Grundlecat - Mission for the New Year!

I think I put my initial post in the wrong place: here it is again...
Last year I had a "FAIL", reading only 54 (or was it 56?) books. At any rate, I intend to meet the standard this year!
So far this year, I have read
1) Books can be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay. It was enjoyable, and a passable mystery. I'll try her again.
2) Repair to Her Grave by Sarah Graves. I just love her mysteries. I pulled it down from the shelf not sure if I had read it yet or not (waiting room time, you know). When I got to page 4 I was absolutely sure I had NOT read it - I believe I would have scraped out the mummified spider residing therein. I almost left it in as a uniquely appropriate denizen of Jacobia's 1823 Federal house, but removed it in the end.
3) Wreck the Halls by Sarah Graves, which I didn't realize I had read previously out of order. I really try to read things as they were written. Probably a bit obsessive about it. It did explain why I thought the summary of "Repair" was a bit familiar, though; I had skipped ahead. Another worthy effort courtesy of Ms. Graves.
4) Perish Twice by Robert B. Parker. I just love a writer of hard-boiled mysteries who bases his title on a Robert Frost poem. This was Sunny Randall #2, and she was just as ass-kicking as she had been in Family Honor. We're really going to miss you Robert!
I'm currently cataloguing my husband's collection so the numbers will get pretty skewed to military history and men's adventure... It seems silly to take out another account though.
When I was an avid young reader, I devoured Asimov and Simak... plus I got into murder mysteries, especially Dame Agatha, because I enjoyed the intellectual puzzle. I even sat down with a paper and listed the suspects, motive, method, opportunity, etc. so I could really try to figure it out.

Oh, and I've been reminded, "there is no FAIL..." :) especially since I read some really excellent stuff last year.

It's good to see a fellow mystery reader back for another year!

I'm a fantasy and science fiction fan as well so I'll be keeping an eye on here:) Happy reading!

Welcome, Leigh!

Welcome back!

Stopped in from my Montana winter hoping to see your violas and pansies!

Your list of good mysteries, works for me as well, though. :-)

I'm behind and catching up, but I've found your thread and marked it finally!

Thanks, everybody! If I could figure out how I'd post a picture of my wonderful violas and pansies... giving the proverbial finger to Winter for several months now even through several hard freezes...

6 - I just finished a children's book called Iqbal which was based on the life of Iqbal Masih. He was a bond slave in a Pakistani rug factory with a number of other children, escaped and got help, was internationally recognized for his efforts to free enslaved children in Pakistan... and gunned down by cowards when he was 13. But what an impact that boy had on his people, quite remarkable.
I know I've missed something or three but when I remember I'll post it.

Leigh, This is the thread you want for figuring out how to do things:
HTML!

Our own Dr. Neutron put this together.

Well, actually Tad put together the original thread and I copied for a few years. But there's widespread interest in this across talk, so humouress put together a wiki page to collect all this up and put it in one place:

http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Basic_HTML_/_How_to_do_Fancy_Things_i...

So what I'm getting is that I'd have to put my pansy pictures on the Internet, then link to the pictures within the post. Is that correct?

If it is a photo I took and I want to post it, after loading it into i-photo (in my case) I put it on my desktop then import it to my library thing profile page photo collection and from thence, using the right click thing, and the img src thing bring it into a comment, probably a bit cumbersome but I am happy with it. Off the internet if you use one of those storage place I think all you have to do is right click etc. Ditto for most photos on the 'net except ones that you have to buy!

Whoops, Jim I guess it was Tad. The wiki page is great!

Well, I wrote a nice long message with links to all the group's sf threads, and it got eaten by the internet imps. So for right now, let me just say welcome and that I'm another science fiction and fantasy reader.

ETA Doh! I ended up posting it on the introduction thread instead, so check it out there, please.

