Ronincats welcomes you to a new year of Reading

I’m Roni and this is my 9th year in the 75 Book Challenge Group. I live in San Diego with a husband, 3 cats and a small dog, a year-round garden, a substantial personal library and an old bungalow with lots of bookshelves. I’m retired and fill my time with throwing pottery, making wirework and beaded jewelry, and crochet-work. When I finish a project, I post a picture here.

My reading is heavily slanted toward science fiction and fantasy genre reading, but I try to work in at least a dozen nonfiction books a year, along with a few mysteries, romances and children’s books as well as books heavily recommended by other LTers. I’m also fond of rereading favorite books. I usually read around 150 books a year, as I’m a fast reader, and set my goals accordingly.
















Goals:

I will continue my default goals of 150 books and 50,000 pages read for the year. This is right at my comfort level and usual reading rate for the year.

I did well on my goal to acquire fewer books than last year. I will continue that goal as well.

Thanks to a last minute donation to the library, I met my goal to get rid of more books than I acquired. I will continue this goal also.

I failed miserably in reading books off my own shelves--only 11. I plan to set a goal of 40 unread books now on my own shelves for the coming year.

Fiction: The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher
Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Nonfiction: The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley
The Mantle of the Prophet by Roy Mottahedeh

Children’s: Hold Fast by Blue Balliett

Children’s series: The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas
Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud

Fantasy series: Max Gladstone’s Craft Sequence
Kate Griffin’s Matthew Swift books

Best series continuations: A Red-rose Chain by Seanan McGuire (Toby Daye)
Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan (Lady Trent)
Winter by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles)

Best alt. history regencies masquerading as fantasy:
The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Izzo Hunter
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Newt’s Emerald by Garth Nix

honorable mention: Uprooted by Naomi Novik
The Bullet-catcher’s Daughter by Rod Duncan
Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

And here is the link to my final thread in the 2015 group: http://www.librarything.com/topic/208485

Welcome to all. I have no idea why none of my graphics are showing up--Drat!! It made me load the pictures into my gallery on LT rather than just grab the image addresses--so much more inconvenient, but at least I got them on here.

Is it safe?



Dropping off my star on folks' 2016 threads now that 2015 is in its waning hours.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, RONI!!

Books Read in 2016

1. A Winterfold Christmas by Harriet Evans (66 pp.)
2. The Last Chance Christmas Ball by Mary Jo Putney etal. (320 pp.)
3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (465 pp.)
4. The House of Twenty Thousand Books by Sasha Abramsky (340 pp.)
5. Sorry I Barfed on your Bed by Jeremy Greenberg (64 pp.)
6. St. Paul: The Apostle We Love to Hate by Karen Armstrong (158 pp.)
7. Halo: Mortal Dictata by Karen Armstrong (496 pp.)

Books Acquired in 2016

1. Harmony Black by Craig Schaefer (free)
2. Unseemly Science: The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire Book 2 by Rod Duncan ($1.99)
3. Indexing: Reflections by Seanan McGuire ($1.99)
4. A Winterfold Christmas by Harriet Evans ($.99)
5. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley ($1.99)
6. Starship's Mage Omnibus by Glynn Stewart (free)
7. The Last Chance Christmas Ball by Mary Jo Putney and others ($2.51)
8. Citadel of the Sky by Chrysoula Tzavelas (free)
9. Del Rey and Bantam Books 2015 Sampler (free)
10. St. Paul: The Apostle We Love to Hate by Karen Armstrong ($1.99)
11. The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction by Justine Larbalestier (free)

Of Course you are welcome, Ellen! So glad you are here to do it--just finished reading about your scary episode on your thread.

Happy New Year, Roni!

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, and happy new thread!

Great! I'm in at the beginning! Happy New Year, Roni, and Happy Reading!

Dropping my star and wishing you Happy New Year, Roni!

Happy New Year, Roni!

Happy New Year

Happy new year, Roni!

Happy new year, Roni! Starred!

Happy new year, Roni!

Happy New Year, Roni!
I love both the topper and the image at >3 ronincats: :-)

Happy New Year, Roni! Dropping off my star...

Welcome back!

Happy New Year Dear Roni! I look forward to visiting here in 2016!

May you have plenty of time to do the things you love, including make the incredible pottery and jewelry..and of course, reading!

Happy New Year, all you dear people! Now the craziness really begins as we all try to find each other in the 2016 group, right? Then it will settle down.

For Amazon Prime members, there are 6 books to choose from the Kindle First program, two of which are fantasies but all of which sound interesting. Remember, it's free.

Happy New Year, Roni!

Dropping my star and wising a Happy New Year on the 2016 thread this time :-)

>1 ronincats: I failed miserably in reading books off my own shelves
I did too, and I aspire to do better this year... Fortunately, my lovely Xmas Swap books from a week ago count as ROOTs now. :-)

Happy 2016!

Happy new year, Roni. I can't wait to see what beautiful pottery and jewelry you'll be making in between your reads.

Happy New Year, Roni. Looking forward to you're reading 2016.

Happy new year, Roni!

Happy to find your first 2016 thread - thanks to the link left on your 2015 thread - and WOW on celebrating your 9th year as part of the 75 challenge group!

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2016, Roni!

Roni, I look forward to following you again this year to see what you are reading and what your artistic side creates. Happy New Year!

Happy new year - I look forward to reading along with you again *star*

I got so jealous of Ellen's polychromatic star (see >4 EBT1002:) that I finally went out and got one of my own to drop on threads. Here I go...

Did I hear that it was actually cold in San Diego the other day? It seems I read that somewhere. Hope it isn't too cold when I arrive there for a meeting later this month.

Hi *waves* back to lurking

Hi Roni! You're starred for 2016. I laughed at the number of your own titles you read last year. It prompted me to count my own. I read 29 of my own books, although *some* of those actually belong to the girls, and *some* I had just bought...

Hi Roni. :) Dropping a star here.
You inspired me to count my OTS books from this year. I managed 24, but that's just a meager 13.8% of my total read. It's such a struggle to read the things on the shelves already when we are constantly finding new ones to read here on LT. Lol
I've made an OTS category for my category challenge this year. Hope it helps.

Hi Roni Happy New Year! Have a wonderful resding year!

Have a wonderful bookfilled 2016, Roni.

Happy New Year, Roni!!! Here's to some good reading in 2016!

Okay, first of all, >39 PaulCranswick: Paul, does Hani know you are posting pictures of a topless female ice skater over all the threads? Brrrr.

Welcome to all my visitors. What a lovely time of year, to see you all here! Thanks for dropping by, Marie, Jeff, foggi, Peggy, Meg, Steve, Brenda, Katie, Kriti, Blue, Anita, Mamie, Jim, Susan, Kathy, Katherine, Caro, Barbara, Cushla, Lori, Donna, Megan, Lori, Jennifer, Matthew, Anne, Jenn, Bryony, Paul and Amy! In gratitude, let me share the sunset sky on the way home from the pottery studio tonight (they fired a kiln out of order so I had stuff to glaze, unexpectedly, and will be bringing stuff home next week as a result!):



ETA Lori, our "cold" weather means temps in the high 50s to 60s during the day and down into the low 40s at night.

Hi Roni! Good luck with your reading goals this year! I've been tracking my acquisitions, but I haven't been tracking the books that leave my home. That's a great idea!

I'll be going to the same meeting as Lori in about 3 weeks. I'm hoping I can get by with just a carry-on suitcase, but that's harder to do with cool weather clothing.

Carrie, you both will just have to start checking in with weather.com a week ahead of your visit to see what it will be like--could be anything from rain and 50s (our El Nino) to 80 and sun! I hope you'll be saving some time for a meet-up with Reba and me.

>43 ronincats: I know Lori and I would love a meetup, but we're not in control of our schedule or the rental car. This will be my 5th visit to San Diego, and my 3rd visit since 2013. It's beginning to feel like home!

>43 ronincats: As Carrie said, we don't have a lot of control over our schedule and have a group rental car that we won't be driving. It's hard to know when we'll have free time, if we do at all. Maybe we can exchange cell phone numbers before we go so we can let you know when we'll be free and see if you happen to be available. Most of our meetings will be at Point Loma.

Transportation shouldn't be an issue; finding an open hour or two could be, I understand.

>41 ronincats: WOW! What an incredible sunset!

Gorgeous photo, Roni. You are lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

(and no, I'm not complaining, either.)

Beautiful sunset photo, Roni!

Popping in to drop a star! Looking forward to seeing what you read & create this year. :D

Hey Roni! I'm looking forward to seeing what you read this year!

The sequel to one of my honorable mentions in >2 ronincats: is on sale for Kindle. The sequel to The Bullet-catcher's Daughter: The Fall of the Gas-lit Empire, Book 1 is Unseemly Science.

Linda, Ellen, Darryl--thank you!

Faith and Melissa, great to see you here. I'll be checking out your threads regularly (along with everyone else who has been here).

