Morphy Meanders Through 2014

Morphy in Repose (Age nine years)

This is my fourth 75 Books Challenge. I read about 300 books a year, so I'm not worried about meeting the challenge!

I mostly read fantasy, preferably urban, but also enjoy general and genre fiction, historical romance, classics, popular non-fiction, and will honestly try any genre at least once.

I prefer story over language and my favorite books are the ones I just want to hug after I'm done.

I don't so much review books as leave some sparse comments.

Pounds Lost:



Books Read in 2014: 0

My best books of 2013 were:

Written in Red by Anne Bishop
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

My best book of 2012 was:

The Fault in Our Stars by Green, John

My best books of 2011 were:

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by McKillip, Patricia
Bridge of Birds by Hughart, Barry
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Wells, Rebecca
Garden Spells by Allen, Sarah Addison
Soulless by Carriger, Gail
What I Eat by Menzel, Peter and D'Aluisio, Faith
Ready Player One by Cline, Ernest

My favorite books from the years before that were:

Essential Spirituality by Roger Walsh
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
The Stand by Stephen King
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Katherine by Anya Seton
Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

I read 304 books in 2013 for a total of 106,115 pages with an average of 21 books per month and 349 pages per book. I read an average of 296 pages per day. On average, I finished a book every 1.20 days.

January - 28 books
February - 20 books
March - 33 books
April - 43 books
May - 31 books
June - 37 books
July - 19 books
August - 19 books
September - 16 books
October - 19 books
November - 14 books
December 25 books

Over the past eight years, I typically read the most books in May (average 27) and the least in September (average 15.)

Books Read by Year:

2006: 191
2007: 199
2008: 217
2009: 286
2010: 254
2011: 290
2012: 301
2013: 304

Categories

Written by Both: 14
Written by Females: 220
Written by Males: 69
Written by Other: 1

Average Rating by Both: 6.64
Average Rating by Female: 6.5
Average Rating by Male: 6.16
Average Rating by Other: 6

Category - Number of Books - Average Rating
Fantasy - 82 - 6.6
Contemporary Fantasy - 59 - 6.7
Mystery - 34 - 6.5
Nonfiction - 28 - 6.1
Science Fiction - 20 - 6.3
Romance - 18 - 6.3
Fiction - 15 - 6.3
Paranormal Romance - 11 - 6.6
Children - 10 - 6.4
Graphic Novel - 6 - 6.0
Horror - 5 - 5.8
Classic - 4 - 6.0
Historical Fiction - 4 - 7.5
Steampunk - 3 - 6.7
YA - 2 - 6.5
Erotica - 1 - 7
Inspirational - 1 - 6.0
Poetry - 1 - 5.0

Nine percent of the books read in 2013 were non-fiction.

By Century First Published

1600 - 1
1800 - 2
1900 - 126
2000 - 175

By Decade First Published

1900 - 0
1910 - 0
1920 - 1
1930 - 3
1940 - 2
1950 - 6
1960 - 5
1970 - 9
1980 - 27
1990 - 73
2000 - 87
2010 - 88

Library - 165 books
Own - 28 books
Ebooks - 99 books
Overdrive - 5
Early Reviewer - 3 books
Audiobooks - 3 books
Website - 1 book

Hardcover - 77
Paperback - 114

91 of the books I read in 2013 were re-reads.

My average rating for a book was 6.46.

Ratings

10 - 0
9 - 4
8 - 36
7 - 124
6 - 90
5 - 35
4 - 13
3 - 0
2 - 2

The 9s are:

Moloka'i by Brennert, Alan
Wonder by Palacio, R. J.
Written in Red by Bishop, Anne
84, Charing Cross Road by Hanff, Helene (REREAD)

Did Not Finish

Gone Girl by Flynn, Gillian
Master and Commander by O'Brian, Patrick
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vinge, Vernor
Downbelow Station by Cherryh, C. J.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Chabon, Michael

More than 1 work by author

67 books: Mercedes Lackey (doing full bibliography re-read)
12 books: J. R. Ward
9 books: J. D. Robb
6 books: David and Leigh Eddings, Jeaniene Frost
5 books: Charlaine Harris
4 books: Anne Bishop, Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Stephen King, Courtney Milan, J. K. Rowling, Carrie Vaughn
3 books: Ben Aaronovitch, Jude Deveraux, Kim Harrison, Robert Heinlein, Veronica Roth
2 books: Ilona Andrews, Kelley Armstrong, Lois McMaster Bujold, Gail Carriger, Kady Cross, MaryJanice Davidson, Jocelyn Drake, Janet Evanovitch, Neil Gaiman, Kevin Hearne, J. A. Jance, Jean Johnson, Anne McCaffrey, Marissa Meyer, Nora Roberts, Alexander McCall Smith

Longest book: Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon - 836 pages
Shortest book: Prisons We Chose to Live Inside by Doris Lessing - 78 pages

I read books in 23 different Dewey Decimal numbers.

000s - 2
100s - 0
200s - 2
300s - 4
400s - 0
500s - 6
600s - 7
700s - 1
800s - 2
900s - 4

Misc. which I will get to tomorrow - maybe. I wasn't going to hold up creating this thread because the masses were clamoring for it and I'd have rotten produce thrown at me if I didn't get it up today.

Morphy's Mighty Monthly Reads for 2014 (Green Dragon Group Reads)

January (1001 Fantasy) - Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan
SPOILER: http://www.librarything.com/topic/167618
NO SPOILER: http://www.librarything.com/topic/162247

February (111 Science Fiction) - The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

March (50 Mystery) - A Free Man of Color by Barbara Hambly

April (111 Nonfiction) - Agatha Christie by Agatha Christie

May (1001 Fantasy) - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien

June (111 Science Fiction) - Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

July (50 Mystery) - The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

August (111 Nonfiction) - Collapse by Jared Diamond

September (1001 Fantasy) - The Prestige by Christopher Priest

October (111 Science Fiction) - Old Man's War by John Scalzi

November (50 Mystery) - Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

December (111 Nonfiction) - An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks

Group Read Links: http://www.librarything.com/topic/161490

***

The LT Green Dragon Book Club's next meeting is at the Ridgedale Barnes & Noble on Saturday, February 15th at 2pm. We are reading Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.

The WCC Daytime Book Club is reading Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie in February.

Current Challenges

(And why I'm not doing a category challenge this year.)

Completed/Total in List

Next book by favorite authors - 61/67 ("reset" when completed)
Next book in series by secondary authors - 11/47 ("reset" when completed)
TBR 2007 - 5/8
To Read 2009 - 3/5
2009 TBR List (different one) - 6/17
2011 TBR Code List - 79/81(read a book from all my best of lists each year)
2012 TBR Code List - 64/81
2013 TBR Code List - 47/81
TBR Next - 2/4
50 Books - 34/50
Misc Books - 9/11
1001 Fantasy (Green Dragon) - 148/462
111 Nonfiction (Green Dragon) - 36/111
111 Science Fiction (Green Dragon) - 48/111
50 Mystery (Green Dragon) - 25/74
50 States - 89/150
Around the World in 80 Sleuths - 15/80
888 Challenge - 91/95
12 in 12 Category Challenge - 158/207
13 in 13 Category Challenge - 23/48
Mercedes Lackey - 67/128
Complete RAT - 2/4
Book Crossing Top 100 - 82/100
Top 100 Fantasy - 75/100

*Other challenges*
One book per month from the Green Dragon lists
One Stephen King per month (up to February 2013)
American Authors
Read more books than in 2013

*Possible other challenges because I'm nuts*
A to Z Titles
Catch up on years of published dates in the last 100 years

I stole this from someone else at LT and tweaked the last few ratings. I can't give credit because I don't remember who I copied it from! Since I started using this I've noticed I've been handing out more 6's and less 7's.

My rating system:

10 stars - The book completely enthralled me. Could not put it down. Got something more out of it than just entertainment -- it enlightened or educated me in some way. Can definitely see myself reading it again. Will keep forever and never loan it out.

9 stars - Not quite perfect but almost so. I will actively push this book on my friends and family.

8 stars - A really great book in all respects with perhaps some minor flaws. Highly recommended.

7 stars - Better than average but with some flaws. Recommended.

6 stars - Average. An entertaining read but probably forgettable. Will not reread. Recommended for entertainment value to readers with similar interest.

5 stars - Slightly lower than average. Some aspects of the story, characters or writing troubled me. Probably will not recommend.

4 stars - Finished but did not like. Would not recommend.

3 stars - Had some redeeming qualities or else I couldn't have finished it. Nothing to recommend it though.

2 star - I can't believe I finished this book. What am I? A masochist?

1 star - No book ever gets this rating. If it's a 1, I can't finish it.

As of December 2013


visited 17 states (7.55%)
Create your own visited map of The World


visited 34 states (68%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Bah humbug. Created a new one instead of editing a saved post. La la la. Nothing to see here. Move along.

And might I say ARGGGGGH - I forgot to put the post number in the first thread.

Sheesh. Took ya long enough.

Hi Morphy!

Bah humbug. I started my 2014 thread in *2014* like a NOrMaL person.

"Abby something." "Abby Normal."

Oh, hooray! You're here!! I've got you starred, Morphy!

We're midway through the year and you call it "in 2014." ::eyeroll::

Just in time Morphy - Jim has already sent out a search party.
Really lovely photo up top by the way.

Wishing you a wonderful 2014; hope that health wise things stabilise for both your goodself and for Mr. Morphy. xx

Yay!!! You're here!!! I've been searching for your thread for DAYS, woman!!

;o)

Starred & anxiously following your reads & hilarious posts. (((Hugs)))

Starred! Happy New Year.

Go Morphy! Go Morphy! Looking forward to another fun, book-packed, year!

Morphy's here all is well! Happy Day!

Well. It's about time. *taps foot impatiently* And just where have you been, missy?

Hiya Morphy! Nice new digs.

Starred!

Dropping in to say hello in 2014 and mark my spot.

You're off and running for another year!
Happy 2014, Morphy!

Oh goody there you are. Placing star. Happy 2014!

Hi, Morphy!

Mrs. Frisby and The Westing Game are two of my all-time favorites - I can't wait to hear what you think of them!

Yeah, happy to have found your new thread, Morphy! Happy new year to you and Mr. Morphy!! Thanks for reminding me to insert my state and country maps. I too will continue from last year.

>11 Crazymamie: Lovely to see you here, Mamie!

>12 richardderus: RD, twenty hours into 2014 isn't midway through the year, you, you, twiddle-waddle!

>13 PaulCranswick: Paul, I do think that picture is one of the loveliest ones of my childhood. Or at least I'm not posed like a dork.

>14 TinaV95: Tina, I'm glad I amuse you so! As my mom says about herself, "I'm very entertaining."

>15 _Zoe_: Thanks, Zoe! Glad to see you here.

>16 msf59: Mark, and I'm looking forward to the antics over on your thread, too!

>17 luvamystery65: Roberta, well, I'm ALWAYS here. LOL. It takes up a large part of my morning. Especially the last week!

>18 drneutron: JIM! Not you, too! I *said* I would post my 2014 thread in 2014! :P

>19 MickyFine: Micky, thanks! Not quite finished. I have two more posts to finish. Don't know if I'll get to them today. I'm being picked up at 12:45pm for a few appointments this afternoon (2pm, 3pm, 4:40pm).

>20 Kassilem: Melissa, thanks! Happy to see you stop by.

>21 thornton37814: Lori, your spot is marked and I'll make it all comfy for you. Pillow?

>22 EBT1002: EBT, it's more like a slow lumber, but yeah, I'm off!

>23 BBGirl55: BBGirl, thanks for stopping by!

>24 scaifea: Amber, that makes me look forward to them even more!

>25 Carmenere: Lynda, there were no changes to my maps in the last two months. Bummer. I need to work more on that1

***

As I said to Micky, I have three appointments this afternoon - therapist, nutritionist, doctor. The doctor is so I can get "permission" for physical therapy. Even though I've lost a lot of weight, I have no extra energy. In fact, I have no endurance whatsoever. So, I'm hoping with some ideas and the motivation of a PT, I can increase my physical activity and energy.

Good luck with your appointments Morphy.

Three appointments! Yikes! But, you know what, three at once is probably better than 3 over a number of days, since that would likely eat up even more of your time. I hope they go well and that you get some helpful recommendations!

Book-wise, I notice you're planning to read Magician's Guild this month! I picked that off my shelf last month and read 2 pages before becoming distracted... but maybe I'll pick it up again this month. It's always fun to compare thoughts. I might check out the Green Dragon thread on it too, just because. :D

Morphy's here, now 2014 can begin! :)

Happy New Year! Good luck with the doctors, that's no fun, but at least you can get it all over with at once.

Appointments -ugh! I'll be thinking about you. And I posted the photos that you requested over on my thread! See how much I love you?!

I hope your appointments all go well.

Happy New Year!

Your thread! I found it!

There you are! Now I can finally wish you and your family the best of health and happiness for the New Year. I assume MrMorphy does celebrate the New Year? ;0)

Hi Morphy, I'm glad you're in!

Ahah... here you are, Morphy! So glad I've found your thread at last. Starred you so I don't lose you ... this place is as busy as Walmart during a Black Friday sale and if I'm not careful, I'm never going to find you in the throng again.

Hi, Morphy - Happy New Thread!

*starred*

Stopping by with Happy New Year wishes now that I have located your 2014 thread, Morphy and my head went straight up when I saw your post that you had three appointments scheduled for the same afternoon.... that would wear me out, so I am now adding to my New Year wishes to say I hope you have a relaxing evening and a wonderful day tomorrow.

Yay, you made it! And yay! I found you. Okay, now I can rest.

Good luck with your appointments and with finding some energy. If you get any good advice on how to do that, please pass it on to me? I'm desperate!

BTW, I'm "borrowing" your rating system to try for this year. Hope you don't mind.

Happy New Year!

>27 luvamystery65:, 35, 38 Roberta, Linda (Whisper), Liz, thanks!

