Ronincats' Reading and Craft Autumnal Productions VIII

This is a continuation of the topic Ronincats' Reading and Craft Summer Relaxations VII.

This topic was continued by Ronincats' Final Thread for 2014 IX.

Talk75 Books Challenge for 2014

Join LibraryThing to post.

Ronincats' Reading and Craft Autumnal Productions VIII

This topic is currently marked as "dormant"—the last message is more than 90 days old. You can revive it by posting a reply.

1ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 12:08 am



Mount Ranier as our cruise ship leaves Seattle

Hi, I'm Roni, and this is my 7th year in the 75 Book Challenge group. I read heavily in science fiction and fantasy, with a side dish of non-fiction and a sprinkling of mystery and romance. This year I'll be participating in the Lois McMaster Bujold year-long Vorkosigan read, the Arabian Nights read, the Harry Potter series reread, the American Authors monthly read (at least for some of the authors), the Science, Religion & History quarterly read, and The Culture group read, for starters. I typically read about 150 books and 50,000 pages a year. I also play around with pottery, beading and wirework, crochet, garden and pets, so pictures thereof will be sprinkled throughout my threads and can be found in my member gallery.

My final thread of 2013 is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/161637

My 2014 threads:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/170681 2/22/14-4/9/14
http://www.librarything.com/topic/167738 1/22/14-2/22/14
http://www.librarything.com/topic/162722 1/1/14-1/22/14
and there are more...

2ronincats
Edited: Sep 24, 2014, 12:09 am

Goals and tickers:











3ronincats
Edited: Oct 28, 2014, 7:30 pm

Books Read in 2014:

January
1. Indexing by Seanan McGuire (420 pp.)
2. If the Shoe Fits by Laurie LeClair (244 pp.)
3. Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold (313 pp.)
4. Hexed by Kevin Hearne (296 pp.)
5. Dragonwriter: A Tribute to Anne McCaffrey and Pern edited by Todd McCaffrey
6. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (297 pp.)
7. Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling (309 pp.)
8. The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer (234 pp.)
9. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold (389 pp.)
10. The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (315 pp.)
11. The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold (345 pp.)
12. Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold (302 pp.)
13. Grimoire of the Lamb/The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne (99 pp.)
14. The Librarian: Little Boy Lost by Eric Hobbs (98 pp.)
15. Longbourn by Jo Baker (332 pp.)

February
16. Bastion by Mercedes Lackey (342 p.)
17. The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson (433 pp.)
18. Frederica by Georgette Heyer (437 pp.)
19. The Arabian Nights by Hassan Haddawy (428 pp.)
20. Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch (320 pp.)
21. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (309 pp.)
22. The Silvered by Tanya Huff (484 pp.)
23. Before the Dawn by Nicholas Wade (179 pp.)
24. Carousel Sun by Sharon Lee (366 pp.)
25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (341 pp.)

March
26. Hammered by Kevin Hearne (312 pp.)
27. Mr. Wuffles by David Weisner (30 pp.)
28. Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold (311 pp.)
29. Tricked by Kevin Hearne (370 pp.)
30. Half-Off Ragnorak by Seanan McGuire (368 pp.)
31. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (396 pp.)
32. The Soul Mirror by Carol Berg (515 pp.)
33. Trapped by Kevin Hearne (322 pp.)
34. The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks (309 pp.)
35. Serendipity's Tide by L. Shelby (233 pp.)
36. Treachery's Harbor by L. Shelby (194 pp.)

April
37. Fealty’s Shore by L. Shelby (248 pp.)
38. The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski (265 pp.)
39. Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code by Bart Ehrman (197 pp.)
40. What Makes This Book So Great by Jo Walton (446 pp.)
41. The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer (272 pp.)
42. The Celestial Globe by Marie Rutkowski (293 pp.)
43. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor (332 pp.)
44. Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett (381 pp.)
45. The Jewel of the Kalderash by Marie Rutkowski (320 pp.)
46. Hiero's Journey by Sterling Lanier (318 pp.)
47. The Unforsaken Hiero by Sterling Lanier (240 pp.)
48. Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold (338 pp.)
49. Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer (304 pp.)
50. The Normans by Lars Brownworth (210 pp.)
51. The Warlock's Curse by M. K. Hobson (398 pp.)
52. A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (353 pp.)
53. Fall of Light by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (307 pp.)

May
54. The Doomsday Vault by Steven Harper (381 pp.)
55. Eight Million Gods by Wen Spencer (355 pp.)
56. Cinder by Marissa Meyer (390 pp.)
57. A Natural History of Dragons (334 pp.)
58. Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach (330 pp.)
59. A Change of Heart by Candice Hern (276 pp.)
60. Disenchanted & Co. by Lynn Viehl (417 pp.)
61. Hunted by Kevin Hearne (384 pp.)
62. Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal (364 pp.)
63. Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear (336 pp.)
64. Limits of Power by Elizabeth Moon (492 pp.)
65. Crown of Renewal by Elizabeth Moon (503 pp.)
66. The Sea of Time by P. C. Hodgell (395 pp.)
67. Shattered Pillars by Elizabeth Bear (333 pp.)

June
68. Arabian Nights II translated by Husain Haddawy (266 pp.)
69. Steles of the Sky by Elizabeth Bear (429 pp.)
70. Dust Girl by Saray Zettel (290 pp.)
71. The River Kings' Road by Liane Merciel (431 pp.)
72. The Daemon Prism by Carol Berg (498 pp.)
73. Getting Schooled by Garret Keizer (302 pp.)
74. Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer (333 pp.)
75. The Martian by Andy Weir (369 pp.)
76. My Real Children by Jo Walton (320 pp.)
77. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (446 pp.)
78. Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard (348 pp.)
79. Spirits That Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (306 pp.)
80. Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (392 pp.)

July
81. Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold (462 pp)
82. On Basilisk Station by David Weber (432 pp.)
83. Shattered by Kevin Hearne (332 pp.)
84. What Matters in Jane Austen? by John Mullan (353 pp.)
85. The Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner (319 pp.)
86. Legacy by James H. Schmitz (346 pp.)
87. The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde (289 pp.)
88. Artemis Awakening by Jane Lindskold (304 pp.)
89. A Taste of Poison by Aaron Kite (234 pp.)
90. Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold (311 pp.)
91. A Civil Campaigne by Lois McMaster Bujold (405 pp.)
92. Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold (307 pp.)
93. The Vorkosigan Companion Lilian Stewart Carl (ed.) (469 pp.)
94. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (273 pp.)
95. Of Darkness, Light, and Fire by Tanya Huff (513 pp.)
96. A Marginal Jew: Volume IV by John P. Meier (667 pp.)
97. Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey (388 pp.)
98. Across the Great Barrier by Patricia Wrede (357 pp.)
99. Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff (410 pp.)

August
100. Quest for Kim by Peter Hopkirk (273 pp.)
101. The Ripper Affair by Lilith Saintcrow (386 pp.)
102. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor (334 pp.)
103. A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin (464 pp.)
104. The Rhesus Chart by Charles Stross (359 pp.)
105. Sorcery & Cecilia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (320 pp.)
106. The Grand Tour by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (469 pp.)
107. The Mislaid Magician by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (328 pp.)
108. Blood Red by Mercedes Lackey (312 pp.)
109. Buried Deep by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (372 pp.)
110. The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan (331 pp.)
111. The Golden City by J. Kathleen Cheney (385 pp.)
112. Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce (310 pp.)
113. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (329 pp.)
114. Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones (298 pp.)
115. Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron (315 pp.)
116. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones (404 pp.)

September
117. The Seat of Magic by J. Kathleen Cheney (384 pp.)
118. The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness (561 pp.)
119. The Far West by Patricia Wrede (378 pp.)
120. California Bones by Greg Van Eekhout (302 pp.)
121. The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire (358 pp.)
122. Libriomancer by Jim Hines (359 pp.)
123. Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire (307 pp.)
124. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor (292 pp.)
125. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (304 pp.)
126. Buffalito Contingency by Lawrence Schoen (274 pp.)
127. Splendors and Glooms by Laura Ann Schlitz (400 pp.)
128. Second Star by Dana Stabenow (208 pp.)
129. Ike: An American Hero by Michael Korda (802 pp.)
130. Vengeance in Death by J. D. Robb (388 pp.)
131. Aunt Dimity: Snowbound by Nancy Atherton (257 pp.)
132. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (464 pp.)
133. Love Songs from a Shallow Grave by Colin Cotterill (326 pp.)

October
134. The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason (353 pp.)
135. The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin (553 pp.)
136. A Red Heart of Memories by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (329 pp.)
137. Past the Size of Dreaming by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (342 pp.)
138. Hawk by Steven Brust (320 pp.)
139. The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White (358 pp.)
140. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (417 pp.)
141. Clariel by Garth Nix (383 pp.)
142. How We Learn by Benedict Carey (228 pp.)
143. The Neon Court by Kate Griffin (509 pp.)
144. Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth (495 pp.)

4ronincats
Edited: Oct 28, 2014, 7:42 pm

Books Acquired in 2014:

January
1. Hell and Earth by Elizabeth Bear
2. Forty Thousand in Gehenna by C. J. Cherryh
3. Aunt Dimity: Snowbound by Nancy Atherton
4. The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson
5. Legacy by James H. Schmitz
6. Changer by Jane Lindskold
7. Dragon's Kin by Anne and Todd McCaffrey
8. Desolation Road by Ian McDonald
9. Grimoire of the Lamb/The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne
10. Magnificent Devices 4-book set by Shelley Adina

February
11. Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch
12. Carousel Sun by Sharon Lee

13. Shannivar by Deborah J. Ross

March
14. Beast Master’s Circus by Andre Norton (301 pp.)
15. Destroyer by C. J. Cherryh (406 pp.)
16. Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds (580 pp.)
17. Spin by Robert Wilson (452 pp.)
18, Tricked by Kevin Hearne (370 pp.)
19. Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire (368 pp.)
20. Oath of Fealty by Elizabeth Moon (497 pp.)

21. Buffalito Destiny by Lawrence Schoen (308 pp.)
22. Buffalito Contingency by Lawrence Schoen (274 pp.)
23. Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett (381 pp.)
24. The Daemon Prism by Carol Berg (498 pp.)
25. Trapped by Kevin Hearne (322 pp.)
26. Disenchanted & Co by Lynn Viehl (417 pp.)


April
27. The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke (254 pp.)
28. Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code by Bart Ehrman (197 pp.)
29. Of Darkness, Light and Fire by Tanya Huff (513 pp.)

30. Rise of a Hero by Hilari Bell (578 pp.)
31. The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
32. The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu

May
33. Forging the Sword by Hilari Bell (608 pp.)
32. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (352 pp.)
34. The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan (331 pp.)

35. Summerland by Michael Chabon (500 pp.)
36. China Court by Rumor Godden (304 pp.)
37. Super Finishing Techniques for Crocheters by Betty Barnden (128 pp.)
38. The Hidden Queen by Alma Alexander
39. Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready (309 pp.)
40. Hunted by Kevin Hearne
41. Grunt Life by Weston Ochse (420 pp.)
42. Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal
43. Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire

44. Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
45. Getting Schooled by Garret Keizer (299 pp.)
46. Crown of Renewal by Elizabeth Moon

47. Edwin High King of Britain by Eduardo Albert
48. The Sea of Time by P. C. Hodgell

June
49. Sinai Tapestry by Edward Whittemore
50. Moon Dreams by Brad Strickland
51. Off To Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer (387 pp.)
52. The Science of Discworld by Terry Pratchett etal. (385 pp.)

July
53. Ike by Michael Korda
54. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
55. What Matters in Jane Austen? by John Mullan
56. The Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner

57. Mere Humanity by Donald Williams (165 pp.)
58. Waking the Moon by Elizabeth Hand
59. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor

August
60. How We Learn by Benedict Carey
61. Sorcery & Cecilia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
62. The Grand Tour by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

63. Fantasy Stories by Diana Wynne Jones (ed.)
64. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor
65. Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

66. City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
67. The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin
68. The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason
69. The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White
70. Hawk by Steven Brust

71. Zombie Elementary by Howard Whitehouse
72. Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen by Garth Nix
73. A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin
74. The Neon Court by Kate Griffin

75. Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

5ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 12:09 am

welcome

6Storeetllr
Edited: Sep 24, 2014, 12:24 am

Sneaking in again to say Happy New Thread and that I love the pic of Mt. Ranier up top there!

7ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 12:30 am

Thanks, Mary! I've got more!

Before I start with trip pictures, though, I went by the pottery last night and picked up these pieces that I glazed before I left.


New visitors, check out my list of vacation reading in the last post on the last thread!

8ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 12:39 am

We started off at the Santa Fe station in San Diego and took the Surfliner up to LA, with lots of ocean views from the coach windows. Here's a shot in Camp Pendleton.
">

9ronincats
Edited: Sep 24, 2014, 12:48 am

In LA, we switched to the Coast Starliner and our sleeping quarters. Luckily, we weren't confined to them.