I think I'll say something about my thread management system here. I use stars for the most part, entering LT via the Talk button set to "starred". Once upon a time (for the first few years after I joined the group in 2008) it was possible to keep up with everyone in the group, but as the group expanded exponentially, it simply can't be done by most of us. If I developed a friendship with you during those first few years, you are starred. If you read a fair amount of fantasy and science fiction, i.e., if our reading tastes overlap, you should be starred and if I've missed you, let me know. If you visit my thread, you are starred and I star you in return. Every so often, especially at the beginning of the year, I'll bring up the group page instead and check out unstarred threads for overlap of books in library. I know I am missing out on lots of good book talk, but I simply can't keep up with it all (and I am the one who is retired and not working a job!). I am filled with admiration for those (Jim and PaulC, I am especially looking at you) who can do more. If you come here, be sure to leave a message so that I can visit back!

Beautiful sunset, Roni! Hoping that Sunday has been kind to you.

>52 ronincats: - Roni, i manage the threads exactly the same way! At the start of the year, I check out some new threads and usually star a few and try to engage, but inevitably, I un-star some people after a while if they never post on their own thread, return visits to mine, etc. It keeps things manageable for me.

>52 ronincats: You've described my thread management system to a tee, and I still struggle to keep up!

And now it's time to talk about my plans for the year and this month in particular. I will pick and choose among the national author challenges, and will use them primarily to motivate me to pick up books by authors I've been meaning to read. British authors I may read include Jane Gardam (BAC May) (I read Old Filth with a group a couple of years ago and have always meant to continue the series), Agatha Christie (BAC February) and Rumer Godden (BAC Wildcard) and of course will read Diana Wynne Jones in August. I'd like to read the first in a trilogy by Margaret Atwood (CAC April) and will reread a L. M. Montgomery in July.

I am planning to keep up with Suzanne's nonfiction challenge, starting with a biography in January. And I am planning to finally read War and Peace with the group read this year!

Other than that, I like to read by inclination and opportunity. I do scan the new speculative fiction coming out each month and get as much from the library as I can both from that and from my wishlist, and the library does have an amazing amount of it--my books bought have declined every year since I started keeping stats, from 137 in 2011 to 70 in 2015.

Right now, I am reading the fantasy Six of Crows, the biographies The House of Twenty Thousand Books and The Story of Charlotte's Web, and a book on religion, Paul and the Faithfulness of God. The last is a long-term project on my Kindle, the first two are library books and the third a BOMS. Home from the library are Armada and Halo: Mortal Dictata. And of course there are the 250 or more books in my tbr pile here at home--the ones where I hope to make a dent with my BOMS goal. But War and Peace awaits me at the library right now.

Oh oh oh!!! I just picked up Six of Crows literally 3 hours ago from the bookstore...I'll have to get to that one next so there's someone to swap thoughts with! *rushes to reorganize bedside TBR pile*

>53 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie.

>54 katiekrug:, >55 archerygirl: Katie and Kathy, good to know I am not alone!

>56 ronincats: - Jane Smiley is the AAC author in March :)

>52 ronincats: Roni, that sounds very much like my approach to the threads. I also use the "starred" option to track friends and I often end up letting some threads just go on without me for a while. It's kind of neat -- you and I don't necessarily have very similar reading taste but I connected with you early on (after I joined in January 2011) and so I always find myself wandering back to see what you're up to, see if you've posted any of your art works, and of course we have the west coast and cats in common. :-)

I love that you posted this; I think the 75ers group can feel overwhelming and I can put pressure on myself to "keep up" (and remember: 2016 is the year of No Pressure). I love your permission-giving way of approaching it all.

Happy Sunday and I hope you have a great week!

>59 katiekrug: Corrected. Knew the same author shouldn't be on both!

>60 EBT1002: And don't forget that we have similar professional backgrounds! I always enjoy hearing about your work and presentations. You just keep giving yourself permission to take it easy! (ETA Watching Seattle at the moment, off to a good start.)

Hi, Roni - Happy New Year and Thread; just dropping off a star... :)

>57 dk_phoenix: Faith, you slipped in between my posts and I almost missed you. I just finished Part 2, about 40% of the book, but it is my bathtub book so is proceeding at a slower rate than otherwise. Hurry up and catch up! (I am so excited to see you back in the group this year!)

>58 ronincats: Hi, Liz. It wouldn't be the same without you here!

*waves* 'Allo again! :)

>64 kgriffith: Hi, Kirsten! I'll be checking out those genre reads on your thread this year.

Sunday is visitor's day in the group, and this first Sunday most of all. I bet we break records for messages per group. Yup, just checked on the groups page and our group is at 5159 messages already, with our 2015 group next with 1878 messages in the last week! Then the 2016 Category Challenge with 946 messages.

I got the last in the Old Filth trilogy for xmas this year and am very much looking forward to reading it.

Kudos for the message at >52 ronincats:. It is impossible to manage to read everything, isn't it? I also star people with whom I seem to share reading overlaps, but keeping up with even those can get difficult. When it does I focus on the reviews, on what the person is reading, and skim to be sure there are no life-changing things going on. And pet pix. Yep. I check those out. And here, for ex., I check out Roni's crafts, of course!

>52 ronincats: Quite sensible. I've starred fewer threads each year, and I x ruthlessly, perfectly lovely people whose threads I may have starred in the past and found that I have nothing to add to the conversation. I don't want to spend more time socializing on the internet than I do in RL.

>61 ronincats: Exactly.

And ... watching the Seahawks today is turning out to be good for my heart. :-)

Happy New Year Roni!

I just got the Lockwood & Co. books for Christmas! (Actually, I got two copies of them, but I got gift receipts with one set.) Good to see you loved them. :)

>66 sibylline: I didn't realize that message would resonate with so many of you.

>67 qebo: And then there are those who read books in my genres but simply list them and when I make comments or ask about books, they never respond! The category you describe and this one are the main reasons for unstarring.

>68 EBT1002: They did look good today, didn't they?

>69 The_Hibernator: I hope you enjoy them, Rachel. I enjoyed the first two the most, as the third seemed to be setting up for the fourth book.

Hi! I'm here. I hope it's warmer in SoCal than it is in NoCal.

Yes, >52 ronincats:! I did manage to keep up with all the 75 Book Challenge threads last year - no, sorry. I mean, I managed to keep up with all the ones I'd starred - all the people who were writing interesting stuff (that I saw and starred). But it was at the expense of all the other groups I usually check, from Welcome to LibraryThing to Bug Collectors. I dipped into them from time to time, but I definitely was not keeping up with them. And I was awful at posting on my own thread(s) - partly because I did make multiple threads and I kept forgetting about one or two of them. I think I'll be doing about the same in terms of reading this year - the 75 Book Challenge and Club Read threads are too interesting to ignore. But I'll try to post more regularly, and am limiting myself to one thread to help that.

Happy new year, Roni. Looking forward to following your reading again.

>52 ronincats: Your thread management is like mine, Roni, only the first week I try to read all threads, looking for new people (have to catch up for 3 years now), who have similair taste.

Happy New Year! I hope my own thread-management system will be more effective this year and I'll actually manage to keep up with the threads I've starred.

Happy New Year, Roni.

I have such a hard time keeping up. I star, and try to visit people nice enough to visit me, but I always, always fall behind! I do hope I never hurt feelings, and I know I miss out on some great conversations, but I know I'm not the only one. I will be much better about keeping up after I've won the lottery;)

>71 Berly: Thanks, Kim. Same to ya!
>72 AuntieClio: Just about, Stephanie. Rain all week--can't remember the last time THAT happened! I ran out yesterday and tossed sweet pea and lettuce and chard seeds into the ground in anticipation.
>73 jjmcgaffey: Jenn, I only keep up with a few threads other than challenge threads, and they aren't nearly as busy (sciencefictionfans, 100 book challenge)--my thread on the latter is mostly cut and paste from this one of books. Plus, I'm retired. Always good to have you visit, though.
>74 sirfurboy: Excited to have you back this year, Stephen. As someone who shares 389 books with me, your reading is always of interest! (Yes, Jenn, I know we share 941 books, which is ridiculous--in a very nice way!) (Stephanie--262 books shared) (Kim--124 books shared)
>75 FAMeulstee: I try to do that too, Anita, plus checking the introductions for people who mention reading science fiction and fantasy. (81 books shared)
>76 _Zoe_: Hey, Zoe, yes, it would be nice to see more of you this year. ;-) (327 books shared)
>77 BLBera: Happy New Year to you, Beth. (101 books shared)
>78 AMQS: Anne, my dear, we all know how busy you are (and love seeing your great library displays!). (127 books shared)

Well, not much reading today. A little of Six of Crows this morning, but this evening has seen THREE HOURS spent watching my #1 Jayhawks play #2 Oklahoma (or vice versa if you listen to the coach poll instead of the AP) into triple overtime before finally squeezing out the win. Whew! My poor heart! Good thing you aren't a Jayhawk fan, Ellen--your heart would never take it!

