Member: jjmcgaffey

A School for Sorcery is the first published book in the Arucadi series. The other two that have been published are A Perilous Power, the second book but actually a prequel to School, and When the Beast Ravens, the third book and sequel to both. The fourth book is written but Tor declined to publish it. I'm thinking seriously about posting it on my web site one chapter a week until the whole novel is available (archived).

By the way, we share a lot of the same favorite authors.

posted by elenora at 5:46 pm (EST) on Oct 27, 2009

hmm, 'antitheritical' wasn't too speshific and can't edit these comments, it seems.
Hows-about: I am an atheist when it comes to the religion called series filling the warehouse-sized cathedrals, errr, modern bookstores.

hope you get my drift, oh well-read one, and are still willing to help me out despite my improvrishment...

posted by mike61n94w at 7:40 pm (EST) on Sep 25, 2009

thx for the comeback, jjmcgee.
Guess I need to be a tad more speshific. I am 'antitheritical' when it comes to series. But I am keenly interested in finding new digs or authors new to me via a good debut novel or good debut universe. Before the author turns or gets turned to getting paid by the word, that is. Thanks for the suggestions and I'll dig a bit more thru your library.

posted by mike61n94w at 7:32 pm (EST) on Sep 25, 2009

Thank you for directions on rolling dem touchstones, jjmc-gee. Say, can you suggest debut sf&f titles that took a while before the series took off or came to be? Such as Sharon Lee, Agent of Change... per your review. Scrolled some of the way thru your plethora, wow.

posted by mike61n94w at 8:24 pm (EST) on Sep 12, 2009

In a talk thread, you mentioned being interested in 1066. May I recommend The Last English King by Julian Rathbone. It is a clever historical novel.

posted by TheoClarke at 5:26 am (EST) on Aug 14, 2009

Thanks for the offer re: website space, but I'm currently expecting so I honestly can't be bothered with this stuff any more. I won't have time to do stuff for myself for some time. Nothing but sewing baby blankets and burp cloths for me for a while.

I noticed you also teach fingerloop braiding (I do that too) and thought you might be interested in a new book that came out recently http://takvbowes.et-tu.com/ I'm hoping to pick up a copy but haven't gotten around to it yet. If you do get a copy, please tell me how it is!

posted by evethejust at 2:48 pm (EST) on Jul 24, 2009

Hi, you were looking for the new location of my tablet weaving website back in May and I didn't get back to you. Sorry, I don't check my messages here very often. That said, asking the day before the faire was leaving it a little to the last minute. Also, am jealous that you got to go to one this year as they have apparently canceled the Austin one for 2009 - sigh.

Yes, it is still out there on the web but in a new location. However, it's on Geocities and I have just been informed that they are going to shut down their free hosting in October, so it won't be there long. And my current ISP doesn't provide hosting (growl).

http://geocities.com/evethejust/weaving.... is the basic weaving portal with all the links in the sidebar.
http://geocities.com/evethejust/pbtablet... is the current location of the printer-friendly beginner instructions, which is what most people ask for.

I'm currently working on converting it for hosting on http://www.florilegium.org/ where it should have a permanent home. I've given up on trying to host it myself. I'm not yet sure what pages he'll keep, but it will certainly be less than what I've got now. Probably just the beginner instructions and pattern gallery. Keep an eye on that site and feel free to poke around it. Stefan hosts a lot of good info there.

posted by evethejust at 1:07 am (EST) on Jul 22, 2009

Thank you. I'll give it a try.

posted by msmit1861 at 6:17 pm (EST) on Jun 29, 2009

Never did get it to work.

posted by msmit1861 at 10:07 am (EST) on Jun 28, 2009

Thanks for the correction. (Trying to get to my record to correct it from the list of books we share was complicated.)

No I'm not in SCA. I might have been if I'd stayed in the US, though. The M is the top of my 'brag' sampler. I did it years ago before meeting up with a group of Compuserve stitchers in London. Each letter of my name is in a different technique. The full thing isn't on the web now, but I have a blog at http://marthajeanne.blogspot.com/ I do a little bit of several things, less and less real embroidery as the good shops in Vienna close. The blackwork is largely inspired by Linn Skinner, who I met on Compuserve, and has become a really good friend. I followed her here. She does a lot of blackwork books, both her own designs, and reprints of historical books from her collection. And going through the Victoria and Albert textile gallery with her is a real revelation. (When I describe things I see on the blog, I'm trying to show Linn what I have seen.)

