Norabelle414's module eta: In which Nora is the Queen of Awkward Silences

I'm reprising my nickname from early last thread, because I like it.



Myself and Jasper Fforde at Politics and Prose last month



A sunrise from my apartment window

Books read in 2012:

January:
1) The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
2) The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
3) Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (borrowed)
4) From Then to Now: A Short History of the World by Christopher Moore (LTER)
5) Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
6) City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (borrowed)
7) Long After Midnight: 22 Hauntings and Celebrations by Ray Bradbury (A) (library)

February:
8) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (reread)
9) Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (A) (library)
10) The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital by Samuel Shem (borrowed)
11) Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (borrowed)
12) Sapphique by Catherine Fisher (borrowed)
13) Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (A) (reread) (library)

March:
14) Bossypants by Tina Fey (A)
15) A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (borrowed)
16) Book of Enchantments by Patricia C. Wrede
17) Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
18) Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery (A) (reread) (library)
19) We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
20) Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

April:
21) The Magicians by Lev Grossman
22) A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (A) (library)
23) Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery (A) (reread) (library)
24) The Trial by Franz Kafka
25) Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
26) A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
27) Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

May:
28) People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (A) (library)
29) Pretty Boy: The Story of Bonzo Madrid by Orson Scott Card (A)
30) The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
31) Gnomes by Wil Huygen
32) I Love Charts: The Book by Jason Oberholtzer and Cody Westphal
33) Anne of Windy Poplars by Lucy Maud Montgomery
34) Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
35) Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

June:
36) Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart (A) (library)
37) Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore
38) Dandelion Wine: Radio Dramatization by Ray Bradbury (A) (library)
39) Among Others by Jo Walton
40) Changeless by Gail Carriger (library)
41) Anne's House of Dreams by Lucy Maud Montgomery (A) (library)
42) Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling (A)

July:
43) Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett
44) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
45) My Week with Marilyn / The Prince, The Showgirl, and Me by Colin Clark (A) (library)
46) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (library)

August:
47) Blameless by Gail Carriger (library)
48) Feed by Mira Grant
49) How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier (library)
50) Heartless by Gail Carriger (library)
51) The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King (A) (library)
52) Maskerade by Terry Pratchett (library)
53) His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (library)

September:
54) On the Road: The Original Scroll by Jack Kerouac (A) (library)
55) Timeless by Gail Carriger (library)
56) Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (library)
57) Manual of Aeronautics by Scott Westerfeld
58) The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (A) (library)
59) Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (borrowed)
60) Divergent by Veronica Roth (library)

October:
61) The Diviners by Libba Bray (library)
62) The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
63) The Odyssey by Homer (Fagles translation) (Coursera)
64) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
65) The Human Genome by John Quackenbush (LTER)

November:
66) The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
67) Theogony / Works and Days by Hesiod (M. L. West translation) (library) (Coursera)
68) The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde
69) Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (borrowed)
69) City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (borrowed)
70) The Railway Children by E. Nesbit (A) (library)

December:
71) Bloody Jack by L. A. Meyer (A) (library)
72) The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (reread)
73) The Curse of the Blue Tattoo by L. A. Meyer (A) (library)
74) Ever by Gail Carson Levine
75) Under the Jolly Roger by L. A. Meyer (A) (library)

My end of the year plan, as of 28 September:

61) 17 Oct The Diviners (lib)
62) 21 Oct The Odyssey (coursera)
63) 25 Oct The Last Dragonslayer (JFf)
64) 25 Oct The Woman Who Died a Lot (JFf)
65) 26 Oct Cloud Atlas (movie)
66) 31 Oct The Human Genome (LTER)
67) 14 Dec The Hobbit (reread) (movie)
68) The Good Earth (audio)
69) Wolf Hall
70) City of Lost Souls (borrowed)
71) Beautiful Creatures (borrowed)
72) The Book of Lost Tales, Part 1 (movie-ish)
73) anything by Robin McKinley (this is getting embarassing)
74) The Big Over Easy (also getting embarassing)
75) some book about Iceland

My end of the year plan now:

71) The Cosmic Serpent
72) The Hobbit
73) Wolf Hall (I swear on all that is holy I will finish this book.)
74) ?
75) ?

Book #70: The Railway Children by E. Nesbit, read by Johanna Ward - Audiobook from the library - This book was horrifying! It's a heartwarming story about three children who don't mind that they suddenly become poor, and who are brave and inventive and save people's lives. But children shouldn't have to save people's lives! They save, among others, a baby who is left alone in a BURNING houseboat, an ENTIRE TRAIN full of people whose track is blocked, a boy who gets lost in a train tunnel and breaks his leg, and a Russian man who has been in a Siberian prison camp for years and now needs to find his family. And if the children hadn't done the right thing, PEOPLE WOULD HAVE DIED! And the whole time their father has "mysteriously disappeared" and they had to move out of their big house into a tiny one and their mother works all the time (writing stories) so that they'll just barely have enough money for food.

The book was fine but I didn't find it at all lighthearted, and I wouldn't recommend it to kids.



Currently reading:
The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by Jeremy Narby (borrowed)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Currently listening to:
Bloody Jack; Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy by L. A. Meyer (0%)

Coming soon:
The Aeneid by Virgil
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

BOOKS READ: 70
BOOKS BOUGHT: 7 hundred million
BOOKS ACQUIRED: 7 hundred million and one
BOOKS DEACCESSIONED: 8

DAYS REMAINING: 40
BOOKS REMAINING: 5
DAYS PER BOOK: 8

(Hermit days in the past week: 2)

Hi Nora! *Waves flappingly*

:) Love the sunset picture. I'm here to lurk some more. I'll try to be present more often!

I also love the sunrise picture. :)

Hi Melis! Thanks Stephen! The sunrise picture was a big hit on Facebook, too. I think sometimes people forget that sunrises are just as pretty as sunsets, because they are awake for them less :-P

One of the things I like about winter is that the sun doesn't rise until 7ish, so I get to watch it through my giant, east-facing windows.

Nora - Two lovely but very different opening photos. Shame on Jasper Fforde - where I come from a gentleman will not sit whilst a lady stands! Happy thanksgiving and congratulations on your latest thread.

