sturlington's Planning to Read Books By Women

So, even though the CATWoman did not make the cut, I am still planning to read mostly books by women next year. 2014 was my first year participating in the challenge, and I learned some important things about myself: 1) Do not plan overmuch, because I will surely change my mind. 2) Broader categories are better. 3) Despite my best intentions, I can only really *count* on reading 4-5 books per month, although it doesn't hurt to shoot for more.

With that in mind, I have devised 5 broad categories. In each one, I will aim to mostly read books written by women. My dream goal is to read 15X5 or 75 books, although I do not expect them to be evenly distributed by category. I will be happy if I read 12X5 or 60 books, though.

I will try to participate in the CATs as much as I can! Based on my reading this year, I don't always hit the specific month topic during that month, but I do like to shape my general reading around the CATs as much as possible.

To keep people interested and coming back to check on my thread, I promise to periodically post pictures of dogs with books, and I will of course participate in the BingoDOG on a random, let's just see what happens basis.

Thanks for stopping in! Shannon

Category 1: Speculative Fiction (Mostly) By Women
I have decided to focus on speculative fiction by women this year. Why? Because women kick ass!


I am planning to read between 2-5 books per month (not all written by women, probably) in the following categories, corresponding to the SFFCat:

Historical science fiction (January)
1. Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly (3★)
2. Black Ships by Jo Graham (4★)
3. Territory by Emma Bull (3★)

Classics (February)
1. Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy (3.5★)
2. Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany (3.5★)~

Apocalypse/Dystopias (March)
1. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (4.5★)*
2. The End is Nigh edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey (3.5★)*#

Fairy tales/Myths (April)
1.
2.

Girl Power (May)
1.
2.

Time travel/Alternate History (June)
1.
2.

Non-humans (July)
1.
2.

Other worlds than these (August)
1.
2.

Slipstream/Interstitial (September)
1.
2.

Supernatural/Paranormal (October)
1.
2.

Heroes/Quests (November)
1.
2.

Award winners (December)
1.
2.

*Not read in the assigned month.
~Not actually written by a woman but read for the SFFCat.
#Anthology; both men and women contributed.

Category 2: Historical Fiction
This will happen as it happens. Books off the TBR or other timely reads. I hope to read 6 books from this category.



1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Category 3: Group Reads
This category includes book club picks and any online group reads I may join in.



1. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (5★) -- 2015 category challenge group read
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Category 4: Random Reads
This catch-all category includes picks for the RandomCAT that don't fit into other categories, plus random finds in the Little Free Library, Early Reviewer wins, book review assignments, and books off the TBR that don't fit my other categories.



1. Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill (3.5★)
2. The Water that Falls on You From Nowhere by John Chu (3★)
3. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (3.5★) - walking audiobook

Category 5: Kiddie Reads
Books I read with or to my 6-year-old son.



1. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm (4★) / Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (3.5★) -- mostly read
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl (4★)

Bonus: BingoDOG

Here's where I'll list my BingoDOG reads.



1.
2.
3.
4. Woman on the Edge of Time -- scientists
5.
6. The Phantom of the Opera -- translated from a language you don't speak
7. Their Eyes Were Watching God -- natural disaster
8.
9.
10.
11. Babel-17 -- about language
12.
13.
14.
15. Bride of the Rat God -- prophecies, signs and portents are part of the plot
16. Black Ships -- based on a myth
17.
18.
19. Station Eleven - by a LibraryThing author
20. Fantastic Mr. Fox - animal is of importance
21.
22.
23.
24. Territory -- genre bender
25.

Bonus: Where in the World?

This year, I enjoyed tracking where in the world I was reading at any particular time, so I plan to continue doing that for all my reads in 2015.


visited 4 states (1.77%)
Create your own visited map of The World or Triposo world travel guide for Android

Canada: Station Eleven (actually takes place in both Canada and the US but the key setting is Toronto)
Egypt: Black Ships (actually takes place all over this region but Egypt is the only recognizable modern country)
France: The Phantom of the Opera

See >9 sturlington: for United States reads.

Bonus: Where in the US?

Also tracking my American reads by state where they take place.


visited 4 states (8%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or Brazil travel guide for Android

Arizona: Territory (Tombstone)
California: Bride of the Rat God (Los Angeles)
Florida: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Everglades)
New York: Dept. of Speculation (Brooklyn); Woman on the Edge of Time (New York City)

Focus on Horror

I don't know how much I'll be able to participate in the HorrorKIT, with all my other commitments, but here is where I'll record any reads for that group.

Focus on Cookbooks

I love to cook, so I will list my participation in the Cookbook KIT here. The goal is to use and review some of my newer cookbooks and books about food on the TBR.

January: Breakfast -- Made Country French Omelet and Sunrise Smoothies from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

February: Lunch -- Made Chicken, Mozzarella, and Spinach-Walnut Pesto Sandwich from 'wichcraft

March: Soups and Stews -- Made French Farmer's Vegetable Soup from Splendid Soups

Monthly Celebrations

I thought I might save this idea for 2016, but I liked it so much that I decided to put it in place for this year and maybe every year. The idea is to read a book corresponding to a celebration or national month of observance or otherwise seasonally timely read. These reads will overlap with my other categories above.

January: Celebrate the New Year by reading a new book received for Christmas.
Book chosen: Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill -- My brother gave this to me for Christmas.

February: African and African-American literature
Book chosen: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (group read)

March: Women's history or historical fiction by women
To read: Beloved by Toni Morrison (group read)

April: Environmental book in honor of Earth Day
Possibility: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert

May: Asian-Pacific and Asian-American literature
Possibility: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

June: GLBT literature
Possibility: The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

July:Vacation read in honor of "ice cream month"
Possibility: The Burnt Orange Heresy by Charles Willeford

August: Read a recommended book or gift in honor of Friendship Day
Might be a good time to read those SantaThing gifts.

September: Hispanic and Latin-American literature
Possibility: Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

October: Halloween stories
Possibilities: short stories by Poe and Lovecraft, The King in Yellow, The Great God Pan, Let the Right One In

November: Native American literature
Possibility: Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

December: Reread an old favorite or read a comforting book for the holiday season
Possibilities: The Nutcracker, Christmas Stories, The Portable Dorothy Parker

Interesting categories, especially the cookbooks. Is that why the kitty in the picture is holding one on Korean cuisine? And did you do that yourself? Awesome!

ETC

>13 MissWatson: Ha, ha, I didn't know that book was on Korean cuisine, and I didn't do it myself but found it on the web. Kind of a tasteless joke (no pun intended), now that I really look at it closely.

Updated to add: Ok, I had to replace the pic, since it might be culturally offensive. But the new one works too.

You were promised and you shall have it! :D Should I start a thread for discussing it, or just throw one out with the monthly topics when it gets closer to the new year, do you think?

Aw now I want to know what the original pic was! hahaha.

>15 .Monkey.: You could go ahead and start a thread, maybe throw out some of your ideas for topics.

Let's just say, it was a cookbook, a cat was reading it, and the dog was looking very nervous.

I just heard or read recently that dog has fallen off most of the menus in Korea and only a handful of restaurants offer it any more. I'll have to scratch that off my bucket list! Kidding! Your categories are very similar to my reading tastes so I'm sure to follow your year in books.

Adorable pics and great challenge! Good luck!

Aw, I love the cookbook dog! I will be most interested to see what female authors you highlight this year.

>14 sturlington: Oops. I hadn't actually made the connection between Korean cuisine and dog meat on the menu, just admired the proficiency of the image processing.

