Mamie's 2016 Madness (Page 22)

Continuing my list of favorite things...Jackson Brodie (both the books and the tv series), the poetry of Emily Dickinson, honeycrisp apples...

......

....

snail's pace

Books Completed in November:
114. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (4.5 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, sf/space opera

Books Completed in October:
103. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (5 stars), library ebook, historical fiction/slavery - Katie's Dirty Dozen
104. Dark Matter by Blake Couch (4.5 stars), Jim's ER paperback - Thanks Jim! science fiction/suspense - recommended by Joe
105. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (reread, but rating it higher this time - 4 stars), library paperback, literary fiction
106. Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson (4 stars), 2012 acquired ebook, non-fiction/Galveston hurricane of 1900 - recommnded by Kathleen
107. Brandon Sanderson's White Sand by Brandon Sanderson, borrowed hardback, GN/fantasy - Birdy wanted me to read this one
108. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson (4.5 stars), 2013 acquired ebook, literary fiction that contains murder/private detective (to spare Ms Atkinson's feelings in regards to labeling her books as crime fiction), the final Jackson Brodie book *sob*
109. In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri (3.5 stars), library ebook, memoir - learning language
110. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick (4 stars), 2016 acquired paperback, literary fiction/books made into movies
111. The Woman in Blue by Elly Grifffiths (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, crime fiction/police procedural
112. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (reread), 2014 acquired hardback, Bradbury fiction (I think he is his own genre)
------Divorce Horse by Craig Johnson (4 stars), 2013 acquired ebook short story, crime fiction/police procedural
113. As The Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (4.25 stars), 2013 acquired ebook, crime fiction/police procedural

September Reading Plans: None

I tend to make plans and then bail on them, so this year I am just going to take each month as it comes. I would like to participate here and there in some of the many challenges that are on offer, however, so IF I have a qualifying book on my shelf and IF I feel like it, I will. This month I have the following titles in my personal library or on loan that would work:


Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury - reading this with my girls this month, a reread for me, but the first time for both Abby and Birdy


Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter - the Bowie pick for this month, reading this with Kim and Megan


Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson - my last Jackson Brodie *sob* - fits the BAC

Books Completed in January:
1. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (3 stars), ROOT ebook
2. Saga: Volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughn, Fiona Staples (Illustrator) (4 stars), borrowed paperback, GN - fantasy
3. Mãn by Kim Thúy (5 stars), library paperback, literary fiction - read for the CAC
4. The Fade Out: Volume 1 by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips (4.25 stars), 2016 acquired paperback, graphic novel recommended by Joe - crime fiction/noir
5. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (4 stars), library hardback, GN - fantasy, recommended by the LT masses, read this because Abby had it out from the library
6. The Long Way to A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook - recommended by Heather
7. Ru by Kim Thúy (4 stars), library paperback - read foot the CAC
8. Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson (3 stars), library paperback, graphic novel recommended by Karen, read this because Abby had it out from the library
9. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (4.5 stars), audiobook/trade paperback - Group Read - Doorstopper challenge
10.The Fade Out: Volume 2 by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips (4.25 stars), 2016 acquired paperback, GN - crime fiction/noir
11. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Vol. 1 by Philip K. Dick, Tony Parker illustrator (5 stars), library hardback, GN - science fiction/dystopian
12. The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill (3.5 stars), ROOT ebook, mystery - police procedural - read for the BAC
13. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler (4.25 stars), ROOT paperback, contemporary fiction - dysfunctional family - recommended by Katie - read for the AAC
14. White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, mystery - police procedural

Books Completed in February:
15. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Volume 2 by Philip K. Dick, Tony Parker illustrator (4.5 stars), 2016 acquired hardback, GN - sci fi/dystopian
16. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, ROOT audiobook, narrated by Alan Rickman (5 stars) -audiobook recommended by Lucy - read for the BAC (early) and to honor Rickman's passing
17. A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler (4.25 stars), library paperback, short stories, Pulitzer Prize winner - recommended by Megan
18. The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys (4.25 stars), library hardback, connected vignettes, read for the CAC
19. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (4 stars), library hardback, humor, read for the CAC
20. Written in Red by Anne Bishop (4.4 stars), ebook/audiobook, urban fantasy - recommended by Morphy, qualifies for Fantasy February!
21. Blacksad by Juan Díaz Canales, Juanjo Guarnido, (4 stars), library hardback, GN - noir, crime fiction - Mark told me about this one
22. City of Djinns by William Dalrymple (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, non-fiction - travel writing/a history of Delhi, read for the BAC - recommended by Susan
23. Snow Angels by Stuart O'Nan (4 stars) library hardback, contemporary fiction - relationship/divorce/coming of age
24. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (reread), audiobook, crime fiction - detective, read with Birdy
25. Winterdance by Gary Paulsen (4.5 stars), library hardback, non-fiction/memoir - Iditarod race, recommended by Ellen, Karen, and Mark
26. The Drowned Detective by Neil Jordan (4.2 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, mystery - saw this is Charlotte's Guardian reviews
27. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild (5 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, non-fiction/history/the Congo/slavery - read for Suz's Non-Fiction Challenge

Books Completed in March:
28. Empire Falls by Richard Russo (4 stars), ROOT paperback/audiobook, Pulitzer Prize winner, read for Mark's AAC
29. Fade Out: Volume 3 by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips (4 stars), 2016 acquired paperback, GN - crime fiction/noir
30. Velvet: Volume 1 by Ed Brubaker (4.5 stars), 2016 acquired paperback, GN - crime fiction/espionage - recommended by Roberta
31. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (reread), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
32. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (reread), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
33. Crooked House by Agatha Christie (reread), ROOT paperback, mystery/crime fiction - read for Paul's BAC (yes, I know this was last month's author)
34. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (reread), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
35. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris (reread), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
36. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris (reread), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
37. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris (reread), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
38. Velvet: Volume 2 by Ed Brubaker (4.5 stars), 2016 acquired paperback, GN - crime fiction/espionage - recommended by Roberta
39. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris (reread), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
40. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (reread), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
41. A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (4 stars), library hardback, poetry - read for Mark's AAC
42. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (reread), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
43. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (4 stars), ER paperback, retelling of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew

Books Completed in April:
44. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris (reread), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
45. The Misty Harbor by Georges Simenon (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, crime fiction/police procedural - recommended by Charlotte
46. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (3.5 stars), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
47. Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris (4 stars), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
48. Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris (4 stars), ROOT ebook, urban fantasy
49. Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker (4 stars), 2015 acquired paperback, crime fiction/police procedural
50. The Portable Veblen (I have no idea), 2016 acquired ebook, um...weird fiction?
51. Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, fantasy - series recommended by Roni
52. A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab (4 stars), 2016 acquired audiobook, fantasy
53. Black Diamond by Martin Walker (4 stars), 2015 acquired paperback, crime fiction/police procedural
54. Gorsky by Vesna Goldsworthyy (2.5 stars), 2016 acquired book, retelling of The Great Gatsby
55. Ballistics by Billy Collins (4 stars), library hardback, poetry
56. Shaman Pass by Stan Jones (4 stars), library hardback, crime fiction/police procedural
57. Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer (3 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, crime fiction/mystery

Books Completed in May:
58. The Bird Artist by Howard Norman (4 stars), library hardback, literary fiction, GR
59. Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon (3 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, crime fiction/police procedural - series recommended by Charlotte
60. The Crowded Grave by Martin Walker (4 stars), 2016 acquired paperback, crime fiction/police procedural
61. The Other Side of Silence by Phillip Kerr (4.5 stars), library hardback, crime fiction/mystery - recommended by Suz and Charlotte
62. Frozen Sun by Stan Jones (2.5 stars), library hardback, crime fiction/police procedural MY THOUGHTS
63. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (thinking), 2016 acquired paperback, Russian literature
64. A Talent for War by Jack McDevitt (4.3 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, space opera/mystery

Books Completed in June:
65. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (reread), audiobook, literary fictiony/detective
66. Zero World by Jason Hough (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, scifi/suspense - recommended by Jim
67. The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths (4 stars), ROOT ebook/2016 acquired audiobook - recommended by Beth and Katie, mystery/police procedural
68. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths (3 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, mystery/police procedural
69. White Noise by Don DeLillo (thinking), library paperback
70. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson (4.25 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, literary fiction/detective
71. When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson (4.5 stars), literary fiction/detective
72. The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths (3 stars), library hardback, mystery/police procedural
73. Immortal in Death by J. B. Robb (4 stars), 2013 acquired ebook, mystery/police procedural

Books Completed in July:
74. Academy Street by Mary Costello (5 stars), 2015 acquired ebook, literary fiction - Katie's Dirty Dozen
75. Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (4.5 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, crime fiction/detective - recommended by Joe and Brodie
76. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (5 stars), 2012 acquired ebook, historical fiction - American West, recommended by the LT masses
77. Symphony for the City of the Dead by M. T. Anderson (4.25 stars), library hardback, YA - history, Siege of Leningrad/Dmitri Shostakovich - recommended by Beth
78. Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo (5 stars), library paperback, literary fiction - Katie's Dirty Dozen
79. I Am No One by Patrick Flanery (3 stars), ER paperback, literary thriller
80. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon (3.5 stars), police procedural - Ahem. Charlotte

Books Completed in August:
81. A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths (3.5 stars), library hardback, police procedural - series recommended by Beth
82. Driving Mr. Dead by Molly Harper (reread), ebook, urban fantasy
83. The Good Wif by Stewart O'Nan (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, literary fiction - recommended by Jenn
--- Ruth's First Christmas Tree by Elly Griffiths (4 stars), 2016 free ebook, short story in the Ruth Galloway series
84. A Witch's Handbook by Molly Harper (3 stars), borrowed ebook, urban fantasy/paranormal romance
85. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (reread), 2016 acquired audiobook, literary fiction
86. Monstress by Marjorie m. Liu, artwork by Sana Takeda (4.5 stars), borrowed paperback from Birdy, GN - fantasy
87. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper (3 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, paranormal romance/urban fantasy
88. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, paranormal - recommended by Jim
89. In the Walled City by Stewart O'Nan (3.8 stars), library paperback, short story collection - Katie's Dirty Dozen
90. A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths (4.25 stars), library hardback, mystery/police procedural - series recommended by Beth
91. Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck (5 stars), audiobook, memoir - read for the AAC
92. The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths (4 stars), library hardback, mystery/police procedural
93. The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey (5 stars), 2015 acquired ebook, literary fiction - Katie's Dirty Dozen
---Bruno and the Carol Singers by Martin Walker (3 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, short story in the Bruno, Chief of Police series
94. The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, police procedural - series recommended by Beth
95. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, urban fantasy - series recommended by Roni

Books Completed in September:
96. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes (4.5 stars), 2016 acquired hardback, biographical fiction - recommended by Suz
97. Everybody Behaves Badly: The true Story Behind Hemingway's Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises by Lesley M. M. Blume (4.25 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, non-fiction
98. What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris (4 stars), 2010 acquired ebook, murder mystery - series recommended by Lucy
99. Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson (4 stars), 2013 acquired ebook, murder mystery/police procedural
100. Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson (4.25 stars), 2013 acquired ebook, murder mystery/police procedural
101. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (5 stars), 2015 acquired ebook/audiobook, historical fiction, Pulitzer Prize winner - recommended by Mark and Brodie
102. A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee (4.5 stars), 2016 acquired audiobook, historical mystery/police procedural - recommended by Susan

Although I am hoping to focus mainly on my own overcrowded shelves this year, I am not crazy enough to think that I could resist adding new books to my collection. I'll record those purchases here.

1. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, ebook - recommended by Heather COMPLETED
2. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley ($.99 on Kindle) - blaming this on Roni, who pointed out the deal
3. The Fade Out: Volume 1 by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, paperback - mentioned by Joe on the GN thread COMPLETED
4. The Fade Out: Volume 2 by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, paperback - Mark said this one was as good as the first COMPLETED
5. Staked by Kevin Hearne - Iron Druid series, ebook
6. Fear Stalks the Village by Ethel Lina White - recommended by Heather ($1.29 on Kindle)
7. Some Must Watch: The Spiral Staircase by Ethel Lina White - Heather's thread($.99 on Kindle)
8. The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White - Heather's thread ($1.99 on Kindle)
9. Put Out the Light by Ethel Lina White - Heather's Thread ($1.29 on Kindle)
10. Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer ($2.99 on Kindle) COMPLETED
11. White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones ($1.99 on Kindle) COMPLETED
12. City of Djinns by William Dalrymple - recommended by Susan ($4.99 on Kindle) COMPLETED
13. You Have Killed Me by Jamie S. Rich - Mark's fault
14. 14941771::Hit by Bryce Carlson - also Mark's fault
15. Velvet: Volume 1 by Ed Brubaker - recommended by Roberta COMPLETED
16. The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett ($1.99 on Kindle)
17. The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois ($.99 on Kindle/$.99 audio)
18. Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop - 2nd book in The Others series - ebook
19. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild - purchased for the non-fiction/history challenge COMPLETED
20. Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older - Mark's fault
21. The Drowned Detective by Neil Jordan - Charlotte's Guardian reviews COMPLETED
22. A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab COMPLETED
23. The Fade Out: Volume 3 by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips COMPLETED
24. Velvet: Volume 2 by Ed Brubaker - recommended by Roberta COMPLETED
25. The Misty Harbor by Georges Simenon - recommended by Charlotte COMPLETED
26. Gorsky by Vesna Goldsworthy -Charlotte again, and on my own thread! COMPLETED
27. 17393874::The Trees by Ali Shaw - Guardian review on Charlotte's thread
28. The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth Mckenzie - Charlotte's thread? COMPLETED
29. The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster by Scott Wilbanks ($.99 on Kindle)
30. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman ($1.99 on Kindle)
31. Galore by Michael Crummey ($3.99 on Kindle)
32. An American Childhood by Annie Dillard ($1.99 on Kindle) - for the AAC
33. Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon ($2.99 on Kindle) - Charlotte's fault COMPLETED
34. The Carter of 'La Providence' by Georges Simenon - Charlotte again
35. The Late Monsieur Gallet by Georges Simenon - Yep. Charlotte
36. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon - Ahem. Charlotte COMPLETED
37. The Crowded Grave by Martin Walker - book #4 in Bruno, Chief of Police series COMPLETED
38. The Devil's Cave by Martin Walker - book #5
39. The Resistance Man by Martin Walker - book #6
40. Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara ($1.99 on Kindle) - series recommended by Roni COMPLETED
41. Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara - book #2 - series recommended by Roni
42. City of Secrets by Stewart O'Nan - heard about this on Ellen's thread
43. The Blackhouse by Peter May - recommended by Barbara
44. The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza ($.99 on Kindle)
45. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard - recommended by Jim COMPLETED
46. Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart - recommended by Charlotte, Mark and Joe ($2.99 on Kindle)
47. Zero World by Jason M. Hough - recommended by Jim COMPLETED
48. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye - recommended by Roberta and Katie
49. A Talent for War by Jack McDevitt COMPLETED
50. The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney - recommended by Charlotte
51. spill simmer falter wither by Sara Baume - I just liked the sound of this one
52. A Country Road, A Tree... by Jo Baker - I loved her Longbourn
53. Happy Family by Tracy Barone - sounded good
54. The Honeymoon by Dinitia Smith - novel about George Eliot's honeymoon
55. Golden Hill by Francis Soufford - blaming Charlotte's Guardian reviews
56. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths - blaming this series on Beth and Katie COMPLETED
57-70. The first fourteen books in Cara Black's Aimee Luduc series ($1.99 each on Kindle) 2 COMPLETED
71. Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn ($1.99 on Kindle)
72. The Good Wife by Stewart O'Nan - recommended by Jenn COMPLETED
73. A World Away by Stewart O'Nan
74. Sylvester: or The Wicked Uncle by Georgette Heyer ($.99 on Kindle)
75. A Backpack, a Bear and Eight Crates of Vodka by Lev Golinkin
76. Crime Writer by Jill Dawson - heard about his one from Charlotte's Guardian reviews
77. Brighton by Michal Harvey - recommended by Brodie
78. Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley - recommended by Joe and Brodie and Ellie COMPLETED 7/4/16
79. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat - Katie's fault
80. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel - recommended by Diane ($1.99 on Kindle)
81. Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo - I wanted my own copy, this was recommended by Katie COMPLETED
82. Suspended Sentences by Patrick Modiano - 3 linked novellas
83. The Art of Neil Gaiman: The Story of a Writer by Hayley Campbell
84. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes - recommended by Suz COMPLETED
85. The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu - Mark pointed out this Kindle deal ($1.99)
86-90 Books 2-6 in the John Russel series - Kindle Daily Deal ($1.99 each)
91. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire - Roni was talking about this series and the first one was just $1.99 on Kindle COMPLETED
92. Named of the Dragon by Susanna Kearsley - I like her books when I am in the right mood, and this was a Kindle Daily Deal
93. The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen - picked this up for free on Kindle
94. Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway's Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises by Lesley M. M. Blume - I have a fascination with The Lost Generation COMPLETED
95. Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household - Benedict Cumberbatch is set to star in a new adaptation of this, read about this on Judy's thread
96. The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu - picked this up because I am really enjoying his short story collection The Paper Menagerie
97. The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths - the newest book in the Ruth Galloway series - series recommended by Beth COMPLETED
98. Brief Encounters With Che Guevara by Ben Fountain - short story collection, $1.99 on Kindle
99. A Murder of Magpies by Judith Flanders - Beth and Charlotte were discussing this series on Charlotte's thread
100. The Patriarch by Martin Walker - the next one in the Bruno, Chief of Police series
101. The Purple Land by W. H. Hudson - mentioned in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, free on Kindle
102. The Inferno by Dante - wanted to read this after reading Craig Johnson's Hell is Empty as it is woven into the story
103. The Bookseller by Mark Pryor - recommended by Roberta and Joe, who mentioned on his thread that it was currently only $2.99 on Kindle
104. A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar - recommended by Charlotte
105. Sense and Sensibility: The Screenplay and Diaries by Emma Thompson - mentioned on Joe's thread
106. The Night Manager by John Le Carré - fell in love with the cover, plus it's by Le Carré!!
107. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts - recommended by Lucy (Kindle Daily Deal $2.99)
108. The Briefcase by Hiromi Kawakami (AKA Strange Weather in Tokyo)- recommended by Joe
109. The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro (Kindle Daily Deal $1.99) - recommended by Mark
110. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick COMPLETED
111. The Night of the Hunter by Doris Grubb
112. Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

33/112 completed = 28% have been read

Katie’s Dirty Dozen – KAK has earned her own category on my thread because she has the habit of recommending books that I cannot resist adding to my stacks. Books listed here could be for the WL or purchased, but I will designate if I purchased them. Because Katie is a rebel, there will of course NOT be twelve books in her dirty dozen.

1. Kamchatka by Marcelo Figueras
2. Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard
3. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez - seconded by Charlotte and Susan
4. In the Walled City by Stewart O'Nan COMPLETED 8/12/16 3.8 stars
5. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy - she recommended the audio, and don't speed it up
6. Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo COMPLETED 7/21/16 5 stars
7. Ruby by Cynthia Bond - seconded by Charlotte
8. Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming - she recommends the audio read by Cummings himself
9. Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan
10. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye - Roberta also loved this, Katie says the audio is great, purchased 5/15/16
11. The Jaguar's Children by John Vaillant
12. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi COMPLETED 10/2/16 5 stars
13. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat - she pointed out that this was only $1.99 on Kindle and that it was one of her very favorites, purchased 7/13/16
14. Tribal: College Football and the Secret Heart of America by Diane Roberts
15. Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon

AND, from 2015:

1. The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey ($1.99 on Kindle), purchase on 2/18/15 COMPLETED 8/19/16 5 stars
2. Bright's Passage by Josh Ritter (2.99 on Kindle), purchased on 2/23/15
3. The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly ($3.79 on Kindle), purchased on 3/31/15 COMPLETED 11/7/15 4.2 stars
4. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler ($12.77 trade paperback), purchased on 4/1/15, COMPLETED read for Mark's AAC in January 2016, 4.25 stars
5. Paradise Alley by Kevin Baker ($.99 on Kindle), purchased on 4/9/15 - second book in a series, first book Dreamland was recommended by Katie and purchased last year
6. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing - used an Audible credit COMPLETED 6/16/15 4.9 stars
7. Academy Street by Mary Costello ($9.99 on Kindle), purchased on 6/12/15 COMPLETED 7/2/16 5 stars
8. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn ($5.99 on Kindle), purchased on 8/28/15
9. Sweetland by Michael Crummey ($.99 on Kindle), purchased 9/5/15 COMPLETED 11/19/15 4.5 stars
10. If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins ($7.99 on Kindle), purchased on 10/26/15

Saving this space for LT recommendations that I want to keep track of.

1. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - recommended by Heather (saw this as I was catching up with her 2015 thread) COMPLETED 1/15/16
2. Slade House by David Mitchell - recommended by Lynda - I know that Mark and several others loved this one, too, but it was Lynda's succinct review that places it firmly on the WL
3. Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Diana Kuan - recommended by Lori (thornton37814) - saw it listed as her favorite cookbook read of 2015
4. Revenant by Mel Odom - recommended by Mark, who came to my thread to deliver the book bullet!
5. Winterdance by Gary Paulsen - recommended by Ellen and Karen COMPLETED
6. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts - Lucy mentioned that she loved this on her thread, and I looked it up because I was unfamiliar with it. Note to self: DO NOT look up books mentioned on Lucy's thread!
7. The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra - saw Amy's review of this on her thread
8. I Am Spain by David Boyd - recommended by Charlotte
9. The Mirror in the Mist by Susan Hill - saw Lori's (lkernaugh) review of this on her thread
10. The Prestige by Christopher Priest - recommended by Mary (bell7)
11. The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall - recommended by Charlotte - saw her review on her thread
12. The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker - Joe mentioned this one on the GN thread, and it sounds right up my alley COMPLETED 1/15/16
13. The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason - Faith reviewed the second book in this series on her thread
14. Names for the Sea by Sarah Moss - read Rhian's review on her thread
15. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan - again, Lynda got me with her succinct review on her thread - how DOES she do that?!
16. The Men Who Lost America by Andrew Jackson O"Shaughnessy - read the review on Reba's thread
17. Wartime: Stories From Ukraine by Tim Judah - read about this one on Charlotte's thread, part of her posted Guardian reviews. LOVE those!
18. The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill - recommended by Charlotte on her thread
19. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild - Suz mentioned this one to Charlotte on the non-fiction challenge thread COMPLETED
20. Everything is Broken by Emma Larkin - recommended by Erik on my thread when we were discussing books on Burma
21. The Rebel of Rangoon by Delphine Schrank - Charlotte recommended this to me on my thread when we were discussing books on Burma
22. Unwind by Neal Shusterman - Mary (bell7) was talking about a follow-up collection of short stories to this series, and peaked my curiosity about the series itself
23. A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler - read Megan's review of this on her thread - I love interconnected short stories COMPLETED
24. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson - I read Julia's excellent review on her thread
25. How It All Began by Penelope Lively - read Nancy's review on her thread
26. The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa - read Lori's (lkernagh) review of it on her thread
27. TransAtlantic by Colum McCaan - Charlotte and Katie talked me into this! And Marianne approves.
28. Willoughbyland by Matthew Parker - read Carrie's review on her thread
29. The Quiet American by Graham Greene - read Bill's review on his thread
30. Coast to Coast by Jan Morris - read Paul's review on his thread

LT recommendations continued...