Thanks Paul! In his defense, he had already been signing books for an hour, (and EVERYONE wanted their picture taken) so I don't blame him for wanting to sit. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

Happy Thanksgiving, Nora. If you are lucky it'll be as calm, quiet, and family-free as mine is. ;)

Nice new thread! And definitely a great sunrise picture.

>11 Ape: Thanks Stephen! Thanksgiving #1 was this afternoon, with my brother, his girlfriend, my dad, and his girlfriend. But it was at a restaurant so no drama. Thanksgiving #2 is tomorrow evening, at my mom's house with her friends and my brother (and probably my brother's girlfriend)

But now it's over for the day, so I am sitting in my chair with no pants on knitting, drinking tea, and watching Downton Abbey. Like the pilgrims did.

Haha, very funny, we both know pilgrims always wore pants.

Have you ever seen a picture of a pilgrim with no pants? Well? There you go.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, Nora! I've got The Hobbit on my December list as well. I'll be reading my boxed 25th anniversary edition--can't believe it is the 50th anniversary already.

Thanks Roni! Happy Thanksgiving to you too! My edition of The Hobbit used to have a lovely green and blue dust jacket on it, but I always lose my dust jackets so now it is just blank :-(

Hi Nora, Happy Thanksgiving! So cool you got to meet Jasper Fforde.

Thanks Marie! Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

A happy belated Thanksgiving to you! Seems you're extending it an extra day, so maybe I'm not so belated.

Not at all! I had Thanksgiving #2 today, and now I get two days of doing absolutely nothing. Hooray!

Yay for doing nothing! *Lazy high five*

The Cosmic Serpent is frustratingly terrible. But it's a different terrible than usual, however, as the writing is good and has appropriate citations. It's just the science that is complete bullshit. Also I'm halfway through and it has only just started to mention DNA. I've put it aside for now because I'm not in the mood, but I will finish it eventually. (It's only 160 pages long, without the endnotes)

Reading The Hobbit. It is just as good as the last time.

I thought we were reading all of The Aeneid for my Coursera class, but we're only reading half and I'm not in the mood to read the other half, so it won't get read.

Bloody Jack is really entertaining. I've been having trouble sleeping lately so I've been spending a lot of time laying awake in bed listening to it.

Not much else going on. I'm baking cookies right now for a cookie-baking contest that is tomorrow. I'll post some pictures at some point if all goes well.

Sorry The Cosmic Serpent is so bad, Nora. It's so pretty-looking! :( I'm glad you have a couple other good ones going though.

Your comments about The Cosmic Serpent are interesting...it LOOKS good, and it seems to have good reviews. So I guess looks can be deceiving!

As for the Aeneid, that's one of the reasons I got frustrated with Coursera literature courses. I would rather just have the time to read the entire book than to have to read only part of it and have the rest left over when I'm not in the mood or don't have the time!

Good luck on your cookie-baking contest! I'm eating some cookies my Turkish friend made me...but I think they're just pre-made dough. ;)

It's essentially a science fiction book. It would be good and enjoyable if it were advertized as such, but I feel swindled. (not that I paid for it, but still . . . . . . )

Also if you look at the reviews, the most popular one compares the book to a card game. Several of the others are merely applauding the book's normalization of hallucinogenic drugs.

The frustration of reading partial books is pretty much my whole undergraduate degree and most of grad school. I think I only took *one* undergraduate Greek or Latin course where the instructor actually had us read the whole work in English, in addition to the tiny part that we were reading in the original language. So many fragments of books.

I'm actually really bored with the whole class, but that's a different story ;-)

I wish I had had you two in my courses then; most of my students grumbled that I made them read the whole of a book instead of just selections...

I lost the cookie-baking contest, so I'm drowning my sorrows in cookies.

So, what you're saying is, you didn't really *lose* the cookie contest...

I was thinking you'd been awfully quite lately and turns out I'd missed this whole new thread. Silly me.

Jasper Fforde!! Awesomeness!

Do you watch NCIS? Cause RIVER SONG is on it right now!

Alas, I can't stand NCIS. But I did notice that she's on Upstairs, Downstairs which I plan on watching soon.

Did you know that she's been on 4 episodes of Law & Order: SVU, and that her character's name is MIRANDA POND?! Hilarious!

That one did look interesting. Can't wait to see what you think of it.

Hmmm, that's an interesting choice. I'll watch to see what you think of it. :) I'm SO behind on my LTER books right now!

>36 The_Hibernator: Me too! They sound so exciting when I'm reading about them online but by the time they show up at my house I don't feel like reading them. But I've gotten much more selective about choosing them now so hopefully things will go better.

Yeah, I have a big backlog in ER books. I'm trying to make sure to go back and check my initial requests before the request period closes, because books that seemed interesting a month ago are often no longer in keeping with my mood, or something.

If you ever do decide to join that goal-setting website, one of my goals is to get through all my outstanding ER books ;)

I haven't even been looking at the books lately, for the same reason you posted. A couple times I've received books and thought "So...why did I request this again?"

Though now that you mentioned Early Reviewers I'm tempted to browse the books...curses!

>38 _Zoe_: Going back and un-requesting is a really good idea. I just have to remember to do it.
I could probably come up with 101 random goals that are just about reading.

>39 Ape: Well good thing for you, we're in between batches right now ;-)
I have this one ER book that's a fiction book from the perspective of some meerkats, (a la Meerkat Manor, I guess. . . ) and I keep looking at it on my shelf like "ugh, really? what was I thinking!?!?!"

>40 norabelle414: Ha! The perspective of some meerkats??

Oh! Haha, I guess that makes sense considering the time of the month. Okay, no book browsing for me. :)

The books do look a lot better on the ER page. It also sucks when you get a book that just looks 'okay' but is a BAJILLION pages. That nonfiction looked interesting when it was just a cover and summary but 700 pages? Really?

Thankfully that's never happened to me, except when I won The Passage by Justin Cronin, but fortunately it was an amazing book. :)

>41 _Zoe_: I know. What was I smoking??

>42 Ape: I think my problem is that I look at the books on the ER page and I think "I should read more books like that!" or "I wish I liked books like that!" and then I get them and I remember that I don't like books like that.