Looks like you are setting yourself up for a fun year of reading. Looking forward to dropping by and seeing how you're doing.

And I've already come up with a theme idea for 2016!

Great set-up! And I'm liking the thread topper a lot. :)

I decided to focus on SF by women authors.

Here's Lucy being a backseat author:

Updated my categories and added more pictures.

Love your pictures - especially the one of the group of dogs reading! Dogs and books - what's not to love?

Ditto - Love the pictures!

I'm looking forward to your reviews and the dog pics!

Posted on my blog: a brief essay about the importance of consciously choosing to read books written by women: http://shannonturlington.com/2014/12/05/reading-women-in-2015/

Planned reads for January (so far):
Black Ships by Jo Graham - historical SFF or myths and legends (HistoryCAT)
Territory by Emma Bull - historical SFF
Dancing Fish and Ammonites by Penelope Lively
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill

Got here through your post at the 75ers intro thread. I'll be really interested to see your reads for the speculative fiction by women category. And I love the graphic!

I also arrived here by your post in the 75ers intro thread. I noticed that we had quite a few shared reads in the TIOLI challenges last year, so thought that I would drop a star here. Love your categories and your images!

I love your challenge setup! The picture for your Focus on Cookbooks category cracks me up. That is sooo perfect! I am looking forward to following your reading in 2015.

Thanks, everyone, for visiting. I am geared up for 2015!

Cooking update.

Last night (New Year's Eve) we started our 2015 family cooking challenge: cooking through the US. I plan to make and rate one key recipe from each state. We started with my home state of North Carolina. I made pulled chicken barbecue sandwiches with slaw and they got rave reviews (recipes all found online and slightly adapted). The sauce was really easy and tasted very authentic to me. I am willing to post recipes if there is interest.

For New Year's Day brunch, from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics I made the Country French Omelet and the Sunrise Smoothies, which I made with frozen mixed berries, raspberry sorbet and orange juice. Both recipes were easy and delicious. They felt special but weren't much trouble to make and also didn't leave us ridiculous quantities of food left over. This meal fulfills the CookingKIT for January, which was Breakfast with a focus on Eggs.

Tonight, of course we are having black-eyed peas and greens.

Off to a good start then, Shannon! I would love the recipes for the pulled bbq chicken with slaw when you have time to post them. I have been finding more and more recipes on line as it is so easy to pull them up and to check out what other people thought of them. Hoping that your New Year is full of fabulous!

I second the bbq recipe, if it's not too much trouble.
When I was growing up, my Texan mother made us eat black-eyed peas each New Year's. I hated them. We had pasta, chocolate cake and a bottle of champagne last night, so not that fancy, but we were able to watch fireworks from different parts of the city from our top story window.

>38 mstrust: I wasn't that fond of black-eyed peas growing up, but I like them now. My 6-year-old son loves them! Sounds like a nice New Year's Eve. We are in a small town so all we get are the sounds of guns going off.

ETA Here are the recipes.

I used chicken but you can also use pulled pork for a more authentic sandwich. I poached the chicken first, but you could probably also grill it. I've gotten the best results from poaching the chicken in the slow cooker. I add all the pieces of a whole chicken, bone in and skin on, to the slow cooker along with a cup of water. Cook on low about 6-8 hours. The meat falls off the bone and does not dry out at all. Shred the meat, discarding the bones and skin. The liquid can be strained and frozen as a base for soups and such. Extra meat can also be frozen for tacos.

Here is the sauce recipe I adapted: http://amazingribs.com/recipes/BBQ_sauces/lexington_dip.html
It is very easy to throw together. I subbed apple cider vinegar for the apple juice for a more authentic taste. You can up the hot sauce or red pepper flakes if you want, but my family doesn't like it too spicy. I just whisked it all together and boiled it briefly to thicken a little, then mixed some with the shredded chicken and put the rest in a squeeze bottle so everyone could add more sauce if they wanted. Serve on white sandwich/hamburger rolls with slaw and/or pickles.

For the slaw, I adapted this recipe from Mark Bittman: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/09/25/magazine/25-eat-recipes.html?ref=m... As you can see, it's a super-simple recipe. I omitted the BBQ sauce and lightened the dressing with half sour cream in place of the mayonnaise. You want finely chopped cabbage, onions and pickles because it's going on top of the sandwich.

If you got the slow cooker going in the morning, you could easily make this recipe on a weeknight. Hope you enjoy it!

>2 sturlington: Great header for the speculative fiction by women. So many fine ladies and great role models :)

>36 sturlington: - What a fantastic idea! I am looking forward to following your state-by-state culinary adventure.... you will be posting updates here, right? Just checking... ;-)

A thread with lovely pictures, interesting categories AND recipes? Starring is clearly a must here! I look forward to following you through the year. :)

As long as I keep up with the cooking challenge, I'll post updates. Sometimes my cooking challenges fizzle out... Although for this one, I'm using it to teach my son about the states, so I hope that will be enough impetus to keep going.

Interesting categories sturlington. I love the kick-ass women collage, but I have to admit I have no idea who the two women in the bottom corners are supposed to be.

>45 VioletBramble: ha ha, I am also not sure who is in the bottom left. The woman in the bottom right is Susan Ivanova from Babylon 5.

>2 sturlington:, >45 VioletBramble:, >46 sturlington:

*sticks head in* Woman in the bottom left in the collage is Aeryn Sun from the show Farscape. Husbeast and I have been working through it for the first time over the last few months. It's awesome, and Aeryn is indeed kickass. *relurks*

>47 lycomayflower: Thanks! I will have to check it out.

ETA Woohoo, it's on Netflix.

>48 sturlington: Hope you enjoy it!

I love your family cooking challenge and look forward to updates (and recipes). Sticking with my 2015 "stealing" theme, I have lifted your BBQ recipe. Both my husband and my grandson are huge BBQ fans so I will make this for them.

>50 DeltaQueen50: It's not stealing. Recipes, like books, are meant to be shared. I hope they like vinegar-based bbq, though!

I've added a new mini-challenge for myself in >12 sturlington:. I was going to save it for 2016 but I love the idea so I thought I'd go ahead and try it, and maybe adopt it for each year if I like it.

The challenge is to read one book each month that celebrates the season or a national heritage month, with the idea to read more diversely and make sure that there's some fun reading in there too!

Now if I stop fiddling with my reading lists, I might actually write some reviews of the books I've completed. Or you know, actually do some reading. Ha!

1. Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly (1994)
Category: Speculative fiction by women | Rating: OK (3★)
SFFCat: Historical sf/fantasy | BingoDOG: Signs, omens & portents

After a silent era movie actress wears a cursed Chinese necklace on screen, she discovers she has become fated to be the bride of, and sacrificed to, the Rat God. Dunh dunh dunnnhhhh!

This book was not as campy or as funny as I was expecting, so it disappointed me in that respect. Instead, is a fairly straightforward light mystery-romance, with some cliched fantasy elements thrown in (ancient Chinese wizard, etc.). Mildly entertaining, ultimately forgettable.

2. Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill (2014)
Category: Random reads | Rating: Good (3.5★)

When a woman discovers that her husband has cheated on her, she must decide whether to stay in the marriage.

This is a short and extremely personal book that reads more a like a long prose poem than a novel. It is written in a stream-of-consciousness, fragmentary style, and it took me until about halfway through to click with the writing style and really connect with the book. (I also read the book in two sittings.) The writing is lovely, though, quite nuanced, and I think it poignantly captures the roil of emotions around both becoming a mother and finding out your husband has betrayed you. I anticipate wanting to reread it in the near future, because I am sure there is a lot that I missed, and that alone makes this a worthwhile read.

