Susan aka suslyn in 2014

A voracious reader, I'd really like to be able to put the books (or screens) down!! Having read over 400 books last year, I'm hopeful that I will read less this year. If I'm really successful, I'll be under the number for 2012 as that's what I planned to do last year! My thread from 2013 may be found here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/147034#

We now have 5 cats. Sooty has a kidney problem which is grave. And worse, he keeps picking fights with Githingy -- and losing. He hasn't figured out yet that his hide just isn't tough enough to keep out the Savannah's claws. And since Githingy's Savannah hide is also thicker, Githingy doesn't suffer much from their encounters. Just in December Soot had 11 stitches and then once healed he went after him again, this time with just a little hole (the size of a dime?) in his coat... Never dull!

Steph's almost done with our kitchen and that's very exciting. He continues to commute 1.5 hours each way to work near Paris. It's getting old! He'd like to find something closer and more to his liking.

I may not get to visiting threads this year either although I'd like that very much. PM me if there's something I can do for you or add to my prayer list. May all the blessings of life and great joy be yours this year.

Best reads of 2013 out of 406 books read.
Christy
Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison
The Help

Best reads of 2012 out of 363 books read.
Inside, Outside by Wouk
To Ride Hell's Chasm* by Wurts
Empress by Karen Miller
Big Cherry Holler by Trigiani
Spindle's End* by McKinley
The Confessor by Silva
The Spirit Ring* by Bujold

Best reads of 2011 out of 255 books read.
Church Folk by Bowen, fiction, 20th century US African America.
March by Brooks, fiction, Mr March of Little Women's war experience.
Sundays at Tiffany's by Patterson, fiction, contemporary NYC, sort of a modern fairy tale.
Choosing to SEE by Chapman, Christian memoir, deals with loss of a child and depression (and is very encouraging LOL).

May
April
March
February

January
011 Once a Dreamer by Hern (msg 9)
010 The Cad by Layton (msg 9)
009 The Reluctant Suitor by Woodiwiss (msg 9)
008 To Wed a Viscount by Basso (msg 9)
007 The Art of Duke Hunting by Nash (msg 9)
006 Wooing Miss Whately by Bond (msg 9)
005 My Fair Temptress by Dodd (msg 9)
004 A Perfect Bride by James (msg 9)
003 Where the Heart Leads by Laurens (msg 9)
002 To Protect an Heiress by Basso (msg 9)
001 Sometimes a Rogue by Putney (msg 9)

Welcome back!

Susan - didn't spot you in the melee. Have a lovely 2014!

Snuck right past me, and here's me lookin' out too. Howdy!

Ha! Found you!

Hey fellas!! Happy 2014 to you too :)

Sweet Roni!! xox

And so I began this year as I finished the last, with a host of regencies via Scribd:

1 Sometimes a Rogue (352) by Putney.
2 To Protect an Heiress (352) by Basso.
3 Where the Heart Leads (496) by Laurens.
4 A Perfect Bride (384) by James.
5 My Fair Temptress (384) by Dodd. Silly but a lot of fun.
6 Wooing Miss Whately (338) by Bond.
7 The Art of Duke Hunting (384) by Nash. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
8 To Wed a Viscount (276) by Basso.
9 The Reluctant Suitor (592) by Woodiwiss. Apparently this gal has a slew of books on the bestseller list. I really have no idea why as she ended up on my "don't bother to read again" list. If you know her work and believe this book is just an aberration, please let me know.
10 The Cad* (368) by Layton. I'm 97% positive that I've read this before, and so give it the asterisk re-read mark...
11 Once a Dreamer (384) by Hern. I enjoyed this one too.

11 books in 6 days - oh dear lord. Pro rata this year you are on for 669 books. xx

Found!

Hi Susan! I'm following avidly :)

Paul, I certainly hope not!! Hey Kriti! Piyush! So nice of you to visit and leave a note! xox

good afternoon hon, or morning... whatever it is have a nice coffee and I am thinking of you

oh, well. I know you will see it when you see it, but I still wish you are here to have a coffee together

Hi Susan - just dropping by to say hello.