Yeah, I've gotten really selective about which books I'll request. Since (until this month, when I only requested one book and they REJECTED me) I seem to get a book every month now, I might as well only request the ones that look totally awesome. :) One book a month seems to be a bit too fast for me!

Fortunately I've fallen so far behind that I no longer win ER books.

>45 _Zoe_: I would have thought that I was too. It feels like I have a MILLION unreviewed books, but really it's only 3.

Yeah, I have 5. But it's down from an all-time high of 6. And I should be able to get a couple more out of the way over the holidays.

I get anxious when I have an LTER book and usually read it within a month of receiving it.

Sycophant.

For free books? I have no shame.

Book #71: Bloody Jack; Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy by L. A. Meyer, read by Katherine Kellgren - Audiobook from the library - Really good. A young orphan girl pretends to be a boy and joins a Navy ship to escape some unsavory characters on the streets of London.

I had a few small issues with the gender roles and sexuality, but I just chalked it up to being a YA novel and enjoyed myself. Considering how tricky those subjects can be, it didn't do that bad a job of simplifying them.

The narrator was especially good. I enjoyed her voices a lot. My library's OverDrive has the first 8 books in this series, and there's no waiting list for any of them, so I will probably continue with the series until I get tired of it.



Currently reading:
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by Jeremy Narby (borrowed)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Currently listening to:
Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady by L. A. Meyer (10%)

Coming soon:
Ever by Gail Carson Levine
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
??

BOOKS READ: 71
BOOKS BOUGHT: 7 hundred million
BOOKS ACQUIRED: 7 hundred million and one
BOOKS DEACCESSIONED: 8

DAYS REMAINING: 28
BOOKS REMAINING: 4
DAYS PER BOOK: 7

(Hermit days in the past week: 3)

Sooo remember when I wrote that good essay for my Coursera class that I was really proud of and then got a 4 out of 10 on it??

This time I completely half-assed the essay, wrote it in less than 20 minutes, and only wrote 250 words of the suggested 350.

And I got a 9 out of 10. Some comments from my reviewers included "more than satisfactory", "no obvious need for improvement" "hard to see where it could be improved" "argument leaves no room for doubt", and "this is the first essay I've graded that I enjoyed reading."

Hmmmm, fascinating. I guess for other people to like your work you have to think down to their level?

I think people were being more lenient in their grading. My current theories are
a) since you only have to do well on ONE of the two essays, all the people who did well on the first essay didn't do the second essay (and thus didn't grade essays). So everyone who was doing the grading had gotten burned on the first essay and thus was more sympathetic to their gradees.
Or
b) everyone was being more lenient after all the issues with the grading of the first essay.

Or maybe you're an excellent half-asser.

I AM an excellent half-asser. I have over 24 years of experience.

But only 12 of them really count... ;)

You're probably an excellent half-asser....AND, people probably became more lenient, AND the angry-graders may have dropped the class by the time the second essay was written (that happened in my class...they all got angry that "no one but me knows how to write, I'm dropping!" and disappeared from the forums)

>57 leahbird: Actually, I'm 49, but I've been half-assing my age since birth.

I bet between the two of us, we could actualy whole-ass something...

...meh, screw it. Let's just read.

Better to be a smart-ass than a dumb-ass.

#59 by @norabelle414> hahahaha!

I'm working on a (long-term) project of organizing all of my books in chronological order of when they occur (or when they were written in the case of books that have absolutely no relation to our universe). I'm having fun, because I'm weird like that.

That being said, I am curious about what people think of the difference between novels set in "near future" and "distant future". When does the near future end, and when does the distant future begin?

Any thoughts?

Oh my god, I've always wanted to do that!!! In fact, I'm angry there isn't a 'date of setting' column in the Common Knowledge that way we can sort our libraries like that here. Hmph!

For me, it's more the atmosphere of a novel than an exact date. If a novel feels pretty much exactly like a novel set in current times except with slightly more advanced technology, I consider that near-future. Once time as advanced so far as to make modern life unrecognizable, its distant.

So, for example, a cyberpunk novel set in New York where the cops wear sunglasses that detect hidden weapons and display them before their eyes and criminals try hide their weapons with cloaking devices is near future. When New York is completely replaced by some uniformly metallic city, it's probably distant.

There are debatable settings though. What about a robot apocalypse? I would call this distant because the following steps would have to happen:
1. Humans develop complex AI.
2. Humans implement complex AI into robots.
3. AI advances until robots have free will.
4. Robots rebel.

It's individual step would have to indicate vast spans of time, in my opinion, even if an author lists the date as, say, 100 years from now.

Other people probably have different determining factors, but for me it's mostly about the feeling the book evokes. Does it seem like it could be just around the corner or is it inconceivably advanced?

I'm much stricter about my definition. I think if the society in question can remember our society at all, it's near future. If they have almost no recollection of our time, like in Dune or Always Coming Home or the middle section of Cloud Atlas, then it's distant future.

Regarding my books, I'm categorizing them by decade (by year would be too difficult, I think) with the first tag, so that I can "sort by tags" and they'll be in chronological order (except for the BCEs. Argh.)

Feel free to use the copious amounts of time that I've already put into this project for the books we share by checking my tags.

I agree that if the characters can remember or have heard of how our society used to be (I mean is) then I consider it near future.
The idea of sorting your books based off of decade sounds really appealing. I have no time for a project like that now but good luck with yours. Maybe in a few years I'll try it as well :)

63: I am curious about what people think of the difference between novels set in "near future" and "distant future"
And then there’s the near future as described in the past... e.g. 1984.

64: In fact, I'm angry there isn't a 'date of setting' column in the Common Knowledge
Has it been suggested in RSI?

>55 Ape:-62 what with all the asses around here I can hardly hear myself think ;)
lol

ANd what a good idea to have the date of setting in common knowledge. I like.

Having a "date of setting" in CK would be AWESOME, but I'm loathe to suggest it as I'm sure we will run into the same problems that have been happening with OPD (i.e. specific day v. just a year). When (if . . . ) that issue gets resolved, then I'll start suggesting other dates to go in CK ;-)

>67 qebo: And then there’s the near future as described in the past... e.g. 1984.
I love those :-) You know, in a little under 3 years it'll be "the future" from Back to the Future . . . .