My review is unsatisfactory, so read Roxane Gay's review in the New York Times instead, which I think does a much better job.

>53 sturlington: Awww, that would be disappointing- I'd want a book with that title to be so over- the- top camp.

>55 mstrust: Also, that cover! Very misleading...

I keep hearing mentions of the Offill book. I'm going to have to read it.

I'm next up at the library so hope to be reading it soon.

I saw the third installment of The Hobbit over the holiday, and I have to say that this has not been my favorite book-to-film adaptation. More is not always more, a tough lesson to learn.

Anyone else tired of unending superhero movies and uninspired sequels as well? The movies just don't seem fun anymore.

I did see Birdman over the break too, which I really liked. It pokes a lot of jabs at superhero movies and Hollywood sacred cows.

I have practically stopped going to the movies because of this phenomenon. There are the theatres showing "arthouse" movies, but their screens are usually so small that you can just as well wait for the DVD and watch them in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

>60 MissWatson: Yes, we have an "arthouse" theater locally where the seats remind me of those folding metal chairs popular in meeting rooms of church basements. The thought of sitting in one of those for 2+ hours and paying for the privilege is enough to keep anyone home on the comfy couch.

I questioned the wisdom of making three movies out of one book when I first heard about it. It just seems so money-grubbing to make his fans see three movies, then buy three DVDs when they come out, etc. It makes me feel manipulated and I don't like that feeling at all! I purchased the LOTR series on Blue Ray but I will not waste my money on The Hobbit when it comes out.

>62 mamzel: Good call. It certainly does not compare to LOTR. I probably wouldn't have seen all three parts if I didn't have fanboys in my house.

>60 MissWatson: and >61 sturlington: We've been lucky, 2 of the 3 art theaters have been completely rebuilt in the last 5 years. So, while screen is not the biggest around, the seats are not so bad :)

>62 mamzel: How in the world they justified to themselves to make 3 films of one book is incomprehensible, indeed ;(

>64 electrice: If we build it they will come?
If they make it, we will see it?

Yes I noticed they split the last book Mockingjay into two parts. Or so I assume from the title. ANd didn't they do that with the last Harry Potter book? I'm not much of a movie goer, but I'm looking forward to seeing Julianne Moore in "Still Alice" based on the book by Lisa Genova one of my favorite books and one I recommend to anyone who asks ( and some who don't). I have liked all her books, but that one resonated deeply with me.

>53 sturlington: Bride of the Rat God is not Hambly's best work by any means - over the top camp is not her style. Try another of her books if you haven't already.

I liked your blog post about consciously reading women authors. It's funny - I'd say my reading skews female without much effort simply because I like a lot of writers who happen to be female and I frequently read genres in which female authors are at least reasonably well represented. I think I'll try to track it month by month, though - you've got me curious!

>67 Dejah_Thoris: Great! I'm willing to give hambly another shot. Any recommendations?

My two favorites are The Ladies of Mandrigyn and Dragonsbane - although I flatly refuse to read the sequels to Dragonsbane because it's perfect just as it is (which is also how I feel about Ender's Game). She has several other series that I like as well. Bride of the Rat God is an outlier as far as I'm concerned. Give her another shot!

>69 Dejah_Thoris: thanks, I will.

Without purposefully choosing female authors, I am noticing who wrote what. I was pleased to discover that Ellis Peters is actually a woman.

I just purchased and started reading a beautiful little book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I was struck by this sentence in the section on books: "The moment you first encounter a particular book is the right time to read it."

Hmm. This strikes me as true, as I just cleaned out my books and earmarked for the Little Free Library or book sale donation all of those books I've owned for over a year that have gone unread. I figured the moment when I felt the energy to read them has passed me by, and if I ever do feel moved to read them, well, books are very easy for me to get.

But it's making me re-evaluate the whole idea of reading by categories over a year. While I love being organized and planning my reading ahead, it removes the spontaneity. Some books I'm "saving" for the right month, others I might not read when I feel sparked to because they "don't fit." On the other hand, the group reads and category challenges do inspire me to pick up a book I might not otherwise have turned to. I think there is a balance to be achieved there--still musing on what the right balance is, though.

I love this joke by Tina Fey at the Golden Globes:

“Steve Carell’s Foxcatcher look took two hours to put on, including his hairstyling and make-up. Just for comparison, it took me three hours today to prepare for my role as human woman.”

I didn't watch the awards, but I did watch Amy and Tina's monologue and thought it was great. Here's a link: http://popwatch.ew.com/2015/01/11/tina-fey-amy-poehler-golden-globes-jokes-2015/

I thought it was very funny, too. The "would you rather" portion was fantastic. Colin Firth looked pleased with it as well.

>74 RidgewayGirl: Colin Firth is always my answer to "would you rather".

Then we are clearly not meant to have a Fey-Poehler style friendship, where we never think the same man is attractive!

I agree with that the categories sometimes can be quite tricky. It's my first year with a reading challenge, so my experience might be limited, but I had the same feeling when thinking of which categories to list. In the end I decided to go for broader categories, some of them book types I am reading anyway, others types that I would like to read more. Plus a miscellaneous category allowing for spontaneous readings. That makes it much easer to plan ahead, but still be flexible. But we are all different, and I really think picking the right categories is a challenge in itself. :)

>77 Chrischi_HH: Yes, you're right that having broad categories helps. I'm thinking more of the CATs. I love the SFFCat but it makes me want to put off reading some books until it's the right month, rather than read them as I want to. Last year, I ended up not reading some books in the right month but using the monthly categories as a general guide to select my reading, and that worked well. I may do that again.

3. Black Ships by Jo Graham (2008)
Category: Speculative fiction by women | Rating: Very good (4★)
SFFCat: Historical Science fiction/fantasy | BingoDOG: Myths and fairy tales

The daughter of a Trojan slave becomes a prophetess and sails with Aeneas on his legendary journey to found what will become Rome.

Primarily historical fiction with some fantasy elements, such as prophecies and a drug-induced trip to the Underworld, Black Ships is an entertaining retelling of the Aeneas legend from a woman's perspective. Gull was conceived by rape when her mother was taken as a slave from Troy. When she becomes handicapped and can't work, she is given to Pythia to raise as an oracle, and as a young girl, she has a vision of black ships at battle. This vision comes true when, after being raided by Neoptolemus, Aeneas leads the remainder of his people to rescue the enslaved women and children. Pythia impulsively decides to join them and becomes their oracle, their Sybil. She earns respect and friendship from Aeneas and his captains, and becomes one of Aeneas's advisors. The roles of other women are also highlighted. For example, Lide is a healer and midwife who does most of the doctoring on the journey, and when they reach their final destination, Lavinia is shown to be a wise and caring queen. (I'm glad I also have Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavinia to read as a follow-up to this.) Even the Egyptian princess is sympathetic in her madness. This was an engaging read, although I am not sure I will tackle the sequels.

>79 sturlington: I've been hearing such great things about Black Ships and I've already got my eyes on Lavinia for later this year, but I can't help thinking that I need to go back and actually read The Aeneid first. I've somehow missed it all these years and I think I need to bite the bullet (so to speak) and pick it up.

What do you think? Should I read The Aeneid first?

>80 Dejah_Thoris: I haven't read it since college. I think if you are familiar with the story, you don't really need to read it first. To reacquaint myself with the historical figures, I simply read the wikipedia article on Aeneas. The book can definitely stand on its own.

I have a nice reference called The Book of Great Books by John Campbell, which summarizes the key classics and outlines their major characters, themes and symbols. It is very nice when you either don't want to read the antecedent for something or you just want a refresher. Your question reminded me of it, so I'll probably go back and read The Aeneid section again.