Just for the record. I tried the nerd test, and also got 87 for Science/ Math. Only 94 for History Lit. and my others were way worse than yours. Still I haven't totally shamed my menfolk. (Husband retired computer manager, son 1 techie for a Maine college, son 2 in Navy headed for Computer or electronics, son 3 still in high school.)

posted by MarthaJeanne at 1:33 pm (EST) on Jun 21, 2009

The list of books we share is fascinating.

The only real problem with narrowboating is that if you are working the locks, your hands can get covered in machine oil, which is not conducive to spending the miles to the next lock on stitching. Ah, well, we can't have everything.

posted by MarthaJeanne at 1:28 am (EST) on Jun 18, 2009

Hi, I am trying to help my father. He is looking for the “little Orphan Annie” comic strips that ran when he was younger that had Annie running a Newspaper Stand. According to my dad, Annie was constantly besieged by thugs and someone (Mr. Am, The Asp?) came to her rescue. Do you know anything at all about this series? Do you know if this story is in Harold Gray's Little Orphan Annie Volume Two? Any help at all would be appreciated. Thank you, Art.

posted by ArtBilek at 11:20 am (EST) on May 12, 2009

Thanks so much for getting back to me so fast - it is *very* much appreciated!

posted by bellinghwoman at 7:31 pm (EST) on Apr 17, 2009

Hi,

I would like to ask a favour regarding a book you have recently catalogued. I see that you have recently added 'Mindblast' by Diane Duane & Peter Morwood to your catalogue - I was asked a question about its copyright, but don't have a copy myself, so 'added' it to my library to see who actually did have it. I would be most grateful if you could tell me whether the book is copyright Peter Morwood and Diane Duane, or if it is copyright Bill Fawcett & Associates.

Many thanks,

bellinghwoman

posted by bellinghwoman at 6:28 am (EST) on Apr 17, 2009

Being of Two Minds is wonderful. I'd send you a spare copy if I still had one, but I foisted it on a friend already. :)

posted by infiniteletters at 9:20 am (EST) on Mar 31, 2009

Enjoyed your review of Memory. I see we have over a hundred more books in common than when I last left you a comment, up to 436. I'm actually your top weighted member at this point! And you have a lot of my favorites that aren't that common, like Ansen Dibell and Needle by Hal Clement.

posted by ronincats at 1:51 pm (EST) on Nov 26, 2008

Hi,
I was going to try and reread that bit in Passages to see if it still hit me the same way, but it just won’t happen until after New Year. I saw some of your books listed as I was adding stuff to my library – in the “back to the land” area or maybe organics, so I stopped by to browse. Your reviews had me rolling on the floor. What you said about one of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s books – no editor would stand up to her! And did she get paid by the word in her final books? Why else did she stop using contractions? Very awkward. I looked for your review of Passages but didn’t see it (I was just leafing through). If I need a new SF writer to read, I’ll check out what you have – many I’ve never read before. And I liked your cookbook section, too. And you like Marvin Harris! Sorry this is disjointed, it’s late. But books are so beguiling!

posted by jhwmsls at 1:06 am (EST) on Nov 7, 2008

Yeah, I tried that. But then all my Google news was British news! Ugh.

posted by Morphidae at 4:17 pm (EST) on Oct 21, 2008

The ground ripping. I know she was being held captive, but couldn't he have ground-ripped the bad guy's arm instead of his spine? Well, maybe when the next one comes out, she'll talk more about that.

posted by jhwmsls at 2:57 pm (EST) on Oct 7, 2008

Hi,
I took the plunge and made my library public. I really like your ratings (above) and the way you've done your tags. It gives me something to think about.
What did you think about Lois McMaster Bujold's Passage (vol 3 of The Sharing Knife)? I have problems with this one because of the majic that Dag uses.

