another Jenny Cain Mystery. Even tho this isn't the first in the series, I felt no handicap for not having read the predecessor -- doesn't mean there wasn't one, just that I wasn't aware of it ;->

Space Winners by Dickson (bk 89 -- confession in the previous post was book 88) -- Obviously a quick read. Not a Dorsai book, and not necessarily a YA book but certainly could be. Finishes with some good discussion on prime directive type stuff with some possible good applications for parenting and mentoring.

#58 suslyn: Nancy Pickard has several series of books going. You can find the lists for each series here: http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/P_Authors/Pickard_Nancy.html. As you can see on the webpage, Confession is not even close to being early in the Jenny Cain series.

Hope the info helps!

Stasia

I'm a fan of Pickard's Jenny Cain book. Some of the earlier ones I think are the best...you might want to give them a try.

Thanks friends -- will do!

The Nightingale Legacy by Coulter (bk 99) -- Is it just me or are these books really horrible? Faux regency, somewhat interesting mystery if improbable in that setting. Recycled.

Swords of the Legion by Turtledove (Bk 100) -- This was # 4 in a series, and the last in a larger group of books in the same universe. I have read none of the others (remember I got a 'grab bag' type shipment of books), and it doesn't seem to have mattered. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I found the ending a bit long, but when I researched the series a bit and found it was indeed the last book, I could see that it was merited, especially to a reader of the full set.

My satisfaction with this book surprised me a bit. I've read two others authored solely by him. The first, an alternative history of the US Civil War, was ok. I was neither tempted to throw it out or get the sequel, and I kept it to re-read (it's in storage or I'd add the title). The second I really disliked and now can't even remember what it was about (oh space war, i think -- very coarse if I remember correctly). So it was with some fatalistic trepidation that I picked this one up. How happy I am to have a good one for the 'read again someday' pile.

The only Turtledove I've read were the three books of the Krispin trilogy. They were OK. I think his Civil War series is quite long, 9 or 10 books.

I got the feeling from something I read that his Civil War books come from different approaches (alternative history) rather than following one time line. Could be very wrong -- could have made it up even (strange mind here). The one I read had Lincoln living and winning, i think, and the cover for another had the South winning. why am I writing this when I have no clue and it doesn't matter? Could it be because it's 2 am? I'll quit while I'm only this far behind.

I think his Civil War stories had the South winning...no? Almost everything he does has some sort of Alternate History in it.

well if that's so (and that's the way the cover I remember went, South winning) then the book I did read must not be by Turtledove -- either that or there are two series. This is going to drive me crazy -- darned movers put 400 books into storage that were to come here, including that one. Guess some more research is called for.

well I can't find the one I thought I read, and I scoured Turtledove's website. But I was reminded of his book co-written with Judith Tarr which I found to be very good and interesting, Household Gods. Did find the book I couldn't remember, Gunpowder Empire, which I didn't really like at all. Maybe it was because it's YA, but I don't think so.

M is for Malice by Grafton (Bk 101) -- Good twist at the end. I often figure mysteries out before we're shown in the book, but I was no where close on this one. That said, the immorality made me tired (see the discussion on Alaska's thread on 'Christian fiction'). Good thing is that it made me laugh -- out loud several times.

Even so, I decided to take a page out of Tortoise's books and try a classic again and clean the palate. I actually tried this long ago with Water Babies but just couldn't finish it. So I think I'll consign it to the give aways and follow TadAd's 50 page rule on this one. Am thoroughly enjoying Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill at the moment and hope that lasts through page 50 -- I'm on p 30 now. First time in just ages that I've read any poetry. Even in my beloved fantasy I tend to skip or scan. Poetry in general is just not my thing. But I've enjoyed Kipling's thus far.

And if you get through it, then try Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology, which is best read in sequence as the story it really is intended to be. It's amazing who's buried in a small town cemetery!

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for it! Sure am enjoying your thread -- just don't have much to add there :)

Did it again -- lost my book somewhere in the house. Hate that. And I was really enjoying Puck of Pook's Hill! Oh well, it will turn up. So I've interrupted myself and am now reading Mickey Spillane's Black Alley. I haven't read anything by him before and am surprised to be really enjoying it. Not at all in the same way as Puck! but enjoying it all the same.

