Humouress here again

Happy New Year, everyone!



Popping in quickly between holidays to set up house.

July

26) Bastion by Mercedes Lacky
25) Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
24) The One by Kiera Cass
23) The Elite by Kiera Cass
22) The Selection by Kiera Cass
21) Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
✔              20) So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane
✔                  19) Redoubt by Mercedes Lackey

May
              18) Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George
✔              17) Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

April

16) Wild Cards ed. George R.R. Martin
15) Lord of the Fire Lands by Dave Duncan

March

              14) Arrow's Fall by Mercedes Lackey
              13) Cinder by Marissa Meyer
✔              12) Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort

February

              11) Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier
✔              10) God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell
✔              9) Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
✔              8) Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd
✔                      7) Last Act by Jane Aiken Hodge
✔                  6) Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier
✔              5) Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

January

4) The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
✔              3) Fortune and Fate by Sharon Shinn
✔                  2) The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
✔                  1) Ruddy Gore by Kerry Greenwood

May
17

March
12

February
5 6 7 8 9 10

January
1 23

The constellation:

  You have got to read this one!                          
  Really good; worth reading                                
      Good, but without that special 'something' for me  
       Very nice, but a few issues                                   
           An enjoyable book                                                                        
           Um, okay. Has some redeeming qualities                  
                Writing is hard. I appreciate the work the author did    
               (haven't met one - yet)                                               
                     Dire                                                                            
                     Rated only as a warning. Run away. Don't stop.               

7 reviews to catch up with?

8 just in case

1) Ruddy Gore by Kerry Greenwood

(Seventh of 20, Phryne Fisher Mysteries series; mystery, 1930s Melbourne)



I picked up Away with the Fairies, which is a book further on in this series, on a trip to Australia once, thinking it was in my usual genre of Fantasy. It turned out to be about a lady detective in post Great War Melbourne, and I quite like period mysteries, having burned through a fair number of Conan Doyles and Agatha Christies in my youth.

Since you have to start at the beginning (well, I do), I am now working my way gradually through the series, inspired by the recent television dramatisation.

This is a gently-paced story with diverse threads to pull together at the end; being on holiday, it took me a while to get into it, but I was hooked about halfway through.

It starts as the Honourable Miss Fisher, Phryne (Fry-knee) to her friends, and her chum Bunji rescue an old lady and her grandson from attackers, as they are on their way to the theatre. Thus we are introduced to the delightful Lin Chung. At the theatre, a gala performance of one of Gilbert and Sullivan's lesser known operettas, Ruddigore, one of the lead actors collapses, and the elegant Phryne becomes involved in a case of histrionic actors, theatre ghosts and scoundrels.

I like this series because it evokes a sense of joie de vivre in 1930s Melbourne, though I can't speak to its accuracy, of course; I'm more used to stories of that period being set in England. The only flaw in the elegant Miss Fisher is that, most annoyingly, she has none - though I don't recall feeling that way about her in previous books.

3.5 stars

Ruddy Gore? Ruddy norah, Nina has made it across finally!

I hope 2016 brings you all you desire and, selfishly, that we finally manage to bridge those 250 miles for a meet-up in Singapore.

Welcome back!

>11 drneutron: Thanks, Doc!

>10 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul; thanks for the welcome. We were out on the river to watch the fireworks and welcome the new year in, and on the 2nd we shot off to Malaysia - yes, Malaysia, but only to Legoland - with the boys and their cousins and spent a couple of days at the water park and on the roller coasters. If roller coasters don't scare you, try riding them with a skinny 7 year old who knows no fear. Terrifying! Just back and recovered; welcomed my parents from Australia this evening, and we're off again tomorrow, back to Malaysia, as they've booked a family holiday in Malacca. Almost ... but not quite ... *fingers losing grip* ... *slips back down south to Singapore* ...

Happy reading in 2016, Nina. Found you and starred.

Hi, Nina! Sounds like you're having a busy start to the new year.

Hi Nina, enjoy your holiday.

Enjoy!

Wishing you a most lovely weekend, Nina.

Welcome back.

You're back! Hope you had a great weekend!

I'm back - again! I couldn't pick up any internet reception all week, so I've got a lot to catch up on.

>13 Ameise1: Welcome to my thread, Barbara. Happy 2016 to you too.

>14 ronincats: Welcome, Roni. The boys don't go back to school until almost the end of January, this being their 'summer' break, so we're fitting a lot in. And, unexpectedly, we're having a few guests this month, apart from my parents, so it's a bit busy.

>15 avatiakh: Hi Kerry, and welcome. We did/ are; which is to say we're back from our travels, but not back to school yet.

>16 DianaNL: Welcome to my thread, Diana. What a cute kitten! Welcome back.

>17 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara; that is stunning!

>18 xymon81: Thanks Matthew; good to see you back, too. Welcome.

>19 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel. Yes, I finally made it over. Better late than never, right? Welcome to my thread.

Have a lovely weekend!

Nina, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

Thank you Diana and Barbara.

The weekend has been busy but fun. The boys have do various sports classes on Saturday and Sunday, and my younger one was asked to do another, though I couldn't persuade him to join this week.

My parents are here until the end of the month which is nice - though my dad can be trying because he can not cope with hot weather. Oddly, he has a romantic dream of living in Malaysia, which seems to me to be hotter than Singapore!

And my husband's cousins came over from London, so we got together with them and some other family living here, which was nice.

Found and starred your new thread, Nina!

2) The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

(First of 3, Books of Beginning series; children's, fantasy, adventure)
(Library book)



As very small children, Kate, Michael and Emma were taken from their family home in the middle of the night and separated from their parents. Only Kate - 5 at the time - has any real memory of their parents, but she clings to the memory of them telling her they'll come back for the children and for Kate to look after her younger siblings. This holds them together through being shuffled through several orphanages - where they fiercely refuse to be labelled as orphans- even though the only surname they've been given is the letter P. Then, their very last chance, they are sent to a strange place called Cambridge Falls, which doesn't - quite- seem to belong to this world, and they are thrown into a mysterious and scary adventure.

Aimed at children. Nicely plotted. The time travel paradox was well explained and, for once, didn't leave me confused.

4 stars

3) Fortune and Fate by Sharon Shinn

(Fifth of 5: Twelve Houses series. Fantasy)



I was hankering for a traditional fantasy novel, and this hit the spot admirably.

The major story arc of the Twelve Houses has concluded, and this novel ties up a few loose ends. Wen, a Rider, fought but did not die at King Baryn's side. Feeling bitterly that she has failed in her duty, she roams Gillengaria, unable to settle in one place, defending the helpless with her fighting skills as atonement. She rescues a young girl, Karryn, who is a serramarra and the future marlady (ruler) of Fortunault, one of the Twelve Houses. Finding that her protection is woefully inadequate, Wen is asked to help build up the defences of Karryn's estate, called Fortune, by her uncle and regent, Jasper.

We see Wen building a trusted team around Karryn, so she can leave Fortune in good hands, and we see Jasper helping Wen rebuild her faith in herself. We also get to see quite a bit of the characters from the rest of the series that we know and fell in love with.

Will Wen be able to find the forgiveness she has denied herself? Will she be able to finally go home?

Although this book can be read separately from the rest of the series, it does contain spoilers for it, as it takes place after events in the series. (The rest of the series does have to be read in order, as the books are part of a continuing story.)

I do love a good romance, and this one is sweet and well told. I love the universe Shinn has created with her Twelve Houses series, and I wouldn't mind reading more. Unfortunately, this is the last book (for now?).

5 stars

So, while we were on holiday, my 12 year old found himself watching Nigella Express (there being a dearth of kids' programs) and was inspired, when we got home, to create a two course meal for 6 of us including my parents. He did have help, which is to say I found ingredients for him in my kitchen, and made sure he didn't burn the chocolate he was melting for his mousse, and someone else chopped and fried the mushroom and onion accompaniment for his steaks, but he did a darn good job; not only was it delicious, but elegantly presented, too. He took a leaf out of his dad's book and winged it with his own steak marinate recipe; he served us steaks with baby asparagus and sugar peas, followed by individual chocolate mousses, decorated with a marshmallow each (and 3 for his younger brother). Though I did draw the line at putting my crystal dishes in the freezer.

We were all seriously impressed, not to mention sated. He enjoyed it so much and his brother was inspired, so they plan to follow it up with homemade burgers sometime this week - a recipe from the Junior Masterchef book which he's had success with before.

>24 souloftherose: Welcome, Heather!

Wow! Sounds like your oldest is heading for a career as a notable chef!

>6 humouress: I love your star ratings. Your descriptions are spot on for my tastes.

>26 humouress: Oooh, a nice 5 star read for you :)

>29 ronincats: He definitely loves messing around with ingredients. His first attempts, though (when he was about 5 years old) involved easily accessible ingredients like milk, tomato sauce and raw eggs. I didn't have the heart to say anything, and my poor mother (we were staying with my parents while I delivered my second child) had to create things like omelettes out of all the bowlfuls he mixed.

We got the hamburgers in the end, but I had to get him out of the pool to make them. We've lived in this house for 8 years, and my parents have come over once or twice a year, but this was the first time they've managed to get into our pool! And even then I missed out because my voice is still a bit rough (it looked like I might lose it altogether on Tuesday). But the kids had fun with their grandparents with a free for all water gun fight.

Thanks Megan! I was wondering if anyone would notice, because I just went back yesterday to start filling up some of my posts at the top.

Absolutely! I really like the Twelve Houses novels, as well as other books I've read by Shinn.

Happy weekend, Nina.

Seeing the pictures of all the snow and storms in the USA and Europe and well, here we are, safe and warm!

Have a lovely Sunday.

Thank you, Diana, Barbara and Paul. It's been a good weekend; we're house-full for the first time in a long time, with my parents and a friend / cousin from overseas. Back to school tomorrow, for a new year!

Hope you have a great week ahead!

Thanks Rachel!

Dear Nina,

thank you for your New Years wishes on my old thread. I decided to give it another go with my own thread this year again.
I hope life treats you and your family well and I am looking forward *hearing* about it.

Hi Bianca, it's good to see y back again. I'm glad you made it across to the new group. Life is good, but busy. Thank you for your wishes, and I wish you the same, too.

I have pulled Sapphire Blue off my shelf to read. I didn't realise until after I finished Ruby Red, but I believe it was translated from German? It's a very good translation, I must say.

Sorry - minor emergency. My younger son called me away because he grazed his knee while having a 'gun fight' with my mum. Fortunately, we don't have to call the ambulance out ;0) - I might stick a plaster on it after his shower tonight. Grandmothers can be so irresponsible sometimes!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks Diana!

It's Saturday night here now, and we're making use of our one month's free Netflix trial. We wanted to catch up on Star Wars (I, II & III) but we couldn't find them, so we're introducing the kids to Indiana Jones.

5) Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

(First of 3: Ruby Red trilogy. Fantasy, YA) (Re-read)



I re-read this before I continue on with Sapphire Blue, the next in the series. I realised I hadn't finished my review last time to post it. This is what I wrote:

'I really enjoyed this story, possibly because it was reminiscent of the books I used to read as a teenager, with its very English flavour (though the original was written in German and translated into English by Anthea Bell (mother of BBC's Martin Bell)). In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I think I may buy the whole series. I seem to be a sucker for LT recommended YA trilogies coloured (individually) red, blue and green and written by authors named a variant of Kirstin. (I also went out and bought the Graceling trilogy after borrowing the first one from the library.) :0)

The story is told from the point of view of Gwynneth. she has always been overshadowed by her perfect cousin Charlotte (not to be confused with her sister Caroline), who has inherited a time travelling gene. Charlotte has been trained all her life in the 'mysteries' and now she is the right age, the family is anticipating her first jump. But it is Gwynneth who unexpectedly time travels and who turns out to be the last prophesied gene carrier, and now she is thrust unprepared into the 'mysteries' that her mother was hoping to protect her from.'

I still enjoyed the story on this re-read, though of course without being quite so much on tenter hooks. I like the way Gier / Bell have captured the flavour of being a teenager, and of being in London.Of course, being a time travelling story, it covers London in different time periods. I can't claim personal experience there, but it does convey the differences from present-day London (the fashions, the smells, the traffic)(coach traffic is different from car traffic). All in all, an excellent book; a little adventure, a little fantasy, a little humour, a little romance, and all well written.

Apparently I was undecided between a 4.5 star rating and a 5 (and still am this time around) but I finally decided on a 5, so I'll go with my first decision.

5 star

Oh, and Gwynneth (almost) shares my birthday. So does Kerstin Gier (a surprisingly rare occurrence). Definitely a 5 star then.

>27 humouress: Very impressive!

Thank you! Though I suppose I can't really take the credit :0)

>32 humouress: >2 humouress: I especially like the description for 2 stars :) I feel like that too, slating a book is just mean, I mean, at least they wrote something, right?!

Waving, Nina. I try to catch up on threads. ;-)

>46 LovingLit: True! And now I'm feeling guilty for the stars below two :0/

>47 Ameise1: Hi Barbara! Good to see you.

And now I think I should try to catch up on some reading. Or some sleep ....

What Barbara said!

"And now I think I should try to catch up on some reading. Or some sleep ...."
Me too! I'm staying home sick today and I have almost caught up on threads. Time for (a) breakfast, and (b) some reading.

I hope you're feeling better, Ellen.

Myself, I opened my book, but didn't manage even a couple of pages, I think. So I suppose I did both (caught up with reading and sleeping)

6) Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

(Second of 3: Ruby Red trilogy. Fantasy, YA)



This is the second instalment of the time-travel trilogy, translated from German by Anthea Bell.

There are two families, now based in London, with the time-travelling gene; one carries it in the male line and the other in the female line. There are destined to be twelve time travellers in all down through the centuries, and in the first book, Ruby Red, Gwyn discovered that she was the last of them - the long awaited Ruby. There is a secret society that helps them, founded by one of their time traveling ancestors, the self-styled Count Saint-Germaine. It maintains a chronometer which, once a small sample of that time traveller's blood has been entered into it, prevents uncontrolled jumps back in time. Once the blood of all twelve time travellers has been entered, the prophecies say, the Circle will be closed and the Secret that will save the world will be revealed.

Or so Gwyn is told. But there are other secrets and mysteries that seem to be kept from her. And there seem to be deeper mysteries beneath those secrets. The only thing she can do is follow her mother's advice and trust no-one, especially the Count whom she travels back in time to visit with the oh-so-handsome Gideon of the green eyes, who kissed her. But did he kiss her cousin Charlotte, too?

Gwyn and Gideon have a mission - to travel through time and persuade the remaining time travellers to donate their blood. Although most of them did so in their lifetimes, the original chronometer was stolen and now the replacement needs their samples. But why was the first one stolen? And which is the bad side?

I must say I'm still quite baffled. I thought I had it partly worked out ... And then ... But no, maybe not.

This is a light read, quite more-ish but not at all fluffy. There's a bit more action in this second book than the first, and a bit less of modern day London. So far, there haven't been any time paradoxes, which may be due to the Count's Golden Rules which must on no account be broken. I think the giggly friendship with Lesley is nicely portrayed, and she is a good friend to Gwen. Add to the mix a few ghosts and demons and Aunt Maddy's visions and you get a thoroughly engrossing novel. I'm looking forward to the third book and the denouement.

4 star

So my younger son apparently hurt his hand playing with his friend at school this morning, and he was feeling a bit sorry for himself when he got home. However, he recovered enough to start playing soldiers with his brother. Their tuition teacher has just arrived, to be told that he can't write today.

'But didn't you write in school?' I asked.
'Yes'.
'And didn't I see you playing with your toy guns just now?'
'Yes ...(by now he realised that he'd been backed into a corner) ... but I can only write in English, not in Mandarin!'.

Kids!

>53 humouress: Very clever young man. :-)

>54 EBT1002: Hmmm...

I had almost forgotten that I was in the middle of the Vorkosigan saga group read, continuing on from last year (at each reader's own pace).

I picked up Memory and I'm only a chapter in, but it's hilarious! I shouldn't laugh, really, but Miles has woken up to the news that he managed to slice the legs off the very important hostage he was rescuing on a mission carried out by the Dendarii for the Imperial Barrayaran military, said hostage being a Barrayaran lieutenant - while he (Miles) was unconscious.

It being science fiction, the legs can be reattached, so it's more of an embarrassing inconvenience and not quite as bad as it would be here and now. Well, I was reading in the wee small hours instead of catching up on my beauty sleep, and it's funnier the way Bujold puts it.

Smart son, Nina :-)



Have a good one!

Thanks Diana! It's just past 7p.m. here now, and we have a long weekend (Monday and Tuesday off too) because of Chinese New Year. Said son has invited a friend over for a sleepover (that's them yelling in the background; his friend brought some of his Nerf guns over, so they're having a 'fight'). I've managed to palm my older son off, and he's gone for his own sleepover. He was so excited that he told his friend that I'd drop him off at 4p.m. Usually, he only meanders over to his brother's side of the school at around that time, but true enough, we were in the car and driving in record time and we could have been at their place by 4, if I hadn't made other plans - not having been informed of the boys' schedule ;0)

Other than that, I plan to take it as it comes. We might nip across to Malaysia to spend a day at Legoland, depending on how bad the traffic is, as people cross the causeways to go home to their families in the other country.

>53 humouress: kid logic is hilarious!

>59 eclecticdodo: Isn't it, Jo!

I've borrowed another 7 year old tonight, so I'm a bit bemused; at the moment I've beat a strategic retreat and am holed up in my bedroom. I was attacked after dinner by a duo of fart guns (Minions)(bought by my husband, the third kid in the house).



Ah well, I can hear him trying to round them up for bed. I suppose I'd better emerge cautiously to help him ;0)

So the boys have gone for their respective showers in adjoining bathrooms. I just missed our little guest as he whisked into the bathroom, so I knocked on the door but he didn't open it.

"Um ... I'm in the bathroom for my shower."
"Yes I know sweetheart. I need to give you a towel."

So he opened the door a crack and popped his head modestly around the edge - with enough of his shoulder showing for me to see (as I suspected) that he was fully clothed!

And then I could hear, through the monitor in my boys' bedroom, my son's side of a conversation they were conducting in the different bathrooms, since the windows are next to each other. My son was offering to lend his friend pyjamas, if he'd forgotten his. I only hope no one was walking past our house at that moment. :0o

I have come to find your thread and drop a star, Nina! Your household sounds like a lively one. And a fun one. My youngest, who is currently 17, loved that Ruby Red series when she read it - back when it first came out. I can't remember how long it has been, but anyway, she adored it. And I also need to get back to the Vorkosigan series - can't remember where I left off, but I am thinking maybe Mirror Dance? I'll have to check.

Happy Friday to you!

Hi Mamie, and welcome!

Oops - I didn't specifically welcome Ellen and Jo. Of course you're all welcome here. My thread is quite quiet and peaceful, but I love having visitors.

'Lively and fun' is one way of putting it. I hadn't thought about it, but it certainly fits, especially with kids about the place. Our youngest is a personality.

On Wednesday we had the introductory evening for the elementary school, a week and a half in to the new school year. The teachers were telling us what a good bunch of students we have in this class, and how one of the kids pumped his fist at being told he'd written a nice sentence and being allowed to write a second one. Guess whose child he turned out to be? Though my older son says he wasn't surprised. I know he likes school, but it's good to know he's enthusiastic!

As for the sleepover, I let our guest say 'Goodnight' to his mum over the phone, and she said he sounded rather tired. We let both boys sleep in the guest room tonight, which has a TV, and let them watch for a bit. So when I went to check on them a couple of hours later at 10:45 I was expecting at least one of them to be fast asleep, but they were both awake. So I let them finish watching their program (tomorrow we'll be taking it easy) and turned off the lights. But when I went in about 10 minutes later to check on night lights, they were still chatting! Well, this little boy easily matches mine in character.

As for the Ruby Red series, I was almost tempted to go straight on to the third, but I thought I'd save it for a little bit; I don't like saying 'goodbye' at the end of series. Plus, if I read too many books consecutively in the same universe, I tend to start 'living' in it in RL, though I think this is light enough that I wouldn't.

Vorkosigan! I must get back to my book. Come over and join us for the group read. It's in the 75 group somewhere. I'll find the link and post it later - right now, my battery is dying.

Dropping by to see if there is a hair picture, but reading Bujold is almost as good!

>63 humouress: 'sleepovers' were always more like 'wakeovers' in my opinion ...

>60 humouress: I must confess I was tempted by the fartblasters when I saw them here.... then I remembered I have a 5 year old who I'd rather didn't run around making fart sounds at inappropriate moments...

>65 SandDune: *wails*Now you tell me!

>66 eclecticdodo: To be honest, I smiled when I saw them in the shop. But the glee on my husband's face when he picked up - a pair of them!

Actually, they're fun, and they have an additional thingy you can pull (I hope I'm not getting too technical for you here) so it releases a banana-y odour - though that runs out after a while. We got them a couple of years ago, when my younger one would have been 5. Go on, get one. You know you want to ;0)

As for inappropriate sounds at inappropriate moments, I think you've burned that bridge: he's a boy, he's more than a day old, what else can I say? Assuming he's anything like my boys and their friends, that is. (And if not, I want to know your secret.)

Happy weekend, Nina.

>68 humouress: ha ha, yes. We definitely get the inappropriate noises anyway. For some reason my husband started saying bottom randomly and Reuben has picked it up. It could be worse, I was talking with a friend yesterday whose 6 year old daughter shoves her bottom in her 3 year old brother's face when she gets fed up with him....

>69 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! Your winter animals are so gorgeous.

>70 eclecticdodo: My husband has a slew of invented nonsense words which are now family tradition, fortunately or unfortunately.

But you remind me of the time a couple of years ago when I accompanied my son's kindergarten class to the science museum when they were studying the human body. The whole class of, what, 4 or 5 year olds found it absolutely hilarious when the demonstrator used the work 'buttocks' (which seems to be the local version of 'bum' as opposed to being a more technical term, as I would use it).

So I've just bought a 9 book 'boxed' set of Diane Duane's Young Wizards series (Millenium editions) from the website for books by her and Peter Morwood, for USD 19.99 for the lot. Now I just have to work out how to transfer it to my Kindle ...

Plug your Kindle into your computer and open the icon to see what is in it. There should be a folder labed--documents, I think. Move your books into that folder and when you eject the Kindle, the books will be on it!