31. After Hannibal by Barry Unsworth - read Ursula's review on her thread
32. Fear Stalks the Village by Ethel Lina White - read Heather's review on her thread
33. The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White - also Heather's fault!
34. Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore - recommended by Megan (evilmoose)
35. Mademoiselle Chanel by Pierre Galante - read Judy's review on her thread
36. Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon - read Suz's review on her thread
37. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson - read Nancy's review on her thread
38. War of Two by John Sedgwick - recommended by Reba
39. The Old Ways by David Dalglish - recommended by Charlotte
40. The Nest by Kenneth Oppel - recommended by Anne
41. The Noise of Time by Julian barnes - was included in Charlotte's Guardian reviews, and then Suz reviewed it which is what sold me COMPLETED 9/3/16
42. Countdown by Deborah Wiles - Judy hit me with this 60s Trilogy with her review of Revolution
43. Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal - recommended by Marianne, interconnected short stories - Beth and Susan also liked this
44. The Library at Night by Alberta Manguel - recommended by Carrie
45. Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis - recommended by Rhian
46. Tokyo Decadence by Ryu Murakami - recommended by Joe
47. American Housewife by Helen Ellis - recommended by Joanne
48. Trespass by Rose Tremain - recommended by Nancy
49. The Book of Sands: A Novel of the Arab Uprising by Karim Alwari - recommended by Deborah
50. A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin - recommended by Mary
51. The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey - because Mark said so!
52. That's Not English by Erin Moore - recommended by Susan
53. In the Country: Stories by Mia Alver - recommended by Mark
55. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin - Mark again
56. The Wars of the Roses by Dan Jones - recommended by Suz
57. Saints and Boxers by Gene Luen Lang - recommended by Carrie (read them together)
58. The Good Wife by Stewart O'Nan - recommended by Jenn COMPLETED 8/3/16
59. Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift - recommended by Suz, Ellen also loved this
60. When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning - recommended by Amy

LT recommendations continued...

61. Exposure by Helen Dunmore - recommended by Charlotte
62. Reading Chekhov by Janet Malcolm - recommended by Charlotte
63. Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey - recommended by Beth
64. The Widow by Fiona Barton - recommended by Diane
65. Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo - recommended by Reba (over on Katie's thread)
66. Super Mutant by Jillian Tamaki - GN - Mark and Joe's fault!
66. The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice - recommended by Charlotte
67. The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell - recommended by Susan
68. My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem - recommended by Beth
69. The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks - recommended by Rhian
70. Dodgers by Bill Beverly - recommended by Ellen and Mark
71. The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro - recommended by Mark
72. Zero World by Jason M. Hough - recommended by Jim COMPLETED
73. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie - recommended by Susan (and Carrie recommended it to her)
74. Without: Poems by Donald Hall - recommended by Ellen, who read it because of the poem that Katie had posted - poetry collection
75. City of Secrets by Stewart O'Nan - Ellen mentioned this on her thread as getting great reviews
76. River Thieves by Michael Crummey - Judy mentioned that she loved this one (on Ellen's thread)
77. The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild - Beth's review on her thread
78. Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine - read Julia's review on her thread
79. Georgiana by Amanda Foreman - read Anne's review on her thread
80. Pleasantville by Attica Locke - read Charlotte's review on her thread
81. Locally Laid by Lucie Amundsen - Janet's review on her thread - I can't believe that she actually got me with this one, but there you have it!
82. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan Howard - Jim said to just read it, already COMPLETED
83. Black Water Rising by Attica Locke - recommended by Susan, Pleasantville is the next book in the series
84. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys - recommended by Mark, who said the audio was good, too. Joe also liked this one. Also Mary
85. Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel - read Beth's review on her thread
86. Body Politic by Paul Johnston - read Charlotte's review on her thread, she said Suz recommended it
87. All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews - read Anne's review on her thread, she said Beth had recommended it - Anne loved the audio narrated by Erin Moon
88. The Private Lives of the Tudors by Tracy Borman - Susan loved this one!
89. Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley - recommended by Joe and Brodie and Ellie COMPLETED
90. Spain in Our Hearts by Adam Hochschild - read Beth's excellent review on her thread

LT recommendations continued...

91. Underground Airlines by Ben Winers - recommended by Mark
92. Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave - recommended by Joe
93. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel - recommended by Diane
94. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - recommended by Joe COMPLETED
95. The Paper Menagerie by ken Liu - recommended by Mark
96. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien - read Charlotte's excellent review on her thread
97. Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi - Charlotte says this might be her favorite Oyeyemi
98. What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris - I have had this on Kindle since 2010 (pre-LT!), but giving Lucy credit because her raving about the series is what got me to check out the series on Amazon, which reminded me that I had purchased the title! COMPLETED
99. The Bellini Card by Jason Goodwin - this is the third in the series, waiting to see if Lucy says to read them in order. Lucy says, "Absolutely read those Jason Goodwin's in order-- start with the first one! (The Janissary Tree) What makes these so good is that the fellow is a serious historian -- he really knows Istanbul/Constantinople/Byzantium well." So there you have it!
100. How to be Both by Ali Smith - loved Lucy's review of this!
101. Thicker Than Water: History, Secrets and Guilt: A Memoir by Cal Flyn - read Susan's excellent review
102. A Slanting of the Sun by Donal Ryan - read Charlotte's review on her thread, and also I loved The Spinning Heart
103. The Scribe by Matthew Guinn - read Jim's review on his thread - set in 1880s Georgia, he said "...and if you liked Gods of Gotham, this one will give a similar thrill."
104. Shultz by David Michaellis - recommended by Donna, NOT the audio, she says
105. Grief is the Thing With Feathers by Max Porter - read Mark's review on his thread
106. Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn - read Beth's review on her thread
107. The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard - read Ursula's review on her thread
108. Britain AD: A Quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo-Saxons by Francis Pryor - read Meg's review on her thread
109. The Wrong Kind of Blood by Declan Hughes - read Judy's review on her thread
110. A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott - Judy. Again.
111. A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee - read Susan's review on her thread COMPLETED
112. An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick taylor - Deborah's comments on her thread made it sound like it might be just the thing for when I am wanting a quieter read
113. A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar - read Charlotte's review, plus she said, "I was reminded of his (Phillip Kerr's) Bernie Gunther series - that same murky quality from Chandler moved to a German context."
114. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry - recommended by Susan, who read Rhian's review
115. The Miss Tutti Frutti Contest by Graeme Lay - read Jenn's review on her thread
116. The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan - Joe said I would like this one
117. Way Station by Clifford D. Simak - recommended by Joe, who mentioned that it was Roni's favorite by this author

A few of my favorite reads from 2015:




This should do it - next one's yours!

Happy new thread!

Charlotte, you are first. Here is your prize:



You can use it to mark your new books:

Happy new thread, Mamie. Great pics of the pups and Mayhem on the last thread and the one of Mercy and Mayhem is priceless. I think you should post it on this thread as well.

Thanks, Meg! Glad you enjoyed the photos. Okay, just for you:

Happy new one, Mamie!

I had to memorize a Dickinson poem in school. All I remember now is

I heard a fly buzz when I died.
The stillness in the room was like
The stillness in the air
Between the heaves of storm.

(I may be mis-remembering it slightly...)

Thank you, Katie! Nope - you got it exactly right, so the memory is still working just fine. I love that final Jackson Brodie book and the way that Atkinson wove the poetry of Emily Dickinson through it. SO lovely and creative.

Happy new thread Mamie. I would certainly second the Jackson Brodie thumbs up. Just read number three in the series in order to recall just how good the series is. xx

I think I might have missed that? Or tuned it out, because I don't love Dickinson...? Or I really do just have a terrible memory!

Happy New Thread, Mamie!

We love that actor who plays Jackson Brodie. Is "Jackson Brodie" the name of the tv series, or does it go by another?

Hi Mamie

Sorry that I've been MIA for awhile. I love the opening image, and of course, the Emily Dickinson poem. She also is my favorite, and you selected one of my favorite of her poems.

Happy Day to you!

Happy new thread Mom, love the thread topper! Jackson Brodie is sooo good!

Penguin book stamps! That's in my Xmas list now...

Happy new thread, Mamie!

>I love the Penguin orange! I wish there was a bookmobile like that in my neighborhood.

Happy new thread! I love the Jackson Brodie topper. Glad you included the dog!

Now that you've finished all the Jackson Brodie books (I'm grieving with you), you might want to try The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney. I think it has a similar feel to the Jackson Brodie books.

I love that picture of Mercy and Mayhem. I've had it up for the last day.

Happy New Thread, Mamie!

>18 Crazymamie: Aaaaaaah, I can't resist the cuteness! It's my wallpaper.

I promised Charlotte that I would post an image of these as soon as I received them. She brought them to my attention over on her thread - these are part of the new Orange Classic Penguins line that have been released this year. There are twelve books in this line, and after receiving these two bad boys, I decided that I needed all of them. They are so gorgeous - they have end flaps and deckled edge pages, and the covers and spines are amazing. Whimsical and made with an attention to detail, they would add color and spirit to anyone's bookshelf. Highly recommended!

*drool*

>21 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! That third book in the series is my absolute favorite. xx

>22 katiekrug: I bet you just forgot about it, Katie. It would be pretty hard to miss, but I could see forgetting about it if it had been a few years since you last read it.

>23 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! Me, too, with the Jason Isaacs love. The series is titled the same as the very first book Case Histories. There are two seasons of it, and it is full of fabulous!

>24 Whisper1: Hello, Linda! No need for apologies - life is busy. Glad the toppers hit the spot for you - that poem is also one of my favorites.

>25 Thebookdiva: Thanks, Abby! I know, right?! Now please read the books, dear.

>1 Crazymamie: Swoon!

Howdy Mamie. Love the cats in >18 Crazymamie: and the books in >32 Crazymamie:

>26 charl08: Most excellent, Charlotte!

>27 brodiew2: Thanks, Brodie! Me, too, with the orange. And the green. And the purple...And I lust after the book truck.

>28 cbl_tn: Thank you, Carrie! I had to include the dog. And I love where she ended the series, so I guess I will live if she doesn't write anymore Jackson. *sigh* BUT, I would really love me some more Jackson. Just saying...

Thanks so much for that recommendation - I will check it out.

>32 Crazymamie: Ooh. Those look really nice.

>29 Morphidae: Morphy, you made me smile BIG. Glad you love the photo.

>30 ronincats: Thanks, Roni!

>31 Morphidae: You are cracking me up, Morphy! *squee*

>32 Crazymamie: I know, right, Katie?! You should get them for your new home. You NEED them. And the thirteen additional classics so that we can be twins. Once you have a permanent address. *blinks*

>35 luvamystery65: Roberta!! Look at me getting to see you and Linda here on the same day! Awesomeness! And glad you like the topper. Those kitties are Mercy and Mayhem - Mayhem is Rae's new kitty, and he is fitting right in here at the Pecan Paradisio. And the books - they are so gorgeous!

>37 charl08: They are, Charlotte. I thought they were charming in the image on your thread, but they are truly beautiful in person - trade paperback sized with deckled edge pages and end flaps. Mighty pretty.

And the spines are pretty, too.

A dose of cuteness from today.

Happy New thread, Mamie! The Orange Classics look very good. Penguin does such a great job.

>41 Crazymamie: Love it!

Happiest of new thread greetings, Mamie!
>40 Crazymamie: Mighty pretty!
>41 Crazymamie: Mighty cute!! Oh, Wait! Is that Mercy peeking in on Mayhem?! OMG! It doesn't get any cuter than that!!

Thank you, Mark! The Orange Classics are da Bomb. Glad you love the Mercy and Mayhem photo - that bird feeder in the background is Mercy's favorite and site outside of our bedroom window.

>43 Carmenere: Thank you, Lynda! Those books are pretty, aren't they? And yep, Mercy peering at a sleeping Mayhem. Sweet.

Morning, Mamie!

Morning, Amber!

Mornin,' Mamie. HoneyCrisp apples -- oh YES!! I love fall for many reasons and HoneyCrisp are high on the list. (Also love the photos of Mercy and Mayhem)

Morning, Reba! Those HoneyCrisp apples are delicious - LOVE them! Glad you are loving the photos.