posted by jhwmsls at 3:22 pm (EST) on Oct 6, 2008

Hi, Actually it's not my cuecat. It's my dads and he's many states away so I can't really help him. He would never come on here and ask a question himself so I did it for him. He got it from LT so I believe that is has not been declawed. I highly doubt that he would attempt to declaw it either. I sent him the link to the help page for cuecat so maybe he'll read that and be able to figure something out. Thanks for the info on the GD group and how to join groups. I don't think I'll be able to make it to the event but I appreciate the invite. I'll have to check out some other groups too, just haven't had a chance yet. Thanks again!

posted by pookie_97 at 1:01 pm (EST) on Oct 2, 2008

Hi, thanks for the comment. Unfortunately I haven't gotten any kind of response about my question with the CueCat and Vista. I haven't a clue what the problem could be, it worked just fine on my mac. Anyway, I don't know what the Green Dragon is? I'm very new to LT. I'm still trying to figure out how to get my series to list in order. I haven't figured out how to join any groups yet either. Advice for the newbie?? I haven't had a chance yet to go through your library but the 3k or so books you have is impressive. I thought I had a lot with my 568 ;) I'm always trying to expand though, lol. I'll have to make time to take a closer look. Thanks again for your comment, hopefully someone will be able to help me with my question.

posted by pookie_97 at 1:47 am (EST) on Sep 26, 2008

Re: Todd McCaffrey Perns

I haven't actually read them yet. They are a fairly recent acquisition via eBay, and life has conspired to keep me from reading them, yet. I am curious to see how I perceive them compared to Anne's. I find Renegades to be more of a disturbance to me than Skies, so I may fall in the "like them" camp. I'll let you know when I get to them :)

posted by ElementalDragon at 10:21 am (EST) on Sep 13, 2008

You know you love a bookpusher! =)

If we're not here to corrupt one another, what then? =P But I do promise it's a good book.

posted by stephmo at 8:11 pm (EST) on Aug 28, 2008

I don't think I told you about it - I've been having it checked out from the library in shame all summer! In all honesty, it's worth the cost for the layout alone - just being able to see a vegetable and all the preserving methods available (icons) with notes is more than most give you.

The paperback is $11.50 at Amazon - well worth it.

I have been on this kick lately about trying to learn how to "live off the land" and whatnot (only so I know I know how to make things, not for real-real as I love air conditioning too much). I went through a lot of preserving books and this one made the cut. =)

posted by stephmo at 9:33 pm (EST) on Aug 26, 2008

Glad I showed you something new.

Hey! we have a lot in common. I need to check out your library more carefully some time.

posted by MarthaJeanne at 5:04 am (EST) on Jul 8, 2008

Regarding the Ace Science Fiction Special series - there are 3 of them, I think, but a plural for "series" sounds a bit awkward.

I think it's tidier to indicate a series with a series rather than a tag, but I won't waste a lot of energy on it if the majority goes the other way on a particular series. I *had* thought that at least the books in the 2nd and 3rd series were created for the Ace Science Fiction Special label, which I thought was enough to justify adding them to a series.

posted by DisassemblyOfReason at 12:03 am (EST) on Jun 19, 2008

Thanks for the feedback on the Gandalara Cycle II book. Yes, it was very odd, and I just wondered if it was also unusual!

posted by ronincats at 10:42 am (EST) on Jun 9, 2008

It's not SCA-worthy, but I had to mention to someone else who would appreciate it that yesterday I found (for $2.00!) a copy of Jean Garside's Deft Fingers: The Handbook of Home Crafts, published in London in 1949. It's a very cool little book which seems to assume that every homemaker should be able to make rugs, toys, leather materials, baskets, pottery, books, weavings, printings of all kinds, and more. It's fully illustrated by the author and includes b&w photographs and is completely indexed. I just didn't know who else would appreciate this little gem for the library addition it is so I had to pm you! Oh, and the original price is marked as 9s. 6d. just for added smiles.

posted by LeesyLou at 8:17 am (EST) on Jun 6, 2008

Thanks Jennifer,

Yep, found the local LT section. I do have to shop in Monterey area, they have lost a couple books stores also recently. The numbers are dwindling quickly. Only two left used book stores and they are not great for the type of books I like to read. Borders is dominate I only use them as a last resort. A great new/used book store is Logo's in Santa Cruz well worth a trip to the city where time forgot. I understand Berkeley has some great stores but an wary about making a trip there as they have parking and people problems. Also feel the selection of books would be a bit one-sided.