I read your post on the Introductions.
Which of the Vorkosigan books are you reading first? Starting at the beginning?
I'm afraid I don't have any of the other fellow's works, but I will look around for them.
I'll also take a picture of my lovely violas to post as a test. I don't want to be deceitful with old pictures. It's gotten downright nippy here in AZ. Sad face, but still deeply grateful to no longer live in snow country.
7 - Fellowship of Fear by Aaron Elkins. I'm hoping the series picks up; I'm not much in to espionage thrillers. I did enjoy the anthropological material though. Mr. Elkins comes highly recommended, however, so I'll cast about looking for #2 in the series. I'm a bit obsessive that way.

Most people read Shards of Honor and Barrayar in January and are reading The Warrior's Apprentice this month. However, some are only reading one book a month and some have gobbled them up in large bunches. There really isn't any firm schedule--whenever you read some, just visit the thread to talk about them.

It's a little nippy by our standards here in San Diego today as well, but at least we got some rain at long last.

We could use a bit of that as well. The promised "storm" never quite materialized for us.
Looking forward to Shards of Honor, haven't read it in years. :)

Testing on the pictures:
http://www.librarything.com/profile/

Okay, that didn't work, let me try again...
WinterViolas>

I guess that will have to do for now!

The code format for pictures is (img src="URL.jpg" width="500"). Substitute angle brackets for the parentheses. Put the URL (beginning with http://) in to the exact image location. It will likely end with the .jpg extension. I usually make my wide pictures 500 in width and tall ones 350 so they don't bleed over the reading pane or require scrolling.

Generally, after uploading the picture to my member gallery as you have done with the violas (very pretty, bts), I use (img src="place image address here") with the angle brackets in place of the parens as Lori said above. If it is too large, you can put the "width=500" either at the end as she has done, or it works between img and src as well. Give it a try!

I can be trained, I swear.
img src =http://www.librarything.com/pic/4252750
Let's see how this one works...

Okay, I must be incurably retarded. I'll look at this again tomorrow. Please ignore the feces on the wall since I also don't know how to delete posts...

Okay, from what I see in #24. YOu need a "less than" angular bracket in front of img. YOu need quotation marks in front of http and you need " and a "more than" bracket at the end. YOur image address is http://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/f6/65/f66532245a7198a637065796941434b4...

So the whole thing, except for the pointy brackets at beginning and end, would be:

img src="http://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/f6/65/f66532245a7198a637065796941434b41716b42.jpg"

and with the brackets, we get


ETA get your image address by right-clicking on the full size image in your galaxy and selecting "image address".

Courage! You'll get there!

Oh, I see my mistake; I was right-clicking on the image and selecting "copy shortcut" or some such thing, when I should have been copying the URL from the address bar.
I've wiped the drool off my desk so we should be in good shape now!

Go for it!

Love the viola's!

Hooray!

8 - Shards of Honor
9 - Barrayar
10 - the Warrior's Apprentice. I'm a bit behindhand in my reading, I'm afraid. I'll have to work hard to catch up!

Not at all--I think a lot of people are only reading one Bujold a month. And you are right on track for 75 books for the year!

Very good, then.
I've just started Austenland which is for the book club I belong to. I'm pretty tickled with the premise (modern young woman yearns for Darcy so her love life sucks) and am hoping the book carries out its promise.

Oh, I really enjoyed Austenland--lots of fun!

11 - Austenland, which I did enjoy very much! It was at once sad and funny that each chapter was begun with a former boyfriend and a summary of the relationship. When our book club meets we're watching the movie after the discussion. I sure hope they got somebody worthy to play Mr. Nobley.

12 - The Dark Place by Aaron Elkins. I did like this much better than the previous book The Fellowship of Fear. I'm going to have to check Common Knowledge because I'm not sure that I've got the right order for these books. Seems to me from some of the dialogue I've missed at least two.