Ohmygodyouguys. Please continue talking about near/distant futures, but also LOOK AT THIS

"Susanna Clarke's fantasy novel set during the Napoleonic Wars, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, is being adapted for BBC television — and let's hope we get it pretty quickly here in the United States. The six-issue miniseries is being directed by Toby Haynes, who directed a bunch of Matt Smith's Doctor Who stories in a row and also a key episode of the BBC's Sherlock. Adapting this massive novel for television will be writer Peter Harness, who also wrote the third season of the show Wallander. "

Oh goodness I'm so excited!

>70 norabelle414: I guess I should probably read that book.

I'm enjoying the discussion of near/distant futures too, and will weigh in when I have more time.

I have 480 of my 923 books tagged with decades now. That's more than half! Here's what the numbers look like so far:

1170s BCE (1)
700s BCE (1)
400s (1)
500s (3)
700s (1)
950s (1)
1000s (2)
1130s (2)
1190s (1)
1200s (1)
1300s (2)
1320s (1)
1340s (1)
1350s (1)
1380s (1)
1480s (1)
1490s (1)
1500s (3)
1520s (2)
1540s (1)
1560s (3)
1590s (1)
1600s (10)
1640s (2)
1650s (1)
1660s (3)
1670s (1)
1680s (2)
1700s (1)
1710s (2)
1720s (1)
1740s (1)
1750s (1)
1770s (2)
1780s (2)
1790s (3)
1800s (7)
1810s (13)
1820s (4)
1830s (6)
1840s (8)
1850s (3)
1860s (10)
1870s (11)
1880s (16)
1890s (24)
1900s (27)
1910s (34)
1920s (24)
1930s (27)
1940s (32)
1950s (37)
1960s (44)
1970s (25)
1980s (34)
1990s (41)
2000s (71)
2010s (9)
2020s (1)
2040s (1)
2540s (1)
4870s (1)
20000s (1)

Many books have multiple decades, due to spanning decades, historical fiction, or time travel. Almost all dates are from (or estimated from) Wikipedia so blame them if I'm totally off.

#70 by @norabelle414> Ohhh, that should be interesting. Except for lamenting those fabulous footnotes I think this will be right up my alley. (Maybe I'll read the footnotes while I watch!

>73 leahbird: Maybe they'll do it like a pop-up video on VH1 (Do they still do those?)

I'm with Zoe, I should probably read it as well...

The decade list is AWESOME and I'm jealous. :)

When I'm done I'll make some graphs and we can speculate as to the cause of spikes in some decades.

*Sighs in admiration*

A case-study for discussion:

The Wind in the Willows was written in 1908. I, for some reason, also own the 5th book in the series based on TWitW by a different author, which was written in 1996.

So if TWitW takes place in 1908, then that means the sequel should take place in almost the same time period, right? Neither one of them offers a specific setting, but they have the same characters. And small mammals only live for like 5 years, right??

And this is why I could not do what you are doing. The uncertainty! The imprecision! The "best guesses"! AAACCCKKKK!

I'm leaning toward just getting rid of the sequel. Why do I have the 5th book, but not the 2nd-4th???

I won't even get started on the Madeleine L'Engle books. I might do those last.

Talking animals have a life-span comparable to humans.

ETA: If it makes you feel better, I had the same concerns about the Ga'Hoole series. It seemed like "seasons" kept passing...and a "season" cycle should be a year, right? But these animals seemed to still be "kids" many seasons into the story.

The animals in the Redwall series only live to be 5-20 years old, depending on their species. (Badgers and hares living longer than mice and shrews and moles, for example)

I tag by century - maybe I should think of decade for the 20th century, too!

I was tagging by century before, but that's just so unspecific! And it would be little to no help for my eventual goal of physically arranging my books ;-)

Talking animals taste good with BBQ sauce.

Just FYI, I'm going on a business trip tomorrow, and I'll be gone through Friday. I'll still check in here in the evenings (and will probably be pretty bored) but I'll be completely offline during the day.

Destination?

ETA: I like to travel vicariously, almost as much as in reality...

*Picks a state at random* Ummmm...IOWA!?

San Antonio

Safe Travels, Nora!

Enjoy your time in Texas! (Do people enjoy Texas? ;) Just kidding, don't kill me Texans...)

MAKE SURE, if you have any spare time, to get out of town a bit and visit the Spanish missions. They are lovely. San Jose is my very favorite (I've been 3 times now), but Espada and San Juan are nice too. San Juan is the closet to downtown.

The Riverwalk is nice but packed with tourists. The Alamo is significant but small.

My 8am flight to Houston was cancelled, so now I'm leaving at 10:45 for Chicago, then spending SEVEN hours at O'Hare, and arriving in San Antonio at 10pm. I was originally supposed to arrive at 12:45pm. And today was going to be my only free time. But thanks for the tips!

On a related note: do I know any LTers in Chicago?

Ugh, O'Hara is not an airport I like being stuck in. Sorry for you travel misfortune.

Oh, that sucks, Nora. Sorry about the delay. I was in SA in October for our annual conference. Not my favorite place but there are worse! And if you like Mexican food, you'll be fine :)

Mark (msf59) & Joe (jnwelch) are both in Chicago or the surrounding areas, I believe. I think there are more, but those are the two that spring to mind, both of which would be excellent company, methinks...

My flight from Chicago to San Antonio is delayed, of course.

*Slaps forehead*

You sound like you have the same luck as me when it comes to plane travel... which is not good.

I made it to my hotel in one piece. AND with my luggage.

Have a great trip! Mark and Joe are the only ones that I can think of that live in Chicago.

So far all is well on my return trip (knock on wood). I'm in Houston for another hour and then home!

Home! On time!

Tomorrow's super busy, but I'll catch up with LT on Saturday.

Yay, Nora's home! *Turns cameras back on*

Glad to hear that you're home safely!

Book #72: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien - Reread - Excellent, as always. But, as always, I am surprised at how long it takes me read. It feels like it should be a quicker read.

I really love watching Bilbo grow from a passive bystander in his own life into a hero. Perfect.



