NorthernStar's Notes for 2015

This year I decided to start a book thread of my own for the first time. I don't promise to review or even list everything I read, but I hope to post some notes on the highlights.

>1 NorthernStar: Happy New Year and all the best for your 2015 reading. Your thread has been starred and I will own two of the beady eyes watching from the shadows.

I've got you starred too, NorthernStar.

Happy New Year! I'll be here, too.

Doing a book thread can be amazingly addicting...

Remember, there's nothing wrong with just chatting and eating cheese* in your book thread :)

Happy New Year! I hope it brings lots of good books (and cheese ...)

OK, time for an info-dump! I was on a reading binge in December and early January, and here is some of what I covered. I came across one of Juliet Marillier's books (Dreamer's Pool) in the new books section at the library sometime before Christmas. I really liked it, so I decided to look for some of her other books. I started with Daughter of the Forest, and then went through the rest of the Sevenwaters series from the library, finishing in the new year. I also received and read some paperbacks I'd ordered: Burn for Me, by Ilona Andrews; Night Shift, with novellas by Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews and two others; and The Peshawar Lancers, by S. M. Stirling. I wasn't sure I'd like the new Ilona Andrews as much as her other series, and did find it more of a romance than previous, but still liked it.

Acting on recommendations from LT I read The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect, which I enjoyed. The Dark Mirror, another Juliet Marillier, I didn't like as well as the Sevenwaters books, and probably won't read the rest of that series. Also finished and enjoyed Duck the Halls by Donna Andrews, Lock In by John Scalzi, Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs, The Long Way Home by Louise Penny, and just finished The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith.

I also took some pictures of the birds around my feeders, so I'll share a few here:


Ruffed Grouse


Boreal Chickadee


Whiskey Jack (Gray Jay) on the suet feeder tardis sent

And a picture from around the fire after our moonlight ski last weekend. I'm the blurry one on the right, with my even blurrier dog, Hamish, in front of me.

Lovely photos! I'm a birdwatcher so I always like to see pictures of birds from around the world. Your chickadee looks quite different from the species my friend in Pennsylvania gets on her feeder.

Daughter of the forest has been on my Tbr pile for years; perhaps this year it will make it to the top! I did read Marillier's Cybele's secret which I enjoyed, even though it's a sequel to a book I hadn't read. It's YA, and I did find some of the characters a bit predictable but the Ottoman empire setting was very atmospheric and the story was good.

Great pictures.

>9 NorthernStar: Great photos! Also I really must get around to Marillier...

>10 Sakerfalcon: the boreal chickadee is not common, but has very pretty shades of browns - mostly I get the black-capped chickadees, which might be the ones your friend has. They are mostly black, grey, and white, with buffy sides. This picture is a little dark, but gives you an idea.

Those are gorgeous bird pictures!

What beautiful pictures of birds!

Dropping a star on your thread. I always enjoy reading of your adventures in the northlands. Loved the picture of folks around the fire. That is a pleasure we don't have in my neck of the woods any longer as it contributes too much to air pollution in this urban area. Dang. I used to be able to burn my autumn leaves and I enjoyed the smell of leaf fires in the air but I do understand more density of people results in some restrictions of total freedom.

I hope you will post not only your books and reading adventures, but all your other adventures, too.

Happy new year to us all.

Thanks for the comments on my bird pictures. I love taking them. As the days get longer I hope to get better light for taking pictures; I want to get some good ones of my other regular visitors.

January was busy, and I haven't updated this for a couple of weeks, so time for another infodump.

The group read of Stranger at the Wedding by Barbara Hambly reminded me that it was a long time since I'd read it. I wanted to read the rest of the books set in that world first so I found my copies of all of them, and started with The Silent Tower, The Silicon Mage and Dog Wizard. I really like Hambly's world-building and characters; rereading these books was very enjoyable. If you haven't read them, try to find copies. I like all the Hambly books I've read, although the Benjamin January books I find too depressing to want to read more than I have. (but they are well-written)

A few books from Chapters arrived mid-January: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Low Midnight by Carrie Vaughn, and Clean by Alex Hughes. I've been waiting for the first two to come out in paperback, and had to order three to get free shipping. Since I'd seen Clean recommended by someone on LT I decided to give it a try, after all it cost less than the shipping would have! Enjoyed all of these.

I also found a couple more of Alexander McCall-Smith's Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency books at the library that I'd missed, and read those.

Since then I've reread a few books including Written in Red while waiting for another book order: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs, The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin (I read a prequel to this in Night Shift), and Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop. These all arrived today, and I've already started Murder of Crows, abandoning another library book. Oh, one more book came with these, but I may be giving it away, so won't mention it.

I have a snowy long weekend ahead, and plan to read a lot.

Looks like you've been enjoying your reading. And there's more to be had during the long, snowy, weekend ahead. Happy days!

OK, bitter cold weather kept me in a lot this weekend (down to -37°C Sunday morning!). I did get out to ski during the warmest part of the days, but spent a lot of time reading. Finished Murder of Crows, The Grendel Affair and Night Broken, all very enjoyable.

I am now back to the library book, Stalking the Others, which is the fourth in an urban fantasy series that I am liking less all the time, especially in contrast to the three books I just finished. The heroine keeps doing stupid things, ignoring people she should listen to, not learning from her mistakes, and generally making bad choices. I didn't think the first couple in the series were too bad, but I'm rethinking that as I get more annoyed with the heroine.

I am somewhat amused by the fact that your very, very cold weather keeps you in and you read! In my "neck of the woods" we've been having heavy and persistent raining and in keeps me in, and I read. Any excuse will do, eh?

I also am finding myself more and more intolerant of protagonists who do stupid stuff, never learn from their experiences, and are self absorbed. I think it is because I meet too many people who appear to be like than in my every day, face to face, life.

I hope your weather lifts a bit so you are able to have some excellent outdoor time.

>20 maggie1944: And here it's too hot and humid (32°C, 90%) to go outdoors, so guess what? ;)

>20 maggie1944:, >21 hfglen: - sounds like weather always provides a good excuse for reading!

>22 NorthernStar: What other use could weather have?

I've been taking down my front-yard birdfeeder at night - this is why:





Usually they come in the middle of the night, but this one was out there at 8:30 this morning!
These were taken through the front window without using any zoom.

Lovely shots.

We never get them that close to the house—but we don't have a bird feeder to tempt them.

I would leave the bird-feeder! They're cute...

>27 zjakkelien: - They're welcome to what the birds spill on the ground, but if given the chance they will completely empty the feeder overnight - that's a lot of birdseed!

>28 NorthernStar: Perhaps put something else in? I imagine that much bird feed becomes expensive...

Well, I pretty much failed at keeping this up to date over the past year! I read and reread a lot of good books, and a few pretty bad ones.

Latest read was The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - saw lots of good mentions here, and, as expected, I really liked it. Highly recommend it.

Also recently read another of Felix Francis' Dick Francis books - Front Runner. I think he does a good job of continuing his father's books.

Trying to do better in 2016: http://www.librarything.com/topic/210886

>30 NorthernStar: So glad you enjoyed Small angry planet. I was one of those who loved it.

Have a wonderful new year. Lurking along with you.

Today I bought The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for my kindle, so I plan on reading it soon. There are a few other books to go first, though.

>32 Sakerfalcon: - I expect your comments were among those that encouraged me to read it!

>34 SylviaC: Hope you enjoy it!