Hairballsrus 2017 Reading Challenge: May the Odds Be Ever in My Favor

Hi there. I'm hairballsrus and I'm a bookaholic. It isn't a pretty addiction; there are some pretty bad side affects-such as buying much more than I can read and drooling on bookshop front windows. You're considered a public nusiance. People kick you. Squirrels mock you. Oh the shame...and the bail money... if I could get it back, I'd buy more books!

I had a craptastic reading year in 2016, coming in with 74 books read-and that included the Little Golden Book of Grumpy Cat! I really hope I can make a better showing for 2017. I have many many fabulous books already in my home library and I just need the stick-to-it-ness to sit down and read them.

Wish me luck!

The Stats: Born a Yankee, became an Okie, now a Texan for the past sixteen years. Live in the burbs above DFW. I've worked in retail (for my sins) for the past 25 years. Married for twenty years, owned by seven cats, big genre reader-sf/fantasy/paranormal. i like magic. I like ghosts. I like kooky and magical realism. Suggest books to me. Bring it on baby!!!

As a start, I have a list of twenty already owned books that I'd like to get to this year. Some of these I just recently bought, others I've owned for years. If you have an opinion about any of these, please chime in.

1. Stiletto Rook Files
2. Touch by Claire North
3. The Glass God by Kate Griffin
4. A Criminal Magic
5. Sex in the Museum
6. The New and Improved Romie Futch
7. The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage
8. Blood and Salt
9.All the Light We Cannot See
10. Hard Magic
11. The Circle
12. Of Things Gone Astray
13. A Daughter of No Nation
14. Retribution Falls
15. The Player of Games
16. California Bones
17. Abracadaver
18. Red Seas Under Red Skies
19. Extreme Makeover Finished in January
20. Space Helmet for a Cow

I am part of the group.
I love being part of the group.
I love the friendships bestowed upon my by dint of my membership of this wonderful fellowship.
I love that race and creed and gender and age and sexuality and nationality make absolutely no difference to our being a valued member of the group.

Thank you for also being part of the group.

>5 PaulCranswick: Why thank you. I feel all warm and fuzzy now. That's a great sentiment.

Wishing you all the luck you need with reading in 2017!

Happy New Year! (dropping a star)



I have heard good things about the Lovelace and Babbage book here in the 75ers. The Player of Games is considered a good starting place for Banks and I found it interesting. California Bones is YA fantasy with a male protagonist--has its faults but a quick and interesting read and I do want to get on to its sequels.

Welcome back!

I liked Stiletto, but not as much as The Rook.

Roni- Thanks for your imput!

drneutron-Always glad to be here.

Hibernator-Really? I'm listening to Stiletto right now and so far so good.

#1 Weekly Update of 2017

Finished the first book of the year: Once Broken Faith bySeanan McGuire I liked this book, but like all long series, The Toby Daye books suffer from repetition, the history of the characters being explained yet again in case you've forgotten. That's not that bad of an idea, assuming you only read one book a year, but I read the first eight in about four months and I really don't need the refresh. Also, Toby is pretty much impossible to kill so any threat to her can't be taken seriously.

I'm currently reading Extreme Makeover and listening to Stiletto .

I've also embraced a plan I first saw put in action on Booktube: that of giftwrapping my TBR. Each genre gets it's own type of paper.
It's supposed to make you excited about your own books again and make reading your bookshelves a pleasure. Everytime you want a new book, you get to unwrap it! I may be asking you to help me with the chosing in the near future.

Today I wrapped way too many science fiction titles. I had more to wrap, but I stopped after filling a whole shelf. Tomorrow I'm tackling fantasy. It's my favorite genre and I don't have enough of the same wrapping paper to wrap them all, so I'm going to split them into sub-genres. How do you classify your books? Are all fantasy titles the same to you? Do you consider paranormal a genre of it's own? Where would Weird Westerns fall? What about Magical Realism?

So far these are the divisions I'm using:

Science Fiction
Classic Fantasy
Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Historical Fantasy
Lit Fic
Historical Fic
Non Fiction
Sequels
Top Twenty
ReReads
Short Stories

So many of my books tend to be cross-genre, so it's hard for me to break this down. Your categories look good, though.

I also have a TERRIBLE time trying to break my fantasy down into sub-genres. Not to mention that a lot of what is now classified as fantasy was marketed as science fiction back in my youth. I am just too wishy-washy. I can usually separate out urban fantasy, though.

>13 drneutron:
>14 ronincats:

I agree that urban fantasy is always easier to distinguish than other sub genres, although I tend group dark fantasy and paranormal in with that type too. Now the Booktuber that I'm borrowing this idea from,(her channel name is Wish Fullfillment) uses yet another paper to wrap books that cross genre lines. I just thought that if used that method, I'd wind up with most of my books wrapped that way!