There is another seat on the right, behind the bathroom. We had the parlor car and the observation car to ride in as well. We ate most of our meals in the parlor car rather than the dining car--the food was good. The upper bunk let down for me to sleep on at night. The sleeping rooms without the bathroom were half the size of this. We started at 6:05 Wednesday morning and were scheduled to reach Seattle at 8:30 Thursday evening, but due to a 4 hour delay in San Jose where they were checking track, we got in at one in the morning on Friday. Very scenic and much better than driving.

10ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 12:52 am

There were many more ocean vistas between Ventura and Santa Barbara.

Then there were the hills of Lompoc.
and central California, away from the roads and towns...

11ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 12:55 am

But because of the delay, we got to see Mount Shasta. Otherwise we would have passed it in the dark.

12ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 12:57 am

And finally we trundled into Seattle and to bed at our hotel. When we woke up, here's the view from our hotel balcony.

13ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 12:58 am

Lunch at Pike's Place Market (Lowell's, wonderful seafood), with a view.

14ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 12:59 am

More tomorrow!

15jjmcgaffey
Sep 24, 2014, 2:28 am

Re: your vacation reading:
I like the Star Svensdotter series - it has problems (like all-powerful benevolent aliens), but Star herself is a wonderful character. I own all three books in paperback - at least one is the original edition, I think the other two are reprints (so it wasn't quite such a resounding thud).

Princess of the Midnight Ball was my first George, not my last. They are fun.

The others look interesting (I haven't yet read the first St. Mary's, I'll get to it eventually).

16Cobscook
Sep 24, 2014, 5:41 am

Hi Roni! I'm loving your vacation pictures. We would like to do an Alaskan cruise someday but until then I will live vicariously through you!

From your last thread: I absolutely loved the deep dish pie plate you made!

17scaifea
Sep 24, 2014, 6:29 am

Oh, lovely vacation photos, Roni! I love traveling by sleeper car, which is the only way I would travel to conferences when I was still working.

Happy New Thread, friend.

18foggidawn
Sep 24, 2014, 8:04 am

Happy new thread!

19jnwelch
Sep 24, 2014, 10:11 am

Congrats on the new thread, Roni! Enjoying your cruise/Seattle report and photos. We love Seattle. Our favorite cafe was Black Coffee, but we heard it was closing. Hope you have time to get to Elliot Bay Books.

20lunacat
Sep 24, 2014, 2:35 pm

I'll take the cat and the teapot please :)

21ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 3:38 pm

Jenn, I certainly liked the first book well enough to follow up with the other two. Unfortunately, they aren't free like the first one!

Heidi, enjoy! And thanks.

Amber, they are cramped for two, though. My husband couldn't believe how small ours was--until he saw the smaller size.

Thanks, foggi

Joe, see the final vacation picture, when I get it posted.

Hey, Jenny, good to see you around! Good looking pair, aren't they?

Okay, to continue. You've already seen the picture of the top of Mount Rainier looming over the Sound as we pull away from Seattle on our cruise ship, the Holland America Westerdam. Here's the view of Seattle at the same time:




On the sound as dusk approaches

22ronincats
Edited: Sep 24, 2014, 3:39 pm



And out into the Pacific.

23ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 3:42 pm

A foggy morning heading into Juneau...



But it clears nicely as we disembark.


And it's off to the salmon hatchery.

24ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 3:43 pm

The view from the hatchery

And an aquarium inside...

25ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 3:45 pm

And then off to the Mendenhall Glacier.

26ronincats
Edited: Sep 24, 2014, 3:47 pm

The next day, we sail into Glacier Bay National Park and proceed the 65 nautical miles up to first one glacier and then the other branch to the other main tidal glacier.


The view at lunch from our dining room table this is at the stern of the ship):

27ronincats
Edited: Sep 24, 2014, 3:50 pm

And then the Margerie Glacier.

28ronincats
Edited: Sep 24, 2014, 3:54 pm

They opened the deck on the bow of the ship for glacier gazing.
And then we proceed up the West Fork to the John Hopkins glacier--something that is accessible only a few days each season.

29ronincats
Sep 24, 2014, 3:59 pm



And then back down to the entrance to the park...

At Sitka, the boat used its tenders to ferry us to shore.

Sitka was my favorite landing, with the best shops.

Our only rainy day was at Ketchikan, where it evidently always rains.
We went up on Creek Street.

30ronincats
Edited: Sep 24, 2014, 4:02 pm

And then back to Seattle for a day, before flying home to San Diego. And guess what I did in Seattle that day!


You can't see the books I bought, but they were City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett thanks to Peggy, and the sequel to A Madness of Angels, The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin.

31jnwelch
Sep 24, 2014, 4:04 pm

>30 ronincats: :-)

Looks like a wonderful trip, Roni. Thanks for posting the great photos.

32Storeetllr
Sep 24, 2014, 4:18 pm

Oh! What breathtaking images, especially the glorious ones of the glaciers! So happy for you to have seen them before they are gone. Wish I could take a cruise up that way ~ but I am grateful you posted your wonderful pictures so I could travel there vicariously.

33lunacat
Sep 24, 2014, 4:30 pm

Wow, some absolutely gorgeous pictures. Looks like quite an experience with stunning views. The water is so clear and reflective, I think I could lose myself for hours watching it. And pretty amazing skies as well.

Don't think I'd like an Alaskan cruise as I'm permanently on the cold side anyway and that would be a step too far I fear. My poor body is better in the tropics where I can finally get warm all the way through. Alaska looks immense though - a last wilderness, and I'm always up for a bit of the wilds. Who knows what it will look like 50 years from now, very different I would imagine.

34DeltaQueen50
Sep 24, 2014, 6:31 pm

Great pictures, Roni, you've brought back some wonderful memories. So great that you had such excellent weather, much better than the last time you were up here in the Pacific Northwest!

35qebo
Sep 24, 2014, 8:37 pm

A well spent two weeks.

36AuntieClio
Sep 24, 2014, 8:54 pm

Thanks for sharing your pictures of your vacation. I loved my cruise through Alaska as well.

37Kassilem
Sep 24, 2014, 9:05 pm

Those are some great pictures :)

38Cobscook
Sep 25, 2014, 6:42 am

Oh wow! Stunning pictures, makes me want to go now! I love that you toured a salmon hatchery. We have visited a few here in Maine and I find them so interesting.

39drachenbraut23
Sep 25, 2014, 8:23 am

Hello Roni,

just stopping by to say Hello and admire as everyone else the beautiful photos of your holiday. Amazing pics, thank you for sharing them.

Looking forward to see your crafts and what you are reading again.

40LizzieD
Sep 25, 2014, 9:42 am

Roni, THANK YOU for the wonderful pictures! As I just said to Nathalie, your pictures and travelogues take me closer to exotic places than I'll ever get on my own. I enjoyed every minute!
I hope that you're as enthusiastic about *Stairs* as I was, and you remind me to be excited that my name has come up for a copy of A Madness of Angels, and I'm waiting for its owner to mail it to me!

41RebaRelishesReading
Sep 25, 2014, 11:30 am

Wonderful trip! Welcome home. We've been having wonderful weather while you were gone which, I hope, will continue now you're back.

42humouress
Sep 25, 2014, 3:05 pm

Wow!

43bell7
Sep 25, 2014, 3:23 pm

What beautiful photos! Thanks so much for sharing.

Looks like you read a nice bunch of books on your vacation... I'm quite bemused by your husband's comment, however. Isn't reading what vacation is for? :)

44SandDune
Sep 25, 2014, 4:45 pm

Lovely pictures Roni! I love glaciers. I'd love to do that trip.

45avatiakh
Sep 25, 2014, 5:12 pm

Enjoyed looking at all the pics of your trip.

46ronincats
Sep 25, 2014, 6:28 pm

Glad you enjoyed them, Joe. And Mary and Jenny and Judy and Katherine and Stephanie and Melissa and Heidi and Bianca (wow, great to see you around again!) and Peggy and Reba and Nina and Mary and Rhian and Kerry!

Mary, it's a comment only a nonreader could make.

So, now that I'm back home, I'm getting to serious work on my series reading for September Series and Sequels.



Book #130 Vengeance in Death by J. D. Robb (388 pp.)

I usually read two of these a year, one for Mystery March and one for September Series, although I missed the March one this year, and that timing suits me to a tee. The books are far enough apart that I can appreciate each as an individual without being so close they are repetitious. And it will take me 12 years to reach the end of the currently published ones. Sounds about right!



Book 131 Aunt Dimity: Snowbound by Nancy Atherton (257 pp.)

Ditto. These gentle cozies are amusing but not nutritious and I wouldn't want a constant diet, but the occasional one is charming.

47quinaquisset
Sep 25, 2014, 6:40 pm

My favorite pictures are the ones with the clouds and the shining sea. I'm glad you had a great time!

48lkernagh
Sep 25, 2014, 11:03 pm

Happy new thread, Roni!

>7 ronincats: - Love the pottery and the 'display model'. ;-)

I would love to travel by train. I have such wonderful - even if it is Hollywood and fiction books reading enhanced - images of train travel. The pictures of the small quarters doesn't deter me, although the reality of the constant noise and motion might.
Was your cruise through the inner passage or the outer passage? I am guessing the outer passage based on the pictures. never mind, you mention heading out into the Pacific.

Wonderful weather for your trip. I tend to be a lover of rain so even the shots of rainy Ketchikan look wonderful to me.

49NicolePatrick
Sep 26, 2014, 3:13 am

Hi, Roni. Congrats on the new thread! Your holiday looks like it was fantastic! What beautiful scenery, I hope you had the best of times :)

50streamsong
Sep 26, 2014, 9:16 am

Thank you for all the beautiful pictures! The glaciers are magnificent, and I loved the seals on the ice floe. And, it was great to see photos of you and your DH.

Am I remembering correctly that you went on a sort of similar cruise in the last year or two?

51mahsdad
Sep 26, 2014, 10:27 am

>28 ronincats: Loved the Alaska pix. Especially this set in Glacier Bay. We did a trip up there almost 20 years ago in a small cruise ship (only 36 passengers) and got to kayak out in front of that glacier.

Okay it was probably a mile away from that glacier, your sense of scale is all messed up when you look at those. That's a whole LOTTA ice.

Glad you had fun. I would go back there in a heartbeat.

52jnwelch
Sep 26, 2014, 12:24 pm

I love that in Death series, Roni. Unfortunately, I didn't show your wise restraint and instead raced through them, with the result that now I'm all caught up and waiting for the next one she writes.

53lunacat
Sep 26, 2014, 4:08 pm

I was fascinated reading about Creek Street and the fact it used to be the red light district for the town! It's things like that that really fire my imagination, and make me want to write a novel set there or something like that. Aren't humans funny, the way we are all the same and yet live such hugely different lives, including building houses on stilts for prostitutes!

54EBT1002
Sep 26, 2014, 7:49 pm

Roni! What gorgeous photos! Thank you for sharing. I love the images of Seattle, of course, but the Alaskan mountains and glaciers are amazing (although, really, the cat with your art work may win first prize). I really must go to Alaska before it's too late......

I also recognize that bookshop in >30 ronincats:. I'm glad you got to spend a little time in Elliot Bay Books. :-)

55LauraBrook
Sep 26, 2014, 9:52 pm

Roni! What beautifully wonderful pictures, thank you so much for sharing! Makes me want to go back to Alaska in a bad way. And I'm so glad you got to squeeze in some all-important book buying too. Wouldn't be a vacation without at least one new book, right? ;)

Hope you've readjusted to "real life" and are deeply into a fantastic book.

56brenpike
Sep 26, 2014, 10:15 pm

Beautiful pictures of your vacation sights. . . Glad you had a good time

57sibylline
Edited: Sep 27, 2014, 6:41 pm

Love the seals(?) lounging on the ice! It does look like a marvelous trip.

And I apologize because I lost yr. thread again somehow. It seems to slip off of my radar, not sure how.... well.... I know how.... it unstars or something.

58ronincats
Sep 28, 2014, 2:50 pm

Thanks for the picture love and the visit to QQ, Lori, Nicole, Janet, Jeff, Joe, Jenny, Ellen, Laura, Brenda and Lucy!



Book #132 Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (464 pp.)

This is really a fresh and original approach to fairy-tale inspired YA fiction. I'm still enjoying it in book 2 and wish there were not a waiting list at the library for Cress. Of course, I would still have to wait for Winter to be published.

59souloftherose
Sep 28, 2014, 4:47 pm

Amazing pictures from your holiday Roni! We're heading up to Scotland in a sleeper train soon for our holiday although ours will be a much shorter journey - only 12 hours on the train.

60Storeetllr
Edited: Sep 28, 2014, 8:09 pm

I love traveling by train! It's something I'm hoping to be able to do when I visit my family out Chicago way next year. I haven't slept in a sleeper car since I was a kid and traveled by train with my Grandma to visit family, but I still remember the wonder of it.