I'm loving all these kitty photos! I think the one you reposted at #18 is my favorite! My cats are total cuteness too!

Hello, Lori! SO happy you are loving the kitty photos. And totally agree with you that your cats are also total cuteness - such handsome gentlemen!

Good morning, Mamie!

>32 Crazymamie:, >40 Crazymamie: Wow. Those are beauts, all right. What an interesting selection. Guess I'll have to add DFW's The Broom of the System to my WL now.

Morning, Joe! It's a very strange collection, I think as far as what books they chose to include. Why do they keep picking books I already own copies of?! It also has The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen and The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft (neither are shown in the photo), both of which I was excited about as they were already on my WL. The craziest bit is that the Penguin site says these books can be found in the biography and memoir section. What?! They do realize that most of these are fiction, right?! Here's the link: Penguin Orange Collection

>40 Crazymamie: OMG I love those! Look how pretty they all look together!!

PS Hi Mamie :)

Chelle!!! How lovely to see you here! Those orange Penguins are gorgeous, aren't they?

Happy new thread, Mamie! (she said, 55 posts in). Those Penguins look lovely. And so do all the pictures! I'm glad Mercy seems to be OK with the new addition to the family.

Those books are beautiful. One day I'll stay in one place and collect some books that I've loved in pretty editions. One day. :)

>56 susanj67: Thank you, Susan! It's still plenty new. I love the new orange Penguins. Mercy is doing so well with the new kitten - she is really interested and wanting to play with him, but she is also being so gentle and careful, which is good to see.

>57 ursula: I think so, too, Ursula. When that day comes for you, I'll bet you'll know exactly which books you want to have in that collection to start with. But be warned - it's very addictive.

I loved The Snow Leopard. It made a big impression on me way back when.

Oh, that's good to hear, Joe. I read his In Paradise and loved it.

Happy new thread, Mamie! I'm loving the kitty photos.

Thanks, Terri! Hooray for you loving the photos.

Howdy, Mamie!

Good morning, Mamie! I hope all is well with you, the family, and Mercy and Mayhem!

I started Until Proven Guilty by J.A. Jance. It is the fist in her Seattle based detective series featuring J.P. Beaumont. My mom has been a long time fan and acquaintance to the author, but I have never gotten into it until now. After a few chapters, I'm hooked.

>63 Carmenere: howdy, Lynda!

>64 brodiew2: Afternoon, Brodie! We are all doing well today, thank you. I have not read any of those, so I will await your final thoughts.

Evening, Mamie! We made it through Hump Day!

Arrived at S-I-L's yesterday afternoon and was greeted by all kinds of affectionate attention by one of her cats who used to hide in the bedroom when we visited. I was the center of adoration all afternoon and evening until I took off my Sketchers at which time the attention transferred to the shoes on the floor next to my feet. I wore sandals today and it confirmed that it was my shoes that were attractive and that I'm not a bit interesting myself. At least she did stay in the same room with me, even without the shoes, but the love had definitely died.

>40 Crazymamie: Oh my. *sigh*

Morning, Mamie!

>66 cbl_tn: Yes, ma'am, we sure did. Happy Thursday, Carrie!

>67 RebaRelishesReading: You made me laugh, Reba! Too funny.

>68 nittnut: I know, right, Jenn?! Mighty pretty.

>70 Crazymamie: Morning, Amber!

Happy Thursday, Mamie!!!!

Thank you, Lynda! Happy Thursday to you!

Morning Mamie! Sweet Thursday. Off the weekend. Yah! And a bird walk scheduled for tomorrow. Yippee!

Morning, Mark! Sweet Thursday, my friend! Seems like you have things well in hand for a weekend filled with fabulous!

Good morning, Mamie! I hope all is well with you.

I am long the audio on the The Count of Monte Cristo. John Lee is tops in his narration, as I expected, but Dumas' storytelling is really shines in this production as well.

Morning, Brodie! Things are fine here - another sunny Fall day that wants to feel like summer. I want me some COLD.

That is one I have not read, although I know the storyline. I remember Anne saying it was a treat on audio, so I bet you'll enjoy the entire ride.

>76 Crazymamie: If you want some cold you should come visit Ontario! We had our first snowfall last night (Ugh!)

Oh, dear, Chelle! I don't want the snow, just some cold. It's 84F here today.

We were supposed to get "light snow" this morning, but didn't get any. Now it's a heat wave for the next week - highs in the mid-40s to low 50s! Maybe everyone will take a break from asking me if I'm sure I'm not cold all the time. Or maybe I should just start discussing perimenopausal issues with thermoregulation with them in detail?

>40 Crazymamie: Yeah but... I have copies of all but three of those books. What's a guy to do?!

Greetings from somewhere east of Memphis!

Happy almost Friday. Love the Penguin spines!!

>16 Crazymamie: now there's a truck deserving of a heist!

>40 Crazymamie: *drool*

Hey Mamie,
The top pic had me guessing, is it Mamie's dad? Bruce Springsteen? Who? Hehe, now I know.

>78 Crazymamie: woah, that is warm. Here we are all over the place with temps, it's lovely and warm today, but is about to change to a Southerly (as in, from Antarctica) wind, which is forecast to bring cold rain too.

>79 ursula: That's my kind of heat wave, Ursula. And I am betting that you would only have to bring up perimenopausal issues with thermoregulation a very few times before they would stop asking. Ha!

>80 weird_O: Well, Bill, I have six of the twelve already in my library, but I bought the entire set anyway because it spoke to me. Birdy has already snagged three of the books that were duplicates for her library - The Joy Luck Club, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and On the Road. I actually don't mind having more than one copy of a book, if I love the book and the different editions of it. We won't talk about how many copies I have of Pride and Prejudice...

>81 katiekrug: Katie! Hello there, traveler!

>82 Berly: It's Friday now, Kim, and boy, am I glad to see it. Been a slightly crazy week, so I am happy to see the back end of it. I love those Penguin spines, too!

>83 LovingLit: Hello, Megan! So true about the Penguin truck being heist worthy! And I'm glad you like the Orange Penguins. You made me laugh with your guesses of who was pictured in the topper - you've already figured it out, but it is Jason Isaacs who plays Jackson Brodie in the tv series.

And yes - it's still mighty warm here. We are at least getting a drop in the temps in the evenings and the early mornings, but I would love for the days to be cooler. We are slated to be in the high 80s, low 90s into next week. *sigh*

Good morning, Mamie! Have a great day!

I'm thinking of having a mini western marathon this weekend. The Searchers has come up more than once recently so I will be looking for that at the library. I may also revisit Tombstone which is such a fun, action packed film. I'm still looking for a third.

Hey there, Brodie! Mini western marathon sounds good. Rae loves a good western - those are two of her favorites. I would have to have something with Clint Eastwood in it - LOVE him!

We made it to Friday! Hope you're setting up for a good weekend, Mamie.

Those temps for next week are crazy - it's October, about to be November, idn't it?

Happy Friday, Mamie, and happy newish thread. Love the Brodie!

>76 Crazymamie: We have lots of COLD here, Mamie - the rainy and blustery kind. I will gladly swap with you.

All the kitty pictures are so cute. I wonder how long cautious will last? I bet you they will be tearing around the house together soon.

Happy weekend Mamie. I say Hello to Jason Isaacs every time I read your thread. (It's also a slogan from a podcast I listen to :-)

Westerns.......would love to pull up a pew and join you all for a marathon watch.

A Fistful of Dollars
The Searchers
The Wild Bunch
Ulzana's Raid
Soldier Blue
Little Big Man
How the West Was Won
The Magnificent Seven

Those would keep me happy for nearly 20 hours.

Have a great weekend Mamie. xx

Happy Saturday, Mamie!

Morning Mamie! Happy Saturday! Hooray for a western marathon!

>92 PaulCranswick: Good list, Paul! Love seeing Ulzana's Raid on there. I would include Red River, Winchester 73, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Once Upon a Time in the West. Just sayin'...

Yes, excellent list, Paul. The Searchers The Wild Bunch and The Magnificent 7 stand out.

Hope your weekend has been excellent, Mamie!!

*waving to Mamie*

Hi, Mamie. I just had to mention that Mayhem is adorable. How long will the bottle feeding be necessary? Those new Penguin covers are pretty adorable, too!

I hope you're having a good weekend. The Chiefs won and the Broncos are winning so I am happy.

Hope you had a great weekend Mamie!

Hope you had a great weekend! Uh, like Rachel said, Lol. We are pretty much just watching baseball. Not really fans of either team, just of baseball.

>92 PaulCranswick: But what about every reader's favorite western LONESOME DOVE.

Hey Mamie! It's 8am and I'm going to start walking everyday at 8. Indoors or out. I've got to get my sorry butt into gear :0)

Happy Halloween, Mamie!

Morning, Everyone! Happy Halloween! We enjoyed a lovely, if somewhat warm, lazy weekend at the Pecan Paradisio. We made Chex mix, watched movies and football, and lazed about. There might have been napping involved. Daniel has been in Charleston with a friend this past week, so Craig has been surrounded by women. One of the movies we watched was The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which I had not seen for ages, and Roni was right - the book is SO much better. The movie has its own charm, but the book is delightful and makes you fall in love with the ghost of sea captain Daniel Gregg, who seems overbearing in the film. Rae really loved the movie, so now she is reading the book - WHOOT! We also watched The Mummy - Rae said no to this one and adjourned herself, but the rest of us liked it - hokey but fun.

Today is the last day of October, so we are having our Pecan Paradisio Book Club meeting this morning - we are off to Starbucks to discuss Something Wicked This Way Comes, which all of us liked. I am excited to discuss this one with Abby and Birdy. Our next book club pick is a James Bond book - we are each reading a different one from the Ian Fleming series and then we will compare/contrast it to its film version. I am reading You Only Live Twice, the next one in line, as I am reading the series in publication order. Birdy has chosen Goldfinger, as that is her favorite Bond film, and Abby is listening to On Her Majesty's Secret Service, narrated by the fabulous David Tennant because David Tennant. Also, she knows that I really loved that one.

On the reading front, I finished up :

111. The Woman in Blue by Elly Grifffiths (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, crime fiction/police procedural
112. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (reread), 2014 acquired hardback, Bradbury fiction (I think he is his own genre)
------Divorce Horse by Craig Johnson (4 stars), 2013 acquired ebook short story, crime fiction/police procedural
113. As The Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (4.25 stars), 2013 acquired ebook, crime fiction/police procedural

I have started A Closed and Common Orbit on Kindle - the follow-up to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Really liking it so far.

Good morning, Mamie! It sounds like you had a good weekend.

My Western purpose was not met. However, I watched two films: 'Risen', starring Joseph Fiennes and 'Beyond the Mask'. Both were good, but 'Risen' was really well well acted and directed.

I am planning to locate the audio for Casino Royale given that it is my favorite Bond film at present.

>105 brodiew2: Morning, Brodie! It was a great weekend. Sorry that your western marathon did not pan out - those two movies are WAY off genre! Life is good with surprising us, right?

Casino Royale is good on audio - you can get it narrated by Simon Vance or Dan Stevens, both are good, but I recommend the Dan Stevens' one. I have both because I had purchased the Simon Vance version before they did the celebrity narrations. I LOVE the celebrity narrations.

Back to catch up with my thread in a bit - the book discussion was lively and loads of fun, and Starbucks was fabulous.

>106 Crazymamie: Definitely off genre, but non the less well done. I was at the library and checked the Westerns and none of the classics I was looking for were available.

I just listened to Simon Vance narrate Hero of the Empire so i would not be disappointed, but I will take your advice an look for Dan Stevens.

>108 brodiew2: Glad you enjoyed them. Bummer about the library not having them.

Simon Vance does a great job, I just think the Dan Stevens' one is better - really, you can't go wrong.

Catching up with the thread:

>88 jnwelch: Well, the weekend has come and gone, Joe, but it was full of fabulous. Totally agreed about the temps - it is 90F here right now.