With the help of my best friend, I've managed to wrap five big boxes of stuff so far. Since she was in charge of the box with fantasy/historic fantasy and I wasn't paying attention, ALL of it got wrapped in the same paper, so I'm kissing that sub-genre goodbye. :)

Right now the genres in action are classic fantasy, urban fantasy, sci fi, lit fic (includes magical realism), historical fic (more magical realism), non fic, sequels, Top Twenty and short stories (collections that cross all genre lines).

Now, I'm consider adding a Most Anticipated wrapping (another wildcard category since it would include whatever catches my fancy) and a Bought in 2017 wrapping, although that could get out of hand really quickly since I buy way more than I can consume and that's why I'm doing this project in the first place!!!

I have to face the fact that my TBR is always going to be too big, but I do hope this will help me read at least some of what I own. Audio books will be big again for me this year (I may have *cough* bought some already this month, damn you Audible) and checked others out on Overdrive. Can we for just one moment, praise the existence of Overdrive? So long overdue library fines.

Now, the big question of the week is have I made ANY progress in my TBR this week? Well, no, not really. I AM on vacation and this should be a no brainer, but I've been in "buy" mode and "wrap" mode and "oh my God, the bathroom is flooded so we need to fix the leaking toliet" mode.

I have started four audio books this week and finshed none and I have three physical books with bookmarks in them awaiting my attention. At least some of that needs to be finished before I'm allowed to do an unwrapping. And then of course, there are more books to wrap....

And Book Club. Let's not forget Book Club, esp. since I'm the one who suggested we start it! Luckily for me, it's just a reread.

Now I'm hungry. Are you hungry? Yes, definitely time for a turkey sandwich and I only have sixty pages left in one of the books so I'm off to do that. Ciao.

Ooooo, and I need to check out the Early Reviewer books for January. Definitely worth a look.

I'll stick with the organizing without the wrapping paper, Paula! And yes, there are some good choices in the January list.

>16 ronincats: Yes there are some good choices! I'm trying for an ARC of City of Miracles, but I already have it preordered as well. :)

#2 Weekly Book(ish) Update for 2017

I finished two books:A Street Cat Named Bob-hooray for a pet book where the animal is still alive, but I'm bummed that I missed the opportunity to see the film in theaters. I guess I'll have to wait for the DVD.

The second book was How to Create a Flawless Universe: In Just Eight Days . Granted I read this out loud to my husband in about half an hour, but it was a book I owned and a book I had not read, so it counts.

My hubby continues to read William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope to me in little bits. He does a great Artoo I'm telling you. He missed his calling.

I'm about three quarters of the way through Extreme Makeover by Dan Wells which just keeps getting wilder and wilder.

I've listened to about half of Last Year by Robert Charles Wilson , but my attention wandered and I need to back up a bit. I like the ideas, but I'm not that attached to the characters. Abandoned listening to Stiletto for the moment.

Today I started to listen to The Magicians for my brand new Book Club.

Last but not least, we wrapped two more boxes of books for the TBR challenge. I added a Romance wrapping paper for some YA/Chick Lit I'd still like to get to. For the most part, I'm off the YA wagon.

Cheers! I'm back to work tomorrow.

#3 Weekly Book(ish) Update for 2017

I finshed Extreme Makeover by Dan Wells Good satire. The ending was a little abrupt.
I also finally finished Last Year by Robert Charles Wilson today. I've been listening to the audio book, but my head cold kept making fall asleep and I had to back up more than once. This was another solid effort, although once again I wanted more out of the ending. The 21rst century arrives in 1870 Illinois and builds a tourist trap. If you want to know more, you've got to read the book.

I got to (hooray!) unwrap four books from my massive TBR pile

1. A SEQUEL Bite Club 10th book in the Morganville Vampire series. I especially like the stories that focus on Shane, because he's the Ron Weasley of this world. He doesn't have any particular talents besides his loyalty and this book has him loyal to the wrong people. I have about 50 pages to go. And any story that involves a vampire scientist who runs around in fanged bunny slippers has my vote.

2. A SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold I must have owned this book 15 years before picking it up. Well rejoice fellow readers! I finally read it! And it was not what I was expecting, esp. for the time in which it was written. I appreicate that this wasn't a fix the gay guy storyline. Ethan comes from a world of all men with a very strict imigration policy. When the female ovaries they rely on to produce children are no longer viable and the shipment they order to replace them is proven to be a dud, Ethan must travel off planet to seek new supplies. He encounters more than he's prepared for on a space station, including adventure, psychic clones and newt nuggets! Bujold's funny bone is in the right place. Not a really big story, but an enjoyable one. Slightly annoyed with the ending because a character might become homosexual because it benefits the plot. It should benefit the character, don't cha think?

3. Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman I'm only about 60 pages in and I'm not sure about this one. I am now a western fan, but this is a weird western with magic and the Devil, so I'm holding out hope at least until page 100.

4. Camelot Caper This is an Elizabeth Peters I've never read and I'm getting ready to brew a cup of tea, make a sandwich and remedy that situation.

#4 Weekly Book(ish) update for 2017

Finished Bite Club

I spent two days sick in bed with the head cold, but didn't read anything from the TBR pile, so let's call that SITUATION NORMAL. No wait, I'm lying, I did finish one book that was recently unwrapped: The Algonquin Cat
Cute middle grade book about a burmese that takes up residence at the famous Algonquin Hotel. The cat manages to solve everyone's problems without letting on that's him. The plot was okay, but the illustrations were fabulous.


As for the other books, I'm about halfway through Camelot Caper and bored and on the same exact page as I was a week ago with Silver in the Road.

I unwrapped another book as well Gemsigns by Stephanie Saulter. It's sci fi and involves genetic testing, When I'm reading it, I'm enjoying it, when I'm not reading it, I don't feel like picking it back up, so what does that say?

Picked up and read The Ancient Magus's Bride Vol.1 and Vol. 2. Currently reading Vol. 3. I'm experimenting with manga this year to see if I like it and so far so good. Probably doesn't hurt that I chose a fantasy series. I bought the first volume and the checked the next four out from the library.

I checked out and listened to the audio book of Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman. Technically, this counts as a TBR book because it's wrapped up somewhere on one of those bookcases and I've owned it for years. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. The plot dragged and then split into two totally different directions which unconvincingly recombinded for the finale. The doomsday cult with the psycho assassins seemed to come out of nowhere and the women....don't get me started on the characterisations. It also felt like it had aged badly. Middle of the road muddle. Must say though, I kept listening. Of course, I was sick in bed. :)

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY

1. Once Broken Faith audible
2. A Street Cat Named Bob TBR Pile
3. How Create a Flawless Universe: In Just Eight Days TBR
4. Extreme Makeover Top Twenty TBR
5. Ethan of Athos TBR
6. Last Year new audible
7. Bite ClubTBR
8. Algonquin CatTBR
9. Forever Peace TBR
10. The Ancient Magus Bride, Vol. 1 bought in 2017
11. The Ancient Magus Bride, Vol. 2 library loan

So, seven TBR books completed, with three in progress, so that means I get to unwrap four more. Yippeee! Or maybe it means I need to finish the three first. Nah. I need options. To the Batmobile Robin!

Update Jan. 31rst

12. The Camelot Caper This definitely improved in the second half and the rambling beginning made much more sense once the characters' motivations were revealed. Being a Vicky Bliss fan, I should have cottoned on who cousin John was much earlier. I sat there with Wikapedia open looking at pictures of all the ancient sites they visited.

Another TBR book, bring the total up to EIGHT!

13. The Ancient Magus Bride, Vol. 3
14. The Ancient Magus Bride, Vol. 4

Yay for completing 7 BOMBs, Paula. Especially Ethan of Athos. But your stall out on Silver on the Road is disturbing, as I picked that up on my Kindle recently.

#5 and #6 Weekly Updates

We didn't have any internet last week (thank you so very much Spectrum) so this is a two week update. My reading slowed down with the return to work and the better weather (it was 85 F yesteday!) making walking in the local nature preserve possible again. Part of my New Year's resolutions is to walk every other day and frankly, the hiking trails are much more interesting than the concrete paths. I think it's actually a shorter distance but it takes longer so it's better exercise. Unfortunately my current phone won't let me play audio books and carrying my tablet is just too much of a pain, so I go into the woods with no way to carry on with my reading addiction. And then when I come out, I'm pooped! :)

Anyhow, I've been listening to Ancillary Sword on Overdrive , but it expired so I'm back on the WaitList at the library, so that's still a work in progress. I actually heard the ending already, but I haven't heard the middle. Don't ask.

I finished 15. Eleanor: A Novel by Jason Gurley , also from the library as an epub, but it counts as a BOMB since I own it, and for the first three quarters I thought this was going to be a favorite book, but the ending soured that impression. You're left with more questions than answers.

I also finished16. Vol. 5 The Ancient Magus' Bride and now have to wait for Vol. 6 to be bought by the library. Sigh.

Another library WIP is Six Wakes, a new sci fi mystery that's really interesting, but the Overdrive epub is due back tomorrow, dang it and I'm only a quarter of the way through. I actually went ahead and bought the Audible version and will be listening to it on the commute to work. It's too intriguing a premise to have to wait a month to get it back.