Currently reading:
The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by Jeremy Narby (borrowed)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Currently listening to:
Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady by L. A. Meyer (70%)

Coming soon:
Ever by Gail Carson Levine
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
??

BOOKS READ: 72
BOOKS BOUGHT: 7 hundred million
BOOKS ACQUIRED: 7 hundred million and one
BOOKS DEACCESSIONED: 8

DAYS REMAINING: 14
BOOKS REMAINING: 3
DAYS PER BOOK: 4.67

(Hermit days in the past week: 1)

I'm deep, deep in a book funk now. I've been reading so much less in general since I moved into my own apartment, because I no longer need to keep my family at bay by hiding in a book. I can watch whatever I want on TV, instead of just shows about sports or reality shows or "I don't know what this is I just turned on the TV, no don't change the channel I'm watching that", and so I watch a lot of TV. Also, my commute has gone from 2 hours total with ~1 hr 20 min of reading time to 40 minutes total with ~20 min of reading time (though it's actually zero minutes because the people on my shuttle talk too much).

Right now I'm blaming a lot of my TV watching on all the knitting I have to get done for Christmas, but even if I'm done with that on the 25th (unlikely), that only gives me a week to read 2.5 books. And I spend an unfortunate amount of time fussing on the computer while I watch TV instead of knittting.

I don't like either of the books I'm in the middle of right now, and The Hobbit didn't really thrill me. I'm not super excited about any reads I have coming up, and I'm reluctant to start anything because I'm afraid my funk will ruin a good book.

*Ahem* Graphic novels. I'm reading an interesting graphic adaption of Fahrenheit 451 that isn't super awesome but I'll finish it...like...today...or tomorrow.

It's not cheating, they still count as books! :P

Graphic novels take me longer to read than a regular book of the same length. I *love* the content of most graphic novels, but the format just doesn't do it for me. The only GN I have TBR is V for Vendetta, which is a long one. And a think-y one. It's sitting on my nightstand as a "read me next" reminder, but I have no motivation to read anything.

I have the opposite problem right now. I'm reading (and getting on the internet) less now that I'm living with my family. I just keep talking to them instead of getting other stuff done. :)

>111 The_Hibernator: Give it 9 months or so ;-)

Just kidding. From what I can tell you get along with your family a lot better than I do with mine :-)

:) Yeah, I get along with my parents (especially my dad) pretty well. My sister is a perpetually angry person, so she's touch-and-go.

Find a favorite old comfort read and sink into it!

>113 The_Hibernator: From my viewpoint, my brother is doted upon, spoiled, and entitled. I feel extremely bitter and jealous when I am around him too long, especially with my parents. I'm sure I'm not fun to be around when I feel that way (in fact, I've been told so), so it's better for everyone if I manage my time with them.

>114 ronincats: That's great advice, Roni. Thanks!

>115 norabelle414: I think from my sister's point of view I'm doted upon, spoiled, and entitled. It makes her very angry at me. But I don't know what to do about it. I just get along with my dad really well...I can't really help that. I DO try to get along with my sister as best I can, though.

It's all a matter of perspective. :)

I have a solution! You should get rid of your TV. Much more reading will be done.

(She says, having not actually finished a book in weeks. But I have other excuses that will be described when I actually have free time again.)

>117 The_Hibernator: My brother does allow me to speak to his girlfriend now. Although I think that has more to do with the maturation of their relationship than ours.

>118 _Zoe_: Well, that's complicated, because I don't actually watch TV on the TV. I watch TV shows on the internet, and I can't give up my computer. And I really like my TV shows. They fulfill some of the same needs that books do, but take less time, I can watch them when I'm in a funk, and I can do other things while I watch.

I like V for Vendetta very much. It's think-y, as you say, and it has some powerful images and lines. I'm not a fan of the art, overall, though the character design of V himself is great.

>120 Cynara: Hi Cynara! I've seen the movie version of V for Vendetta several times and I like it a lot, so I am looking forward to reading the graphic novel. I'm hoping I'm out of this funk soon so that I can enjoy it!

I've always had trouble judging the movie version - it takes some very different turns from the novel, some of which didn't work for me. I think some aspects of it were really good, though, and if I'd seen it first I'd definitely have liked it more.

Yeah that's why I like watching movies before I read books (unless it is a plot-heavy story with twists and surprises). If the movie is lame you can say to yourself "At least the book will be better!" and if the movie is great you can say to yourself "Wow, the book is going to be even better than that!"

Book #73: Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady by L. A. Meyer, read by Katherine Kellgren - audiobook from the library - Jacky Faber, formerly of the Royal Navy, is dumped at a girls' boarding school in Boston when it is discovered that she is a girl. She doesn't quite fit in.

This book is the lowest rated in the 8 books of the series (but it's still rated 4.13!), but I thought it was great fun. True, there are no pirates, but boarding school stories are great, and the depiction of Northern US/Southern US/British relations in the very early 1800s is spot on, and Jacky is an awesome character. It's like A Great and Terrible Beauty, plus Downton Abbey, plus a Napoleonic Naval adventure, plus Anne of Green Gables, but badass.

Jacky is great because she does whatever the heck she thinks is right. She sees all these stupid rules around her like women have to ride side-saddle, and ladies can't be friends with the serving girls, and women can't show their limbs in public, and she says "screw you, rules!". But she's still fiercely loyal, and kind, and brave. And, most importantly, she knows that she deserves punishment when she breaks the rules. She doesn't hesitate to get in a fight with another "lady in training" who slapped a serving girl, but she fully expects to be whipped for it. Her chivalry and sense of responsibility even extend to her friendships: she fully expects that if she misbehaves, her friends will be mad at her. She always realizes that the pickles she gets into are the result of her own actions, and never blames it on any outside force. I find it extremely refreshing; she's a true hero.

I'm definitely continuing with this series. I'm LOVING them.



Currently reading:
Ever by Gail Carson Levine
The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by Jeremy Narby (borrowed)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Currently listening to:
Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber by L. A. Meyer (3%)

Coming soon:
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
??