4. Territory by Emma Bull (2007)
Category: Speculative fiction by women | Rating: OK (3★)
SFFCat: Historical SF/F | BingoDOG: Genre bender

Jesse Fox is a newcomer to the frontier town of Tombstone, where he meets Wyatt Earp and discovers that he is a sorcerer.

My one-word review of this book would be: "murky." The historical details are good, bringing in well-known historical figures as characters is fun, and the character of Mildred Benjamin--newspaper reporter, short story writer and non-magical observer--is compelling. But that's not enough to hold this book together; in fact, it never really comes together. It takes too long to get to the magic aspects, which aren't very well explained, given that they are such an essential part of the story. And it's frankly hard for me to believe that so many people in Tombstone know how to manipulate magic, or are conductors of magic, or can see through the illusions of others, when these are supposed to be rare talents. The retelling of events leading up to the gunfight at the OK Corral are muddied, and the fight itself is not actually depicted in the novel. I felt a bit lost at the end, wondering what had actually happened and what the significance was. All that makes this only an okay read for me.

ETA: I can't help but picture Val Kilmer when reading about Doc Holliday. There is no other Doc.

I think I liked Territory better than you did ...

>83 hailelib: The historical aspects are good, but the supernatural elements threw me.

So, I'm finding myself getting very picky about what books make it on the TBR. By the TBR, I mean that list of books that I'm really, truly, gosh-darn-it gonna read in the very near future. Ideally, I want that list to be fewer than the number of books I read in a typical year.

Right now, I have several lists going: a list of books I own and want to read soon, a list of books I own and want to read but maybe not right away, a list of books I want to get from the library, a list of books I want to buy from Amazon if the Kindle price ever drops to a reasonable amount, a list of books I've heard about and kinda want to read, a list of books related to other books I've liked that sound interesting but I don't know too much about them. There are probably more lists, but I've forgotten them.

Too many lists! I spend more time managing the lists than I do reading. So I've decided to cull mercilessly, just with one simple test. Am I excited to read this book? If I'm not excited to read it, it goes off the list.

For instance, All the Light We Cannot See is available at the library in electronic format, everyone's reading it, it's getting great reviews. So I thought about putting it on hold. But the truth is that I'm just not that excited about it. It may be truly terrific, but I feel burned out on the WWII time period, and I'm also more interested in women writers. So I x'ed it off the list.

I reserve the right to change my mind, of course.

I was going to read something else next, but everyone is reading Station Eleven and saying good things about it, I already own it on Kindle, and it is very much exciting me. I love its cover and its premise! So despite my lists and reading plans, that's what I started reading last night.

Using this excitement test, I earmarked many, many books from my TBR pile for gradual donation to the Little Free Library or immediate donation to the Big Free Library. Now my physical TBR fits in my bedside table and there are several books on it that I am excited about reading.

Here's what I'm thinking about the TBR. I don't like having a big one. It makes me feel like reading is a chore and not a joy. Also, there will always be books available (unless, maybe, the apocalypse), and they will always be making more books. So if I get rid of a book and it turns out I really did want to read it after all, I'm sure I can get another copy when I'm wanting it.

A book does it have its moment, and sometimes that moment passes us by. Books that linger too long on the TBR seem to acquire a patina of sadness. I know I'm anthropomorphizing, but that's what it feels like to me. Better that those books move on to someone who will read them and love them and fulfill their purpose.

I will likely keep making lists, though. I do love lists.

Nothing wrong with a little anthropomorphization! Cull your TBR to what makes you happy. The last thing any of us need is pressure to read!

>81 sturlington: I think I am once again going to pass on The Aeneid. I just don't like the Romans as much as I like the Greeks, lol.

>82 sturlington: I soooo totally agree! Kilmer IS Doc! Both Doc by Mary Doria Russell and The Buntline Special by Mike Resnick have Doc down so well that you can see Kilmer on the pages.

>86 Dejah_Thoris: I can't blame you for passing on the Aeneid.

>87 mysterymax: I like Mary Doria Russell. Would you recommend her Doc?

>85 sturlington: About halfway through Station Eleven you'll be looking for more books to stockpile just in case! I just finished it and I thought it was brilliant -- I spent my day finishing it instead of getting all the things done that I really need to get taken care of.

>88 sturlington: Absolutely!

>89 RidgewayGirl: Love books like that! I figure if the apocalypse does happen, I'll finally get around to those chunksters I have around the house like Count of Monte Cristo and Middlemarch.

>90 mysterymax: Welp, I put it on the Amazon list. It is really hard not to add books to lists.

Middlemarch is wonderful and written by a woman. It would nicely fit your challenge.

>92 RidgewayGirl: But it's so long! :-)

I know, it took me ages to read -- I was reading it all the time and there was always more book. But then I was sad when it was all over. I was sort of thinking of getting around to Adam Bede this year, to see if it's as good.

>94 RidgewayGirl: I am, I am, I am going to read it. One of these days.

>88 sturlington: Just wanted to add my two cents about Doc -- it's great! I don't really care about Westerns, and I hadn't read anything else by Mary Doria Russell, but I still absolutely loved it!

>85 sturlington: I was totally amazed at the very reasonable price of Station Eleven for the Kindle.

>96 christina_reads: The Sparrow was a 5-star read for me. That's not a Western, though, but science fiction. Seems Russell is a versatile writer.

>97 mamzel: Absolutely! Around $6-$8 is the perfect price. $14 is extortion.

>85 sturlington: I made my categories relatively generic this year. They are primarily themes I always read. I'm participating in the horror and Spec Fiction challanges this year but only if I want to and find a book compelling for that month.

I hated it the years when my reading felt boxed in and like a chore. I too like to get the right book into my hands at the right time. I love the idea of only reading books that excite me. Good for you.

As for Kindle books, are you using eReaderIQ to track the books you hope will drop in price? If not, you may want to check it out. It has been great for me.

My TBR list is whatever I feel like reading right now. And that's why my categories tend to be broad!

>99 nancyewhite: I will check that out, thanks! Typically, I just check in on Amazon once a week or so to see where the prices are. You could probably watch them daily as they tend to fluctuate similarly to stock quotes.

>100 hailelib: My categories are broader this year than they were next year, and next year I suspect they might be broader still!

lol, I keep thinking I should just do: mystery, non-mystery and non-fiction. That should just about cover everything.

Being where I need to go next door to get Wifi has put me way behind on threads, but I wanted to grow in a couple of things.

>85 sturlington: - although I culled about 100 books from my TBR pile last year, I was just thinking the other day that at the rate I read, I still have enough for 8-10 years on there. And that's if I on,y read them and nothing else. And the thread about the Tournament of Books made me realize that I don't want to keep putting off new books either. So I think when we get home I'm going to do another purge. As you say, if I really want it I can always get it again ( library, etc).

I'm nnot a huge Western fan either, but I heard an interview with Maria Doria Russell on NOR last year (?) and put it on my TBR list. maybe I'll get to it this year.

Cooking Update

Last night, I made the second in my Around the USA family cooking challenge. We virtually visited New York and we had New York-style thin-crust pizza.

The recipe came from Cooks' Illustrated. It was the first time I had made it, but I have noticed the same issues whenever I make homemade pizza. The first is that the recipe always, always specifies that the dough can be divided in two parts and used to make two 12-inch pizzas. But I can never stretch the dough out that far--it always ends up tearing. This time, I really used about 3/4's of the dough to make one pizza, and while there were no holes, my husband said it wasn't crispy enough. Admittedly, my husband is something of a pizza snob.