61kidzdoc
Sep 30, 2014, 7:24 am

Thanks for sharing those fabulous photos of your holiday with us, Roni!

62-Cee-
Sep 30, 2014, 11:13 am

Oh, Roni!
So far I haven't been tempted to go on an Alaskan cruise - but now!
Looking at your pictures is inspiring. And the train thing was a great idea... I'll remember that. Thanks for sharing your pictures and comments. It looks like a great vacation :-)
Welcome home...

63ronincats
Sep 30, 2014, 5:16 pm

Heather and Mary, I did enjoy the time on the train. It was so much better than driving that route, where the traffic is awful.

Daryll and Claudia, I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures.

Book #133 Love Songs from a Shallow Grave by Colin Cotterill I326 pp.)

Dr. Siri never fails to amaze. Parts of this book are very bleak, but the way Cotterill breaks it up allowed me to come through to the end.

64ronincats
Edited: Sep 30, 2014, 5:40 pm

September Summary:

For September Series and Sequels, I posted this at the beginning of the month.

Okay, I have some plans for September.

I'm going to read these library books that I have out now that are parts of series:

The Book of Life (All Souls 3) by Deborah Harkness
The Far West (Frontier Magic 3) by Patricia Wrede
The Seat of Magic (The Golden City 2) by J. Kathleen Cheney

Mid-month, I will be reading

A Second Chance (St. Mary's 3) by Jodi Taylor
The Winter Long (October Daye 8) by Seanan McGuire

plus I have a bunch of series books on my Kindle that I will likely access.

At the end of the month, I will continue these series with library books:

Love Songs from a Shallow Grave (Dr. Siri 7) by Colin Cotterill
A Red Herring Without Mustard (Flavia de Luce 3) by Alan Bradley


So, at the end of the month, this is what happened:

The Book of Life (All Souls 3) by Deborah Harkness
The Far West (Frontier Magic 3) by Patricia Wrede
The Seat of Magic (The Golden City 2) by J. Kathleen Cheney

A Second Chance (St. Mary's 3) by Jodi Taylor
The Winter Long (October Daye 8) by Seanan McGuire

Libriomancer by Jim Hines (book 1 of series)
Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire (book 1 of series)
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (book 1 of series)
Second Star by Dana Stabenow (book 1 of series)
Buffalito Contingency by Lawrence Schoen (book 2 read first by mistake)

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (book 2 in quartet)

Aunt Dimity: Snowbound by Nancy Atherton (book 9 in series)
Vengeance in Death by J. D. Robb (book 6 in series)

Love Songs from a Shallow Grave (Dr. Siri 7) by Colin Cotterill


A Red Herring Without Mustard (Flavia de Luce 3) by Alan Bradley continues to be on hold at the library for me.

I also read three books that were not in series--yet, although with two, there is definitely a possibility.

So the numbers:

Books read=17 Pages read=6364
Average pages per book=374 Average pages read per day=212

No rereads this month, all books were new for me. There was ONE book off the shelf.

7 books were library books, 6 were Kindle books (vacation!), and 4 were books I had purchased this year.

There was one massive nonfiction biography, 3 mysteries, 1 children's fantasy, 4 science fiction and 8 fantasy.

5 books by males, 12 by females.

Only one published prior to 2000. 6 published this year.

65avatiakh
Sep 30, 2014, 5:49 pm

You did very well in September. I have to say that I probably enjoyed Cress even more than Scarlet and can't wait for the next one to come out.

66Chatterbox
Sep 30, 2014, 9:28 pm

FABULOUS pictures! And what a wonderful trip!

A friend of mine was off on an Alaskan cruise in August (also Holland America, out of Seattle and back to Vancouver, I think?) and loved it. I'd like to travel up the coast of BC, and thence to Alaska -- a longish trip. One of these decades, mebbe.

I adore glacier-fed lakes and waters -- the colors... bliss.

I had to wonder, when I saw the first pic, whether you had glazed the cat as well... :-)

67cammykitty
Sep 30, 2014, 10:01 pm

Wow! Glaciers! Books! What more can you ask for on a vacation!

Aunt Dimity has been on my radar for awhile but I still haven't gotten around to it. Some day!!!

68humouress
Sep 30, 2014, 11:44 pm

>66 Chatterbox: I was thinking of posting 'love the cat - your best yet!' ;0)

Beautiful pictures, Roni. We had been thinking of finishing our US stint with a cruise with friends, but in the end, we couldn't fit it in (impending son number one, for one thing). Though I'm not sure about train rides, if the berths are that small.

69Chatterbox
Oct 1, 2014, 2:04 am

>68 humouress: I did a cross country train ride (in Canada) from Vancouver to Toronto -- three nights, four days. It was fab. A small single compartment, which they called a roomette. Yes, it was cramped, but they had the double decker observation cars, as well, and the dining car, and you can move around a lot. And it's no different, really, than sharing a larger compartment with five other people, as happens in Europe on overnight trips on a couchette coach. Actually, that's worse, because your knees bang into those of strangers, and you trip over their feet. In these little rooms, you've got a lot of privacy. And crossing the country was great, except that too much of the Rockies happens overnight... :-( You wake you and you're in Banff, pretty much.

LOL re the cat...

70humouress
Oct 1, 2014, 12:57 pm

I think train rides are a little way off, at the moment. This weekend we took a short trip to Malaysia, and we were literally about 5 minutes out of the house when our 5 year old asked if we'd been driving for an hour.

And on the same theme, I suddenly realised that one leg of the Orient Express went from Singapore - but too late. They've now closed the station, because it wasn't really being used and it's on prime real estate. :0(

71hairballsrus
Edited: Oct 1, 2014, 8:03 pm

Hey there, just checking up on you. Glad you had a great trip! The next book in the Marissa Meyer series is even better. Do you have some spooky books planned for this month?

72Chatterbox
Oct 1, 2014, 8:21 pm

>70 humouress: LOL! Are you in Singapore? I haven't been there in so long I doubt I'd recognize the place. Let's just say that they were still arguing about getting the houseboats out of the harbour...

What a pity about the Orient Express, though; that would have been a blast. What would the route have been, though? From Singapore north to KL or along one of the coastal routes and on to Bangkok? but from there... ?? (Shades of Richard Flanagan's novel running uneasily through my mind...)

73sibylline
Oct 1, 2014, 8:27 pm

Just checking in Roni!

74Donna828
Oct 1, 2014, 8:53 pm

Sneaky Roni, going off on a dream vacation without telling us. You are forgiven, though, because of all those gorgeous pictures. We flew to Anchorage and drove for a solid week a few years ago and didn't see half the things you did! I think a cruise would be the way to go.

75humouress
Oct 2, 2014, 11:17 am

>72 Chatterbox: Suzanne, we are in Singapore. Houseboats in the harbour? I didn't even know about those. We were away for two years in the States (a while ago, now) and when we came back, I got lost around my husband's office because they'd put a new building up (having knocked one down first, of course) and changed the road a bit.

I confess I had to google the train route, because I gave up on it sometime ago :0) It still goes from Singapore, but there's a new station in the north, by the Woodlands causeway, I believe (or something similar - not sure if you have to cross to Malaysia before you catch the train now) and goes through KL and Bangkok. Oh - it's actually the Eastern and Oriental Express; not sure if that's the same line?

Hmm - might have second thoughts on that train ride. My husband hits his half century soon. I was thinking of a three day cruise up the coast of Malaysia, but this sounds nice, too.

Oh, hi Roni - you don't mind if we carry on a conversation here, do you?

76ronincats
Edited: Oct 2, 2014, 4:56 pm

>65 avatiakh: Kerry, it's great to hear that Cress is even better than Scarlet. I've got it requested front the library--there are two ahead of me--and then I'll be stuck with the rest of you, waiting for Winter.

>66 Chatterbox: Suz, some of the cruises do take the Inland Passage up to Juneau, rather than going out to the Pacific as we did.

>67 cammykitty: Katie, the Aunt Dimity books are the coziest of cozy mysteries, great for mindless reading in stressful times.

>68 humouress: Nina, the ROOMS are that small, but the berths are pretty good size. My husband is 6'2" and just fit lengthwise into the bottom bunk, but it was good and wide. My upper bunk was plenty big for me, as long as I didn't need much headroom.

>69 Chatterbox: You are right, Suz. Although we spent a fair amount of time in our own room with our window, there were other cars we could spend time in: the parlor car with intermittent wifi, the dining car, and the observation car.

>70 humouress: I enjoyed reading about your Legoland visit on your thread, Nina. We have a Legoland in North County here--I've gone with our second grade classes on field trips a couple of times.

>71 hairballsrus: Paula? Chris? I never know who I'm talking with here! I'm glad you agree with Kerry that Cress is even better! I looked at the Halloween Read thread, and I've read Coraline and Something Wicked This Way Comes and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I might try The Quick, as so many have recommended it, although it's not my usual type of story. But then, I'm not into horror or zombies at all. My recommendations for scary reading are The Face in the Frost and Sparrow Hill Road.

>72 Chatterbox:, >75 humouress: Just the name of the Orient Express sounds luxurious! Glad you still have a station in Singapore, Nina.

>73 sibylline: Hi, Lucy.

>74 Donna828: Donna, even though I haven't all that much to steal, I'm leery of letting the Internet know when I'm away for any period. I have a cousin who had knee surgery, and her husband was posting when they had physical therapy right afterwards, and someone broke into their house and stole his guns while they were at therapy! Alaska is so big, you could drive for a long time. The part where we were, southeast Alaska, you can't drive to any of them. You either come in by boat or plane.

I meant to post my third-quarter figures yesterday and forgot. Actually, this is the summary for the first three quarters of 2014.

Books read=133
Pages read=46046
New books read=100
Rereads=33
Library books=38
Books off my own shelves owned prior to 2014=20

Genre:
science fiction=29
fantasy=71
children's=8
nonfiction=11
fiction=3
romance=7
mystery=4

Books acquired=69
Cost to date= $229.07
Source:
30 Kindle, 2 dead tree books in addition from Amazon
3 Early Reviewers
9 PaperBackSwap
12 library sale
4 gifts
9 other book stores

Books out the door=18
11 PaperBackSwap
5 library donation
2 gifts

77foggidawn
Oct 2, 2014, 4:10 pm

I'm another who liked Cress better than Scarlet.

78jjmcgaffey
Edited: Oct 2, 2014, 4:32 pm

LOL - the touchstone for Shadow Hill Road is amazingly wrong (it's to a book about the Third Reich, with a huge title including "The Shadow War" and "The Road to Stalingrad" - so I can see where it came from, but still).

Shadow Hill Road - wow, it's not even there, the Third Reich book is the only thing in the Others list too. Ah, that's why - Sparrow Hill Road! Shadow makes more sense...

Thanks - you triggered me to get it (ok, request it - but I'm next in the queue) from the library, for the October Read-a-Thing. I don't do horror, but Seanan's angle on things generally suits me - I doubt I'll class this as horror (it's generally, for me, more the helplessness of the protagonists than the scariness/power of the antagonist that makes it horror).

I have The Face in the Frost - maybe I'll add that, too. I've been trying to think what I would read for the RaT, and it's a bit difficult (see: don't do horror).

79ronincats
Oct 2, 2014, 5:00 pm

Thanks for chiming in, foggy, oh book-bulleteer extraordinaire!

Jenn, I've corrected the title for Sparrow Hill Road. Sometimes the fingers type faster than the brain is operating. No, I wouldn't classify this as horror per se (although there are a few parts...) but as a ghost story par excellence. And I love, love, love The Face in the Frost even though parts send chills down my spine. And it's a quick read, so there's no reason NOT to add it. Try it, you'll LIKE it!

I've been cleaning out my office today. When we left, I took the old Palm Pilot I keep in my purse to play games on plus the coupons I wouldn't use on vacation and stashed them somewhere. I've cleaned out the computer desk and the top of the roll top and haven't located them yet! Drat!

80TinaV95
Oct 2, 2014, 10:53 pm

Amazing photos, Roni! Just breathtaking scenery! I've always wanted to visit, but even more so now! Wow... stunning.

81ronincats
Oct 3, 2014, 12:28 am

Thanks, Tina!



Book #134 The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason (353 pp.)

I received this book from the Early Reviewer program.

This was a fun YA steampunk adventure. In alternating chapters, we follow Mina Holmes, daughter of Mycroft and niece of Sherlock, and Evaline Stoker, sister of Bram Stoker, as they are asked by Irene Adler to solve a mystery involving the deaths of other 16 year old society girls on behalf of Princess Alexandra, daughter in law of Queen Victoria. It is interesting as each struggles with their own issues involving their families and heritages, as well as figuring out how to work with each other with such disparate styles, to the predictable reaction of 16 year old girls to personable males in the course of their investigation. The case is solved, but there are still hanging threads to be resolved in one or more sequels. This would be appreciated by most teenage girls, although ones who have read both Sherlock Holmes and Stoker's Dracula would appreciate the character traits and hangups the most.