BOOKS READ: 73
BOOKS BOUGHT: 7 hundred million
BOOKS ACQUIRED: 7 hundred million and one
BOOKS DEACCESSIONED: 9

DAYS REMAINING: 10
BOOKS REMAINING: 2
DAYS PER BOOK: 5

(Hermit days in the past week: 1)

>124 norabelle414: Sounds good. I've been thinking about reading that series, but haven't bothered picking it up yet. :)

>125 The_Hibernator: If you listen to audiobooks at all, I highly, HIGHLY suggest doing audio for this series. The narrator is really spectacular.

>126 norabelle414: Yeah, I probably would end up going the audio route. My library carries them.

I loved Bloody Jack, but I remember being disappointed with that one, enough that I haven't even continued on with the series yet. I can't even remember what I objected to at this point.

I was a little disappointed when I figured out there wasn't any sailing. But it's a good boarding school story. And it definitely shows some versatility on the author's part.

I am zipping through this audiobook (the 3rd Jacky Faber book) due to the fact that I have TONS AND TONS of knitting to get done in the next couple days.

Finished:
Tiny Santa hats for friends (4)
scarf for aunt
hat for aunt
scarf for brother
scarf for dad
fingerless mittens for mom

In progress:
fingerless mittens for aunt
scarf for friend
scarf for dad's girlfriend
dishcloth for family friend

Not yet started:
2 scarves for 2 friends
tiny Santa hats for coworkers (6)
2 scarves for mom (no urgency)

Wow, looks like you have your work cut out for you. Do you think this will help you complete the challenge?

Chances are looking pretty good now. I'm halfway done with my real book (spoiler: it's terrible) and 40% done with my audiobook.

My chances of finishing all the knitting? not good.

Half-assery, commence!

Sounds intimidating! Good luck! And Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!! Hope you have a great holiday!

Happy holidays and best wishes for 2013!

Thank you Tina, Chelle, Katherine, and Leah! Merry Christmas to you too!

Glitterfy.com - Christmas Glitter Graphics

I wish you a glorious celebration of that time of year when we all try to unite around a desire for Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward All. Merry Christmas, Nora!

Merry Christmas, Nora! :)

Happy holidays, Nora!

Hope your day is a merry one, Nora. :)

Merry Christmas!

Thanks Roni, Marie, Madeline, Stephen, and Carrie!

Christmas haul!

My mom got me a Kitchenaid mixer! I'm really excited.
My dad got me a knitting needle set that I have been pining for, as well as Rule and Ruin, a book about how there used to be moderation in the Republican party and now there is not, in which my dad is mentioned several times.
And I got from various sources: one very large bottle of beer, one bottle of dessert wine, and one bottle of Prosecco. Excellent all around!

Also, my SantaThing books came yesterday!! I am 99.9% sure that my Santa does not go on the forums, so hopefully I won't hurt any feelings when I say that the books she picked are really NOT my cup of tea. Two of them are books I started to read several years ago but stopped because I did not like them at all.
Guilty Pleasures (The first Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel) by Laurell K. Hamilton
Storm Front (A Dresden Files novel) by Jim Butcher
Fantasy Lover (The first Dark-Hunter novel) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Blood Price and Blood Trail (The first two Blood Books novels) by Tanya Huff

but also The Country of the Blind and Other Science-Fiction Stories by H. G. Wells, which looks awesome and I'm really excited about it.

However, I did get some awesome suggestions for books on my SantaThing page, and I will be looking into all of them.

Has anyone read any of the above books? Can you tell me if they're worth reading for someone who really doesn't like paranormal romance or mysteries or detective novels?

Ha! I got Storm Front for Christmas too. I know a lot of people love it, but I always feel a little overwhelmed when starting such a long series...

As for the others, Hamilton writes pretty dirty books. I don't know how good the actual story lines are. Kenyon is popular at the library I work at, but Huff isn't. Bummer that your Secret Santa didn't pick so well.

My Santa wasn't particularly on point either. I'm looking into some exchange/swap options.

I liked Storm Front, but I liked Butcher's later books more. He's the kind of author who gets better with each book in my opinion. But it is a long series (14 books right now, 200-500 pages per book) and primarily urban fantasy with some mystery; however I thought the mystery, while important, wasn't the total focus. I guess it depends on whether you're willing to read the whole series. I found once I got to book three I was hooked. I haven't read any of the others. Hope that helps a little!

The first five or so Hamilton books are straight urban fantasy and aren't "dirty." She doesn't get into the sex thing until later in the series. There's no romance in Guilty Pleasures but it would be considered a mystery, though one with vampires and ghouls and such. Actually I'd consider it more of a thriller, same with Storm Front.

Fantasy Hunter is a paranormal romance. All Kenyon books are.

I don't know anything about Tanya Huff.

It makes bestiality less weird when it's a werewolf.

Sorry, that's all I really have to add to the paranormal romance conversation.

Glad you had a nice Christmas, Nora! Did you get all your knitting done?

>151 Ape: Thanks Stephen! I got some knitting done, but not all. Here's an updated list.

Finished:
Tiny Santa hats for friends (4)
scarf for aunt
hat for aunt
scarf for brother
scarf for dad
fingerless mittens for mom
fingerless mittens for aunt
dishcloth for family friend
Tiny Santa hats for coworkers (2)

In progress:
scarf for friend
scarf for dad's girlfriend

Not yet started:
2 scarves for 2 friends
tiny Santa hats for coworkers (4)
2 scarves for mom (no urgency)

Since I'm cutting it so close to 75 this year, do you want a day-by-day update? What, you don't? Well you're getting one anyway!

26 Dec (5 days remaining)
Under the Jolly Roger: 61.6%
Ever: 75/244 = 30.7%

153: do you want a day-by-day update?
Of course. Glad to have companions still over here in 2012.

I'm not starting a 2013 thread until I finish my 75. Like a child who is not allowed to leave the table until she eats her goddamn asparagus.

Mmmmm I love asparagus ;-)

155: Heh. I've been in eat-your-vegetables mode all month, and I am SO glad to be moving on to dessert 2013.