The second issue is that it is very hard to get the oven hot enough to get a really crispy crust. That is why pizza cooked in a restaurant pizza oven will always taste better. Regardless of heat and dough-stretching issues, though, homemade pizza still tastes very good, and is worth making over buying frozen or chain-restaurant pizza. But if you have a really good pizza restaurant nearby or you happen to live in New York City, there doesn't seem to be much point in making pizza at home.

My 6-year-old loved it, though.

The Cooks' Illustrated dough is very easy to make, as it uses the food processor. I used the leftover dough to make little bread knots, which were yummy. So I may keep this dough recipe for making knots, breadsticks, focaccia, and the like. My husband wants to try make calzones, too.

Next state on our roster is Texas. I am planning to coincide with the Super Bowl, so if anyone has suggestions for Texas party foods, fire away!

Well, it wouldn't be my first choice for a party food, but in Texas they do love their barbeque and it must be beef, none of that pork stuff. :) Guacamole and queso are also a must for any party. The queso should also probably be made using Velveeta as I'm told it melts the best. Let's see what else...oh yes, wings with ranch dressing to dip them in. I'll think some more and get back to you.

>105 LittleTaiko: I don't do beef, but I do guacamole/queso. I sense a Tex-Mex theme taking shape!

Many of my guests are from New York originally, so I can't serve them wings and tell them it's Texas food. :-)

Regarding pizza, I've found using a pizza stone helps. And kneading the dough a long time (15-20 minutes in the mixer using the dough hook) helps with the stretchiness, as well as letting the dough sit overnight in the fridge.

>107 RidgewayGirl: good tips-- I probably could have kneaded the dough longer. The recipe called for a baking stone, but this is not something I'm likely to buy as I don't bake enough to justify it. I did let the dough sit for 24 hours and I noticed that it tasted better than when I try to make dough in the morning for pizza that night. Thanks!

>104 sturlington: My mom is from Texas so I grew up with her cooking Southern food. Chili comes to mind first, but also grits, which can go from breakfast to dinner by mixing in cheese and topping with a barbequed shrimp. And since Texas is a big pecan state, pecan tassies are bite-sized.

>109 mstrust: Oooh, pecan tassies are a good idea. Chili is good Superbowl food, as well. Thanks for the suggestions!

>106 sturlington: - Good point about the wings. Would be hard to pass that off as Texas.

>109 mstrust: - How did I forget chili? That is definitely big, though I can never remember if it's supposed to have beans in it or not to make it a Texas chili. I hate beans so by default end up with the non-bean version. Grits - yum! I always associate that as more of a Southern thing since I never had them until I met my father in-laws family who live in Florida but grew up in Georgia.

>110 sturlington: Glad to help!
>111 LittleTaiko: For authentic Texas chili, no beans. I know that because my mom was a chili snob for years. If she saw chili on a menu she'd ask the server if it was with or without beans. If it had beans, she'd answer, "Then it's not real chili."
I actually like beans in my chili because I don't like eating just a bowl of meat. When I make it at home I add in all the vegetables I can.

>112 mstrust: Yeah, I like beans too but I'm not much of a meat eater.

We watched The Interview last night. It is streaming on Netflix now. I cannot recommend it, but then I have never been a fan of Seth Rogen. It also fails the Bechdel test quite resoundingly.

I was wondering whether the whole North Korean terrorist threat kerfuffle might not have been engineered by the film's producers as an unusual method of generating publicity for their film, which might have died a quick death if released in the normal way. However, I am not sure they are clever enough to have pulled off such an audacious stunt.

>104 sturlington: - I love homemade pizza, especially now that I have one of those pizza pans with the holes in it to allow the heat to get directly to the crust. I don't use a pizza stone. I have found that I need to set the oven at 450'F and place the pizza on the lowest possible rack setting, close to the oven element, to get a really good crust to my pizza.

>115 lkernagh: That's a great tip, thanks. I also have one of those pans, but I didn't think about putting it on the lowest rack.

5. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014)
Category: Speculative fiction by women | Rating: Excellent (4.5★)
BingoDOG: LibraryThing Author

An aging actor drops dead of a heart attack on stage, an omen for a sweeping flu pandemic that will decimate the world's population within weeks.

Station Eleven does something that I hadn't thought was possible: it offers something new and exciting in the post-apocalyptic genre. I have read a lot of post-apocalyptic books, and I was getting burned out on them. It seemed like there was nothing new to say about the fall of humanity. But this novel comes forward and defies my expectations. It is a quiet, moving story, elegiac for what is lost, such as technology and modern conveniences, but still hopeful for humanity. It skips a lot of brutality that is the hallmark of post-apocalyptic fiction by jumping around in time from before the pandemic to twenty years after, eliding those first few difficult years and leaving them up to the reader's imagination. It also omits the tedious details of survival after our global industrial web has failed us, although some details, such as the survivors setting up small communities in truck stops and airports rather than in the houses of the dead, struck me as absolutely believable. As the world has fallen back into a dark age, some of the survivors have created a traveling symphony and acting troupe, which only performs Shakespeare. They travel from settlement to settlement to bring art and music to the post-apocalyptic world, because "survival is insufficient."

This novel is not about survival; it's about people, particularly those invisible connections that link our lives like webs. By moving back and forth in time, following the strands of the web wherever they might go, Station Eleven gradually builds our knowing of and empathy for these people, both those who survived and those who didn't, even the rare ones who goes bad. All of the characters are linked to movie star Arthur Leander, whose death while playing King Lear opens the book, but there are even more connections, gradually revealed, that show how we all are fundamentally linked to one another. While so many post-apocalyptic books are about losing our humanity, Station Eleven is about reinforcing what makes us human, the fundamental connections that we share.

My favorite of all the characters was Miranda Carroll, Leander's first wife, who was someone I felt I could know or even could have been, in an alternate life. Miranda is an artist who spends much of her time working on an ambitious project called Station Eleven, a comic book within a book that proves to be immune to the flu pandemic. This motif also reinforces the human connections between us, and how those connections are strengthened by the art we make. Even though this book is about much of humanity dying out, it didn't depress me; it lifted me and inspired me.

Abandoned before finishing: An Untamed State by Roxane Gay

First abandoned book of the year.

I was excited to read this novel, as I follow Roxane Gay online and have always enjoyed her columns, so I am disappointed to have to abandon it just about one-third of the way in. It's not just the content is brutal, which it is, but that the writing is surprisingly clunky and flat, and it is failing to engage me. That, along with the violent and disturbing subject matter, has deflated my excitement, and my rule of thumb is that if I'm not excited to read a novel, I'm not reading it. This is how I spend my free time, and many other books are waiting. I am keeping this on my Kindle, as I may return to it someday in a different frame of mind.

Guess that's one that wouldn't get your vote in the ToB! I actually liked it overall, but completely agree that if it's not engaging you then it's time to put it down. The violence was hard to take, but having the story switch back and for from the present to the past helped ease the tension a bit for me.

Lovely review of Station Eleven. You really got down to why it was so different from the usual dystopian fiction.

I haven't been able to find a copy of An Untamed State yet, so your comments make me feel much better about that. It'll be an interesting Tournament of Books! I'd like them to announce the match-ups now please.

I know! I keep checking to see if the match-ups are ready as I'm really curious as how they are going to face-off.

So far, I've read 3 of the books in the tournament and rejected 5 as books I either don't want to read or finish. Two more on my radar as possible reads: The Paying Guests and Everything I Never Told You, but I likely won't get to them before the tournament. I'm rooting for Station Eleven as the little book that could, even over The Bone Clocks.