#73 suslyn: That used to happen to me all the time, so I fixed the problem: I now have a book going in every room of the house and my car, so no matter where I find myself I have something to read :)

I love Puck of Pook's Hill. I got the collected works of Rudyard Kipling in a two volume set years ago so that I could have that book, Kim and The Jungle Book all in one place!

LOL Stasia -- but I *want* to read Puck now! It's wonderful Ronin -- I've really got to scour your library rather than peruse lightly to see what else I've been missing :)

>73 suslyn:: I love that book! I'm a Kipling addict. If I had to do the "desert island" thing, it would be Collected Kipling, Collected Shakespeare, Collected O. Henry.

Edit: errr, 'thing' not 'think'

Actually, Susan, I haven't gotten the Kipling catalogued yet--but I'm close, I'm working on the shelf right above it! And it's Roni. You know, Roni 'n cats! Kipling and Shakespeare, my poetry and Joseph Campbell go in this weekend, hopefully.

lol --that's much better than Ronin like Conan :)

Question folks:

I too am adding books, but these are unread from that big shipment. I'm looking at large stacks of Joseph Wambaugh, Irving Wallace, Mario Puzo and Dick Francis. I know and like Francis so I'm glad they are in the bunch. Any idea on what I'm likely to get from these others? Must say Wallace and Puzo look especially off-putting. Happy to be wrong; actually I'd be thrilled to be wrong!

Edited to add: Take this one for example, Wallace's The Fan Club. The cover has a naked girl on a bed, looking scared and like she's trying to cover herself. The blurb reads, "Every man dreams of a love goddess ... A novel of sexual terror and mounting suspense unlike anything Irving Wallace has written before." Well this one's going straight to recyling.

Oh Irving Wallace was very typical of the popular style of his day, and The Fan Club is not as bad as it appears. Interesting selections, however.

I had forgotten that I had read The Fan Club until you mentioned it. I didn't enjoy it very much. I read a bunch of Wallace's stuff a long time ago. Most of it wasn't that memorable, but I definitely did enjoy The Prize—a drama about the folks winning the Nobel Prizes one year. The Man was also OK (bad touchstone).

Of Puzo, I've only read The Godfather and The Dark Arena. Liked the former. Didn't like the latter.

okay so maybe I'll crack the cover on The Fan Club before pitching it :) My sis & her hubby bought a store that was going out of business for next to nothing. Included were 3000 used books. I have 500 of them that just arrived, but they were not selected by me...

Getting a box of 500 books...even if most of them aren't what you want...would be a very exciting thing!

yuppers!! It has been -- there have even been a few, very few, but still, a few books I really wanted!

500 books at a time! I want to be your next door neighbor so you can just pitch them over to me when you are through.

lol so you see my TBR of geographical necessity are not those of my choosing but whatever I can scrounge here or what came in the box. They are listed as 'unread' or still not tagged in my library. I just inputted one that made me chuckle -- the 2nd half of Hugo's Les Miserable -- how useful is that? Yes, I know the story, but... Yes, I read book 2's (Or later in a series) without the other, but the second half of one book? I may draw the line there.

Well, the good part is that you will at least know how it ends :)

I have made the most wonderful discovery today. My dad who sorted and packed the books told me I was getting 500. Guess he just estimated, because I have over 600 unread now and a huge stack waiting. I am so pleased. The movers really messed up on our move to Bucharest and as a result we got 3000 euros. We used that money to ship these books over, which were free to us. I had hoped to ship all of them (2-3000), but the m-bag prices went up just then so it wasn't financially possible. Dad culled books and got them down to "500" which came under budget. I was pretty depressed at spending all that on 500 books (when it could have been 3000), so now when I'm looking at 800 or so I feel a bit better on the per book cost. I really hate that the movers messed up like they did, but in this case it worked out :)

PS My books are the main thing they messed up on, shipping them to our storage instead of here. I wasn't a happy camper. The other weird thing they did was ship our LaserDiscs to storage -- that was correct. But why then did they ship the laserdisc players here? It's especially annoying to see them when we want to watch one of our standard "unwind & turn off the brain" films. Eventually bought two of these on DVDs just so we wouldn't have to wait 3 more years to see them again. FYI: http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=17536653, our mostly current movie list. We don't have tv and haven't since we were married in 2001, but we do watch a mess of films!

okay -- here's the last of those I've read earlier this year. Just finished getting everything off my shelves so hubby can fix them to hold more. I'll post a pic when they're done.