I double-checked the sequence and I am reading the Elkins books in the proper order. I'm a little nuts about that. Now I'm stuck because #3 can't be had. Sigh.
I just read The Cat, the Lady and the Liar by Leann Sweeney... fun mystery, excellently plotted and more solid than her previous efforts. I needed some brain candy; the other half has been having more medical issues. Place head against wall, pound vigorously, repeat as needed...

I hope the other half improves quickly!

Me too. We just got him through throat cancer and he's gotten the all-clear on that; now he's started having little strokes or seizures or who knows WTF since the doctors seem to have no clue. One of them almost got to eat an Aaron Elkins book when he looked at me like I was sprouting a third eye as I was describing my husband's symptoms. He was perfectly normal and lucid by the time this schmuck walked into the ER to condescend to me. But I'll stop there to avoid breaking out into extensive profanity. I expect there's rules against that somewhere.

14 - May Cooler Heads Prevail by Teri Dunnegan. I don't think Ms. Dunnegan was a professional writer (this work was published posthumously according to the information in the back) and the writing was lacking in spots. However, it was an enjoyable mystery with interesting characters and a solid plot so I gave her three stars on it even though neither she nor her editor comprehended the difference between "might" and "mite." Sheesh.

>41 grundlecat: How frustrating and worrisome! I hope you get some answers soon.

15 - Bloodlist by P.N. Elrod. WHERE has this writer been hiding from me all these years!!! This was a strong mystery with well-drawn characters that had depth and humanity. Especially the vampire. :) I devoured this book and immediately went to the second in the series...

16 - Lifeblood which was every bit as strong as the first installment and raised some thought-provoking questions about ethics in terms of quality of life and so on. Don't want to spoil it for anyone so I won't get into details. Jack Fleming is continuing to grow as a character and explore more of his capabilities and limitations. Excellent series.

And now I'm STUCK because I can't find number 3 and I have this neurotic need to read series in order. Grrr.

My other half had his MRI today, FINALLY, and we should hear Thursday if it showed anything interesting. I asked if they found a brain to scan and apparently they did. :)

>43 grundlecat: That MRI took some time to happen! WOW. It's now Thursday over here, so did you hear anything apart from the confirmation of your other half having a brain? ;-))

17 - Letters in the Jade Dragon Box by Gale Sears. A very moving account of those trapped in Communist China after the Revolution and the plight of those who managed to escape. Heck of a book told from the point of view of a 15-year old girl whose mother had her smuggled out of China to her great-uncle in Hong Kong.

>44 connie53: connie53 - They found a brain and apparently nothing wrong with it, which is news to us. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a referral to a neurologist. The day after he had his MRI he had another major episode, while driving no less, where he asked me if we were going to my house or his. We've been together for almost six years. Place head against wall, pound vigorously...

How frustrating, and frightening, for you! I hope you get a referral to a specialist who can figure out what is going on.

Thanks, Roni, I appreciate that.
I've picked up Dog on It by Spencer Quinn for a bit of brain candy... so far highly enjoyable.

>45 grundlecat: That is really scary and having an episode while driving is rather dangerous! I hope you can see someone soon.

18 - Dog on It by Spencer Quinn - highly entertaining and well worth the read. Stephen King of all people gushed on the back cover "advance praise" and he was right! Wonderful book. I really look forward to the next one.
19 - Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. Powerful account of the deportation and attempted genocide of the Stalin Regime against the Baltic peoples. This story centers on a Lithuanian family who is deported to Siberia. Technically it's classified as young adult... not sure I would have wanted to read it as a young adult myself. There are some pretty graphic scenes in the book. I remember reading Hiroshima by John Hersey when I was in 7th grade, which was also pretty graphic, and distressed me greatly at the time.

>48 connie53: We're still trying to get to a neurologist... I'm trying to not get too freaked out but it's really hard when he's in the midst of one of these events. Clear for weeks, and two over the weekend. Sigh. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

20 - I forgot to put this in. Is it really a book? I laughed my @ss off, one way or the other. It was Bill Maher's New Rules. I was laughing out loud and annoying my cats. What a fun read. He's an equal-opportunity satirist, thrashing Left and Right alike. I loved it.

