Morphy Malingers through 2015 - Part 1

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

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

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

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

Pounds Lost:



Books Read in 2015: 2

My best books of 2014 were:

Quiet by Susan Cain
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Bloodchild by Octavia Butler

My best books of 2013 were:

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

My best book of 2012 was:

The Fault in Our Stars by Green, John

My best books of 2011 were:

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

My favorite books from the years before that were:

84, Charing Cross Road by Hanff, Helene
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Smith, Betty
Alas, Babylon by Frank, Pat
All Together Dead by Harris, Charlaine
And Then There Were None by Christie, Agatha
Crystal Singer by McCaffrey, Anne
Daughter of the Empire by Feist, Raymond & Wurts, Janny
Ender's Shadow by Card, Orson Scott
Essential Spirituality by Walsh, Roger
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Fadiman, Anne
Flowers for Algernon by Keyes, Daniel
Heir to the Shadows by Bishop, Anne
Hungry Planet by D'Aluisio, Faith and Menzel, Peter
I am the Messenger by Zusak, Markus
I Thought It Was Just Me by Brown, Brene
Katherine by Seton, Anya
Kushiel's Chosen by Carey, Jacqueline
Little Women by Alcott, Louisa May
Magician: Apprentice by Feist, Raymond
Magician: Master by Feist, Raymond
Making a Literary Life by See, Carolyn
Marley & Me by Grogan, John
Nine Parts of Desire by Brooks, Geraldine
Pride and Prejudice by Austen, Jane
Queen of the Darkness by Bishop, Anne
Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut, Kurt
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by See, Lisa
Stiff by Roach, Mary
Storm Warning by Lackey, Mercedes
Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein, Robert
Sweet Liar by Deveraux, Jude
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie, Sherman
The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl by Reid, Shauna
The Color Purple by Walker, Alice
The Courage to Write by Keyes, Ralph
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Haddon, Mark
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Shaffer, Mary And and Barrows, Annie
The Help by Stockett, Kathryn
The Lovely Bones by Sebold, Alice
The Stand by King, Stephen
To Light a Candle by Lackey, Mercedes and Mallory, James
Urban Shaman by Murphy, C. E.
When Food is Love by Roth, Geneen
White Oleander by Fitch, Janet
World War Z by Brooks, Max

Morphy's Mighty Monthly Reads for 2015 (Green Dragon Group Reads)

January (1001 Fantasy) - A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kinki Hoffman
SPOILERS: http://www.librarything.com/topic/185665
NO SPOILERS: http://www.librarything.com/topic/185664

February (111 Science Fiction) - The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

March (50 Mystery) - A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

April (111 Nonfiction) - A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

May (1001 Fantasy) - Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

June (111 Science Fiction) - Ringworld by Larry Niven

July (50 Mystery) - The Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

August (111 Nonfiction) - 1491 by Charles Mann

September (1001 Fantasy) - Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz

October (111 Science Fiction) - The Crysalids by John Wyndham

November (50 Mystery) - Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers

December (111 Nonfiction) - Krakatoa by Simon Winchester

Group Read Links: http://www.librarything.com/topic/184976

***

The LT Green Dragon Book Club's next meeting is at the Ridgedale Barnes & Noble on (tentatively) Saturday, January 31st at 2pm. We are discussing The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black.

Current Challenges

Completed/Total in List (as of 1/4/2015) - Added 76 books since 8/24/2014

Next book by favorite authors - 32/64 (+2) ("reset" when completed)
Next book in series by secondary authors - 13/47 (+0) ("reset" when completed)
TBR 2007 - 6/7
To Read 2009 - 3/5
2009 TBR List (different one) - 8/16 (+0) (read a book from all my best of lists each year)
2011 TBR Code List - 81/81 DONE
2012 TBR Code List - 72/81 (+0)
2013 TBR Code List - 59/81 (+0)
2014 TBR Code List - 42/81 (+2)
TBR Next - 4/4 DONE
50 Books - 34/50
Misc Books - 11/11 DONE
1001 Fantasy (Green Dragon) - 157/462 (+0)
111 Nonfiction (Green Dragon) - 38/111 (+1)
111 Science Fiction (Green Dragon) - 55/111 (+1)
50 Mystery (Green Dragon) - 29/74 (+1)
50 States - 97/150 (+1)
Around the World in 80 Sleuths - 20/80 (+1)
888 Challenge - 92/95
12 in 12 Category Challenge - 173/207 (+2)
13 in 13 Category Challenge - 34/48 (+0)
Mercedes Lackey - 90/129 (+7)
Complete RAT - 4/4 DONE
Book Crossing Top 100 - 102/117 (+0)
Top 100 Fantasy - 123/209 (+0)

*Other challenges*
One book per month from the Green Dragon lists
One Stephen King per month
American Authors
British Authors

*Possible other challenges because I'm nuts*
A to Z Titles
Catch up on years of published dates in the last 114 years

As of December 2014


visited 24 states (10.6%)
Create your own visited map of The World


visited 42 states (84%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

American Authors Challenge

January: Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
February: Henry James, Daisy Miller or Washington Square
March: Richard Ford, Wildlife
April: Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine or The Round House
May: Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith
June: Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose
July: Ursula K. Le Guin, Gifts
August: Larry McMurtry, Zeke and Ned
September: Flannery O' Connor, A Good Man is Hard to Find
October: Ray Bradbury, The Illustrated Man
November: Barbara Kingsolver, The Bean Trees
December: E.L. Doctorow, World's Fair

British Authors Challenge

January Female: Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger
January Male: Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World

February Female: Sarah Waters, Affinity or The Night Watch
Feburary Male: Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

March Female: Daphne Du Maurier, Jamaica Inn
March Male: China Mieville, Un Lun Dun

April Female: Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber
April Male: W. Somerset Maugham, Cakes and Ale or The Razor's Edge

May Female: Margaret Dabble, The Radiant Way
May Male: Martin Amis, Money

June Female: Beryl Bainbridge, The Bottle Factory Outing
June Male: Anthony Burgess, The End of the World News

July Female: Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway or To the Lighthouse
July Male: B. S. Johnson, ??? (Library doesn't carry.)

August Female: Iris Murdoch, The Bell
August Male: Graham Greene, The Quiet American

September Female: Andrea Levy, Small Island
September Male: Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories

October Female: Helen Dunmore, The Siege
October Male: David Mitchell, Black Swan Green

November Female: Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
November Male: William Boyd, Restless

Holding for 2014 Statistics

Holding because I might think of something else.

Then I do hope you don't mind me intruding to wish you and Mr. Morphy a modicum of health and wealth in the coming times.

Relieved to see you back albeit a tad tardily. xx

Good to see you here, Morphy! I'll be with you on your first two months of your monthly reads, at least. I know last year I lost track of the threads relating to that, even for books I'd read. I've been enjoying your 3 positive things on the former thread and look forward to their continuation here.

Happy New Year Morphy!

I sure hope 2015 is a better year for you than last year. Hope you and Mr. Morphy are both feeling better.

Read your comments on Kindred. Yes, she often writes unpleasant characters, but usually unpleasant in an interesting way. Now you know why I was saying Kindred was her most popular book, but not her best one. There are better books by her out there.

Yay! You made it! I'm enjoying The Coldest Girl in Coldtown so far. :)

Oh, and I LOVE the word "malinger." The first time I saw it was in a manuscript which mentioned a "malingering spirit." I figure she meant either "malign" or "lingering" or maybe she just doesn't know what "malingering" means. But I got a good laugh out of it.

Hmmmm, 'bout time you showed up, missy. :)

I'm looking forward to seeing what you read in 2015!

Following along...starred!

Hey, lady!! Good to see you!
Hugs from Charlie and me!

Dropping my star..

Morphy is here! Whoop! Still sending you good thoughts lady. Looking forward to your gratitude posts.

Dropping my star, Morphy! So glad that you are finally here! Happy Monday!

Wishing you all the best for a happy year of good reading.

And I look forward to your opinion of The coldest girl in Coldtown.

Just joining the flutter...happy to see your new thread.

Yay, your 2015 thread is up! *takes a seat*

Hi Morphy. Dropping by to wish you and MrM a very happy New Year!

Hi Morphy, Happy New Thread. What wonderful snow flakes.

Here you are! Happy new year, Morphy. I just starred you! I love the snow flake thread topper. What a gorgeous picture.

Hi Morphy, happy new thread my dear and I hope that 2015 is good for you and Mr Morphy. I have starred you and look forward to seeing how the year treats you, love and hugs.

Yay, Morphy is here! Here's to a happy 2015 for us all, sweetheart. We could really use a little happy these days!

Stay warm!!!

Morphy, dropping a star and hoping that 2015 will be kinder.

Happy New Year, Morphy - wishing you and yours all the best.

Also following along and wishing you and Mr. M the best in 2015!

Just stopping by to post my good things. I'll answer everyone else's posts tomorrow!

Three Good Things
1. I lost eight pounds since my last weigh in. Whoo hoo!
2. Just picked up The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black and I'm really enjoying it. Can barely put it down.
3. My cheeks are sore from smiling so much. My binge eating group went on an "outing" for fast food. We had a great time at Arby's - laughing and chatting.

8 pounds!! Go, Morphy! Go, Morphy!!

Yeah!!! I like all your three good things! I should start The Coldest Girl in Coldtown soon. Right now I'm reading a "should" novel, Woman of the Iron People. It's a Tiptree award winning novel, written by a local author that I admire, respect and run into at cons a lot, but she doesn't care a hangnail about pacing.

Hooray for eight pounds! You're back on track.

Eight pounds...eight pounds...Whoot! Whoot!!