On to the Unwrappings.....

Currently unwrapped books that were finished are:

17. Cats in Cyberspace ! I can't remember how I found out about this book originally, but I bought it ages ago and then it just sat on the shelf. Wrapping it and then unwrapping it made me come face to face with it again and I'm glad I did. Fluffy and PKP (that's Princess Killer Pinknose to you!) are two cats with a problem: their Two Feets have taken jobs outside the home and are not paying them enough attention. What's a cat to do? DAY TRADING!! With the use of their owner's Macbook and her 401K acount as starter capital the cats enter the exciting world of the Futures Market. Not everything goes smoothly (getting a pizza delivered and shoved through the mail slot is a bit of a problem, not to mention the 5000 pounds of tiger shrimp) but in the end all Four Foots and Two Foots have happy endings.

18. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie A coming of age novel set in Nigeria. I really enjoyed this, it's so "readable". I know that's a horrible way to discribe a book, but it's the truth. The story draws you in and you're unhappy when it ends. I read most of this in one day. Again, the ending sort of threw me, but I would happily read another book by this author. The praise thrown at her is well deserved.

I also listened (for the nnnnth time) to 19. Sister Water by Nancy Willard this weekend. A Comfort reread.

Now onto the Unwrapped and Unread:

1. Silver in the Road Haven't picked this one back up. The way the rules of this game works (and it's my game, so I get to make the rules) I either read this by the end of the month, rewrap it and give it one more chance, or sell it to Half Price Books because I'm obviously not interested. I need to at least read some more of it before I make that choice.

2. Gemsigns Ditto on this one. Another holdover from January that I stalled on after reading the beginning. I should just sit down and read fifty more pages and make a choice.

3. Chalice by Robin McKinley Honestly, I have no interest in reading this. I have a love/hate relationship with Robin McKinley. Love Beauty/Hate Sunshine. I picked it up as a recommendation and didn't pay much for it so this should be an easy choice. It's going on the sell pile.

4. The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman This I'm interested in. It's going on the "read" pile. I'll look for an epub of it on Overdrive.

5. Echo 8 by Sharon Lynn Fisher A Sci Fi romance. I must have bought this before I read the other novel of her's I owned, The Ophelia Prophecy, which I loathed. And this one is a love triangle. Gag. I read the ending. Onto the sell pile.

6. Space Helmet for a Cow The Mad True Story of Doctor Who 1963-1989 Well, for one thing, I've misplaced this. I saw it yesterday. It's around here somewhere. For another, I don't think this is so much a book you read, as one you dip into. And I will, just as soon as I figure out what I did with it.

Okay, so four books that are still possible reads and two heading out the door. I like to have seven open at any give time, so I get to pick three more books to unwrap.

Newly Unwrapped Books

Of Things Gone Astray from the Top Twenty paper
Owl and Japanese Circus from Urban Fantasy paper
The Discworld Graphic Novels from the Fantasy paper

And I realized I had also unwrapped a book from the Sequel paper: A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor

These are the books I have to pick from for the rest of February.

Sorry you didn't get to finish Ancillary Sword! I loved that trilogy last year.

#7 and #8 Weekly Bookish Updates for 2017

Hey there, long time no write. Sorry about that, no real excuse except that my reading slowed down and my buying of books sped up.:) Funny that. Got some cool new stuff though.

As for the great 2017 Read Your Own Books Challenge, it continues, sort of swimmingly. I am having some diffculty tearing myself away from newly available library books and/or audible purchases, but I am also making a focused effort to read BOMBS. It's a juggling act we're all familar with in the reading world.

So, what have I read in the past two weeks?

20. Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty I loved this! Murder mystery in space. I'll never look at 3D printers the same way again.

21. Giant Days Volume 2 Yes, it's a graphic novel. Seriously, not even that. Just the serial adventures of three girls in college, but it's enjoyable and it was on the table by the sci fi section at the library and it called to me on the way out the door. Wish they had the third volume, dang it.

22. Things Invisible to See by Nancy Willard After rereading Sister Water, I was trolling Audible and found they had her other novel available. SCORE! The kitty in this book is Cinnamon Monkeyshines. :) I highly recommend the Audible version of this book.

23. The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman This seemed like my kind of book and it was, up to a point, but it dragged and not nearly enough happened, there was instalove, villians with no dimensions and coincidences I couldn't buy into... I did learn more about the history of New York City, but at times it felt like I was reading a term paper. Still, it's a BOMB so good for me.

I'm currently halfway through A Symphony of Echoes and assuming I finish it tonight, I'll pick up Owl and the Japanese Circus next.

Ta da! I have returned!

Yeah, I know, I wasn't that impressed with myself either. But I have actually read some books in the past few weeks so let's crack on...