82avatiakh
Oct 3, 2014, 1:34 am

>76 ronincats: I thought the character Cress was adorable and funny as well as being good at hacking. She very much appealed and I'll say no more cause it might lead to a spoiler.

I've put my name down for a shared read of Bitter Greens and now I don't know where I put the darn paperback, something to be said for having an e-reader I suppose. Mentioning it here as I think it might be one you'd like to read eventually.

83sibylline
Oct 3, 2014, 7:36 am

Nice stats there. Maddening how much harder it is to send books away than to acquire and keep......

84ronincats
Oct 3, 2014, 12:18 pm

Kerry, I see that Bitter Greens is already on my wish list. My library has it now so I've just put it on hold.

Quite an enigma, Lucy, indeed!

85DeltaQueen50
Oct 3, 2014, 1:09 pm

Hi Roni, came by to wish you a great weekend.

86jnwelch
Oct 3, 2014, 1:11 pm

Ditto, Roni. Hope you have lots of relaxing and reading.

87LauraBrook
Oct 3, 2014, 2:24 pm

>81 ronincats: Great review of The Clockwork Scarab, Roni! That's been on my "maybe" list for awhile now, and I'm glad to bump it up to my TBR!

88humouress
Oct 3, 2014, 2:32 pm

>76 ronincats: Thanks, Roni, I'm glad you enjoyed my spiel.

*sigh* OK; so Cinder on the wish list ...

89LizzieD
Oct 3, 2014, 7:28 pm

Just stopping in for a speak, Roni. I now have my copy of A Madness of Angels in hand, but I do hope I can resist starting it for even a couple of weeks. I don't want to hide it from myself because it might never surface again. Hope your stuff does!

90ronincats
Edited: Oct 3, 2014, 9:25 pm



Judy and Joe, as you can see above, we started our weekend early. It was 90 degrees along the coast today (100 inland) and so we went down to the beach. Hardly any breeze, so you had to get within 50 feet of the water to have it cool down. Water temp is 69, which is too cool for me to get into, but there were lots of people who did.

Laura, if the angst of 16 year old girls doesn't turn you off, this was a fun book. Let me know what you think of it when you try it.

Nina, of course I enjoyed your spiel!!! And I think Cinder is worth a try.

Peggy! Speak of the devil! Oh, not you, but A Madness of Angels. I'm reading the second book, which I bought up in Seattle, The Midnight Mayor, and stopped at Mysterious Galaxy on the way home from the beach to see if I could pick up the 1st (I read a library copy) and 3rd books, since I think this one is going to be a keeper. Of course they didn't have either, but they are ordering them for me. I would love to have one of our British LTers read it, preferably one who knows London well, because even more than the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, this really is a love story with the city from what I can tell and would love a native's perspective. Heather, Fliss, Jenny, or even those further away like Rhian and Hannah--anyone to take me up on this?

ETA No, still haven't found my stuff.

91avatiakh
Oct 3, 2014, 9:34 pm

>84 ronincats: I located my copy of Bitter Greens, of course it was staring me in the face in a very obvious part of the book shelf. The shared read is on one of the October TIOLI challenges.

92SandDune
Oct 4, 2014, 2:45 am

>90 ronincats: I would love to have one of our British LTers read it, preferably one who knows London well, because even more than the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, this really is a love story with the city from what I can tell and would love a native's perspective. Heather, Fliss, Jenny, or even those further away like Rhian and Hannah--anyone to take me up on this?

I read A Madness of Angels last year. To be honest, if I had to award the title 'love story to London' I would probably award it to the Rivers of London series. However, having said that, I think the depiction of London is spot on in Kate Griffen's book. I don't mention it in my review below, but that's more indicative that it felt completely right, because I'm very sensitive to books that get the sense of place wrong. I did work in London for more than twenty years, so I'm probably qualified to comment!

https://www.librarything.com/work/7643799/details/89458340

93ronincats
Oct 4, 2014, 1:24 pm

Thank you so much, Rhian. I only knew your current setting, therefore not if you were really familiar with London or not. I'd say 20 years works. As I said, I'm reading the second book, The Midnight Mayor, right now and it is in this book, even more than the first, that you feel London rolling off the tongue in descriptive volleys and that the cherishing of the city overwhelms you. Having read all the Aaronovitch books to date, I still think this series is beating it in terms of #1 love story. We're talking about protecting the city here at the heart of the matter, as opposed to a crime procedural that interacts with it. Ymmv.

94hairballsrus
Oct 4, 2014, 5:00 pm

>76 ronincats: ronincats- You are always talking to Paula (i.e me); this is my only presence on line while the hubby has a Facebook page. I'm way too much of a hermit for that. :) I love The Face in the Frost! The hubbster is the Something Wicked fan. All things Bradbury actually. I want a good creepy house book for the month. I thought I had that with my next to last read, but then it veered off into even odder territory. So I'm still looking. Back to work on Monday which should be scary enough I suppose. No more time off until January.

95ronincats
Edited: Oct 4, 2014, 5:16 pm

Hi, Paula, good to know!! I actually love both of those books--it would be hard to choose between them so I'm glad I don't have to. No creepy house books here, I fear. A "haunted" house--hmm, A Red Heart of Memories by Nina Kiriki Hoffman might fit the bill, although you'll have to be patient for the house to show up. I love NKH's books, about as close as I'll come to horror. Here's the cover; looks promising, doesn't it?

96jjmcgaffey
Oct 5, 2014, 1:08 am

>95 ronincats: Or the prequel, A Stir of Bones, which focuses on the house pretty much from the start...

97quinaquisset
Oct 5, 2014, 10:41 am

But I would say that the house literally appears in the second book, Past the Size of Dreaming.
Now you've got me jonesing for some new Hoffman. Any ideas when we get another book from her?

98ronincats
Oct 5, 2014, 12:20 pm

Hoffman's last two books, Thresholds and Meeting, are part of children's series and I don't know how well they have done. I've only read the first and wasn't wowed. Before that, I know she was dealing with some health issues--I want to say cancer, but can't find any confirmation. However, stimulated by your comments, I've discovered NKH has a Facebook page and she's posting links to free previously-published stories now available for Kindle, so I guess I will be following those links up. She lives in Oregon and attended conferences there and in Seattle this year, so must have her mojo back!

You two have done it now, though! Yes, I'm talking to you, Jenn and QQ! For my October spooky reading, I'm going to do a reread of all three of the books mentioned above--it's been way too long since I last read them.

So, did I mention that I stopped at Mysterious Galaxy on Friday. Yes, I thought so, but I didn't mention that I picked up The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White. This one has been getting mixed review so I was waiting for the paperback, which is now here! And Amazon tells me my copy of Brust's Hawk shipped yesterday, which means it might even beat the publication date of this coming Tuesday. That's the latest in the Vlad Taltos series.

Does anyone know why new books always come out on a Tuesday?

And finally, my most recent book read:



Book #135 The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin (553 pp.)

This is another action-filled episode in the second life of Matthew Swift, following A Madness of Angels. It is also a love song to the City of London. Griffin writes her action scenes in dense descriptive stream of consciousness that can be hard to get into at times--however, these episodes also contribute to the depth of feeling evoked by and for the characters, of which the City is a primary one. Don't let it put you off getting into the entire story.

99sibylline
Oct 5, 2014, 12:38 pm

When reading the Aaronovitch, I constantly look things up - so I have also learned a huge amount about London (where I've been exactly ever twice, and yet feel I know better than many places in the US I have only passed through).

100hairballsrus
Edited: Oct 5, 2014, 2:21 pm

>95 ronincats:,96, 97---Wait, wait, which one do I read first? I could swear I've read A Stir of Bones a really long time ago. And the book cover for A Red Heart of Memories looks familiar. Past the Size of Dreaming is totally new to me. I'm off to Amazon to check them out.

>98 ronincats: I have the first two books in The Midnight Mayor series waiting on my TBR shelves. But I just got a copy of The Glass God as well and I'd like to read that first.

101ronincats
Oct 5, 2014, 3:02 pm

You have the advantage of me, Lucy--I've never been to London!

Paula, I don't know if Past the Size of Dreaming makes sense without A Red Heart of Memories, but I will by next week! Past the Size of Dreaming is where the house really comes into its own as a character, though. A Stir of Bones is a prequel that was written sometime after the other two.

So, I waited for the good light this morning to take pictures of the pottery I brought home yesterday from the studio. This picture includes the teapot I brought home last week, but with its handle added.

102connie53
Oct 5, 2014, 4:02 pm

Hi Roni, I love all the blue colours! They all looks so pretty!

103Chatterbox
Oct 5, 2014, 4:55 pm

Love the blue glaze!!

>75 humouress: Clarifying my earlier comments (after revisiting my journals from the early 1980s...) I see it was actually Singapore's rivers and creeks that I was thinking of... At the time, Lee Kwan Yew was cracking down on the untidy-looking/third world-esque area of downtown Singapore (remember Bugis Street? It, too, was caught up in the same "clean sweep"!) in the aftermath of the Vietnam war. Our hostess was the wife of the Canadian high commissioner, who was trying to make sure that buildings and areas of historic or cultural interest didn't get lost along the way, as stuff everywhere turned into lookalike homogenized towers. (Viz. Hong Kong, which already then was full of skinny concrete apartment tower blocks, inevitable due to the population density.) My journal notes visits to many kampongs, several of which I see from Googling have since disappeared, and a trip out along Lim Tua Tow Road to Chia Keng, a village in still heavily forested land at the time (1981) and now near the site of Serangoon Stadium. I gather nearly all of the kampongs are gone... Alas, I took very few pictures; I should ask my father what he took. I do have one that he took of my mother and I in a cyclo rickshaw in streets that probably today look NOTHING as they did then.

104ronincats
Oct 6, 2014, 12:38 am

Thanks, Connie and Suz.



Book #136 A Red Heart of Memories by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (329 pp.)

Making good on my promise in >98 ronincats:! Hoffman is the mistress of combining totally original kinds of magic with damaged, ordinary but very decent people, and this is one of her best. (Although my heart will always be with The Thread That Binds the Bones as her very best.)

105jjmcgaffey
Oct 6, 2014, 4:13 am

Hmmm. I read A Stir of Bones a while ago, and started A Red Heart of Memories shortly thereafter, then stalled. That's still waiting for me - but I don't have Past the Size of Dreaming. I'll have to go hunting for it in my local libraries.

Glad to hear you think Red Heart is nearly as good as The Thread that Binds the Bones - that is definitely my favorite Hoffman.

106susanj67
Oct 6, 2014, 4:18 am

Roni, the pictures of your trip are great! It looks like you had a lovely time.

And I love the pottery, particularly that lovely green platter but really all of it. Happy new thread, if it's not too late.

107RebaRelishesReading
Oct 6, 2014, 2:12 pm

Love the pottery. The blue is beautiful but the green would go better in my house.

108sibylline
Oct 7, 2014, 8:02 am

Hmm.. The Hoffman is tempting! I think I have to WL that first one. If I haven't already; I have a feeling I have....

That bowl/platter is really really lovely.

109_Zoe_
Oct 7, 2014, 7:53 pm

I love your photos! I'm hoping to do an Alaskan cruise one of these days. I'd like to do more train travel, too; I enjoyed the 52-hour trip from Chicago to Oakland.

Also, you've reminded me that I really should read Cinder sooner rather than later.

110cammykitty
Oct 7, 2014, 8:51 pm

I read A Stir of Bones long before I read A Red Heart of Memories. I think she may have written them out of order??? I met her once and she said something about the ending had to be the way it was in A Stir of Bones because it referred to another novel. Loved both of them. Yes, she is the master of unusual magic and unusual, broken people.

111humouress
Edited: Oct 7, 2014, 10:29 pm

Oh, lots to comment on. I always perk up when I see NKH, because of her name, but I haven't read much (maybe one book, if that?) by her, maybe because she leans towards horror, which is not my cuppa.

You know I love your pottery, Roni. The glaze on the greens has come out in interesting patterns, and your blues (I do have a weakness for them) ... they all look different ... maybe I'll take the teapot. Is the handle pottery too? It looks like it's long and is hinged to the teapot - I can't quite tell.

>103 Chatterbox: As for Singapore, it changes so often, so fast, you'd be lucky to recognise any landmarks, I think, if you remember the kampongs fondly. But I think the government took a lesson from Hong Kong, so while there are primarily tower blocks, for offices and residences, they've given some thought to placement, and put a lot of playgrounds and green areas in, so it's not a wilderness of high rises. Singapore has won a lot of awards for its design as a garden city. But the architectural style, especially the more current projects, tend towards brutalism (I heard a BBC World Service article on 'brutalism' a few months ago and looked it up) whereas I tend to prefer more artistic and intricate touches.