You got good info on the Blake, Butcher, and Kenyon books. I've read a number of Huff books, but not those two. Some are paranormal romance, some more straight fantasy, and some are science fiction. She's a decent writer. If you check her out on Wikipedia, I've read and enjoyed her Summoning series and her Quarters series, both pretty straight fantasy, her Valor series which is science fiction, and her Enchantment Emporium series, which is urban fantasy. Wiki says that your books are: "This series pairs a detective with a vampire. The first book introduces Vicki Nelson, a former police officer with failing eyesight due to Retinitis Pigmentosa and Henry Fitzroy, a vampire and writer of historical romances—which is natural for him as he was Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, illegitimate son of Henry VIII before he was seduced by a vampire."

I'm not even READING the 2013 group yet. I'm tired of stressing out over trying to keep up with so many threads this time of year, so I'm not. :)

A Kitchenaid mixer! I assume that's a stand mixer? I'm a little jealous as we don't have the counter space for one, but I'd love one to be able to do things like make homemade marshmallows... someday!!! Do you know what you'll make first with it?

>155 norabelle414:/159: I hear you on that one! I was about to go start a thread and though... naaah... I'll wait. It's not going anywhere and I have limited time at the moment, which I'd like to use in here to hear about everyone's holiday reads. :)

I've gone over to the 2013 side and stared a few threads, but I'm not reading or starting a thread yet. :p

>156 katiekrug: GROSS.

>158 ronincats: I am sure they are all lovely books but they are not the kind of books that I enjoy reading.

>159 Ape: My new year's resolution is to not complain about the newbies in the 2013 challenge group.

>160 dk_phoenix: It is a stand mixer! It is refurbished but I am not a power-user so I should still have it for many years. I will try to remember to take some pictures soon. I'm not sure what I'm going to make first.

>161 The_Hibernator: Yeah I am trying to keep on top of my starring and ignoring (I'm a perfectionist so I ignore every thread that I don't plan to keep up with) as that will make life a little easier come 1 January.

I read 1 newbie thread just now and I already don't like 2 of them. Can I still complain about them? :P

You can complain about them but I will keep silent. Besides, the only problems I had with newbies last year (but not this year, mind you.) was a) quantity, and b) thread names.

It would be really really interesting to see what percentage of newbies become full-fledged members (i.e. continue for the whole year, come back for another year, post on other people's threads, have other people follow their threads, etc)

:( I was a newbie this year and I found friends. :p

ETA: Though now that I know how you feel about newbies, I decamp and join Club Read. :p

You're different. You posted on our threads. :P

>167 The_Hibernator: Yes but you are a) only one person and not many and b) name your threads better than "hello" or "I'm going to try this" or "75 books". Plus you're not at all new to LibraryThing itself. You're definitely a newbie that became a full fledged member, but you're not typical of newbies.

I'm not complaining about newbies this year. Somebody change the subject.

Oh oh oh, do I get to pick the subject?

Yep.

Okay!

Ummmmmm...

Nipple hairs.

And scrotums.

So? What do you have to say about them?

I try to keep them separate.

Most of the time.

What percentage of time is "most"?

Excellent point, Rachel. Stephen, your rebuttal?

____________________________________

27 Dec (4 days remaining)
Under the Jolly Roger: 76.7%
Ever: 136/244 = 55.7%

I got a decent amount read today because I (really embarrassingly) missed the bus this morning. So I sat on a bench and read until the next bus came, instead of going back to my apartment for 45 minutes like I wanted to. So go me!

I was a 75ers Newbie this year too, but I totally get what you mean. There were several threads/people I started following at the beginning of the year that totally fell off the face of the internet. I'm glad I've fallen in with this crowd because you guys reliably post interesting things that save me from terribly boring down time at work! You know, other than just generally being interesting and reading good books! ;)

Haha, I was a 75er newbie this year and I *did* fall off the face of your thread, Nora! I've been rather neglectful of LT in general lately, as is always the case with December. You've been so gracious to keep popping in on my thread, though. Basically I just post on a couple of threads around here this late in the year because I just can't muster the mental energy to keep up with everyone. But 11 out of 12 months is pretty okay, right?

The same percentage as "the vast majority."

>177 leahbird:-178 la la la la la la I can't hear you! la la la la

>179 Ape: And how far apart is separate?

I like newbies. Their threads tend to be less active, so there's some hope of keeping up.

Separate = not touching.

In defense of newbies (for alas, I am one also), there is SO much action in this group that it is difficult to be active on everyone's threads. The sheer volume of new posts is intimidating sometimes and to think of something relevant and hopefully witty for each thread is difficult to do. We do lurk around though... even if you don't know it, we're watching you (you know, like Santa!) :)

So how about that weather, hm? It is very cold and/or warm for this time of year, is it not?

I imagine it's difficult for everyone (not just newbies) to keep track on this group. It's a lot easier once you've figured out who's fun to talk to and who never talks to anybody. :)

184... Nice transition ;)

185... I've not thought of it that way, but makes good sense to me.

28 Dec (3 days remaining)
Under the Jolly Roger: 89.9%
Ever: 136/244 = 55.7%

Go Nora! Wooooo!

Book #74: Ever by Gail Carson Levine - So disappointing. I could go on and on about all the ways in which this book doesn't work, but it's not worth it. Suffice it to say that the world-building is so bad that none of the book makes any sense.

Book #75: Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber by L. A. Meyer, read by Katherine Kellgren - audiobook from the library - When we last saw Jacky she had left Boston on a little whaler called the Pequod. In this next book, she departs the Pequod (leaving a heartbroken sailor named Ishmael in her wake) in London, to find out why she hasn't received any letters from her beloved Jaime Fletcher.
She finds him, but in a compromising position and as she is running away, Jacky is captured by a press gang! She is delivered to a small Royal Navy ship called Wolverine, which is commanded by arguably the worst captain ever. But leave it to Midshipman Faber to make everything ship shape (and break the hearts of boys and men alike along the way)
In part 2, Jacky has escaped her fate once again and now has her own ship, the Emerald and a Letter of the Mark from England, which allows her to be kind of an authorized pirate, as long as she only steals from England's enemies. She scrounges up a crew from Ireland, lead by her "Sea-Dad" Liam, from her days on the Dolphin. During their adventures she learns a lot about the volatile relationship between England and Ireland in the early 1800s.