>28 dk_phoenix: Faith, none of them were any big deal. I've been meeting with my therapist and nutritionist for months. Both had helpful advice for me. The doctor was just for a quick chat so I could get a referral to physical therapy. They were all painless and not only in the same building but in the same department!

>29 RosyLibrarian: Marie, the party can't start until Morphy takes part! :D

>30 inge87: Jennifer, yeah, I did it specifically that way. Then MrMorphy picked me up and we had dinner in the cafe downstairs!

>31 Crazymamie: Mamie, you love me! You really love me!

>32 SylviaC: Sylvia, they went very well, thanks. And a happy new year to you as well!

>33 The_Hibernator: Rachel, your person, you came!

>34 humouress: He does, humouress! In fact, he celebrated it more than I did. He stayed up to see in the new year and I went to bed at 9:30pm! Love the beach new year graphic.

>36 wilkiec:, 39 Diana, Linda (layton), nice to see you posting here.

>37 cameling: Caro, I know. I'm very aggressive with the red x this part of the year. I have to be for my sanity. I'm down to 2.5 hours instead of 4 hours reading threads but that's still a ridiculous amount of time. I'm looking for to it slowing down.

>40 lkernagh: Lori, as I told Faith, it was quite easy. But yes, today will be quite. MrMorphy won't even have to cook dinner. We're having leftovers!

>41 Storeetllr: Mary, finding energy will probably involve exercise. Sounds so counterintuitive, doesn't it? And as far as my rating system goes, *steal* away. I stole it myself. I can't even remember who from.

***

Today will be a lot of iPad stuff. I got EverNote for Dummies on OverDrive and need to read that. I need to move the movie Hugo off the iPad and onto my computer - which involves me learning exactly how to do that. I want to find a budgeting app. I heard about Mint but it seems much more involved than what I want. I want to get my appointments into iCalendar. Then I really need to get a move on The Golem and the Jinni since it's three days over due at the library. Oops.

What are you reading today?

I'll have Meals on Wheels for lunch today - that's always a mystery. Yesterday was shredded chicken in gravy, wild rice, corn and some type of strawberry fluff with a graham cracker crust for dessert. What will I eat today? I won't know until it arrives! Dinner is left over chicken noodle soup. Lovely for a freezing cold winter evening.

What are you eating today?

Morphy - Reading Touch Wood: Poems and a Story by Dannie Abse a 91 year old welsh poet who is sort of a poor man's mix of Dylan and Edward Thomas; A Man of the People, pleasing political satire in sixties Africa from the late Chinua Achebe and Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War good but very long and with wincingly small font history of the causes of WWI.

Eating: I had a Malay/Thai dish called Nasi Goreng Paprik. Looks something like this:

>43 Morphidae:: I love it!!!! I may have to steal it and post it on Facebook, or other random places... :D

>44 PaulCranswick: Paul, as usual I don't recognize any of those books. LOL. And I looked up Nasi Goreng Paprik because it looked delicious. Chili paste? NO NO NO NO NO. Not me, No way. No how!

>45 dk_phoenix: Faith, well, I stole it from Facebook so it only seems fair. Ha! See if this works: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=687043644660971&set=a.19443341058866...

Oh...I've been wanting to read The Golem and the Jinni I hope you enjoy it!

If I don't get a good chunk of it read today, I'll have to send it back and re-request it. I'm already 3 days late. I'm about a chapter in and it's quite interesting so far.

Like Faith, I love post 43 - too funny! And yes, I truly love you! Your charms are impossible to resist! Let's see, what am I reading? A mix of things - I am wanting to read more of George Orwell's work this year, so in preparation for that I am reading about Orwell - Why Orwell Matters by Christopher Hitchens, also reading Betwixt and Between, Frost Burned and The Luminaries. And I need to get busy because I have not yet finished a book in 2014.

Eating? Not sure what's for dinner tonight, but last night we had chili. Not too exciting, but it sure was good.

Waiting to hear your thoughts on The Golem and the Jinni - that one's on my WL.

Eating: Baked oatmeal from a recipe provided by @jillwmo. Supper will probably be leftover ham and broccoli.

Reading: Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities, a SantaThing book.

>49 Crazymamie: Mamie. I think my favorite is #11. Heh. I haven't finished a book either. The horror!

>50 SylviaC: Sylvia, I'll be using leftover ham this weekend to make black-eyed peas and rice. I was going to do it on the traditional New Years Day but we already had tons of leftover chicken soup. There was no room in the frig! I've liked Wicked Bugs and Flower Confidential by the same author.

And to add another of similar ilk, I'd highly recommend The Drunken Botanist, which I got as an ER and liked so much that I've ordered three of the real thing: one for me (the ER version had no index), and one each for my sisters-in-law.

Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to following your reading again this year; you read such an interesting mix of books. I found a copy of The golem and the djinni at a used bookshop yesterday so I will be trying to read it soon too.

I hope that 2014 is a wonderful year for you, with no more health scares or other bad things.

Well, I'm reading The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. Lunch will probably be a sandwich of some kind and dinner is definitely going to be reheated pasticcio from an excellent Italian restaurant here.

Happy New Year Morphy!
Hope you are enjoying The Golem and the Jinni as I really liked that one!

>41 Storeetllr:, 42 Yes, I was afraid of that. Starting yoga on Monday. Hoping that will help the soreness and stiffness. May need to treat myself to a massage after.

Love the dog resolutions. I think I may adopt them for mine this year, though I don't usually do well with resolutions. My favorite is between 8 and 12.

So, sitting here contemplating having a second cup of coffee and maybe a bowl of greek yogurt with frozen cherries and wild blueberries for breakfast/lunch. (Dinner will probably be a big bowl of the lovely split pea and ham soup my sister made.) Then some IRL errands outside in the beautiful warm sunshine (crazy, it's supposed to snow tomorrow) before I try to finish the long, dense history of the 14th century I started back in December (A Distant Mirror). Or maybe I'll just give in to my lazier nature and read Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer. Decisions, decisions.

Reading: The third Harry Potter book and an ARC called Wake by Anna Hope.

Eating: Since it's my birthday on Sunday, my co-workers brought in breakfast for me. Bagels and fruit and eggs, so sweet! Now I'm drinking hot chocolate at work because it's so cold.

I LOVE #43. I'm very afraid of telephones.

Hi Morphy, I held out with my new thread until Dec. 31, but I admire your resistance. A happy new year of reading to you and big congratulations on your 214-pound weight loss. That is phenomenal!

>57 RosyLibrarian:: Happy Birthday!

What I'm reading - threads, mainly. And doing some housekeeping on my own 2014 thread, plus I still owe reviews on some of my 2013 books. Otherwise, I'm sort of between books. I've finished my Overdrive books for now, and have sort of started Five Children and It on the Kindly, though I do have Deep Wizardry and City of Ashes out from the library. And there are some group reads I could start - I have a heap of books overbalancing on my bedside table.

What I'm eating - about to have breakfast. I'm planning on Weetabix with skim milk and a glass of grapefruit juice (which is what I have on most days, so I don't have to think too munch in the mornings).

ETA - snookered on the eating plans; my eldest had other ideas. Bacon, egg, sausages. And cherry tomatoes on behalf of the kids, though I doubt they had any.

Reading today? Once I get Charlie all sorted and tucked in, Imma gonna crawl in bed with The Man in the High Castle (*snork!*)

Eating? We had leftover chili for dinner, which is the best kind of chili, really. It's one of those meals that are better the second day, I think.

Oh, and have you seen this? I spent a healthy chunk of the day today drooling over it:

http://bookriot.com/2013/12/31/10-best-top-100-books-lists/

A top 10 list of book lists. Oh, yes. Cue that Farrell song, now.

Amber - You are right - chili is much better on day two.
Morphy - the paprik yesterday was exceptionally spicy and wouldn't recommend it all for delicate tummies.

Have a wonderful weekend.

>52 qebo: Thanks for the suggestion, qebo!

>53 Sakerfalcon: Claire, it's gotten a lot of good buzz for sure.

>54 MickyFine: Micky, I had to look up pasticcio. OMG, it sounds so good! Send me some?

>55 ChelleBearss: Chelle, I'm in chapter 4 or 5 and am really liking it. I just wish I had more time. I've been so busy the last few days.

>56 Storeetllr: Mary, I love split pea with ham. We make it as well. The key is to NOT to eat it the day you cook it. It needs to sit for a day to thicken up.

>57 RosyLibrarian: Marie, are you afraid of telephones or having to answer them? What do you do at work?

>58 Donna828: Thanks, Donna! It wasn't all that hard to "hold out." Not a problem at all in fact. Rather, I wish more people had!

>59 humouress: Five Children and It is one children's book that I haven't gotten around to yet and want to, humouress. Is this a re-read for you? Is "so I don't have to think too munch in the mornings" a purposeful typo? LOL

>60 scaifea: Amber, I hate you. I really hate. I need more lists like a need another hole in the head. And those are really good. You must have it in for me.

>61 PaulCranswick: Paul, yeah. I don't like any type of heat. My lunch pork chops had black pepper on them yesterday. Yuck.

***

Today we are off to Target to use our Christmas money! The only thing I *know* I'm getting is a case for my iPad. I'll probably get some DVDs. Otherwise, I don't know. Oh! I want to look at Christmas clearance.

62: Both. I hate talking on the phone. I hate making calls. If we order pizza or Chinese I make my husband call them. I never answer the phone if I don't know the number. At work I do have to make calls, but I dread every moment of it.

ETA: Happy shopping!

>62 Morphidae:: *blows a raspberry* Quitcher complainin'. You know you love it.

>63 RosyLibrarian:: I'm the same, which I why I love that in this age of technology, most pizza and even more than a few Chinese restaurants now let you order online!

>62 Morphidae:: This will be the first time for me reading Five Children and It, though I have seen part of the film a couple of times.

Did I really type that? Must have been hungry!

Post #43 brought a smile to my face.... Love it!

As for eating, well I just came back from grocery shopping on an empty stomach - I Really need to stop food shopping on an empty stomach, too many nasty processed food items look good when I do that! - but I made it home unscathed, and promptly made myself the following sandwich: oven roasted roast beef (no garlic), Jalapeno monterey jack cheese, fresh spinach and Dijon mustard seed prepared mustard on slightly toasted Nottingham bread (a sourdough-based multi-grain bread the local market sells).

Now I am ready to spend an afternoon of taking down the holiday decorations.

Currently reading: Bleak House and Hotel Paradiso.

I had vichyssoise for lunch today and I've got a chicken roasting in the oven for dinner. I'll put together a spinach, red onion & bacon salad, and roasted garlic mashed potatoes for sides.

I'm currently reading Uncle Fred in the Springtime and The Lady and Her Monsters.

Let us know what sort of case you get!

And because I'm terrible with impulse purchases of DVDs, I'm curious to see what you picked up of those. ;)

I love post #43. Intrstingly I do half of those 12. Hope your day/night are going well!

Dropping by for a quick catch up Morphy! Hope you're doing well!

>63 RosyLibrarian: Marie, wow, that must make life hard at times. The world is so phone-dependent.

>64 scaifea: Amber, I have no idea what you are talking about. *hides the bookmark she made to the site*

>65 humouress: You did, humouress, you did! I thought it was a delightful typo. Let me know what you think of that book.

>66 lkernagh: Lori, we went to Target yesterday and just as I thought we'd make it out, we passed the snack aisle and the gravity SUCKED us in. I wasn't too bad though. I got a one serving pack of Cheetos and a bag of Godiva Gems (milk chocolate with strawberry filling). MrMorphy didn't get anything but later confessed to having bought Godiva Gems white chocolate truffles at the grocery store earlier in the day!

>67 cameling: Caro, sounds delicious other than I'd have to pick the onions out of the salad.

>68 drneutron: Jim, I got a Belkin. The others were too bulky, too expensive, too cheap, not in a color I liked or just plain FUGLY. This one was slim, $40, seemed decent quality and black. I would have liked dark blue or dark green, but black is an acceptable substitute.

>69 MickyFine: Micky, I got Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - 1 & 2, The Green Mile, Beaches, Firefly (all episodes plus extras), and a DVD with all the Blade movies. We've seen everything except the Firefly episodes (except the first one) and the third and fourth Blade movies. Beaches is an old favorite of mind and we were missing the Harry Potters.

>70 BBGirl55: BB, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

>71 TinaV95: Tina, just trying to stay warm in this double digit below zero weather. Brrrrrrr!

***

Staying in today but tomorrow I need to go out for a doctor's appointment and I'm dreading it. We're going to have record setting cold tonight/tomorrow. The low will be around -29F/-34C and the high around -17F/-27C. It hasn't been this cold in almost 20 years. At least my appointment is in the afternoon. I've been having bad back pain at night for two weeks now. It only occurs when I lie down and it starts within 5 or 10 minutes. Nothing has touched it - not Tylenol, not ibuprofen, not Aleve. I'm very tired because it takes me up to 1.5 hours to get to sleep - until exhaustion overcomes the pain. And then I keep waking up because of the pain. This is really the pits!

73: OMG, this is how all government workers feel. And you have to change your password like 5 times a week. At 3:33pm. Under a full moon. Standing on your head.

Morning Morphy- Wah, I don't want to go out side. At least not until March sometime. I sure could get a lot of reading in, right? Keep warm and safe up there, my friend.

Wow... you are getting a horrid cold snap, Morphy. I'm sorry to hear about your back. Does it spasm sharply when you lie down? I hope your doctor manages to sort you out so you're able to get decent sleep at last and move around more comfortably.

>74 RosyLibrarian: Marie, ha! That made MrMorphy and me laugh, too. (I read it aloud to him, I found it so funny.)

>75 msf59: Mark, what do you do to keep warm delivering mail? I worry about you.

>76 cameling: Caro, no, it's a dull, constant ache all night long. It's gone within 30 - 60 minutes of getting up in the morning.