Ok, I'm making up a new reading rule. Authors, do you want me to read your 500+ page book? You have to earn it! That is, by giving me a number of good reading experiences before this one so that I know the time will be well spent.

I'm making an exception for George Eliot--I did not like her when I read her in college--because I have pledged to read Middlemarch and find out for sure whether it was the best novel ever written. In fact, I'm thinking about next year's challenge (already!) having a Big and Short or Long and Lean theme of some sort. Because I also need to read The Count of Monte Cristo at some point.

But really, new authors, you cannot expect me to read your 700-page tome right out of the gate. Come on! All 500+ page books by unknown writers have been deleted off my wishlist/TBR.

I also was just reading on The Millions about a page 40 test, which is where you turn to page 40 and read the first sentence of the 5th paragraph. This is supposed to illuminate the author's ability to construct compelling sentences. Speaking of big books, I thought it telling how he used the page 40 test on The Secret History to tease out some issues with Donna Tartt's style. I loved that book, but I have to agree with him, and reading The Goldfinch last year really put me off big, overwritten books for the rest of the year, even though I overall pretty much liked it. Here is the article: http://www.themillions.com/2015/01/the-page-40-test.html

I loved both The Bone Clocks and Station Eleven, so I hope they don't go head to head until a late round. I'm on the waiting list for The Paying Guests, but there are a few books that I'm less interested in reading. Maybe the match-ups will change my mind, as they have before.

>124 RidgewayGirl: Yeah, I'm not reading books about war right now so that already lets out Redeployment and All the Light We Cannot See. My husband loved Redeployment, though. And the 500-page-rule eliminates A Brief History of Seven Killings. And your review kind of tanked Annihilation for me.

All the Birds Singing looks interesting. I really like the cover.

Nice rant about the 500 plus page books - I couldn't agree more that they really do need to earn it. That said, I really hope you get to The Count of Monte Cristo someday as that is one of my all time favorite books.

>126 LittleTaiko: What I need is to be stranded on a desert island for a while. LOL

Well, it's February. Here's my January roundup:

For pleasure, I read a total of 5 books, 3 of which were for the SFFCat. I abandoned 1 book. I recommend any books that I rate 3.5 stars or higher, so my recommended reads this month were: Station Eleven (top read), Black Ships and Dept. of Speculation.

I read one cookbook for the CookingKIT and recommend it: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics.

For paid book reviews, I read 4 books, for a total of 9 read this month/9 read for the year.

Next month, I'm tentatively planning on reading: Woman on the Edge of Time, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Interpreter of Maladies, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

The news for this month is that we got a new baby. Here's a pic of her along with my other baby:

I'll bet that everyone in your family is thrilled!

>129 RidgewayGirl: Yes, but I haven't had a puppy for 20 years and I forgot how much work they are!

>128 sturlington: They're both adorable! Congratulations - on your two babies and on your January reading.

Awwww puppy! Adorable!

>131 Dejah_Thoris: >132 rabbitprincess: Adorable--that's how they get you. :-)

How cute! Congratulations! Is she a black lab?

>134 mstrust: She is from the pound, so she's a mix but black lab seems to dominate. We got the DNA test to find out what else.

Rescue dogs are the BEST.

>128 sturlington: So cute! Both of them :)

Adorable puppy! Enjoy!

Aw, so adorable!!!!

Congratulations on the new puppy, who looks absolutely adorable. Your son looks very happy and proud of his new dog.

Puppy!

Thank you, everyone!

Cooking Update

The third stop in our family Around the USA cooking challenge was Texas, which I timed for Super Bowl Sunday so I could make some party food.

I chose to make Fajitas Nachos as a Tex-Mex dish. I ended up basically making up the recipe by assembling parts of other recipes. I marinated flank steak and chicken (for the non-beef eaters) in a fajita marinade supplied by my cooking bible, The Joy of Cooking. My husband grilled up the meat. I made the nachos based on a Cooks Illustrated technique, in which you layer chips, cheese and pickled jalapenos in a baking dish, then add another layer on top. For the nachos "bar," I set out homemade salsa, homemade guacamole, sour cream, scallions, and the grilled meat, and let everyone fix their own. They were really good. In fact, I think I enjoyed them better than restaurant nachos, because the chips stayed crispy and it was easy to use them to scoop up all the different toppings.

For dessert, I made "Texas longhorns." Actually, they are pecan crescents turned on their sides for the horns. The recipe came from Bon Appetit and was a very easy brown sugar-butter-pecan cookie dough. Everyone liked them a lot. Mildly addictive and very easy to make.

Our next stop is going to be Alaska, and I am open to suggestions, although I'm pretty sure salmon will be on the menu.

Yum! It all sounds marvelous. It must have been quite a gathering!

>144 Dejah_Thoris: Yes, it was our traditional family gathering. My in-laws brought tomato-mozzarella skewers, potato skins and chicken wings, so needless to say, I was stuffed, but everything was good. And also according to tradition, I read my book throughout the game, although I did watch some of the commercials.

>143 sturlington: - Sounds delicious! I also spent more of the game reading than watching and would make sure to pay attention when the commercials were on.

Your food sounds great! Glad it worked out well.
We managed to completely ignore the Super Bowl even though it was taking place 30 minutes from us. We went shopping and out to lunch, then watched a movie. We only knew the game was over when cars started blowing their horns down the street.

>143 sturlington: Yum yum!

So what's his name!!!!?????
Perfect ages for them to grow up together! Nice!

>149 mamzel: Her name is Charley.

I love fajitas but I have never considered making Fajitas Nachos. I must try that next time we think about having natchos.

Puppies and parties! You've been busy.

6. Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy (1976)
Category: Speculative fiction by women | Rating: Good (3.5★)
SFFCat: Classic SF/F | BingoDOG: A book with scientists

After bashing her niece's pimp with a bottle, Connie Ramos is committed to a mental hospital, where she begins telepathically time traveling to a utopian future.

Published in 1976, Woman on the Edge of Time reminded me quite a lot of two other feminist speculative fiction classics of roughly the same period: The Female Man by Joanna Russ and Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin. All three present idealized anarchist utopias, as well as brief depictions of a dystopian counterpart. These utopian communities are presented as environmentally conscious and sustainable, having achieved equality among the sexes and races (albeit in different ways), where the people live communally and in harmony with nature. (Of the three, I liked Le Guin's the best, but it is the most recently published and the most fully baked, I think.) These are not novels so much as vehicles for ideas about how people could possibly be, and after reading so many of these--including a few minor versions not mentioned--I feel I've exhausted this narrow sub-genre. The ideas are attractive, but having moved well past the Age of Aquarius, they seem much more unworkable, relying on an idealized vision of human nature.

Of more interest in Piercy's novel is the present-day life of Connie Ramos, who is poor, Hispanic, undereducated, mentally ill and pretty much a victim of all our social institutions. Connie's plight, having been committed and then subjected to heinous experiments against her will, almost make us cheer her drastic actions after she accepts that she is at war. She is at war against our systems themselves, and the deck is well stacked against her. It's never very clear if Connie is literally time-traveling or if she is hallucinating as an escape. Given the epilogue with her medical history, I'm inclined to believe the latter, but I don't know if that is what Piercy intended as the author. There is a lot here to chew on, but I'm not sure Piercy has assembled it into a cohesive story. She seems to be trying to say so much that nothing comes through as powerfully as she might have intended. If she had focused on Connie in the present, and scaled back all the future scenes, using them more as an indicator of Connie's troubled psyche, this probably would have been a much more effective novel.