I don't remember most of these, which is in and of itself somewhat telling. However, they made it into the "give to Andrea"' pile, another avid reading American here in Europe. We swap books a lot. So at the very least this means that for the deperate-to-read-something they qualify.

Song of the Sound by Armstrong (Bk 102) -- This is an exception to the above paragraph. I really loved this novel set mostly in New Zealand. What to say that's not a spoiler? Believable characters, good tension, exciting, a bit of mystery, some heartache, a lot of action (but not a war book). Just a plain old good read -- and I want it back when my friend is done!
A Painted House by Grisham Bk 103) -- not a legal thriller. Instead this is a somewhat slow novel set in the poor, rural south. Very good, very slow and I don't want to read it again. Once was nice. Once was enough.
Fortune's Hand (Bk 104) -- I'm not sure books should count when you have no clue what they were about...
Knock Off -- I enjoyed this kind of whacky mystery but don't need to read it again.
Do you Remember the First Time? -- I have absolutely no recollection of this book.

C'est tout pour l'instant .

oops my pants are smokin'! (as in "liar liar pants on fire") Forgot I re-read Cornwell's The Last Precint and a few others from that series this year. We'll count those as 1 book, alors book 105.

at least you have reached the goal of 75 books, completely forgot to say: congratulations!!

Slaves of Obsession by Perry (bk 106) -- This William Monk novel dealt with issues of supplying guns to the parties in the U.S. Civil War and the nature of love. The other Monk mysteries I've read have dealt with serious issues, but been a bit lighter with, perhaps, more humor. The beginning of the book left me fearing the whole thing would be a sermon on the evils of slavery, but I think it was just an effort to drive home the depth of one of the obsessions in the book. Not bad. I'll keep it to read again some day.

I am a big fan of Anne Perry's Monk series as well as her WWI series. I am not so much of a fan of the Charlotte/Thomas Pitt series, although I do still occasionally read the books.

If you have not tried the WWI series, I would recommend them. There are only 5 books to it. I know that tracking them down over there may be a challenge for you, though.

The Errant Earl by Suson (bk 107) -- regency but with some depth, character development even. No, not tons :) Perfect to read while feeling not great and having a headache.
Mirror of Destiny by Norton (bk 108) -- actually not quite done, but will be tonight. At first I thought, 'wow! a departure from the norm.' I read a lot of Norton and her stuff in general follows one of two kinds of plot line. And while this one began with the herbal healing gal and barter brides of a sort (both ideas used a lot in her books), there seemed to be a lot more. I was psyched. But about half way through it became more like gobbledygook than anything else, more along the lines of her Witch World series. If something changes in the next few pages, I'll come back and edit. Boy, that would be nice! :)

Grave Consequences by Cameron (bk 109) -- Mystery that hits the floor running. First time with Cameron. I thought she did a really nice job and am looking forward to others by her.

Msg 95 -- happy to report that Mirror of Destiny did improve a bit in that last section of the book.

Scandalous Portrait by Hamilton (Bk 110) -- I am seriously disgusted again. Why is it that so many regency writers and romance writers in general perpetuate the rape myth. Normal story, notorious rake, hardened against women, falls in love with one, after he rapes her, and in the end she loves him too and they get married. Grrrr. No doubt it has happened qt some point in history that a woman has come to love the man who raped her after he also came to love her, but I don't think it's common. And that what these authors, generally women, suggest. The almost as annoying thing is that Hamilton appears to be able to write. Good character development, some nice twists. Very disappointed. --> recycled.

Thanks for your comments regarding Scandalous Portrait looks like I won't be adding this one to the tbr pile.

ah...why would someone fall in love with a person who raped them????

>98 Whisper1: Whisper, It could only happen in fiction, couldn't it?

- TT

After my last post I realized I had company coming for Thanksgiving. I knew she was coming, but I didn't realize she was coming for Thanksgiving. Of course, this is the year I've decided to skip preparing a feast. Steph (hubby) and I are going out to dinner with an American friend who was a guest at last year's repast who had been looking forward to a repeat.