Too bad about the back pain. It's not very pleasant to be tired all the time, on top of having to put up with the pain at night.

The weather sucks. Are you getting much snow, too? I think we had about a foot last night, and it's just going to keep coming for the next three or four days. The temperature is almost up to freezing today, but that's not a good thing, as all this snow would just turn into freezing rain if it goes up another degree. Again. Then the temperature plummets again tomorrow.

I saw a similar password thing on Twitter a while ago:

"Sorry your password must contain the entire alphabet, your left foot, a theme song to a television show, and the blood of your enemies."

Back doesn't sound fun ( I feel your pain having back issues myself, currently kept in check with physio/excercise). Hope your doc can help or refer you to someone who can ......

73 > love

> 73 and 74 - LOL! I fell off my chair laughing, but its true! My favorite recent RL experience was a job website I was registering with insisted that the password for my account could not start with a number - you could have your password start with either an upper or lower case letter but numbers, absolutely not! .... and don't forget you still need to include a symbol (or two) and it must be a minimum of 12 digits in length... blah, blah, blah ......;-)

Happy Sunday, Morphy, stay warm and take things easy with your back pain!

Happy New Year, Morphy! I'm back home and futilely trying to catch up with all the threads that have sprouted wings so far this year. I haven't even gotten my own thread set up properly yet. :-( I liked The Golem and the Jinni as much as a historical novel as a fantasy--how is it coming for you?

>72 Morphidae: Ooooh, enjoy your first real encounter with Firefly. Young Nathan Fillion... mmmm. :D

Yep. What Micky said....mmmm. I love that show - I so wish there had been more of it. *sigh* Sounds like your Target trip was fun and productive. Good work! I have to go to the doctor tomorrow, too - well, the dentist actually, but there will be drilling. Getting work started on my last crown, and I am not looking forward to it. I'll be thinking of you, Morphy.

I'm an independent computer tech. I had lots of fun with one client - she'd changed her password, and it worked fine for logging into the website (Yahoo, IIRC), but she couldn't get her email - Outlook declared there was a password or user name error. We finally tracked it down - the password requirements were at least one lowercase letter, at least one uppercase letter, and a number. She'd created one that didn't have a capital letter - and the password change page took it, only complaining about "technical difficulties". The website also took it. But the email server actually insisted on the password following the rules....AGGGGGHHHH! Round and round in circles (couldn't be a password problem, since that password let her log on to the website successfully...).

I see a couple books I own and haven't yet read on the Green Dragon list. I'll try to drop in at the appropriate times. I recently tried to read either Five Children and It or another in that series - don't remember - and kept stalling out. I still haven't finished it.

>84 jjmcgaffey:: I've sort of started Five Children and It on my Kindle. Would you like to do a joint read, and encourage each other? As soon as I get through all these LT posts …

(ETA - directed at Jennifer)

>78 SylviaC: Sylvia, thankfully no snow. Just cold! And I love the last part of that, "And the blood of your enemies!" I hear that in a Scottish accent as if the men were going into battle.

>79 roundballnz: Alex, I already have PT appointments for something else. They may get refocused to my back. I hope not. I hope to just get some pills to help me sleep for the next week or so while my back heals.

>80 lkernagh: Lori, 12 digits? Really!?!? That's crazy. I've seen requirements for 8, but 12 is nuts.

>81 ronincats: Roni, I was leaning toward giving The Golem and the Jinni one of my rare 9s but a couple things are bugging me so it will probably get an 8. #1 I don't like the Jinni very much. #2 Both main characters have stereotypical gender roles. Female: nurturing, passive, giving, socially conscious. Male: aggressive, wandering, philandering, emotionally distant. This maybe done on purpose, I don't know. Or it might be part of their nature, earth vs. fire. But it annoys me a little. Otherwise, it's a very good book and I'm thoroughly enjoying the writing. I will read anything else this author writes.

>82 MickyFine: Micky, we've seen Serenity and it's what made me want to see the series. I'm looking forward to it! The DVD has some unaired episodes and a blooper reel, too.

>83 Crazymamie: Mamie, dentist trips are the pits. There's something about pain in your mouth that is different than any other pain. It's so much harder to ignore. Sending you good healing thoughts!

>84 jjmcgaffey: Jennifer, I'd love to have you join us in the Green Dragon for the group reads!

>85 humouress: I'd love to join you, humouress, but I just don't have the time this month. I'm already swamped with required reads. As it is, I've only finished one book so far this month! That's not me at all!

Agreed that you're in for an absolute treat with Firefly. Love it. LOVE IT.

Also, I read THe Golem and the Jinni last year and liked it okay. Cool idea for a story, but I kept thinking, "Man, if only she'd handed this plot over to Neil Gaiman to write..." Ha!

So sorry about your back - pain that keeps you from sleeping is likely one of the punishments in hell, no? It's just awful!

There is a crazy part of me that is disappointed that it didn't get colder so I could complain about how we had record breaking cold...

As it is, we got down to -22F/-30C with a -47F/-44C wind chill.

Yes, but still, I think you deserve bragging rights for surviving in a place where those temperatures aren't record-breakers, no? Sheesh.

Good morning Morphy! Add me to the list of Firefly fans! What an absolutely great series. I'm finishing up Neverwhere and Death Comes For the Archbishop. Next up, Ceremony for my Spenser Project and Watchmen.

-47 oh my dear God. At least you can curl up with a good book or several my dear. I am going to go and figure out what book to send you and get Book D to send it you.....can't remember now why you won either, but still.

Sorry about the back pain...and I'm sure you've tried everything, but just in case...have you tried lying flat on the floor with your knees bent? Not ideal for sleeping, obviously, but if it solves the problem, it's a clue to work with at least.

Glad you are enjoying the book. I think the Jinni is not intended as a sympathetic character at all--in fact that is one of the things that drives the book.

Can you post the link to the group reads over in the Green Dragon? Because what I really, really need is even more group reads.

Oh, I loved Five Children and It back in the day. I read a lot of E. Nesbit. The Phoenix and the Carpet was another favorite.

Yeah - It's crazy cold out there. My feet hurt just thinking about it. And for some reason, Barnes and Noble had a lot more people than I expected today. It was still pretty dead - but REALLY? Why are they out shopping in this? Why risk having your car break down or having some crazy driver crash into you because they don't realize that blowing snow means icy roads?

I cannot even believe those temperatures, Morphy!! That is just insane! No wonder you are hurting!

>73 Morphidae: made me laugh out loud!

Morphy- Are you keeping warm & snug? I dress warm enough but that cruel wind always finds some skin to nip at. And those are some sharp teeth.

>87 scaifea: & 89 Amber, I got the "good stuff" from my doc. Took one last night and it helped some. I'll try two tonight. I took it an hour before bed though and got a little loopy. I need to wait until 30 minutes before instead! The weather man has a heading up today of "#NotAsStupidCold." Heh.

>90 luvamystery65: Roberta, next up for me is My Own Country. I need too get it done by Thursday at 2pm for my book club!

>91 PaulCranswick: Paul, I believe it was one of those "just because I love you" moments. :D

>92 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, I would if I could. But due to my size, I can't get on the floor or lay on my back. Or rather, I can't get UP from the floor!

>93 ronincats: Roni, oh, I think he was sympathetic, just not very likable. Though by the end it changes a bit. I'll try to remember to add the links to post 4 like I've done for January but worst comes to worst, the link to the group read links are there.

>94 jnwelch: Joe, the only thing I've read by Nesbit is The Children's Shakespeare. But it's been around 35 years since I've cracked its spine. Yes, I have my original book! I forgot about it until I went to look at Nesbit's bibliography to see if I've read any.

>95 The_Hibernator: Rachel, it wasn't too terrible for me on the way out to the doctor since MrMorphy warmed the truck. But after sitting two hours in the parking lot, it was ()&*(^^ cold. I didn't get warm until we were blocks from the house. Of course.

>96 TinaV95: Tina, oh, the pain started weeks ago. I don't think it's cold related. Especially as we keep the house in the upper 60s.

>97 msf59: Mark, did you make it through yesterday without losing any flesh? I got chilled on the way back from the doctor but that's about it.

***

The Google doodle in the US is for Zora Neale Hurston's 123rd birthday. Thought is was neat to have a literary shout out.

Today I'm cocooning until this evening. My drawing class is from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. It's the same drawing basics class with the same instructor. This is just fine. I liked her and still feel like a rank beginner. I hope that the other students will be real beginners this time though. My first class was with intermediate or advanced students and I felt out of place since I couldn't draw near as well as they could. Why would they take a drawing basics class?

Good question, Morphy, beats me why they do that.

I hope you have fun in your drawing class!

#99 is the story of my life! Hope the drawing class is better this time.

I too hope you have a good time with the drawing, and see yourself improving as the term goes on. I was in the opposite situation to you one summer when I signed up for an intermediate ballet class, but due to undersubscription it didn't run and I got put in the advanced class instead. Fortunately I didn't have too much trouble keeping up but it was very daunting at first.

Eeep! I almost forgot!

Talk to Me Tuesday

I never really had a nickname growing up. I was Lenora to everyone except my mother and brother. To them I was Nora. Then I got tired of people messing up my name, so I became Nora to everyone. Many years ago, my mom's husband* gave me the nickname Norabear. So that's my family's nickname for me and I use it on occasion for a username. I didn't use it when I started at LT because I had stalkers at the time who knew I used that particular name.

There were the painful ones in high school mostly because of my height (5'10) - Amazon, Mud-Wrestler, Menorah/Manure (they couldn't do much with Lenora). Then I had my own tune, "Gentlemen prefer XXXXX." (From the Hanes commercial)

*She married him after I had left the house, so I don't really consider him a "father" figure. Don't get me wrong, he's a fabulous person. I just don't think of him as a step-father.

MrMorphy is called many things - honey, hon, baby, good-lookin' (Hey, good-lookin'!), loverling, sweetheart, darlin'. Sometimes Mr. Fix-It. But he's usually baby-doll.

MrMorphy calls me sweetheart, baby-doll, darling, love, gorgeous, beautiful. And, *ahem* sometimes Ms. Farts-a-Lot. But mostly I'm baby.

We'll call each other a dork or dork-fish when we do something stupid (see Bill Engvall.)

Maia, our dog, has a ton of nicknames, too - Maia Moo, sweetheart, Munchkin, DaaR (Dumb as a Rock), Little Girl, Neckless (because of how she lies down sometimes)

So, what nicknames were you given or have you given?

You can't do much with Marie, but my high school friends still all call me Mia.

As far as terms of endearment go, my husband calls me baby and kiwi. Don't ask about kiwi, it's a running joke.

My dad used to call me Am (which I didn't like) and Half-Pint (from Little House on the Prairie), which I didn't mind so much, and Puny (when I was sick, and I loved that one, for some weird reason).

In grad school my friends called me (and still do) "AL" since that was how I signed my emails and notes (my maiden initials). That brought on some funny looks when we were together in public and they would call across a shop, Hey, AL!" And I would be the person who responded.

Tomm and I don't have nicknames for each other.

Charlie has lots, though: Monkey, Monkey Butt, Buddy, Whiny Pants McGee, The Charld (a mix of "child" and "Charles"), Charliemain (a play on "Charlemagne").

Susie (the cat) is "The Bird" or "Birdie" or "That Damned Cat" (the last is voiced solely by Tomm)

Tuppence is "Putzocles" when she does something dumb, and we used to call her "Tubby" when Charlie was younger and pronounced her name as such (it's funny because it's true).

My mom has called me Dollybutton practically from birth. My younger brother calls me Shorty and I call him Trouble. That's about it as far as familial nicknames go. :)

>99 Morphidae:: You too?

My Dad was a great one for giving people nicknames (some of which he only used behind their backs...'nuff said!) and they were often elaborate. One of mine was four names long, with multiple syllables in each one. I'm not sharing it, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is I occasionally borrow from it for passwords. But he did, on occasion, call me "Dutch"; I'm not entirely sure why, unless it started when I was learning to talk and not easily understood. "Talking Dutch" in our house meant being incomprehensible, from having your mouth full of food, or just not making any sense. That's because my Dad had an elderly aunt when HE was a kid, who did speak Dutch (German) when she was excited, and nobody understood her.

Remarkably, with a three syllable name like Jennifer, I've never really had a nickname. I blame it on Jen sounding too much like Jim (my Dad's name) when shouted across a house.

I'm usually Jenn, when I'm not Jennifer. For some reason my sister started calling me Jenny when her kids were small, so I'm Aunt Jenny in that household - I don't mind it, I just think it's weird. Not what I call myself.

A somewhat elaborate nickname - I made up a nickname for that same sister of Margellen, from her names Margaret Ellen. To stop me using it, she made up Guenean from Guenevere (the original, Welsh, name that became Jennifer) and my middle name Jean. Unfortunately for her, I loved it. That's my personal site now, and a name I use in a cross-stitch group that has 4 other Jennifers in it. Never had it as a real nickname - something other people called me - since Mar gave up, though.

Margaret is usually Mar. She has a couple others, but I'm not allowed to mention them. Oh, and she's Mar, not Marg (with a hard g) because we were kids in Afghanistan, and the neighbors got very upset with kids running around the backyard yelling "Death" (Marg) and "Demon" (Jenn/Jenny - Jinni)...so she became Mar and I was Jennifer.

My youngest sister is Dee or DDB - Deirdre Beth.

Mar's kids are (rather to their disgust) Seanory (because of Sean Connory - he's Sean) and Jaybub (because he couldn't pronounce Jacob when he was small).

My cats are Boots - Bootsie, Bossy Boots, or for formal occasions Puss in Boots with Mittens; and Troy - Troyboy or Mister Squeaky (he has the most ridiculous little mew). I haven't figured out his formal name yet (ref: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats).

>100 wilkiec: & 101 Diana & Sylvia, I did, it was! And this time we are all beginners. It makes it so much nicer to compare my work to theirs and it looks as if it's the same level.