This book was amazing, as usual. Jacky is THE BEST.



Currently reading:
The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by Jeremy Narby (borrowed)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Currently listening to:
In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber by L. A. Meyer (0%)

Coming soon:
The Country of the Blind and Other Science-Fiction Stories by H. G. Wells
??

BOOKS READ: 75!!
BOOKS BOUGHT: 7 hundred million
BOOKS ACQUIRED: 7 hundred million and one
BOOKS DEACCESSIONED: 9

DAYS REMAINING: 2
BOOKS REMAINING: 0!
DAYS PER BOOK: 0

(Hermit days in the past week: 1)

Go me!

I'm going to save stats and stuff for later, as there is an extremely small chance that I could finish another book by Monday night. Extremely small.

189: BOOKS READ: 75!!
Congrats!

Nora - Congrats on making it 75 with aplomb.

On Oldies and Newbies - we were all in the position of dipping our toes in water that we weren't sure would burn or chill us. Some newbies will burn out like a bassist on LSD and some will enrich the group. This year has been excellent with people like Mamie, Bianca and Rachel kicking up a storm. But for every Mamie there are ten others that don't last out a dozen posts.

Congrats on 75!

YAY! YAY! YAY!

I was disappointed with Ever as well. It just didn't come up to scratch with the other books in that "series."

Woohoo! *High fives*

Woot! Congrats!

Me too- great timing on hitting 75! Time for one more even...maybe?
Congratulations!

(Note: if I don't finish this book before 2013, I'll repost all the summaries in the new group)

Stories from The Country of the Blind and other Science-Fiction Stories by H. G. Wells

The Country of the Blind: A story inspired by the idiom "In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king". A hiker in the Andes gets trapped in an isolated valley of people who have been fully blind for 14 generations. Spoiler: he does not become king.

Happy New Year Nora -look forward to keeping up more in 2013. x

Stories from The Country of the Blind and other Science-Fiction Stories by H. G. Wells

The Star: A formerly-unknown planet from the outskirts of our solar system crashes into Neptune. The two planets fuse and go hurtling toward the Sun. Their trajectory will not send them anywhere near Earth, except that Jupiter is in the way. Jupiter's gravitational field pulls the "star" just far enough off its path to send it toward Earth.

Thanks Katherine, Paul, Jim, Rachel (glad it wasn't just me!), Stephen, Marie, and Megan (I hope so!) for your congratulations. This is the second year in a row that I have read 75 books and I really couldn't have done it without your support. (Or without audiobooks.)

>199 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! Happy New Year to you. How does 2013 look so far??

I need to come up with a new naming convention for my threads for next year. Any ideas?

No ideas here. Mine is predictably lame.

Happy New Year, Nora!

203: Not "in which"? No ideas here either. 1, 2, 3, 4 works for me.

I'm afraid I'm lamely going for "wherein" this year

I will still do "In which . . . " but I need a new numbering system. This year was "module {greek letter}", which I stole from How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe . Last year was "chapter {#}". Prior to that I never had more than one thread.

Sections? Parts? Episodes?
Roman numerals? Spelled-out numbers? Letters? Phonetic alphabet?

I'm my pestering can be skewed as supportive in your eyes. *Pokes incessantly with pen*

HAPPY NEW YEAR NORA!

>209 The_Hibernator: Blasphemy! I know for sure that you are one time zone behind me, woman.

Haha. I'm too old to sit up until midnight and THEN do my Happy New Year thread hop. I need to sit in my rocking chair with some honeyed tea and fall asleep. ;)

That's exactly why I plan on wishing everyone a happy new year at 9:30am tomorrow. After I get my 10 hours of sleep.

Installments? Acts? Phases? Stages?
Morse Code? Binary?

I'm starring and xing 2013 threads, but not setting up mine or commenting until tomorrow. And tomorrow is not moments after midnight.

>213 qebo: Ooh those are good. I'll add them to my list of possibles.

I've been Xing and Starring like crazy, because if I don't do it now it will be soooo much work later. I'm going to make my thread later today, while sitting at home on the internet pretending I have something cool to do.

I'm not sure if I've mention this enough, but I love Jacky Faber. I wish I had found her earlier because she reminds me SO MUCH of myself in a phase I went through between 8th and 10th grade. Also I was totally in love with pirates through that whole phase so it would have been great. *sigh*

Yeah, I'll be asleep by 10pm, for sure. Maybe I'll be awake to celebrate the west coast's New Year. ;)

See you in 2013!

I don't know how in the hell I managed to do this, but somehow I haven't been at this thread AT ALL for its entire existence!!! Shame! I love your photo of you and Jasper, and the one from your apartment window. Both lovely for different reasons!

Haven't heard of the Jacky Faber series before, but boy is it ever on my TBR stack now!!!

Hope things are well Chez Nora!

#203 by @norabelle414> Since you just organized your books by date, how about epoch or decade or something like that?

Here's to a great new year ahead, Nora! And congrats on hitting the 75 book mark.

Thanks Roni!

Happy New Year, Nora!

>222 UnrulySun: Thank you Kathy!

2012 End-of-the-Year Summary

Books read: 75
Books purchased (paper+audio): 86
Books acquired (purchased+free, not audio): 94
Books borrowed (friends+library): 43
Books read that were on the shelf for a year or more: 9
Books deaccessioned: 9ish

-------------------------------------------------​

Books read: 75 (paper+audio)

Paper books: 53
Audiobooks: 22

Pages read: 20,082 (no audio)

Average paper book length: 379 pages
Median paper book length: 372

Average pages read per day: 55
Average pages read per week: 386
Average pages read per month: 1,674

New reads: 70
Rereads: 5

Fiction/Nonfiction

Fiction books read: 67
Nonfiction books read: 8

Best new books:

Ready Player One
Feed
Leviathan
The Diviners
Under the Jolly Roger

Worst books:

Divergent
Absurdistan
Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict
On the Road
My Week with Marilyn / The Prince, the Showgirl, and Me

Thank you, my dear friends, for another excellent year. Please join me in my new thread for the new year.

Or, you can stay here if you'd like. I'm not bossy like some people . . . . *coughstephencough*