>89 BLBera: Thanks, Beth! We share the Brodie love.

>90 Familyhistorian: I would love to swap with you, Meg. We could use the rain, and I would welcome cold and blustery. Glad you love the photos - they are playing more actively together now. Still not tearing it up, as they are both careful of each other, but they are definitely having a good time. This morning Mercy was meowing for us to let the kitty out!

>91 charl08: Charlotte, I hope you weekend was a good one. And that's an excellent slogan - which podcast is that from?

>92 PaulCranswick: That's a great list, Paul! Watching westerns with my Dad is a very good memory of mine, and he would be tickled to know that Rae loves them just as much as he did. Hoping the weekend was kind to you. xx

>93 cbl_tn: Happy Monday, Carrie! Look at me saying Happy Monday!! So far it's been a very awesome one.

>94 msf59: Hello, Mark! How about that Cubs win?!!! Rae and I both love Red River, but don't mention The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence - Rae's still mad about Jimmy Stewart getting the girl! Heh.

>95 brodiew2: I love The Magnificent Seven, Brodie! Such a great film.

>96 Carmenere: It was indeed excellent, Lynda. Thanks!

>97 jnwelch: *waves back to Joe*

>98 Donna828: Hey, Donna! Mayhem says thank you! We had to bottle feed him for about a week. Then, when he started biting on the nipple, we transitioned him to a slurry made of the milk replacer and canned kitten food. Now we are mixing the moist food with kitten kibble. Then it will be kibble and water, and he will be all set until he needs to move to cat food. He has done great with all of it.

I am in love with those new Penguins - I can't stop looking at them! They are striking all stacked together on my shelf.

And yes, hooray for the Chiefs and the Broncos!!

>99 The_Hibernator: Thanks, Rachel, we sure did. Hoping yours was also great.

>100 nittnut: It was fabulous, Jenn. How was yours? I am not a baseball fan, but I am excited for both teams since they have both had quite a dry spell.

>101 weird_O: That's on my list of things to watch, Bill. I still haven't seen it yet, although I remember watching parts of it way back when - back in the era of the miniseries.

>102 Carmenere: I need to do that, too, Lynda! I really slacked off in October, but Abby and I were just talking about starting to walk in the mornings again.

>103 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! Happy Halloween to you! Birdy wore her Ravenclaw robes to Starbucks today, and quite a few of the people there were dressed up, which was fun.

Hey Mamie, that podcast I mentioned is a film one (but they've become a lot more than that in the ten years they've been doing it). At the moment they have a thing going where the host reassures people that things will be alright. Which is weirdly comforting! Jason Isaacs went to school with the film expert hence the phrase. He was on it recently, although I have forgotten the film he was in!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lvdrj/episodes/downloads

Look at you saying happy Monday, Mamie. It must be all that sunshine you have there. It is so damp here we are growing mushrooms!

>114 charl08: Thanks for that, Charlotte! I will be sure to check it out - sounds like a fun one.

>115 Familyhistorian: I know, right, Meg?! It's not the sunshine, well, okay, the sunshine is good, but I could do without the high temps - I am so sick of summer. I think it's that we got to bookclub and Starbucks. Also Craig brought Rae home from work at lunch, which means that I didn't have to go pick her up. I am practically giddy!

Morning, Mamie! The Mummy! Love that one.

Morning, Amber! The Mummy was fun - I hadn't seen it before.

Morning Mamie! Beautiful day in Chicagoland. Pretty sweet for November 1st. Wish I could be out bird walking. I don't see much on the route.

Morning, Mark! It's pretty here, too. I just cannot believe it's November already - Daniel will be 22 on the 11th. Remarkable! I wish you could be our mail carrier - lovely lanes and loads of birds to see.

Morning, Mamie!

Good morning, Mamie! Happy November to you. the kids went trick or treating last night for the first time in three years. I had a Superman, a Spiderman, and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. They were so cute. Large bags of candy.

I would like to be your mailman too...swipes at a stray tear.

Morning, Mamie!

Maybe I can drive Mark's postal van while he delivers in your area . . .

Good afternoon, Mamie!

because of you, dear Mamie, i've gone back to Elly Griffiths. the Woman in blue sounds fascinating and so, knowing you would wish me to, i have "spludged," as my grandmother used to say, and purchased the two preceding it as well. they switched narrators for a few but for "blue" have gone back to the original. *contented sigh*.

side bar: why do we never have, e.g. The man in blue or red or pastel or whatever. only The woman in (insert color). not, of course, that we'd find Archie in blue, red or, god forfend, pastel, nor would we ever want to. why is that? it worked for Crockett, if not Tubbs.

thought i'd bring by some moist chocolate chip punkin bread as i've not been in a while and i felt sure you'd have a pot of something on.



have a good week at Pecan Paradisio, Mamie. :-)

>121 katiekrug: Afternoon, Katie!

>122 brodiew2: Hey there, Brodie! Happy November - one of my favorite months because Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday. Hooray for the trick-or-treating fun! Those costumes would have been a hit here - Dan's favorite superhero is Superman, and Craig's is Spiderman. And Rae has a thing for the Wizard of Oz. I bet they were adorable, and large bags of candy are always good.

>123 msf59: Aw! So sweet. If only...

>124 jnwelch: Afternoon, Joe! That would be so awesome if the Sweet Thursday boys could deliver my mail!!

>125 Carmenere: Afternoon, Lynda!

>126 mirrordrum: Lovely to see you here, Ellie! And I am beyond thrilled that you treated yourself to three Ruth Galloway books! Whoot!

Your query made me laugh! That is so true. There is The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Man in the Rockefeller Suit. I would be happy to read about Archie regardless of what he is wearing, and your reference to Miami Vice made me laugh. This discussion is also making me think of the Spenser books where Parker described everything that everyone was wearing in great (and often agonizing) detail.

I thank you for that scrumptious pumpkin chocolate chip bread - YUM! You are correct that there is always a pot of something at the ready. I thank you so much for both your visit and your good wishes. Hoping that your week is full of fabulous!

Morning Mamie! It looks like you could use a visitor, so I am delivering you good cheer and I hope your week is going well.

Good morning, Mamie. Because I can.

Hey Mamie, I've only got an orange in my bag. All this cake and Nathalie's nut bread is way too tempting.

I should probably just get on with my book!

Hiya, Mamie! Hope you're having a day full of good cheer.

>129 msf59: Afternoon, Mark! Thanks for visiting me - you're right, I was getting lonely. The week has been good but busy.

>130 brodiew2: Hey there, Brodie! And thank you. because I want to. *grin*

>131 charl08: Hello, Charlotte! An orange? Sounds like you need something decadent to go with that. You know what goes well with a book? Cake. Just saying...

>132 jnwelch: Hiya, Joe! So far so good with the day full of good cheer. We had Chinese takeout for lunch, which was delicious - we just got four different things and shared them. YUM!

I just had to post this - Mayhem last night all tuckered out. Cats sleep in the funniest positions. I wish I could post a video here because Abby took the sweetest video of Mercy and Mayhem really playing full out yesterday. It's really funny.

Hey Mamie! I've got 3 Ruth Galloway books home from the library. I'm hoping that after baseball after the Indians win the World Series, I'll get back to the books.

OMG cross posted >134 Crazymamie: is cuter than cute!

ETA: I just want to bend down and tickle his little tummy. BTW: He's got great markings.

Sounds like you are having a great week, Mamie. Keep it up. Great kitty photo in >134 Crazymamie:!

>135 Carmenere: Hey, Lynda! Hooray for the Ruth Galloway books - I am sad that I am all caught up with the series, so now I have to wait until the next one comes out. *sob* Good luck to your Indians tonight. Is it tonight?

SO happy you liked the photo - Daniel took that one. Mayhem is really sweet, and is also a lot of fun. We had to get him a collar with a bell so we could keep up with him because he's gotten so fast. Speaking of bells, this is funny: we have a bell that the dogs ring when they need to go outside, and Mayhem has been paying attention. He has been ringing the bell for the dogs (sometimes Bailey thinks he has rung the bell loudly, but he has lost a lot of his hearing, so if the bell moves even a little bit he thinks we hear a ring). SO yesterday Mayhem rang the bell and then went into his litter box to do his business. Clever, clever kitty!

And Mayhem thanks you so much for the lovely compliment - I love his white feet!

>136 Familyhistorian: Great but very busy, Meg. I am looking forward to tomorrow with nothing on the agenda for me except picking up Rae from work. Glad you liked the most recent photo of Mayhem - he has already grown so much!

>134 Crazymamie: now that is a well-fed kitten. Mayhem. what a great name. s/he looks to be at the age where you can kiss that belly and all you get is a stretch and, occasionally, a purr or trill. also, the age at which the legs stretch all the way out flat.

HA! That was just after he ate, Ellie. We are thinking he is about six weeks old now, and if you kiss his belly, he purrs. He and Mercy are very funny together. We put him in the bathroom when we have to go out (which is rare as usually there is someone at home), while Mercy has the run of the house. When we come home, Mercy will meow and run to the door where he's at - she wants him out!

Evening, Mamie!

>134 Crazymamie: If I slept in that position, I wouldn't be able to move for a week. Ouch!

It sounds like Mayhem is quickly settling into his role in the household. How sweet that he's looking out for Bailey. Of course, he probably thinks of it as a game and doesn't really understand what he's doing, but still...

sweet Thursday, Mamie. i reckon our sweet Thursday boys ought to be happy, huh?

the guys in the half-way house next door and we in our house were all pulling for the Cubs. that's prolly why they won. we have a lot of clout. *snort*

have a good 'un.

Love the kitten stories. And that photo is beautiful. I'm having a lazy day after all the excitement yesterday. Hope Thursday treats you well.

Morning, Mamie!

Sweet Thursday, Mamie!

A book I think you'd love (I mentioned this one to Amber, too): The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan. It'll take you no time to read it (she's such a concise author!), and it's a beaut.

Barnum and Mayhem hanging out in the dog bed.

>140 cbl_tn: Hey there, Carrie! Me, too, with the sleeping position. Oh, to be young again.

Right - it's a game to him, but it is so cute.

>141 mirrordrum: Sweet Thursday, Ellie! I am guessing that both Joe and Mark are very pleased indeed.

No need to snort - I totally believe in your awesome positive mojo inducing skills.

Today has been good - a tiny bit slower paced, which is always good.

>142 charl08: thanks, Charlotte! I need to come catch up with you - I have a feeling that I lost your thread somewhere in the LT ethers. I thank you for those Thursday wishes - I was excited that I only needed to take Rae to work today and come back home. No errands!!! No appointments!!

>143 scaifea: Afternoon, Amber!

>144 jnwelch: Sweet Thursday, Joe! I love Patricia MacLachlan, but I have not read that one. I'll be sure to check it out. Thanks for the tip.

Sweet Thursday, Mamie! I am so glad the Cubs won the World Series, but I am also glad to have my evenings back. I have been neglecting my print books and I need to start showing them some tender loving care.

Hello, Mark! I hear you - I don't have the patience for baseball because of the time element. But my BIL, who is one of my favorite people in the world, adores it, and I love hearing him talk about the sport. I have not been getting enough reading in, either, but for entirely different reasons. My days have been full lately, so when we get to the evening, I just want to veg in front of the tv.

>145 Crazymamie: Huh. Mayhem might just keep those blue eyes! Usually they've grown out of them by now.

ETA: Did some research and found out I was wrong. Eyes can change anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks and the only adult cats with blue eyes are white or pointed.

ETA #2
>137 Crazymamie: MrMorphy and I both had a laugh about the bells.

>145 Crazymamie: Aaaawwww! What cuteness!!!

>137 Crazymamie: Mamie, that is so funny about the bells! He must just associate all toilet activities with ringing a bell first :-)

Morning, Mamie!

Love that picture. Please keep them coming.

I didn't know cats ever had blue eyes, even...