Just done the conversion; more than 3.6kg. *sigh* I've spent the last six months losing and putting back on the same 1kg. Well done, you!

Whoa, baby, I almost missed finding your new thread but here I am, turning up like a bad penny, to put a star on it!

Happy New Year, dear friend, and I hope we all see much more good fortune!

Yay for losing eight pounds! Go you!

Hey Morphy, you're getting so thin I couldn't find your thread!! But now that I have, you're starred! Congrats with your continued weight loss success!

>8 PaulCranswick: Dear, you could never intrude. I hope 2015 is fabulous for you and yours.

>9 ronincats: I'm going to try to make it easier by posting each month's links when I get them up rather than editing the old post only.

>10 Whisper1: Make your year be filled with love and laughter!

>11 cammykitty: Well, I hope that they aren't as unlikeable as in Kindred as I adored Bloodchild and want to read more Butler to love.

>12 The_Hibernator: >13 The_Hibernator: I'm enjoying The Coldest Girl in Coldtown too! So much that I didn't want to put it down yesterday to get my tasks done.

For my verb of the year, I went through a list of them that started with "m." MrMorphy helped me decided on "malinger." Hmm, I wonder what that suggests he thinks of me? :D

>14 drneutron: Hey, hey, hey! I made it within the first week! And you know me, I never post before the first of the year anyway.

>15 Kassilem: I'm looking forward to it, too! So far I've started with a kid's book, a book that I started in August last year and finally finished, and now I'm reading The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and have to be sure I don't pick it up before I get my to do list worked on first!

>16 Berly: >18 Helenoel: >19 luvamystery65: >20 Crazymamie: Thanks for stopping by!

>17 scaifea: I'm way behind on threads. I thought about starting last night and went looking for yours - over 200 posts. Yikes! I put off starting until today. LOL.

Hello Morphy,
A very Happy 2015 and congrats to a new thread. I do love the snowflakes at the top.

An WHOOOP FOR having lost 8 pound since last weigh in. Well done! I am so much looking forward following your reading this year again.

I saw on your old thread that Mr. Morphy is doing quite well since he had his surgery - so hooray for that as well.

>21 Sakerfalcon: I've read just a few chapters, but it's really pulling me in.

>22 laytonwoman3rd: Love the blue butterflies!

>24 humouress: >27 johnsimpson: >28 LauraBrook: >29 AuntieClio: >30 Dejah_Thoris: >31 jolerie: >38 maggie1944: Make your year be filled with love and laughter!

>25 Ameise1: >26 cameling: Last year I did pictures of me growing up. This year will be themed by month. I'm glad you liked it!

>33 scaifea: >35 SylviaC: >36 Berly: >37 humouress: >39 lunacat: >40 Carmenere: Thanks! It was a nice kick off for the year.

>34 cammykitty: I think you should start it right now, too!

>42 drachenbraut23: Actually, his surgery is this Friday. He is doing well though, all things considered.

I'm a little late to the shindig but happy new thread, Morphy!

>41 Morphidae: Have to admit that I am struggling with your thread title. Silly of me, it is still YOUR place and I want to visit you. Too many people think malinger in relation to some of the health issues you've had such as depression and anything at all causing a headache or fatigue. I get angry every time I see Morphy and malinger in the same line. I'll get over it.

I wish a splendid new year filled with good health, prosperity and joy. And lots of good reading.

Congratulations on the good things you've been finding in your life. The unexpected funds from the pension and getting back on the weight loss wagon both seem to be rather big deals to me, but lovely to see much to be grateful for.

Will MrMorphy sport a patch or will he be able to have a glass eye? I read recently somewhere on LT that there is a system for learning pirate speak if he wanted to practice up before Friday.

{{{Morphy}}}

Congrats! Coldest Girl in Coldtown was a great book. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

>44 MickyFine: Thanks for visiting!

>45 MDGentleReader: Awww. Don't get yourself too upset about the thread title. It might help to know that I was surprised when looking it up after I posted it of it's "main" meaning. I'm using it in the "informal" meaning of "goofing off." So it should be read as "Morphy Goofs Off through 2015" and is meant as a humorous thing.

Does anyone else thing of "malinger" as a bad term? If so, I'll change it.

>46 Kassilem: Oh, it was so hard to put down at lunch!

>47 Morphidae: Oh, well, goofing off is an excellent thing for you to do in 2015. I'll try to adjust my reaction accordingly.

If you could just see me - see malinger, look stern, relax into happy smile, look stern... Ack.

Eight pounds, well done my dear, hope you are having a good Tuesday.

Well, I don't mind your title at all. But a "malingerer", in military parlance, always meant someone who went to sick call to get out of doing what he was scheduled to do, like maybe digging a latrine. Cf. M.A.S.H. And in my daily work, malingering is used to refer to someone who is "milking" an injury to get extra time off, insurance benefits, or to bump up the value of a legal action for compensation. Goofing off with a purpose, you might say.

>32 Morphidae:: Yay! Three Good Things continues. It's hard to be down in the dumps when you have such good things in your life. We all just need to look around and be amazed at our wonderful worlds. I plan to be here off and on, Morphy. I'll try to think of something to say so you know when I'm around. Happy New Year!

Hooray for the weight loss, Morphy! Very cool!

Three Good Things
1. Maia woke us up in time last night to put her outside to potty instead of her having accidents in her kennel.
2. (Name) Animal Hospital did their usual wonderful job. Everyone from the receptionist to the tech to the vet is personable, eager to be helpful, kind, and knowledgeable. They bend over backwards to make it as easy for us as possible financially as well.
3. The first episode of the newest season of Master Chef Jr. was on. Fun!

Yeah Maia!!! I downloaded the audio book of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown but can't get it to work on my new nook??? I'm waiting for a day when I can swing by the library and ask the librarians for instructions. It's an overdrive thing, I'm sure.

I am enjoying your three good things. :)

Hi Morphy, it looks the the year has gotten off to a positive start for you and Mr. M. I am dropping my star and looking forward to following along again this year. I have already taken a BB here as your praise of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown makes it a instant addition to my wishlist.

Congrats on your 2015 thread and on your 3-good-thing posts, also on your weight loss! Yay you!

Three Good Things
1. I met my new psychiatrist and I like him. He seems knowledgeable, steady, and while he has lots of ideas to help me, he isn't making a lot of changes at once. In fact, all he's doing for now is increasing the dose of my Zoloft a bit.
2. Two in one: First, I reached out to a friend during a panic attack - which I've never done before. Second, she stayed on the phone and talked me through it. Afterward she said I could call her anytime I needed.
3. Finished The Coldest Girl in Coldtown which I really liked.*

*But ARGH! the ending! It's a standalone? NoooOoooOooooo!

And it's a YA? Really? As I was reading it and the gore factor kept rising, I thought, "I thought I heard this was YA, I must have been mistaken." But then I looked it up after I was done and sure enough, it's YA. Again, I have to say, REALLY?

>48 MDGentleReader: That makes me smile. :D

>49 johnsimpson: Thanks! I did!

>50 laytonwoman3rd: Meh. Well, if one more person gives a thumb down, I'll change it on my next thread.

>51 Donna828: >55 rosylibrarian: I hope you have a fabulous new year filled with love and laughter! I hope to continue Three Good Things throughout the year. My thought is that it will help improve my mood. *

*And daaaang, it's gotta be better than the Depression Zone that was my threads last year!

>52 Crazymamie: Thank you! Now if I can just keep it up.

>54 cammykitty: I hope you can get it fixed soon. If you can't get to the library, if you are in Hennepin, you can chat with a tech online, I think. I know you can talk to a librarian.

>56 DeltaQueen50: As you can see in >58 Morphidae:, I quite enjoyed it!

>57 Storeetllr: Thank you. Thankyouverymuch. :D

I imagine tomorrow will be busy getting everything in train for Mr. Murphy's surgery Friday, so I want to send you my best wishes and positive vibrations for everything to go very well and smoothly.

^^^What Roni said! {{{hugs}}} and ~~~positive vibes~~~

>59 Morphidae: Oh, I wouldn't change it (I'm not sure you can, without starting a whole new thread)...what's wrong with "goofing off with a purpose"? I'm sure that's a therapeutic way to spend time. Great news about the new doctor, and the friend with the willing ear. having someone to talk to who knows how to listen and respond appropriately is golden.

>59 Morphidae: I'm afraid I have to give the thumbs-down on 'malinger'. It has bad connotations to me, and is defined as

'to pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness (as to avoid duty or work)'

And I don't think you pretend OR exaggerate.

I've never heard the word used without a pejorative intention.

Then again, I wasn't really allowed to give in to having minor chronic conditions as a child, which was to the good, I think, but it might color my feelings about the word.

I'm really loving your Three Things, Morphy! It's making me want to do my own.

>58 Morphidae: - #2 took a LOT of courage. Congratulations. #3 is also good news all the way around. Too many changes and you won't know what helped.

>59 Morphidae: I think gratitude helps everything, I think. Last year was a tough one. It may not fell like it to you, but you really handled it well.

I hope tomorrow goes well. This is one of those times when I think there should be a ceremony of some sort. Something that recognizes the huge loss of such a vital body part and the huge joy that the cancer is OUTTA THERE!

You are both in my thoughts and prayers.

{{{{Morphy}}}}

I hope all goes as well as can be expected for MrMorphy tomorrow, and for you as well. Know we'll be thinking of you both.

Good wishes to MrMorphy for his surgery tomorrow.

You and Mr. Morphy will be in my thoughts tomorrow, in a very positive way. May all be well.

Stopping in to let you know that I am thinking about you and MrMorphy. Keeping you both in our hearts and in our prayers.