Cooking Update

The February focus in the CookingKIT was lunch. I chose to make the Chicken, Mozzarella, Roasted Pepper and Spinach-Walnut Pesto sandwich from 'wichcraft by Tom Colicchio, mainly because it was one of the few recipes in the book that would appeal to everyone in my family. The sandwich was fine, but not special--I have variations of this recipe in many of my cookbooks, and it's a type of sandwich we make often with the panini press.

Here's my review of the cookbook:

I found a copy of this cookbook in our Little Free Library. I'm familiar with the restaurant and my family loves sandwiches, so I thought I'd try it out. It is a very pretty cookbook, with delicious-looking photos of the different sandwiches and some helpful advice on creating sandwiches, serving them at parties, turning sandwiches into salads, etc. As with many restaurant-based cookbooks, though, this one doesn't offer much for the home cook. The sandwiches rely on elaborate preparations I'm unlikely to undertake for a simple sandwich, or hard-to-find ingredients, or often both. Well, this is why we go out to eat, isn't it? The other problem is that the sandwiches use many pre-made condiments, which I actually enjoy, but I simply cannot use up to make the effort worth it. If a batch of mayo or pickled chickpeas only lasts a week in the fridge, I'm likely to throw a lot of it out, and I can't stand food waste. Again, this is something restaurant chefs rarely take into consideration when writing for home cooks. In the end, I found three recipes I wanted to make and that seemed practical for my family. The first one I tried was an inordinate amount of effort for a so-so result (this was a frittata sandwich). I have a feeling this cookbook is going back in the Little Free Library. Better luck to the next borrower!

>154 sturlington: I have the 'wichcraft book and I've been meaning to crack it open, I'll still check it out but I feel the same as you about the labor-intensive recipes. I haven't been following the CookingKIT but I just got a ton of cookbooks so I should start back in!

Also, I love the idea to track where in the world and US you're reading! I might have to copy that ;)

>155 SleepySheep: Tracking where you are reading is fun. I like to see how many countries I can "visit" in my reading year.

>156 sturlington: I'm doing the same, I love to see where I have "been". Last year my most exotic one was Samoa. Just imagine it was reality, how many countries we would have visited!

I agree - I love tracking what states and countries I've visited in my books. I've added U.S. and World maps to the tops of my 75ers thread, but not my 15 in 15 thread - too much stuff up there!

7. Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany (1966)
Category: Speculative fiction | Rating: Good (3.5★)
SFFCat: Classic SF/F | BingoDOG: A book about language

In the far future, the galactic empire is at war with the Invaders, and the military turns to beautiful, accomplished, slightly telepathic poet Rydra Wong to help with a new code the Invaders have developed to aid their sabotage efforts; however, the code is actually an artificial language, Babel-17, with frightening properties.

This was a fun, short read, but I think a little dated now. It is remarkable for having a female lead character who is not treated like window dressing, something sadly lacking in other classic science fiction from the same time period. The big idea regarding the power of language to manipulate thought and experience is pretty interesting, although I wish it had been more fleshed out. I also found most of the characters other than Rydra to be fairly underdeveloped, and there seemed a lot of jumping from action scene to action without taking the time to fill out the transitions, making the story slightly dissatisfying. For its time, it's a fun action-adventure story that hits all the right notes, but modern sci-fi readers demand more.

>154 sturlington:
I must admit I never felt I needed a cookbook for sandwiches, but I do like Mr. Colicchio, so I may take a look at this one anyways.

8. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)
Category: Group reads | Rating: WOW! (5★)
Read for: Black History Month | BingoDOG: A book with a natural disaster

After two loveless marriages, Janie finally awakens to love, happiness and self-realization when she meets Tea Cake and elopes with him to the Florida Everglades.

It too me a long time to get to this book, and was I missing out. Hurston is such a terrific writer; she blows pretty much everyone else I've been reading lately out of the water. Her writing is lush, sensual, evocative and much sexier than Fifty Shades of Gray or whatever the kids are reading nowadays. She writes about the natural world and how we as human beings are a part of it, not separate from it or above it, as we like to pretend, that we are subject to overwhelming natural forces like sex and hurricanes, and we should allow ourselves to be carried along by them. In so doing, we open ourselves up to becoming fully ourselves, completely engaged with life and all its joys and tragedies. This book has so many truths to offer that it requires multiple rereadings, and I look forward to the next time I pick it up and let it enchant me.

9. The Water That Falls on You From Nowhere by John Chu (2012)
Category: Random reads | Rating: OK (3★)

Now that water falls on people whenever they tell a lie, Matt finds it more difficult to come out to his traditional Chinese family.

This is a short story that I received as part of my SantaThing 2014 selection, and it's true that I never would have read it otherwise. It was well written and engaging, but a little puzzling. The device of the water falling on people when they lie is an interesting one, but I don't think it is explored enough. It just is, and strangely, everyone seems to have accepted it. Otherwise, this was a nice little story about family and coming out that probably didn't actually need the weird speculative device. I am glad to have been introduced to this author and will probably seek out longer fiction by him.

Note: I'm not counting this for the BingoDOG or SFFCat since it was only a short story.

10. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm by Philip Pullman and Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
Category: Kiddie reads | Rating: Very good (4★) and Good (3.5★)

Note: I didn't completely read either of these, so I'm reviewing them together. These editions are gorgeous Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions with wonderful covers, both representative rather than comprehensive collections.

Grimm: This selection of fairy tales includes all of the well-known stories, many less familiar ones and the best the Grimms collected. Pullman has updated the tales in straightforward, extremely readable language, but has left in all the gory bits, which are so often sanitized in collections for children. I also enjoy his endnotes commenting on the stories. "The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage" was an unknown tale for me that I thought was hilarious, and it has stuck in my mind. I've been reading fairy tales aloud to my 6-year-old, and this edition has been fun reading for both of us. Highly recommended.

Andersen: A mixed bag for me. First, this is a beautiful collection, with wonderful woodcut illustrations by Andersen himself, and nicely translated. It contains his most famous stories, including one of my all-time favorites, "The Nightingale," as well as such tried-and-true chestnuts as "The Ugly Duckling," "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Princess on the Pea" and the incomparable "Snow Queen" (what a strange and bewitching story that is). The less well-known stories are even better; I have to heartily recommend "Little Claus and Big Claus" and "The Traveling Companion." But Andersen is pretty hard on his characters, particularly his girls, and stories like "The Little Mermaid" and "The Red Shoes" are very disturbing to me now. Many of these stories have a strong religious bent to them often involving subjecting oneself to God's will that made me uncomfortable, so that when reading these stories aloud to my son, I often found myself censoring what I was reading. I couldn't even finish "The Little Match Girl," a story that is appropriate for no one. Altogether, I prefer the straightforward bloodthirstiness of Grimm, but as I say, there are many gems in here so long as you are choosy.

Just a side note on how women are portrayed in classic science fiction, since this was the category for the February SFFCat...

Classic science fiction is particularly bad at portraying women as characters, or even human beings. Particularly egregious offenders, considering how influential they were on the genre, are Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke and Larry Niven. I don't necessarily think that these writers held misogynist views. Instead, they demonstrate a huge blind spot where women are concerned.

Even when writing about futuristic or advanced societies, these writers often fail to depict women as anything other than subordinate. Women are generally relegated to the role of secretary ("girl assistants," as Clarke puts it so charmingly in 2001: A Space Odyssey), housewife, or concubine. Often, the female characters are absent altogether; I believe there is only one female character in Asimov's seminal book, Foundation. They rarely, if ever, occupy roles equal to men as scientists, politicians or leaders. When they are present, the authors tend to fall back on stereotypes to create their characters; female characters are generally helpless, passive, shrewish, sexually manipulative, overly emotional, in need of protection or rescue, or sexual objects devoid of personality.