>102 Sakerfalcon: Claire, Oh, I would be so intimated. I probably would have quit that class. I'm too intimidated by something I'm just learning.

>104 RosyLibrarian: Marie, well, now you know I just have to ask! A hint?

>105 scaifea: Amber, I bet you had a great time when the song "You Can Call Me Al" came out. I love Whiny Pants McGee. How does Charlie react to that one. More whining or does he laugh?

>106 MickyFine: Micky, DollyButton? Any explanation for that one? My mom got the name Turk from her mother and was called that until my mom was in her 40s when grandma died. She was a baby and being washed in the sink when grandma said she looked like a trussed up turkey. She was Turk from then on.

>107 humouress: Well, humouress, lately it seems more like LT instead of internet but yeah! I'll be so happy when LT calms down. I'm not getting anything done!

>108 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, can you give an example of a nickname he's given someone else? A sibling? His wife?

>109 inge87: Jennifer, I was in my 30s before I really had a nickname!

>110 jjmcgaffey: Jennifer, oh, that reminds me! When I was a kid, I had a younger cousin who couldn't pronounce Lenora or Nora so I was "Ra-Ra". Don't you love it?

***

Wacky Wednesday



It's been so cold here lately, this is almost not funny but more sadly true. The weather man just said the wind chills are "only" 18 below zero.

Well, when he gets called Whiny Pants McGee, he's already fussing, so there's no real distinguishable change...

111: It was a drunken conversation with a group of friends that involved us trying to figure out what bird we would all be. (Makes sense, right?) Since I usually pick at my food and tear it up, they thought it would be hilarious to call me a kiwi. That spawned one joke after another...

>111 Morphidae: The official story is that dolly comes from being cute as a doll and the button comes from having eyes like black buttons. When I was very young it was almost impossible to differentiate my pupil from my iris. :)

>99 Morphidae: Love that one!

Roni is my nickname, and I invented this spelling in high school (so obvious, isn't it, that that is the age at which this spelling emerged?). I wasn't ever really called by it until high school though, and since, it's been the name by which my family and close high school and college friends call me. And now I share it with you all. My little sister called me Nonnie, and her kids and grandkids thus call me Aunt Nonnie.

My mom's nickname (for Dorothy) was Dot.

ETA I went up and looked at your list, Morphy. I've read your January book quite a while ago--thought it fairly generic fantasy and never continued with the series. I'll join you for your February read--although I've read it, it's been many years and Paul sent me a copy last year that's sitting in my tbr pile. I love Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and have never forgiven Disney for introducing magic to the story and stripping it of its very real issues about intelligence and the value of life and more. And Scalzi's book is good, entertaining science fiction.

Hi, Morphy! Everyone just always called me Terri, except my mom sometimes called me Ter.

>110 jjmcgaffey:: Hilarious!

Nicknames. Hmm - by the way, how did you come by Morphidae?

The kids are, variously, baby, bubs (Australian), monkey, monkey bum, bumtious, yumtious, munchkin etc etc - you get the drift. That's from me.

From their dad, mundoogoo, poondah … (don't ask me; he just makes it up as he goes along). And those are the ones our youngest uses on his friends.

My childhood ones - well, I'd have to get my sis to release me from the official secrets act ;0)

>108 laytonwoman3rd:, 111 Sure...I'll squeal on a few other people! My Dad called one of my cousins Agatha, one of my best friends was Esmeralda; when he was trying to get my Mom's attention (when they were both teenagers) there was a sledding party and he told her to "Hop on, Maggie!" (her name is Margaret); she told him in no uncertain terms that her name was NOT Maggie and he never called her that again. She did hop on his sled, though, and allowed him to call her "Peggy". He called his first two grandchildren "Number One" and "Number Two", and the third and last one "Spike". He called our dentist Dr. Quackenbush (I have no idea why---his real name was funny enough).

Hiya Morphy! (yeah, I wanna know about morphidae too)

I never had real nicknames growing up. I got stuck with the "old lady" version of Katherine (I realize now that it's not old lady, just normal, but as a kid I felt annoyed that I got Kathy when the other Katherines got COOL names like Kate, Katie, and Kat).

My mom sometimes called me Punkinseed.

We have a ton of nicknames for kidlet. Besides the ones that are variations of her name, we call her Munch, Munchie, Munchface, Muffin, Schnuggapuppy, Squishy, Child, Little Onesie, Sweet Patoot... and her granddad calls her Stinkfart.

We are not big on nicknames. My family has always called me Sylv. Occasionally someone will call me Syl, but I really don't like it.

The dog sometimes gets called ”Ya Dumb Dog", which is not at all creative, but is accurate. She doesn't answer to it.

My daughter is the only person who gets interesting nicknames (privately), because I try to come up with ridiculously elaborate endearments for her, like "Honey-Cuddle-Cupcake" or "Snookie Wumpkins" or "Snuggie-Wuggie-Bunnykins". So far, she puts up with it, but the teen years are approaching, so I doubt that it will last much longer.

She doesn't answer to it. Not so dumb, then!

One of her rare glimmers of intelligence.

I think I remember hearing the story behind "Morphidae" but I don't actually remember the story itself.

*grabs popcorn, plops on the comfy couch and waits patiently*

124: *sits down on the comfy couch too and waits with scaifea*

Mommy's little foot (in or this case belly) warmer...



I'm ready for my close up!



***

>112 scaifea: Amber, ah. So it's not to improve his mood, but to keep you from strangling him. Got it! :D

>113 RosyLibrarian: Marie, oh, that sounds fun. I wonder what bird I would be. Okay. I just asked MrMorphy what bird I am and he immediately came up with one! He said I'm a whippoorwill. That I'm "noisy" - I'm very busy on LT, other sites, volunteer from home, etc. - things that get attention. But in actuality, I'm quite shy and "hard to find." I love it!

>114 MickyFine: Micky, that's cool! Have any baby pictures?

>115 richardderus: RD, figured you would!

>116 ronincats: Roni, the more the merrier with the group reads!

>117 tymfos: Terri, do you have nicknames for anyone else?

>118 humouress: & 124-125 Butterflies are creatures of transformation, humouress, Sylvia & Marie. I've liked them for a long time because I feel I'm going through transformations of my body with losing weight and transformations of my mind by dealing with 25+ years of depression. Morphidae butterflies, my favorites, are a gorgeous iridescent blue.



Oh, and munchkin is another nickname we call Maia. Previous dogs were Pumpkin and Puddle (Tawnie), and Black Miasma Dog and Garbage Hound (Sara.)

>119 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, Number One and Number Two?! Oh dear. I bet that got some jokes.

>120 UnrulySun: Kathy, so did the kidlet EARN the nomenclature of Stinkfart or was the grandfather being a stinker himself?

>121 SylviaC: Sylvia, my mom didn't give me any nicknames. But I did know exactly how she was feeling by how long my name got. Good to really, really bad ... Nora, Lenora, Lenora Marion, Lenora Marion XXXXX. The last one meant I wanted to run for the hills!

>122 humouress: & 123 Sylvia & humouress, sometimes dogs are soooooo dumb. We say Maia has one brain cell. Sometimes she'll sit in the middle of the room and stare at the floor (remember Snoopy vulture stance?) We say that she's looking for that brain cell!

126: Ah, I love it! So you are a whippoorwill butterfly!

*pets the cute puppy*

Gorgeous butterfly.

Maia is so adorable!

>126 Morphidae: My parents still have all the baby pictures at their house. Next time I'm there I'll try and snag my baby book and photo album. :)

You know, now that I've heard the story, I don't think that I *had* heard it before. At any rate, it's a lovely name, and it fits.

I'm glad you shared the story of your name, Morphy. I hadn't come across it before, or had forgotten it perhaps (forgetting is ALWAYS a possibility with me).

Hey Morphy, I wish I'd come along sooner, Talk to me Tuesday's are great! I've got to try to get to all the threads sooner than a do. So much info and fun out here.

*waving* at Morphy

Have a wonderful weekend, Morphy!

>127 RosyLibrarian: Marie, not so much a puppy anymore. She was seven in September!

>128 humouress: Isn't it, humouress? When I get to a "normal" weight, I'm going to have one tattooed!

>129 luvamystery65: Roberta, we say she is 90% angel/10% freak.

>130 MickyFine: Micky, please do! I want to see a picture of DollyButton!

>131 scaifea: Amber, thank you! And I pronounce it morph-i-day.

>132 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, I know what you mean. I had to get a bigger weekly calendar instead of my monthly calendar so I could write down more information. The time and name aren't enough anymore. I have to write where it is and what it's for!

>133 Carmenere: Lynda, glad to see you join us!

>134 alcottacre: Stasia, how are you doing?

>135 wilkiec: Diana, you too! Up to anything fun? Just a quiet weekend here though I do need to get some volunteer work done. And maybe I'll watch The Shop Around the Corner.

***

Just got back from my four hour volunteer stint at the reception desk at church. Now I get to spend a few hours catching up on LT. When will this be over? *grumbles*

Meanwhile, on the MetroMobility ride home, looking over the lake, I realized why people think Minnesotans are crazy. We are all, "Yay, no sun! Yay, it's cloudy! Yay, it's a gloomy gray day! That's because it's 36 degrees out. Then we're all, "Boo, sunshine! Boo, bright blue skies! Boo, not a cloud in sight!" Because THAT means it's 12 below!

***

From Not Always Right.com

(I work at the circulation desk at a small academic library.)

Patron: *very red-faced* “Um, can you do something?”

Me: “…about?”

Patron: “There’s a woman in the computer lab and she… um…”

(My coworker and I finally manage to get it out of the stammering, embarrassed man that a woman apparently has breastfed her infant and forgot to ‘tuck herself back in’ after the infant was finished eating.)

Coworker: “Oh, boy. You want this one?”

Me: “Got it.”

(I walk up to the woman and lean down quietly to her ear.)

Me: “Ma’am, I’m very sorry, but we don’t allow open-drink containers in the library.”

LOL. Had to share that one ( people wondered why I was laughing).

Thanks!

136: Hahahaha, I like that!

My four year old yorkie is a puppy too. I can't help it when they are so tiny and cute. :)

Have a great weekend Morphy!

Open drink containers!!!!! LOL I love that!

Nickname discussion... Sorry I'm a little late to the party.

My younger sister always called me Weiner. My Cuban grandfather called me Red (it's brown now, but my hair was auburn growing up). Won't go into the nicknames mean kids used. In college, I had large hair (it was the early 90's and I was still rockin' the 80's look pretty well), so I got (and kept the whole four years and several after) the nickname Boof.

Awe, puppy!!!! Love the butterfly!

Hum, on the nicknames question. Best I can do is my Dad used to call me "Little Lucy" when I was being an impish child, but beyond that, I've got nothing for you.

Happy Weekend, Morphy!

Morphy, as for "stinkfart", it began as a joke but she certainly grew into it nicely.

Lol@ the joke. A friend of mine just found out he's expecting a baby soon, and he's totally freaked out by breastfeeding. So I told him how much a can of formula costs and he seems to be coming around. ;)

>137 MDGentleReader: MD, glad you enjoyed it!

>138 RosyLibrarian: Marie, yeah, I get it. Just wanted to be sure you knew.

>139 luvamystery65: Roberta, you, too! It's going to be a quiet one for me. I hope to get a lot checked of my massive to do list.

>140 TinaV95: Tina, I love Boof! Reminds me of the saying, "The higher the hair, the closer to heaven."

>141 lkernagh: "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!"

>142 UnrulySun: Kathy, ha! How old is she now? Old enough to fuss at you for calling her that? I totally don't get people freaking out about breast-feeding. Might as well freak out about eating food.

***

I hope to get to some reviews this weekend. I've finished several books including My Own Country and The Golem and the Jinni. I'm currently reading The Magician's Guild. Looks like I'm going to have to add another series to my list. Ack!

My dad nicknamed me "roach." My cousins called me "roachalady"

Aren't nicknames weird? I'd be very upset to be called "roach." I guess anything works if it's said in a loving voice.

I've never really had any big nicknames. Things like sweetie from my father. My younger siblings use to call me Missy, Miss, Melis, Mel, etc. when they were younger looked up to me with adoring eyes :) But not too often. It never took. Although I guess I nicknamed myself Melis for a while.

Well if you have to add another series, that must mean you like The Magician's Guild. :) I did too. I'm going to be reading the prequel, Magician's Apprentice, this year and will probably end up rereading the series after I do. There's also a new series of hers (I guess it's not new now) that I'd like to get my hands on - The Traitor Spy Trilogy.

Anyways, happy reading!

Not surprisingly I am also quite a fan of nicknames. Richard is right of course it is the intent of the name and the manner in which it is used that will assist in its acceptance or cause it to be offensive.

I have nicknames for all my staff for example and none of them would appear to be very nice. My right hand man Nizam is called "Binti" which means "daughter of" due to the fact that he has an almost girlish array of potions and salves and creams on his desk to take care of his skin.
Afiz who assists me in much of my claims work is called "Si Hitam" (Blackie) largely because he is the palest skinned amongst the office staff. Anything likely to offend would be out for sure we are more like a small family than a working office which enables liberties to be taken somewhat.

I was always Cranny at school which is not so imaginative I guess but is typical of Northern England.

Have a lovely weekend, Morphy.

Aww, Rachel, "Roach" is not a very flattering nickname. I'm giggling, but I'm also very very sorry.

Paul, that sounds like my workplace. We're all so very close, we have nicknames and inside jokes that would probably seem appalling to those on the outside.

Hi, Morphy! Not sure how, but I misplaced you and just found you again. (Your thread, I mean. Heh.)

>136 Morphidae: LOL (Also lol at >99 Morphidae:.)