Been an age, and no signs on Facebook either. Is all well?

Hi Susan! We miss you, hope everything is going well with you.

Thinking of you!

Yes, I'm fine. TY. I've been... reading! LOL I've got a new tablet which I'm not using to connect online except to snag more books. Have to say that while Scribd doesn't have many of the authors I'd love to be reading, that I'm having a ball reading new stuff. Some of it's even good! :)

Bess Crawford mysteries:
12 An Impartial Witness (368)
13 A Bitter Truth (368)
14 An Unmarked Grave (288)

A romance series about immigrants to the US in the 1890s which I enjoyed.
15 Dear Lady (383)
16 Patterns of Love (319)
17 In His Arms (399)
18 Promised to Me (346)

19 Last Rituals by Sigurðardóttir (336), mystery. By an Icelandic gal and set there. Not amazing, but I liked it well enough to keep the sequel on my list.

According to scribed I have another 100 books or so to add... I don't think it's that many... one can hope :)

Bless you all. I know I'm neglecting you. Even so you're important to me.

(very odd. All the touchstones are there when I look at the message before posting... Well, if you have that problem try using "preview" and then post. Whether that's the reason they showed up or not is another matter ;-> )

Oops, missed a Bess Crawford, the first.
20 A DUty to the Dead (352)

Don't miss Ashes to Dust in Yrsa's series!

Glad you're well, and hope you're happy and contented. *smooch*

Thx Richard. Not sure that one's available for me yet. But I've got it noted!

21 The Rake's Redemption by Bodine (307), no touchstone.
22 The Wicked Ways of a Duke by Guhrke (384).
23 Not Quite a Lady (384) by Chase. Don't remember this one or the one above.

24 Desire in His Eyes (378), 25 When His Kiss is Wicked (473), 26 His by Christmas (404) and 27 It Happened One Christmas (404) by O'Riley. These were 4 of 5 in a series -- for some reason one of the books in the middle wasn't available. Kind of fun, but not chaste.

28 Lost Lake (404) by Margolin, thriller. Found this quite good.

29 The Princess Masquerade (384) by Grieman, hist romance. Enjoyed this quite a bit.

And all I could get of the Alan Banks series by Peter Robinson. I liked these a lot.
30 In a Dry Season (480), 31 Innocent Graves (404), 32 Cold is the Grave (448), 33 Aftermath (480), 34 A Strange Affair (576), 35 Close to Home (464), 36 Playing with Fire (424), 37 Piece of My Heart (448), 38 Friend of the Devil (432) 39 All the Colours of Darkness (476) and 40 Bad Boy (400). I like these characters. I want the next book...

Good to see you back, even if sporadically.

TY Piyush. I'm hoping to get life more in order and make time to visit a bit. You're on the short list!

Life update: We continue to miss Papanas who died at the end of May last year. Sooty has serious kidney problems and is on meds for life. If you pray, prayers that he eats are welcome. If he stops it's all over. Mitse has entered very old age, for a cat, and now has typical elderly cat issues with her kidneys. The doc is not worried about her, and says it's normal. She too is on meds for the rest of her life.

Kitchen is basically done. We thought we were done and then got another great idea -- we removed cabinets, swapped stuff around and added a bar. It's lovely. backsplash and a few small odds and ends are all that's left. Now we're trying to deicde what ot do with the dining room floor... And the hunt goes on. As does the saga!

And now I'll add a few more from my backlog of books already read but not entered. All these are read via Scribd.

Just finished 41 Devious by Lisa Jackson (656), thriller. I'd happily read more in the series, but this is the only one available on Scribd.

Started reading mid-way through the Decker/Lazarus series and enjoyed it a ton. I want the next book. Years ago, I read some of the others, and I have no real desire to go back and fill in any holes in the series.
42 Hangman (448), 43 Gun Games (480), 44 Blindman's Bluff (512), 45 The Mercedes Coffin (480), 46 The Forgotten (544), and 47 The Burnt House (560).