Late August I am going to Smith's Family bookstore in Eugene, OR and maybe to Powell's in Portland OR. They are the best. I bet England is covered in bookstores!

Susan

posted by sgerbic at 11:26 am (EST) on May 12, 2008

LOL - Funny how you get the idea about gender without really thinking about it. Okay Jennifer, how is it that you have over 3K books? That is a heckalot of reading.

Like any new thing it takes a bit to figure out how to do things. Thanks for your friendly feedback.

Yes, Google books looked great at first, I have some friends on another forum that were using it, some were here on LT. I picked the wrong one, and wasted so much time getting that set up. There is no social avenue, and no statistics (I like numbers) as with LT. You can not search for someone's library and you can not search for a book in your own library (even if you are looking right at it).

The good part with Google is that you can search inside any book from any library they had scanned. I guess that could come in handy? Anyway, I hope I am happy here, I badly need to have an outlet to discuss books in. Living so close to Salinas I'm sure you remember that we almost lost our libraries. We almost have no book stores (new or used) in my area. Salinas just isn't a literate town, very sad. In fact when in San Jose I like to shop at Recycled Books on Alameda.

Susan

posted by sgerbic at 1:35 am (EST) on May 11, 2008

thanks a lot for your kind comment... I am aware of the common knowledge "series" option, but it *does* work strangely - e.g. I collect some stuff in German, some in English, but if I add the series info I will get all the titles in the language I am logged in, regardless of the original title or the language my books are in. Right now I am using tags instead of the series info in most parts - and yes, I do have several copies of Helliconia, since they are part of different scifi editions I collect.

Trying to track a collection is almost impossible with the series info since it doesn't differentiate between languages or even editions.

posted by dhania at 3:56 pm (EST) on May 6, 2008

Hi!

Noticed that you posted a message about Lois M Bujold on the SF group, and I just love LMB. The Vorkosigan series is one of the very few series of books that I have ever reread. I think Memory is my favorite. I've reread that one several times.

You just seemed like someone with similar tastes who might be fun to friend.

TK

posted by TKKenyon at 1:01 pm (EST) on Mar 25, 2008

Thanks for the heads-up on my typos. I can't figure out how to edit or delete, but I added another comment with the correction.

posted by mayaspector at 12:39 pm (EST) on Mar 8, 2008

Hi Jim, Sorry about Black Oak, not sure how that happened. I can't figure out how to get back to that venue either. --Jed

posted by jedharris at 4:04 pm (EST) on Mar 3, 2008

I saw your review of Anne Gracie's Tallie's Knight, and saw that you had enjoyed it. I thought I might point you toward what I think is the best of her work - The Perfect Rake. I found it both hysterically funny and touching. I hope you like it if you pick it up.
:-)
Alana

posted by Caramellunacy at 5:49 pm (EST) on Feb 6, 2008

Found you through a comment you left on another's page and I enjoyed browsing your library. Saw a few new books I'm going to have to check out.

posted by DevilandtheSea at 1:59 pm (EST) on Dec 7, 2007

Ah, hm, that's interesting. I am not rabid about spoilers like some people are, but given the option I'll usually pass. I prefer not to know what's going to happen in a book, movie, tv show, whatever, that I'm going to watch/read (of course, if I'm not planning to watch or read it, I don't mind at all).

Of course, that said, anything I like I will re-read or -watch until I'm tired of it (including tv episodes when they're available - I watched Love Hurts and 5:55, my two favorite Blood Ties eps, over and over again after they were first aired).

Well, I hope you like the show. I enjoy Tanya's episode reviews, they're fun to read and I agree with a lot of her perspectives.

posted by bluesalamanders at 6:21 pm (EST) on Nov 15, 2007

Oh! Gotcha. Interesting. I thought that actress was a little annoying, personally, but maybe she'd clean up well...and that's not to say she was bad, because she certainly was not.

Have you watched the show yet? Because those are spoiler-ridden, plot-twist-ruining discussions, if you haven't. If you have, then it's great to see what she thinks of them (for instance, we have the same favorite episodes - Love Hurts and 5:55).

posted by bluesalamanders at 9:20 pm (EST) on Nov 13, 2007