>79 ronincats: Yes, me too! Last...Thursday, I think it was, I cleaned out the pots on my porch (pulled up the essentially dead basil, mostly) and planted peas and spinach and carrots and New Zealand spinach. We'll see what comes up - it was all pretty old seeds. I'll be doing proper seedlings indoors later, but it felt so nice to be planting again!

Puff, puff. I finally made it to your thread and read through all the posts. First I want to wish you a Happy New Year with lots of good reads. I'm a little overwhelmed too by the huge number of threads to get round, so busy just catching up with people I know though I've also tried to start following a few 'new for me' people.

I'm organising the ANZAC challenge this year and while I know that you have already made plans you might like to check out the thread. I've added in a few fantasy writers and stretched the reading out over two months so the deadline isn't looming down almost as soon as the month begins. http://www.librarything.com/topic/211009

I heard about that basketball game, Roni (I have several Sooner friends). And that the KU fans gave an ovation to one of the OU players who had a 46-point game. I like classy acts like that. Too few of them in sports these days....

>82 katiekrug: Kansas University basketball fans have always been classy, Katie, from before my time there to the present day. They appreciate good play and good players. Bobby Heald has been a presence in Allen Field House during the OU game there the last four years, he has always given us fits, and he had an outstanding game last night--he fully deserved that ovation.

>81 avatiakh: I'll check it out, Kerry. I had looked and not seen any familiar names, but I'll look again.

>80 jjmcgaffey: Mine were last year's seeds as well, and I've the same attitude--we'll see what comes up.

Rainy day here. I need to do some cleaning and organizing, although I'd rather be reading.

Stopping by to say hello. I always manage a burst of enthusiasm in January: looking various people up, starring their threads, saying hello. But then I lose momentum very quickly and just manage to stay on top of listing my reads. I don't seem to be able to do the short paragraph summary and rarely find time to do the longer reviews that are more my style, so my personal threads languish year after year, which is reasonable. I hope I haven't neglected any queries or conversational gambits, but my lack of activity over the years doesn't prompt much attention from most folks, which is also reasonable. Sigh.

Love LT and the fabulous people here. Can't keep up with the busy social life. Always a pleasure to see what you're up to and how active you are.

ps, I LOVED Uprooted and it's become a favorite comfort read. That's the only book on your best of 2015 list I recognized.

Hi Roni - Happy New Year!

I was wondering whether or not I should give The Aeronaut’s Windlass a go - sounds like I should! I also very much enjoyed Uprooted.

#36 Lovely sky!

#56 How did I miss the War and Peace group read? That's been on my tomes list for several years now... Will have to go in search of the thread...

...and I'm DEFINITELY one of those who can no longer keep up with everyone's threads (which makes me a little sad actually), but you know I'll be dropping by every now and then...

>84 justchris: *Sigh* And I do love your longer reviews so much. But I'll be content as long as you drop in occasionally.

>85 flissp: Hi, Fliss. Definitely give The Aeronaut's Windlass a go--it's quite entertaining. And do drop in, as I will on your thread.

It is pouring down right now. I have the bedroom cleaned up, but haven't gotten to the bathroom yet (which definitely needs some clean-out-the-cabinets work). Just found out that a Justine Larbalestier book on my PaperBackSwap wishlist has become available--The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction. I wonder which category it would fit best in for the Nonfiction challenge...

I've read a chapter of Six of Crows and one of The House of Twenty Thousand Books so far today--not totally caught up in either one. Also flitted around a lot of threads even though I haven't been very talkative. Lots of hot tea, too.

Love the "how to manage the crazy thread activity and stay sane" discussion! Sadly, I am a sucker for trying to follow all threads in my Talk, which means I can go through periods where I never catch up with the crazy busy threads and become a serial skim reader of threads. Not good. I am considering having a rule this year about the amount of online LT time I will allow myself that will most likely push me towards a starred thread approach where I will star threads of LT friends and those who leave a post on my thread.

I browse the intros very carefully for new people who may share interests and I try posting on their new threads -- once in a while that brings in someone new, which I love!

Hi Roni, yes we share a lot of books, and checking which they are, I find they are usually the good ones too!

I should check out more of your library for recommendations (after I clear some of my TBR list).

>87 lkernagh: Lori, were I not retired, I have no idea how I could even begin to keep up as much as I do!
>88 sibylline: I do that too, Lucy. Often check their libraries to see what the overlap is.
>89 sirfurboy: Oh, that dreaded TBR list/pile!

So, book news first. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, put on my wishlist by Alex (roundballnz) at some point, is a Kindle Daily Deal at $1.99.

Weather news--the first two storms this week put 2.6 inches in my rain gauge, and the one coming in this afternoon is supposed to add another 3 inches. We are on top of a mesa and so should not have a problem, but the local news shows are full of flooded parking garages and low streets.

I have too many books going and am not invested in any of them to any great degree, and therefore here it is the 6th and I still haven't finished a book. Well, I did read a novella, but still, not a BOOK.

>90 ronincats: Oh, dear! I'm trying to read what I already have, Roni, but how can I pass that up? Crossing my fingers that you don't get as much rain as is expected.

Hi Roni
Thanks for dropping in on my thread.

I'm starting to find out I can't possibly keep up with everything here and read 75 books at the same time.
But I've been a lurker for a long time, LT-ers like you help me out of my comfort zone and on to new books, new writers. I would still be reading just Terry Pratchett, and more Terry Pratchett, like before I came here. So I had your thread starred anyway;)

>90 ronincats: Oh, bother. My resolution to buy fewer books this year is already looking bad, because I've had that on my wishlist for ages and now I can't turn down that deal. I keep hearing so many people loving it.

Amazing! Here it is the 6th and I look at my starred threads and find myself over 70 posts behind here. NO WAY I can keep the pace.

Just dropping by to wave hello :). Hope your day is great!

>91 Crazymamie: I know, Mamie. My goal is to read more of my own books as well (not that difficult as I only read 11 last year, but I'm aiming at 40), but how can I not pass on a good deal? And we need the rain, definitely, but it would be good if it came in smaller chunks. Three inches is one-third of our normal annual rainfall!

>92 EllaTim: Hi, Ella. Good to see you here and I'm glad you came out of lurkdom this year.

>93 archerygirl: Kathy, see initial comment to Mamie above! And I was GOOD last year, purchasing only 70 books. And this is a REALLY good deal. And since we share 383 books, you are definitely in the target audience. Unfortunately, I've already purchased 4 kindle books and downloaded two more free ones this year.

>94 LizzieD: It will slow down, Peggy. It always does. Most of the traffic now is just checking in to the new thread.

Inquiring minds want to know what I've purchased this year? I need to log it into message 6 anyway, so here it is:
Harmony Black by Craig Schaefer (free)
Unseemly Science: The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire Book 2 by Rod Duncan ($1.99)
Indexing: Reflections by Seanan McGuire ($1.99)
A Winterfold Christmas by Harriet Evans ($.99)
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley ($1.99)
Starship's Mage Omnibus by Glynn Stewart (free)

A Winterfold Christmas is the 66 page novella I've completed this year.

ETA Hi, Jenn. You slipped in while I was writing this.

>96 ronincats: I nearly bought the really pretty hard cover edition when I was in England, but my luggage was getting dangerously heavy so I didn't. I'm with you on trying to read more from my shelves and curb the new book deluge a little, but I couldn't resist this one. We do share very similar reading tastes! I'm feeling slightly better looking at your acquired list, though...

I'm going to do stats on books acquired per month at some point...this is a touch excessive, though.

Well, this is unusual. A first for 36 years in San Diego. We are currently under a tornado warning--a huge thunderstorm cell in moving into our area. Of course, in SD we have no basements. Were we back in Kansas (where I grew up), we'd be in the SW corner of the basement.

http://www.kusi.com/clip/12119961/father-peter-escalante-takes-us-inside-mission

Here's a video of water flowing through the mission church yesterday.

Regarding how to manage the threads - a few years ago, someone said that their rule of thumb is to only follow people if "books you share" list is at least 10% of the other person's library. I've found that useful, though of course I also follow some friends who don't hit that threshold. So at the beginning of the year, I go through and star all the threads where people's libraries share that amount of books.

And I red-x the rest. There are simply too many and they're too active. Which is not a bad thing! It's not a judgment on them, it's that I don't have time or energy (or, honestly, desire) to read every thread.

>98 ronincats: Be safe, roni!

>100 bluesalamanders: I don't bother with the red-xing as I enter using the "Starred" category and so nobody else shows up. I do check out the group page at this time of year to check out any compatible newbies, though.

And thank you. The worst of the weather is past us now, and we only have occasional showers tonight.

I manage Treads like you do Roni. I don't always leave mesages but I read all the threads I star. I am hoping to lurk less this year be more active in conversations.

>99 ronincats: Yikes! I didn't realize your rain was so crazy bad, Roni. And a tornado warning? That's insane! Be safe!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by my 2015 thread to check up on me. I've been taken over by my daughter who was visiting for the holidays from NYC. For the past two weeks, it's been nonstop going places and doing things. She flew home last night, and I pretty much collapsed when I got home from driving her to the airport. I can't imagine where she gets so much energy. Was I ever that energetic? If I was, I don't remember.