And a few other books:
48 Between the Duke and the Deep Blue Sea by Nash, regency (384).

49 Four Little Blossoms at Brookside Farm by Hawley (176), childrens. I used to read stuff like this when I was a kid, gobbling it up. I know that's hard for you to believe. ;->

50 The Legacy by Webb (496), fiction. Pretty darn depressing! Kind of Pilcher/J Trollop-esqe but dark. Very dark.

Two fantasy by a new-to-me author. I found this series to be very original. While I liked the first two quite a bit, I gave up on the third which goes to an earlier time in the same world. 51 The Princess and the Bear (352) and 52 The Princess and the Hound (432) in reverse order for the series. Hmmm.... Scribd has them listed as romance (really?) and for "Girls and Women". Dunno about that. However, I have noted that Scribd doesn't have a fantasy category...

Yup, that must explain it as the next is by Dianna Wynne-Jones and is definitely fantasy (as were the last) which is labled "Action & Adventure" and has as much romance as the previous! LOL 53 Cart and Cwidder (240). This is the first in a quartet which I enjoyed, but I just couldn't get into the 2nd and doubt I'll go on to 3 & 4 (unless someone tells me otherwise).

My first Maisie Dobbs: 54 A Lesson in Secrets (352). I read this so long ago that I remember exactly nothing about it!

A fun but, if memory serves, not exactly chaste (regency?) series by Sophia Nash. It must not have been too explicit or her name would have made my list of authors not to read again. 55 Love with the Perfect Scoundrel (384), 56 Secrets of a Scandalous Bride (384), 57 The Kiss (384), 58 A Dangerous Beauty (384).

And some other books read (regencies?), I think, back in January.
59 Whisper to Me of Love by Busbee (719), I think I enjoyed this one.
60 The Rules of Gentility (288) by Mullany.
61 The Rake by Putney (514).
62 Secrets of a Lady by Grant (touchstone shows a different title, but it's the right author) (496)

Hope Sooty and Mitse are doing well with their medication. We haven't had elderly cats for a while, but Zoe turns 12 this year (the boys are 6) so know we have that ahead of us.

I'm glad the kitchen is finally done. You all did eventually get heat, right? What about the move that was a possibility a while back?

Yes, Roni, we've had heat since March '13 -- hallelujah! We probably would have been okay this winter w/o -- it was the mildest I can remember since being in France ('98).

Sooty is just 6 and may have had the kidney problem since we've had him as he always drank more than the other cats, but when he was hit by a car and damaged his backend the kidneys appeared to have been damaged as well. His blood shows a big loss in health, but he appears to be fine. *sigh* Poor guy. Makes sense as he's the next favorite. We seem to lose the ones we treasure the most...

Mitse looks good. The vet doesn't want to see her for another two months. Thx for asking. xox

So glad spring is coming. Here too, today and tomorrow will be really hot.
Hope you enjoy some nice coffee, even nicer books and also some new flowers in the garden.

Glad the cats are hanging in there.

Hi sweetie,
Hope you have a wonderful relaxing day ... with a good coffee :)

hey Susan,
have a great weekend and hope you read something good now :)

Some books I read from my physical library here at home:

The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop: 63 Daughter of the Blood* (412), 64 Heir to the Shadows* (482), and 65 Queen of the Darkness* (430). Love this series. Prefer it tons to her Tir na Og fantasy series and the add ons in this series. Spectactular.

66 The Initiate Brother* (480) by Russell, fantasy. Still love this cliffhanger book 1 of a duology. One day I hope I get to read book 2!

67 The Ecologic Envoy* (287) by Modesitt, SF. Wanted to read another of his (The Octagonal Raven), but it's missing...

68 Ravenheart (427) by Gemmel, fantasy. Was surprised to find an unread book on my shelves. Now I just wish its sequel was sitting on my shelf too...