I bought that set a couple of months ago on sale--but I think it was 24.99 then. Still a bargain.

Thanks Roni!

7) Last Act by Jane Aiken Hodge

(Third of 3: Lissenberg series. Fiction, reread, romance / mystery)(e-book)



This is one in a loose series of books set in the fictional European country of Lissenberg, written by the sister of Joan Aiken (Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Midnight is a Place etc.) LT lists it as third in the series, but as I remember it, the stories are strung out over a couple of centuries, with only the country they are set in to connect them and a recurring theme of the opera.

Anne, a rising opera star who lost her voice when her husband died is told by her doctor that she is dying, with only a few months left to live. She receives a letter from an old friend begging her to join him in Lissenberg to sing in a newly discovered opera by Beethoven, to be performed in their new, grand opera house at the opening of an important international peace conference. As she is an orphan with nothing and no-one in England that she has ties to, she decides to go. Suddenly she recovers her voice.

Strange things happen to Anne as she travels to Lissenberg by plane and train via Switzerland, but she eventually arrives to start rehearsals and finds the situation unusually tense and mysterious. Will the opera finally go ahead and be the success that Lissenberg needs it to be, to stave off bankruptcy or absorption as part of another country?

I first read this in my teens, way back when, and was thrilled to find it almost contemporary, compared to, say, What Katy Did or Ballet Shoes, and the romance was quite sweet. This time, however, those details dated the book as clearly set in the 1970s. I confess that I read the book in two parts; one on holiday, and then had a couple of weeks break after we returned before I managed to get back to it and finish it, so I suspect I wasn't really in the right mood to read the last third of the book, and found the romance a little irritating, although the book did hold my interest well over the first part. It didn't help that, while I didn't remember the details, I remembered the twist which slightly spoiled the suspense.

All in all, an interesting story. Anne, given only a short time left to live, is no wishy-washy heroine, and Hodge gives us some insight into rehearsing for an opera production. I am planning on reading the others in the series (also as e-books), which are set further back in time.

3 stars

8) Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodds

(First of 21: Hairy Maclary series. Children's picture book)(Re-re-re-read)



This is a simple tale told in verse describing each dog as Hairy Maclary (a Scottish terrier) goes around town collecting his friends to explore, until ...

I'm cheating a bit by adding this to my count, as my seven year old son read this to me. It's an old favourite and we needed something quick and easy for bedtime.

"Out of the gate
and off for a walk
went Hairy Maclary
from Donaldson's Dairy"

As with many good children's books, a good part of the joy of reading it lies in the details in the pictures. I love it when I'm reading a book for the umpteenth time and I discover things I haven't noticed before. This time I noticed that though each picture is devoted to the specific dog being described, there is a paw or tail or some small part of all the other dogs that have joined the gang and are listed in the accompanying verse.

Fun, easy, catchy. We have liked this series for a long time.

5 stars

Have a happy weekend.

I made it a lot closer to Singapore yesterday with my fifteen hours of driving from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur. I wouldn't like to think that I had to do that regularly.

Have a great weekend, Nina. xx

>77 humouress: My goddaughter loves that book - I hadn't come across it before I read it to her but it is a lot of fun.

>78 DianaNL: Thanks Diana. What a life! ;0)

>79 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. How nice to almost see you :0)

>80 souloftherose: Aren't they fun, Heather?

>77 humouress: Aaaagghh touchstones! I still can't get this one to work.

9) Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold

(Eleventh of 17: Vorkosigan Saga. Sci-fi, mystery)



Hilarious - it had me chuckling throughout - and exquisitely plotted, as always. This one, I think, marks a major turning point in Miles's life. It is set mainly in Vorbar Sultana, the capital of Barrayar and, while Miles never stops using his brains and is still caught in fraught situations, he's not ricocheting from pillar to post with his hitherto customary frenetic activity. Maybe Miles is growing up?

After inadvertantly slicing the legs off the hostage he was rescuing while on a mission with the Dendarii, Miles returns to Barrayar to await his next mission. He is left kicking his heels for a while and the news, when it comes, is shocking. Then Simon Illyan, head and nerve centre of ImpSec, Barrayaran Imperial Security, starts to fall ill, as it seems that the experimental eidetic memory chip implanted in his brain is failing. Concerned that his friend and mentor is being treated as a security asset rather than as a person, Miles swings into action, and the whirlwind that is centred on Miles starts to spin.

We also get to see a bit of Vor life and Miles's duties as Gregor's cousin, and there are some complications when it looks like the Komarran revolt might be raising it's head again. I love the touches of humour throughout the book, and the way Bujold reminds us that though humans may have inhabited Barrayar for centuries, it is still being terraformed.

And though we barely glimpse Aral and Cordelia, they are my foundation stones of the whole series. Cordelia (though she feels more distant to me here, as a reader, being mainly referred to as 'the Countess') is always practical and supportive without being cloying, and I love the way that Bujold conveys Aral's deep love and pride in his son in the simplest of sentences; though maybe I'm projecting the way I feel about my kids.

At the end of the story, when Miles feels he has finally stepped out of his father's and grandfather's shadows:

"I'm the first in the family," Miles informed him smugly. "I am unprecedented."

The Count smiled. "This is not news, Miles."

A great addition to one of my favourite series.

5 stars

I'm sitting by the window (outside which we've got window boxes) catching up on threads. A little lizard / gecko tumbled down the leaves and then kept hopping onto the glass. I noticed after a while that it was chasing a flying ant, which it kept pecking at. I watched it for a bit, wondering why it was teasing the insect, which was just ambling unconcernedly along - until I realised the insect was on my side of the window and no matter what it did, the puzzled lizard wasn't going to get it.

Hello, Nina! Stopping in to wish you a weekend filled with fabulous! I am ready for Mirror Dance in the Vorkosigan series, and then Memory comes after that - Roberta recommended that I read those two back to back, so I have been waiting for an opening that allows for both. I LOVE that series, and I have just gotten Abby (my daughter) started on it. so hooray for that!

>81 humouress: I think because you're using 'of' rather than 'from. Hairy McLary from Donaldson's Dairy.

>82 humouress: & >83 humouress: I think Bujold really hit her stride with Mirror Dance and Memory. The next, Komarr was also very good. In fact, I think they're all good....

Quite right, Memory is definitely a turning point!

>84 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Thanks for the wishes; the weekend was fairly relaxing.

Of course, the boys do have classes on Saturday morning, but that's been part of the routine for a while (though we are just about getting back into routine after the holidays). This afternoon (Sunday), the boys and I tidied up their cupboards, and we cleared a basketful of clothes that don't fit any more out of my eldest's - so it was productive, too.

Happy Valentine's Day, Nina!

>85 souloftherose: Thanks, Rhian. That's what it was. You wouldn't think such a small thing would throw it out like that, would you? Well spotted!

As for the books, well, I love the whole Vorkosigan series.

>86 ronincats: Shh! I've read the next couple of books before. I'm not sure why I read them out of order, though; I'm usually very pedantic these days about chronology.

>88 Crazymamie: Ooh, I got a Valentine! Thanks, Mamie.

I'm afraid I didn't really do anything about Valentine's Day this year - well, I'm usually late with cards for any occasion. My husband took the boys out for their football classes this morning, and took our youngest out again in the afternoon for his match, and then went out in the evening again for a haircut, he said. But he came back from the last with a very pretty bouquet of flowers, though he emphasised that it was the boys' idea (unless that was to make me feel less guilty).

PS - I'm not sure if I've asked you before, but have you seen the Group Read for the Vorkosigan Saga? I must admit I didn't read Mirror Dance and Memory back to back, but I don't think I lost out by doing that. I'll let you let me know ;0)

Oh, you are starting the Kencyriath books? That is another series I love. That should be our next group series read perhaps, getting away from the science fiction/space opera of Bujold and the Liaden books. Wish she'd write faster.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks Rachel. I can see that one really comes from the heart ;0)

>92 ronincats: Now I'm wondering if I should wait for the group read Roni. Well, I'll go ahead for now; it took me forever to pick the next book from my shelves to read - but keep me posted!

Hi NIna, just stopping by and wishing you a great start into the new week.

Thanks Barbara! So far, the usual ups and downs.

Spent the morning with my son in hospital because he hurt his wrist when the boys were mucking around yesterday. His hand was completely numbed and since he still couldn't feel much or move it much after a night's rest, we got it checked out. As I hoped, nothing too bad. It'll just take longer than I expected to get back to normal, the doctors think. Big thumbs up for the KK Women's and Children's Hospital here; they processed us efficiently, sympathetically and thoroughly and set our minds at rest.

Then we dropped him back at school and since my husband had missed most of the day, we went out for lunch. Though we thought we picked the smaller portions option, we rolled out of there quite stuffed to pick the boys up from school.

Glad to hear that everything is ok.

The numb part is scary, isn't it. I always worry about nerve damage. Daniel got shouldered in the face during a touch football game, and he had bruising and swelling on his face, but it was the numbness that bothered me. They thought he might have fractured his eye orbital, but it turned out fine - the numbness lasted for almost a week, though. SO glad your son is fine - does he still have the numbness, or has it gone?

Glad the son is okay!

I don't think I could get another group read started before midyear at the earliest--so many people are still working on both Bujold's Vorkosigan series and the Liaden Universe books that I don't think they'd be ready to start another lengthy series. And it might even be 2017 before I propose it. I definitely want to do it at some point, though! The first book, Godstalk, is just a superb book on its own. (And of course, it was on its own for quite a while for most of us.)

>9 humouress: This sounds like a good series. I'm going to have to try it.

I keep telling myself that I'm going to have to read the Vorkosigan saga - I've had it on my TBR list for years, but somehow have just never gotten around to it. It seems like everyone on LT is or has read it, so I'm really going to have to move it up.

I enjoy hearing about your sons (and everyone else's too.) I have two myself - 14 and almost 11 - and they can be quite a handful! We've only had to go to the ER once, thank goodness. My younger son was warming up for a soccer game and my older son was shooting at the younger who was in goal. Keegan tried to stop Beckham's ball with one hand but did not complain at all. Keegan played the entire game and said later that his arm hurt a little. When it still hurt the next morning, I had this strange feeling that it might be broken. So off to the ER we went, and sure enouh, he had a green-stick fracture, which is a buckle in the bone, but not an actual break. He had to wear a cast for about five weeks and got it off right before we went on vacation.

>98 Ameise1:, >99 Crazymamie:, >100 ronincats: Thanks Barbara, Mamie and Roni. I'm so glad Daniel didn't have a fracture - that would have been really hard.

Basically, the boys banged something down on the inside of his wrist, which hit the nerves going through there and numbed them. He is getting movement back, but very slowly (and he is a bit of a drama queen, so I'm never sure if it's as bad as he says it is). I looked up 'neuropraxia' last night which can take upto 4 months to recover from, according to Wikipaedia, so I'm happy about giving it the couple of weeks that the doctors have recommended. They said if there had been a cut they would have been more worried, but this numbness is due to the nerves swelling and will recover by itself given time.

>100 ronincats: Well, I went ahead and started God Stalk, Roni. I really enjoyed reading it the first time (about 3 years ago), but I remembered the ambiance as quite dark. I'm not very far in yet, but I'm finding quite a bit of humour this time round, which adds to the experience.