I have finally managed to get over to your thread Roni and drop my star. Between being away and the January madness of LT I have been scrambling to catch up. It doesn't help that I seem to be having an arthritis attack in my right knee which makes sitting at my computer for any length of time impossible. Getting old is certainly not for the faint of heart!

I am looking forward to following along with you during 2016 and absorbing the many book bullets I will no doubt take! :)

Talking of thread management, I have finally found time to do some catching up on **starred** threads
75 has grown too big to follow everyone whose books/interests overlap, being in a diff timezone does not help either .... but like you find something that works & go wit the flow.

couple years back decided i was going to read all the Pratchett disc world books again? may try to get a few more in this year get back on the wagon ...

Just dropping by to say hi. You're another one who's reading plans are pretty awesome. And all the crafting too, right up my street.

Eek, tornados and no basements! I hope you kept safe somehow.

Yes, hope all is well!

Happy New Year, Roni!

Just whizzing through, catching up on threads. (Don't throw the pottery - we love your work) ;0)

>101 ronincats: I do the same thing, Roni. The beginning of the year is always exciting because I'm always hopeful for a newbie to expand my reading tastes.

Hi, Roni. Hope you're able to stay safe and dry. That flooding looks crazy!

Belated happy new year wishes, Roni! Hope you manage to stay safe and dry despite the tornado warning.

>102 BBGirl55: Bryony, I know I lurked an awful lot the first few years. Then I realized how much I liked knowing someone had come by my thread and so started making more of an effort to return the favor.

>103 Storeetllr: Mary, good to see you checking in. I don't see you in the Threadbook yet, but will find you when you set up your thread.

The tornado warning was called because the radar was showing two wind vectors going in opposite directions, which has the potential to start air spinning and create a funnel. Luckily, the pattern broke up pretty quickly without actually doing so.

>104 DeltaQueen50: Judy, it is crazy indeed, even without being away the first few days. Boo hiss re: the arthritis! May it abate quickly!

>105 roundballnz: Alex, good to see you. I'm in an extreme time zone too--next to the last of the day and I think you are next to the first of the day! Everyone's been talking for hours by the time I get up and they've gone to bed by the time I settle down at the computer in the evening!
I also resolved to reread all the Pratchetts a few years ago--tried The Colour of Magic as an audio books and realized audio books just weren't right for me. But I think I'll do story arcs like I did last year, and the witches will be the next one for me.

>106 eclecticdodo: Thank you, Jo. I'm looking forward to watching what you are reading this year too. And I need to get going on those crafts...

>107 _Zoe_: Zoe, it wasn't bad at all, really. We Kansans love a good violent thunderstorm (unfortunately, not much thunder and lightnigh) but are a little uneasy when there's no basement at hand.

>108 sibylline: Lucy, all is well here. Hope you are feeling better.

>109 humouress: Hi, Nina! Ooh, bad wordplay joke, ouch!

>110 rosylibrarian: Hi, Marie. Yes, I usually find a few new genre readers to lend some extra spice to the threads.

>111 jnwelch: Hi, Joe. We've received 4.2 inches of rain from the storms this week, nearly half our annual average. And we don't have any topsoil to speak of to soak it up, so aren't equipped to handle any more when what we have is saturated--it just all runs off. The infrastructure also isn't designed to drain that volume in such a short time either, which is why we have all the flooding.

>112 souloftherose: Heather, I'm a regular homebody when there's bad weather out, and I'm lucky to have the freedom to be so. The rain is gone for the moment, although we had more last night and this morning. Still a chance for more, though, over the next few days.

I am still making slow progress on several books. I've finished Part 3 of Six of Crows but still have over 200 pages to go. It's a heist story with an ensemble cast and those just never draw me in strongly. And I'm continuing with The House of Twenty Thousand Books, which is interesting but also not engrossing.

Today I cleaned out my bathroom--old medications, cleaning brushes, makeup, etc. into the trash and recycle, total clean out of the vanity and the shelves in the divider, dusting and straightening up of everything else. I'll do the floor in the morning. So that's two areas of the house attacked so far. Tomorrow I think it's up into the attic to put away Christmas stuff and (maybe) start organizing up there, a MASSIVE task.

Congrats on the "winter cleaning!" Sounds like you are making progress.

Wow, Roni! I confess that I'm tired just reading about all that cleaning. Congratulations to you though!
Meanwhile, I'm back in the *Foreigner* series with enthusiasm for book 8 and gritty determination not to read book 9 quite yet.

>113 ronincats: Glad it didn't come to anything, Roni. We had a lot of tornado warnings last year, here in the Denver area, and, though nothing came of any of them, it was nerve-wracking to hear the sirens go off followed closely by my phone shrilling an emergency signal. Well done on all your cleaning and organizing. I have been looking around, thinking of all the cleaning/organizing that I need to do. Then I pick my book back up or fire up the computer and put it off another day.

We actually had a tornado in Sydney during December - unheard of! Possibly not up to your "standards" (?) but enough to wreck several houses.

Very jealous of your cleaning...

Oooh. I love a good clean out. Should put my kids onto that first thing tomorrow. :)

Enjoy!

Hi Roni & happy New Year!

I love your casual plan in >56 ronincats: . Have you started War and Peace? How is it coming along? I've barely started - I'm still flipping madly back and forth to the character list to try to figure out who everyone is.

The only book I've finished so far this year is one that I had hoped to finish New Year's Eve.

Yikes on the rain and flooding! I hope this means the drought and maybe the wildfires this summer - have come to an end for now.

I'm glad you posted your plan for reading the threads, Roni. It's an impossible task to keep up around here and still have reading and family lives. I don't know how the full-time workers in the group keep up unless they are on LT at work. Oh well, we do our best, don't we?

Originating in Kansas, I'm sure a tornado alert didn't raise your hackles too much. I'm a bit more attentive now after seeing the damage in Joplin a few years ago, but mostly take all the sirens in stride. It helps that we have a finished basement and I can feel safe simply by changing floors.

Have a good week end!

>121 Donna828: Sometimes full-timers are on LT at work - you know looking up books and recommendations for the patrons :)

>121 Donna828: - "I don't know how the full-time workers in the group keep up unless they are on LT at work."

I plead the Fifth.

>123 katiekrug: "I plead the Fifth." .... Hahaha

I usually take a run through threads in the morning when I first settle down with my cup of coffee, then again in the evening. Seems to keep me up ok!

>114 thornton37814: Lori, I finished the bathroom cleanup today, doing the glass and the floor. So, one and a half rooms done (bathroom and my side of the bedroom), arguably the smallest and least complex areas of the house?

>115 LizzieD: I'm tired just thinking of it too, Peggy. I still haven't started the Foreigner series yet, although I have 3 of the books in the tbr pile. I know I'll love the series, but what a commitment!

>116 Storeetllr: Mary, I've certainly spent a lot of time with the computer and books myself, which is why I didn't make it up to the attic today, although I did get the Christmas linens washed and tried.

>117 lyzard: We ended up with two small tornadoes in Orange County and two microbursts in northern San Diego county--some damage but no injuries.

>118 nittnut: Putting kids on it sounds like a good plan, Jenn, especially since they contribute so much to the chaos in the first place.

>119 DianaNL: Love your cat picture, Diana.

>120 streamsong: Hi, Janet. I've been holding off on starting War and Peace while tied up in my other books, but I'm going to have to dive in.

>121 Donna828: My husband was a little more thrown by the tornado warning, Donna, but I'll admit that not having a basement or storm cellar handy made me a tad anxious.

>122 lovelyluck:, >123 katiekrug: I'm sure any LT during work time is purely for the clients' benefit. *cough-cough*

>124 roundballnz: Right, Alex?

>125 drneutron: You must approach it with that rocket scientist speed and efficiency, Jim. I'm on all day and still never catch up!

I've finished my first real book and decided to count the novella as well. I also picked up three more Kindle books, one of which is the one I've finished.



Book #1 A Winterfold Christmas by Harriet Evans (pp. 66)

I forgot to make a note as to who recommended this author as an entertaining and witty regency romance writer. I picked up this novella up to check her out. It was okay but it wasn't Regency and it was a pastiche of characters from previous books, coming home for Christmas. I suspect I would have gotten a lot more out of it had I read those books, and still look forward to trying one of her Regencies.



Book #2 The Last Chance Christmas Ball by Mary Jo Putney etal. (320 pp.)

I did not get any of my Christmas reading done this year. For years, there was an annual publication of a Regency Christmas anthology, but that ceased and I haven't found any reliable good-quality substitute, and I've reread those stories so many times that I know them by heart. So when I saw this new anthology with Putney's name on it at a reduced rate, I grabbed it and it did satisfy my need for heavily sentimental Christmas romances for this season. AND it means I've finally finished a compleat book!

Wishing you a most lovely weekend, Roni.

Happy Saturday, Roni! Stopping in to catch up with your thread - I need to do that room to room deep cleaning, too. But there is no way I'm going up to the attic. Just saying...