21 - The Vor Game
22 - Borders of Infinity
- Labyrinth (novella. Guess that makes 22 1/2)
These were together in an omnibus called Vorkosigan's Game. I just love this woman's work. Can't gush enough. Very strong characters, excellent plots. I really enjoyed the way she tied together the stories in Borders of Infinity by presenting it as an accounting issue... Miles has to account for his astronomical expense account. Just like a military organization, too, to have to account for every shred of destroyed uniforms.

Fortunately, there's still a lot of Bujold ahead of you!

I tore through Bujold when I 'found' her - no thought of hoarding (as is my usual m.o.).

>49 grundlecat: Of course I will! I hope you find a neurologist soon!!

>53 sibylline: - I usually hoard as well. I have a couple towards the end I haven't read... I know I don't even have Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. I'm missing a couple others -- had fits of madness trying to make space and got rid of some, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!! I don't get rid of books any more, since I'm always sorry when I do.
I have still not read Persuasion by Jane Austen... it's the last one, there will be no more, sad face!!! Same with Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse mysteries :(. I'm saving Persuasion for a nice, leisurely, luxurious read, preferably on a nice beach somewhere. Since I live in AZ that's not likely to occur anytime soon. :)
>54 connie53: - Thanks for the good thoughts, we need all we can get! Though it's more a matter of getting the actual referral -- it's a small VA up here and the wait times can be pretty lengthy. We have such a shortage of primary care physicians in this area that going to the VA was my husband's only choice, and we're very thankful for it, but the waiting is hard.

The good thing is that you will be able to get the latest Bujold in paperback if you delay just a bit longer!

I try to get her in hardcover when I can afford it. Though space is getting to be an issue in my house.

23 - Royal Flush - another enjoyable outing with Her Royal Spyness, Lady Georgianna. I had figured out the guilty party slightly before she did, but a nice well-done mystery nonetheless.
24 - Eight Cousins - happened to pick it up one day... read it again. Alcott is a bit heavy on the "morals" but I am grateful for women like her who insisted that young women should be healthy first, and pretty second. I can't even imagine trying to force myself into a whalebone corset. It's easy to forget how far we've come!

>58 grundlecat: I really like the books about Her Royal Spyness, Lady Georgianna, but I was kind of put off by the one where she was rescued while alone in an airplane in mid air so haven't read one for a while.

That was the one I just read. That scene was the tiniest bit ridiculous, agreed, but I enjoy the characters so much I'm willing to forgive her that lapse. If she continues such silliness, however...

>60 grundlecat: That was what put me off. I was afraid that the next book would have such silliness. Hopefully the next one will be on more solid ground. I really like the fact that she is in line for the throne (number 27?) but her grandfather is a Cockney.

>59 Familyhistorian: I think she's 34th in line. It would take a massive plague to put her on the throne.
25 - Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn. Chet saves Bernie's butt again... poor clueless human that he is.

Yes, you're right according to Rhys Bowen's website Lady Victoria Georgiana etc etc is 34th in line for the throne. Close enough to be expected to keep up appearances but not close enough to receive the means to do so therefore the need to clean houses in disguise to make ends meet.

26 - Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold. Another stellar entry in the Vorkosigan saga. I enjoyed the irony of Miles making a story up to cover his butt and it turning out to be true after all! Five stars.
27 - Cetaganda, which I should have read before the book named above. Oh well. A great book as well but only four stars... or four and a half? Characters were great but there were a couple of gaping holes in the plot that disturbed me. Still a worthy installment.