If you do start a group read, I'll still put my tuppence worth in :0)

>101 rretzler: Hi Robin, and welcome.

The Miss Fisher series is fun, and moves along quite gently. It's interesting learning about Melbourne between the wars, when I'm more used to reading about England.

Do read the Vorkosigan Saga; it's so much fun. Miles gets into such scrapes, but the best part is watching him get out of them. Now I've built it up, I hope it's not a disappointment. :0) Though it is billed as sci-if, that's just the setting. I love the character studies as well as the action in these books.

I can see your family are football (soccer) fanatics, if you've given your sons those names :0) My two boys are now 12 and 7, and yes, it's the energy they generate when they're playing that leads to injuries, though this is our first time in ER. Hopefully it's our last, too. It's a good thing the cast came off before the holidays, or he wouldn't have enjoyed them as much.

>103 humouress: Yes, the humor is what makes it stand out, along with the distinctive, non-stereotypical characters! It is dark, surprisingly so when you consider how much I love it. I usually don't do dark well.

I'll bruit the notion about. I've got an announcement for the Science Fiction and Fantasy thread anyways. And I would totally require that you put your tuppence in whenever we do it. ;-)

>105 DianaNL: Thanks Diana. That's so typical (of babies)!

>106 ronincats: Yes ma'am!

Happy Sunday, Nina!

Thanks, Mamie. Sunday was quiet, though I did get some work done, a friend came over to discuss a fascinating business plan and i got some reading in. I hope you had a good Sunday, too.

To be read in a 'movie trailer voice':

Haunted by the ghosts of her pasts, Jame flees to the sanctuary of the city, Tai-tastigon - but it is dark and seemingly deserted. Pursued through the silent maze of streets by half-sensed monsters of her own and the city's, she finally comes across signs of life, only to see it devoured before her eyes by a vaguely perceived ...something. Which then belches and wanders off.

Thus begins God Stalk.

>111 humouress: Aaaah, love that book!

One of the things about living in Singapore is that the kids, and even I, are constantly losing friends as they are relocated either back home, or on to another posting. This Saturday, my youngest was sad to see one of his friends from his judo class leave. He is an avid reader and both he and his brother usually come into the library - I open the library on Saturday mornings while my kids do their various classes around the club. His brother is younger and not yet into reading for himself so much, yet, but he'll sometimes borrow a book for his older brother (who might then return it because it's not something he wants to borrow. But it's still sweet.) But aside from losing two good patrons (our library is very quiet), their dad usually pops by for a chat when he comes looking for his kids, and he's helped persuade my boy a few times to go into the judo class when he's been a bit reluctant. So it's sad to see them go. And last year, 3 of our volunteer librarians relocated.

We have it tough living the expat life, you know, though we hide our sorrows. It's not all G&Ts at sunset on the tennis pavilion. ;0)

Too bad about your son's friend moving away. That must be difficult to go through that over and over. I know a few grown up military brats who went through that as children - it's tough.

I'm glad your son's wrist wasn't badly injured and will be ok!

>112 ronincats: Me too! But I bet it was the cats that got you.

You know, I kept looking at "Res a b'tyrr" the first time through and wondering, but I didn't see all the humour. I must have been too immersed in the story.

Well, my younger son is passionate, but he moves on easily (he's only 7, after all). His 'best friend' on any given day could be someone I've never heard of before. Today he got into the car and told me that he doesn't like the boy who is his best friend - not an unusual occurrence. (He was his best friend last year, and when they shuffled the classes they made sure to keep them together).

My older son is quieter, but more sensitive. His best friend moved away when he was about a year older than my younger son is now, but they've kept in touch. In fact, we made a trip to Chiang Mai where they've moved to, specifically because they're there.

Ah well, it's probably in the genes. We'll all survive ;0)

10) God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell

(Omnibus 1: first two of 6: Chronicles of the Kencyrath series. High fantasy)



The city of Tai-tastigon - lies at the base of the Ebonbane mountains, at the confluence of the Tone and the Tynnet. Older than the city and possibly pre dating the arrival of the Kencyrath on Rathilien 3,000 years ago during their long retreat down the chain of worlds, is the temple of their three-faced god.

- is full of gods, dead and otherwise, who periodically come untempled during Jame's stay in the city.

This is the backdrop against which the story is set.

To Tai-tastigon comes, Jame, fleeing the ghosts of her past, of which she remembers very little except that she is Kencyrath and not human, and the fierce pride and honour of her race. Her race the three-faced god has charged to protect the chain of worlds from Perimal Darkling. The presence of these lesser gods confuses Jame and makes a mockery of her beliefs and the existence of the Kencyrath, so while she remains in Tai-tastigon she investigates their origins. And so begin her adventures while she recovers parts of her memory of a darker time.

(And I'm pretty sure 'Res aB'tyrr' is a pun of sorts.)

This is what I wrote the first time when I reviewed it as the first book of The God Stalker Chronicles omnibus:

Jame, her past a confusion of memories, stumbles out of the Haunted Lands in a desperate race for the human city of Tai-Tastigon.

Jame is a Kencyrath; they are blessed with traits like endurance and a fierce sense of honour, and chosen by the Three-Faced God to defend the Chain of Creation (of which the world of Rathillien is part) from the encroachments of Perimal Darkling.

She knows that her home in the Haunted Lands has been invaded and destroyed. Her goal is to cross the Ebonbane Mountains to reach the rest of the Kencyrath in the hopes of finding her twin brother, Tori. In Tai-Tastigon, however, she has to recover from her injuries, and then finds herself with obligations that her sense of honour won't let her abandon. Amongst these, she finds herself offered the coveted apprenticeship to Penari, a Master Thief - which rather tests that sense of honour - which gives her entry into the Thieves Guild, and all its convoluted politics.

All of these entail a delay of over a year, waiting for the snow to clear from the passes of the Ebonbane, but Jame finds scrapes and adventures aplenty to occupy her time. The Res aB'tyrr inn took her in when she was injured, but has troubles of its own, and could use her help; especially when she discovers that she can dance the Senetha, a Kencyr dance which holds its audience in thrall. The Lower Town is infested with dead gods, which shakes Jame's monotheist beliefs, so she uses her time to conduct experiments. Along the way, she makes good friends as well as enemies, and loses some, too.

I really liked this book; it is richly detailed and intensely written, and has those odd flashes of humour that I love. You get caught up in the half-hidden mysteries to be resolved; not least of these is the one of Jame's past, which keeps coming back to haunt her - and us. I'm looking forward to discovering the truth in the rest of the books in the series.

5*****

>117 humouress: Oh, good one. I am working so hard at not grabbing my copy off the shelf and plunging into it. But I think my stated objective of doing a series reread next calendar year before the next book comes out is a good one. But SO hard!

Sorry, Roni; I'm going to have to test your resolution, because I'll be reading the second book in the omnibus soon. But not straight away, I think.

>116 humouress: Chalk and cheese really eh?

My three are all quite different types. Kyran is great at making friends and everyone (except some of his teachers) seems to adore him. Yasmyne has a few very close friends but does not socialize too much while Belle never seems to speak to her pals but is fiercely loyal to them all.

Have a great weekend, Nina.

>117 humouress: I have that one but will probably wait until Roni does her series reread next year.

>121 PaulCranswick: Tell me! Kyran sounds like my younger one, though at 7, he seems to charm even his teachers, while my older one seems to be a mix of your girls, though maybe more like Yasmyne. But it's so true that all children are unique.

>122 souloftherose: Unfortunately, Heather, it was my announcement that I was reading it that prompted Roni's decision to do the group read, so I was already committed. I'll have to try and tempt her into getting it going early, so I can join in, too ;0)

Oh, Roni, do you hear it calling to you?...

I've started Emerald Green, the third book in the Ruby Red trilogy. It's written in the first person and I like the way Gier / Bell portray Gwyn's teenage perspective.

And I like the way Gier shows us the fashions of past times. Usually, I've come across it either in Jane Austen novels, so it's part and parcel of the narrative, or in Regency romances written by modern day writers where it comes across as being highlighted for its outlandishness, and it feels a bit like they're laughing behind their hands. Here, however, Gwyn sees the fashions from an entirely modern perspective, and finds them weird, which absolutely fits the narrative. For instance, looking at the school ghost, Gwyn comments The oddest things about him were his curly wig, the powder on his face, and the patches like moles that he had stuck to it. For some reason that I couldn't understand, he called them beauty spots. Without all that, and in sensible clothes, James would probably have been quite good-looking.

And I like the way she makes fun of various plot devices and then goes ahead and uses them :0)

Well, it's Sunday and I should have been getting on with my never-ending spring cleaning, but I was so engrossed in finding out the solution to the mystery that I've finished the book in one day. So I might as well review it. Soon...

4.5*****

Hi! I somehow managed to miss out on your thread until now, but I've caught up!

Hi and welcome, foggi!

I haven't managed to get to Gier's trilogy yet, but I've heard nothing but good things about it. I think I have Ruby Red on the shelves downstairs, so I'll have to keep it in mind for later this year, maybe.

And let's face it, Sunday reading is MUCH more enjoyable than Sunday cleaning. You made a good choice!

Hi Faith. I definitely recommend the Ruby Red trilogy; it's a lot of fun.

And while the reading is more enjoyable than the cleaning, I've still got the cleaning left to do. *sigh* But I'm cleaning in my study, which is where all my bookshelves are, so .... ;0)

I've started Cinder and I'm enjoying the different layers in it. At the base of it is the age-old Cinderella fairytale. Then there's the YA story and teenage romance. And through all of that is a clever story of cyborgs in a futuristic Earth, whose ruler lives in New Beijing, where the moon has been colonised and in fact poses a threat to Earth; well thought out - thus far.

Oh, we loved Cinder here, Nina! I just have the last book in that series Winter left, and I am kind of hoarding it. Marissa Meyer did such a good job with that series.

Happy weekend, Nina.

>131 Crazymamie: Well, Mamie, I'm not really into steam punk (I suppose this is?) but so many people on LT said it was good, when I saw it in the library, I thought I might as well try it. I'm glad I did.

>132 DianaNL: >133 Ameise1: Thanks Diana and Barbara. I'm afraid real life is taking over, so I'm absent from LT more than usual at the moment. My sister has come over for a holiday, which is unusual because she's usually here on work, when she comes, so I've been able to spend some time with her.

Yesterday we treated ourselves to a spa, and then joined the 'boys' for high tea at the W Hotel. It was an interesting experience, but we ordered satay for the kids (foie gras parfait not being their thing). As my younger son said himself, in the satay eating contest ...

Hi Nina. We all understand real life taking over and the occasional (or more than occasional, in my case) absence from LT. I hope you are doing well.

Oh, and I love high tea.

Hi Ellen. Thanks for the high tea! It's a more traditional one than the one we had. We had things like mini salmon scones, chocolate cake pops, a panna cotta that looked like a poached egg, but the 'yolk' was a fruit bubble and it was liquid enough to drink ... all very different.

Which is why we ordered the satay for the kids, since we knew they'd eat that. But, as I was about to say before RL interrupted me (in the form of the delivery of my new plants from the garden centre), my son said himself that he won the satay eating - and the floor came second! Well, we were seated on very nice leather couches with a low coffee table for our spread; not the best combination with a bouncy 7 year old and he knocked and dropped quite a bit over the course of the meal. But we did all enjoy ourselves.

12) Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort

(Second of 6 Underpants series; children's, picture book) (Re-read, bedtime story)

Dinosaurs were all wiped out,
A long way back in history,
No one knows quite how or why,
Now this book solves the mystery . . .

An old favourite. A quite silly story of how dinosaurs (supposedly) became extinct, told in rhyming verse. Nicely illustrated by Ben Cort. Fun, engaging. I like the lists of dinosaur names.

Docking half a star for historical inaccuracy ;0)

4.5*****

11) Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

Oops, forgot to do this one; making space.

>125 humouress: wrote something here

4.5 stars *****

Since my youngest has the day off school for parent teacher conferences, we went into the garden this morning (he in pyjamas, to my despair) to have a look at this.



Apparently it only disappeared by 87% at the height of things over here, but it was a total eclipse a couple of islands over, in Indonesia.

So that's my morning. Yours?

>134 humouress: Actually, I wouldn't consider it steampunk, just fantasy. Steampunk is alternate history combined with steam powered devices.

Your spa and high tea sound like so much fun, Nina!

>140 humouress: Beautiful image! Thanks for sharing that!

>140 humouress: What was I doing while you were watching that one, Nina? Passed me by completely -I guess I would have been able to see it from here?

i just saw you post in the New How to do fancy things in your thread post about doing half stars. A revelation. I've being doing an x out of 10 rating when I review, but doubling up on a star. So 7/10 and 8/10 are both 4 stars.

Thanks!

Nina, I noticed that temperatures in Kuala Lumpur are fully five degrees hotter than you down in cool old Singapore.

Have a lovely Sunday.

Still sunbathing in Singapore, Nina?

Have a lovely weekend whilst remembering to post or check in here. xx

Hi, Nina!

>140 humouress: That is a beautiful picture!

It's spring here so I'm spreading the love through snow-flowers. Hopefully you don't mind the non-seasonal picture out there on the other hemisphere!

Hi folks. Thanks for dropping by, even though I haven't been much in evidence. My husband's away, so I'm doing double parent duty. I usually have Sundays to myself, but these couple of weeks I've had to take the boys to football training and matches. As Paul hints, it was blistering in the shade yesterday! I hear some of the Malaysian states are going to shut schools for a day or two because of the heat.

I'll respond to everyone once I get time. In the meanwhile, back to burning the candle at both ends ...

>149 humouress: Yes Nina we are about 5 degrees above normal temperatures and I can certainly feel the difference. Stay cool my dear.

Have a wonderful Easter.

13) Cinder by Marissa Meyer

So it starts off and you think "Yeah, yeah. Another Cinderella story with some kind of twist."

And the twist is that Cinder is a cyborg and the story is set in the future where, we gradually learn, the colonies of the moon are a greater power than those of New Beijing - which makes you sit up and concentrate.

And then the prince turns up, in the opening round, at Cinder's market stall, and - wait a minute; this wasn't how 'Cinderella' went.

A very well imagined and well told story. I think I would have enjoyed it better if I hadn't been looking so hard for the bones of the original fairytale, because this is so much more.

Definitely worth a re-read.

4.5*****

14) Arrow's Fall by Mercedes Lackey

(Still reading)

Lackey's world building is strong, and she has created a memorable world with her Companions. However, I think the writing could be a bit tighter in that I feel there could be more detail in certain events like the 'war' (one battle, which lasts a day, if that), and less time and attention paid to people just not talking to each other.

The events in this book are more traumatic than the previous two in the trilogy, though I wasn't really engaged enough with the characters to feel it. Partly this may be due to my interrupted reading pattern, but partly it's because I found the miscommunication and angst too heavy in the first two books and got rather irritated with the characters. It's still there in this book, but by now it's part of the scenery. Plus, I'm also reading Dave Duncan's Lord of the Fire Lands, which I find more absorbing and vividly written, and Arrow's Fall suffers a bit next to it. Although I do find myself wondering (which means my attention is wandering) if I were a writer, wether I would be able to write such a popular series. I think I'm a bit hard on Lackey's books because I get rather irked by the unnecessary meandering and padding, which brings out the critic in me (sorry!), but they're generally fun.



And why does To Kill a Mockingbird come up as the touchstone for Arrow's Fall???

Nina, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Happy Weekend, Nina!

Your question about why To Kill a Mockingbird comes up as the touchstone for Arrow's Fall cracked me up. Sometimes the touchstones are so random.

Catching up slowly on LT, in order of people I owe visits to (by how far down their threads are). Next up is my own thread; but right now I have to go and pick the kids up from school ...

15) Lord of the Fire Lands by Dave Duncan

(First of 4+4 King's Blades series; fantasy, sword and sorcery)(e-book)

Ironhall, on Starkmoor, where Blades are forged. It takes in young boys of all backgrounds, but mostly the unwanted and the outcast, to temper, mould and force them into shape, to become the best warriors in Chivial and legendary in the lands beyond. Bound to the King by enchantment and a sword through the heart, they become members of the King's Guard to serve unswervingly and sleeplessly until death at a young age or retirement, either way, covered in glory.

But King Ambrose has not come to Ironhall in a long while and there are several Blades-in-waiting, chafing with eagerness. Suddenly, without the usual days' warning, the King arrives to bind eight Blades.

This is the story of how one of those Blades came to Ironhall, unusual even by Ironhall standards.

(Still reading)

Nicely written with the right balance of action and characters. It catches the spirit of a carefree young boy growing up and trying to emulate and impress the father he looks up to and the mother he loves.

>158 humouress: Given that you informed me that the haze is return to the Merlion city, I would have thought that makes you our Lady of the Fire Lands!

Have a lovely and hopefully clean aired weekend, Nina. xx

Wishing you a relaxed weekend, Nina.

>158 humouress: I was thinking, oh, I used to have three of these, but when I went and looked, no, I had the three books that made up the King's Daggers series! I donated them to the school library when I retired.

>141 Crazymamie: In that case, Mamie, it can't be steampunk since it's set in the future, can it? My apologies.

Well, I went out and bought the whole series. (I'm a completist, so if I buy one because I like it, I'll get the lot.) Actually, I got my husband to pick up a couple for me in London.

I have a thing for high teas, I'm afraid, and I'll find any excuse to go for one. :0)

>143 mahsdad: You're welcome, Jeff. Now you can go back and re-star everything ;0)

Yesterday I got breakfast in bed, having done nothing more to deserve it than the boys are on school holidays. Though I have a horror of crumbs in the sheets, and it involved scrambled eggs, bread and grapefruit amongst other things, so I had it at the dining table. Today, the boys have already prepared dinner, which we'll have later. They're not very experienced chefs, but they insist on working to their own recipe. We're having chicken burgers, but with a schnitzel-type filling instead of a mincemeat burger

Thursdays are my days for Riding for the Disabled, which usually means a visit to the nurseries next door and an afternoon spent in the garden. I was good - I resisted my nursery visit; but only because I wanted to check at home first, pick up the boys and then go. I rearranged some pots around the pool, so I've almost got the look I want. And then it was so hot ....and the pool looked so inviting.... I did teach the kids how to polish their shoes first, though one declined to turn up.

My older one claimed a sore throat and didn't get into the pool - but that didn't stop him sneaking up on us through the back door, side door and even the upstairs windows, to join in our water gun fight. We had a great afternoon's fun, brought to a halt eventually when the Mandarin tutor (poor lady) turned up for their classes.

Sounds like a most excellent day, Nina! Hoping that Thursday turns out to be just as fabulous.

Happy weekend, Nina.

We're in Legoland Malaysia (yet another reason for me not to catch up on my own thread), and I was looking at the Lego figures depicted around the place (we're staying at the Legoland Hotel, too) which got me thinking. Most of them are male, except the odd females, which are either fairies or kick-butt ('scuse language) heroines, but nothing in between. Admittedly, some of the cooks and chefs in the restaurant could be, since they've all got smooth yellow faces and chefs hats and no hair. But I was wondering if children's literature propagates the gender divide. Actually, American children's literature.

Off hand, all the British examples I could think off (Narnia, Famous Five, Secret Seven, Swallows and Amazons, The Dark is Rising) have girls and boys mixed but the American ones I read growing up seem to be either one or the other (Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, even The Three Investigators), and the girls seem to be more, well, girly. The girls in Nancy Drew had boyfriends, but the boys in The Hardy Boys didn't have girlfriends that I can remember.

It could be that the British books had younger protagonists, and that could be because (with a British Commonwealth / expat upbringing) I was exposed to them at a younger age whereas I only came across the American books as a slightly older child, so they were aimed at older children and emphasised differences more. Though the Nancy Drews were in my primary school library (which I left when I was 9), so I'm not sure how that works.

Any thoughts on that?

>167 humouress: I always preferred Trixie Belden to Nancy Drew, as Trixie was less girly. There was a mix of boys and girls in that friend group. I also liked the Bobbsey Twins, which were a mix of boys and girls, and the Boxcar Children (also two boys, two girls). Of course, my examples don't disprove your theory, since the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were certainly prevalent in their time, and now we also have the American Girl books and the Dear America/My America diaries, which are broken up along gender lines. And Little House on the Prairie, and Little Women, for more classic children's lit examples. It would be an interesting study, to look at popular children's books of the past and see if there's more of a gender divide on one side of the pond.

>168 foggidawn: Well, maybe I read the wrong books; though I keep hearing about the books you mention, I've never come across them to read. I did have an omnibus edition of some of the 'What Katy Did's which were probably less girly, though of course, held to the mannerisms of the times.

Hmm...maybe I'll look those up again.

>167 humouress: That's an interesting point. I'm much better versed in British children's literature as well - I only really know the truly classic US ones. Thinking back to some of J's favourites as an older child though (Philip Reeve, Philip Pulman, Timeriders books) a lot of those have both boys and girls.

>167 humouress: Interesting point about gender in classic British and American children's literature. Like Rhian, I'm not sure I've read enough American books to compare but certainly the majority of the classic British children's stories I've read featured boys and girls - the only exceptions possibly being some of the boarding school stories like Enid Blyton'sMalory Towers or The Chalet School series. Those were set in single-sex schools (as I think most schools were at the time) and I can't remember if they included characters of the opposite gender very often.

It would be a good essay subject I think!

On the subject of Lego, they've come under quite a bit of criticism in the UK recently for having lego kits that are too strongly gendered and I think they are trying to step away from that now.

Planning a trip to London in mid-June. Woo hOO!

Reproducing the message I left you on Paul's thread:-

"Hi Nina, I fly back from Singapore on 24th (too lazy to check the time right now); do let me know if you are around and would like to meet up."

>173 PiyushC: I'll check and let you know. 23rd may be tight.

16) Wild Cards ed George R.R. Martin

Reread

I first came across GRRM as the editor of sci-fi and fantasy anthologies, the Wild Cards series being one of those. This first book was originally published in 1987 (I would have read it in 2001, maybe) and has been reissued in 2010 as an expanded edition with some additional stories. The premise is that an alien virus hit Earth in 1946 giving some humans super powers, which some use for good. Or not.