I hadn't heard of one of your honorable mentions The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter. Just looked it up and it sounds very interesting. Sometimes steampunk can be a bit hit and miss for me, but think I'll chance this one. Love the cover too!

>127 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara, for that lovely scene.

>128 Crazymamie: Mamie, the attic is the core of it all. As my husband says, I've been stuffing stuff up there for 20 years and while most of it is somewhat organized, there is no way I need all of the stuff up there. We've had several years of winters that were too warm and now that we are finally having temps that make it comfortable to work up there, I need to do some major clean out (:^() of professional materials and cat collectibles that I had room for when I had two offices besides the house but that I'll probably never use again. ()^:)

>129 Tanglewood: Always glad to contribute to a book bullet, Michelle. It's the first of a series (the second in ebook form was a Kindle daily deal last week and the third is coming out later this year) but it has a self-contained story, no cliff-hanger.

So today the big events are going to pottery this afternoon and watching the KU-Texas Tech game when I get home. I should have several pieces to bring home and photograph tonight, so that will be the first of my craft stuff on here this year. I do need to get busy doing some wire work for Valentine's day, though--that will be here before we know it. Otherwise, I'm still avoiding the big clean-up/organizing areas of my office and my craft area.

>126 ronincats: A Winterfold Christmas has a lovely cover at least. I've never read anything by the author (that I remember anyway). There are a few authors who do Christmas books well, but for many, they could be set any other time of the year and the story wouldn't lose much. Those tend to be the ones that disappoint me. I'll try to remember to read some of the other books before trying the Christmas one.

Sh*t. Up early, tense, because it's my brother's birthday, the first one since we lost him, and I couldn't get back to sleep. So what is the featured book today on Kindle Daily Deals? Brother by Ania Ahlborn. Never heard of it and the precis suggests it is definitely not my type of story, but seeing the title this morning--coincidence?

Roni, you are in my thoughts today. I lost my Dad four years ago, and it still hits me on the day. The first one was the hardest, though. Sending you my love.

Serendipity with the Kindle Daily Deal - the universe knows. Even the bittersweet moments like that have a certain magic for me.

Thanks for trying to get me oriented in Prachett's Discworld--whew! Sorry about the loss of your brother and best wishes as you get through today.

Hi, Roni. Just stopping by to drop a star and to say Happy New Year. I'll be thinking of you today.

Those Kindle Daily Deals will be my downfall - I just can't seem to resist. I also picked up The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley.

Hope you had a great weekend Roni!

>132 ronincats: Weird.
Sorry you had a tough night and then were greeted like that. I know you miss your brother and the various anniversaries are tough.
Take good care ---

>131 thornton37814: It was just that this was a holiday pastiche of characters that had been in previous books, and I didn't already know them!

>133 Crazymamie:, 134, 135 Thank you, Mamie, Kim and Robin. I appreciate that.

>136 The_Hibernator: Rachel, it was pottery, college basketball, football, football and the Golden Globes. Oh, and I finally finished:



Book #3 Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (465 pp.)

As I've noted above, this has received excellent reviews, but it was a slow read for me. Often compared to The Lies of Locke Lamora, it is an ensemble cast involved in a heist and those just don't work well for me. (I've bounced off tLoLL twice) It's done well enough. I hadn't realized there was a previous trilogy set in the same world (which evidently hadn't triggered the same level of acclaim) and that might have gotten me more into this book. And then, while the episode wraps up, there is major unfinished business when the book ends, and I'm not at all sure I want to read on. So, if you loved Locke Lamora, you'll enjoy this but probably not quite as much.

I think I'm going to return Armada to the library tomorrow when it is due. I've got other books I'd rather be reading, and I need to open War and Peace.

>137 EBT1002: Hi, Ellen. You slipped in while I was writing the above. Thanks for your visit (go, Seahawks! Om mane padme ummmmm)

>132 ronincats: Definitely a rough way to start an already sad day. :(

Good grief.... that is some rain you have been having, Roni! Are tornadoes common where you are? Glad to see it never materialized but still. That struck me as a bit odd. Of course, with the weather these days, is there such a thing as 'odd' given that we don't seem to be having normal weather anywhere.

Kudos on the major cleaning. I like to start the New Year off doing a major clean/purge too. I feel as thought I am starting the new year off with an energetic and purposeful approach... doesn't always last but I do start out that way!

Hugs for getting through your bittersweet day yesterday. I wish you a lovely week.

>138 ronincats: Hmm, interesting, interesting. I love heist movies and have only read a few heist stories, so I'm really looking forward to starting this one on the premise alone (it was the tag line on the cover that sold me). I haven't read The Lies of Locke Lamora so I can't draw a personal comparison...but it sounds like this one is a matter of taste. It'll be interesting to see how I react to it compared to you once I get through it!

Too bad Six of Crows didn't work better for you, Roni. I'm on the fence about that one. I've seen the enthusiastic reviews, too.

>132 ronincats: Belated {{{hugs}}} :-(

>138 ronincats: I'm tempted by the heist book but may wait and see if anyone else succumbs and then see what they think...

I read The Lies of Locke Lamora, got all the way through it, and was utterly uninterested in reading any more in that world (it's a trilogy at least). It's well-written, but I detest manipulative characters and Locke is nothing but. Just a little more info for those who haven't read it yet.

I abandoned The Lies of Locke Lamora pretty early in (basically as soon as he became an adult, and his precocious childhood thievery wasn't cute anymore). It sounds like that was the right decision for me.

Well, The Lies of Locke Lamora is still sitting in my tbr pile in case I want to try it again someday. But I can predict, Jenn and Zoe, that you wouldn't particularly care for Six of Crows.

Hugs back to Lori and Brenda. No, thunderstorms, much less tornadoes, are practically nonexistent here.

Jim and Heather, there definitely are a lot of people who liked it. And it was in no way bad--just didn't draw me into the story.

The attentive reader may have noticed that I mentioned that I would be bringing pottery home from the studio last Saturday, but nothing has appeared here. I finally got photos taken and here it is!

>147 ronincats: The pottery is gorgeous (as usual).

Yep. What she said - GORGEOUS!

>147 ronincats: Beautiful!

Whoa!!! And look at that TEAPOT!!! Did I miss something last year, like a massive training montage where you became a Master Potter? Good grief. I love it.

>147 ronincats: Love the teapot too!

>144 jjmcgaffey: I've decided that I am done, done, done with media centered on terrible people doing terrible things. I suspect that class A manipulators fall well within that category. That means there's very little pop culture, especially movies and TV shows, these days that interests me. But I am really loving The Avengers Complete Emma Peel Megaset that I got for Christmas right now. Such charm!

ooooo that red teapot is beautiful.

>147 ronincats: I love all the work in that photo, Roni, but the teapot is so striking! (I usually go for blue/greens instead too...)

Sorry Six of Crows didn't work better for you. I read the first book in her Grishna series. I enjoyed it but never got back to it. Can't say I'm feeling a compelling need to keep reading her books.

>147 ronincats: Wow. They're amazing! Well done

>132 ronincats: Roni, I am so sorry that your loss of a brother still haunts you. I understand completely. I lost my beloved grandmother fourteen years ago, and I still miss her each and every day. She is with me because a lot of what I learned regarding how to be kind, how to notice small things, and a host of other important social skills that she imparted.

I wish you sunny, not rainy days! Days when the sunshine of love pours, as Joni Mitchell said "The sun pours in like butterscotch and sticks to all my senses."

>147 ronincats: Oh, that's beautiful, Roni. I love the yellow one very much.

Thank you for the kind words, Lori, Mamie, Darryl, Faith, Chris, Lucy, Mary, Jo, and Barbara. Actually, the glaze on the mug on the left didn't work out--the blue over-color beaded up and didn't flow like I wanted it to. But the other glazes worked out okay, and the base glaze is nice on that one.

>156 Whisper1: Linda, I don't mean to whinge on about it forever. I'll give myself the first anniversaries to publicly comment, and then just commemorate in private. But our losses do stay with us, as you say. I wish you those sunny days, with diminishing pain, with all my heart as well.



Book #4 The House of Twenty Thousand Books by Sasha Abramsky (340 pp.)

I ordered this from the library as soon as I saw it--with a title like that and the cover! But it is not primarily a book about books. It is a memoir of the author's grandfather, a Russian Jew who immigrated to England in 1931 after his famed rabbi father was released from 2 years in a Siberian labor camp. Chimen Abramsky was first a dedicated Communist who collected seminal Socialist literature and then, when that dream became varnished, one of the world's foremost experts of historical Judaica. Organizing his reminisces and the history of Chimen's life and the illustrious people who visited his house by the rooms of the house and the different collections they held, Sasha pulls together an interesting account of the people in England integral to the Jewish Communist Committee, the interaction of London Jews with the formation of Israel, and those involved in discovering and dealing with historical books.

Super funky pottery! I got through The Lies of Locke Lamora, and felt like it could have been good, and moments were good, but didn't love it. I picked up the second in the sequel out of a sense of obligation, and read it, but was sufficiently underwhelmed that I won't bother with any more. My partner is really into the sci-fi/fantasy genre and thinks they are great though.