We were lucky to find a quiet corner of Singapore, where the sun rises over the trees at dawn (extremely rare here, I assure you)(and therefore we're so far out, it takes forever (almost an hour!) to get into the CBD in rush hour); but now they're building an MRT (underground train) line out here, they're bulldozing quite a few of the trees, both the long-standing ones on the road meridian and the ones in the catchment area nearby, which had been allowed to go to jungle. (Apparently, the water catchment areas around the reservoirs used to be rubber plantations, if that helps your geography.) Hopefully when they finish the job in 4 years time, they'll bring all the greenery back.

But the government has a stated policy of increasing the population to 6+ million, from 4 million when I first came in 1998, and we're already up to 5 something. Which, of course, means more green areas converted to high rise estates; and naturally, it's more visible in the part of Singapore we live in.

Tell you what - come and check it out for yourself ;0)

112ronincats
Oct 7, 2014, 11:40 pm

I stopped by the pottery tonight to see how many of the 6 bowls I glazed Saturday were out of the kiln yet. Three of them were.

All the stuff in the previous lot is still there in the background. The large tall bowl on the right is my niece's Christmas present, matching one I made her last year. The other two new ones are the two in front. They are all about 11 inches in diameter, but different heights.



Book #137 Past the Size of Dreaming by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (342 pp.)

While A Red Heart of Memories is a complete story in itself, this is an immediate sequel as Matt and Edmund continue to contact his old high school friends who were involved with the house in order to face a new threat. Perhaps a bit more scattered in plot than the first book, the characters are just as individual and well-drawn and original.

>110 cammykitty: Katie, you are right. A Stir of Bones was written after these two and is the story of what went on with these people (minus Matt) back in high school.

>105 jjmcgaffey: Jenn, The Thread That Binds the Bones will always be my favorite as well, but I love Matt as a character.

>106 susanj67: Thanks, Susan. It's never too late.

>107 RebaRelishesReading: The green is actually prettier than it photographs. What do you think of the white and butterscotch bowl here. It didn't quite do what I wanted it to in terms of pattern, unfortunately. I will be at the Gaslamp farmer's market on Sunday morning, but I bet you'll be on your way then.

>108 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy, and I think you'll like NKH's writing.

>109 _Zoe_: It was a great vacation, Zoe. And yes, Cinder is good!

>111 humouress: Nina, that's a bamboo handle on the teapot. And it's so interesting to learn more about Singapore--I'm really enjoying you and Suz's exchanges.

I'm currently reading the just out copy of Hawk by Steven Brust which arrived just after noon today.

113scaifea
Oct 8, 2014, 6:39 am

Beautiful bowls, Roni!

114rosalita
Oct 8, 2014, 9:19 am

I would snap up that teapot in a flash if I lived closer to you, Roni! It's a gorgeous shade of blue that I particularly like.

115lkernagh
Oct 8, 2014, 9:37 am

I really like the light coloured bowl in the bottom left corner of the picture. That, and the green one behind it! They are all wonderful but those are my favs. ;-)

116AMQS
Oct 8, 2014, 12:44 pm

Hi Roni, what a treat your thread is! I am so out of LT touch, I hadn't even realized you had been traveling. Thank you for sharing those spectacular photos!

Love the beach photo as well. I'm hoping in my heart that UCSD may be in our future. A campus visit will be, for sure, within the next couple of years.

117lunacat
Oct 8, 2014, 12:53 pm

I love the taller bowl, it's a gorgeous colour. I've just started pottery again but sadly my skills are very rudimentary - hopefully some Christmas presents might get made anyway!

118drachenbraut23
Oct 8, 2014, 5:41 pm

I am so happy that I can admire your beautiful pottery again. Your family must be so happy to receive such wonderful presents. Are you still making your jewellery as well?

119ronincats
Oct 8, 2014, 6:42 pm

Thank you, Lucy, Amber, Julia and Lori!

Anne, good to see you catching up here. Wouldn't UCSD be great!

Jenny, my skills are surprisingly rudimentary too. Just keep practicing.

Bianca, I'm so happy you can as well. And here's the answer to your question.

This is my first attempt at a brand new pattern. It's a little fatter and shorter than the pattern--I need to practice!

This one is 1 and 7/8 inches tall (8 centimeters) and would be a pendant.

120DeltaQueen50
Oct 8, 2014, 7:44 pm

Hi Roni, I have been enjoying catching up here and admiring all your crafts. First off, I love the above pendant. The green with the copper is beautiful.

Secondly, I haven't read anything by Nina Kiriki Hoffman but from what I have read here, I am adding her to my wishlist. According to Fantastic Fiction, A Stir of Bones is a prequel to 1. A Red Heart of Memories and 2. Past the Size of Dreaming. So my question is - Do I start with the prequel?

121ronincats
Edited: Oct 8, 2014, 8:25 pm

Actually, Judy, I wouldn't. I'd read them in publication order. Otherwise you lose a lot of the mystery in the first two books. And remember, Jenn and I both love 'The Thread that Binds the Bones best of all.

Someone above said they hadn't read but one NKH because they don't read horror. While she won the Bram Stoker prize for TTtBtB, I (who can't read horror at all because, you know, bad dreams) don't think of her works as horror at all, because they are all about the people and they are always people I care about. Even The Skeleton Key, her award winning novelette, which starts off with a situation that is about as horrific as you can think of, is really warm and caring. She's just a true original.

122TinaV95
Oct 8, 2014, 10:22 pm

Hey Roni! You've made me add YET ANOTHER series to my list with that review of The Clockwork Scarab. Dang it, woman! Have you no shame??? ;)

Just posted this on my own thread, but I'll post here too. *Full story there as to not hijack your thread*

Mom wearing MY Roni Tree of Life necklace...

123LizzieD
Oct 8, 2014, 10:36 pm

Ah gee, Roni. I can't catch up here - not really - and I can't get to A Madness of Angels either. I guess that at least I have goals.............. I'm plugging away madly at *Wheel 4* with a bit less than 200 pages yet to go. So bad! So good!
Isn't Tina's mother lovely! And she should probably be allowed to keep the Tree of Life pendant and let old Tina get another one.

124ronincats
Oct 8, 2014, 11:57 pm

Checked you out, Tina. Your mom looks great!

Good idea, Peggy. Sorry to hear you can't get to A Madness of Angels yet.



Book #138 Hawk by Steven Brust (320 pp.)

It's the new Vlad book, and it doesn't disappoint. Vlad's taking on the entire Jhereg again...

125jjmcgaffey
Oct 9, 2014, 1:03 am

>121 ronincats: I know NKH does some things I'd consider horror - I read a short story of hers that was (and winced away). However, most of her stuff I don't count as horror. For me, the real difference between a story with scary things in it and horror is the attitude of the characters - if they're helpless and hopeless, it's horror. Here...well, ok, a scene in The Thread that Binds the Bones is a perfect example.

The protagonist, who is just encountering magic, is suddenly turned into a donkey. His reaction? Not "omg, what am I going to do?!" or other panic, no desperation - "Huh. I can touch my ears together, and see sideways. Hmm, I'm hungry, that grass looks good..."

That's not horror, to my mind. Her characters encounter some very strange things, and handle them as best they can.

126sibylline
Oct 9, 2014, 8:41 am

The new bowls - wow - esp the one with the lilac edges and acqua bottom. Lovely combination!

127ronincats
Oct 9, 2014, 10:28 pm

>125 jjmcgaffey: That is exactly how I feel about her books, Jenn! (Gosh, what a surprise, sister of my mind!)

>126 sibylline: Lucy, that is a glaze I will use again. Especially since I put too much lilac on the outside and it ran down and stuck to the kiln shelf so I have chips on the bottom. I'll keep it for myself but I do love the glaze.

Well, not a soul has mentioned the pendant in>119 ronincats: so I guess it won't be a popular item and I'll make some more trees instead. :-(

128LizzieD
Oct 9, 2014, 10:32 pm

>119 ronincats: Kitty? I didn't see it the first time I looked at it.

129ronincats
Oct 9, 2014, 10:38 pm



Book #139 The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White (358 pp.)

As those who have been paying attention know, I had been reading this Brust collaboration when Hawk arrived on my porch. It has just come out in paperback, and I waited for it, unlike the Dragaera books. I've heard mixed reviews but, although it's totally different from the Vlad books (I suspect there's a LOT of the second author in it), I found it an enjoyable exploration of an idea and relationships.

Now, all three of my library books on hold have arrived. I'll read A Red Herring Without Mustard next, before moving on to Bitter Greens and Cress.

130ronincats
Oct 10, 2014, 12:26 am

The colors in this are not very true, but I made a new tree tonight, silver and pale pink beads, bottom center.

131odudu
Oct 10, 2014, 2:51 am

This user has been removed as spam.

132lunacat
Oct 10, 2014, 8:30 am

I do like the cat but I'm not sure about it's tail and the addiction of the beads - it feels a bit chunky and 'clunky' to me, although I would think others would like it. Because I'm small I tend to be attracted to more delicate items.

133LizzieD
Oct 10, 2014, 11:07 am

Ummm. Love that autumn tree! I'm wondering about a leaf or two at the bottom.........I could never design.

134Storeetllr
Oct 10, 2014, 2:22 pm

Hi, Roni ~ Cute cat! I think I'd prefer a different color ~ black or orange, maybe ~ for its tail, though. Somehow the green just doesn't do it for me. I also like Lizzie's idea about putting a leaf or two beneath the autumn tree. Jewelry design isn't my forte either, though, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

Have you ever read Angel Ink by Jocelynn Drake? If so, is it worth my continuing? I'm a few chapters in and kind of bored with it.

I finished The Ladies of Grace Adieu and, quite simply, loved it! Thank you so much for gifting me with such a charming treat!

So, your Jhereg book bullet struck true, and I've got the first six on hold at the library (in an omnibus volume), ready to be picked up as soon as I can get there. I hope you're happy.

;-b

135ronincats
Oct 10, 2014, 2:47 pm

>134 Storeetllr: I'll try some different combos, Mary. I just always like green with copper.

Never even heard of Angel Ink, sorry!

You are so welcome!

Woo hoo! Be sure and read them in publication order. I am happy!

>133 LizzieD: That could be a little tricky with the wire work, but I'll think on it, Peggy.

>132 lunacat: It's very light weight, Jenny, but I can see your point.

136drachenbraut23
Oct 10, 2014, 4:55 pm

Roni, out of all the pendants I love the one from >119 ronincats: most. I like the colour and the shape and I don't think it looks "fat" at all. Not, that I don't like tree pendants, but this one just looks more unique and different.

>132 lunacat: Cat? Now, where you said it, I actually can see a cat as well.

However, was that your intention that the pendant was supposed to look like a cat Roni?

137quinaquisset
Oct 10, 2014, 8:11 pm

I just picked up my copy of Brust's Hawk today. Yea!

I had mixed feelings about the Incrementalists, I think I've finally nailed it down. It feels like a second book; I want to see the cracks in the society after first seeing how it's supposed to work. The actual meddling scenes are pretty far apart. Happily, tor.com has put up a couple short stories from that universe.

138ronincats
Oct 11, 2014, 9:01 pm

Bianca, yes, it is intended to be a cat.

QQ, yes, if you are interested in the work of the society, that is all incidental to this story, which is all about personalities. But I enjoyed it. I'll look forward to seeing what you think of Hawk.


Brought these home from the pottery today and threw teapot parts, a mug body and a medium bowl. The small bowl in the picture is cereal bowl size.

I'm going to a farmers' market tomorrow downtown in the Gaslamp district. Spent most of today getting my booth stuff ready and pricing new pottery and jewelry. Have to be there early tomorrow to set up.

Reading-wise, I'm not into the Flavia de Luce book yet--it hasn't grabbed me and so I haven't been picking it up to read. I did do some reading on a nonfiction ER book I have. I have Cress and Bitter Greens from the library but I'm trying to finish Flavia first.

139TinaV95
Oct 11, 2014, 10:09 pm

>123 LizzieD: One word, Peggy. :P (PBBBBBBBBBBBBBB)

She might have a point, though Roni. Maybe I ought to just get mom her own for Christmas. She surely does love it. :)

140LizzieD
Oct 11, 2014, 10:50 pm

Always happy to state an opinion, Tina!

141ronincats
Oct 11, 2014, 11:05 pm

Hee! Hee! Always a possibility, Tina!

(Hand under the table to Peggy for the "opinion")

Okay, tried the cat again tonight--this is more the dimensions of the original pattern.

142foggidawn
Oct 11, 2014, 11:39 pm

>141 ronincats: The new one puts me in mind of ancient Egypt. Very cool!

143drachenbraut23
Oct 12, 2014, 6:17 am

>141 ronincats: Beautiful! And I am sorry that I didn't see the cat. Have a lovely weekend!