It is this portrayal of women more than anything that makes early science fiction seem so dated, I think. Fortunately, I think the genre has outgrown this view of women, especially once more women started writing and reading it.

It is interesting that these imaginative authors could not conceive of a future world in which women were treated any differently than they were when the books were being written.

It boggles your mind, doesn't it?

I have to say that Asimov gets better with the rest of the Foundation trilogy, where women have personalities and even drive the story. I also very much liked his Positronic Man.

One classic sci-fi writer that gets it more than the rest is John Wyndham, especially his The Chrysalids book, which I highly recommend.

Edited to add: gah, touchstones...

>167 paruline: I have enjoyed the two books I've read by Wyndham. I've also enjoyed Joe Haldeman and Frederik Pohl, although I guess they were writing a bit later. Asimov and I do not get along--I barely made it through Foundation. I have tried to read a representative sampling of the masters of science fiction over the years, and I'm ready to move farther afield. This year I read my first Samuel R. Delany, for instance.

11. The End is Nigh, edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey (2014)
Category: Speculative fiction (anthology) | Rating: Good (3.5★)
SFFCat: Apocalyptic and Dystopic

This is the first volume in a "triptych" of anthologies of apocalypse-themed stories; in this volume, all of the stories take place just before an apocalypse, while in the next two volumes, connected stories by the same authors will take place during and after the apocalypse.

It's a neat premise, and the writing is pretty solid throughout. None of the stories really stunk, but none truly shone either; it's an even, readable collection. There were many fresh takes on the apocalypse incorporating present-day technology, as well as unusual epidemics and alien invasions, that helped this anthology feel fresh and not like it was retreading ideas already done to death, so to speak. My favorite stories were by Tananarive Due and Desirina Boskovich. (Will McIntosh, you are one disturbing dude, I have to say.) My quibble is that because of the overarching idea, many of the stories seemed unfinished or like first acts in a play, rather than standing on their own. I wished that I had waited until all three volumes came out and read the connected stories together. Since this is not what I did, I'm debating whether to continue with the series.

February reading roundup:

For pleasure, I read a total of 4 books and 1 standalone short story; 3 of these were for the SFFCat. I mostly finished reading 2 books of fairy tales with my son, also reviewed; they are the Penguin Classics Deluxe editions of Grimm and Andersen. I recommend any books that I rate 3.5 stars or higher, so I can recommend all of my book-length reads this month. My top read was Their Eyes Were Watching God, which gets the first (and possibly only) 5-star rating of the year, followed by: Woman on the Edge of Time, Babel-17 and The End Is Nigh.

I read one cookbook for the CookingKIT but do not recommend it: 'wichcraft.

For paid book reviews, I read 3 books. My yearly total is 18 books read. I'm counting the two fairy tale collections as 1 book because we didn't technically finish either one but we read most of the stories.

Next month, I'm tentatively planning on reading: Interpreter of Maladies (already started), The Book of Strange New Things (already started), Beloved, The Lady Astronaut of Mars and At the Water's Edge.

In personal news, I have a new niece, born between snowstorms on February 25! Her name is Penelope Quinn.

Congratulations on your new niece! Penelope is a beautiful name.

>171 rabbitprincess: Thank you, she is a sweet baby.

Congrats on the new niece!

Enjoy Interpreter of Maladies -- I listened to that as an audiobook and thought it was beautiful.

Congratulations! I love that name too!

Congratulations on the new baby in the family.

Awe, a new niece is wonderful news!

Congrats on the family addition! Being born between snowstorms was a wise choice. :)

Thanks everyone! Yes, Eva, she already has good timing.

>163 sturlington: I've been planning on reading Pullman's Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm, and am happy to see you enjoyed it! Congratulations on your new niece - I also have a new nephew (Kingston) born on the 25th! What an exciting time!

>179 skrouhan: Congratulations to you too!

Cooking Update

For the CookingKIT in March, I cooked from Splendid Soups by James Peterson. The theme was "Soups and Stews."

I would like to eat more soup (every day, in fact), and this is a great cookbook for encouraging that. I think it would be safe to call this a "soup bible." All of the well-known soup recipes are represented. There is an introductory chapter on "ethnic soups," and soups from all the regions of the world are showcased, so this is a great cookbook for trying out new cuisines while staying with a relatively familiar dish. Every kind of ingredient is also well-represented, so there's something for everyone here. I appreciate Peterson's notes on how to vary the ingredients and his encouragement not to cook strictly from the recipe but to use what is fresh and looks good. To me, he showcases the best qualities of soup: that they are adaptable dishes that incorporate a lot of vegetables, and they are healthy, filling and relatively economical.

The first soup I tried was the French Farmer's Vegetable Soup, which was easy, tasty and relatively quick to make. It is mostly vegetables, but they are cooked with bacon for a special flavor. Leftovers of this soup would be a great candidate for the Vegetable Soup Panade, also in this book, but I didn't have any leftovers!

>161 sturlington: Just got hit by a BB for Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Not what I needed, another title on my wishlist!

>182 VivienneR: It's worth it, and a short read too!

Sounds like a great cookbook! I've requested it from the library :)

I seem to enjoy soup more when I'm travelling, as a bowl of soup and a sandwich makes a solid lunch or dinner without being *too* filling. When my family and I went to Ireland last year we kept ordering the soup of the day at restaurants because it usually came with freshly baked soda bread. Yum! And the soups were pretty good too. Lots of potato and leek.

When I was still working, we'd make a big pot of soup most of the winter on Mondays for "soup and sandwich" night (which was definitely a night when I was growing up). Then there would be enough to take for lunches during the rest of the week.

>185 dudes22: I've gotten in the habit of making soup on Sunday or Monday night so I can eat leftovers throughout the week. Another thing I like about soup, you make a lot and it reheats well. A lot of soups get better as they "age".

Well, I broke down and bought copies of Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Jane Eyre again. Yes, I already have all of these, but the Penguin Classics Deluxe editions are so gorgeous, I can't resist them. They arrived from Amazon today. Having these beautiful editions will, I'm sure, spur me to reread them sometime soon, especially Emma, which I haven't read since college.

12. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (1910)
Category: Random reads | Rating: Good (3.5★)
BingoDOG: Translated from a language I don't speak.

A deformed man, obsessively in love with a young singer, haunts the Paris Opera House.

I listened to this classic as an audiobook, a first for me (other than kids' books). I think this was a good way to experience the book, as I didn't worry so much over the French names or phrases, or the archaic writing style, and instead just absorbed the story as best as I could. It's kind of a potboiler, isn't it? I'm sure I missed some details, but it was entertaining while walking or riding in the car. I hope to continue to "read" more classics using this method.

I read that one just a few months ago. It actually had more depth and backstory than I expected. I went into it just knowing about an ugly guy who kidnaps a pretty girl, so maybe I was easily impressed.

>189 mstrust: I wasn't familiar with the story other than the barest details. I've never seen Phantom. I liked all the tricks he played to make people think he was a ghost.

Referring back to >187 sturlington:, here are the covers of the books I bought. They are absolutely gorgeous editions. (Yes, I broke down and bought another copy of We Have Always Lived in the Castle as well, but I can't leave out Shirley while I'm acquiring!)

>191 sturlington: I LOVE these covers!! And I also love the books, especially the Shirley Jackson - that book has always stuck with me.