#9 #10 and #11 Weekly Updates:

24. A Symphony of Echoes I enjoyed this, but sometimes I feel like I'm reading fanfic for a nonexistent fandom. Does that make sense to anyone? Maybe it's because it feels really British. Another BOMB bites the dust.

25. The Discworld Graphic Novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. Not my favorite Discworld stories, but come on, it's Terry Pratchett. Spending time with him is never a waste. Can someone tell me if the wizard Weatherwax in these stories is related to Granny? Bye, bye BOMB. Shame on me. My hubby gave this to me for Christmas in 2015.

26. Owl and the Japanese Circus Now we're talking! My favorite genre (urban fantasy) and the first in a series. Owl is described as a sort of Indiana Jane. Her moral compass can be a bit iffy when it comes to other people's possessions, but she'cares about her friends and she has a kickass cat. Through a series of tangled events, she finds herself on the run from vampires and working for a Japanese dragon who owns a Vegas casino. Original. I've purchased the second adventure. BOMBS away.

27. The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin An Audible Purchase. I found this on sale on Audible for five or six dollars. Since it was the darling of the sff community last year, I decided to give it a go. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms definitely gave me mixed feelings, but this book I enjoyed a lot more. Diverse and compelling with an interesting magic system. I want to find out what happens next. But she still only gets four stars because I'm holding a grudge over the crappy sex scenes in her other novels. :)

28. Of Things Gone Astray A spare novel, more like a series of connecting vignettes. Each character has lost something import to them, their mother, their sense of direction, their job (literally, the building has disappeared), the front wall to their house. Magical realism, sweet and touching, but in the end, I wanted more. Another BOMB acquired in 2015. Also one of the Top Twenty Books I Wanted to Read in 2017.

Now for an update on the stuff I haven't finished. First off, two library books, Winter of the Gods, the second in another urban fantasy series. I only read about a quarter of this before it had to be returned ( a new release ebook), but I was enjoying it. They're investigating the murder of the Lord of the Dead, Hades. The second, another ebook, is All Our Wrong Todays. Despite the annoyingly short chapters, I was also enjoying this, but since I was trying to focus on BOMBS, this one slipped back to the library and I'm on the end of the wait list and probably won't get this back for a couple of months.

Of the books left from my last unwrapping, I have decided to abandon Gemsigns and rewrap Silver in the Road because I have no interest in reading it at the moment. Maybe I never will, but I'd like to give it at least one more shot. If I unwrap it again and groan, out the door it goes.

On the plus side, I finally located Space Helmet for a Cow (another TOP TWENTY), but I haven't read any of it.

I have also unwrapped a new pile.

Current BOMB List

1. The Raw Shark Texts I've owned this book for NINE YEARS! Lit fic isn't usually my go to, but it also is gimmick fic, so it's a possible. Done by the end of April, or out on its arse it goes.

2. Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas A library sale find. This already has a strike against it because her other novel put me to sleep. The bookmark in it shows the last owner stopped at page 26. A prediction perhaps?

3. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe I think I actually bought this for my husband. As long as I don't actually have to understand the scientific diagrams in the book, I might make it through.

4. Howard Who? Twelve Outstanding Stories of Speculative Fiction I actually only bought this book to read one story, The Ugly Chickens, and I'm going to call it completed when I do. It's supposed to be fabulous.

5. White Hot Kiss Yes, I am a Jennifer L. Armentrout fan. Yes, I am forty-nine years old. Those two things shouldn't go together, but what the Hell. I'm not saying she should win a Pulitzer; I'm just saying she's fun to read. Opening lines: "There was a demon in McDonald's. And it had a powerful hunger for Big Macs."

6. The Last Witness by K. J. Parker I have heard this is actually Tom Holt in disguise. Is that true?

7. The Kingdom of Gods by N. K. Jemisin Oh so not fair. Tell me honestly, do I have to read the last book in this trilogy or can I just let it go? Is it the best book of the bunch, because I'm committed to giving it a try, but I need some encouragement.

8. Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler That title just says it all.

9, Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick

and the book I'm currently reading......

10, Things Half in Shadow by Alan Finn Post Civil War Philadelphia . Spiritualism and muder. Woo hoo!

>27 hairballsrus: The Raw Shark Texts was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I hope you enjoy it!

>28 alcottacre: Thanks for the encouragement!

>29 hairballsrus: No problem! Get it read and then if you don't enjoy it, at least it is over, lol.

Welcome back! I also enjoyed this Jemisin a lot. What, you didn't like the cosmic sex in her first book!??

>31 ronincats: I was repulsed. :)

I also opened a few new Top Twenty Books since I'm running behind. The New and Improved Romie Futch, Sex in the Museum: my unlikely career at New York's most provocative museum and Hard Magic.