Annoyed with myself because 1) I had forgotten (again) to check with Steph before offering our hospitality, 2) Steph's work is so demanding right now that he comes home exhausted and, an extreme introvert, needs quiet time to recharge -- this need is at odds with our loquacious soon-to-arrive guest, 3) I wondered if it was really that she just didn't want to spend Thanksgiving alone as her "business trip" to Bucharest exactly corresponds to the traditional Thxgiving holiday (Wed pm thru Sun pm), and finally 4) because I had the thoughts in #3.

Hospitality should be practiced period, and perhaps especially to lonely single missionaries even if they talk rather more than I want to listen.

Nevertheless I was so agitated that I couldn't get my mind stilled enough to follow the books I'm in, so I picked up some more fluff which is easy to follow. Happy to report that this regency, Lord Logic and the Wedding Wish (Book 111) has no rape scenes at all! Further, it has nice character development and a bit of whimsy. My bad mood, of which I am ashamed, has been mostly erased.

Now to iron those sheets for the guest bed. How I hate ironing bed linen! (Oh for perma press and an American dryer.)

>47 Fourpawz2: Hey Fourpawz -- did you read sheepshanks yet?

suslyn
I hope your Thanksgiving Day (today) goes well. I can truly relate to having a partner who is exceedingly introverted. As an extrovert, I like company, but my husband is at the exact opposite. He likes lots of time to himself and quiet. He becomes exhausted by interactions where there are lots of people...
On the other hand, I thrive in those atmospheres.
Somehow we meet in the middle and I have curtailed my desire to entertain as frequently as before.

Yesterday evening, contrary to my usual practice I joined my colleagues for a drink at the local watering hole, or should I say hell-hole. The constant babel of loud voices in a confined space is enough to drive me to drink! Except the drink is not something I particularly enjoy either. I am with Mr Whisper in his preference for lots of quiet time. Interaction with others in such an atmosphere exhausts and unmans me.

I like plenty of time quietly reading and contemplating in my shell!

- TT

Hi, Susan. Good to see you over here in the 75! :-)

TT -- your creative, cleaver moniker "Mr. Whisper"...made me laugh right out loud!

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving! Blessings to all the hermits of the world...

Blessings to all the hermits of the world...

That would include me, too. When I was 12, my family went for a visit back to PA, and one of the places we visited was the small town my mother was born and raised in. Her family lived on a hill called the Becky Leach, and I informed her that when I grew up I was going to be a hermit and live on the Becky Leach.

Hermits of the world disunite! O for the wide open spaces of a confined room!

- TT

Breach of Honor by Warady (Bk 112) -- Not well done enough to read again. Nice story line.
His Lordship's Mistress and Married by Mistake: Regency 2-in-1 (Bk 113) -- Nicely done. Recycled for three reasons. I have a single volume of the 2nd title which I am keeping to read again. I have a friend here who is crazy about romances who will appreciate the volume. And, I don't want to re-read books that urge me to condone sin. A friend once urged me not to watch the Prince of Tides because the viewer cheers for divorce. I decided that idea would stand me well. In His Lordship's Mistress one is tempted to excuse her behavior (well what choice did she have?) and conclude that perhaps the end justifies the means.

Help wanted. I saw a short poem by Yeats today and decided, as his books are available through Project Gutenberg, to try reading something of his for the 999 challenge. Any suggestions?

edited 'cause I was missing a teeny, but essential bit of code.

Hey sounds like more HSPs out there. It's a fancy-pants name for tend-to-be introverts who dislike a lot of noise, confusion, people, and so on. We like the quiet recharge time, no, we NEED it. There's a couple of interesting books out there by Dr. Elaine Aron on the subject - the basic one is The Highly Sensitive Person. It's not really as fuzzy-wuzzy as it sounds - it is more of a physical response, is innate, and probably heritary.
Good for extroverts to read, to get a handle on it!
My boyf. and I are both HSPs which is great but then we can get too sensitive with each other!