Morphy give Mr. Morphy my best. I'll be keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers.

Three Good Things
1. Met with my therapist (as a therapist) for the first time. He's the therapist for the binge eating group so I knew him from that. He's straightforward and present and future-focused. I like that.
2. I have had eight binge free days.
3. Everything is set for MrMorphy to have his surgery tomorrow - his ride, someone to get his prescription filled, my PCA, stuff that needed to be done in the house, grocery shopping, laundry has been dropped off, etc.

>71 Morphidae: These are three VERY GOOD things Morphy.

My thoughts and prayers are winging their way to you and MrMorphy.

Thinking of Mr. Morphy and you, Morphy...

MrMorphy will be having his eye removed at 10:15am CST today. Please keep him in your thoughts and, if you say them, prayers, today.

He seems to be in a good mood this morning despite not being able to have his coffee or to eat anything!

Sending all the positive mojo that I can muster, Morphy. Keeping the both of you in my thoughts and prayers. The good mood is an excellent sign.

>75 Morphidae: Sending prayers. *hugs*

>75 Morphidae: He must be relieved that this is finally happening and will soon be over, so he can get on with the healing. Someone will be with you today, I hope? Besides all of us, I mean.

Thinking of you both today!

I've been keeping you and MrMorphy in my thoughts and prayers. I hope the surgery goes smoothly and that he heals quickly.

Prayers are sent! Wishing Mr. M a calm and smooth recovery!

Morphy, glad you found someone that you trust enough to talk to when you are in that state. Must help tremendously. And I know what you mean about finding a good doctor. I have depression and have gone through a string of them. Then I followed one from clinic to clinic for awhile until he started working in a locked hospital ward. I wasn't willing to do what it would take to follow him then. ;)

I got The Coldest Girl in Coldtown to work the following day. I was a little skeptical of doing it audio because I tend to fall asleep on those and then I don't know my place, but overdrive has a sleep timer!!! So I set it to go off before I'm off and I really like the reader. The voice for Gavriel is creepy sexy. Is she a ya writer or not is a common criticism of Holly Black. I think the check out statistics in the libraries over the country would answer that. The Tithe series was super popular with the YA crowd in it's day. It's been forgotten now, but that's pretty much because of the nature of YA marketing. New shiny thing. Even The Hunger Games is already subsiding a bit, mostly because they've all read it long enough ago that they don't feel the need to talk about it anymore. Well, not much anyway. Not like it was.

Fingers crossed all going well with Mr. M, and you're doing OK.

Good news! I spoke with the nurse about an hour ago and she said, "(MrMorphy's) drinking coffee and water and eating a fiber bar. He's happy as a clam." He called me about five or ten minutes ago. He's on his way home and talking a mile a minute. Can general anesthesia cause hyperness? LOL.

Anesthesia CAN hype you up. So can having the surgery over and being on your way home to a good woman.

Yay! I'm so glad to hear that it's over with. Hope he has a rapid recuperation and adjustment to his new visual field.

Oh! So happy (and relieved) that all went well for MrM!

So glad to hear everything went smoothly, Morphy!

>84 Morphidae: Really happy to hear he's up and moving! Here's hoping for a speedy recovery and adjustment!

Yay, so glad to hear it went well!

So glad to hear everything went well! Praying for quick and smooth recovery/adjustment.

I'm glad to hear everything went well. Don't be surprised if the anaesthesia makes him a bit strange over the next couple of days - I had exhaustion but insomnia after the few I've had. And some seriously weird dreams.

Yay! I am so glad it went smoothly and successfully. Onwards, surely.

I am also glad you are finding some solid support for yourself. Way to go, girl!

I remember the weeks after the cataract surgery when my brain had to adjust to my eyes no longer being near sighted, but rather far sighted. I don't know if the adjustment for Mr. Morphy will be similar but I do remember it took a while to realize the adjustment was a bit slow, and I would forget that I needed to give the eyes a chance to settle into the new reality. This might be something for you both to remember. "Time takes time....." if you know what I mean.

But I am so glad that finally a forward step has been taken. Whoo hoo!

hugs, and love, to you both, and Maia, too.

K.

Excellent news, Morphy!!

ARRRGH! I'm going to have to tie him to a chair. He's not supposed to do ANYTHING today and tomorrow. He is supposed to plant his butt on a chair and leave it there to prevent bleeding. "No, you cannot use the back stairs to go out to have a smoke. Go out the front.*" "No, you are not to pick up ANYTHING until you see the doctor next week." "No, not even the water jugs for coffee. I will do it." "GO SIT DOWN." I swear I'm going to sit on him!

*No stairs.

Use duck duct tape.

My father just had cataract surgery yesterday, while my uncle had his gallbladder removed earlier this week, and they're both not supposed to do much of anything for a while (although my father's restrictions aren't quite as strong as MrMorphy's). My aunt was lamenting how it would be so hard for my uncle to just sit there doing nothing, while my mother said that it wouldn't be a problem for my father at all. He made sure to check several times with the doctor and nurses to confirm that he really shouldn't be shovelling snow for the rest of the season ;)

Glad it's OVER and all went well, Morphy! I second the duct tape solution.

Glad it's OVER and all went well, Morphy! I second the duct tape solution.

Duct tape is a genius solution. I remember the hyperactiveness after a GA as well. He'll keep going and going until he suddenly crashes! Maybe you can slip a sedative into his drink ;)

:) Ah those good old recovery days. I'm glad all went well! Best

WOOHOO!! So glad to hear that it all went so well!

How's the duct taping going?

I'm looking forward to following your books!

Audio book? a really long one?

I think I watched TV, but that might not suit hime.

LOL! So Mr. Morphy is a bad patient. I've got a friend that was recently on valium for vertigo, super bad vertigo. She couldn't shut up when she was on the stuff! So, be patient with Mr. Morphy but that doesn't mean let him do stuff! No, he can not go make his own coffee!

"Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped."

Three-ish Good Things
1. MrMorphy came through the eye surgery with flying colors.
2. T took MrMorphy to surgery and brought him back home.
3. C ran several errands for us including the pharmacy, vet, and laundromat.
4. L brought us dinner.
5. V, the PCA who came today, was a delight as always. We got the goulash all cooked and packed up into the refrigerator.
6. V's aunt, A, will be coming tomorrow as my PCA. She was only supposed to be here a half-hour to learn what to do. Instead, she stayed for 2 1/2 hours and helped V clean the house.

What a blessing to have the support of community. Continual prayers for Mr. M and his recovery!

>107 Morphidae: Thumbs up for all those wonderful things. Morphy I wish you a relaxed weekend.

Double the blessings, double the fun!

Take good care of yourself, and the "hubby".

love, and hugs, flying virtually to you.

Oh my goodness, such a flurry of activity since my last visit. So many highs and lows to read, I can only imagine what your & Mr. Morphy's emotions have been through. Anyway, I'm glad the surgery is over and all went well. So nice to have alphabets around to ease the struggle. What a relief they bring! Hope you both have a restful weekend!

Glad you've got Double3 people/things to be grateful for! I told you 2015 was going to be an improvement over last year.

I'm very relieved that things went so smoothly for Mr M. Is he done with treatment now that the surgery is over, or will he need something like radiation?

Cool! I'm so glad things are working out for you.

Happy New Year, Morphy!
Sounds like it has started off very busy for you and Mr Morphy! Glad to hear his surgery went well. Hopefully he can take it easy for a bit!

1. Watched Captain America: Winter Soldier with MrMorphy.
2. A, my PCA today, was an absolute pleasure. She had more initiative than V and I didn't have to keep coming up with things for her to do. Plus she had an even sunnier personality. Not that I thought that was possible!
3. Due to A, I have a very clean kitchen!

Oh, yay for a clean kitchen, especially when someone else does the cleaning!

How's the Mr. feeling today?

I'm glad to hear that things are going so well, Morphy! Woohoo!

Happy Sunday Morphy and Mr Morphy.

Checking out the new thread, Morphy. Glad to hear that everything went well with Mr Morphy's surgery!

Hi Morphy, I was very happy to read that Mr. M's surgery went well and he is back home with you. I found The Coldest Girl in Coldtown at a reduced price at Amazon so it is now sitting on my Kindle, patiently awaiting my attention.

So happy for both of you that surgery went well and is all behind you now! What a relief!

Any chance "A" is out for hire? I could use a very clean kitchen!

Dear Morphy I am so pleased that the New Year seems to have gotten off to such a good start. Fingers crossed that it is all onwards and upwards from here.
I really like your "three good things today" segment. Very positive.

A quiet day so we're going with generalities rather than specifics...

Three Good Things
1. A husband who adores me.
2. A dog I adore.
3. A roof over our heads.

>124 Morphidae: Those are, indeed, three VERY good things.

Delurks to say Hi Morphy!

So pleased to read all of your good things! I hope MrMorphy is behaving himself and that you are enjoying your lovely clean kitchen.

>124 Morphidae: I am thankful for those things too. We're lucky. :)

Three Good Things
1. Lost 6 pounds this week.
2. Ken stuffed my WeCab statements while I was at group.
3. Had a Tai Chi lesson at group tonight. Second time I've had her teach and I really like her and it.

I'll do my best to answer posts tomorrow. I've been swamped with volunteer work.

6 pounds!! WooHoo!!

>129 Morphidae:
4. You and MrMorphy made it through those 48 hours without him moving enough to cause bleeding and you needing to sit on him! And he is still crazy about you!

Hugs.

I've gotten as far as learning and doing pretty regularly exercises one is supposed to do before Tai Chi. They really loosen up my joints well. Someday maybe I'll get further along in the book and actually do some Tai Chi :-).