Happy Easter!!!

Weekly update #12 #13 and #14 and #15??? I don't know; I don't have a calendar in front of me. I just know I've been gone a while. We were without internet for a while due to Tshowers and I've been (gasp!) exercising instead of being on the computer. Life's funny that way.

Being me, and seriously, how can I not be, I threw most of the stuff I was intending to read out the window and pursued other projects for the past few weeks. One was the fault of the library, but most were the fault of me, but I still read BOMBs for the majority, just not the ones on my current TBR.

Stuff I was supposed to read that I actually read:

29. Howard Who? As I mentioned before, I was going to consider this book of short stories read as long as I read The Ugly Chickens. I did; it was cute, not quite the masterpiece I was told to expect, but clever and chuckle-worthy none the less. Moving on...

30. Sex in the Museum: My unlikely career at New York's most provocative museum This was actually kind of dull; I wanted less about the author's search for love and more about the creation of the museum, but it is a memoir so whatcha gonna do?

Stuff I was supposed to read that I merely started:

Hard Magic (okay so far, but where the heck did I put it?) The Raw Shark Texts(peaks my interest a bit, but I haven't put much effort into it), White Hot Kiss (pretty sure I don't want to read this anymore; too juvenile), Things Half in Shadow (now this is a shame, because I was actually enjoying this, but got distracted).

Things I read but wasn't supposed to:

Here's the biggie and it took a week of constant listening-

31. 11/22/63 My turn at the library came up for this audiobook and I had to grab the brass ring. Am I glad I listened to this? Yes. Did I predict the ending? Yes. Would I read it again? Probably not. It's tough to say a Stephen King novel about the JFK assassination and time travel was too mundane, but I'm saying it. Good news though, this was a BOMB! Snoopy dance! It's off the TBR.

32. Blue Lily, Lily Blue Another audiobook from the Plano library that came a knocking. Third in the Raven Cycle. Also a BOMB.

I'm currently listening to book four The Raven King (also a BOMB) and will finish it today.

33. THe End of Dieting Why do they feel the need to tell you how bad everybody elses diet plan is before they tell you theirs? Points off for being a putz.

Other life stuff. Painting my kitchen. Yuck. After three months of my new healthy lifestyle, I can finally wear my LibraryThing t-shirt. Woo hoo! Working on getting my first passport. The wheels of bureaucracy grind slowly when you're trying to get a certified birth certificate but they're more than happy to charge you in advance.

I know that if I were a good person, I'd say I'm going to use my vacation in May to read, read, read, but come on, you know that never works. I am happy that I'm reading more of my own stuff this year, even if I can't stick to a strict TBR. I will go where the wind blows.

Congrats on the exercise and weight loss, Paula!! Why worry? Looks like you are 44% of the way to the 75 book mark, and we are only 31% of the way through the year. No sweat!

>35 ronincats: Sweat is what I'm trying to do! :) And this morning, on my 3.5-mile walk with 100% humidity, it wasn't exactly difficult!

Weekly Updates for #15 and #16

Quick before I forget what I've read! 2017: The Year of the Audio Book continues. Once again, I haven't been so faithful to my physical TBR, but I have tackled some more BOMBs, so I'm cutting myself some slack. Just because I haven't unwrapped these books yet, I don't want to deny myself the pleasure of their company since I own them. Well, at least some of them...

34. The Raven King I bought this right at the end of last year, so it does qualify as a BOMB. Good ending, but the gay character came a bit out of nowhere. I know it's the thing now to have a gay couple in a YA novel, but a little foreshadowing would have been nice.

35. All the Light We Cannot See I actually didn't like this as much as I thought I would, but I have read a lot of WWII novels and I think it's more of a matter of overindulgence in a certain topic in a short timeframe than criticism of the book. For example, I started another WWII book this week Salt to the Sea and abandoned it four hours in because I just couldn't handle the drama. I actually looked up who died on Wikipedia. :) I enjoyed ATLWCS, especially the multi POVs. The ending threw me a bit. I'm not sure why; I should have expected it. This book was from my Top Twenty in 2017 TBR.

36. The Aeronaut's Windlass Okay, this was enjoyable and the cats were cool, but I got a bit tired of the airship battles. Honestly, I think Jim Butcher needed a harsher editor. It's another BOMB though and in this instance, I don't think I would have finished it without the audio book.

37. Everything I Never Told You I listened to this on a whim, because I felt bereft without an audio book after listening to Butcher's book for what felt like forever. Solid family drama. Again, another gay character popping up, but in this instance done well with the foreshadowing intact.

38. Friends with Boys I read this graphic novel last month but forgot to include it before now. Nice enough; I think graphic novels just aren't my thing, partly because I'm not longer the right age group.