Prologue - 'Studs Terkel' (1986)
Introduction; set in the past. Very 1950s sci-fi feel. The story of how an alien scientist came to Earth to try and prevent the spread of a virus constructed by his people and sent to our planet to test on humans. Told from the points of view of scientists and an army colonel who liaised with him.
4****

Thirty Minutes Over Broadway! - Howard Waldrop (1986)
The last sentence of the Prologue is "Me, I prayed for Jetboy.", Jetboy being the hero of this short story. He's a 19 year old flying ace with an experimental aircraft which is more advanced than anything else at the time, in 1946. He fought the whole of WWII, flying initially with the RCAF, and has just been rescued after being missing for a year, after the end of the war. When a ransome note is received which threatens to drop the alien bomb on New York City, Jetboy leads the mission to intercept it. This one has the feel of the atmospheric black-and-white flicks that were made around that period.
(NB: there are a few typos that substitute 'Line' for 'Linc' and make it a bit difficult to follow. Minor quibble.)
4.5*****

The Sleeper - Roger Zelazny (1986)
A boy watches Jetboy's fight against the blimps from his classroom window and then makes his way home through the streets of a Manhattan in panic, seeing transformations caused by the alien virus along the way. He himself is affected by the virus in an unusual way; he sleeps for weeks or months at a time and each time he awakens, he has undergone a different transformation (human or animalistic) which give him different powers which are usually Ace but could be Joker, until the final one at his sister's wedding.
3.5****

Witness by Walter Jon Williams (1986)

Great to hear, that you'll be in London soon. Happy weekend, Nina.

>172 humouress: Woo hoo! Fancy another Forbidden Planet meetup?

>177 souloftherose: Absolutely, Heather!

>173 PiyushC: >174 humouress: Piyush, just in case you're checking in here, would you like to catch up on Friday (22nd)? Otherwise 23rd may be possible.

I'm envious that you are heading to London in a couple of months. I really want to visit that city again. I've only been there once, really, and it was for a very few days on our way to somewhere else. I'd like to plan a trip for which London is THE destination.

Happy Weekend, Nina!

Hope you managed to meet up with Piyush my dear.

The haze has made its way here so my asthma will direct itself to cause me grief in the coming days I'm sure.

Have a lovely weekend, Nina. xx

Did you meet-up with Piyush, Nina, pray tell?

Hi Paul. No, I'm afraid I didn't. I haven't seen hide nor hair of him since you last reported on your meet-up :0(

I hope you manage to avoid any brushes with asthma. My haze app has been beeping periodically, but fortunately at the end of the week, the tropical downpours finally hit, and I haven't smelled that burning odour for a few days.

As for my weekend, Saturday was the usual mad rush, including getting my youngest to a birthday party. Today he had football matches, but I let the guys handle that, while I immersed myself in book cataloguing and shelving, and spotted a couple of series that I could fill gaps in ... Hmm; I do believe Books K. has a sale on this week.

>183 humouress: Yep, that is funny. He did read the whatsapp message I sent him but didn't reply. I hope it wasn't the books I bought him................?

You also cannot sleep then?

>140 humouress: wow! I love me an eclipse :)

That fart gun you posted a pic of up there....my nephew has one and every one. Visit them my kids just cannot put it down. Something seems to them very necessary about a fart gun.

>184 PaulCranswick: Actually, Paul, I have abysmal sleep habits. I'll sort them out soon. One day.

>185 LovingLit: *sigh* I looked at them in the shop when we were doing kids' Christmas shopping a couple of years ago, but it was my husband who said we had to get them, and picked up, not just one, but a pair. Boys and their toys *shakes head despairingly*

(But I said yes) :0)

Hey, at least they are using a plastic fart blaster, instead of their built-in ones. :P

Omigosh! A Stephen sighting on my thread! *swoons*

Yes. And no.

That is, the two little boys used the toys on their play date.

But I live in a house with a husband and two sons ... 'nuff said?

What can I say, the ladies love it when a guy shows up and starts talking about flatulence.

According to Mary Roach in Gulp (I think) girl farts are actually smellier. It's science!

Gee, thanks, Stephen. You've really raised the tone around here :0/

But, as I keep telling my boys, ladies (specifically mamas) don't ...you know ...that thing.

To be fair, the conversation was already going before I piped in.

As for the other thing. Um, right, of course. :)

>190 Ape: Sufficient evidence, I suppose, as to why dear Stephen remains a bachelor. In all fairness though my own experience is that single ladies on dates never break wind but once a wedding band is fitted they will occasionally falter.

Have a lovely weekend, Nina. xx

>192 Ape: I say!

>194 PaulCranswick: Thank you for the wishes, Paul. Although, after your preceding statement, I'm not sure if I can :0/

>193 DianaNL: Hi Diana, thank you for dropping by. I think I was feeling a lot better before these ...ah... 'gentlemen' came through. ;0)

Wishing everyone a happy weekend! We get Monday off this week, and I know the UK does too. How about you?

No, not until the end of the month. Then we get Memorial Day off on the 30th. (Although what am I talking about--I'm off every day!)

>195 Ape: awww. You're not a forever alone man! You're a meet-soulmate-on-the-internet sort of guy.

But I'm a spiteful bastard on the internet! D:

Happy weekend, Nina.

>199 Ape: Awwww. No, you're so sweet on the internet. Seriously dude. Now in person, that's another matter.

See Steven, Rachel likes you.

I think.

Hi folks, I'm still around, somewhere. Sorry for my absence; its that RL thing again. My parents were here for a while, and just flew out last night. In the meantime, my husband's away, so the kids are really testing the boundaries, and I've got a few deadlines falling due, so I'll be away for a while longer. Thanks for visiting, though. I'll be back as soon as I can ...

The neighbours have acquired a talking parrot, so my parents spent an entertaining few mealtimes (it being perched on the other side of the fence from our dining table) yelling phrases across the wall. It seems to have picked up my husband's name, and we kind of sang 'Happy Birthday' to at each other yesterday morning.

But there are also a couple of yippy dogs next door and when one barks, the parrot yells at it. When the parrot scolds, the dog barks. When the dog barks ... and so ad infinitum.

Arggh, I do hate that kind of noise pollution, Nina. Hang in there and hopefully you will have some leisure time soon.

>204 humouress: my mum's friend had a parrot that would shout at the kids, growl and bark at the cat, and hiss at the dog. Many entertaining times spent watching all that go on....

Oh, dear, with the next door noise. Hoping things calm down for you, Nina.

Managed a rare trip to Singapore last week but without notice it is a shame you were too busy to be able to meet up. IT WILL HAPPEN ONE DAY SOON!

Have a lovely weekend, Nina. A quiet one especially.

Ugh. Noise. You'd think one of the owners would care enough to do something about it.

I went out for a walk along the reservoir this morning and saw one of these:

Kingfisher? Or a relative?

Wow! That's gorgeous.

What Jim said. Very cool.

One of these:

I also saw, on the drive home, a flock of long-tailed green birds in flight that looked like parrots in silhouette. They could have been this:

And one of these:

I must confess that none of these photos is mine, as I only take the car keys with me when I walk. According to my expert googling, the first is a white collared kingfisher, who really wanted to be admired (and who can blame him), as he kept swooping just ahead of me and resting on lampposts to wait for me.

Believe it or not, this is only the third time I've ever seen a rainbow in Singapore, so even though it was quite faint, it's worth remarking on. The last time I saw one was about a year and a half ago when my youngest was coming to the end of his Kindergarten. Our WhatsApp group went wild with photos of it from various parts of this section of the island.

The first rainbow I ever saw here (about 10 years ago) was literally a fraction of one; very high up in the sky and chopped of suddenly, in mid-air.

The mushroom (I have no idea what species, but it looked vaguely like that) isn't that rare, but I don't see them that often either.

As for the green bird, this one is a long tailed parakeet, but I thought the colouring on the ones I saw was all green. I didn't get a very good glimpse, though, as they flew past, so ...maybe.

ETA: Oh, and two bridal parties, taking advantage of the sunrise and the water. Although I've been walking the same route for a while, I've never seen any there before.

I hope you had a good morning, too :0)

And yesterday evening, I caught a pair of these (olive backed sunbirds) trying to build a nest on the balcony where we do our laundry. I've got rods up near the ceiling that go up and down on pulleys and they were trying to build their nest on one of the ropes. Quite apart from the hygiene aspect, I wasn't about to have to tiptoe around without doing the washing for a week or two, with two sweaty boys in the house. Their nests tend to look a bit haphazard and apparently have been known to fall apart.

My kids thought my antics trying to scare them off were hilarious. The pair were very persistent, each of them perched on a lightning rod on the house opposite awaiting their opportunity and only mama bird with nesting material in her beak. They must have kept trying for about 20 minutes, swooping in both high (the balcony goes to a peaked roof) and low, through the balcony railings. They'd already managed to get some strands up (which I moved to the plants on the edge of the balcony) but there was almost more mess on the floor below their house building attempt.

Loving the pictures!

Thank you. I'll point out again they're not my photos, because I was too busy jumping up and down trying to scare them off. They're cute and all, but I'd rather they didn't build they're nest where we'll disturb them.

Apparently this morning they got into the washing machine. Now wouldn't that be fun!

17) Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

(First of 3 Twelve Dancing Princessesseries; YA, children's, fantasy, fairy-tale)



I read this a year ago and picked up the second in the series to read recently. I wanted to brush up on some of the characters whom I couldn't remember - as it turns out, it was because they weren't in the first book, so my memory is actually fine. As I had started the book, I continued with it anyway, and found it very (re)readable.

Here's my review:

This is a YA retelling of the folk tale of 'The Twelve Princesses', which is one of the Grimm fairytales with, of course, origins going further back.

The twelve princesses are all sisters, named for flowers. Their mother, Queen Maude of Westfallia (Germany), made a weighted bargain with the King Under Stone, in return for which she agreed to dance at his balls. When she died before managing to fulfill her end of the bargain, it fell to the young princesses to complete it. Though they wear out a pair of dancing shoes each every three nights and are exhausted, they are unable to tell anybody about their enchantment.

Galen, a young soldier returning from the recent war with Analousia (Spain), finds a job within the palace. On his journey home, in return for sharing his meagre rations, he was given a cloak to make him invisible, a ball of white wool and a ball of black wool, by a mysterious old crone. Can he use these and his native wit to defeat the nefarious plans of the King Under Stone and save the twelve dancing princesses - especially Rose?

I used to read a lot of fairytales when I was very young, and I vaguely remember this story too. Day George fills in the details in this book, which makes the characters more real for young readers.

A pleasant re-telling;very readable.

(LT recommended)

***3.5

On rereading this, before going on to the next book, I'm increasing my rating to 4****
Very nicely written, with inconsequential details becoming relevant later. Though the main protagonists are about 19 years old, this is light enough for younger readers, with any hints of romance kept in the background. And actually, it's s more realistic way of falling in love, caring about a person's welfare than being smitten at first sight.

I loved your bird story, Nina! We currently have a nest of swallows on our front porch, and they are very cute, but I am so ready for them to leave.

Abby and Birdy both loved Princess of the Midnight Ball - I am thinking Birdy read the entire series!

>205 ronincats: >206 eclecticdodo: >207 Crazymamie: >208 PaulCranswick: >209 The_Hibernator: Thanks for all the sympathy about the animals next door! I think the neighbours might start to wonder why the parrot is yelling our names ;0)

The worst offender, however, is the tank they have for their catfish. I'm not sure why, but there's a rill of water that's higher than our wall which mynahs and starlings come for, and then they drop by our dining table for a meal and parade all over it - even though there's no food there. :0(

>208 PaulCranswick: Oh Paul! You sneaked by me again!