That's a good list!

How's the weather? If it's this cold here, Minnesota has got to be worse. Are you and MrM and Maia snuggling together to keep warm?

I have been doing my preliminary warm-up exercises with an eye to starting to practice the Tai Chi, too. The warm-up exercises are on a CD which I can play on my TV, and they are generally warm up, and breathing, and maintaining some general flexibility. Takes about 5 minutes. I love it.

I hope you are able to continue the practice and that you will fall in love with Tai Chi, too!

Wow, it's been six days since I've responded to posts. Sorry about that!

>60 ronincats: >61 Storeetllr: >65 MDGentleReader: >66 lunacat: >67 SylviaC: >68 laytonwoman3rd: >69 Crazymamie: >70 luvamystery65: >73 Storeetllr: >74 scaifea: >76 Crazymamie: >77 rosylibrarian: >79 _Zoe_: >80 Sakerfalcon: >81 jolerie: >83 lunacat: >108 jolerie: Thank you for all the good wishes, thoughts and prayers! They seemed to have worked in spades as MrMorphy has been doing fantastic. He had a slightly down day yesterday but otherwise has been in high spirits. He's left to get his bandage off this morning.

>62 laytonwoman3rd: >63 ffortsa: I've decided to have a new "M" verb every thread!

>64 LauraBrook: Great! I love to inspire others.

>72 luvamystery65: Yes, they are. I might not always have such specific things but they are all good!

>78 laytonwoman3rd: I think that's a large part of his good mood. After two years of dealing with this, it's finally "over." I mean, we know he still has to have exams once or twice a year, but the cancer is out of his eye.

>82 cammykitty: Have you read Tithe? If so, what did you think of it?

>85 laytonwoman3rd: What? Who? Whatcha talkin' about, Willis? ;)

>86 SylviaC: >90 _Zoe_: >91 bell7: >93 maggie1944: I think he's going to adjust quickly if not already. He's already "showing me" how he can aim and pour coffee and such things with no problem. He "practiced" for weeks before the surgery.

>87 Storeetllr: >88 MickyFine: >89 rosylibrarian: >94 Crazymamie: >101 Kassilem: I'm flabbergasted by how well he's been doing. Not at all what I expected. He's had hardly any pain and has had tons of energy. He takes OTC pain relief during the day and one Norco at night.

>92 lunacat: The only thing odd is how much energy he's had. He's normally a rather lazy git. Ha!

>96 Crazymamie: >98 ronincats: >106 Storeetllr: I've threatened him with it several times, believe me.

>97 _Zoe_: We're lucky, we have two neighbors who will help snowblow and shovel.

>100 lunacat: I'm still waiting for the crash. LOL!

>102 scaifea: I keep getting "yes, mam"ed.

>103 GeorgiaDawn: I have to get my 2014 statistics finished up before I can start posting 2015. I have so much volunteer work to get done this week it will most likely be next week before I can do that.

>104 maggie1944: Nope. He's been on his computer and reading ebooks just like normal. The only time it bothers him is when he is switching from one device to another and the remaining eye "sweeps" so to speak.

>105 cammykitty: I do not get between MrMorphy and his coffee. Ever.

>109 Ameise1: Thanks.

I am glad you know better than to get between a true caffeine addict (fiend?) and his fix of a cuppa. I am not very tolerant in this regard, myownself.

Happy Tuesday, girl friend!

>110 maggie1944: I'm doing my best!

>111 Carmenere: Ha! The alphabets, I like that.

>112 cammykitty: I'm determined to make it so no matter what actually happens.

>113 streamsong: Nope, he's all done. Well, except that in six to eight weeks he'll get an artificial eye.

>114 drneutron: >118 Dejah_Thoris: Thank you. So are we!

>115 ChelleBearss: I just keep threatening him with duct tape.

>117 scaifea: >120 alcottacre: He's doing awesome. He should be getting his bandage off just about now.

>119 johnsimpson: Thanks!

>121 DeltaQueen50: I hope you like it. I was a bit startled by the violence in what is said to be YA but otherwise it's a good book.

>122 LauraBrook: Ha! "A" is certainly out for hire. She's a PCA that we're paying a pretty penny for.

>123 PaulCranswick: My intention is to have a good attitude no matter what occurs in our lives.

>125 laytonwoman3rd: Indeed they are.

>126 Berly: Hello. Thanks for delurking! *waves*

>127 Sakerfalcon: For the most part he is. He listens anyway. Grumbles but listens.

>128 rosylibrarian: We certainly are.

>130 scaifea: I like the direction better than the one it was going last year!

>131 MDGentleReader: He just got back from his doctor appointment. The doctor is very pleased and took him off most restrictions. As long as he doesn't "strain" he can do anything he likes. That's basically everything except getting my wheelchair into the truck. Whoo hoo!

He looks like someone punched him in the eye. It's all swollen and black and blue.

>132 SylviaC: It's so bloody cold. One day it was so cold I had to wait to open the mail. When I first touched an envelope, it "burnt" my fingers. We have 30s (F) coming up soon though. I'm looking forward to Thursday! Come on, January thaw!

>133 maggie1944: It will be some time in the future when I can take classes but I'll be putting in on my bucket list.

>134 Morphidae: Happy Tiw's Day!

Talk to Me Tuesday

Not so much an essay type question this time as a survey. The first message information can be found by going to your Profile, Stats/Memes, under Social click on Groups and Talk, under Trivia click on First message.

When did you join LibraryThing? Oct 18, 2006

When was your first message? Oct 24, 2006

What group was the message in? Book Talk

What was the subject line of the thread? "classic children's books"

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? n/a

What was your first message? "Which of these would be good for kids in 1st grade? They read very well."

OK, I'll join in :)

When did you join LibraryThing? Jun 21 2008

When was your first message? Oct 3 2008

What group was the message in? Historical Fiction

What was the subject line of the thread? Historical Fiction Message Board

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? n/a

What was your first message? It was quite long but it started "I am so glad to have found this group, I'm always on the look-out for new historical fiction!"

When did you join LibraryThing? January 20, 2007

When was your first message? December 22, 2007

What group was the message in? The Green Dragon

What was the subject line of the thread? "SantaThing Gifts"

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? n/a

What was your first message? " Nothing here yet, unless my husband intercepted it - Post office closes early Monday- will hope it makes it. -But Christmas lasts twelve days and I can survive with some of the excitement coming on the later ones"

When did you join LibraryThing? May 29, 2007

When was your first message? June 5, 2007

What group was the message in? Portland Readers

What was the subject line of the thread? Welcome to Portland Readers

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? I had just joined LT and created a group called Portland Readers because I was living in Portland, OR and was looking for fellow book lovers. The group has since lain dormant - someone last posted in 2012. I wish there were a way to turn over the admin rights since I now live in South Carolina.

What was your first message? "Hello! Thanks for taking an interest in this group. If anyone has anything to post of interest, like a good book they've picked up, then please feel free to share."

When did you join LibraryThing? December 3, 2005

When was your first message? July 28, 2006

What group was the message in? The Black Orchid (A Nero Wolfe Group)

What was the subject line of the thread? The Black Orchid Message Board

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? Reading Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories

What was your first message?
"Chiming in for the first time. Thanks for the invitation!
I have a priceless (to me) photocopy of an article from the Journal of Modern Literature (March 1983), entitled 'For the Record; Rex Stout and William Faulkner's Nobel Prize Speech'. The article was written by one of my college English professors (several years after I had taken courses from him). Now if you look at my LT catalog, you will see that I am a devotee of William Faulkner so this article is just my cup of tea. Professor Rife notes that the phrase "the last ding-dong of doom" appearing in Faulkner's Nobel acceptance speech may have been "borrowed" from Stout, who used it in The League of Frightened Men in 1935, where Wolfe says "this vote is not the last dingdong of doom." Wolfe further makes reference to the destiny of the human race, which is also the famous topic of Faulkner's speech. This is my ultimate weapon in any argument that begins with disparaging remarks about the quality and worth of mystery novels!"

Okay, fun survey, Morphy! Glad things are going well there.

When did you join LibraryThing? Oct 24, 2007

When was your first message? Oct 25, 2007

What group was the message in? Read YA Lit

What was the subject line of the thread? What are your favorite YA Fantasy books

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? n/a

What was your first message? "I see a few new names here, but lots of favorites. If you liked Perilous Gard you'd love The Sherwood Ring, also by Elizabeth Marie Pope. If you like Abarat, you are also likely to enjoy Garth Nix's The Keys to the Kingdom series. No one has yet mentioned two of my favorites, The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, and The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. Don't judge the latter series by the awful movie that is out now. I love the Earthsea series, Diana Wynne Jones, Robin McKinley and Patricia Wrede as well."

Edited to remove italics.

Hey, folks, I'm loving the responses and could I ask a favor? Can you not use italics? I'm finding them hard to read. Thanks!

Oooh, this is excellent!

When did you join LT? April 4, 2008

When was your first message? Feb 18, 2009 (almost a year later!)

What group was the message in? Book Talk

What was the subject line of the thread? LauraBrook's 999 Challenge

What was your first message?
I'm still in the middle of picking my categories, but I'm trying to choose them based on books I have either already read this year or books that I already own.
A. Contemplate a Classic
B. Children/Teen
C. Travel Lit
D. Unfinished Business
E. Guilty Pleasures
F. Mystery & Suspense
G. Biography & Autobiography

This is a lot of fun!

Italics banished!

When did you join LibraryThing? May 29, 2007

When was your first message? July 2, 2007

What group was the message in? What Are You Reading Now?