144lunacat
Oct 12, 2014, 7:44 am

Ohh, I definitely like the second one a lot more than the first. Now can you just do a teeny-tiny one as a pendant for me and it'll be perfect ;)

145Donna828
Oct 12, 2014, 12:48 pm

Roni, I think you need to do a dog now for us dog-lovers! Actually, I am still in love with the trees. The autumn one is nice. Thanks for that nudge to listen to another Vorkosigan tale on my trip home. It made the miles fly by! I stopped in Abilene for gas and coffee...

146Storeetllr
Oct 12, 2014, 12:52 pm

Oh, I do like that Egyptian looking cat!

147streamsong
Oct 12, 2014, 1:10 pm

I love the wire wrapping you do along the edges like the back of the cat and its tail. The photos don't really show the detail of it well, but it was one of the first things I noticed on my tree of life pendant, and so now I look for it on your designs.

148lunacat
Oct 12, 2014, 1:51 pm

I offer you my own cat creation: Cat in Autumnal nest ;)

149LauraBrook
Oct 12, 2014, 8:43 pm

Really like both of the cat pendants, Roni! And I agree with >147 streamsong:, the wire wrapping is beautiful!

>148 lunacat: Awwww, what a sweetie!

150jjmcgaffey
Oct 13, 2014, 1:45 am

I like the second cat better - I missed that the first one was a cat until it was pointed out. Here I can see the ear and the muzzle and front paw(s). The colors are duller, though - a green tail is odd for a cat, but it did look pretty. Dunno. It's nice, but I prefer the trees so far.

151DeltaQueen50
Oct 13, 2014, 2:55 pm

I agree that the newest pendant looks more like a cat, but I am still in love with the colors of the first, I love that copper with the green!

152lyzard
Oct 13, 2014, 7:39 pm

A mixture of browns, oranges and greys might work with this design - tabby colours! :)

153LizzieD
Oct 13, 2014, 11:19 pm

O.K. Loving the new cat! I think I like this one because the proportion of cat to tail suits my eye better and also because it's sitting up straight and proud. A winner! And I like the idea of tabby colors too.

154flissp
Oct 14, 2014, 7:12 am

Hi Roni!

Not book related I'm afraid (I really have been completely rubbish at keeping up with LT this year...)

However... I fb-ed Darryl yesterday to ask him about bookshops in San Diego as I'm heading there for work (conference) on Friday and he mentioned that you live there! He's given me your handy bookshop list (I'm not sure I'll get time to go to any of them, but good to have ;o)), but I was wondering if you have any restaurant/particular (not too time consuming - see before re time to spare!) tourist attractions you'd recommend?

Hope life is good!

155ronincats
Oct 14, 2014, 11:27 am

Wow, Fliss, really! Going to PM for this.

156flissp
Oct 14, 2014, 1:37 pm

Replied!

157sibylline
Oct 14, 2014, 2:38 pm

I think I like the newer one best- it's very elegant!

158ronincats
Oct 14, 2014, 9:38 pm

Sorry, all. I had a migraine yesterday and got nothing done except finishing



Book #140 A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (417 pp.)

I find myself becoming somewhat less tolerant of Flavia's attitude and situation with each successive book. However, as others have noted a major change in process further on in the series, I will probably continue with the series to see what happens. And, as the book moved along, I got caught up in it again, improbably as it seemed.

And UPS delivered my latest ER book, even though it was Columbus Day. I won Zombie Elementary: The Real Story by Howard Whitehouse, a middle school book that sounded like fun and that I can donate to my old elementary school library.

Unfortunately for my "books acquired" numbers, not only did Amazon have the new Abhorsen book delivered today (Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen by Garth Nix) but I went out to run the errands I meant to run yesterday and that meant running by Mysterious Galaxy to get the other two Matthew Swift books, the first in the series that I already read from the library (A Madness of Angels) and the third, The Neon Court, and couldn't resist picking up Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie, since I had enjoyed Ancillary Justice earlier this year.

I'm into Bitter Greens and love it so far, and have not only Cress from the library but also desperately want to dive into the new Nix and the third Matthew Swift book. Just have to read faster, I guess!!

145 Donna, glad you enjoyed the next Vorkosigan. We'll make a space opera lover of you yet!

>146 Storeetllr:, >147 streamsong: Thanks, Mary and Janet. Janet, you are right in that these cats have an interesting pattern going. I like it too.

>148 lunacat: Love your cat, Jenny. Nothing can beat the real thing.

>149 LauraBrook: Thank you, Laura.

>150 jjmcgaffey: Jenn, some examples of the pattern I bought show purple, blue, green and red cats with matching beads. No attempts at realism. I'm going to try a variety.

>151 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I love that combination too, just on general principles!

>152 lyzard:, >153 LizzieD: Liz and Peggy, I picked up some orange and brown seed beads today--not colors I usually use.

>157 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy. It's much closer to the actual pattern I got.

Besides hitting the bookstore today, we got our flu shots and went to Costco to stock up on various essentials. Plus mailed off books for PaperBackSwap, Lucy, and my sister. Cooking a pork stew with green chiles tonight. Tomorrow will hopefully be a home day, but in good health this time so I can do some housecleaning and gardening.

159lunacat
Oct 15, 2014, 7:09 am

Yuck, sorry to hear about the migraine. Hopefully you'll be free from one tomorrow (today) and able to get the things done that you need to. A pottering day is always nice.

160DorsVenabili
Oct 15, 2014, 9:12 am

Hi Roni! I'm quite behind, but lovely photos of the Alaska/Seattle trip - Seattle is definitely one of my favorite places, but I've never been to Alaska. Maybe some day...

Love the tea set too!

161flissp
Oct 15, 2014, 9:20 am

Sorry about the migraine, I hope it's cleared up by now!

162LizzieD
Oct 15, 2014, 9:47 am

I also am sorry about the migraine and hoping it's completely gone. And I'm envious of your new book acquisitions, especially the second *Auxillary* and maybe the Matthew Swifts. I'm reading at the first one, but I stopped it to dip into one recommended by a cousin at our family reunion, City of Dark Magic, which features Beethoven and Prague. (Magnus Flyte seems to be a collaboration of two women.)

163souloftherose
Oct 17, 2014, 9:57 am

>90 ronincats: "I would love to have one of our British LTers read it, preferably one who knows London well, because even more than the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, this really is a love story with the city from what I can tell and would love a native's perspective."

I'm not really a London native (as my meet ups with Darryl frequently show he knows London much better than me despite having lived near it all my life!) but I agree with you about the Kate Griffin series. She's a Londoner born and bred and I find her blog makes for interesting reading. Here's a link to all the London related posts on her blog.

You're making me want to read the second book in the series now :-)

>98 ronincats: "Does anyone know why new books always come out on a Tuesday?"

I think in the UK they always come out on Thursdays - I don't know why.

>101 ronincats: I love the blue colour of that teapot!

>122 TinaV95: The pendant looks good!

>124 ronincats: And I need to get back to the Jhereg series as well....

>130 ronincats: I like the new tree colours but not sure about the cat and the beads - I think the green of the beads distracs me from seeing the cat shape as it took me a while to figure out what it was.

>141 ronincats: New cat pendant works better for me too :-)

>158 ronincats: Sorry to hear about your migraine, hope it's gone today.

164Morphidae
Oct 18, 2014, 4:07 pm

Very late here but wanted to tell you that I love the pictures, especially the ones of you and your husband and the interior of your train room. I thought that was interesting. I had no idea they were so small!

I ordered The Face in the Frost from interlibrary loan.

165flissp
Oct 18, 2014, 6:14 pm

Thanks again so much for the San Diego tour Roni - lovely to meet you.

I just dropped by your thread quickly to remind myself of Kate Griffin, so that I can look her up. I hadn't realised that Kate Griffin is one of Catherine Webb's pseudonyms - my mum taught her!

166ronincats
Oct 18, 2014, 6:21 pm

>159 lunacat: Thanks, Jenny. The migraine did go away and I managed TWO days of pottering around the house before we went to the Harvest Festival yesterday.

>160 DorsVenabili: Thank you, Kerri.

>161 flissp: See below!

>162 LizzieD: I commented on City of Dark Magic on your thread, Peggy. Not a favorite of mine. Hope you continue to enjoy the Matthew Swift, though.

>163 souloftherose: Heather, that is catching up with a vengeance!! Welcome home and I'm so excited about all the Cherryh and Bujold you've been reading.

>164 Morphidae: Morphy, I hope this means you are feeling better. Glad you enjoyed the pictures and hope you enjoy The Face in the Frost. I'll wait to see if it sent any shivers up your spine.



Book #141 Clariel by Garth Nix (383 pp.)

This is a prequel to the Abhorsen trilogy, set about 600 years earlier. It's fun to get back into that world again, but Clariel is a harder character to identify with than Sabriel or Lirael. Recommended, but read the other books first.

And last, but not least, I spent some time today showing Fliss (flissp) around my fair city. Here we are at the Cabrillo National Monument.

167ronincats
Oct 18, 2014, 11:41 pm

And tonight's work. Yes, it's that time of year again...

168avatiakh
Oct 19, 2014, 1:44 am

Hi Roni - Clariel is on my to read list though not sure how soon I can get to it. I'm finally at the halfway point in Bitter Greens and very much enjoying it. I really liked the witch, La Strega's story.

Great to see you out and about with another LTer, I hope Fliss enjoyed her time in San Diego.

169susanj67
Oct 19, 2014, 3:39 am

Roni, how nice to see another LT meet-up! I hope I can add San Diego to the itinerary for my LT retirement tour :-)

Christmas tree time again! Surely not :-) And yet the supermarkets have their advent calendars out, so it must be. The earrings are lovely.

170humouress
Edited: Oct 19, 2014, 7:21 am

Hi Roni, quick catch up.

Love the pottery. Can I have the tall blue bowl? Oh - your niece has dibs on it ... I like the blue and the mustard ones, too.

Actually, I thought the first cat pendant was an abstract - I do like the colours (and there was a comment on it - I think the post or two just after). I can see the cat in the Egyptian-style one. I noticed the wire wrapping too; actually, I thought you must get matching clips, they're so precise. And the shape of the second cat is exact, too.

Ok, ok; if you didn't bb me with NKH before, you have now; will look out for TTtBtB.

And if you want more comments on Singapore, I posted a complaint on Paul C's thread ;0)

Must go - trying to get the parents together to sing for my youngest's graduation concert, and have to get stuff together for his birthday party, which will be more than a month early this year, just so we can (hopefully) catch people before they leave on holiday.

*whizzes off*

ETA : Back again. Bone Doll's Twin caught my eye in the bookshop yesterday; has anyone read that?

>165 flissp: so cool!

171lunacat
Oct 19, 2014, 7:07 am

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, I LOVE those Christmas trees. They are stunning. I want!

172kidzdoc
Oct 19, 2014, 8:03 am

Nice photo, Roni! I'm glad that you and Fliss were able to meet up yesterday. (Isn't she supposed to be attending a conference???)

173_Zoe_
Oct 19, 2014, 8:12 am

I love those Christmas tree earrings!

Also, thank your for mentioning Clariel's existence! For some reason I still haven't even read Abhorsen, but this is a reminder to get back to the series.

174Morphidae
Oct 19, 2014, 9:07 am

>170 humouress: Yes, I really liked that trilogy. They all got 8/10 stars.

"I blew through this trilogy in three days. The world-building and story-telling is wonderful. I was really able to imagine myself there and got lost in it. You got a real sense of all the main characters (and there are quite a few - this IS epic fantasy.) The villains weren't all bad - they had some good points (even if minimal) and they all had understandable motives. And I often got chilled by the horror aspects of the tale. The only reason it didn't rate higher is because it was more depressing and gloomy than I would like. Not horribly so, but enough that I had to remove a star from each."

175ronincats
Edited: Oct 20, 2014, 1:58 pm

>168 avatiakh: Kerry, I think you'll enjoy it overall. I'm still in the middle of Bitter Greens--finding it goes down better in small doses as it moves among stories--and still liking it. It was good to meet Fliss, and yes, LT meet ups are good.

>169 susanj67: Susan, I hope you can too! Only 9 weeks and 3 days to Christmas--but who's counting?

>170 humouress: YES! Enjoy TTtBtB, please. I'm sorry about your air quality. They had the marathon in China in the smoggy conditions on the national news last night. Amazing! And I was underwhelmed by The Bone Doll's Twin and didn't continue the series--a bit dark for me--but lots of people do like it.

>171 lunacat: Jenny, how about you and I do a tutorial? I imagine you could easily assemble the materials and tools needed.

>172 kidzdoc: Darryl, already commented on your thread about this! And also posted an interesting link that I'll post at the bottom here too, hoping for some discussion.

>173 _Zoe_: Thanks, Zoe. And do. While the books aren't perfect, they are SO original, and the second one, Lirael, is my favorite.

>174 Morphidae: Ah, see the comments "horror", "depressing", and "gloomy"? That's why I didn't get along with the book.

So, this map of the best literary book for each state of the USA popped up on Facebook this morning, and I find it really interesting.