69 Trouble the Water by Seitz (304), fiction. I liked it, but remember nothing else about it. Read in the Spring.
70 When We Meet Again (475) by Alexander, regency. okay.
71 Cart and Cwidder (131) by Jones, fantasy. I liked book 1, but the sequel didn't work for me. There are two more which I did not try.
72 My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland (362) by Sigurdardottir, mystery. Wishing I could get the next book on Scribd.
73 Never Tell (413) by Burke, mystery. Good enough I tried to find more by the author.
74 A Catered Halloween (376) by Crawford, mystery. Light, a good choice for a beach read.
75 Grace: A Christmas Sisters of the Heart Novel (295) by Gray, fiction. Liked it very much and plan to read more by the author. About day Amish with this one set at a B&B.
76 Tidings of Comfort & Joy (128) by Bunn, fiction. This guy is one of my new fav authors. I really love everything I've read by him and have been pleased by how different each book has been from the others.
77 Hope Springs(423) by Tate. Pretty good tale of returning home and reconciling fams.
78 The Rake (388) by Enoch, regency.
79 Elizabeth, The Enchantress (161) by Kent, regency.

Regencies by Ava Stone: 80 A Pact Between Gentlemen (376), 81 A Counterfeit Christmas Summons (87), 82 A Summons From Yorkshire (254). These are ebooks published by Smashwords.

83 A Gentlemen's Pact (323) by Knight-Catania, another smashwords regency.

84 The Stevenson Plan (531) by Ternet, mystery. Good stuff and I learned a lot about Monterey too. A Smashwords book.
85 The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu (493) by Stanley, mystery. Gotta love Kubu. I really enjoy this series.

For years I've had and re-read book 5 (yes! Five!!) of a series by Jean Lorrah. Happily I discovered some of the previous volumes on Scribd:
86 Dragon Lord of the Savage Empire (312) and 87 Captives of the Savage Empire (288).

88 Dragons Away (488) by Berry, fantasy. A lot of fun... fast moving.
89 Dragons in the Stars (358) by Carver, SF. I enjoyed this volume a lot. It was part of an omnibus and I just couldn't get interested in the next.

I have a ton more to input (surprise!), but I'll stop here and be pleased I got this much done.

Steph's on staycation. Knocking down walls, pouring concrete, removing rotten beams, reinforcing walls, fixing a humidity problem, re-routing plumbing. I think he may be pleased once it's done, and he gets to go back to the office!

Hope you're well. My chronic depression has been very present this year hence by absence from my normal activities. Sorry not to drop in on you more. You're in my thoughts even if I haven't left notes on your threads.

Blessings.

Congrats on blowing past 75!

>35 suslyn: I am so saddened to learn you're struggling, dear one. I wish I could do something helpful. As it is, I'm confined to a transAtlantic *smooch*

Thanks doc. And RD you're a blessing every day which helps immensely xox

I really dislike this series. It's just too over the top for these 14 and 15 year olds to accomplish all that's within and have kingdoms bowing down to them. I kept stopping and picking up another because I was having trouble finding stuff to read. Happily Scribd has rearranged itself, and I now I've left these behind for good.

The Sorcerer's Ring series by Rice:
90 A Quest of Heroes (363)
91 A March of Kings (245)
92 A Fate of Dragons (304)
93 A Cry of Honor (376)
94 A Vow of Glory (330)
95 A Charge of Valor (310)

96 The Dragon Sorcerer (240) by Betancourt, fantasy. A lot of fun.
97 Dragon's Bane and Gossamer (380) by Turner, fantasy. Ebook published by Untreed Reads. I don't remember this book.
98 Dragon Season (296) by Cassutt, SF. One of those portals between worlds book. Kinda intriguing.
99 Dragon's Winter (412) and 100 Dragon's Treasure (370) by Lynn, fantasy. Really, seriously enjoyed this set.