Oh, nicknames! I always hated mine (Mary Mudd or Mare or Weiner (as a play on my maiden name)), and no one would ever call me what I wished they would (Mimi, which my cousin used to call me when we were little but no one else ever did or Boston, because I always drank my coffee Boston style ~ with extra cream). On my last two jobs, my friends used to call me Kipper or Kipsky as a play on my married name. I never did like my name, but plain old Mary is way preferable to anything else. As kids, my sisters were Bobo, Nanny and Didee and my brothers were Johnny-Ponnie (no clue) and Georgie Porgie (they all hated theirs too). My daughter had a lot of nicknames growing up: Meggie, Megamouse, Megalicious (so-called by the boys in high school *shudder*). My niece is Dylan-mouse, Dylan-bird, Babygirl, and so on, and I call my parrot Nickelbird, Nixie, Poober (she gave that one to herself), Feather Monkey and Dustbucket, among other things.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

>144 The_Hibernator: Rachel, okay, you gotta give us the story behind Roach.

>145 richardderus: RD, I'm sure we'll find out why and then it won't see so terrible. Won't we, Rachel? Hmm?

>146 Kassilem: Melissa, oh man. I got nothing done yesterday because The Magician's Guild sucked me in! Today I'm not going to allow myself to read anything until I get some stuff checked off my to do list!

>147 PaulCranswick: Paul, I love the nicknames! Almost makes me want to come to work for you, so you could give me one!

>148 UnrulySun: Kathy, and sounds like our marriage! Heh.

>149 Storeetllr: Mimi, well, I'm glad you found me again! Speaking of nicknames, how did you ever come up with Storeetllr?

***

I am going to work on my to do list today. No matter what! I have GOT to get statements out for WeCab. I blew it yesterday because I picked up The Magician's Guild and it stuck to my fingers all day. Dagnabit.

I love when a book gets stuck to my fingers like that, Morphy! It sounds like a fun book and the start of a good series. I'm going to the library today and will see if they have The Magician's Guild. If not, onto the reserved list it will go!

Storeetllr: because at the time I created it I was doing a lot of writing, and Storyteller was not available on the site. Then I just continued to use it for other sites and still use it, even though I haven't been writing much in the past few years.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!

Hey, the Pope says it's OK to breastfeed. In church. In the Sistine Chapel, even. Can't get much more "acceptable' than that.

>151 Storeetllr: Mimi, it wasn't that it was a "great" book. I didn't love the characters or the plot line. But her writing just drags you in.

You don't want to know how I was pronouncing your name. Really you don't. Really.

Okay, fine. Store-reet-ler. Of course, NOW it's obvious.

>152 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, the more I hear about this pope the more I like him.

***

I got the billing statements out this morning, yay! Now if LT doesn't keep me all morning, I'll get some other stuff done (more WeCab bookkeeping tasks) before I head off for a physical therapy appointment. Even though I've lost so much weight, I don't *feel* any better. So I'm seeing a physical therapist to see what they advise for strength and endurance. Plus some advice on my lower back pain.

***

Anyone who has a lap-sized pet should recognize this one.

>151 Storeetllr: & 153: Aha! 'storyteller' makes so much more sense than how it sounded out in *my* head, too ('store-liter' and, yes, I know that doesn't make sense, but, well, *shrug*). It likely doesn't matter, though - my brain is now perpetually stuck on 'store-liter.' *sigh*

Not only have I always thought of Storeetllr's name as "Storyteller", but that's the way I see it, too. I didn't really even take in the fact that was spelled differently until this conversation. I wouldn't make a good proofreader.

Small children do the same thing as the dog in that cartoon. That's why I had a bit of a reading dry spell a few years back.

I hope the physiotherapist has some good suggestions for you, Morphy.

>153 Morphidae:, One of my mom's miniature dachshunds used to try and push the laptop off my lap with her nose. I called it the lapdog/laptop war. Sadly, the laptop usually won.

There really isn't a story behind the name "roach." It's been there as long as I can remember, and it never really bothered me. I've never worried about things like that, and dad didn't mean it to be a negative nick-name. I think he just picked a word that began with "R." *shrug*

And, seriously, I'm not much better. When Johnny was first born, I called him "gorilla baby" because he was covered all over in black fur. Then when he got to be a toddler, I started calling him "squishy pants." That name stuck for longer than it should have, and I sometimes get the urge to call him "squishy pants" even today. But I wouldn't. Because he (unlike myself) is NOT ok with unflattering nicknames. :) In fact, he doesn't even like being called "honey" or "sweety." He's "Johnny." And that's final.

Haha, Morphy ~ I probably don't want to know. Like Sylvia, I always thought of Storeetllr as another way of spelling Story Teller and it never really occurred to me that others might see it and think something else. (The way my mind works too, I guess. :) Amber ~ I'm not even going to ask what you thought store-liter stood for. Rachel ~ did your dad grow up in the 70s? Back then, "roach" stood for the bit at the end of a "joint" after you were done smoking. It sounds kind of gross unless you consider that people saved them for when they ran out of "grass" to roll and considered them sort of like a precious commodity. (Lord, does that date me or what?)

Morphy ~ I lost a lot of weight once (well, not nearly as impressive a loss as you've accomplished, but still) and continued to feel tired. I'm told (by doctors, my sister the nurse, and many many news articles) that the way to get back energy is to exercise, but what they don't tell say is how the heck to get up enough energy to actually get out there and, well, exercise.

I've got to lose weight too, and get my cholesterol under control again, so it's back to a sensible eating plan and *shudder* exercise. So today I took my first morning walk. It wasn't far, partly because there's a freezing wind out there and partly because my knees and feet were hurting, but it was a walk! I didn't want to, but I just put myself on auto-pilot, got dressed, and (even before making my coffee) went out the door and down the path. It was fun, actually ~ I met a dog (a very friendly 2-year old boston terrier named Ray) being walked and we had a little romp on the grass (much to his owner's amusement).

Coming by for a quick catch up. Love the continued nickname discussions.

Hope you can get some answers from the physiotherapist, Morphy. :)

>154 scaifea: Amber, arrrrgh! I read yours as store-lighter! LOL. I'm a dork.

>155 SylviaC: Sylvia, I liked my therapist and she's started me on some exercises. I liked her because she's working within my limitations but still pushing me a bit. My experience so far is they hand me a list of exercises that I may or may not be able to do, give me very little to do (give up on me), or give me too much to do (don't account for my limitations.) She seems to be giving me a very nice balance.

>156 inge87: Jennifer, it's different in my house. In the lap dog/laptop wars, the dog wins. How can you resist that face? (See #126)

>157 The_Hibernator: Rachel, well, Rach - Roach. Not much of a leap. Just thought of that!

>158 Storeetllr: Mary, well, I did tell you - Store-reet-ler! :D

I know what you mean about being too tired for exercise. I feel the same way. But I'm in a place where I'll do anything. I'm in a downward spiral and if I have to exercise I will. Thankfully, the ones the therapist gave me aren't too bad. However, I do have to do them three times a day!

Check out SparkPeople.com. It's really helped me a lot.

>159 TinaV95: Tina, see my answer to post #155!

***

Talk to Me Tuesday

I've always been able to read quickly. In sixth grade, the school had a machine that measures how fast you read and your reading comprehension. I was reading 680 words per minute with 80% comprehension. And I haven't slowed down since!

About that same age, I was reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Unbeknowst to me, mom was watching me read. She interrupted me, took the book and asked me some questions about what I had just read. I answered all her questions correctly. She told me that I was reading in "chunks", that my eyes moved only twice per line before moving to next. I had never been taught this, it just came naturally to me.

When I wanted a gerbil, my father said I could have one when I read a book on gerbils and could answer any question he asked me from the book. The day he got me the book, I sat down to read. Two hours later, I went to him and handed him the book. He looked pretty smug, thinking I couldn't possibly be ready. But, sure enough, I answered every question he put to me.

As you all know, I read a ton of books. I rarely skim. Usually it's when I'm bored with excessive description or too many sex scenes. (I just finished a book I liked, but dear lord, there were about six or seven of them. Thankfully, only a couple pages each.)

I consider my reading speed a gift. Nothing I can really make money out of, unfortunately. But, still, a gift.

What *one* thing do you excel at more than anything else? It can be something that just comes naturally to you like my reading or it can be something that takes practice but it still comes easier to you than most other people (like art, cooking or music). It can also be something like diplomacy or finding the best deals.

What is your gift or talent?

160: Hmmm. I think I am a somewhat talented researcher. I love taking someone's inquiry and digging through tons of information to bring them back something that can aid their search. I love finding and looking through resources. I love that I can usually make someone happy in doing so.

Also, I am really good at flipping pancakes.

ETA: Is there a modern day equivalent of this grade school machine? I would love to know how good/fast I can read.

I'm glad your physiotherapist seems to have some sense. It's a whole lot easier to follow a routine with realistic goals.

My talent would also be reading (most of us are probably good at that). I also read in chunks, and if I find myself noticing the individual words, it usually means I am either tired or don't understand what the author is saying. I'm also good at jigsaw puzzles, word games, and untying knots.

Hi Morphy!

160: People tell me I'm a good listener and I really care.

Morphy - I write poetry of sorts. I also have an uncanny ability to convince people of my companies ability to deliver projects and services way above where such a small companies should be aiming. I also have been known to croon a fair bit including a fair few sessions with local musicians here. I once did a charity show called to the stage at the last minute as part of a foursome because one of the members (a quite well known artiste here, was extremely inebriated) So with three pretty famous guys here locally: AC Mizal, Aflin Shauky and Hans Isaac and one fellow nobody else in the audience outside of our table had heard of sang inconveniently "A Better Man".
I also have close to a photographic memory which is great for quizzes - except when I forget things!

One of my talents is internet searching. I've been doing it since long before there was Google, and in fact I think it was more productive back then, when the first three pages of every search weren't false hits from sites that pay for placement. I got started with it doing genealogical research, and found an amazing amount of information about my father's family, including making contact with relatives previously unknown, in Slovakia. It's odd to think there could be any instinctive ability for a thing that didn't even exist when I was born, but it feels that way to me.

Hmm. The first thing that came to mind is that I'm really good at buying books, but I don't think that quite counts as a talent. I'll have to think harder. Maybe I excel at understanding grammatical concepts? I've always really enjoyed the early stages of learning a language, when there are a bunch of rules to learn that clarify big chunks of material at a time, but I get frustrated when it comes to memorizing all the individual vocabulary words.

Only one thing? I'm multi-talented. LOL

Hrmmm... I guess I'm good at quickly analyzing situations. Reading people. I am often quite wrong, but surprisingly fast!

Pretty fast at assimilating new technology. People tell me I have a wonderful telephone presence. Unfortunately, once they get to know me in person...

Hi Morphy, I was just passing through. This looks fun. What am I good at? Well, I seem to be the peace-maker in the family, so very good at appeasement. I also have my husband fooled into thinking I am a world class cook. ;)

I'm also a very fast reader - I don't know about the chunks thing, but yes on remembering/comprehending what I read at speed. It drives my-sister-the-author nuts occasionally, when we both start a book and I finish literally days before she does (this was more common when we were kids together, but there are traces of it yet). And I have a near-photographic memory for the written word (only - not visual for anything but words, not audial (is that a word?), but - I can visualize a page and trigger my memory for what was written on it.

My other rare talent is translating between Tech and English - I can listen to non-techies and figure out where their problem lies, and translate it into tech terms for tech support. Or conversely, I can have a tech explain something to me (or understand it in tech terms myself) and then turn around and express it in terms that make sense to non-techies. This helps a lot in my home computer repair business...

161> There are lots of online reading speed tests, of various utility. The first one that came up when I googled "reading speed test" was http://www.readingsoft.com/ , which also does comprehension. Try it out.

Morphy--- I'm really glad you got a great therapist this time! Yay for that!

I used to think I could read fast until I came to library thing! Lol. My partner is amazed at my speed, but it's probably average for folks here and turtle paced next to our mighty Mrs. Morphy.

My talents are singing -- specifically harmonizing. I grew up singing with my mom & sister and I can find a harmony to almost anyone who is able to hold pitch and keep a recognizable tune.

I'm also really good at teaching other people in language they can understand. I mean taking complicated concepts and healthcare laws and enabling folks to "get it."

Also, listening to others and providing support / encouragement is a special ministry to me. It's why I went in to counseling. I'm a "fixer." :)

Now, will you please come visit me??? **shamelessly begging for an honored visit**

Hmm, I tried your test, Jenn. I read nonfiction more slowly than fiction, and the test says that reading on the computer will be slower than a book, but I read at 435 wpm with 91% comprehension.

So yes, reading is one of my strengths and has been ever since first grade, when I read 112 books for the year. The other strengths are editing/proofing (my spelling sense is inborn) and being able to take other peoples' ideas and pulling them together into a cohesive framework.

Hmmm... I suppose I could say I have a talent for reading hours on end without stop. :) Or a talent for taking on too much work every school semester. I don't know if either of those are healthy. Definetly not that latter one.

I took the reading test that Jenn put up as well and I came out with 205 wpm and 82% comprehension. Lower on both accounts than I expected but it has been a long day. Now I want to try it from paper.

Tina then we should have a get together for a good old sing song when I reach the US. Hani can also carry a tune. Sometimes she carries it to places no one else would want to go but she can carry it all right.

>172 TinaV95:: Oh my, I wish I could sing. I love singing. But I'm so very terrible at it that honestly, it's comical.

This is such a tough question, I think. I hate talking myself up - it seems so, well, wrong. Or something. I had such a difficult time putting together my job applications back in the day, because you're meant to sell yourself and essentially brag about what you're good at, and I really dislike that sort of thing. So unnatural. That said, I'll give it a go (but I hope I don't sound like an ass):

I've been told that I'm good - really quite good - at teaching. Specifically teaching Latin. If it's true, then I'm one of those rare happy people who have had a job that they both absolutely love and are really good at. Also, let me say that if I am good at it, then it's because when in grad school I had the absolute best teacher myself, who taught me everything I know about how to teach.

171: My problem with that test is that numbers are like speed bumps, and equations are like brick walls. So it felt like it was measuring my math skills more than my reading speed.