Here's the link so you can see it better, and the article also has a list, a quote, and a comment on each book. They were trying to steer away from the most famous books for each state, and also from dead white males, although they certainly included some. This looks like a fascinating list to me, a good place to start to build my more literary reading, even though I'll never read the Steven King book on it. What do you all think?

http://www.bkmag.com/2014/10/15/the-literary-united-states-a-map-of-the-best-boo...

ETA I've only read two of them, both "children's books", To Kill a Mockingbird and Little House on the Prairie, but I've heard of so many here on LT.

176alcottacre
Oct 20, 2014, 8:11 pm

*waving* at Roni

I love the pictures of your trip! One of these days I hope to make it to the Pacific Northwest, a part of the country I have never visited.

177LizzieD
Oct 20, 2014, 11:02 pm

Hi, Roni. I'm the least bit depressed that N.C. is still the place that T. Wolfe wrote Look Homeward, Angel. I loved it in high school, but I've been afraid to reread it for the past 40 years.
I was interested to see that New Mexico's offering was Ben Ames Williams's Leave Her to Heaven, the only book that my mother ever told me not to read when I was a child.

178avatiakh
Oct 21, 2014, 12:46 am

>175 ronincats: I finished up Bitter Greens in a bit of a rush on Sunday as I found I just ouldn't put it down.

179lyzard
Oct 21, 2014, 1:19 am

>177 LizzieD: And I assume you immediately snuck out and read it?? :)

180lunacat
Oct 21, 2014, 5:08 am

Ohh, a tutorial would be good. What do I need?

181bluesalamanders
Oct 21, 2014, 6:25 am

I'm trying to get caught back up on LT, so I skimmed a little, but your jewelry and pottery are looking lovely, roni! Makes me miss my pottery class. Maybe I should try to find another one, hm...

182drachenbraut23
Oct 21, 2014, 7:51 am

Hi Roni,

love the seasonal earrings - just beautiful. If I wouldn't be doing already so many different things, making jewellery would definitely be next on my list of crafts to learn.

Love the photo of your meet-up with fliss. Still planning to come one day to San Diego with Alex as he still would like to visit the famous comic con one day. He also informed that he would like to visit Philadelphia as well. So, well............. maybe sometimes in the future. :)

>170 humouress: The Bone Doll's Twin - go for it Nina, the trilogy is absolutely great and I am a great fan of Lynn Flewelling anyway. I do believe that I actually own all of her books. Very dark fantasy, great writing style with great plots.

183Cobscook
Oct 21, 2014, 2:05 pm

Now I can see the new pendant style is a cat.....very clever. I really like the looks of the second one

I just finished Late Eclipses. The October Daye series never disappoints.

184sibylline
Oct 21, 2014, 5:39 pm

What a PATHETIC choice for Vermont! Dorothy Canfield Fisher or Frank Howard Mosher would have both been far better choices - they write about 'real' Vermont not a bunch of demented Bennington students. The choice was facile and I'm kind of scandalized, but I know I shouldn't be; I expect too much!

185LizzieD
Oct 21, 2014, 6:55 pm

(>179 lyzard: Liz, I was so depressingly good that I didn't read it until my college years. At that point I didn't see what the fuss was about. I probably read The Bad Seed before that, and that should have upset me a great deal more. Didn't.)

186lyzard
Edited: Oct 21, 2014, 7:23 pm

(>185 LizzieD: Oh, Peggy, Peggy, Peggy... {*shakes head sadly*})

187ronincats
Oct 21, 2014, 8:41 pm

>176 alcottacre: Great to see you enjoying your break, Stasia!

>177 LizzieD: I've read neither, Peggy. I'm thinking of doing a State reading challenge next year, using this list except where list members strongly recommend something different.

>178 avatiakh: Kerry, I've had two other books get in the way, but when I get back to it, it should fly.

>179 lyzard:, >185 LizzieD:, >186 lyzard: *sigh*

>180 lunacat: PM me your email address and I send you the tutorial I used. You need wire (20 gauge), round-nose pliers and a jig board. None of which are very expensive.

>181 bluesalamanders: Hey, blue, good to see you. Some great reading you've been doing.

>182 drachenbraut23: Hi, Bianca. Thank you. Hope you can make it one of these days.

>183 Cobscook: Heidi, the October Daye books are consistently very good, aren't they?

>184 sibylline: Seemy response to Peggy above. Which book by one of those authors would you suggest I substitute for my challenge?

Yet another consequence of being an Introvert:
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2014/10/when-introverts-should-avoid-coffee.html
Who knew?

Tomorrow the winter garden finally goes in. We bought bags of compost to dig into the raised beds and various winter plant seedlings yesterday. Today I finished several days of cleaning out my above and below bathroom counter/sink areas, which resulted in many lipsticks, fingernail polishes, contact lens holders, and samples of lotions thrown out or into the grab-bag for the upcoming yard sale. Next big project is the attic...

188alcottacre
Oct 21, 2014, 8:51 pm

Not having coffee is not going to hurt me at all as an introvert since I hate the stuff, but I found that article interesting. Thanks for sharing it, Roni!

189ronincats
Edited: Oct 21, 2014, 9:10 pm



Book #42 How We Learn: The Surprising Truth about When, Where, and Why It Happens by Benedict Carey (228 pp.)

This Advance Reader's Edition was provided by Random House through the Early Reviewers program on LibraryThing.

As a professional in the field (graduate school in cognitive psychology back in the days when it was first being called that, and a life long interest in information processing and learning during 35 years of working as a school psychologist), I was very interested in seeing how this long-time science reporter conceptualized and documented this topic. And I was very pleasantly surprised. Without getting technical, Carey succeeds in taking a broad view of a diverse range of psychological research and presenting it in understandable and applicable language. I'll definitely be sharing this with some of my fellow educators.

Two errors were noted in the ARC: an incorrect image was used on page 206 and "non-trategy" on page 219. Hopefully, both were corrected for the published edition.

190Kassilem
Oct 21, 2014, 10:15 pm

>175 ronincats:. I love that map. I've read four books out of the fifty, three of which were high school requirements. I haven't heard of a lot of the others. I might have to keep my eyes open. Happy reading!

>170 humouress:. I also loved The Bone Doll's Twin. Almost more than Flewelling's big series.

191DeltaQueen50
Oct 21, 2014, 11:47 pm

I enjoyed that literary map of America, Roni. It's also inspired me to remember my much neglected American State Challenge. I think I only have about 5 states to finish and I really should get it some attention.

192michigantrumpet
Oct 22, 2014, 9:53 am

Popping back up on the threads and have *finally* caught up here! Wow! Great craft work (do you ever do earrings for people without pierced ears?) Adored all your travels and all your 'vacation' reading!

The USA Map? How fun is that!!

193sibylline
Oct 22, 2014, 10:06 am

Hmm - well Fisher's books are older, the most famous is The Brimming Cup--Virago. (You've probably heard of Understood Betsy her very famous children's book.) The Moshers might be more interesting though. He's not as polished a writer but the subject matter and story is always riveting. He writes about the Northeast Kingdom--several counties in the northeast corner of the state--the most hardscrabble. The time period is usually early 20th. Stranger in the Kingdom is about a black minister invited to serve a community. The River Flows North is set during prohibition.... Disappearances is kind of a ghost story, also connected to prohibition, I think?, but... if I remember correctly... with a contemporary piece as well. (I probably don't remember correctly, it's been awhile). The first two books were also turned into wonderful movies made by Jay Craven, a Vermont film director, very talented, so they are fixed better in my mind. They all focus on how different types of people mix in these tiny communities and in this harsh landscape.

194ronincats
Oct 22, 2014, 4:03 pm

Whew! 12 cubic feet of soil amendment/compost dug into my garden beds, and it's warmed up today to 80 degrees. (27 degrees Celsius) Very comfy except when you are in the sun digging up garden beds! But now I'm cooled down. Watering in now, will plant tomorrow.

Melissa, Judy, and Maryanne, I liked the diversity on the list a lot.

Lucy, when I get to Vermont next year, I'll definitely consult with you.

Off to clean up!

195ronincats
Oct 22, 2014, 11:05 pm

Well, my brother has had time to drive out to where my Mom lives and share with her his diagnosis, so now I can mention it online (she has this thread's address, although I don't think she's ever visited). On October 6, my brother found out he has a gold-ball sized malignant tumor in his left lung. Perhaps metastasized from a malignant melanoma removed from his neck 2 years ago. The first doctor sounded like it was pretty much untreatable and a fairly quick death sentence, but a follow-up visit with an oncologist suggested the tumor was encapsulated rather than scatter-shot through the lung and thus treatable by surgery. So now surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday, and hopefully the tumor isn't attached to the cavity wall. He's four years younger than I.

196Kassilem
Oct 22, 2014, 11:44 pm

Thats terrible news. :( My fingers and toes are crossed for you and your brother.

197lunacat
Oct 23, 2014, 3:51 am

Everything crossed for your brother, and I'm glad you can get it out in the open now and get the support you deserve here.

198scaifea
Oct 23, 2014, 6:58 am

Oh, Roni, I'm so sorry. I'm keeping your brother, you and your whole family in my thoughts.

199qebo
Oct 23, 2014, 9:09 am

>195 ronincats: Oh my. Sounds like a roller coaster of diagnoses over the last few weeks.

200kidzdoc
Oct 23, 2014, 9:56 am

I'm very sorry to hear the bad news about your brother, Roni. Hopefully the tumor can be completely resected and it hasn't spread anywhere else.

201lkernagh
Oct 23, 2014, 3:48 pm

Sorry to read the bad news, Roni. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts.

202michigantrumpet
Oct 23, 2014, 6:28 pm

Oh dear, Roni. Many healing thoughts and prayers coming your way.

203DeltaQueen50
Oct 23, 2014, 9:54 pm

Roni, I am so sorry to hear about your brother. Hugs to you and lots of healing thoughts being sent to your brother. I also hope your Mom is doing ok after hearing the news.

204ronincats
Edited: Oct 23, 2014, 10:02 pm

Melissa, Jenny, Amber, Katherine, Darryl, Lori, Marianne, and Judy, your concern is greatly appreciated. I know Tuesday will be a stressful day for all my family.

On a lighter note, I saw this today...

available in several styles and colors at
http://www.lookhuman.com/design/31482-i-like-books-more-than-people
I think it might appeal to a few people here!

This one's not bad either!

205flissp
Oct 24, 2014, 6:03 am

Oh I'm so sorry Roni. I'll be thinking of you and your brother on Tuesday.

206humouress
Edited: Oct 24, 2014, 6:13 am

>195 ronincats: So sorry to hear about your brother, Roni; but it's good that it's operable, and that he's told your mum, now.

ETA with all these thumbs up for The Bone Doll's Twin, I'm quite tempted to try it, only I don't generally like dark fantasy.

207alcottacre
Oct 24, 2014, 8:04 am

Prayers going up for your brother, Roni!

208lunacat
Oct 24, 2014, 9:06 am

Very tempted by some of those shirts but I own too many clothes already........

"I'm more invested in my books than reality" and "Eat, Sleep, Read" could both be taglines of my life.

209michigantrumpet
Oct 24, 2014, 9:07 am

>204 ronincats: Ha! Love the shirts -- although I haven't worn anything sleeveless in a few years :-P

Hang in there.

210jnwelch
Oct 24, 2014, 10:10 am

Cool shirts, Roni.

So sorry to hear about your brother. Sending you and him positive thoughts, and fingers crossed for a good result on Tuesday.

211SandDune
Oct 24, 2014, 12:47 pm

I'm very sorry to hears about your brother Roni. I do hope that the operation next week is successful.

212brenpike
Oct 25, 2014, 12:51 am

Sorry to hear about your brother's diagnosis. . . Sending good luck wishes for next Tuesday

213Whisper1
Oct 25, 2014, 2:07 am

WOW! What incredible photos of your vacation! You are quite a talented photographer. It looks like you and your husband had a wonderful trip. Thanks for sharing such lovely images Roni!

214sibylline
Oct 25, 2014, 8:49 am

Oh Roni, I am sorry to hear about your brother - but I am glad to hear that the oncologist is optimistic he can get the tumor. I am continually amazed these days by how accomplished the surgeons are getting to be. How targeted and effected the chemo and all of it.

The t-shirts are great - I esp love the, like, 2 people, one. About has my number.

Wait and what? Have I forgotten something important. You will be in Vermont next summer? Or, hm, maybe I do remember something along those lines, trip to New England, wot.

215MDGentleReader
Oct 25, 2014, 10:04 am

>195 ronincats: I am so sorry to hear about your brother's diagnosis.

Will it be a long recovery time?

Your family will be in my thoughts and prayers. I shall also pray for the surgeon. May s/he be granted great skill and powers of discernment to get every last bit of the malignancy and any cell that might turn malignant.

Hugs.

216luvamystery65
Oct 25, 2014, 11:23 am

Ro I am so sorry about your brother. I am keeping him and all of you in my thoughts. Cancer sucks!