28 - The Eyre Affair
29 - Lost in a Good Book
30 - The Well of Lost Plots
These books are so much fun I read three in a row. I adore Jasper Fforde. What an incredible imagination... and sense of humor!!! (And an excellent explanation of the American omission of the 'u' in words like "humour.") I had read the first two some years ago, and The Big Over Easy a couple of years ago, and remembered enjoying them but not quite to this extent. I've forced myself to save some for the future and not tear through everything he ever wrote all in a week, but it took some self-discipline on my part. I think I was finally able to relax and be at one with my inner geek so I could get the fullest enjoyment out of this man's ingenious work.

I've heard good things about Jasper Fforde! Good for you to keep some of his work for future reading.

>65 grundlecat: Which of those books contains the explanation of the American omission of the 'u'? I have often wondered about that and cursed when spell check kept changing my correctly spelled word to the American spelling.

>67 Familyhistorian: I believe it was the third book... it was a humorous explanation, not a serious one... that the 'u' was dropped as a regional aberration because for some reason Text Grand Central had run short of that particular letter and they were trying to conserve 'u's.
I think you can switch your dictionary to the British spellings in your Microsoft Word options; failing that you can add to the dictionary. I vividly recall a heated argument (Auto-Correct just dropped my e, the bastard!) I had with a teacher in high school over the word "argument," which I had spelled with an 'e' after the 'u' on the spelling test. I even got the dictionary to show her it was a valid spelling. I read a lot of British books as a kid and was constantly battling the Spelling Gods in my writing since I just absorbed the Brit spellings from my reading. On that occasion I lost, and was told that I had to spell the words as they appeared on the list and it didn't matter what was in the dictionary. Still annoys me. :)

31 - Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton (reread). This was in our book club by my recommendation. Everyone who read it seemed to like it. Anybody else have trouble with book clubs where only a few people actually read the books?

32 - Bloodcircle by P.N. Elrod. This is number 3 in his Jack Fleming vampire series. Only a month or so has passed in this three books so poor Jack has a lot to cope with in a short time. I really liked the new character of Jonathan Barrett, a colonial-era vampire. While vampires figure heavily in these books, they are to me more properly mysteries. In this one Jack and his friend Charles Escott are trying to find Jack's old girlfriend, Maureen, who had disappeared five years previous. She was the one who made him a vampire since they wanted to spend eternity together. Jack and Escott are faced with a whole slew of mysteries and difficult choices on whom they can trust. This was an excellent mystery story as well as a fabulous power-of-love tale.

>66 connie53: I always save at least one book by the authors I really like... preferably two or three. Still waiting for that beach vacation where I can focus on Jane Austen's last work (that I haven't read). Not to mention the last Morse mystery (I almost cried when I received that from Amazon years ago and saw it emblazoned with "Morse's last mystery.")

>69 grundlecat: That's a good plan if you don't want an end to reading your favourite (there's the 'u' again) author's books.

About the spelling control. I'm using the British spelling now. Perhaps I should switch to the American spelling, since there a more US members than UK members. Is there that much difference?

>70 connie53: I think most American readers who are even marginally well-read understand the British variants. You go with what seems right to you. Just like when I'm playing Scrabble, I say "if it's in the dictionary, it's fair game." Makes an interesting Scrabble board when the letters fall just right, too. :)

>71 grundlecat: I know. I'm playing wordfeud with my brother on our mobile phones and the strangest words are allowed. We sometimes don't know what they mean!

I had similar spelling issues from reading so many british children's books!

33 - A Transcendental Murder
34 - A Dark Nantucket Noon
Both by Jane Langton. I had been looking forward for some time to starting this series. I'm a history and literature geek and these seemed to focus on my areas of interest. I have to confess, however, that I was very disappointed. I had a hard time staying with the Transcendental one, but plugged away and determined to give Jane another chance with the second in the series. Nantucket Noon had some interesting points but still the characters did not engage me and Ms. Langton committed a grievous error / oversight in her murder that utterly destroyed the credibility of the entire premise. I won't be sampling any more of her work. I'd give the first one a 2.5 and this last one a 1.5.