And by a fantasy series by Cherryh,
101 Fortress in the Eye of Time (787)
102 Fortress of Eagles (512)
103 Fortress of Owls (695)
104 Fortress of Dragons (746)
105 Fortress of Ice (417)
Loved the series. Hated the ending.

106 Forest Mage* (736) and 107 Renegade's Magic* (675) and by Hobb, fantasy . Thought I hadn't read FM, but once I was into it realized I had read it before. Had no desire to go back and reread the first, but enjoyed the third in the trilogy as well. I like the series a lot.

Before Scribd made it easier to browse in the mobile version, it was pretty hard to find things I wanted to read. I searched "dragon", as you may have guessed. Hence the titles above. Stumbled upon some books I would have regretted missing otherwise, so I'm glad enough for the temporary trouble.

I do see that some of the books I've read have slipped off my list (parts of Rice's series, Cherryh's and Hobb's). So no doubt once I finally get all these inputted I'll have missed several. Standalones won't come to mind or be as obvious as missing parts of series!

Oh, there is some fun news in our extended fam. My nephew, Weston Richburg, was drafted by the NY Giants last May. Talked with my dad this weekend as he was watching Weston play on TV. Weston's just asked a lovely athlete from his corner of TX who also attended Colorado State to be his wife. They have set a date for March 2015. I remember that cute baby ... where do the years go?

That's wonderful news about Weston's impending marriage! All good fortune and wonderful news for them.

Sending more hugs, and Steph gets a virtual shoulder-rub for all that hard work.

Hi, Susan. Good to see you here. {{{hugs}}}

Thank you Roni. You are most definitely part of the plural "you" when I said I think of you guys often. Even more so when the hubby was applying for a position in MI where the town is filled with Craftsmen homes. Sadly it looks like there is nothing going to come of it. Too bad too as MI appears to have an excellent library system -- a definite plus! LOL

I liked this fantasy series by Pierce very much:
108 Wild Magic (319)
109 Wolf-speaker (301)
110 Emperor Mage (320)
111 The Realms of the Gods (220)

Same goes for this series by Dave Duncan. I had not encountered him before my time on Scribd. Glad I found it!
112 Magic Casement (495)
113 Faery Lands Forlorn (522)
114 Perilous Seas (507)
115 Emperor and Clown (609)
I especially enjoyed the twists at the end -- completely fooled me, in that the surprise ending I had guessed at almost happened and then came another grand twist. Good stuff.

This is another Duncan series I enjoyed very much, also fantasy.
116 The Guilded Chain (~550)
117 Lord of the Fire Lands (569)
118 Sky of Swords (~550)
Never in a million years would I have guessed the ending for this one!

a paranormal mystery romance series by Marjorie Liu. I liked the first one a ton. A few into the series it seemed she was just throwing new stuff out at random. Later it seemed there was a reason. If the last one is the end, then she never did pull it together. recommended only for fans of the genre.

119 The Wild Road (321)
120 Eye of Heaven (400)
121 Within the Flames (431)
122 In the Dark of Dreams (469)
123 The Fire King (384)
124 The Last Twilight (384)
125 Soul Song (384)
126 The Red Heart of Jade (387)
127 Shadow Touch (384)
128 Tiger Eye (384)
129 A Dream of Stone & Shadow (167)

Regencies by Amanda Scott. I really enjoy her work.

The Sisters Traherne: 130 Lady Meriels's Duty and 131 Lord Lyford's Secret (608 together)
132 The Kidnapped Bride (335)
The Infamous Rakes 133 The Forthright Lady Gillian and 134 The Fickle Fortune Hunter (619 together)
135 The Indomitable Miss Harris (316)
The Duke's Daughters: 136 Ravenwood's Lady and 137 Lady Brittany's Choice (621 together)
138 The Fugitive Heiress (305
The Bath Trilogy: 139 The Bath Quadrille, 140 The Bath Charade and 141 The Bath's Eccentric Son (913 together)

Hi Susan,

Hope you are having a wonderful fall, miss you