Hi Roni, gosh, am I the only one who loved The Lies of Locke Lamora? I am looking forward to continuing on with the series next month with Red Skies Under Red Seas. Oh well, to each his own, I guess.

I love that yellow mug, both for the bright sunny color and for the oversized handle. I can imagine holding that mug filled with a warm beverage on a cold morning and cupping my other hand around it. :)

>160 DeltaQueen50: You're not the only one! I really enjoyed Locke Lamora and the sequels as well. Perhaps I should give Six of Crows a try...

I think that people who love Locke Lamora will also enjoy Six of Crows, foggi. And Judy, I think more people enjoyed the Locke Lamora books than not--this is just where those who didn't so much are speaking up! I know you loved it.

Glad you like the pottery, Megan. And thanks for the Locke Lamora feedback.

So today I finally got Christmas back up the ladder into the attic. And I made a start at organizing my craft area, now that I have the dining room table clear of the Christmas stuff. But only a start...

I always love seeing your work on your thread, Roni. The teapot looks especially lovely. One of these days I'm going to be in San Diego and I'm going to see some of these things in person (or, in ceramic).

You know, we've acknowledged that we have much in common, including (duh) our love of books, but usually our taste doesn't overlap much. But!! -- The House of Twenty Thousand Books looks very interesting. Thanks for the blue book bullet! :-D

>162 ronincats: I liked Locke Lamora, but I didn't love it with a fervent passion. I enjoyed it enough to read Red Skies, but that felt like such a slog that I probably won't pick up any more. It sounds like Six of Crows may not be my thing.

>161 foggidawn: I think there are a lot of people speaking up about not liking Locke Lamora because it can be hard to talk about not liking something on a thread where people are having a love fest? So when someone confesses to not loving something, everyone who felt the same way gives a sigh of relief and chimes in. I've certainly heard from a lot more Lamora fans than not.

Hi Roni! A little late getting in my hellos for the new year! Your pottery looks gorgeous, as always!

>147 ronincats: Love the yellow mug :-)
And must confess I didn't like The lies of Locke Lamora either...

Hey Roni, dropping by! May you have many good books this year.
Put me down in the pro-Locke Lamora camp, I've read all three of his books.
I hadn't seen Indexing #2 (McGuire), I'm looking forward to your review of it.

Good afternoon, fellow readers! We've been out to the park with the dog and...I forgot to put on my Fitbit. Drat!

>161 foggidawn: I missed you above, foggi. While we have a great range of opinions on books on LT, I think this particular difference is the one I have the most cognitive dissonance over because the people whose tastes are the closest to mine in general across the board are decidedly split over the Locke Lamora books.

>163 EBT1002: Ellen, a lovely message! I certainly hope we can have a meet-up someday. And I think our personalities are probably more similar than our reading tastes, odd as that may seem.

>164 archerygirl: Exactly, Kathy.

>165 tapestry100: David! So glad to see you back, although sorry to hear about the resumption of the chemo. Happy reading and hope you spend lots of time here this year.

>166 FAMeulstee: Hugs, Anita!

>167 quinaquisset: Hey, QQ, the more the merrier, regardless of which side you come down on! I hope to get around to Indexing: Reflections next month.

So I'm now working on Halo: Mortal Dictata and have read the first six chapters of the Garnett translation of War and Peace. The Maude and the Peviar & Volohkovsky translations came in at the library midweek and I'm going to read the same chapters in both of them, then choose which to continue with.

Meanwhile, last night I read the only book I got for Christmas (they don't buy me books because I already have them!):



Book #5 Sorry I Barfed on your Bed byJeremy Greenberg (62 pp.)

Cute and clever.

>168 ronincats: Love the title.

LOVE the red glazed tea pot!!!!!
Haven't yet read *Locke L* although I've started it a couple of times.
I know you'll always miss your brother, but you won't have to go through the first Christmas again, and that has to be a good thing.
Take care!

>168 ronincats: That's a great title. Are there pictures in the book?

>168 ronincats: I've seen that one before. I'm thankful that my kitties have not barfed on "their" bed yet. With three of them, I'm completely aware that nothing I once claimed as mine is mine--even my bed. I usually wake up with one kitten between my head and the headboard on the pillow, one up against my torso near the hip and one either right next to my left leg or between my legs.

Have a lovely weekend!

I love the pottery, Roni.

And I'm adding The House of Twenty Thousand Books to my list.

Roni, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

>168 ronincats: I will have to read that one :)

Stopping by to get caught up, Roni.

>147 ronincats: - I love that red teapot!

I am a little concerned about all of the 'blah' feelings for Lies of Locke Lamora. It seems to one of those reads that people either love (or like a fair bit) and those who don't. I will be reading my copy sometime this year so will see which camp I fall into.

Wishing you a happy Sunday and a lovely week.

It's a very well-written, rich, complex story in a complex universe - with a protagonist who is manipulating people, flat-out lying, setting up elaborate scams, or otherwise being twisty about 99% of the book. If you like that sort of thing, you'll probably love it. If you don't - if, like me, you dislike manipulators - you'll probably dislike it. So when you get around to reading it, tell us...

Yes, well, I started Locke Lamora but didn't get far before being turned off. Perhaps it was just my mood at the time, but, not only did it not grab me, but it kind of repulsed me. I think maybe Jen's analysis was true for me.

Hi, Roni! Hope you're having a great Sunday!

Hope your weekend is going well and you are getting lots of crafting and reading in, Roni.

Just checking by ----

>147 ronincats: That's quite an eye-catching red in adorable form.

I've got to read Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed. Sounds like a good gift book. Now I just have to figure out who to gift it to.

>169 xymon81: I think the title is what has made the book, Matthew.
>170 LizzieD: Glad you like the teapot. Yeah, I've started Locke Lamora a couple of times too. And so true, Peggy.
>171 Familyhistorian: Yes, Meg, the book basically consists of pictures on one side and a fictionalized letter from the pictured cat to its owner on the other.
>172 thornton37814: You definitely have your lap full of cats, Lori. Love the description of where they sleep.
>173 DianaNL: Thank you, Diana.
>174 BLBera: Thanks, Bryony.
>175 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara.
>176 lovelyluck: It's a quick read, Jennifer.
>177 lkernagh: Lori, I hope you have a lovely week as well. Jenn addressed your concern about LL in >178 jjmcgaffey: very well, I think. And yes, tell us where your reaction falls!
>178 jjmcgaffey: Admire all your gardening, Jenn, and hope to get pictures of my peas up this week.
>179 Storeetllr: And another! Have a great week, Mary, and I hope it's not as tiring as this last one.
>180 Familyhistorian: Meg, I've finished 4 ruffle scarves and one hat over the last few weeks while watching basketball and football games, but they are more of the same patterns I've shown before so I haven't posted them.
>181 LizzieD: Hi, Peggy!
>182 qebo: Thanks, Katherine.
>183 The_Hibernator: Definitely needs to be a cat lover, Rachel.

Not much reading--too much time watching games (and crocheting) and on the computer, but I have to bear down because I need to finish Halo: Mortal Dictata by Tuesday evening and I have a lot yet to read. I also need to do some gardening this week--grass is sprouting up everywhere in my beds after the rain and the roses need pruning. And I've only gotten a few wire hearts done for my booth--need to get back to those and then take some pictures.

AND I forgot to add the one book I did finish!



Book #6 St. Paul: The Apostle We Love To Hate by Karen Armstrong (158 pp.)

This is definitely St. Paul light, but I have a pretty complete collection of Armstrong's books so picked this up. The British subtitle is "The Misunderstood Apostle". Armstrong sets out what is known about Paul from what sources (rightly distrusting much of Luke's agenda) and identifying the writings from later times that have been attributed to Paul. The thing that was new to me was the information that, despite the mythology, we know absolutely nothing about what happened to Paul after he was arrested in Jerusalem--he simply disappears.

Here's a shot of one of my containers of peas flanking the front porch. I also have peas in the side garden bed, not quite as advanced. Can you find all the pea pods?

>186 ronincats: Garden envy... I had a decent crop of those last year, ate most of them straight off the vine.

Envious of the pottery and the garden and the time to do them! Mind you, itt's not that I don't get to do things, it's just I want to do them all!! LOL I'll just live vicariously through you. : )

>186 ronincats: I can't find all the pea pods on my own plants when I can use my hands! Nice crop already - and yes, >187 qebo:, I eat more of mine straight off the plant, or at most as a raw snack a little later, than I cook.

>147 ronincats: Lovely! Especially the red teapot as others have said.

>185 ronincats:

That is an interesting write up, thanks.

I think it was J N D Kelly, in his commentary on the pastoral epistles who makes a pretty good case for Paul undergoing not one but two captivities in Rome. Accepting the traditional narrative that he died in Rome, he nevertheless argues that this was after a second captivity, and that he would thus have written the pastoral epistles after the first one and before the second.