I'm glad you are enjoying the Lunar Chronicles. The release of Winter is postponed until next November 2015. In February Meyer releases Fairest, Queen Levana's back story. I am guessing the success of the series and the movie Malificent inspired the additional book. I've really enjoyed the first three books so I hope the next two are as good.

I have The Midnight Mayor on my nightstand and shame on me I haven't made time for it. I loved The Madness of Angels. I have often thought the Aaronovitch books were a love story to London but more accurately they are an homage and love to the architecture and history of London. London is a character in the stories. Since Matthew gets his magic from the city I can see it being a love story to London. You have me looking forward to reading the second book.

Loved your vacation photos and I love the cat pendents. This is coming from a dog lover!

217NicolePatrick
Oct 25, 2014, 7:39 pm

Hi, Roni. Playing catchup here. Sorry to hear about your brother, I hope that the surgery is succesful. I will be thinking of you and your family at this time.
On a lighter note, I love your bead work of late. The cat and the christmas stuff is fantastic.
I picked up Sabriel yesterday, which is a bit of a coincidence as you have just read Clariel. I hope you are well.

218ronincats
Oct 25, 2014, 8:49 pm

>205 flissp: Fliss! So glad you made it home safely. How was the jet lag? I enjoyed showing you a bit of San Diego--did you manage to make it back to Balboa Park on Wednesday?

Thanks again to Fliss, Nina, and Stasia for the positive vibrations heading for my brother.

>206 humouress: Nina, it's a bit of a coin toss, isn't it? So many like it, yet it is very dark.

>208 lunacat:, >209 michigantrumpet: Jenny, how can one have too many clothes? (However, I do.) Marianne, every slogan comes in multiple styles and colors, including short and long sleeve.

Joe, Rhian and Brenda, your positive thoughts are much appreciated.

>213 Whisper1: My new camera with the 60x zoom helped a lot, plus the fact that I only posted the best, Linda!

>214 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy. Great shirts, aren't they? No, I'm thinking of doing a states reading challenge next year, but unfortunately no plans to visit Vermont.

>215 MDGentleReader: Thank you, Sheila! If the tumor is encapsulated, it will be a 4-6 week recovery period. If chest wall and/or rib need to be removed, double that.

>216 luvamystery65: Roberta, thank you for your support. I hadn't heard about Winter being delayed--boo! hiss! I have Cress sitting here, working my way through Bitter Greens first. If you liked A Madness of Angels, I think you'll love The Midnight Mayor. Hey, that makes your pendant love even more special!

>217 NicolePatrick: Thank you, Nicole, for the love for my brother and my jewelry! I think you'll enjoy Sabriel. The opening is deliberately jarring, but it comes together.

219alcottacre
Oct 25, 2014, 9:19 pm

*waving* at Roni

Prayers continuing to go up for your brother!

220ronincats
Oct 25, 2014, 9:39 pm

Thank you, Stasia! Love to see you around the threads.

So Facebook has been throwing up the book articles like crazy.

http://www.nextavenue.org/article/2014-10/12-best-new-fall-books

Many of our most discussed authors are represented: Hilary Mantel, Haruki Murakami, Jane Gardam, Louise Penny...

And http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-sarner/long-books_b_5761500.html

Sarner says that the reason some books make such great TV shows is that the screenwriters pare away all that bloat that really isn't necessary in such tomes as Outlander and The Game of Thrones. But then gives us 5 long books that deserve every page.

I've been to pottery today, but won't be bringing anything home for several weeks. I put together a teapot today, which will take at least three weeks to dry and have its bisque firing, and trimmed a medium bowl, while throwing 2 mug bodies.

Tomorrow it's up early and to the Gaslamp Farmers' Market for a third week--we'll see how it goes. My garden was finished yesterday--I put in seedlings for turnip and collard greens as well as herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro, basil) and planted peas, sweet peas, swiss chard and a lettuce mixture in seed forms. Tomorrow I'll spritz the seeds. Our warm weather (mid-80s) is supposed to start cooling off by about 10 degrees starting tomorrow--we'll see. I'm finishing up a turquoise ruffle scarf--we'll see if the lady who requested it comes by tomorrow.

221humouress
Oct 26, 2014, 5:26 am

>220 ronincats: You know, if you take it out of context, it sounds a bit iffy:

"while throwing 2 ... bodies."

;0)

222quinaquisset
Oct 26, 2014, 11:24 am

Ack, sorry to hear about your brother. Some brief reading about metastasectomy shows that he has several good prognostic features. Best wishes to him.

223drachenbraut23
Oct 26, 2014, 12:51 pm

Hi Roni, I am sorry to hear about your brothers diagnosis and hope that the tumor can be completely resected as it is encapsulated and hopefully they won't find anything else. However, you are in my thoughts as I know pretty well how stressful life is in such situations.

Love the T-shirts and I am looking forward to your next pottery pictures.

224sibylline
Oct 26, 2014, 3:12 pm

Stopping in - ah - I see a state-by-state reading tour! I really got terribly excited for a moment there.

225souloftherose
Oct 26, 2014, 4:19 pm

>175 ronincats: Love the map of books and states. Like you, there are some I'd never read, (far too easily scared to read Stephen King) but it's a really interesting list.

>187 ronincats: Thanks for the link about introverts and coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker but I suppose tea might have similar effects.

>195 ronincats: Oh goodness Roni - I'll be thinking of you, your brother and all the family, especially on Tuesday.

>204 ronincats: There are definitely days when that first T-shirt feels true....

226ronincats
Edited: Oct 26, 2014, 7:48 pm

>221 humouress: And here I thought you were going to cavil at Facebook throwing up books! ;-)

>222 quinaquisset:, >223 drachenbraut23: Thank you. All your good wishes are welcome.

>224 sibylline: Sorry, Lucy.

>225 souloftherose: Looks like you are all caught up here, Heather!

Well, once again I managed to let my Thingaversary slip by without catching it. It was on the 24th, Friday, and it is my 7th anniversary. I joined in 2007. I found the 75ers the following June, and the rest is history!

Well, I've already picked up some of my Thingaversary stash this month, including hardbacks of Hawk by Steven Brust and Clariel by Garth Nix and a trade paperback of Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie. I'll have to think a bit about what the other books should be.

ETA One will be Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger, the third in the Finishing School series, which is coming out on November 4.

227LizzieD
Oct 26, 2014, 8:27 pm

Roni, I'm another one who will be praying for successful surgery on Tuesday and for your brother's complete recovery.
A belated Happy Thingaversary to you! Glad to think that you have some more Thinga books coming to you!

228drneutron
Oct 26, 2014, 9:40 pm

I'll be praying for your brother too!

229LauraBrook
Oct 26, 2014, 10:43 pm

Me too, and I'm so sorry to hear about his diagnosis. Lots of good energy and thoughts will be coming your way on Tuesday. (((Roni)))

230ronincats
Oct 28, 2014, 12:34 am

Peggy, Jim and Laura, your prayers and energy are much appreciated. I talked to my brother today. The prep on Friday went well and he talked to his oncologist today. He goes into surgery tomorrow morning. He seems in good spirits, all things considering. We just all hope everything goes well. My sincere appreciation to all of you.

Not to dwell on that, we went to hear Garth Nix talk about Clariel tonight at Mysterious Galaxy. Very entertaining.

231lunacat
Oct 28, 2014, 4:36 am

Fingers tightly crossed for you and your brother today.

232souloftherose
Oct 28, 2014, 5:39 am

>226 ronincats: 'ETA One will be Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger, the third in the Finishing School series, which is coming out on November 4.'

Thank you for the reminder - I'd forgotten about that. Something to look forward to in November :-) And happy thingaversary! You've reminded me mine was last month too and I haven't really thought about which books to buy....

233MDGentleReader
Oct 28, 2014, 8:36 am

Your family and the medical staff are in my hopes and prayers today.

234sibylline
Oct 28, 2014, 8:41 am

Will have you and your family in my thoughts today.

Garth Nix! Lucky you!

And I just found the coffee and introversion article somehow or other - very interesting. I drink tea first and coffee when I am writing (and alone) where it is VERY effective in a good way! If I drink it too early I tend to 'disorganize'. . .

235michigantrumpet
Oct 28, 2014, 12:41 pm

Thinking of you and your brother today!

236ronincats
Oct 28, 2014, 12:55 pm

My brother is already out of surgery--it only took about an hour and a half--and is in ICU for recovery. The doctor told my family that the tumor just fell out of the surrounding tissue, unattached to anything, which is a very good sign. Of course, it is a melanoma which means there is a good chance of reoccurrence at some point, but not today, not now. Everything therefore went very well and thank you to everyone for all the good thoughts, prayers and energies that went toward making it that way.

237MDGentleReader
Oct 28, 2014, 12:59 pm

That is (mostly) great news. Yea for short surgeries and tumors that don't make themselves too much at home.

Is there a plan to prevent the melanoma from coming back?

238souloftherose
Oct 28, 2014, 1:07 pm

>236 ronincats: So relieved for you!

239ronincats
Oct 28, 2014, 1:09 pm

Sheila, I'm sure there will be, but I don't think it's developed yet. I don't know if there'll be radiation or chemo, but suspect there will be something.

Thank you, Sheila and Heather! Celebration today!

240humouress
Oct 28, 2014, 1:13 pm

Great news!

241lunacat
Oct 28, 2014, 1:35 pm

That's absolutely fantastic news, hopefully it was completely isolated and didn't start sending nasties elsewhere. Time for a celebratory drink..........or a celebratory book? Or both?

Fingers crossed that he wakes up well and is pain free and up on his feet as soon as possible. From my own experiences waking up from surgery, it's rather unpleasant!

242michigantrumpet
Oct 28, 2014, 1:37 pm

Huge sigh of relief and happiness. So happy for you all. This was a big hurdle. Thanks for keeping us posted!

243jnwelch
Oct 28, 2014, 2:40 pm

Wonderful news, Roni!

244Kassilem
Oct 28, 2014, 4:01 pm

Yay!!! That's great!

245DorsVenabili
Oct 28, 2014, 4:53 pm

Glad to hear the good news about your brother!

246scaifea
Oct 28, 2014, 5:02 pm

Oh, great news!

247DeltaQueen50
Oct 28, 2014, 5:47 pm

I'm very pleased to hear the good news about your brother's surgery, Roni.

248ronincats
Oct 28, 2014, 5:53 pm

It IS great news, isn't it! Thanks for your support, Nina, Jenny, Marianne, Joe, Melissa, Kerri and Amber. It is much appreciated.

So, I've been on rather a roll this year for Early Reviewer books; I've won one every month except January. I just found out I won Wordplay by Glenn A. Bassett, one of four I requested. I got a little carried away, I admit. But I also asked for my own copy of The Martian, The Remarkable Education of John Quincy Adams and, for my own use, I’ve Got Some Good News and Some Bad News: YOU’RE OLD. This one may sound a little dry. But psycholinguistics was one of my professional areas of interest.

WordPlay lays out the functions of language as the foundation of what is loosely called mind. Studies of language in primitive cultures by anthropological linguists demonstrate the existence in every cultural setting of a basic set of word constructs called semantic primes. Language is extended and elaborated on the foundation of semantic primes to construct a mental map of the perceived phenomenal world. Once in place, a rich culture of language is passed on from each generation to the next by example. Words ultimately become so ubiquitous and necessary that they take on a reality all their own. Mental maps can become more real than the reality of direct experience.
Establishment of a critical capacity for knowing truth demands a study of psycholinguistics. The fund of social psychological research that has emerged over the past century offers a window on the way words are used to enrich culture. WordPlay is a compilation of the most salient research that pertains to language use. It is a layman’s introduction to psycholinguistics. The emphasis is on how words shape behavior and become the substance of the mind. This is knowledge of those habits of mind that can interfere with or improve straight, clear thinking. It is antidote to functional social ignorance of our rich language culture.

249NicolePatrick
Oct 28, 2014, 8:26 pm

Hi Roni, glad to hear that your brothers surgery went well, I hope that his recovery is fast!

Lucky you getting to see Garth Nix! I think Sabriel will be the next thing I read after finishing the Divergent books.

I have also been on a bit of and Early Reviewers roll and have managed to score about 4 books in the last 3 months. I really need to get on and get them read and reviewed but I have so many books calling my name at the moment.

250qebo
Oct 28, 2014, 9:09 pm

>236 ronincats: Well that's reason for optimism.

>248 ronincats: I've had a steady stream of ERs all year, so I'm very careful about requests, make sure it's a book I actively want to read. Alas, some sound better than they are.

251ronincats
Oct 28, 2014, 9:39 pm

Judy, you slipped in. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Nicole. That is a great series.

I agree, Katherine.

So, to read my review of Bitter Greens, you'll need to follow me to my new thread.
This topic was continued by Ronincats' Final Thread for 2014 IX.