What was the subject line of the thread? How Many Books Do You Read At a Time?

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? n/a

What was your first message? "I usually have at least 3 books going at once. I'm trying to work through all the books that I own but haven't read (a tall order), so one of those, plus one from some book list or another (I love marking things off lists - right now it's 100 Banned Books (my best friend and I are reading through these together)), plus one from the library."

(Oh, how young and silly was I then; only three books at once!? Silly, silly girl...)

Oh yikes I had to look at my statistics to figure out the dates and such...

When did you join LibraryThing? November 16, 2007

When was your first message? April 18, 2008

What group was the message in? Librarians Who LibraryThing

What was the subject line of the thread? Funny Requests from Patrons

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? n/a

What was your first message?
"I've had many patrons come in asking where the "bibliography" section is.

Also, when World Without End first came out, I fielded requests for "The Ends of the Earth," and other variations."

When did you join LibraryThing? Nov 22, 2008

When was your first message? Feb 28, 2009, 9:27pm

What group was the message in? Book talk

What was the subject line of the thread? Anyone know of any teen fantasy books?

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? n/a

What was your first message? The Harper Hall books are less complex than Dragonquest They provide a good introduction to the Pern series. It would probably also be more interesting to read Dragonflight before Dragonquest.

When did you join LibraryThing? Mar 30, 2007

When was your first message? Sep 16, 2007

What group was the message in? Genealogy@LT

What was the subject line of the thread? Should I catalogue ephemera

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? N/A

What was your first message? I vote "yes." I have several pamphlets and privately published items cataloged in my collection. I noticed one person cataloging individual issues of journals so I've done that with a few issues myself. I'm not sure I'll keep it up because LibraryThing thinks they are all the same, even if I include the different volumes and issue numbers in the title. I saw someone else cataloging the individual articles in the journals.

Three Good Things
1. MrMorphy got his eye bandage off today. The doctor was very pleased with his healing and MrMorphy is off any restrictions except he is not allowed to "strain." This means he can do everything but lift my wheelchair. He has another follow-up appointment in a week.
2. I'm enjoying David Mitchell's writing style in The Bone People. The stories are odd though. None of them feel totally complete. I'm hoping by the end of the book there is some type of wrap-up, something that pulls them all together.
3. I'm grateful for our medical clinic system. It's amazing. No matter which doctor we go to, s/he has our medical history. We have good doctors who are kind and knowledgeable (for the most part.) Plus they have an amazing financial assistance program.

>150 Morphidae: It's good to hear positive impressions of the health care system. Kind and knowledgeable ought to be the norm, and that has really been our experience for the most part over the years, with a couple sorry exceptions. Yay! for good healing, too.

Glad Mr. Morphy is doing well. Phew!

>146 scaifea: Amber, we joined LT on the very same day! Awesome!

Hooray for Mr. Morphy's good appt. with the doctor. I'm glad he is healing quickly, and can do just about everything he wants to do!

I hope your are feeling well, today, too!

>150 Morphidae: Very glad to hear such good things about the health care MrM is receiving, given the earlier disaster. And yay for the doctor's good report on his progress!

When did you join LibraryThing? August 14, 2010

When was your first message? October 29, 2011

What group was the message in? ReadaThing

What was the subject line of the thread? What will you be reading for the November 100 Hour ReadaThing?

What was your first message? Probably I'll start reading The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy. I've already read The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy from "The L.A. Quartet" and the three other books are still waiting to be read.
I'll be reading at home in the evenings and at the weekend. In the daytime of Friday and Monday I have to work, so there won't be time left for reading.

This was kind of fun to look up :)

When did you join LibraryThing? Sep 28, 2010

When was your first message? Oct 7, 2010

What group was the message in? Writer-readers

What was the subject line of the thread? Choosing Names for Characters

What was your first message? I write Fantasy, and most of the time they just come to me (ex: Dreven, Ambrele, Chestica) but there are times were I'm as a loss and use Seventh Sanctum - http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php Even if I don't find anything there, it helps to give me ideas.

When did you join LibraryThing? Dec 1, 2006

When was your first message? March 13, 2007

What group was the message in? Frequently Asked Questions

What was the subject line of the thread? Copy Cataloging Data

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? How to enter multiple books with almost the same information.

What was your first message? On the Add Books tab, down below where you can select where to search, there's a link for Add a book manually. That will take you to the Manual Add page.
Browser back - that is, use the back arrow on your browser to go back to the page (rather than using the link and having it refresh).
Using Manual Add does mean you have to type everything in, but the original asker had to do that anyway. And for subsequent volumes you only have to type in what's different.

Heh. My very first message was explaining to someone how to do something...

Glad to hear that MrM is doing well! I like your 3 Things rule.

When did you join LibraryThing? Mar 14, 2009

When was your first message? Jul 28, 2012, 9:25pm

What group was the message in? 75 Group 2012

What was the subject line of the thread? Joe's Book Cafe 17

What was your first message? Delurking for a moment to say what a treat it is to find Joe's Cafe this past week. Been a member for a few years but not active at all. :/ Came back and this is one of the first places I found. How delightful y'all are. Went back to the first cafe and winding my way through. My TBR pile is towering now and all the food and beverages I want to try, my oh my! Heading out but will be back.

I always thought my first message was to Val! I knew Val and Joe were the first where I chimed in. Now I know for sure.

I'm glad Mr. Morphy is doing so well. Hang in there Morphy. You are a rocking!

When did you join LT? June 13, 2007

When was your first message? June 13, 2007

What group was the message in? Science Fiction Fans

What was the subject line of the thread? The fantasy that science fiction fans read...

What was your first message: Just finished The Music of Razors on an airplane ride for the same reason VisibleGhost is interested. Neil Gaimon's blurb was pretty well dead on. Really good book, even if the ending feels a little scattered.

Swamped until Friday so won't get to answering posts until then. But meanwhile...

Three Good Things
1. Maia got groomed and is all clipped and pretty again.
2. D from the vet/groomer picked Maia up at our house and dropped her off.
3. MrMorphy is so joyful he did a little butt wiggle dance today. Something I haven't seen him do in years!

A butt wiggle dance?!! Whoohoo!! ; )

>161 Morphidae: A butt wiggle - awesome. Getting rid of those cancer cells loosened him right up!

3 cheers for D from the vet/groomer.

{{{Morphy}}}

Awesome Three things list, Morphy! Also, I think we're gonna need a video of the Butt Wiggle Dance...

>153 rosylibrarian: Marie: Cool! We're twins!!

When did you join LT? May 23, 2007

When was your first message? Dec 24. 2010

What group was the message in? Talk About LibraryThing

What was the subject line of the thread? SantaThing's Arrived

What was your first message: Nothing yet in California. I think they are really behind. I just got a box from the Post Office, that their website said was out for delivery on Monday.

Merry Christmas to all you 'Thingers out there, anyway.

------

I was really quiet on the threads, until 2013 really, but you can see it took me three years til my first post.

When did you join LT? June 14, 2007

When was your first message? June 18, 2007

What group was the message in? Seattlites

What was the subject line of the thread? Books on Seattle's History

What was your first message: I just started reading Native Seattle by Coll Thrush and so far I am intrigued.

Hi Morphy, great news that Mr. M is doing well. I love your regular postings of 'Three Good Things'. And now to answer your fun survey:

When did you join LT? June 24, 2008

When was your first message? October 5, 2008

What group was the message in? Historical Fiction

What was the subject line of the thread? The Religion by Tim Willocks

What was your first message: "This is my first time posting to this site but I read The Religion recently and loved it. I am sure that I saw somewhere that it is the first book in a planned series of three. I sure hope so, I would love to follow these characters further!"

Three Good Things
1. Had a good session with my therapist who helped me work through how I would handle myself at the board meeting tomorrow - it may be challenging.
2. Had a nice conversation with the program director of the organization. I told her how much she meant to me and that I was going to be taking a backseat tomorrow. I'm not going to get involved in any debates.
3. Had fun playing QuizUp. Retook first place in the state for January in Disney Songs. Take that! I'm in seventh place overall in the state. *struts*

QuizUp? Must investigate. Congratulations anyway, even if I don't know exactly what it's about...if it makes you strut, it's all GOOD.

Great news about MrM AND you and glad things are on the upswing. That "Three Good Things" exercise looks like it works well, and I am going to start doing that every day too.

I love these kinds of memes, and it was fun to look up my first message:

When did you join LibraryThing? Aug 16, 2006

When was your first message? Aug 18, 2006

What group was the message in? Historical Fiction Message Board

What was the subject line of the thread? Historical Fiction

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? What kind of historical fiction we like.

What was your first message?

"Hi, everyone! I too love reading most eras of historical fiction: Ancient Roman, Greek, Macedonian, Egyptian, and Babylonian, Dark Ages, Medieval, Renaissance, to about the turn of the 20th century.

"As a child, I read The Robe by Lloyd Douglas, Dear and Glorious Physician by Taylor Caldwell, and The Agony and the Ecstacy by Irving Stone & have been hooked ever since. Sharon Kay Penman is a favorite author, esp. her Sunne in Splendour. I also liked Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom and am looking forward to reading the next 2 in the trilogy. I loved Edith Parteger's The Heaven Tree trilogy but couldn't get into Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth. I've read & reread I Claudius and Claudius the God. Did anyone read The Passion of Artimisia by Susan Vreeland or The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips? Both were really good too. Over the years, I've also enjoyed reading Mary Renault, Mary Stewart, Gore Vidal, and Colleen McCullough. I'm sure there are more, but I don't want to write a novel here. :D"

>168 Morphidae: QuizUp is fun. Plus, I cohost monthly pub quiz that my library does in a local pub and we often borrow questions for our general knowledge category.