Morning Mamie!
>137 Crazymamie: LOL, the bell and the litter box story is sooooo funny! Your fur family must keep you in stitches all day long!
>145 Crazymamie: Ohhhhh, look at that picture! Mayhem is so photogenic and quite a ham LOL

I agree! Hurrah for evenings back and timely bed times! Hurrah for back to books!

We made it to Friday!! *happy dance* I am SO ready for the weekend. Yesterday I did manage to get my 10,000 steps for the first time in...feels like forever. Did I mention that I'm so happy it's Friday?

On the reading front...nothing to see here, folks. I know. I KNOW. I'm working on it. I am about half way through A Closed and Common Orbit, which is a sequel to The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, and I am really liking it. If you're wondering what happened to Underground Airlines, you can rest assured that I did not abandon it - it was a digital library loan, and I did not get it read in time, so it went back. *sob* I did get in the queue again, but it was going to take so long to get it back that I just decided to get my own copy. I will be happy to pass it along if someone wants it when I am finished - just PM me. If not, I will donate it to my library. Hoping I can snag some uninterrupted reading time this weekend.

Here's hoping that all y'all's day is full of fabulous!

>149 Morphidae: Right - that's what I read too, Morphy. The eyes can change up to about three months. His started out a gorgeous cerulean blue type of color and now they are more of a slate grey - still gorgeous. Tabbies actually can keep their blue eyes, but I don't think that is very common.

Glad you both got a laugh about the bells - he is keeping the dogs on their toes! Ha!

>150 tymfos: Hey, Terri! Barnum thinks its his job to guard the kitty, so they hang out together a lot. Barnum let out a deep sigh when Mayhem decided to take a nap right there - it was so funny, like thank goodness we can sit for a bit.



>151 susanj67: He is a funny kitten, Susan. He doesn't miss much unless it happens while he is sleeping.

>152 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

>153 charl08: Thank you, Charlotte. I will keep them coming for you. Here is one I took myownself yesterday:



And this will make you laugh, how many kittens can you fit into a Kleenex box? Just one.



I knew about the blue eyes in kittens only because we had a feral cat that hung around the house that I grew up in, and she had several litters - the babies always had blue eyes.

>154 Carmenere: Morning, Lynda! The fur family is definitely keeping us highly entertained these days. You are right - Mayhem is a ham. He looks right up and into the camera when he sees it.

I am definitely ready to get back to the books and for life to slow down just a little so I can catch up with it.

Happy Friday, Mamie!

Fun photos - your cat and dog pals must keep you guys smiling all the time.

How did you get your hands on A Closed and Common Orbit? Amazon says it comes out next March.

Leonard has blue eyes :) And in the right (or wrong) light, they reflect red and are super creepy!

As far as I can tell, he's what is called an apricot tabby point.

>159 jnwelch: Happy Friday, Joe! It's so lovely that they all get along together, and yes, they are good with the happy bringing.

The print version is available next March, but you can purchase the Kindle version right now, which is what I did. *grin*

>160 katiekrug: Leonard is a very handsome guy - I love his coloring. Do the red eyes make him look possessed?! I have not heard of an apricot tabby point! What a lovely description!!

Morning Mamie! Happy Friday! Glad you got your steps in. Lovely fall day here. Sunshine, blue skies, and vibrant colors.

Morning, Mark! Happy Friday! I want Fall. *pouts a bit* Glad to hear that someone is getting it. And I got those steps in yesterday - I still have to get them today. But I WILL.

>161 Crazymamie: Ah! Thanks! *scurries off to check for the Kindle version*

>161 Crazymamie: - Yep, total devil cat :)

Good morning, Mamie! Happy Friday!

>155 Crazymamie: Congratulations on the 10000 steps!

I have not heard of The long way to a small angry planet. however, I am always open to new sf and space opera.

>164 jnwelch: You're welcome, Joe!

>165 katiekrug: Oh, dear!

>166 brodiew2: Morning, Brodie! Happy Friday! Thank you for the congrats - I should be doing it every day without fail, but I...um...failed. Heh.

The Long Way to an Angry Planet is worth the read - I think you would really like it.

I'll check it out.

>157 Crazymamie: I forgot to mention that Mayhem is crazy cute!

I love that Barnum and Mayhem are buddies. It's like grandpa and his grandson.

Do Mercy and Mayhem ever nap together?

>168 brodiew2: Oh,good, Brodie! And thank you.

>169 Morphidae: Me, too, Morphy. And that's so true - made me smile. Mercy and Mayhem both nap in the cat tree at the same time, but Mercy sleeps up top, and Mayhem sleeps in the lowest level.

Love the cuteness here! Such a sweet looking kittie!

Thank you, Chelle!

Did you knock out the steps? Did you knock out the steps?

Hi Mamie! How are you doing with your steps? I am nearly 1,000 steps short of 10,000 for the day. I'll have to do laps up and down the hall if I want to get them in.

>126 mirrordrum: choc chip punkin bread! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

And your kitty is so cute, I could eat him up too :)

I will be back in the swing of walking from Monday as I have left my fitbit charger in the office, Norul boxed it up while we consolidated the offices into one and I couldn't find it on Friday. (Not an excuse in sight!).

Have a great weekend, Mamie.

Morning, Mamie!

Happy Saturday, Mamie!

Hope the whole gang, furry and otherwise, has a great weekend.

Howdy Mamie!

Good morning, Mamie! I hope all is well with you. Have a great weekend.

Happy Saturday, Mamie! Don't forget to claim that extra hour tonight!

Happy Sunday! It's gorgeous here again today - the temps dropped a bit yesterday, and boy, was it ever a welcome change. Only ten degrees lower, but I'll take it. We have the windows and French doors open currently, and I love when we can do that. I spent most of yesterday out on the deck reading, so I have actually managed to finish a book. Go me!

Not much in the works today except for the watching of football. There is trash talk going on at the Pecan Paradisio because today Dan's team (the Eagles) and Rae's team (the Giants) go head to head. Unfortunately, we will not get to see the game live - total bummer; it's not one of our offered games. So, we will have to watch it on NFL Rewind tomorrow. Rae is NOT happy about this - she was really hoping we would get it since the Falcons played Thursday night. *sigh*



On the reading front, I finished A Closed and Common Orbit, the follow-up to Becky Chambers' The Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet, and I am happy to report that it is just as good and as charming as the first book. It follows just three characters from the original novel, and it is so well done. It's not out here until next year, but the Kindle version is available right now. So glad I picked this one up.

Happy Sunday, Mamie!! >157 Crazymamie: OMG! I can't take much more of this cuteness. Keep em coming though, I'm strong!

Enjoy your relaxing Sunday! I wish we could keep our windows open at this time of year but we have had to turn our heat on already! Temps were into the negatives at night last week :(

>182 Crazymamie: I think I'll be reading A Closed and Common Orbit before too long. I didn't enjoy her first book as much as some, but it was still a good read and I'll look forward to see where she goes with it.

>173 msf59: I did not get the steps, Mark. *hangs head in shame* Something unexpected came up, and it kind of threw the rest of the day off. And then Saturday I took advantage of the beautiful weather to read on the deck, so...Hopefully this week I will get my read back into gear.

>174 cbl_tn: Not good with the stepping, Carrie, but I am hopeful for this coming week - we'll see as Mayhem goes back to the vet, we have a couple appointments, and Daniel's birthday is on Friday. At least you can't say that life here is boring! I am hoping you got that last 1,000 steps in.

>175 LovingLit: My thoughts exactly, Megan! I love anything pumpkin. And thanks for the compliments to the kitty!

>176 PaulCranswick: I'll be checking on you on Monday, Paul, making sure that you have reconnected with your fitbit. So far the weekend has been full of fabulous. Hoping yours has also been great.

>177 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

>178 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! Happy Sunday to you! We have been really enjoying the weekend and the cooler temps. Hoping yours has been full of fabulous!

>179 luvamystery65: Howdy, Miss Roberta!

>180 brodiew2: Morning, Brodie! All is well, I cannot complain. How about you?

>181 cbl_tn: I like the Fall change, Carrie, but the Spring change not so much. I wish they would just leave the time alone. It's confusing. And annoying. Hoping that Sunday has been kind to you!

>183 Carmenere: Morning, Lynda! You made me laugh with your post! Good to hear that you are strong.

>184 ChelleBearss: I will, Chelle! We don't get too much of the truly cold down here; I miss it.

>185 SandDune: Hoping you like the second one when you get to it, Rhian. I thought she raised some interesting questions, and I like the character driven story. I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on it.

Better late than never:

October Roundup:

103. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (5 stars), library ebook, historical fiction/slavery - Katie's Dirty Dozen
104. Dark Matter by Blake Couch (4.5 stars), Jim's ER paperback - Thanks Jim! science fiction/suspense - recommended by Joe
105. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (reread, but rating it higher this time - 4 stars), library paperback, literary fiction
106. Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson (4 stars), 2012 acquired ebook, non-fiction/Galveston hurricane of 1900 - recommnded by Kathleen
107. Brandon Sanderson's White Sand by Brandon Sanderson, borrowed hardback, GN/fantasy - Birdy wanted me to read this one
108. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson (4.5 stars), 2013 acquired ebook, literary fiction that contains murder/private detective (to spare Ms Atkinson's feelings in regards to labeling her books as crime fiction), the final Jackson Brodie book *sob*
109. In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri (3.5 stars), library ebook, memoir - learning language
110. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick (4 stars), 2016 acquired paperback, literary fiction/books made into movies
111. The Woman in Blue by Elly Grifffiths (4 stars), 2016 acquired ebook, crime fiction/police procedural
112. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (reread), 2014 acquired hardback, Bradbury fiction (I think he is his own genre)
------Divorce Horse by Craig Johnson (4 stars), 2013 acquired ebook short story, crime fiction/police procedural
113. As The Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (4.25 stars), 2013 acquired ebook, crime fiction/police procedural

I read a total of 11 books (and 1 short story)
5 were written by women, 6 by men
2 were non-fiction, 9 were fiction
3 were library books, 1 was borrowed from Birdy, 1 was sent to me by Jim, and 6 were my own (2 were acquired this year, 4 were ROOTS)
4 were part of a series

Medium:
Hardback 2
Paperback 3
Ebook 6
Audiobook 0

"I took advantage of the beautiful weather to read on the deck." I can definitely relate to that.

Happy Sunday, Mamie! I like your October Round-Up. A nice mix.

>188 Crazymamie: I spoke too soon, we ended up having a beautiful day and I was able to turn the heat off and open the doors during the afternoon! They are forecasting possible snow in the next week and that makes me very sad!

>190 msf59: It's so delightful, Mark. Just what I needed.

Happy Sunday to you! And thank you - it was a good reading month.

>191 ChelleBearss: Hooray for that, Chelle, but boo to possible snow next week. Does it usually come that early?

Reading on the deck sounds wonderful Mamie. Wishing you a good week.

Glad you're getting to enjoy some fresh air! Reading on the deck (or porch in my case), opening doors and windows, heck even going outside seems to be off the menu on the Mountain. We're surrounded by so many forest fires the smoke is choking and no rain in sight.

Morning, Mamie! Reading on the deck sounds wonderful!

Morning Mamie! I am enjoying a day off. Another nice fall day here. We get more seasonal temps later in the week, but it has been a lovely stretch.

I will wrap up, Jimmy Bluefeather today. What a terrific read. This may just ring your bells too. Just sayin'...

Happy Mmphmumble Day, Mamie!

Glad you had that gorgeous weather over the weekend. Hard to believe, but we had it in Chicago, too.

A Closed and Common Orbit - I am happy to report that it is just as good and as charming as the first book. All right! It's now teed up as my next Kindle read. Hooray!

>193 charl08: It was just lovely, Charlotte - felt good to soak up some sun without feeling like I was gonna sweat to death, and it was so relaxing. Thanks for those good wishes - I need them. It's going to be another busy one. Mayhem goes back to the vet today, and this time his appointment time allows for Rae to go along, which she was wanting. They'll be able to screen for feline AIDS and leukemia and give his his first round of immunizations, poor thing.