>36 hairballsrus: I will try The Aeronaut's Windlass in audio form, keeping your comments in mind, Paula.

>37 alcottacre: Maybe you'll have a different experience or maybe I just love audio books!!
Forgot to mention this book....

39. Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety As a member of the anxiety club, I thought this would be interesting. It made me feel a whole lot better about my own troubles. This guy has problems!

Now I'm off to Half Price Books (the mothership on Northwest Highway in Dallas) and will be selling, amongst other things, some of my current TBR that I just can't drum up any interest in. I want to unwrap some new books and this is the only way to do that.

As part of the Half Price Books run, I sold The Raw Shark Texts, Kingdom of Gods and White Hot Kiss -all on my current TBR pile. Just not interested anymore. I did try Raw Shark Texts but felt meh about it after fifty pages. I'm much more interested in N.K Jemisin's other trilogy than the one Kingdom of Gods belonged to and I'd already sold back the first two, so it wasn't much of a loss. White Hot Kiss was a "cover-buy" anyway, so I won't cry over it either.

I enjoyed The Aeronaut's Windlass and the glimpses of that world, although I agree Butcher could have used some editing. I'm still looking for the sequel, though.

It's official. Find the May Martians and Magic Theme Thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/256332

Please come aboard. Just share all your reading in the areas of science fiction, fantasy, fairy tales, myth or magical realism with us here on this thread during May. Share your favorite recommendations, talk about the new books you are reading, discuss the classics.

40. Brave New World This was a reread. I just find this novel wonderfully creepy.
41. In Cold Blood I bought this with some of my ill-gotten gains from selling books back at HPBs. A new read. I guess I'm a bit conflicted about it since there is some question of whether it's entirely true. It did keep me reading on into the night, however. An extra creep factor for it being fairly close to where I live.
42. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain Another audio book from the library. Interesting; if you cannot bring yourself to exercise for your body (and trust me, I have my share of days like that!) remind yourself of what it's doing for your brain. Entertaining and informative and unlike diet gurus, he didn't yell at me! Exercise appears to be a wonder drug for whatever ails you. Except for maybe blisters. ;)

Recent purchases:

Grunt
The Lie Tree
The Mirror World of Melody Black
Terry Pratchett's Discworld Colouring Book
Americanah
The World According to Bob
Strange the Dreamer
The Remnant by Charlie Fletcher

43. This time together: laughter and reflection by Carol Burnett
44. The Remnant The Oversight, Book Three by Charlie Fletcher

Good to see you posting. RL must be busy.

44> Yes indeedy! And I haven't been able to get enthusiastic about my current TBR, so I unwrapped a few more goodies.

45. Universal Harvester by John Darnielle What the heck did I just read? I loved his first novel Wolf in White Van, but this one missed the mark. Library loan.

46. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu Ooookay.... Great first half good; second half lost me. Bye, bye BOMB.

47. The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian Cosy mystery featuring a woman born in 1672 and her sidekick, a gourmet gargoyle. It definitely wins the novelty award. BOMBs away. I found it entertaining enough to check the sequel out of the library.

Currently listening to My Family and Other Animals and reading Indigo Springs.

Just read The Lie Tree--quite good other than a disastrous first sentence.

>46 ronincats: That comment intrigues me. I'm pretty sure this was a cover buy for me; I bought the British paperback. I also managed to knock it off the couch and it lived under there until just recently so it's a bit cat-hairy. :)

Hello! I'm back. We had Inventory at the store at the beginning of August which means July was a rough month at work. I had to both help with BTS and prep Crafts for the yearly count, which, for those of you unfamiliar with retail, is a lot, a lot, a lot of pre-counting, the most tedious part being the fabric bolts. To add to the aggravation, I had a lot of new layouts drop, most of which I wasn't allowed to set, but the new freight came in regardless and had to be dealt with somehow. Now at the beginning of September, I am still behind with the layouts because I went on vacation twice in August! We drove 500 miles north to see the total solar eclipse. Seriously cool. And I just returned from a three day from Branson, Mo. Honestly, once you've seen Branson once, you don't need to go again, but at least my miniature golf skills improved. And the passenger I was assigned at the Titanic museum survived the voyage, so I have no complaints.

Now the countdown beginnings for my trip to London with my best friend in October. We leave on October first.
EEEK!

Okay, the book reading continues as always, but I haven't been exactly chewing up my TBR.

48. My Family and Other Animals
49. Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens I love Eddie Izzard
50. The Trouble with Sheep and Goats I enjoyed this, but I think you have to be British to get the nostalgic feel of the story.
51. South Pole Station Again, mostly enjoyable, but I never felt cold, which was weird and I didn't buy into the central relationship at all.