The only Langton books I've read are her children's books, with The Diamond in the Window being my favorite.

You're going to laugh, but I was angry with her! I wanted so much to like these books! Grrr!

Not laughing at all! I know exactly how you feel!

35 - Orphan Star by Alan Dean Foster. I'm perpetually amazed by this man's incredible imagination. This was Pip & Flinx #3.

36 - Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold. A book that definitely deserved its Nebula award. Outstanding!

Having trouble communing with the spousal unit -- how does one explain one's excitement for science fiction to a person who doesn't like sci fi? I marvel at all the possibilities explored, while he shakes his head and says they must be out of good ideas. Sigh.

*sigh*

*sigh* here too. Spouses!!!!

37 - A Fall in Denver by Sarah Andrews. Better than Langton, definitely. The mystery spun was excellent. But I didn't like this one as well as the first in the series.
38 - The Rhetoric of Death by Judith Rock. Five Stars!!! What an awesome book! I can't wait until she gets another one out! Marvellous historical mystery set in 17th Century France.

It does seem strange that the males don't like sci-fi as much as we do... isn't it supposed to be a more male-oriented genre? Sheesh.

39 - Buried in a Book by Lucy Arlington. I have to admit, I guessed who did it almost immediately. But over the course of the book I came to doubt and was almost surprised when my first guess came to pass. I enjoyed the journey immensely.

40 - To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn. Another fabulous installment from a man who must have spent a lot of time watching his dog.

41 - by David Plante, a book called "ABC" that doesn't touchstone correctly. Very strange and disturbing book that leaned quite heavily on unlikely coincidences. However, I did learn a lot about the alphabet (history of), which was quite interesting. Nevertheless was grateful to put it down.

42 - Death at Bishop's Keep by Robin Paige. This was a delightful little mystery - I really enjoyed the main character, Kathryn Ardleigh. She echoed Louisa May Alcott in that she was also writing sensation stories since 'moral works' didn't sell. I'm looking forward to the second installment of this series, which I am having difficulty finding. :(

43 - Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross
44 - A Broken Vessel by Kate Ross.
Wonderful setting, great protagonist in Julian Kestrel. A terrible shame there's only a couple more in the series. :(
45 - Spellsinger by Alan Dean Foster. As always I'm struck with admiration of the man's creativity. Making a turtle be the powerful sorcerer is quite a coup! I enjoyed this, as I always do his work, and look forward to the next one.

Yeah, those Spellsinger books were fun when I read them back in the day. I'd love to do a reread sometime...

46 - Kilt Dead by Kaitlyn Dunnett (don't own this myself). This was a strong debut in the series; I'll keep an eye open for the next installment.
>88 drneutron: Dr. Neutron - glad to hear you enjoyed the series. I've been appalled at the lack of his books in our area, when he is one of our local authors!!! Makes me sick every time I walk into a bookstore. I had to order Spellsinger from Amazon, for crying out loud.

>89 grundlecat: I think the first one in the series is still my favorite although I've rated most of the series similarly.

I've just started #2 of spellsinger, so far so good!

47 - The Hour of the Gate by Alan Dean Foster. Excellent, but I did like the first one better. We'll see what #3 holds.
48 - a reread of Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen. A great deal even the second time around (we had it in a book club)
49 - The Widow's Club by Dorothy Cannell. Awesome mystery, 5 stars!!!! I didn't have a clue who did it and the author was "playing fair." Altogether very enjoyable as well as an excellent puzzle.

50 - The Fellowship of the Ring and
51 - The Two Towers
Wow. I was going to comment on how much I enjoyed re-reading these fantasy masterpieces but instead am overwhelmed with annoyance that I had to scroll through fifty items in the "Touchstones" before I could actually select the farking books!!!!
Okay, got that out of my system.
Ah, Tolkien, you glorious genius, again you transport me to other worlds. I have read the trilogy probably twenty times and always enjoy it again. Each new read I find something else to appreciate; the richness and depth of this masterwork has never been equaled. Can't wait to get to book 3 - and figure out where in the "Touchstones" the actual flipping book is located.
52 - My name used to be Muhammad (which I think is misspelled in the Touchstones, should be Muhammed). This is the autobiography of Tito Momen, whose birth name was in fact Muhammed. An impressive work! I am not myself religious and only read it since it was chosen for a book club I belong to but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. His life story is fascinating.