Too many people are willing to write off the pastoral epistles as not being authored by Paul, whereas Kelly makes an excellent case for the Pauline authorship, without denying any of the reasons for doubt. He tackles them head on and creates a convincing case for their authenticity.

I wonder whether Karen Armstrong also accepts that they are Pauline? If she did, would that alter her case about Paul vanishing from the record?

Your pea plants are so pretty, Roni!

Total garden envy. We are locked into bitter cold here at the moment, and the thought of delicate, tender peas fresh off the vine is making me wistful.

Howdy Ro!

I'm one that really enjoyed Lies of Locke Lamora. I am so excited that The Aeronaut's Windlass made it to your top reads lists for 2015. I have that one slated for February and I can't wait to read it. I finally finished Side Jobs so I'm done with Dresden other than the Bigfoot short stories. Time to move along to Butcher's new series.

Love the red teapot!

Have you read any Chuck Wendig? I'm reading Zer0es and so far I like it. I read a Miriam Black short story and the character sounds interesting, but I don't recall anyone that has read the MB series.

>186 ronincats: Mmm! Looking tasty! Maybe I will grow some peas this spring. I do miss gardening. I tried tomatoes in buckets a few years ago without much success; I bet peas would be easier.

Raw peas are one of my favourite treats, and very hard to get these days, presumably because of weather shifts---I'm very envious, Roni!

Hi Roni. I'm doing a quick catch up before dinner. Love the pottery and the gorgeous red on the teapot. The handle on the green cup is intriguing; I bet it would have collapsed in a heap if I'd ever attempted anything like that.

Got to go - I hear a ruckus with the kids developing...

I liked The Lies of Locke Lamora well enough (no love or hate here), although I would have really liked more women characters, particularly some that had depth, but I bounced hard off of Red Skies. Detailed descriptions of torture will do that for me...

Those peas look amazing! One of the things I really miss about living with/near my parents is the fresh food from my mom's garden. I'm not a gardener at all.

Morning, Roni. I am very envious of you being able to stroll out to your garden and picking some veggies in January! Being in the mood for something light I have picked up Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer and I am really enjoying it. I am also just starting The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie, which I would say would appeal to anyone who also likes Locke Lamora.

Interesting about Paul!

Can't help but commiserate with you about not getting books for xmas - I have to hand out carefully tailored lists, so I almost always know exactly what I am getting. . . not as much fun as someone finding me something I didn't know about! But the Barf book went on the WL as I have two birthdays of cat lovers (spousal unit and LD) coming up and we somehow didn't find a good new silly cat book for the holidays as we usually do.

Book #7 Terry Pratchett: The Spirit of Fantasy by Craig Cabell (244 pp.)

This book is not so much a biography of Pratchett's life but a biography of his writing development, especially in terms of themes and imagination, and how his diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease in 2007 led to strong activism both for research on the disease and for assisted-death legislation as well as stimulating themes in his writing. Cabell is a journalist who apparently makes a living writing about authors. His style is dry, analytic, detached. I don't know that I got any great insights into either Sir Pterry or his writing, but Cabell does include an exhaustive bibliography of book editions (British) and movies at the end.

Too bad that wasn't a better read, Roni, because the premise is so great. STill, I suppose it is probably worth it for the bibliography of his books alone.

>187 qebo: I did NOT have a decent crop of these last year, so am really trying hard for this one!
>188 Berly: Retirement is what gives me the time--it will come for you too. Eventually!
>189 jjmcgaffey: I know, Jenn. I had to go out and count with my fingers (not the way you all are thinking, but by running my fingers over the vines) to get a count--there are about 15 in the photo.
>190 souloftherose: Thanks, Heather.
>191 sirfurboy: Stephen, Armstrong does not accept that they are genuine, as you guessed. I go with the majority on this one, not because they are the majority, but because the linguistic analysis and the argument that the concerns of the pastoral epistles are for a Church developed much more than in Paul's time (not to mention the inconsistency of his message about the role of women) are compelling for me. My religion reading right now is N. T. Wright's Paul and the Faithfulness of God, but I am in early days there.
>192 Crazymamie:, >192 Crazymamie: I am holding on a few more days before making a soup that calls for fresh pea pods, and I am salivating already.
>194 luvamystery65: The Aeronaut's Windlass is so much fun. No, I've not read any Wendig but I've heard his name--I think he's written the latest Star Wars stuff.
>195 foggidawn:, >196 lyzard: Fresh peas are wonderful, aren't they?!
>197 humouress: Nina, you picked up on the cup handle. That actually is a strip rolled out with a rolling pin with a cat design--the glaze unfortunately covers most of the cats but that's why the handle is so wide.
>198 bluesalamanders: Blue, I will definitely avoid Red Skies--torture does that for me as well.
>199 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I know you will enjoy Bath Tangle.
>200 sibylline: Hi, Lucy. Yes, even when I put a book on my wishlist, I rarely get it. I do get Amazon cards, though, if I push for it.
>201 ronincats: I suspect that any book about Pratchett will never be ENOUGH for a devotee, Mamie.

Okay, we are packing up for the farmer's market this afternoon. I will take a picture of all my crochet newbies there, but here is some of the jewelry I've been working on.

Oh! So fun! Love the heart earrings. If I could wear earrings, I'd choose the red ones with the swirl in the middle.

I went back to examine the green cup handle but, though I enlarged the screen to 200x, I still couldn't make out any cats.

I also still love that red mug.

>199 DeltaQueen50: Bath Tangle reminds me I have a Heyer on my Kindle that I haven't read yet. Valentine's Day will be a wonderful day for reading a romance novel, and that will be mine. It will make a good change from fantasy, which I'll be reading all month long during Fantasy February, or at least that's my plan.

>204 Storeetllr: Georgette Heyer is always an author I reach for when I need a change of pace. Valentine's Day with Georgette sounds perfect!

Hi Roni, good luck at the Farmer's Market. :)

>204 Storeetllr: Mary, I sold a pair of those and my only pair of the triple heart dangles went first thing. I took a picture of the cat handle on my phone. I will transfer it here in the morning.

Thanks, Judy. I did okay for a slow night! They are going to put the market on hiatus until the time change because the farmers aren't making costs right now. I have to find a new venue for my Valentine and Easter designs.

Tired, though. I've gotten out of the habit of unloading and packing stuff back away.

>203 ronincats:

Thanks Roni. I think Kelly convincingly deals with the linguistic analysis argument. The argument regarding the development of the church places these epistles late, but not not impossibly late in the period. The problem is that an argument that Paul vanishes from the record becomes self fulfilling if you discount all the evidence that he didn't ;)

NT Wright has written some excellent books but I have not read that one. I will be interested to see what you make of it, and may add it as a result.

Happy weekend, Roni.

>203 ronincats: Ooh, like the hearts! I think the red with the swirl is also my favourite.

>207 sirfurboy: Which book by Kelly addresses this? I'll put it on my reading list.

>208 Ameise1: Hi, Barbara! Love me a pot of tea for sure.

>209 souloftherose: The dangle hearts were the first to sell yesterday, but I sold some of the red swirls too, Heather.

Here's the bring home from the pottery today. These are three pieces I threw last summer and lost track of, so glazed them last week. I spent the whole session today glazing pieces I trimmed last week, 8 pieces in all, with two cereal bowls I didn't get to.


And here is a photo of the bottom of the cat handle on the mug from last week--there's too much glaze on the top of the handle to see the design at all.

>210 ronincats: Very cool! You are so very talented.

>186 ronincats: Green things growing in January. Huh.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend, Roni!

I love fresh peas on the plant. And the plants look so beautiful too. We're still just waiting for the green shoots from the bulbs to flower.

>210 ronincats:

The book is Kelly's commentary on the pastoral Epistles:

"The Pastoral Epistles" J N D Kelly, Black's New Testament Commentaries.

You may need to hunt it out in a library as it was published some years ago.

>210 ronincats: (Whizzing through) Nice woven leaf effect.

>210 ronincats: glad you found them back, I like the color & pattern of the mug on the left!

>210 ronincats: I like the dish in the middle, and I can kinda see the cats in that closeup.

Hi Roni! I love the pottery pics! I have a few pieces I consider heirlooms because they were made by my father's brother and his first wife.

I'm sorry I wasn't in San Diego long enough for a meetup. I was free early in the morning. I woke up at 4:30 or so every day, which is 7:30 my time. We usually ate an early supper and then I was ready for bed. We managed a quick trip to the Cabrillo Monument late yesterday afternoon since one person in our group hadn't been there before. We spent the rest of our time in meetings.

>203 ronincats:, >210 ronincats: I'm loving the crafting pics. Particularly the bowl in the middle. We have some a little similar actually which we picked up at a small pottery on holiday once. I'm always looking for opportunities to show them off.

>185 ronincats: That's just the type of book I'm interested in, Roni. I'll keep it on my list.

Hope you have a great week ahead.