>160 Morphidae:: I would say that my gift or talent is teaching. I love to teach, and I can teach about almost any topic, given enough time to prepare. It just comes naturally and I have no reservations about public speaking whatsoever. I almost want to say it's in my genes, because just about every single person on my father's side is a teacher of some kind (university, public school, music, etc.). We all have just fallen into the role without even searching for it or meaning to. It's in our blood!

I don't think I have a gift or talent.

Hello Morph! Trying to catch up this year is a nightmare - always entertaining in your digs, though!

Hi Morphy!
I'm very envious of your fast reading with good comprehension. I think my reading and my comprehension have actually improved since finding LT, but I'm still relatively slow.

Funny you mention diplomacy. I think that is something I'm quite good at and use a lot at my work. I'm also pretty good at staying positive. I use that at work a lot, too.

>175 PaulCranswick: Paul! I'd love to get together and sing with Hani (and you, Belle, any one else in your family!!!)

>176 scaifea: Amber, I felt the same when looking for a job recently, but when you are "selling" yourself, you have to be honest about your talents as no one else knows them. You really do NOT sound like an ass at all!

>179 richardderus: NONSENSE, Richard. You are one of the most gifted book reviewers / writers I've ever read. And you have an amazing gift for self deprecation. ;)

My random talent is shelf scanning. It comes in handy at work, and I've become the go-to person when a book or movie is not where it's supposed to be. As long as I have an idea of what I'm looking for, I can usually find it.

My least useful talent would be my inability to remember names. On Monday, I forgot the name of a coworker I've worked with for six months, which is sadly not unusual. Character names in books fall into the same abyss. Which is why I almost never mention them in reviews.

Haha, Jennifer ~ that's happened to me too, where I forget someone's name I've known for a long time, or characters's names from a book I just finished reading. Once I even forgot my own name. Sad.

>183 inge87:/184: Me too... it's awful! I try so hard to do the "repeat it three times" trick when meeting people, but inevitably it makes no difference. As for remembering character names, forget it!

Morning Morphy! I wish you a happy day!

>161 RosyLibrarian: Marie, I remember when I was 20 or so years old coming up with a business called "Tree of Knowledge" where I would do library research. I had only one or two customers but it was fun while it lasted. I remember doing a lot of research on various Buddha figures.

>162 SylviaC: Sylvia, I like jigsaw puzzles, too. However, I don't have the room for them. Our dining room table is my craft table and it's the only large enough flat surface.

>163 wilkiec: Diana, listening is a tough skill. It's hard not to interject either vocally or mentally.

>164 PaulCranswick: Paul, I used to have a much better memory than I do now. To be honest, it upsets me greatly. Nowadays, when I ask MrMorphy a question, sometimes not only will I forget the answer, I won't even remember that I already asked the question.

>165 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, I used to be really good at that, too. Until, as you said, Google Search became more Google Placement.

>166 _Zoe_: Zoe, that's a cool talent. I'm trying to learn Spanish again (took it in high school) and it's slow going.

>167 thornton37814: Lori, LOL. Well, so I am. But there's got to be something you are exceptionally good at!

>168 UnrulySun: Kathy, better to be quick and wrong than slow and wrong? :D

>169 Storeetllr: Mary, oh, pshaw. You can't possibly be that bad. Internet presence isn't all THAT different from face to face presence. If you are a nice person online, you are a nice person off line. And you are lovely!

>170 DeltaQueen50: Judy, hey, husband's are hard to fool, you know. You might not be world class, but you've got to be an awesome cook!

>171 jjmcgaffey: Jennifer, for tech talk I go to MrMorphy. "Here read this and explain it to me."

>172 TinaV95: Tina, yes, yes! I'm coming! I'm coming!

Oh dear lord. I read 300 posts before realizing I was reading your 2013 thread. ARRRGH! So after reading 180 posts after THAT, I posted.

>173 ronincats: Roni, I'm afraid to take the test. What if it says I don't read as fast as I used to. I will be sad. So I will go to my grave thinking I read 600+ words a minute and will be content.

>174 Kassilem: Melissa, I can't read for hours and get lost like I used to. I get distracted too easily. I get hungry. The dog gets into something or moves. My husband has something to tell me. The phone rings. I get antsy. The best I can do now is about 30 minutes or so.

>175 PaulCranswick: Paul, then Hani and I can go sing the cats up into the trees together!

>176 scaifea: Amber, I know you are loving bringing up Charlie, but I bet you'll be glad to get back to teaching as well!

>177 SylviaC: Sylvia, wait. The reading test had math in it?!?

>178 dk_phoenix: Faith, I think it's neat you have a "teaching family."

>179 richardderus: RD, you're kidding, right?

>180 PrueGallagher: Prue, I know it's been crazy. Is it always THIS crazy at the beginning of the year and I just get yearly amnesia?

>181 EBT1002: Ellen, rub a bit of that staying positive on me, okay? I really could use it!

>182 TinaV95: Tina, totally agree with you about RD.

>183 inge87: - 185 Jennifer, Mary & Faith, I'm terrible with names, too. In a different context, I didn't recognize the name of someone I had been on a board with for over a year.

>186 Whisper1: Linda, I hope you have a fabulous evening! Thanks for stopping by.

Well, MrMorphy, along with another four people, got laid off this afternoon. I'm in a bad mood but trying to stay positive for him.

Oh, gosh, Morphy...been there. Tough to deal with, even if you saw it coming. I tell my husband he's lost every job he's ever had! (That's a total of two, if you don't count his military service and the part-time stuff he did as a teenager). He worked for a commuter airline for about 12 years, and it went out of business. Then he went to work for our local public television/radio station, where he stayed for 23 years, and then he got caught in a downsizing. At that point, although it was a few years earlier than we had planned, he decided to retire. I'll keep a good thought for whatever comes next for MrMorphy.

Oh dang, Morphy, I'm so sorry about Mr. Morphy's job. Keeping you both in my thoughts.

Oh, Morphy. Well, shit. I hate that he got laid off. Keeping both of you in my thoughts and prayers.

Oh, no! Is it supposed to be temporary, or is it indefinite? You know you both have my very best wishes.

*many virtual hugs for you both*

I'm so sorry that Mr. Morphy was caught in a downsizing. Hugs dear one as you navigate these waters of uncertainty.

So sorry to hear about MrMorphy, I hope things turn around soon.

That ROTS, Morphy! So so sorry for your frustrating situation.

*smooch*

Oh, that so sucks, Morphy! I'll be keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers during this time of change. {{{Morphy/MrMorphy}}}

Morphy, sorry to hear about Mr Morphy's job troubles. I hope he manages to find something new as soon as possible.

Oh Morphy, that's frustrating! I hope things turn around soon.

190: No, that is terrible. I am so sorry. Sending good vibes your way!

Morphy I am truly sorry that Mr.Morphy got laid off. I'm thinking of you two and sending you good thoughts for a speedy solution.

My sympathy, too, about Mr. M's layoff, Morphy. It's still happening all over the place, not that that makes it any easier. Joining Roberta and others in sending you positive thoughts for a speedy solution.

Grrr. Let MrMorphy know we're thinking of him, and you too!

Sorry to hear the news, sending positive thoughts to you both.

{{{Hugs}}}. So sorry to hear about MrMorphy being downsized.

>191 laytonwoman3rd: - 207 Thanks, everyone.

He really loved that job. Loved the people, loved his work, loved that it was in our town (5 minute commute). We thought he'd end up retiring from that company. But they just didn't have the business. We're hoping it's temporary. The owner was very apologetic and said MrMorphy is first on his list to bring back once the business is there. But we have no idea how long that will be. Meanwhile, he's extremely depressed - feels like nobody wants him. He hasn't had a steady non-temp job in ten years. I'm scared to death - for him and our finances. But I have to keep a positive face on for him or he'll totally fall apart.

I've canceled therapy appointments, Meals on Wheels and will be calling our Internet/phone provider to see if I can finagle a lower rate (threatening to cancel can sometimes work, "my husband's laid off, we can't afford you anymore.") I'll cancel some of my lunches at the senior center and see if my app at the food shelf is still good. He's applied for unemployment. God, this sucks shit.

So sorry to hear about the lay-off. I hope business picks up and he can go back soon. It sounds like he could get great and recent references from the owner, which is always a great help in job-hunting. It doesn't help with the major disruption in both of your lives, however.

You and Mr. Morphy are in my thoughts. I hope things work out for you both. :(

I'll be praying for you and MrMorphy. Hang in there.

>209 ronincats: Roni, yes, the owner gave him his card and said have anyone call him. He'll give him a great reference.

> 210 & 211 Thank you both.

***

Morphy's Mighty Monthly Read for February over in the Green Dragon has been posted. We are reading The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. Everyone is welcome.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/167598

***

This afternoon I'm meeting @The_Hibernator and @eeblue at Barnes & Noble to discuss The Many Colored Land by Julian May.

(How do you make usernames links?)

I think with the "at" symbol in front. @Morphidae

Have fun!

ETA: yep, it worked!

Whoo hoo! That's it! Thanks, Jim.

Morphy, I hope that you meet-up is full of fabulous! I am just so sorry about MrMorphy, and I am praying that the business picks up so that they can call him back. Having a job that you love and working with people that you like is no small thing. I WANT that for him. Hugs to you, dear.

So sorry to hear your bad news! Hopefully Mr Morphy gets called back quickly!
Sending hugs!

Have fun at the meet-up! (And great knowing the tip for linking to a user's name!)

Morphy. Shit. The news on Mr. Morphy really sucks and I do hope he is able to pick himself up and get something new quickly. Times are really hard throughout the world these days and it brings it home just how so when people we know and care about are affected.

Take care dear lady and keep a smile on your face for him even as you have a tear in your heart. xx

Well crap. Just a big ol' pile of poop.

I'm so sorry about MrMorphy's job. I just went through the same thing & know how bad the emotions are. I'll tell you this too, Morph. I think Lisa had as hard of a time with my lay off as I did...if not worse. ANY time you want / need to chat, just PM me. You will both be in my heart & prayers. I'm just so very sorry. This sucks.

Just checking in on you dear Morhpy, Sending prayers and all good wishes

>215 Crazymamie: & 217 Mamie & Mary, it was, as usual! We've decided on Anansi Boys by Gaiman for next month's read as well as Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell as a "big book" quarterly read. Cloud Atlas will be a re-read for me but I don't mind as I really enjoyed it. Plus I've seen the movie now and I want to compare it back to the book!

>216 ChelleBearss:, 218-220 Chelle, Paul, Tina, & Linda, thanks for your good wishes.

***

Today will be a quiet day at home. I have lots of reading and stuff to check off the to do list. Mostly putsy stuff having to do with books lists, book reviews, book stats, etc.

Glad it was a good time, Morphy. I have not read either of your picks for next month, although I do have Cloud Atlas on the shelves. Hoping that you enjoy your quiet day. Hugs to you, dear.

1. Evernote for Dummies by David E. Y. Sarna

Genre: Nonfiction

Notes: TIOLI #11 (two of something - m's in title)

Summary: Manual for Evernote app

Opinion: It's a manual. It's a *Dummies* manual. It did what I needed it to do and nothing more.

Rating: 6

I live my life via Evernote!

Glad it was a good meet-up! I haven't read either of the books chosen, though I do want to read both at some point. Not sure when that point will be. I thought first I'd try something shorter of Mitchell's work. Not having enjoyed American Gods as much as other Gaimans, I haven't been in a hurry to read Anansi Boys.

ETA that Evernote appears to be something I desperately need.

Oooh, Bester! Can't help but remember Bester from Firefly every time I hear the name, though. *smooch* for a quiet Sunday.

>224 drneutron: Jim, I'm getting to that point. I just need time to get more of my life into it!

>225 Storeetllr: Mary, yes, Gaiman has a wide range of work and everyone's favorite varies widely! I really liked American Gods so am looking forward to Anansi Boys.

>226 richardderus: RD, I haven't watched Firefly yet except for the movie. But we did get the entire season on DVD for Christmas. We'll be watching it sometime soon!

2. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy

Notes: TIOLI #10 (2013 LT thread), Paranormal Creatures (13 in 13 - other)

Summary: A masterless golem and an escaped jinni hide among early 1900s New York immigrants

Opinion: Lovely debut novel. Sort of a mix between fantasy and historical fiction. While I found it hard to like the jinni character, he was sympathetic. Another small annoyance was the stereotypical behavior of the main characters. Female: nurturing, passive, giving, socially conscious. Male: aggressive, wandering, philandering, emotionally distant. The writing was very well done though and I could hardly put the book down. I was totally immersed in the world. I'll certainly read more by this author.

Rating: 8

Hang in there Morphy. I'm sending you my best thoughts and prayers.

Oh! Firefly!

Guess I'll be picking up The Golem and the Jinni (on sale today on Kindle, I think).

I guess she could have made the earth character male and the air character female. Would we then be complaining about the female attributes of flightiness and inconstancy and the male ones of physical strength and imperviousness to pain? Who knows. I am looking forward to her next book.

I loved Anansi Boys much more than I liked American Gods, fwiw.

>229 luvamystery65: Thanks, Roberta.

>230 Storeetllr: Mary, it didn't *quite* make my best of 2013, but it was pretty close.

>231 ronincats: Roni, I don't know. But it was more the constant giving of the female and the emotional coldness of the male that really struck me. Those aren't typical stereotypes of the opposite gender.

I also wonder about the elemental properties. Earth and water ("clay" of a golem) are considered feminine and fire and air (what "makes up" a jinni) are considered masculine. Was she actually trying to make them stereotypical?

I gave American Gods 8 out of 10 stars, so that's good news!

3. An Unforgettable Lady by Jessica Bird (aka J. R. Ward)

Genre: Romance

Notes: TIOLI #1 (kitchen item - table), to complete bibliography

Summary: A rich socialite is one of several women being stalked by a serial murder the live-in bodyguard she hired is reluctant to listen to his urges to protect more than her body

Opinion: I grabbed it because it was a Ward but it shows that this was written before she got into her groove with the Black Dagger Brotherhood novels. It doesn't have the intensity, humor or emotional pull. However, it was an interesting enough read that I will read the rest of the trilogy. (This was the second. Though I can't imagine that there is that big of a deal to reading them out of order.)