Currently read Helter Skelter

Gone so so long. I seem to be a much better book buyer than a book reader this year. :) Sigh. What's a girl to do? She needs to list the books she's read before she forgets what they are...that's what. And she also needs to stop referring to herself in the third person.

52. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler Retelling of Much Ado About Nothing. Meh.

53. The Emperor of All Maladies I might be cheating a little saying I've completed this, but I basically spent the month of November listening to the audiobook. On again, off again, on again, off again. This is a large, ungainly, sometimes mind-numbingly dull scientific history of cancer. On the other hand, other parts were really fascinating. Would I have gotten more out of it, had I physically read it? I do own a copy. Well, sure, but I'm not sure I would have ever picked it up. It's a doorstop.

54. From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to find the Good Death I've been a Caitlin Doughty fan for a few years now. While this wasn't as interesting as her first work of nonfiction, it still kept my attention. I'd definitely like to have green burial if at all possible.

55. Abracadaver by Laura Resnick Book six or seven I think in this series. Honestly, I haven't liked the past two, maybe three books. Get on with it already. It's been implied since book two that Conner has magical abilities. Just show them already. The next book still doesn't have a publication date, but if and when it does come out, if nothing improves, I'm calling it quits on this urban fantasy.

56. Light in Shadow by Jane Krentz Sometimes you just need a romantic thriller. But you don't need this one! I think this was a collection of all her "B" plots in one novel. Lots of twists and turns but not a lot of point and the relationship was lackluster.

57. Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop I didn't know this was the last book in the Others series. It doesn't say that on the cover. It doesn't read like the last book. It reads like a filler novel. A total disappointment. There are more books to come, but with different characters. Amazon has the new novel listed for 27 BUCKS!!!! Are you kidding me?

58. Betrayals by Kelley Armstrong Book four in the Cainsville series. Not the best book in the series, but still entertaining. I'm Team Gabriel and it looks like he's finally coming to bat in book five. Booya!

59. Station Eleven A solid dystopian tale.

60. Peril in Paperback
61. Paradox Bound
62. Happy Hour in Hell
63. The Empty Grave

Good to see you emerge, Paula!

>50 ronincats: Just like Puxatanwy Phil! Which is appropriate since I was born in PA.

64. The Brightest Fell The latest October Daye novel. Very nice. Happy to see the Babylon road and deeper fairy reappear: two of my favorite aspects of this series. I do feel a bit annoyed that Tybalt was once again absent from this tale. He's much too good a character to be constantly used as a hostage.

65. The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror It wouldn't be Christmas without my favorite zombie story! I really need to buy a new copy of this since the friend I loaned my physical copy to never returned it. But the audiobook is just as good, if not better.

66. The Princess Diarist It's probably more poignant reading this now that Carrie Fisher has died, than when the book was first published. I still enjoyed it, although some of her sappy Harrison Ford directed love poetry was a bit gaggy. No worse than anything I ever wrote when I was 19, and some of it was a lot better no doubt. It was obvious even at that age that she had a talent for writing. As for the Harry/Carrie affair, "Carrison" as she refers to it; it sounds like it was a relationship of opportunity more than anything else. Was he a bit of a cad? Yes. Especially since he was married. It's tarnished my opinion of him a bit, but it was never the actor I had a crush on when I was twelve, it was Han Solo and he still stands tall. People are human and that's pretty much the message of the book.

Now, I'm off to buy stocking stuffers wearing my Hogfather Christmas shirt. Think anybody will get the joke?

It is that time of year again, between Solstice and Christmas, just after Hanukkah, when our thoughts turn to wishing each other well in whatever language or image is meaningful to the recipient. So, whether I wish you Happy Solstice or Merry Christmas, know that what I really wish you, and for you, is this:



Love Hogfather!

Wishing you all good things this holiday season and beyond.

Thank you!

Thank you!

67. A Lot Like Christmas by Connie Willis updated anthology of all her Christmas stories, including the recent novellas. The standout story for me is Epiphany, a tale of the new Wise Men.

68. Earth Children are Weird An X-Files children's story! My husband knows me so well. I had to read this Christmas present out loud right after I opened it. ;)

69. Grumpy Cat's First Worst Christmas A Christmas present to my husband that he insisted on reading out loud to me!

70. Crosstalk by Connie Willis A reread. Not my favorite Willis; it's entirely too long for the punchline, but still enjoyable.

>56 hairballsrus: I just picked up A Lot Like Christmas yesterday. Hesitated a bit because I already have half the stories in Miracle and Other Christmas Stories but I do love Willis.

We are doing a group read of one of my favorite fantasy novels in January, if you are interested in joining us. No pressure. It's God Stalk by P. C. Hodgell and the thread is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/279620