>211 AMQS: Hi, Anne. It's been a good one--all my teams won!
>212 charl08: Peas still seem like a luxury to me, Charlotte. In Kansas where I grew up, the time between warm enough to plant and hot enough to burn them up was too short to get a pea crop in and so we never grew them.
>213 sirfurboy: My library has a few of Kelly's books but not that one.
>214 humouress:, >215 FAMeulstee:, and >216 foggidawn: Thank you, Nina, Anita, and foggi.
>217 cbl_tn: Thanks, Carrie. Sorry we didn't get to meet up but quite understand.
>218 eclecticdodo: I can always tell the pottery lovers when they stop by my booth--they need to handle the pots!
>219 The_Hibernator: Thanks, Rachel!

I realized that I completely omitted a book I finished last Tuesday!

Book #8 Halo: Mortal Dictata by Karen Traviss

So, my computer froze when I attempted to open a new window to get page count and cover picture for the book, and I feared I had lost the entire message. So I quickly posted it when it was restored!



Book #8 Halo: Mortal Dictata by Karen Traviss (496 pp.)

This is a book further along in a series I haven't read, and the interesting thing is that many of the people who have followed the series hate this book and feel it destroys the spirit of the previous books. Coming to it completely fresh, I found it interesting and complex science fiction and the moral dilemmas quite understandable.

After a busy working week and catching up with stats and then a weekend trip to historic Melaka, I am finally getting caught up, Roni my dear. Nice to see you as busy as ever over here.

Phew! Made it here at last!! Leo's on nap time but stirring, and the health visitor is due any minute, so it will only be a flying visit, but lovely to catch up with you as always, dear Roni!

Firstly, I just bought The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter as it was only 99p and I love a bit of steampunk. Looking forward to that one. Secondly, LOVE the pottery- those colours would make a great colour scheme for a room (we are starting down the road of buying again, so I'm in full on interior designer mode at the moment, and I think you have just given me some serious inspiration).
Also, I have pea envy. I used to grow peas when we had a little garden. They weren't too challenging for a beginner gardener like me if I used the idiot's method of growing loads from old dried peas and then picking them when they were just young shoots to use in salads - delicious!

(Edited to say this was sat on my computer for days because the health visitor did indeed turn up before I finished! Colour wise I am referring to the pottery in >147 ronincats:, although the colours in >210 ronincats: are also lovely!)

You are very bold to read a series right in the middle. I have done that by accident but I really hate to do that.

>222 PaulCranswick: Always good to see you here, Paul!
>223 HanGerg: Same for you, Hannah! I know Leo keeps you busy.
>224 luvamystery65: It was selected for a book club, Ro, and I agreed to it because I've read this author before (the books in the Halo series are by different authors) and liked her work. In this case, I think I'm glad.

PSA The FF thread is up!

Fantasy February

Taking advantage of a head cold to spend the day on the couch getting caught up with some threads.

>178 jjmcgaffey: - Based on that description, I am looking forward to diving into LL.... just need to find time in my reading schedule.

Love the sweet pea plants, Roni! I love eating sweet peas raw right off the vines. I see more wonderful jewelry and pottery. Your hearts theme for the jewelry is great!

Nice to see growing pea plants in the middle of January. A soup made with pea pods sounds interesting. Heart earrings and pottery - looking good. You are so very crafty!

>185 ronincats: I have a Paul book on my tbr pile, Hyam Maccoby's The Mythmaker which seems to be fairly controversial.

>226 luvamystery65: Got it starred, Ro. Also have my first commitment for it, the book that downloaded itself onto my Kindle last night, the sequel to City of Stairs, City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett. Even though I'm supposed to be reading off my own shelf!

>227 lkernagh: Oh no, Lori, hope you are feeling better soon! But time to catch up on threads is almost worth it.

>228 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. It's "miso and potsticker soup with crispy snap peas" and I'll probably make it tomorrow. The recipe actually calls for the peas to be sliced and sprinkle over the soup as a garnish at the end--I'll probably add them whole for the last 2 minutes of cooking instead.

Both of us were up from 4 to 7 this morning--I've just gotten up again, which has disrupted a day for which nothing special was planned. My Jayhawks lost AGAIN last night--not good. I need to organize paper (put last year's receipts in a bag, start my receipt drawer with this year's receipts, pay bills, organize craft paperwork, etc.), which I've been putting off.

>203 ronincats: Oooh, I love the triple heart dangles (dangly earrings and vintage-looking are my favorites!).

>210 ronincats: Lovely work as well - the piece in the middle is my favorite.

No book bullets this round, however :)

I have to get busy, Mary, and make some more!

Here are the peas picked today for the Miso and potsticker soup, as well as one of the bananas from a clump off our banana plants.

>232 ronincats: Very cool!

>232 ronincats: Those peas look like they're going to be delicious, Roni! I'm very behind on your thread (and everyone else's) but I wanted to say hi.

>232 ronincats: I have an ambition to have a minibanana plant in my future greenhouse! Again, the plant envy. The soup plan sounds so very lovely.

Oh, your own peas and your own bananas. (Green with envy).

And I see you are getting ready for Valentine time!

>233 brenpike: Hi, Brenda!
>234 kgodey: They were delicious, Kriti. Good to see you.
>235 justchris: In a greenhouse would be good. They tend to be invasive in the ground in this climate.
>236 sibylline: Oh, yes. Just see below!

So we were out and about this evening, unusually, so we went by the pottery and picked up what I glazed on Saturday. Here are some medium sized bowls.


And here is getting ready for Valentine time.

Lovely! For some reason, I'm partial to the blue glazes, and I just love the blue heart bowl with the bits of red, but I'm also drawn to the heart bowl on the bottom right. All are lovely, though.

I like the deep bowls, particularly the one on the left. And the glaze on the green heart bowl is fantastic! Always lovely.

Beautiful! I really like the hearts. And the bowls are pretty too, especially that purple and blue on a couple of them. And I like the glaze on the outside of the other bowl, too (so it doesn't feel left out).

Roni, your pottery is just so gorgeous. And your harvest looks yummy - how did the soup turn out?

I love your pottery, Roni! I would buy and use those bowls if I could.

Ditto, Roni. >237 ronincats: Those look great.

>237 ronincats: Your pottery is just beautiful! Have you ever thought about setting up an Etsy shop?

Good morning, all! Thank you, Mary, Jenn, Nina, Mamie, Darryl, Joe and David, for coming by and your appreciative comments--I depend on your feedback. David, while I have considered Etsy or some such for my wire jewelry, I don't really want to be shipping and insuring pottery--the postage is ridiculous, as Mamie can attest. Sometimes it is nearly as much as the bowl.

So...Tuesday I didn't get much done toward my goal of organizing the paper in my office, but I did get the refrigerator cleaned out. However, yesterday I did make significant headway and got the window seat and my computer armoire cleared and a lot of paper processed. What isn't is in the designated "in box". But my desk is still piled high with stuff I need to either file or find a place for, so that is on today's agenda.

I didn't think the postage was ridiculous - I LOVE the bowl, and would happily order a dozen more things from you if I didn't think it would stress you out. Your stuff is one of a kind GORGEOUS, Roni. And I think you charge too little, SO there.

Good luck with that paperwork.

>245 ronincats: How nice to be useful *warm glow* :0)

>237 ronincats: Love the bowls!

>237 ronincats: Love the pottery, I'm always on the lookout for interesting bowls though I'll have to stick with New Zealand artisans.

>237 ronincats: I love your pottery! I'm always saying that!

Love the top left blue heart with red accents! But they are all great. : )

They're all lovely, though I have to say I love the blended blue-and-red bowl. The green is also striking.

Happy weekend!

I have heard it said that Roni is our Sci-fi guru (she is almost certainly mine) but I must add that I think (switching address) that you could certainly teach all of us a thing or two with that potter's wheel!

Have a great weekend.

Beautiful, beautiful heart-shaped bowls, Roni. Perfect for Valentine's Day!

Nice pics of the pottery up there ..... always an admirer of anyone skilled in crafts

Sigh. January on LT. I am super behind after a two week holiday, so I'll just jump in here. :) Happy weekend.

Love the images of your pottery work! And your own bananas, how great is that! I'm not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere above (this thread moves so fast!) but did you make those heart-shaped bowls as gifts with specific people in mind, or will you be selling them at a craft stall? They'd make lovely gifts to precious friends & family.

>237 ronincats: I love those blue glazes. Hard to decided which is my favourite shade but perhaps the round bowl in the bottom right of the top photo.

Gorgeous stuff, Roni; I really love the teapot and, I thought it was a mug when I was scrolling through but I think it's a gravy boat? in >210 ronincats:. I love heavy stoneware mugs for soups and chowders, so I would probably use it as a mug, at any rate! :)

The heart bowls are excellent. I like that blue-green combo a lot too.

>232 ronincats: I'm green with envy - we don't get anything as exciting as bananas! A few peas in the summer, and we're in purple sprouting broccoli season now, but precious little else from our tiny garden in rainy England

>237 ronincats: And beautiful pottery too, I especially love the bottom left green and blue glaze

Time to construct a new thread--I'll respond to everyone over there!