Three Good Things
1. I made it through the board meeting - there were no conflicts. What a relief.
2. I love swiss mushroom chicken sandwiches. Had one for supper.
3. I'm watching the season opener of Glee and it's cracking me up. Santana rocks. She's so deliciously mean.

Whoops. It's not the season opener! Thought it seemed like I was missing a lot.

>172 Morphidae: Morphy, could you please explain me what a swiss mushroom chicken sandwich is? I'm from Switzerland and have no clue what it could be.

Stopping in to wish you a weekend full of fabulous, Morphy! I really love seeing your list of three good things each day.

>138 lunacat: Ah, man. That's a cheat. I want to see the whole post! :P

>139 Helenoel: This was the first year I waited to open my various gift exchanges until (near) Christmas. The previous three years I opened them as soon as I got them!

>140 rosylibrarian: You certainly jumped in with both feet! Not only your first post but you also created a group. I think it was a long time before I created a group. Even then it's defunct now.

>141 laytonwoman3rd: The "dingdong of doom" made me laugh.

>142 ronincats: I think I'm up to Thursday in the Keys of the Kingdom series.

>144 LauraBrook: Oh man. Category Challenges are killers for me. I'm still working on my 888 challenge. I WILL get it finished!

>145 laytonwoman3rd: I and my eyes thank you!

>146 scaifea: That made me chuckle. I was ready to read about all the books you read at once and when I read three, I was like, "WHAT? When has she ever read THREE?"

>147 bell7: Oh, I would have liked to read that thread. There's a book out, whose name escapes me at the moment, about funny things said in a bookstore.

>148 SylviaC: I love Anne McCaffrey's Pern books. (Notice the specification there. Ha!)

>149 thornton37814: I'm sure you've learned by now that something in the first 20 or so characters has to be different for the work to be considered different.

>151 laytonwoman3rd: >152 Berly: >154 maggie1944: >155 Sakerfalcon: The healing was dramatic the first few days, now it's slowed down. Still looking good though.

>153 rosylibrarian: >164 scaifea: Sisters! Okay, fine. Twins!

>156 Ameise1: I thought you would get the award for the longest time between joining and posting for the first time, but nope! See >165 mahsdad:.

>157 Kassilem: Oh, those were cool. I had the most fun looking for pirate ship names.

>158 jjmcgaffey: I'm liking it, too. Sometimes I feel grumpy or tired and don't feel like doing it. But that's the perfect time for me to do so.

>159 luvamystery65: Joe's was a great place to post for the first time!

>160 drneutron: Dude, touchstones - The Music of Razors. Hee hee. Took a look at it. Nope. Not for me.

>162 Berly: >163 MDGentleReader: >164 scaifea: I know! I wish I had had a camera. It's such a rare sighting.

>165 mahsdad: And you win the award for the most time between joining LT and your first post. Congrats!

>166 maggie1944: Dudette, touchstones! LOL. What did you think of Native Seattle?

>167 DeltaQueen50: Seems that there was a second that took him seven years to write (2013). Maybe in another seven you'll get your third?

>169 laytonwoman3rd: QuizUp is an addictive trivia game. You've been warned.

>170 Storeetllr: I have The Agony and the Ecstasy on my to read soon. I had it once from the library and got intimated by it.

>171 MickyFine: I'm currently in a battle with someone for first place in January for Disney Songs. Every morning she's pulled back ahead of me. BATTLE!

>174 Ameise1: Certainly. Take some grilled chicken and melt swiss cheese over it. Top with sautéed mushrooms then place in a roll. It looks something like this...



>175 Crazymamie: I'm taking a day of "no 'sponsbilities'" today. I'm going to spend it getting trying to get caught up with LibraryThing. I'm weeks behind! I hope you have a lovely weekend as well. I'm LOVING the pecans. I keep myself to 20 a day. Yum yum.

"no 'sponsbilities'" sounds like an excellent plan, Morphy! And thank you - so thrilled that you are loving the pecans!

>177 Morphidae: That sandwich looks yummy.

It took me almost three years to post. Now I wonder why it took me so long! ;-)

I have finally found your thread! Very, very belated Happy New Year greetings for you and Mr. Morphy! I love your good things posts, very happy to read that Mr. Morphy's surgery was a success and congratulations on the continued weight loss!

My answers to the Talk to me Tuesday survey:
When did you join LibraryThing? - July 11, 2008
When was your first message? - August 17, 2008
What group was the message in? - What Are You Reading Now?
What was the subject line of the thread? - "What you are reading the week of August 16, 2008"
If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? - n/a
What was your first message? - "I just started The Physician's Tale by Ann Benson this morning. Too early to decide if I like it or not. I enjoy books that weave a tale by jumping back and forth in time. I recently finished Labyrinth and Sepulchre by Kate Mosse and enjoyed both books."

>177 Morphidae: I'm not sad that I don't get the award. :-) Thanks for this photo of the 'Swiss' sandwich. Now, I've a clue what it is but I've to tell you that here in Switzerland we don't eat such a combination of a sandwich. I guess you call it so due to the Swiss cheese. It looks very yummie.

>147 bell7: Did you mean Bookstore Lore : the Stupidest Questions Ever Asked in a Bookstore? I read it, but didn't think much of it. Some amusing comments, many of which were repeated (as in, exactly the same words, and a chunk of the same - comment A, comment B, comment C, comment A, comment B, comment D, comment E...). And the ebook I read had awful formatting. It might have been more fun, though smaller, with a few editing passes - but as far as I can tell, no changes since I got it. And the paper one might be better, too, don't know.

>178 Crazymamie: I also have the "Butter My Buns and Call Me a Biscuit" dish cloth hanging on the oven handle. Makes me smile every time I go by it.

>179 luvamystery65: And it's relatively hard to mess up unless the chicken is dry.

>180 lkernagh: And, as always, I don't recognize any of those books. LOL!

>181 Ameise1: Yes, exactly. It's called "swiss" because of the swiss cheese.

>182 jjmcgaffey: Nope, it's Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores.

>176 Morphidae: Well, here's the latest thread :)

And I haven't read the book about customers in bookstores but I'd love to get my hands on it.

>177 Morphidae: Obviously in my first posting I had not yet learned of touchstones. Or many other wonderful LT skills and chills!

Carry on, good buddy! I am finding it very, very, very hard to find time to read due to reading everyone's threads. I've started de-starring some people as I'm learning that their threads do not hold as much attraction as I initially thought they might. Brutal. I must be brutal, because I can not continue with so many starred threads. Just can not, must read books!

However, dear buddy, your's will not be de-starred, no matter how boring it might get, which of course it will not! Ever. Get. Boring. Nope. Nor Yours.

Three Good Things
1. I spent the day reading LT threads and playing QuizUp. I'm in the top 10 in January the US for Disney Songs! Whoo hoo!
2. MrMorphy and I watched an episode of Stargate: SG-1 while eating supper.
3. We have the truck back from the shop and it didn't cost as much as we thought it would. Plus, we get about a 10% discount for paying cash.

Hi Morphy! I'm worse than you are at catching up with threads and even worse at keeping up with them. But I wanted to see how Mr. Morphy is doing. So pleased to see that he's doing really well indeed - what a relief for you both! Happy New Year too. I'll try to drop in now and then but really, I am awful at this keeping up stuff.

>186 Morphidae: A good-news day if I ever saw one! Congrats on your QuizUp stats (I don't actually know what QuizUp is, but I am not going to look it up. No, I am not. I've got too many computer games, website, etc. to be distracted by as it is.)

Lurking....!

Morning, Morphy! We talked about your mastery of book lists at the meetup yesterday, friend...

Hi Morphy! Glad you ended up having a good day yesterday! I'm glad I got some extra time to finish The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. I knew when we moved up the date of the meeting I'd never make it in time, but I'm pretty sure I can finish within the week. At least, I hope I can. :) If not, I'm a terrible, slow reader.

Three Good Things
1. Candy Corn - I have several every evening. We stock up at Halloween. I think there are three bags left!
2. Soft pillows - For some reason, MrMorphy thought I used a firm pillow. After several uncomfortable nights (it was like sleeping on a rock!), he went back to get me a medium. Ahhhhh, so much nicer.
3. I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying Total Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo. I had to force myself to put it down when I was half-way through to get some other things down. Normally I don't get that absorbed in mysteries.

Finished Storm of the Century by Stephen King. Read book Total Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo.

Happy Monday, Morphy. I hope you are both feeling great today.

>192 Morphidae: I'm with you on the candy corn love. Unfortunately we can't get it over here in the UK. Although that might be a good thing as I could definitely binge on it very easily!

>192 Morphidae: I'm afraid I'm on the other spectrum of candy corn. Blech... :)

Oooh, candy corn! Love it! And those squat little pumpkins, too... Yum!

Total Chaos!! I have that one in the stacks! Now you've got me all excited about it. Hugs to you, dear Morphy!

One of my co-workers is very fond of candy corn (it makes my teeth itch), and she just found some of the individual snack-size pouches in her desk drawer that she had forgotten about. Unfortunately, she said it was hard as brick, and she couldn't eat it. You're lucky yours stayed palatable, Morphy!

Ha! Too funny!

I adore Tithe!!! I worship the ground Holly Black walks on.

Can't do candy corn. *shudder*

>184 bell7: Oooh. I got it starred now.

>185 maggie1944: Before I started my thread, I made a list of people who posted more than twice on my two threads. I deleted the starting threads of everyone else except for a few special people like RD. I simply don't have the time to read a ton of threads. Even so, I'm trying to catch up from the first of the year and it's taking me days.