Rating: 6

4. The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan

Genre: Fantasy

Notes: TIOLI #8 (glossary), GD Lists (13 in 13)

Summary: During a purge, a teen-aged slum girl performs an act of magic which gains the unwanted attention of the Magician's Guild.

Opinion: Enjoyable first book in a trilogy. The next book is already in transit at the library. Engaging with a strong female protagonist. The constant hiding and running in the first half of the book was a wee bit annoying. Solid world-building. Straight-forward plot.

Rating: 8

5. Archangel's Legion by Nalini Singh

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Notes: TIOLI #19 (walking/standing figure), next in series

Summary: The archangel of New York with his consort must fight against the archangel of Death to save his city

Opinion: Pleasant read though it loses a star due to too many sex scenes. Don't get me wrong, I love me some fantasy porn. But not when six or seven (!!!) scenes are tacked on for seemingly no reason. Good plotting and lots of great character building with secondary characters.

Rating: 6

234> I read it last weekend. I had to get it inter-library loan.

{{{{Morphy}}}} {{{{MrMorphy}}}}

I hope that when MrMorphy gets a little past this blow that he is able to gain strength from the fact that this job WAS permanent, if short-lived, he'll have a good reference and will be able to speak with enthusiasm about what he accomplished and was going to accomplish in that job. All of those factors will make a big difference this go around in the job market.

Still, the whole thing stinks.

As someone said, you are very strong, I just wish you didn't have quite so much to be strong about.

Any way we can send business towards his former workplace so they need to hire him back?

I think I have that Trudi Canavan book Morphy. Would it be a good place to start reading contemporary fantasy?

>236 MDGentleReader: MD, he's also concerned because he's 54. It's hard to find a job at that age. And I agree, I'm real tired of how much god thinks I can handle. Enough already!

send business
Only if you need electrical boxes!

>237 PaulCranswick: Paul, no. And it's not contemporary fantasy. It's set on another world. I think you would find the first part where they are hiding all the time tedious. It would put you off reading more fantasy. Regular fantasy readers are used to a slow build up in trilogies! Although, as I said, even I found this one annoying in that way.

6. My Own Country by Abraham Verghese

Genre: Nonfiction

Notes: TIOLI #18 (Sub-Sahara author - Ethiopia)

Summary: An Ethiopian doctor of Indian descent is in the first line when AIDS hits rural Tennessee in the 1980s

Opinion: What Verghese lacks as a husband and friend, he makes up for as a doctor and writer. The world of rural Tennessee and how not only AIDS but the exposure of the entire gay community affects the area is brought to heartbreaking life. It's beautiful and brutal and it absorbs Verghese's entire world. Occasionally gets boring when case studies and character descriptions go on a little too much. We don't need to know every single article of clothing someone is wearing. But that's really my only (minor) complaint.

Rating: 8

7. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

Genre: Classics

Notes: TIOLI #11 (two of something), Read All Years (1927), American Author Challenge

Summary: A bishop is sent to New Mexico to establish a diocese in New Mexico in the mid-1800s

Opinion: I hesitant about reading this book because I was expecting more description and less plot. I'm happy to say this was not the case. Fascinating story about the difficulties of a new leader coming into a well-established religious community. I wanted more detail though. Cather often had the disconcerting habit of getting me all excited about something happening - like a trip to Rome - then the next paragraph was about him arriving back from Rome a year later! But, but, what HAPPENED in Rome? I liked this edition because it had a nifty ribbon bookmark attached.

Rating: 7

8. The Many Colored Land by Julian May

Genre: Science Fiction

Notes: TIOLI #16 (ugly cover), LT Book Club

Summary: A one way portal into the Pliocene era has some nasty surprises for 22nd century misfits

Opinion: I don't typically do reviews of re-reads but this is an exception since it was for a book club. The first book is definitely a set up for the remaining three since it is mostly world-building and introductions to a large cast of characters. It is engaging enough though that I've already dug up the remaining novels so I can do a complete re-read as soon as I can dredge up the time.