>223 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie; wishing you luck with your birds :0) I may copy Birdy; I've just finished the second in the series. How many are there? Not 12, surely?

I saw one of these while I was driving home yesterday. Apparently it's a Brahminy or red-backed kite.



Suddenly the wildlife seems to be popping up everywhere (including inside my house).

Noisy neighbors are the worst! Have you considered arson? Or is that taking things a bit too far...?

>227 Ape: Hmm; maybe I should consider less drastic action first. Anyway, I may be unintentionally sabotaging them - I yell at the kids so much that I think the parrot knows our family's names better than theirs :0)

18) Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

Second in series; YA, children's, fantasy, fairy-tale

This is a delightful sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball in the Twelve Dancing Princesses series. This time it is a re-imagining of the Cinderella story. The origins of the story, before Perault and later the Grimms took it on, reach a long way back in history - to biblical times, even - and all around the world, but I don't think any of them are quite like this version. In the first book the author kept very closely to the original tale, but here she has let her imagination have free rein to produce a refreshing fantasy.

Ten of the princesses from the first story have been sent to all the kingdoms of Ionia in an effort to build more cordial ties with Westfallin's neighbours. Poppy, one of Rose's more... memorable sisters, has been sent to her cousins in Breton, where mysterious happenings make her suspect that there is magic at work.

There are balls, glass slippers, fairy godmothers, magic coaches and so on, but not quite as we know them. To say more would be giving too much away.

Poppy is the princess and makes a very down to earth heroine of the story. I like the way she thinks about people, without dismissing them for what they seem to be. And I like the way that the romances in both books are very natural and gentle processes based on friendship and caring rather than a glimpse across a crowded ballroom.

I like the humour, too.

"What about Marianne's dowry?" ....

Lord Richard looked him up and down. "After the overly familiar way you have been behaving with my daughter, especially since she donned that highly inappropriate costume this evening, I expect you to propose even if her dowry is an old shoe!"

I think both children and adults alike would really enjoy this novel. While it treats its audience with respect it doesn't go above their heads, neither does it patronise.

Very nicely written. 4.5*****

Nina, is Singapore closed?

Hope you are well and will come and update us all soon. xx

Happy new week!

What Paul said!

Sorry folks; husband abandoned me for a 2 month long business trip and left me with the kids, so RL has been too busy for me to check in. Landed in London a couple of hours ago and handed the kids over. ;0)

So... Late notice, but anyone up for a meet up? My weekends are booked up already (compulsory visits to football grounds, catching up with friends & rellies etc) and we lost this weekend because one of the kids went down with a bad case of 'flu so we had to postpone our flight :0( We're here for a few weeks and I'll dig out my program later to confirm dates.

>230 PaulCranswick: So the answer, Paul, is 'Yes' - temporarily. Bet you'll make a trip down to Singers, now it's safe ;0)

Thanks Diana. Happy solstice!

Would you believe, I was going to the bathroom and looked out of the window at about 4:30am (I forgot how early the sun rises here now and yesterday was Summer solstice) and I saw a fox sitting in the middle of the road, scratching its ear. In central London!

We're right off Marylebone High Street - or, for bibliophiles - round the corner from Daunt Books.

I confess. I raided Forbidden Planet yesterday. I would list my loot, but apparently my 7 year old has an urgent appointment now with a Lego Star Wars app on my iPad, so ...

*sits down to await the listing of the loot* Hello, Nina!

Hello Mamie, and welcome! The books are in the other room and I'm curled up in bed, so I'll do them later. I did get a Liaden compilation, since the books are so popular around here and are rather thin on the ground in Singapore and even Sydney. And I do remember that I completed my quartet of Inda books, by Sherwood Smith.

19) Redoubt by Mercedes Lackey

(4th of five; fantasy, e-library book, re-read)

   

I think I've complained that the last two books in the series have been a bit slow, but this one felt better paced. The answer I'd been waiting for from the beginning of book one finally appeared, though it's been so long I wasn't expecting it and had forgotten about it. And I have to wait until the next book for it to be fully resolved.

This is the fourth book in the Collegium series in Lackey's Valdemar universe, and covers a summer in Herald trainee Mags's (short for Magpie) life. We get to see some Kirball games and the training that King's Own Herald Nikolas is putting Mags through, to become a spy for the crown and some of his friends' personal problems are finally resolved. Then the mysterious kidnappers and assassins strike again and it takes all of Mags's acquired skills from his previous life as a mine slave - plus some help from an unexpected quarter - to get out of the situation.

Three and a half stars 3.5****

Hmm; looks as though I did read this one four years ago. I wasn't sure if the familiarity came from the story or from leaving the characters such a while back. I was more charitable this time, though I did skim over some of the details as I was reading.

This is what I wrote last time:

"This is the fourth book in the Collegium Chronicles series, and continues to follow Mags's life as a Trainee Herald in the days when the three colleges of Heraldic, Bardic and Healing have just been split up and moved into their new buildings. The focus is on Mags's day to day life, and the first quarter of the book is about the wedding of the heir, as well as a couple of other friends. Once life is back to normal after the holiday and celebrations, there is more on Mags's training and development as a spy for Nikolas, and his undercover personas in the city of Haven. Then there is the excitement of another kidnapping and the rescue efforts.

I have to agree with other reviewers; the story doesn't move events forward very much, but it is a pleasant read. We do find out a bit more about Mags's mysterious history (which I've been intrigued by), and a little bit about life over the Karsite border. The accents that irked me in previous books are mostly sorted out. We did revisit Mags's past in the mines yet again, and although it fell into context later on, I couldn't help feeling that Lackey was trying to horrify the reader, but - knowing it is fantasy and not based on real life - I couldn't connect with it.

All in all, it was another light but engaging book which was fun to read. The story wraps up most of the loose ends quite neatly, so it's not obvious if there will be more books in the series.

"

20) So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane

First in series, ya, fantasy, urban fantasy, re-read (again!)

 

Yet another re-read, of a modern classic this time. The first in Duane's Young Wizards series; this time the Millenium edition which I acquired as a set of e-books on the Kindle.

As an indirect consequence of being bullied at school, Nita discovers their is such a thing as magic, finds a partner and a white hole and performs some major, world-saving magic.

This is my review from December 2013:

"Nita Callahan has always been considered 'bookish' and is constantly bullied at school. One evening she escapes into the local library.

She kept on running down Rose Avenue, and the answer presented itself to her: a little brown-brick building with windows warmly alight - refuge, safety, sanctuary. The library.

and a book called 'So You Want to be a Wizard' grabs (literally) her attention. Not really believing it, Nita borrows the book anyway - because, just maybe, she can magically solve the problem of her bulliers.

As she reads, she finds out that wizards exist to slow down the death of the Universe, which is caused by entropy introduced by the Lone Power at the beginning of Creation. To become a wizard, she must pass an ordeal after taking the Wizards' Oath:

'In Life's name, and for Life's sake, I say that I will use the Art for nothing but the service of that Life. I will guard growth and ease pain. I will fight to preserve what grows and lives well in its own way; and I will change no object or creature unless its growth and life, or that of the system of which it is part, are threatened. To these ends, in the practice of my Art, I will put aside fear for courage, and death for life, when it is right to do so --till Universe's end.'

- and so begins an adventure that opens up whole new worlds to her.

Nita, and her friend Kit, have a hard ordeal to pass, and in doing so they face some quite scary situations; this book doesn't back down from the tough questions and you're never sure if they are going to make it.

The story is well written, and really keeps the tension up, though it is aimed at pre-teens; it really conveys a dark atmosphere. There are some moments of bantering with Nita's younger sister and some light (pun not intended) humour along the way with 'Fred', the white hole that Nita and Kit accidentally conjure up.

This was a series that I first read (but, sadly, didn't manage to keep up with) when it was first published. It's very contemporary to its time (I remember being delightedly impressed the first time I read it), but that does mean that some details have dated; the World Trade Centre is still standing and the MetLife building above Grand Central station is known as the Pan Am building in this book, for instance.

One of the things that appealed to me is the way Duane has blended wizardry with science - of the Universe (physics) and of Nature. Maybe young readers will absorb some knowledge (did you know it takes eight minutes for the Sun's light to reach the Earth?) along the way without quite realising it.

Definitely one to try.

4.5 stars "

To which I have added:

ETA: I have now acquired the Millenium edition as a digital 'boxed' set, so some details (such as the ones I noted above) have been updated - for instance, now the protagonists use laptops to look up some things. Still just as good and still recommended!

21) The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

First in series, YA, fantasy

 

Miri is a mountain girl but she is forbidden by her father to go step into the quarry for linder which provides the lifeblood of their village. One day an official from the distant palace arrives with the traders to tell them that it has been determined that the prince will choose one of the village girls to be his princess. This means creating an academy to train the girls to make suitable suitors. But the Princess Academy changes all of their lives in ways they could never have dreamed of.

I love the way Hale portrays relationships, be it sibling, parental, friendship. And just maybe the bad guy isn't so bad ....

Four and a half stars 4.5****

>238 humouress: Also waiting for the loot listing!

>242 humouress: The Diane Duane series is on the list. Glad you enjoyed your (re)reread!

>242 humouress: We read those with the kids years ago, and they were great fun.

Happy Saturday, Nina!

Loved Princess Academy. I listened to the fantastic audio version of it.

Well, yeah, So YOu Want to Be a Wizard is head and shoulders above Redoubt, no question! And I enjoyed Princess Academy too.

Glad you've been able to join us on LT and do some posting lately!

Very quickly, before I pack them:

The Dragon Variation
Treason's Shore
The Fox
King's Shield
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
A Natural History of Dragons
The Tropic of Serpents
Voyage of the Basilisk

Yay for Liaden books and you will love the Marie Brennan books. Ought to pick up the fourth one while you are where it is available, you know.

Thanks, Roni. And Forbidden Planet has signed copies, too; but I think I'll have to ask my husband to pick it up for me on his next business trip. I'm fast running out of time and still a long list of things to do.

No foxes scratching ears in Kuala Lumpur, but I need to jump in to say that SE Asia is missing you! When are you back to Singapore?

Hi Heather, Mamie and Rachel. Thanks for visiting. I'm managing to get through a few e-books on train rides and so on. I have the whole Millenium edition of the 'Young Wizards' series as a 'boxed set' of e-books. I might get the 'Princess Academy' series, it was so much fun. If I can find space on my bookshelves.

Hi Paul, thanks for dropping by. We'll be back by the end of the week - school starts again soon for the kids. But I don't want to leave :'0(

I don't know if it's just London, but I've been noticing ads for a couple of books lately; Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, both of which I'd coincidentally recently acquired.

My son was amused to discover that Seven Brief Lessons... outsold Fifty Shades of Grey. (In Italy). ((For one week)).

The ads for Seven Brief Lessons.. were in the passageway between South Kensington Station and the museums. We were invited out by a friend to visit the Science Museum and had to drag the kids there kicking and screaming - but once we were through the doors they were fascinated.