HIghly recommend the Aron books for anyone who is, lives with, or loves a sensitive person. they are a real eye-opener.

message 109

Regarding Yeats poetry, like Tennyson, he was an incredible writer. I am drawn to the art of the Pre-Raphelites (Victorian era) and some of the artists took Yeats poetry as inspiration for their works.
Here is a site that might be of interest to you

http://thebeautifulnecessity.blogspot.com/2008/07/yeats-link-between-some-of-my-...

Message #110 and 111.
Thanks for mentioning the Aron book. I will read this one as soon as I'm finished reading Looking for Alaska by John Green.

As mentioned previously, my husband and I are at extreme polar opposite on the introvert/extrovert scale. Though, Dihiba, I can really relate to your comment regarding being sensititve with each other. We are both highly sensitive and at times this is very problematic.

#113 - Yes it has its drawbacks and its pluses.
I actually read parts of The Highly Sensitive Person in Love before I read The Highly Sensitive Person. You might find that one interesting too.

>110 dihiba: Dhiba: Hey! I am not anti-social, I am HSP! Whoopee! Or is that too extrovert!

- TT

Last summer when we went on vacation, a friend came to housesit, take care of the cats and water the plants. She's an avid reader, mostly romance, but her favorite genre of film is sci-fi/fantasy. So I left her a list of books I had that she might want to consider:

By Bujod, The Spirit Ring, Cordelia's Honor, and The Curse of Chalion. I expect I left off Paladin of Souls only because it was right next to its predecessor on my shelf.
By Bishop, Daughter of the Blood, sequels on the shelf as well.
By McKilip, The Riddlemaster of Hed.
By Moon, Remnant Population
By McCaffrey, Restoree.
And, by Zahn, Manta's Gift

Now she's coming again for our sojourn to the States this Christmas and has asked me to compile another list including "mysteries, vampires, time travel, romance still, Pride and Prejudice...things like that.

Wondered if some of you familiar with those categories might take a peek at my books tagged "unread" and see if there's something I should add to this new list.

I already have Pastwatch, Emma and my Regency Christmas collections, but suggestions are most welcome.

Mistletoe and Folly by Devon (Book 113) -- Thx Roni for the suggestion to read these now. This one is delightful, not too smarmy, and I like the characters a lot (even the bad ones are good!).

Well, you left her a great set last time! Looking at your unreads, there's a lot of good stuff in there, but I'm not recommending a lot because they are only part of a series and not the first either.

However, you have the complete set of one of my favorite fantasy trilogies, probably the favorite that no one has heard of, so it's likely to be new to her. That is the Susan Dexter trilogy: Ring of Allaire, Sword of Calandra, and The Mountains of Channadran. You also have some Patricia Wrede, all of which I recommend. Start with The Seven Towers--should be right up her alley. Also, she might like Year of the Unicorn by Andre Norton, one of my favorites.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle is a YA classic, and rightfully so. You only have the first in Rosemary Kirstein's series, The Steerswoman, but at least it IS the first.

You have a lot of good sf, by Asimov, Arthur Clarke, and Gordon Dickson. Some of those might be possibilities as well.

I haven't started reading my Regency Christmas collections yet, but will soon.

Thanks Roni! I was thrilled to see the Dexter trilogy was whole. And now I'm even more happy -- if you liked it I should too :)

I have a ton of book 2s in storage too -- some from series I'd love to own, but they're slippery little devils. I'm guessing some must be out of print.

The Twelve Days of Christmas by Regina Scott (Bk 114) -- Another pleasant regency with a bit of mystery thrown in. The heroine has a rather annoying internal struggle throughout and the hero makes some dumb choices, but their characters are nicely developed.

A Christmas Kiss by Mansfield (Book (Bk 115) -- a delightful re-read. Didn't realize when I picked it up that I'd read it before. The copy I have in storage has a different cover, and is by itself rather than coupled with Winter Wonderland, which I also have in a separate volume. But on the first page I recognized the story. As I started to reshelve it, I thought, "why not? You enjoyed it the first time." And I enjoyed it this time too. A delightful comedy of errors in which a father falls in love with his son's "intended."

A Touch of Merry by Black (Bk 116) -- This gal needed a better editor or researcher or something! Nice enough story line, a fun read, and some interesting characters, but she talks about a "higher power" and says its just a few "kilometers" to the next town. Yes, in a "regency."