Rating: 7

~~~~~

Currently Reading:
The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross

On Deck:
Elementary edited by Mercedes Lackey
Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher
The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

Glad you enjoyed Death Comes for the Archbishop, Morph. I forgot by the end of the book that I had wanted to know about the Rome trip details too. ;)

(((hugs))) to you both!

Oh Morph! That sucks about MrMorph - I feel your pain. My own husband was made redundant just before Christmas. Then there was some hope that he might be re-deployed within the same company. But this week we had confirmation that won't be the case. So we should cross fingers for each other!

Morphy have you seen the movie based on My Own Country? It was made in 1998 with Naveen Andrews, Hal Halbrook, Marisa Tomei, Glenne Headly & Swoosie Kurtz. I thought it was a good movie.

I felt similarly about The Magician's Guild -- it wasn't remarkable, but it was engaging enough to be enjoyable and to continue reading the series. I thought it telegraphed its plot too early (all that running around, fairly obvious it wasn't going to be just a book of running around and hiding even if it felt that way), but I liked the second half of the book much more. I ordered the next two books and they're on my pile to read ASAP.

>243 TinaV95: Tina, I'm definitely going to have to read more Cather. I've read two of her books now and enjoyed them both.

>244 PrueGallagher: Prue, sure will. I think we'll need it. The economy still sucks no matter what the media heads say.

>245 luvamystery65: Roberta, well, unless they re-release it, I'm out of luck. Neither Netflix nor my library, even interlibrary, has it! I'm bummed.

>246 dk_phoenix: Faith, The Novice is in transit from the library. I don't know if I'll get to it right away, but it will be soonish.

***

Talk to Me Tuesday

If you don't know about it by now, I'm a list maker. I have so many lists, I have lists of my lists. I have a Books List database that is a collection of about eighty "best of" and miscellaneous lists* such as all the Green Dragon lists. It has over 12,000 titles in it. I have an uthors database that lists the books of about seventy authors where I'd like to read their entire bibliography.** I have old category lists from previous years, a recommended book list, a next in series list, and a master list of about 100 books that I want to read "soon."

Oh, and then there's the list of books I need to read "now" because they are due at the library or for a book club.

Then I have my books read database where I collect a bunch of information about each book I've read. And a physical book journal where I put in book recommendations and TBRs and check them off with a year when I'm done.

Do you have a TBR list? What type is it? Do you have any other type of book-related lists or journals?

-----------

* Lists from Books List database

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
111 Science Fiction
50 Mystery Books to Read Before They Find the Body
Around the World in 80 Mysteries
888 Challenge
All About Romance Top 100
Alex Award
AP Literature
Books Alive
BBC Big Reads Next 100
BBC Big Reads
The BookCrossing Top 100+ Books of All Time
100 Best Horror
Booker Prize
Well-Stocked Bookcase Book of the Month Club
Challenged 1990 - 2000
1001 Children's
Caldecott
National Book Critics
Easton Press 100 Greatest
Edgar
Everyman's
100 EW New Classics
1001 Fantasy
501 Books to Read
Feminista
The Guardian 100
111 Science Fiction Books to Read Before a Supernova Kills Us All
Guardian 1000
Hugos
Indies Choice Fiction Award
Indies Choice Nonfiction Award
Lifetime Reading Plan
LT Top 5 of 2007
LT Most Popular of Top 1000 Authors
Mother - Daughter
BOOK - Making a Literary Life (See)
Modern Library
MLA (Museum, Libraries and Archives Council)
Madison Reader's Choice
Nebula
Newbery Medals
One Night Reads
111 Nonfiction Books to Read Before Your Brain Atrophies
BOOK - Number of the Beast (Heinlein)
The Novel 100
NPR Best SF/F
NPR Top 100 Killer Thrillers
Oprah's Book Club
Orange Essential Bookshelf of Modern Works
Orange Prize
Penguin Classics Complete
Penquin Classics
Pulitzer
Pulitzer+Nobel
PW Best Selling by Year
Radcliffe
Top Romantic SF and Fantasy Novels
RH 20th - Board
RH 20th - Reader
RITA
Romance Readers
50 Self Help Classics
"The SF Book Club's ""The Most Significant SF & Fantasy Books of the Last 50 Years (1953-2002)"
BOOK - Stephen King Danse Macabre
BOOK - On Writing (King)
SparkNotes
50 Spiritual Classics
Stoker
NEA Teachers' Top 100
TeenReads
Time Magazine
TIOLI Most Popular
Top 100 Fantasy
The Top 10
Top 200 Science Fiction
Ultimate Reading List
50 States
Well Educated Adult Recommended Reading List
World Fantasy Award
BBC Women's Watershed

**Authors
Allen, Sarah Addison
Andrews, Ilona
Anthony, Piers
Armstrong, Kelley
Arthur, Keri
Barnett, Jill
Bishop, Anne
Bradley, Marion Zimmer
Briggs, Patricia
Brooks, Geraldine
Bujold, Lois McMaster
Butcher, Jim
Carey, Jacqueline
Carriger, Gail
Cashore, Kristin
Clare, Cassandra
Cotterill, Colin
Davidson, MaryJanice
Deveraux, Jude
Evanovich, Janet
Ferris, Monica
Frost, Jeaniene
Furlong, Monica
Galenorn, Yasmine
Garwood, Julie
Hale, Shannon
Hamilton, Laurell K.
Harris, Charlaine
Harrison, Kim
Heinlein, Robert
Jance, J. A.
Jemisin, N K
Johnson, Jean
Karon, Jan
Kenyon, Sherrilyn
King, Stephen
Kleypas, Lisa
Koontz, Dean
Lackey, Mercedes
Lindsey, Johanna
Lisle, Holly
McCaffrey, Anne
McNaught, Judith
Milan, Courtney
Murphy, C. E.
Niven, Larry
Nix, Garth
Patterson, James
Putney, Mary Jo
Quick, Amanda
Riordan, Rick
Robb, J. D.
Roberts, Nora
Robinson, Spider
Rowland, Diana
Sanderson, Brandon
Singh, Nalini
Smith, Alexander McCall
Snyder, Maria
Spencer, LaVyrle
Sunny
Swendson, Shanna
Tan, Amy
Vaughn, Carrie
Ward, J. R.
Wrede, Patricia

I'm not much of a list-maker, except for grocery shopping, and then I tend to forget to take it with me when I go to the store. I find if I make a list of things I need to do, it misleads me into thinking I've "taken care of" those things, and I STILL forget to do them!

LT has replaced most of my book lists. I can keep track of everything I want to know on here. The only new book-related lists I've started lately have to do with my Chalet School reading project, which I keep in a big notebook. My other lists are just ephemeral ones, like groceries and Christmas presents.

I love reading other people's book lists.

Morphy - I think I am your rival or partner-in-crime when it comes to list making!
I have my TBR of physical books which logs all the unread books in my posession. It also includes the books read since 1 January 2013.
The database has information stored on Book Title/ Author (alphabetically by surname) / number of pages in the book / number of page to date that I have read of it / the year of the books original publication / genre of the book / when did I buy it / Country origin of author / series info / award info / status, date read.

Additionally I have a database of any books I have read with similar details to the above since 1994.

I buy The Literary Review Magazine and own the 1001 Books first edition copy.

Hi, Morphy! So sorry to hear of Mr. Morphy's lay-off. Companies around here are laying people off, too. It stinks.

I have an Ever-Expanding List category here on LT which consists of both books I own TBR, library books TBR, and wishlisted books. (I also have other categories that sort out which is which -- owned, library, or books I'm still trying to find.)

I do have a TBR list, Morphy, which I've taken to referring to as The List. It's a Google doc (that way I can add things to it in bookstores and at the library) and everything gets added to it. I do have it subdivided into Children's, YA, Adult, Classics, and Non-fiction for easier browsing (hello librarian tendencies!).

You can count me as another who is completely crazy about lists. I love reading them, I love making them, I love following them...I keep a little moleskin notebook journal where I jot down lists of books to check the library for, lists of books I want to get to this year, lists of books I want from the bookstore, lists of books that people I trust recommended...

Luckily I also have LT and FictFact to help keep me organized.

Did you know that Sarah Addison Allen's new one is out today? It's called Lost Lake.

Yes, I am a list maker, I love planning and making lists and I have kept track of every book I have read since about 1978. Since I joined LT I have moved my TBR lists here and I am constantly updating and revising them. I think part of my reason for enjoying the Category Challenges so much is all the list making and planning of books that is involved.

I make lists, and then they sort of fall by the wayside. Most of my attempts to catalog my books before LT were glorified lists (I'm also cheap, and all the decent inventory/catalog software was too expensive!). LT is the first listmaker that really worked for me longterm (though I think some things are sneaking through...there's some books I _swear_ I own that I don't have cataloged).

I'm pleased to see Jean Johnson and Patricia Wrede on your list. You should add Janet Kagan, unless you've already read all of hers - she's wonderful, but she didn't get to write much. Three novels, one of which is a bunch of short stories in a frame (and my favorite of hers, I think) and lots of short stories.

Hi Morphy- Sorry, I've been neglecting my pal from Minnesota. I am glad you enjoyed The Golem and the Jinni. I should try to bookhorn this one in for FF. Glad you liked Death Comes. I also thought it was a very special book. Thanks for joining me on AAC.

Death Comes for the Archbishop creeps a few centimeters higher up the pile.

300 books a year?

Sigh...

OMGoodness, my REAL (owned) TBR pile is over 900 books.

One can dream.

I start lists and then forget to keep them up. Or I misplace them (if on paper rather than online). I'm not very organized.

Maybe I'll just use your lists, since we seem to have similar tastes in reading.

Speaking of lists (and notes), I just loaded Evernote on my iPhone and will be loading it on my laptop shortly! Now I will have to pick up Evernote for Dummies (>223 Morphidae:) to figure out how to use it. Thanks for the reccie! I need something to help me keep track of my life.

Yeah. I use Evernote - I should look at the Dummies book and see what all it can do. It's a great way of keeping track of recipes and stuff, across my many devices.

Oh, I love lists, and I love crossing things off lists! LT takes care of most of my lists, but I have a spreadsheet of books read, books acquired and books deaccessioned to sum things up easily. Also Christmas card list, gifts (received and given) lists for each year, Kindle books list, magazine subscription list, charity donation list, To Do lists...

Not a huge fan of lists - but I love that I can catalogue all my books on LT and I rate and comment on the ones I have read. I usually use Book Depository Wishlist for books I want to read/own and any recommendations. And I have loads of Books about recommended reads - including Book Lust and 1001 Books to Read

You know about my relationship with lists, so I need not repeat it here. I will say that my brain was shouting, "LALALA...I'M NOT SEEING THIS!" at your list of your lists, and I managed to scroll right past. Ha!

Almost 24 hours away Morphy, did preparing that list tire you so?

I use LT to keep track of my TBR and Wishlist books, as well as books read. However I have kept a handwritten book journal since 2003 of the books I have read. I write a summary and include other info.

>248 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, yeah, I know what you mean. I'm still getting used to the idea of having an iPad where I have tons of reminders. It doesn't help if I forget to turn it on in the morning! Ha1

>249 SylviaC: Sylvia, I keep even my Christmas and grocery lists. The Christmas ones so I remember what I gave year to year and a grocery one so we don't forget a staple and have to hit the grocery store again during the week.

>250 PaulCranswick: Paul, well, I beat you in that I've been recording books read since 2006! Oh, MAN, you changed it on me to 1994. *pouts* Oh! But I DO beat you in number of fields: If I've entered it in LT, Year/Month I read it, ISBN, Title, Author, Genre, Original year published, Pages, Where I got it (library, etc), If it's a reread, Rating, Format, Dewey Decimal, Publisher, Notes (challenges, etc), Summary (plot), Opinion, URL (for picture), Author gender, Place (setting). Ha! And I'll be adding a check mark for if it's been made into a movie.

>251 tymfos: Terri, I have one list here on LT, that's my LT recommended list. Once I've read a book from it, I remove it from that category and move it to it's applicable year read.

>252 MickyFine: Micky, I'm going to have to find a way to get at least a portion of my lists onto my iPad for such reasons!

>253 Crazymamie: Mamie, a Moleskine is where I keep my list of TBRs and check them off with the year read that I mentioned about. Love my Moleskine. Yeah, I knew about the Allen book but I'm still not done with the rest of her books. I'll get to them!

>254 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I know. I had to resist the category challenges this year. I still haven't caught up with the 888 challenge from 2008 much less the 2012 and 2013! I was determined that this year I'm getting those all read so I can start 2015 clean.

>255 jjmcgaffey: Jennifer, I've read Uhura's Song which I gave 8 out of 10 stars. So I'll have to check out her other novels. I most likely won't be reading the short stories. I generally don't like them as a style.

>256 msf59: Mark, well, I certainly hope you like The Golem and the Jinni more than the last one I recommended!

>257 Sandydog1: Steve, thanks for stopping by. I'm a rarity in reading that many books! The vast majority in the 75ers read half or less than that.

>258 Storeetllr: Mary, now you'll just need to remember you have Evernote! Last night at drawing class, MrMorphy had to remind me that my iPad had a camera function so I could take a picture of my work!

>259 jjmcgaffey: Jennifer, I don't know how much use it would be to you if you're already putting recipes and such on it. It's a really basic book for people who've never opened the app. For instance, there's a whole chapter on how to add a note.

>260 ronincats: Roni, oh, don't even get me started on all the NON-book lists I have. We'll be here all day. LOL! I have the movie database with the TBW list, the watched list, DVDs owned, etc. Just for one example...

>261 PrueGallagher: Prue, oooh, I have both the 1001 Books and the 1001 Movies books. Every January I go through and highlight all the books I have read and movies I watched that year.

>262 scaifea: Amber, nooooOooooooOOooo! I pasted them just for YOU! You come back here and read that list of lists! *stamps her feet*

>263 PaulCranswick: Paul, no, the January rush of threads is killing me. I'm trying to keep myself to a once a day LT visit so I have SOME time during the day to get other things accomplished.

>264 jayde1599: Jess, welcome to my thread! I'd love to do more listing making handwritten. Unfortunately, my hand just won't let me. After a short time of writing, my hand cramps up. So almost all my lists are on the computer.

***

Yes, I know, I'm way past the thread police limit but I'm too busy today. I'll have to work on a new thread tomorrow. I'll be going to the senior center this morning. Instead of going down to the shop like I usually do though, I'll be going to a lecture by our vet. She's going to talk about her work at sled dog races including the Iditarod. I like her a lot. She's been our vet for over 20 years and has gone through all the stages of life with our dogs - puppy, adult, chronic illness, and death. She's knowledgeable, filled with compassion, and just a happy person. Lunch is stroganoff.

Then I'll be going from there to my second physical therapy appointment. I've been very good and have done my exercises three times a day for the last week. I haven't noticed any improvement yet but it's probably too soon.

***

Wacky Wednesday

I saw this on my local news station and it cracks me up. MrMorphy doesn't see the humor but it makes me giggle every time I watch it. (Click on image to watch video.)

Morning, Morphy! That cat peeking over the bed cracked me up, too! Thanks for sharing!! Wishing for you a day full of fabulous!

Okay, okay, I'm looking, I'm looking!

.....

Okay, I'm back. Do you have all of those as separate lists, or only altogether in one big list? If you have the separate lists, would you be willing to share one or twenty of them?

>267 Crazymamie: Mamie, I'm glad someone else shares my sense of humor!

>268 scaifea: Amber, they are all in one database. HOWEVER, there is a "code" field so I can filter by list. It'll be easy-peasy for me to share any you'd like.

*does secret fist-pump, "Got her!"

Ha! Yeah, I just PM-ed you with my wish list...

Enjoy your busy day, Morphy.

I ordered the new Sarah Addison Allen book yesterday, and less than 24 hours later, it is waiting in the post office for me. Every now and then Canada Post does something spectacular. (The last book I ordered spent two weeks in transit, so I guess it all averages out.)

Morphy, you are the queen of lists around here. My WL is in a notebook all jumbled up. I need to update it and put it on Evernote. I am so sorry about Mr. Morphy getting laid off. It's sad especially since he loved his job so much. I do hope the economy improves and he gets to go back to it. Sheesh, just when things were going pretty well for you. {{Hugs}}

I bought The Golem and the Jinni for the iPad. I'm glad to see you liked it. It's one long book. I'll try and read it next month for Fantasy February.

Loved the cat video! What a character!

I forgot that Evernote lets you organize photos of things. Not sure how it all works, or what exactly is the best way for me to utilize it, so I am definitely going to need that Evernote for Dummies book.

>270 scaifea: Amber, I'll probably send them some time today. If not, then Saturday.

>271 SylviaC: Sylvia, make sure to let me know what you think!

>272 Donna828: Donna, it's a long book but it reads really fast. I hope you enjoy it.

>273 Storeetllr: Mary, the expression on the cat's face is priceless.

***

Spending a quiet day at home, bundled up under blankets. It's bloody cold again today. It's currently -15F/-26C. Will work on my to do list and do some reading. Will finish off Elementary edited by Mercedes Lackey (UGH - will blast it later in my micro-review) and start Princep's Fury by Jim Butcher.

Yesterday, I got a book in the mail from Paul. Thanks, Paul! I've never heard of the title or the author. Does anyone recognize it? It's Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. It looks intriguing.

Thanks, Morphy!

It's ding dang cold here, too - Charlie's school is on a 2-hour delay this morning.

It's weird. You guys are in the deep freeze and up here in Edmonton it's feeling practically spring like with highs of 5C. I'm sure we'll pay for it later but right now it's down right balmy.

>274 Morphidae:, I read Throne of the Crescent Moon last March; it's fun in a sword, sandal, and ghul kind of way. I gave it 3 out of five stars. This was my review:

Throne of the Crescent Moon is a rather generic good vs. evil sword-fighting fantasy with good world-building and interesting characterization. There is little plot-wise that you haven't seen elsewhere, but that doesn't mean it's not interesting.

An old ghul-hunter and his fanatical (some would say fundamentalist) apprentice are asked for help by an old flame, which leads them to the fight of their lives, as an evil all though extinguished appears to rise again. In the process, they pick up a shape-shifting nomad girl, bent on avenging the murder of her tribe. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and so forth. It all leads up to the battle to end all battles, so that streets will not flow with blood. And yes, there will be a sequel.

Mostly for fans of the genre, or those who enjoy Middle East-set fantasy. But also for those seeking a fun adventure.

Note: Some people have read into things that because the author is Muslim, some of the banter in the book is actually commentary on Islam and/or Islam-related politics. I suppose it can be read that way. But not every novel written by a Catholic is secretly about Catholicism, and not every book by a Muslim is really about Islam. I personally feel that the author's point is more on the need for moderation in life in general, not just in Islam or religion. But what do I know?

Oh, good grief! Another book bullet bulls-eye. I can't go anywhere on LT without getting hit by a bb. *grumps off to put Crescent Moon on the WL*

I found you! I have been looking for your thread for a while. Now I can lurk all I want!

The list of your list is giving me anxiety. I try to make list and then I forget my lists.

You are goddess Morphy!

OK, so I thought I loved lists until I saw what a list-er YOU are! You need List-Makers Anonymous LOL!!

I laughed so hard at that video I almost fell out of my desk chair! That cat is hysterical, Morphy!! :)

*Not* a BB for me! It's, um, already on my list... ;)

*266 You know, I'm not sure why that video is funny either, but it made me giggle, too. :)

>275 scaifea: Amber, what was your temp yesterday? Did they eventually cancel or did Charlie go off to school?

>276 MickyFine: Micky, we were "warm" yesterday. Today we are headed back into the deep freeze. I'm so tired of this.

>277 inge87: Jennifer, thanks for the review! I appreciate the information.

>278 Storeetllr: Mary, a book bullet that isn't even really my fault. LOL!

>279 Thebookdiva: Abby, you can lurk, but if you want me to post on your thread, you need to post here every couple of weeks! It's how I keep my time here at LT reasonable. Otherwise, I'd go nuts.

>280 luvamystery65: Roberta, now I have alarms. Lots of alarms. My iPad pings at me all the time now to remind me to do stuff.

>281 TinaV95: Tina, yeah, well, first you have to admit you have a problem. I love lists. Ergo, no problem! :D

>282 drneutron: Jim, ha! Another list maker...

>283 The_Hibernator: Rachel, I think it's the cat's expression of horror and surprise. "What are you DOING?!?!?!"

***

Off to visit my ex-boss/friend for our monthly lunch today. We're having Chinese at Pei Wei's. We'll share lettuce wraps. I'll have Beef Lo Mein and he'll have Orange Chicken.

We're not creatures of habit. Really.

***

I'll get up a new thread today or tomorrow. Promise!

Oh, I'm sorry about MrMorphy's layoff. But everyone is right who said that having a strong recommendation from a previous employer who really wanted to keep him on will make all the difference, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

Also, lists! I love lists. In particular, I love making lists. Sometimes I manage to cross off a few items, which is definitely fun, but I'm just as likely to make a brand-new list. Especially when it comes to books.

Lunch sounds good. We're not going anywhere today, because the roads are closed. Again.

Stay warm!

I use the alarms on my iPhone but I think I need to be better organized. I'm going to look at the Evernote for Dummies book. It sounds like Evernote might work for me. I'm very visual. I'll keep you posted.

Have a lovely weekend Morphy.

Morning Morphy! Have a wonderful weekend. Also, that cat video cracked me up!

>285 _Zoe_: Zoe, that's how I ended up with about 24 book lists. We'll be sure to add his former boss' recommendation on cover letters.

>286 SylviaC: Sylvia, I'm trying! I had MrMorphy make me a cuppa to try and warm from the inside out. It's 6F/-14C at the moment.

>287 luvamystery65: Roberta, I hope you have a great weekend, too. I'm not getting as much done as I want to. LT is still taking up too much of my time. I want it to calm down now!

>288 Thebookdiva: Abby, isn't it priceless?

***

289> LIKE for the Peanuts cartoon!

Funny!

So, I went to our library yesterday and asked if they had Evernote for Dummies or ANY kind of instruction/reference book for Evernote (they didn't). The librarian didn't know what Evernote was, so I explained that it is an app to help you keep organized. She was very interested and said she was going to order a copy of the book for the library! In the meantime, I ordered a copy from one of the other libraries in the system.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend so far! Stay warm!

I actually have notes for each month to help me figure out what I might want yo read.

>266 Morphidae: Hey, Morphy ~ How did you embed that video clip in your post? I tried to embed one just now but it didn't work. Thanks!

>290 thornton37814: & 292 Lori, yeah, I'm doing the same thing in Evernote with CHECK BOXES! Ooooooh.

>291 Storeetllr: & 293 Mary, I'm trying to stay warm. It's not working too well even with three blankets! (OPEN BRACKET)a href="video website url"(CLOSE BRACKET)(OPEN BRACKET)img src="image for video url"(CLOSE BRACKET)(OPEN BRACKET)(FORWARD SLASH)a(CLOSE BRACKET)

Charlie's school had a 2-hour delay on Thursday. Today the wind was brutal, and, as you know, it's only going to get worse this coming week. Blerg.

*lurk*

>294 Morphidae: Thanks! I'll try it.

>295 scaifea: Amber, I know. We're talking -22 again. I'm SO over this.

>296 ronincats: Roni, I know. It's because I'm BOOORING right now. But I have a nice shiny new thread! See below.

>297 Storeetllr: Mary, welcome.

***

At least I did it before post 300! http://www.librarything.com/topic/168350