>187 tiffin: MrMorphy has another follow-up appointment tomorrow, so I'll let everyone know how he's doing.

>188 Storeetllr: QuizUp is a very fun trivia game. Come over to the dark side, Luke...

>189 Berly: Waving...

>190 scaifea: I thought I felt my ears burning...

>191 The_Hibernator: I'm surprised you could put it down! I gobbled it up in two sittings.

>193 maggie1944: MrMorphy is doing great. I'm hanging in there.

>194 lunacat: Do I need to send a care package next October?

>195 rosylibrarian: I like a tiny sweet treat every evening. Candy corn hits that sweet spot.

>196 scaifea: I like the pumpkins in moderation.

>197 Crazymamie: I finished it tonight. It has all the typical noir clichés but what really makes it are the sense of place and cultures.

>198 laytonwoman3rd: I don't mind them a little "firm" but brick-like, no.

>200 Crazymamie: I cracked up when I saw it and knew I had to post that here.

>201 cammykitty: Okay, I'll add Tithe to Mount TBR.

Current Reading Roster for January:

DONE The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (LT Book Club)
DONE A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kinki Hoffman (Green Dragon)
DONE Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Briggs)
DONE The Blessing Way by Hillerman, Tony (Navajo/Longmire)
DONE The Bone Clocks (due)
DONE The Storm of the Century (King)
DONE Total Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo (80 Sleuths)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers(AAC)
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (BAC F)
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro(BAC M)
Get Up! by James Levine (ER)
Chocolat by Joanne Harris (December 2014 Thingaversary)
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver - (January 2015 Thingaversary)
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (Horror Challenge)
Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson (Random LT Recommended)

Also read:

Agatha Christie: Autobiography by Agatha Christie

I looking forward to seeing what you think of Fistful of Sky.

Hope you and MrMorphy have an excellent week!

Three Good Things
1. Took care of myself by speaking with the therapist about discontinuing the binge eating group. This is the third time I've taken it and I'm really not learning anything this time. We'll discuss me going to the relapse prevention group instead at our next appointment.
2. Papa Murphy's pizza with chicken, parmesan, mushrooms, zucchini, and spinach on a creamy garlic sauce. Yum.
3. I don't have to go anywhere this week until Saturday. I can stay home and putter except for a few things I have to take care of tomorrow.

Finished book Total Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo. Read book The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin.

>205 SylviaC: Basically what everyone else thought. Really great until the WTF ending. :D

Good Thing #2: Oh, my...

>199 Morphidae: *SNORK!!*

>206 Morphidae: Congraulations on #1 Go, Morphy Go, Morphy! ** does the whole circle fists horizontally move in a dance-like fashion **
Speaking up for one's self when depressed is relaly, really hard. Go, Morphy, Go Morphy!

#3 I love days where I can just putter. I get more done, I think. Put stuff away, read a little, do some laundry, read a little, put more stuff away, recycle papaer, read a little....

Talk to Me Tuesday

I have read the dark fantasy Black Jewels trilogy at least five times. It consists of Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, and Queen of the Darkness.

The Blood are magic users. The darker their jewel, the higher their power level. The world is a matriarchal society. This was once a good thing but it has been twisted to evil. There is a prophecy that Witch will come, an extremely powerful female magic user, that will change the world for the good. Jaenalle is the girl who will become Witch but there are many who wish to prevent this and others who have dreamed her into being and want her to reach her potential.

The men are dark and dangerous, yet love intensely and are fiercely loyal. The women are strong and deadly protective, yet have wicked senses of humor and can be exquisitely gentle.

I love the interactions between all the characters - the father/daughter love between Saetan and Jaenalle, the love/hate relationship between Daemon and Lucivar, the growth in the father/son relationship between Saetan and Daemon, the fantastic relationship between Jaenelle and her female friends. I could go on and on. That's really what the books are to me. The relationships are so rich and real. There are four main characters and at least eight secondary characters and they are all significant. Bishop is wonderful at characterization.

However, these books are NOT for everyone. There is gory violence, mass killings, child abuse, torture, rape, etc. right from the beginning. The men are very much anti-hero types. If someone threatens someone they love, they won't think twice about ripping them apart then going off to have breakfast. This is very dark fantasy.

I go from cracking up at witty remarks to wincing as a baddy gets his (or her) comeuppance. Sometimes on the same page!

***

So, what is your favorite* series? What genre is it? What's it about? Have you re-read it? How many times? What about it makes it a favorite?

ETA: *ONE, only ONE.

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams, with The Dragonbone Chair, The Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower. I've reread it a few times, but not recently (so maybe it's time). I like the real-feeling characters and the complex interactions, as well as the epic plot. It's been criticized for being too Tolkien-esque, but I think it feels like The Lord of the Rings should have felt.

ONE, only ONE.

How can I choose only one, when there are so many great series out there? Cruel, cruel Morphy.

Three Good Things
1. MrMorphy had another follow-up with Dr. Rakes. The doctor said his eye is healing very well, there is good movement, MrMorphy can resume normal activities in 7 to 10 days, and the report from Mayo came back. The cancer was completely encapsulated. There were no free cancer cells in the eye or blood/lymph vessels. The doctor said, "Looks like we got it all." It's fantastic news. MrMorphy will be fitted for his new "eye" on March 3rd.
2. I had a craving for ice cream and MrMorphy ran out for it.
3. I found a new author to enjoy. Lisa Shearin wrote a short story in Night Shift, a book I read for the stories by Nalini Singh and Ilona Andrews, that I really liked. Now I'm reading The Grendal Affair and it's a lot of fun.

Read book The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin.

Watched Master Chef Jr: Top 12 Compete.

>214 Morphidae: AWESOME news! ** starts crazy, happy dance, throws some confetti around **

Oh, soooooo good news.

Oh Good News!!

>214 Morphidae: Master Chef Jr is really fun. Not that I've ever eaten alligator OR rattlesnake OR snapping turtle ... Those kids are darn impressive!

>192 Morphidae: I am glad you have a softer pillow.

>199 Morphidae: LOL!!!

>214 Morphidae: Awesome news for you Mr Morphy and for YOU!! Yay!!

Your three things a day to be thankful for and very uplifting. I think I enjoy them as much as you!

Yay, that's fantastic news about MrM. I'm so glad that, after everything, things are finally progressing well.

>214 Morphidae: Hooray for the good news about MrM! And all your other good news too, of course. You both deserve a mountain of good things after what the last couple of years have dealt you.

Oh, that is the Best News Ever!! I'm so happy for you both!

Favorite series is David Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean series. I know the writing isn't high literature, but they're just fun reads and I read them first during one of the happiest times of my life so far, so I have wonderful associations with them. I've re-read them all through once (which is big for me - I don't do much re-reading, except to Charlie).

>214 Morphidae: Wonderful!!! *grabs Gentle Reader's hand and joins in the happy dance* Thanks for sharing your three good things with us...they really do start my day off right.

>211 Morphidae: I am going to have to add your fav series to my wishlist. Mine is the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman. Pure excellence is all I can say.

>214 Morphidae: That is excellent news about the cancer. I am really, really thrilled for you both.

> 214 Morphidae: That's excellent news about MrMorphy!

> 222 scaifea: Belgariad! *fistbump* I'm torn between that and The Last Herald Mage trilogy. I've reread both more times than is reasonable and I usually dive into one of those series when I need a comfort reading break.

>211 Morphidae: I forgot to mention my favourite series. There are so many but I suppose it has to be The chalet school books, because I read them as a child and they still give me pleasure now I'm much older.

Such fantastic news about MrMorphy!

Wonderful news and worthy of celebrations, Morphy!

I agree with you about the Black Jewels series. They are fantastic. I've read the first 3 and have the last 3 sitting on my TBR mountain. Hopefully they can stand up to the first 3 in the series.

>211 Morphidae: Favourite series has to be Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano - it's quirky, the characters are splendid, there is mayhem and murder but no-one seems to get hurt and there is plenty of fabulous food.

>229 PaulCranswick:, I am with Paul on the Montalbano series.

Oh, that is a very difficult question, Morphy! I am following and loving so many series. Just off the top of my head, I have really been enjoying The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie. I am also loving the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold.

On a side note, I plan on starting the Black Jewel trilogy later this year.

Three Good Things
1. Got things set up so I have (mostly) nothing to do but read, watch DVDs, and play with my databases for the next few days.
2. Watched Wreck-It Ralph with MrMorphy and ate Sloppy Joe's.
3. Getting closer to being caught up with LT. Only 1/2 page left! (Just 5 threads with 100+ posts.)
4. Watched a very funny Ikea catalog commercial on YouTube. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syd1pKOJ__k)

Finished book The Grendel Affair by Lisa Stearin. Read book The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers.

>211 Morphidae: I have way too many favorite series. But one I've enjoyed rereading multiple times is Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, at least the first ten books or so. :)

I have never read a series, expect maybe George R R Martin's Game of Thrones series, that plays with your mind so thoroughly, urging you this way and then oops, no that way, but wait actually this way. I get this dreadful feeling that there can't be anything Richard can do, that it's hopeless, that he can't help but fail, and then twist, he pulls through. And it doesn't seem like Goodkind shoved something there unannounced just so Richard would be victorious. It's all woven together. Reading it you're able to see clues five hundred pages beforehand. Everything is connected; amazingly so. I love these character's intelligence and their realistic emotions. I love the concluding end to the books; there is no leaving us hanging. I love that something that can seem silly and unrealistic in other books, like being on speaking terms with a dragon and being a friend to a Gar (monster), can come across as so natural here. I love how long the book is and I love how that doesn't take away from the story. There is no drag here, there is just a lot of story to get through. Now, certainly these books are not for the weak-hearted - lots of disturbing human actions here. But I recommend this series to every and any fantasy reader.