ETA: I forgot the most egregious error. The 'hero' says he has photographic proof of the anti-heroes sins. The story supposedly takes place 20 years before Daguerreotypes went public.

A Taste of Christmas (Bk 117) -- 3 longish short stories. nice selection for Christmas and with a recipe at the end of each :)

Pulling this back over to your thread for comment:

You wrote I do enjoy Weber's Honor books, or did a whole bunch through her return from Hell. After that, well... Must say I skipped a bunch of the techy stuff though.

I have not read the space opera by R. M. Meluch, but it came highly recommend and is on my list to pick up when I'm home at Christmas.

I enjoyed the first Stardoc book by Viehl, but ended up disliking the series and her other works. In each I've read (8+) the female lead character ends up in a kind of sexual submission. In the end they just left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Have you tried Timothy Zahn's Conqueror series? Book 2 was my favorite there, and I actually began the series with that one. His Manta's Gift is another fav of mine. Stanley's Fifty Degrees Below was for sale here in Romania, another book 2. If you enjoyed the mars series you might like this too.

Guess you've read Brin's Startide Rising et al? I prefer the first set to the second. Same goes for Simmons' Hyperion and Emperion. With both authors I loved the set up (the first books) but didn't like where we ended up."

What great taste you have!! Which means, of course, how closely it matches mine. I'm with you on the Honor Harrington books--enjoyed them greatly while they were mostly space opera (able to slide through the battle massacres without much collateral damage) until they became so political. At that point, it just resonated off real life ambiguities and frustrations and lost sight of the characters too much.

I read the first Stardoc hoping for something like James White's Sector General books or Murray Leinster's Med Series, but could see the direction it was going (more about the angst of the heroine than the adventures of medical pathology) and didn't continue.

I tried one Meluch, Jerusalem Fire, and never made it all the way through it--couldn't get invested in the characters, but YMMV.

I think the first trilogy by David Brin was very, very good. In fact, The Uplift War is one of my top tier books. I loved the universe he created. The first book of the second trilogy had promise, but the rest never delivered, and with the last book, as far as I am concerned, he basically gave up on the series (perhaps had written himself into a corner, perhaps was just tired of it) and ended with the biggest and most frustrating deus-ex-machina ending I've ever read.

Haven't read the Zahn or Simmons so can't comment there, but just had to let you know how I reflected your views on the ones we have in common!

And I'm glad you did, but I'm surprised you had nothing to say about msg 121 and the so-called 'regency' period books. :) I did really enjoy, and enjoy re-reading, first Brin trilogy...

Simmons, well, I tried years and years ago and decided it was 'male' fiction if there is such a thing (how sexist of me, or at least the me I was back then). Hubby (we celebrate 8 years this Xmas) wanted to read them, and he's the reason I tried again. Creative, well thought out, but the Empyrion duo becomes too preachy for me. ETA: Of course that might be because I violently disagree with his theology! LOL

Ah, but I hadn't read either of those books, and after your review, I definitely won't be reading the first. I will get started soon on my Christmas regencies. Just got Regency Christmas IX in the mail the other day, so it is new to me! Trying to get into and finish some science fiction right now.

Provence and Cote D'Azur (Bk 118) -- read this summer while on vacation in Provence. As a picture book, wish book, and an overview of the area, this may be an excellent book full of lovely pictures. As a practical guide it has little in the way of merits. I won't be purchasing from this series again.

A Christmas to Cherish (Bk 119) -- 6 short regencies. Not a fan of the short story, I found I really enjoyed 3 of them. I kept it for next year.

Christmas Magic (Bk 120) -- 2 modern stories. Loved this in the second, "I'm going to share a name with the man I love before I share his bed. And right now I'm still Alexandra Kathryn MacDonald." LOL You go girl. --> Recycled, but I'll keep my out for more by Emilie Richards.

Curse of the Mistwraith by Wurts (Bk 121) -- Just finished re-reading this beautifully crafted tome. I received book 3 in this series in my shipment, but want the first two, which I have here in Romania, fresh in my head before entering new territory. The author finds refreshing and new ideas to include in this fantasy, and I can hardly wait to begin the sequel.

I looked up book 121, it sounds good, but no translation for me yet :-(
But I found some others by Wurts available at the library I might try.