53 - The Return of the King - Well, what can I say? Still fabulous after all these years. I think I've read this book twenty times, loved it every time!

I have to join you in the love for LOTR! What a pain about the touchstones.

>95 ronincats: Oh, well; I was taken aback, I guess, because I was expecting a LIBRARY site to list BOOKS first. Fool me.

54 - Katwalk by Karen Kijewski. Nice debut. I really liked the ending with her old friend Deck.

55 - Paw Enforcement by Diane Kelly. What a hoot! Very enjoyable. I'll look for the next installment.

56 - A Choice of Gods by Clifford D. Simak.
Wow! The Grand Master was in rare form on this one. Though if you're looking for space battles and intergalactic wars this is not the book for you. It's a very profound, contemplative book on what the few hundred remaining people do - and become - on Earth after some unknown power suddenly removes all the rest of the (then) 8 billion. I actually feel like writing a paper about this book. How weird is that? But this book goes to the core of what the best SF is about: what it really means to be human, is there a cosmic order to things, and where do we fall within it?
My favorite quote is on page 107 of the Ballantine/Del Rey paperback 1982 printing: "And how much had he and the others lost when they turned their backs on magic? Belief, of course, and there might be some value to belief, although there was, as well, delusion, and did a man want to pay for the value of belief in the coinage of delusion?" A lot of thought went into this book, and I'm very sorry Mr. Simak is no longer with us to continue prodding our brains.

>98 grundlecat: Ooof, you got me with that one! I read Way Station earlier this year and it immediately became one of my all-time favorite books.

>99 scaifea:: Way Station was the book that hooked me on science fiction back when I was a kid! I think I was 11 or 12 when I read it.
My favorite work of Mr. Simak's (and one of my all-time favorite books, period) is City. It's out of print and rather hard to find despite winning both the Hugo and Nebula in (I think) 1956. I haven't read all his books yet, though; I'm doling them out to myself, to be savored, slowly. Still haven't read the last Inspector Morse, nor Persuasion by Austen, since there will be no more. Sad face!
I honestly thought I had read this book before, but now I suspect I was confusing it with a book by Asimov.
On an unrelated note, I feel obliged to share an experience I had today: when walking by a bank of computers I glimpsed a face that made me think, "That dude looks like Isaac Asimov!" Then I realized it was a woman. Poor thing.

Did she have the sideburns too?

I was madly in love with Time is the Simplest Thing in high school, but Way Station has been my long-time favorite. That said, I've never read A Choice of Gods and it sounds like I need to!

>100 grundlecat: I definitely want to seek out more Simak, too, and I'll certainly be reading City eventually, since I'm making my way through both the Hugo and Nebula winners. What an amazingly talented writer.
And *snork!* to the female Asimov! Poor woman!

>101 ronincats:
>102 scaifea:
Yes, I deeply pitied that poor women. At first glance, she DID appear to have some sideburns, but that was the result of a bad hair day evidently.
I still need to read Time is the Simplest Thing. It's on the list of titles to be doled out to myself.
57 - Catalyst by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Scarborough. Kind of reads like a YA book, but enjoyable nonetheless. I particularly liked the cat's-eye view of the world. I'm partway through Catacombs by the same duo. Unfortunately I believe it's the last of the Barque Cats books, which is too bad because they're a lot of fun.

It's Chrismas Eve's eve, and so I am starting the rounds of wishing my 75er friends the merriest of Christmases or whatever the solstice celebration of their choice is.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!