>194 dragonaria: Thanks, Kimberly! Lovely to see you in these parts! Bummer about the forest fires and the smoke - definitely not good. Hoping you get some rain soon.

>195 scaifea: Morning, Amber! It was joyous to read outside.

>196 msf59: Morning, Mark! Hooray for a day off! Nice and sunny again today, with the high going to 78F. Not bad at all. Hoping to snag some more deck time if I get a spare moment.

I'll await your final thoughts on Johnny Bluefeather, but it does sound like one I would like.

>197 jnwelch: Yep. Mmphmumble Day, Joe! So nice that we are both getting temps that we enjoy - WHOOP!

I am certain that you will like the next installment - so good.

>198 Crazymamie: aaaaaaannnndd of course the moment I grouse about something - the wind changed and we have crystal blue skies. SMH

Ha! Well, that's good, though, right?

>192 Crazymamie: Morning Mamie! Unfortunately yes, snow is often here by October but doesn't usually fully stick around until December. I remember many a Halloween in my youth with snow! Parents around here try to find costumes that will fit over winter jackets some years!

Hey there, Chelle! Wow to that snow coming so early - when we lived in Indiana, we sometimes got snow in November, but I can't remember ever getting it as early as October. Craig did a news segment on Halloween safety, and the focus was on the heat. Heh.

In Denver, it often snowed by Halloween, but of course no snowfall lasted all that long even through the rest of the winter (and snow in May was not unusual).

Here, it apparently often snows by Halloween, but so far nothing. And once it starts coming, I've been told we won't see the ground again until April.

I love the idea that Halloween safety would involve worrying about the heat!

>203 ursula: I don't want to have to deal with snow, but I kind of miss seeing it fall. YIKEs to not seeing the ground again until April once the snow starts. Yowza. I am hoping you'll take lots of photos, and I can live vicariously, Ursula.

I miss the crisp temperatures that October can bring further north, but I sure love the abundance of sunshine. The sun brings its own energy and always makes me feel cheerful.

We are back from the vet, and Mayhem is doing great. He now weighs over 1 pound, so he's practically a giant. He was negative for both feline leukemia and AIDS, so that was a huge relief. He got his second dose of dewormer and his first vaccine. And he was a very good boy.

Hi Mamie - Happy pre-Tuesday. What a cutie.

I envy you already with a copy of A Closed and Common Orbit - good news that it is good, as well.

Good afternoon, Mamie! These pictures of Mayhem remind me so much of my own Baxter. I know I said that before but why not again. In fact, Baxter does not bear up well against of there cats, but he is a master hunter of mice, birds (rarely), and BATS! He and his sister, Maui, caught a bat in the house and brought it ground. It was still alive so I swept it out the door. Two nights later, last night, I'm watching to TV and something catches my eye. Another bat! It started flying about the room. I closed the door to seal the bat into the tv room. I opened the sliding glass door to the yard and proceeded to yield the broom to stun the bat so I could scoot it outside. It is amazing how many times I missed the bat in such a small space. Bat swatting should be a new cardio vascular workout. I finally knocked him a good one and he fell to ground. I swept him about the door to fly away, but Baxter was right behind broom chasing the bat outside and beyond.

P.S. I almost forgot to mention that Baxter was in the tv room with wife and daughter earlier in the evening. He was sitting on a chest looking at the ceiling. Our basement, family room has exposed beams in the ceiling and there are plenty of cracks and crevies for bats to hide. He knew that bat was about before we did.

>205 Crazymamie: So deliriously adorable!

>205 Crazymamie: Way to go, Mayhem! Have you considered having your own thread? You always start my day with a smile! Have a fun day!

Oh, hi Mamie! Hope your have a great day too :0)

Good morning, Mamie!

Glad it was a good outing for Mayhem. What a cutie.

Election Day! Fingers crossed it turns out well.

Here we go, Mamie--something for everyone!

I think I'd just go straight to the long island iced tea!

>213 Crazymamie: - Yep.

>213 Crazymamie: Ha! Poor American. Hope you're doing okay, Mamie.

>213 Crazymamie: Rough day, indeed! Hugs!

>213 Crazymamie: Amazed that you were able to dredge up that archive shot of Amber!

>217 PaulCranswick: :D

>213 Crazymamie: That pretty much says it all!

Okay. Onward. Morning, All! It's a nice crisp morning here in southern Georgia, and it's only going to 74 today, so hooray for that. A few errands to run today, but nothing horrible. I need to decide what's for dinner tonight...

On the reading front...nothing much to report. I started the second book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series - these are historical mysteries that Lucy recommended. Clever and fun, which is just what I need right now. I'm also reading You Only Live Twice as my Bond read for this month's Pecan Paradisio book club. I have both Underground Railroad and The Wonder out from the library. I did indulge in a few purchases as well: For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond by Ben Macintyre, which Jim had mentioned on his thread, Way Station, which Joe reviewed on his thread, and A Local Habitation, which is the second book in the October Daye series recommended by Roni. I am told the second book is not a favorite but that I need to read the series in order, so there you go. Abby and I are reading this series together, so there is guaranteed fun no matter what.

Hoping that Thursday is kind to each of you.

Thanks for the wishes Mamie. Hope you have a good one too. I got to the train station just before the heavens opened, so that was a good thing...

>221 charl08: You're welcome, Charlotte. And thank you. And hooray for missing a soaking - we could use some of that rain. Today is #51 with no rain in our area.

>206 BLBera: Thank you, Beth. I really enjoyed A Closed and Common Orbit - I had heard that it was more of a companion than a sequel but I would call it a sequel. I am hoping that she writes another and follows a different set of characters from the first book. Good stuff.

>207 brodiew2: Hey there, Brodie! Feel free to post a photo of Baxter over here - I would love to see him. He sounds like a good one to have around - YIKES to the bats story! Way to go Baxter and Maui! Your story made me laugh at picturing you getting your cardiovascular workout. Nicely done, and thanks so much for sharing.

>208 kittenfish: Thank you, Ellen!

>209 Carmenere: Mayhem would probably do very well with his own thread, Lynda, but it is not to be - he'll just have to star occasionally in the posts of someone from the Pecan Paradisio. And I thank you for those good wishes.

>210 jnwelch: Hello, Joe! Mayhem did excellent at the vet, and I was relieved that he passed that screening. he is a cutie and is keeping us highly entertained these days.

>211 ronincats: I really loved that, Roni! Thanks so much for posting it - it made me laugh. Little did we know that we would be needing it so much. What a crazy and disconcerting ride.

>212 charl08: Good idea, Charlotte.

>214 katiekrug: I know, right, Katie?!

>215 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. Regrouping and moving forward, which is all we can do, really. I liked what you had to say on your thread and the thoughts that Jenn posted on Katie's thread - wise words.

>216 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle. Those hugs were greatly appreciated.

>217 PaulCranswick: Ha! You made me laugh out loud, Paul.

>218 drneutron: *grin**

>219 Familyhistorian: Yep. Morning, Meg!

I'm interested in the Fleming/Bond book. Looking forward to your thoughts. Also, I finished Underground Railroad on the way to LA Tuesday.i think you'll like it!

Jim, have you read Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica - Matthew Parker wrote it, and he did a very good job with it? One of my favorites from last year. I thank you for mentioning the Ben Macintyre one on your thread because I did not know about it.

I am excited to get to Underground Railroad, as I have heard only good things.

Morning, Mamie! I am re-emerging, after a day of seething in my hole, angry at the world. As you say, onward...

Morning, Katie! I totally get that. And yes, onward...

Good morning, Mamie. It is good to have you back. Bond is always of interest and I have enjoyed other books by Ben Macintyre. Goldeneye sounds good as well.

Morning Mamie! Still not up for adding sweet to my Thursday but I am marching onward.

We are also enjoying a late fall day.

Looking forward to your thoughts on Underground and Wonder. Loved 'em both.

>230 brodiew2: Good Afternoon, Brodie! Thank you. I am really looking forward to reading the Macintyre, and I can highly recommend Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born.

>231 msf59: Afternoon, Mark! I get the nothing sweet. Onward is good. It's lovely here - still just 67F right now, so we have the windows open, which I always love.

I will be sure to report back when I get to them!

Hi, Mamie.

Go Way Station! I hope you enjoy it.

I've started A Closed and Common Orbit and already like it (Lovelace . . .) But the new Jack Reacher showed up, so that jumped the queue. I'm nearing the end of it, and I'm pretty sure the world will be saved from disaster.

Hello, Joe! I hope I enjoy it, too! I knew you would like A Closed and Common Orbit - it's good all the way through. Ah - Jack Reacher...I have only read the first one, but Craig has read quite a few, so we have a bunch in the stacks. Good for a fun and fast read.

>234 Crazymamie: Oh my, now I'm also following Jane 23's story. This is really good.

Craig would love the new Jack Reacher, Night School. Another complete page-turner.

Tom Cruise was such a bad pick for the movies, and the second one has now bombed. It needs a big guy, like Chris Hemsworth. I hope someone else tries it with a different lead actor, because they're great stories and he's quite a memorable character.

Good morning, Mamie! How are you today?

>235 jnwelch: They are all page turners aren't they Joe. Couldn't agree more about Cruise and his inane vanity to buy the rights and play the role he is so unsuited to. I think Hemsworth looks too young, but I can't think of anyone else at the moment to fit the role.

Have a wonderful weekend at the Pecan Paradisio, Mamie, dear.

Interesting that Cruise would cast himself for Jack Reacher. I have never read any of the Jack Reacher stories but the only things I have heard about the movies is that Cruise is not right for the part. I am slowly making my way through Going Clear and find the Cruise Scientology connection very interesting.

Happy Not-Monday!!! Cruise just tries to play the same part over and over. And he is so not right for Reacher.

Hey Mamie! Made it to Tuesday already... Hope all is well in the Paradiso.

Morning, Mamie!

Good morning, Mamie! Happy Not Monday Any More!

Morning Mamie! Glasses of Tequila Sunrise for allllllll!

Good morning, Mamie! I hope your day is going well.

>243 Carmenere: Those look really good!

>243 Carmenere: I could use one of those!

>213 Crazymamie: I know how you feel.....

Okay. SO don't laugh, as this is truly pathetic - I woke up this morning, and my legs were killing me. Killing. Me. It's not from stepping, as those of you who are in our Fitbit group well know. So I am trying to think what I could have possibly done to bring about this sad, sad state of affairs - thinking about it as I walk through the house, step over the wall of soda cases into the laundry room/pantry area, and ...THAT'S IT!! Craig has built a small wall between the kitchen and the laundry room to keep the kitten out, since it would be hard to get him back out from behind the dryer should he choose to explore there. So yesterday we were doing a lot of laundry and baking - repeated trips into and out of that area, with the stepping over the cases of soda each time. Tragic, I know, for one to be brought so low by soda...

I admit it. I laughed.

>248 katiekrug: I knew you would, Katie! The girls are laughing at me, too. I have to admit it's funny. And sad - I need to get back into shape.

Catching up with my thread:

>235 jnwelch: I knew you wold like it, Joe. I am not sure where Craig is at with the Jack Reacher - I think he has read the first ten or so, but it's good to know that the latest installment is a good one. Totally agree with you about Tom Cruise being a bad completely wrong for the role of Reacher. Such a huge misstep to allow that to happen. It would be like hiring Danny Devito to play Tarzan. Except Danny Devito can act. *blinks*

>236 Carmenere: Hey there, Lynda! I have a cold, and my legs are killing me, but other than that, I am fine.

>237 PaulCranswick: Hemsworth is too young, Paul, but he would be a better choice. And he would make better box office. I thank you for those kind wishes.

>238 Familyhistorian: Meg, Jack Reacher is supposed to be 6'5", barrel-chested, buff and blond. He uses his size and strength as a weapon. A drifter with a military past. SO not Tom Cruise.

I am not familiar with Going Clear - I'll have to look that one up.

>239 Berly: Thank you, Kim! Could not agree more about Cruise.