BTW, Janny is an LTer, and regularly shows up at the Green Dragon, including the Green Dragon Chat. She's usually in on the group reads, and it's always interesting to hear her perspective on books.

Historical Christmas Stories 1990 (Bk 122) -- While not regencies, these longish short stories were really quite nice. I look forward to reading them again next year.

suslyn - Curse of the Mistwraith - is that a quest book? I read a little about it and it sounds good, but I have this thing about questbooks, especially if the questers are a mismatched group. You know - a peasant boy with a mission, a wizard (don't like wizards), a beautiful princess, a dwarf, etc., etc.

hmmm a questbook? half brothers, both gifted in sorcery, one trained and the other not, are swept through a portal to the world of their forbears where they are to lift a curse which has blocked the sun from their world for centuries. Mostly the book is about relationships. It is beautifully crafted, well thought out, poignant, fun and a darn good read. Also, while part of a series, I think you get enough closure at the end that you only continue if you want to, not because you're left unsatisfied.

No dwarves or elves either! ;->

Thanks for your quick answer, suze. Think I'll get it. I don't know what it is about quests. When it appears that one is in the offing my interest goes down about 20%. Groan - not another quest!!! - is my usual response.

LOL well there is no real equivalent for Gandalf or Allanon (Brooks' Shannara series) in these books. You may think so when you meet one character, but hang on -- that changes pretty quickly.

A Highlander for Christmas (bk 123) -- When I started this book I groaned. I thought I was looking at another Gabaldon wannabe. This feeling wasn't hindered by the fact that the lead character's name is Claire. ...

However, I persevered. And I'm glad I did. Scot gets transplanted to modern Boston, runs into a bunch of trouble and falls in love with Claire. Has to find a way to earn money (he cost her a bit in legal fees) and disappears for a while, but not back into the past. A bit of occult, sex before marriage too, but all in all a fairly satisfying story with a nice ending.

Hi suslyn
I like your description of book #115 and I've added it to my list. I think it is great that you are reading all these Christmas tales!

>Msg 136 I got inspired by Roni's tradition and have found it's a good one!

The Ships of Merior by Wurts (bk 124) -- Poignant and gripping. Now to on to the third book.

#135 - yeah, I felt about the same way about A Highlander for Christmas, it was cute, but nothing stellar. Her book A Man in a Kilt is very good, I loved that one.

>139 ktleyed: thanks -- that was my first book by Blair

>132 suslyn:: Mostly the book is about relationships... Also, while part of a series, I think you get enough closure at the end that you only continue if you want to, not because you're left unsatisfied.

All of a sudden I'm sold on it - I'm getting extremely sick of endless series of books that peter out before they finish. And character/relationship development is always welcome! I'll keep an eye out for it at the library.

Sorrel, do tell me your take on the book. Always nice to know if my perspective is valid. I know my own enjoyment level is my own, but a statement like that which you quoted above is another story.

I'm halfway through the third book and still loving it. I want to finish it before I get on the plane Friday am, which should be doable since it is shorter than the first ones. btw, the third was originally intended to be one piece with the second, so if you get the hardback version you may very well have both 'halves'. (It was too big for one paperback.) The stunning thing is at the end of book 2, I had no sense the story was unfinished. Wurts is good!

Warhost of Vastmark by Wurts (bk 125) -- Oh this was so good. Surprising, agonizing, heart-rending and heart-warming. I'm so pleased that, Lord willing, I'll be in the States soon and may have my hands on the first book in the next sequence Saturday!

We're off in a few hours for the States, and I won't be on much in the next few weeks. Blessings to you all during this Christmas season and Happy New Year.

Have a great holiday season and new year!

Safe Journeys to you suslyn!

Blessings right back to you!

Thanks for the nice notes!

Deadman's Switch by Zahn (Bk 126) -- This book was different from the others I've read by the same author (Manta's Gift and the Conqueror Series). I liked his other works very, very much.