>232 Morphidae: By the way, I don't know if I've said before, but I love that you're doing Three Good Things. It's very inspiring.

>214 Morphidae: I've read Lisa Shearin's Magic Lost, Trouble Found, and have the second book to read when I get to it - she's got some nice stuff.

Favorite series...it totally depends on my mood on a particular day. Lots of fantasy and SF series in the running...but I think, right now, the winner is the Lord Peter books by Dorothy Sayers (that book is all the short stories). Love them, have read every book many many many times.

Wreck-It Ralph!

"Who doesn't love a broad with dirty hair?"
"Why did the soldier flush the toilet? Because it was his DUTY!"
"You hit a guy, with glasses...well played."

We *love* that movie.

>211 Morphidae: Kim Harrison's Hollows series. Urban fantasy. It's about a witch who rooms with a vampire and a family of pixies trying to keep the big bad uglies from going bump in the night. Melodrama, mystery, inter-species sexual tension, and a very flawed protagonist who keeps trying. I have not re-read it because the books belong to a friend and I have too many other books I want to read. I love it because it's one of the first series I read in which the protagonist was neither too good or all bad. Rachel Morgan is easy to relate to because she's flawed as the rest of us. I also love it because the Rachel is female and unapologetically kicks ass while tripping over her feet when it comes to romance.

And congratulations on mrmorphy's continued progress and your ability to reach out and ask for help meeting your needs.

Morphy, all caught up here and thrilled to hear the news about MrMorphy's eye!! WahHOO! That is just so great! Also, I look forward to seeing your three good things each day.

Favorite series is a tough one, but I think right at this moment I would say the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs - those are just so fun, and I love that my girls love them, too. I have only been through the series once because I just discovered it not that long ago thanks to Heidi (Cobscook) mentioning it on Richard's thread. Really looking forward to rereading the series and adding in the Alpha&Omega books with you and the others that are joining us.

Happy Thursday to you, dear! And so happy that Total Chaos was a good one - bumping that up in my stack.

Happy Thursday Morphy :)

I am so glad to hear that the surgery went so well for Mr Morphy >43 Morphidae: for some reason I was sure that he had the surgery shortly after he went to the Mayo last year and they didn't have these radiation capsules. *scratches head* dunno where I got that one from. However, so happy to hear that they didn't find any free cancer cells. HOOOray!

When did you join LibraryThing? 25. September 2010

When was your first message? 06 Februar 2011

What group was the message in? German Librarythingers

What was the subject line of the thread? Hallo, ich bin neu hier

If not obvious from the subject line, what was the thread about? Introduction thread

What was your first message? Hallo zusammen,
wollte auch nur mal hallo sagen. Bin schon eine ganze Weile auf dem englischsprachigen LT und bin Heute aus Zufall auf diese Deutsche Ecke gestossen. Ich lese hauptsächlich in Englisch, habe aber viele Bücher in Deutsch und Englisch. (Hello everybody, just saying Hi. I am already for some time a member on the English LT and today I found by accident the German speaking corner. I read mainly in English, but I do own books in both languages.

>214 Morphidae: Favourite series??? Only one................you are really, really hard Morphy.

Ok one of my fave series which I have re-read several times is the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. Only today I started the last book in this series, which really scares me, because I am so fond of the characters. I wished she would carry on writing the Nightrunners.

>205 SylviaC: I'll probably get to reviews early next week.

>208 SylviaC: I know. Do you like pizza? What's your favorite?

>209 scaifea: Yep, that's pretty much what I did, too.

>210 MDGentleReader: And as of now, I'll REALLY get to putter. See Three Good Things when I post them today to see why!

>212 drneutron: >229 PaulCranswick: >230 johnsimpson: >233 Kassilem: Bumped up on Mount TBR!

>213 Storeetllr: I know, but if I didn't do that, people would make huge lists!

>215 MDGentleReader: >223 laytonwoman3rd:


>216 drneutron: >217 Helenoel: >220 lunacat: >221 Sakerfalcon: >227 _Zoe_: Thanks! Yes, it is! And other than a bit of swelling, it looks all healed from the outside.

>218 streamsong: I haven't eaten of those either. And, yes, they are extremely impressive. I have to wonderful how much help they are getting off screen.

>219 Berly: >233 Kassilem: I was hoping other people would like them. Thanks!

>222 scaifea: For many year, the both Eddings' series were my favorites, too!

>224 rosylibrarian: I did read and enjoy His Dark Materials but I wouldn't consider them a favorite.

>225 archerygirl: Several of the Valdemar series are in my favorite lists, for sure!

>226 Sakerfalcon: Ha! That comes as no big surprise! :D

>228 jolerie: No, none of the follow-ups are as good as the first three. But that's a lot to live up to. They are still good.

>231 DeltaQueen50: I like just about anything by Bujold. I didn't scare you off of the Black Jewels trilogy, eh? :D

>234 jjmcgaffey: Oh, that's good to hear about Shearin.

>235 scaifea: "You hit a guy, with glasses...well played," was my favorite line!

>236 AuntieClio: Oooh, that's one of my favorites, too!

>237 AuntieClio: Thank you for both!

>238 Crazymamie: The Alpha & Omega isn't quite as good, but still fun.

>239 drachenbraut23: I really liked Flewelling's Tamir trilogy but heard her other books weren't as good. Should I try Luck in the Shadows?

***

TBR

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams (The Dragonbone Chair)
Commissario Montalbano by Andrea Camilleri (The Shape of Water)
Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind (Wizard's First Rule)

Wacky Wednesday (falls on Thursday)

The Most Amazing Mother Son Wedding Dance Ever!

(It really is a lot of fun...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COVbru7H7YQ

>238 Crazymamie: >240 Morphidae: Huh. And I prefer Alpha & Omega...well. I should say, I prefer the first book or two of A&O to the first few books of Mercy - she drove me NUTS with all the guys hanging out after her! Once she finally picked, Mercy got a lot better. I've got one or two books to read before the one that's coming out shortly (just came out? No, not yet) - should get on that. I still like A&O, but Mercy's now almost equal to them, and I think it's mostly the hangover from literally years of whining about her and how Briggs ought to drop this sappy Urban Fantasy and go back to her straight fantasy - because the Hurog duology is by far my favorite. I hear there may be another book in that series, at some point - if so, yay! I also love her (so far) standalone, The Hob's Bargain - that was the book that hooked me on Patricia Briggs. I like the Raven duology, but not even as much as I like Mercy now.

>240 Morphidae: Wait, does the fact that Wizard's First Rule is in a TBR list mean that you've not read the Sword of Truth series?! If not, I think you'll really like it. The writing isn't high literature, but Goodkind can really write good characters and the story is good.

Three Good Things
1. Lost three more pounds
2. Got caught up with LibraryThing from the first of the year. Whew!
3. MrMorphy brought his truck back in because it was making an odd noise after they fixed the clutch. Within a couple of hours they had it fixed (no charge, they had knocked something loose) and MrMorphy brought it back home.
4. I got a home & auto quote to see how it compares to what we currently have. (Something I've been putting off for months.) The homeowners was cheaper but the auto was more expensive. It was a wash so we'll stay with what we've got.

Read book The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCuller.

I'm pretty picky about pizza, since I'm not a fan of heavy tomato sauce or doughy crusts. But that chicken, parmesan, mushrooms, zucchini, spinach with creamy garlic sauce sounds delicious. Three of my favourite vegetables (or 2 vegetables and a fungus) and a non-tomato sauce. Our local options are less than inspirational, but there is a frozen pizza that I sometimes get from the grocery store—Dr. Oetker's spinach, which has a very light tomato sauce, and a thin crust. They also have a nice mushroom one.

And congratulations on the three pounds!

<241 I want to do that with my son!! How fun! Congrats on another three pounds. : )

>242 jjmcgaffey: Interesting. Hob's Bargain is my least favorite Briggs'. I gave it 6/10 stars. The Hurog duology got 7/10 stars. Almost all my 8/10 stars are from the Mercy series but Masques (Sianim), Raven's Strike, and Fair Game (A&O) got 8/10, too.

>243 scaifea: Yep. TBR is To Be Read. I made a list of the ones I want to read because I haven't yet. (Why do you think I asked the question? Ha!)

>245 SylviaC: Oh, man. I checked and Papa Murphy's does have locations in Canada but they are in Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba. *pouty face*

>246 SylviaC: Thank you!

>247 Berly: If my mom didn't have mobility issues of her own, I could so totally see her doing that!

WahHoo for three more pounds lost - way to go, Morphy! Happy Friday, dear!

>248 Morphidae: I picked up Hob's Bargain and read it in the bookstore (took me about 2 hours - I read fast). Put it back and left. About 6 months later, I noticed Dragon Bones on the shelf and picked it up - then saw Hob's Bargain next to it and realized that I remembered the entire story. So I bought both, and everything else she wrote (though I'm still looking for a copy of the 2003 Masques! I have the 2010, but I want to compare), at least until Mercy came out and I stalled on the second book. Now I have everything including all the Mercys, but it took me a while.
So my pleasure with Hob's Bargain is partly the story and partly that it introduced me to Briggs.

>249 Crazymamie: TGIF! Whoo hoo!

>250 jjmcgaffey: Let's see... Looks like my first Briggs' was Dragon Bones in September 2006 then Dragon Blood in March 2007. I started the Mercy books in November 2007. Looks like she has 22 books and I've read all of them, too.

ETA: And onward! http://www.librarything.com/topic/187004