>240 charl08: All is well, Charlotte. It's just been very busy - I could use a staycation. Craig is going to visit his mother this weekend, and Abby and Birdy are going with him (bless them - they don't want Craig to have to go alone). Daniel is working, which leaves just Rae and I with the house to ourselves. I am looking forward to just sitting and reading or watching some Netflix.

>241 katiekrug: Hey there, Katie!

>242 jnwelch: Thank you, Joe!

Good morning, Mamie. Sorry to hear about the soda-legs. :-)

Except Danny DeVito can act - hah! Yup. I hope someone else takes over the Reacher franchise; the books would make for good movies in the right hands.

>243 Carmenere: Well, HELLO, Lynda! Those look delightful. Yes, please.

>244 brodiew2: As you have probably read by now, Brodie, I strained my leg muscles stepping over soda cases yesterday - very sad. Other than that the day was good.

>245 Familyhistorian: Help yourself, Meg. I am always happy to share.

>246 LovingLit: Thanks for that, Megan. Truly unbelievable, but there it is - it actually happened.

>247 Crazymamie: Great chuckle for the day. I could use it. You are going to have some killer thighs, my friend.

Morning Mamie! Glad to see you visiting the threads. Hope those books are treating you well.

Happy to provide you with a chuckle, Mark! I am so behind on the threads, but I am trying to catch up. I also need to catch up on my reading - only one book finished for November. YIKES!

Sorry to hear about the legs. I'm wondering if Craig's wall is also so beautifully colour coded? Wishing you a peaceful weekend when you get there...

Hmmmm, so little kitty's are hazardous to your health. Well, certainly worth the risk. Hope you'll feel better soon.

>256 charl08: Thank you, Charlotte. And no, it's not - Craig's wall is made up exclusively with Barq's red cream soda. They don't sell it down here, so last time Craig went North, he stocked the cellar, so to speak. We are awash in red cream soda!

I thank you for those fabulous weekend thoughts!

>257 Carmenere: Ha! Just the one kitty - Mercy could leap that soda wall in a flash. And yes, totally worth the hassle- he is, after all, named Mayhem. Yesterday he and Marcy napped together in the top of the cat tree - so incredibly cute! Thanks for those well wishes, Lynda!

Sorry about the sore legs, Mamie, but Mayhem is probably growing everyday and soon there will be no need for the soda wall. But as Mark says, you will have 'killer thighs"!

Thank you, Judy! I am laughing at the thought of me with 'killer thighs', but I love the positive thinking on my behalf by both you and Mark. Mayhem is indeed getting bigger every day and needing less and less supervision.

Mayhem following Mercy to the top of the cat tree.

My goodness, Mamie, you should post a cuteness alert before that last photo!

I hear those stepping routines are really good for you, yes? lol

You know, you never commented way long ago when I posted the day the new waterproof Fitbits were released--not like you. Did you miss it? Now we can wear them in the swimming pool.

Hello, Roni! Mercy and Mayhem are adorable together - Mercy is completely smitten with him.

Little did Craig realize that he was developing a fitness routine for me. What a thoughtful spouse!

I must have missed that - my apologies because you are right, I really try to respond to every post. I need to check those out because it would be so great to not have to take it off for the pool. Perhaps Santa will bring me one of those! Speaking of Fitbits, I plugged mine in to charge yesterday afternoon, and then forgot to put it back on, so now I have no credit for today and no idea of how many steps I have gotten.

I do that all the time too, Mamie. And always kick myself afterwards.

Good to know I am not alone, Roni.

Just stopping by to say hi. I love the kitty pics -- especially Mayhem in a kleenex box!!

Morning, Mamie!

>266 tymfos: Hello, Terri! Glad you are loving the photos - he is growing so fast, and I am happy to report that he and Mercy are good friends. They are so funny together, and Mercy loves having someone to play with besides us.

>267 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

Morning, Mamie!

>261 Crazymamie: LOVE IT! Mayhem, the little engine that could!

Thinking still about the miscast of Reacher. I watched The Accountant at the weekend and thought Ben Affleck did a good job. He would have been much better in the role. Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart would similarly be much more suitable.

Nice to see you posting today, Mamie. xx

Morning, Lynda! That is an excellent description of Mayhem. What I love about him is that he is curious and wants to see everything, but he is also very laid back and sweet. He often jumps into a lap and settles in to take his nap.

>270 PaulCranswick: Good Evening, Paul! I agree That Ben Affleck would have been better. Daniel Craig would have been good; even though he doesn't have the height, he has the build and the persona to carry it off.

And thank you. xx

Awwww, look at that kitten! I miss having a young cat around the place, but my housemate has declared 5 cats is quite enough for any household. Her husband and I don't agree, but we have conceded the point for now.

I'm also campaigning to convince my boyfriend J to get a cat, and I've got his father on side, but he's still not swaying. His dad said to me that we didn't need his permission and could just go out, get a kitten, and ride out the storm that would follow. It hasn't happened yet but I'll keep trying. It's not that he's against cats, as he loves mine, but he doesn't want the hassle and tie of pets. However, he does want a dog at some point so I might talk him in to a puppy and a kitten to grow up together.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

JENNY!! JENNY!! I am so thrilled to see you here! You just made my day. We have five pets (well, six if you count Dan's hamster), and that is enough for me just because it is all I can handle with grace. But I will say that our three dogs and two cats bring us tremendous joy, and sitting down with one or two of them is just the thing for when life gets too big. Do your five cats all get along? Are they friends or do they maintain their separate space while sharing a house? I was hoping that Mercy and Mayhem would be friends, and they truly are.

I am wishing you luck with convincing the boyfriend. A puppy and a kitten at the same time would be a lot of work but also a lot of laughs.

All is well here, and you have made it even better by stopping in. I am sending you my love and wishing for you a day full of fabulous.

Our five mostly get along, with the usual problems to be found in a confined environment. The youngest, a ginger boy, is a noisy giant bully who is entirely food obsessed and bullies the others at dinner time, so he has to be shut in a different room for his food. He's also very opinionated about life and thinks his views should be shouted from the rooftops. He's just pulled all the socks out of my sock drawer and climbed into it, so that should keep things quiet for a while.

The others all muddle through with very few problems. They are mostly friends, especially when its cold, but are also happy in their own space. One of our middle ones is obsessed with her mother and will take any opportunity to invade her personal space and convince her to treat her like a kitten again. She begs for head washes and ear cleaning from her. Mummycat's opinion is that she's a grown up cat now and doesn't need such things any more, so she'll lick a couple of times and then ignore her daughter! Zita sits as close as possible and slowly wiggles her way closer so she can be sitting on top of her mother, and its entertaining to see how much Mummycat will tolerate before moving.

We also have two guinea pigs, so that takes us to seven in the house, eight if you count Connie.

I think it will be a while before the boyfriend is convinced, but I'll work at it. Glad I could be a good start to the day for you :)

Your post made me smile - I can picture them now. What is ginger boy's name, I am wondering? And yes, we should count Connie, even though she could obviously not be in the house. How is she doing?

His name is Tashi - it's Tibetan for Lucky, as he was found having been dumped. We always joke that with his terrible behaviour, they had a reason for doing so!

Connie is good, she had an excellent spring competition season but then had an unfortunate injury that resulted in a huge haematoma under her skin that ended up all across her underside and meant she couldn't have a girth on. No girth=no saddle=no riding! It wasn't painful to her at all but did mean some time off, and I've struggled to get back into the groove. Unfortunately, the one major downside of my relationship is that he lives 1hr away, and because of constraints on the amount of fuel I can afford to use, plus it not being a particularly nice drive, mean when I go down there, I tend to stay for 3 days or so, which gives Con 3 days of work off. Then I find it hard to get motivated to ride again, and the upshot of all that is that she's been very fat, furry, happy and lazy this autumn! But I'm getting back in to the swing of things now, so she should be fit and ready for spring if I keep her working all winter.

Oh, I like that! And poor Connie. And you. Connie and I are having the same kind of autumn. Ha! I need to get busy with the walking and strength training again. I felt so much better when I was doing it regularly. Good luck with getting into the groove again - arduous but also rewarding. And I so get the distance relationship thing as Craig and I lived in different cities for much of our dating days. SO great to hear from you, Jenny.

Good morning, Mamie! Nice to see Jenny back in the LT saddle, even if she had to take a break with Connie. :-)

I've started Hero of the Empire, and it merits all of the warbling by Mark and others.

Morning, Joe! It's fabulous to see Jenny, isn't it?!

Okay. Don't freak out or anything, but I have not read any Millard. I will have to work her into the lineup soon. I do have one in the stacks.

Morning Mamie! Sweet Thursday! Beautiful fall day in the Midwest. It may be a record breaker. Back to reality on Saturday. Sighs...

Oh yeah - Sweet Thursday!

I have a feeling I'll be reading more Millard after this one. She's good.

Good morning, Mamie! I hope all is well and you are on the mend.

There is much Millard mush about this morning, but it is well deserved. My I have listened to two of the three and Destiny of the Republic remains my favorite.

>281 msf59: Morning, Mark! Sweet Thursday! It's gorgeous here, too, but it's going to 80F, which I could do without. I am oh so ready for Friday. Heh.

>282 jnwelch: Sweet Thursday to you, Joe - good to have my Sweet Thursday boys back. I checked and the Millard I have in the stacks is The River of Doubt.

>283 brodiew2: Morning, Brodie! All is well here, and my legs are doing much better today. I have heard only good things about Destiny of the Republic. I'll be sure to get to her soon.

I love to check you thread just for the kitty pics!

I lost my beloved "Thumbs" over the weekend after a long battle with CHF.

I was happy we had a wanderer that had been coming by for a month or so for snacks and snuggles......only to discover he was hit and killed by a car yesterday. Not a good week for the cats around me.

RIP Thumbs and Mr. Twister.

I know I need a furfriend in my life....contemplating an older kitty or a kitten.......both of yours are just darling :)

Hello, Ellen! Glad you are enjoying the photos. I am so very sorry to hear about Thumbs. And also Mr. Twister. So sad and tragic. We lost our oldest dog, Biscotti, one year ago this month to cancer, and she is still so missed. I am hoping that you find just the right furfriend to help to ease your sorrow. Such a hard thing saying goodbye to those who ask so little in return for so much love and companionship. My thoughts are with you.

A Jenny sighting! Woo hoo!!

Good morning, Mamie (although afternoon there!). We're down to normal temps today--it's 69 and sunny, good weather for some more gardening. Time to plant some more beets and carrots.

That's exactly how I felt, Roni! Good afternoon to you! Hooray for the planting and for normal temps - we're supposed to have one more hot day and then back down to the 70s for the weekend.

Just thought I'd pop by to show you four of the five cats getting on :) Excuse the state of my bedroom, it's not a very big space and I haven't tidied for a while!

AWW!! SO sweet! Thanks for sharing, Jenny!

I meant to add, that is Zita on the far left, trying to sit on her mother next to her!

Too funny! What a fabulous crowd!

Good to see Jenny back, Mamie. Love all the kitty photos. I had to laugh about your leg injury - from soda cases. Better get back to the stepping. I'm not keeping up my steps with the shorter days and constant rain - yuck!

Yes, it is, Meg. And glad to hear you are loving the kitty photos. You are so right - I NEED to get back to the stepping. I am spending a lot of time in the car lately getting people where they need to go. We really need another vehicle, and I am hoping to address that issue in the new year. Then I can get back to stepping, reading and basically goofing off - you know, the things I was practically born for. Heh.

Sorry to hear about your constant rain - we are still waiting. It's been something like 60 days since we have had any - very dry in these parts.

Hi Mamie! We could use rain here, too. I can't remember the last time it rained. We have wildfires in several places in the area, with no rain in the long-term forecast. It's affecting the air quality. I've cut Adrian's walks very short so that I spend as little time as possible outdoors.

Hey, Carrie! They were burning in the pecan grove the other day, and it was so nasty - we had planned to walk together outside, but that SO didn't happen. Good thinking with Adrian's walk. Hoping that both of us get some rain soon.