The difference in this work was so profound that I wasn't sure how I'd like it. The only commonalities were that it was sci-fi and there was a mystery to be solved. :)

Well I loved it. Interesting use of a member of a Biblically-based group, a minority rather despised and mistrusted, as the main character. Scriptures were used throughout and usually with seemed to be fairly accurate applications (unusual enough in Christian publications). And no, never fear, if you aren't a Christian or have no interest in or familiarity with the Bible, the way Zahn has used the text and the character are in no way preachy. More, the texts explain his thought processes. I'm doing a poor job of explaining. Must be the jet lag. But I didn't want my review to be off-putting to those who have no use for religion, because the book isn't about religion.

Pretty satisfying ending and one that keeps you hanging til the last pages for the various facets of the mystery to be solved. I can hardly wait til the book recedes into my memory far enough to make it a good re-read.

The Disgraced Marchioness by O'Brien (Bk 127) -- finished on the plane on the way to the US. This regency revolves around a law I'd never heard of and wonder if actually existed. Widows were not allowed to marry brothers of their deceased husbands because they were considered family, sisters to the brothers of their former spouse. I'm hoping to be able to verify this. I suspect it because often the laws coincided with the Bible, and in it, brother in laws were not prohibited, and even sometimes encouraged, to marry their deceased brothers wife.

They resolve their troubles by running off to America and living as man and wife without a legal marriage. Recycled. Nice little mystery involved as well.

>148 suslyn: I researched this a little bit after reading the same book! (Particularly since I remembered that when Henry VIII married his dead brother's widow in 1509 he got a dispensation from the church on the grounds that her first marriage was unconsummated and therefore she had not really been his brother's wife.)

In law, the husband and wife were considered one entity, therefore his brother was (with regard to marriage law at least) also her brother. The law was changed in the early twentieth century (more info here - scroll down for the brief comment on the Deceased Brother's Widow's Marriage Act 1921).

Thank you so much! Tres bizarre!

Those marriage laws, cloaked in religious speak, were probably to ensure a greater variation in the gene pool - after all, most of our ancestors lived in small communities and didn't travel much. Villages needed to introduce new blood.
Not allowing a woman to marry her brother-in-law was one way - and avoided the confusion of the next generation - "how closely related are we?!" before the courting began.
Almost all of us have cousin marriages in our backgrounds - too many of those can lead to some interesting results!

>151 dihiba: dhiba: "too many of those can lead to some interesting results!" i.e brain-damaged cretins!

- TT

Hmm...that's my family you're talking about! : )

My first day in TX I managed to get to the bookstores. I found none of the books I was looking for on the shelves at two different chains' stores.

In desperation I picked up Furies of Calderon (book 128), noting that the sequels were available should I like the first. I did. Today I finished the sequel, Academ's Fury (book 129), and I'm now into the third book, Cursor's Fury. These are keepers for me -- I'm looking forward to my re-read! :)

Has anyone read any of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden's novels? They seem like they'd be pretty different from what I'm reading now by him, but these are pretty good stories so I expect the writing would be good at least even if I didn't like the story.

>154 suslyn:: Susan, I've read all of the Dresden books so far and would definitely recommend them. They're quite different from the Codex Alera books...which I also enjoy, btw...but well-written and quite fun.

Where the Alera books are set in a completely fantasy setting and cover the grand wars of the continent, the Dresden books are about a rather smart-mouthed wizard fighting the good fight in Chicago. I ripped through the first five or six in a row to catch up and then have bought each one as it comes out. There was a slight sag by about #9 or #10...almost like he's vamping while he figures out how to head in some new directions that are being hinted. These were definitely still fun...just not quite as good as the first 8 or so. I'm quite confident things will pick back up after he makes the gear change—he had just reached that point where it was time to take the characters elsewhere to avoid repeating himself.

On the Alera front, I got Princep's Fury for Christmas. I'm dying to pick it up, but I have an Early Reviewer book to do and have joined one of the Book Club groups here and have to discipline myself!! :-)

Butcher is rapidly becoming the fantasy author on whom I can rely the most.

Edit: the inevitable typos

Started trying to do a summary of my year's reading. Not possible for me at this point. I need excel or something. Also, this list isn't complete so I'll just try to do it in 2009. But the attempt at this excercise did tell me something: I need more information on my non-reviews, at least including the genre. Happy New Year to you all -- we're off to Missouri to celebrate with friends.

Hope you have a great New Year, Susan!!

All posts now on my 2009 75 book thread :) Hope to see you there!