My 7 year old seemed to be absorbed investigating steam engines; not pushing buttons, but actually finding out how they worked and fitted in to machines. Also, morbidly enough, why infected tissue has to be excised when we visited the temporary exhibition on wounds in WWI, since my 12 year old had learned about aspects of WWI at school.

My 12 year old was just in love with the whole place (admittedly, we did get stuck for a while at the flight simulators; but did you realise that the RAF Red Arrows fly, perform and land in formation six feet apart?!) and even I recognised some old friends, though the exhibits have been reorganised and updated. Brilliant place!

>248 humouress: Great book haul!

>254 humouress: Glad the boys enjoyed the Science Museum - that used to be one of my favourites. The Natural History Museum next door is also very good.

Thanks, Heather. I'm sorry we couldn't catch up this time. Hope things are working out well for you now.

We went to the Natural History Museum last time we were in London, and it was one of the places my eldest specifically requested going to this time. We managed to squeeze it in earlier in our trip. One of the things I love about the Natural History Museum is the building itself; the blue stone it's built of and the detail in all the animals and plants on the outside - amazing!

22) The Selection by Kiera Cass

First of 5, YA, distopia, romance
Library book, e-book

 

I'm classifying it as YA, but it does get a bit steamy, so I'd say the upper end of YA.

The story takes place in a future world where America has been invaded by China, fought back and finally become a kingdom with the new name of Illéa. It also now has a class system defined by the numbers One to Eight where the classes have specific careers and social standing. America Singer's family are Fives. They are classed as entertainers and don't always have enough food to put on the table. However, they are better off than Aspen, from a family of Sixes and considered beneath Fives to marry into though the families are friends. But America and Aspen are in love.

Then comes the announcement that the only child of the royal family is to be married. As a son, he will marry a girl from one of the thirty five states. America is pushed into applying, knowing that she won't be Selected - but she is. So she goes to the palace with thirty four other girls of different castes to learn how to be a princess and be courted by a prince, all the while being filmed for public television.

Although the book started out with some teenage angst and then seemed to be turning into a behind-the-scenes of a reality TV program (which I tend not to watch), it ended up being about the characters. I like the way Cass shows that the prince is human too and there are two sides to every story.

(I've just read through a few of the other reviews and yes, the premises could have been better though out; though I was aware of that as I was reading, I chose to see the forest rather than the trees. But that is also why I classify it as YA. What an indictment that is of the quality of fiction being written for our youngsters these days, but that's how I feel. On the other hand, I do like the enthusiasm Cass shows for her work in the Acknowledgement; she comes across a bit like her character Marlee.)

Cute. 3.5****

23) The Elite by Kiera Cass

Second of 5, YA, distopia, romance
Library book, e-book



I went straight on to the second one because I'm finding these quite light and fluffy and very readable fun.

The story continues straight on from the previous book. Prince Maxon Schreave has narrowed his Selection down to the Elite, the last six girls and, naturally, our heroine America Singer is one of them. At this point, although she started off being Maxon's 'inside informant' (though she didn't actually seem to give him any information) because she was in love with a boy back home, she seems to be falling for him. To add to her confusion, Aspen has turned up too and she finds herself having to decide between the two boys.

We do get to see a little of the politics of running the country, though not much since the girls aren't told much about it either and much of the country's history is deliberately kept hidden. There are attacks on the palace and right into the buildings by Northern and Southern rebels who seem to want different things, but no one can work out what.

Still fun, though maybe a touch more serious than the first book. 3***

>257 humouress: & >258 humouress: Steamy young adult?! A bit scary for me with my daughter 19 and my son 16 and both with more hormones than good sense. xx

Have a great weekend, Nina.

Happy Sunday, Nina.

>259 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! It's the end of the weekend, now. We're back in Singapore and have spent the weekend getting over jetlag and unpacking (I did hit the sales rather, especially given the exchange rate). Hope you have a good week ahead!

>260 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara. Good to see you here. I think there's still time to wish you a happy Sunday, too.

24) The One by Kiera Cass

Third of 5, YA, distopia, romance
Library book, e-book
 

I decided to go straight on to the third book of this trilogy-within-a-series and finish America's story arc. America Singer was chosen to be one of thirty five girls in The Selection competing for prince Maxon Schreave's hand in marriage. This was whittled down to the last six girls in The Elite and now Maxon has to choose The One.

This book dragged a bit and left me feeling that the trilogy could have been a duology. Mainly it consisted of people not telling each other (principally America, as it is written in the first person) things at the right time or not being allowed to tell her things when they wanted to, thus prolonging misunderstandings unnecessarily. And quite a few of those things left me puzzled, because I felt 'Huh? I thought we had covered them halfway through book two.'

So the love triangle continues, and just when I think I have it sorted out, America flip-flops. Again. Finally, after a few hiccoughs along the way, such as a disapproving king and a few rebel attacks, Maxon chooses his princess, and America gets her happily-ever-after.

There are faults in the plot - for instance, America comes across as quite naive about dangerous situations, but then those situations turn out to not be so dangerous. Oddly, the author (through America) acknowledges some of them, but then doesn't address them. At one point, America realises she's never given Maxon a present but then, despite opportunities, she still never does. And highlighting it just made me aware that the two guys she's obsessing over do everything for her, but she doesn't do anything for them. I'm not really sure what they see in her, to be honest.

Still light-hearted and fluffy, but not quite as much fun. Good effort, though. I gave the first book 3.5 stars and the second 3 stars. I think this wasn't quite as good as the second, but it's not a 2.5, so I'll leave it as 3*** stars.

Welcome home, Nina! I'll bet you are glad to be back in your own place. Hope you have some down time.

Thanks, Roni!

It is nice to be back home, though we had a brilliant holiday. The boys had a great time, with the obligatory pilgrimages to Chelsea and Manchester City football clubs, not to mention the football kits, boots and gloves they had to buy. And we got to see the France - Iceland match for Euro 2016. We were sitting right next to the Icelandic corner (apparently 10% of the population was in Paris for the match) and that chant is amazing. Such support!

We made a couple of trips up to York and across to Paris (Manchester was a day trip from York) all by train, so I could re-familiarise myself with the English countryside in summer - gorgeous! It was going home again. Not to mention catching up with old friends, though there's never enough time to spend with them.

We managed to absorb some history, too: Clifford's Tower (all that's left of the castle in York) and the York city wall, Castle Howard (two of Henry VIII's wives were nieces to the family), Whitby Abbey, a heap of stuff on the hop-on, hop-off tour of Paris (Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Louvre etc.), Tower of London. Yesterday my eldest asked if we could go back to the Natural History Museum yet again, but his brother responded with a request to revisit the Science Museum. Wonderful places and they're free to enter.

As for down time, we landed on Friday morning, so my husband didn't go into work and we had kind of a long weekend to re-orient ourselves after more than three weeks away. The boys went into school on the school bus this morning and I still have a couple of suitcases to empty. Did I mention we raided the shops? The sales were on and the exchange rate is in our favour - but I'm not looking forward to getting the credit card bills!

If you haven't heard it, this is a link to that amazing Viking support:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jOVIbCgMc44

25) Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold

Miles is in love again, with yet another of his less-than-accessible "long cool brunettes with expressions of quiet reserves and warm alto voices"

I love Bujold's writing; I found the opening lines evocative.

"The last gleaming sliver of Komarr's true-sun melted out of sight beyond the low hills on the western horizon. Lagging behind it in the vault of the heavens, the reflected fire of the solar mirror sprang out in brilliant contrast to the darkening, purple-tinged blue."

Oh, wait; maybe I should read more than a chapter and a half before I write this review. I'm so happy to get back to a Vorkosigan book. I could just wallow immerse myself in the words...

ETA Lord auditor Vorkosigan and his colleague Lord auditor Vorthys (who has a weakness for desserts I can empathise with)

>264 humouress: Sounds like it was a wonderful trip!
>266 humouress: Immersion therapy highly recommended--one of my favorites, there.

It was, thanks Roni.

Now to continue immersing ....

So I'm listening to one of Trump's advisors on the BBC and the interviewer said something about Trump being racist. The advisor replied that he's not racist, he's an "equal opportunities offender". That tickled my funny bone :0D

>269 humouress: That is as ridiculous an explanation as the Labour Party ex-mayor of London who propounded that Hitler had been a zionist.

Have a great weekend.

Hi Paul. The week dosas the usual mix of laid back and busy, thanks. How was yours? I've been lurking on your thread and I see you've been going through the wars. Hope things are looking up now.

I forgot to say that in between all the rushing around in London I managed to find time to do my hair. I had it coloured blue (balayage, not all my hair) with a bit of turquoise and it came out very prettily. There was still a bit of pink left in from the previous time, so it ended up having a few purple streaks too. They took a photo for their Facebook page; I can't copy it but here's the link. The blue was a long standing request of my older son.

https://m.facebook.com/ToniandGuyBakerstreet/photos/a.1631784140440476.107374182...

>272 humouress: broken link there, Nina.

>273 ronincats: Yip. Not techno-minded, me. Does it work now? It looks rather long on my phone.

I could follow the link and see the picture. Looks very subdued compared to my current purple! ;-)

Well, I showed you mine, so you can show me yours!

My hair is rather longer than yours and people around me tend to be more conservative, so I'm not brave enough to colour everything. Nor do I fancy sitting still waiting for it all to bleach out first. :0)

I think my best colour was the very first time, with a nice bright pink. But it all washes out so fast. I feel icky unless I wash my hair every day because of the climate here and I'm still seeing blue water swirl down the drain, however carefully I rinse. :0(

Yasmyne is the adventurous one in our home when it comes to hair colours. I have liberally mixed grey with my normal dark brown.

Have a lovely weekend.

Okay, here you go. I don't take good selfies, but just concentrate on the hair! This is several weeks in--yes, you are right, color washes down the drain with every shampoo. I am fortunate to be in a clime where I don't need to wash it every day.

>272 humouress: Love it. Happy weekend, Nina.

>278 ronincats: That looks great, too, Roni.

>277 PaulCranswick: Very adventurous, Paul ;0)

>278 ronincats: There you are, Roni. What an absolutely gorgeous colour!

ETA: The overall effect is kind of lavender though the actual colour is quite bright. Nice!

When we were in Paris, I noticed a lady with a silver bob (dead straight hair to below her chin) with the tips dyed dark red and the very ends in black. It looked very chic.

>279 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara.

Like the blue and purple hair, Nina and Roni! My homepage advises me that it's your Thingaversary today Nina, so happy Thingaversary!

Ooh, happy Thingaversary, Nina! Looks like it's your 8th, so you get to treat yourself to 9 books to celebrate!

>281 souloftherose: Thanks Heather! How does your homepage keep track of other people's Thingaversary? I didn't realise it was my Thingaversary until you told me :0)

>282 ronincats: Thanks Roni! If only I'd known earlier, Books Kinokuniya had a sale on a couple of weekends ago. Mind you, of course the kids and I went, so I suppose I'll have to count those books towards my Thingaversary present. Not to mention the books I splurged on in London....

ETA : spelling

I've been going extra slowly this week because I thought it was finally time to move to a new thread. I've managed to get around to opening up shop, so come on over! But please excuse the mess while I set things up :0)

http://www.librarything.com/topic/228159

>272 humouress: I know I'm a little late to this conversation - but beautiful hair!

Ooh, thank you. It's washing out a bit now, and looking more turquoise than blue.