tardis' 2017 reading record

I wish all my LT friends another great year of books!

This thread will be much as in the past. Mostly short comments, rather than reviews.

For interest (if any), here are my previous reading threads:
2016 journal: http://www.librarything.com/topic/210797 (173 books read)
2015 journal: http://www.librarything.com/topic/185699 (180 books read)
2014 journal: http://www.librarything.com/topic/163304 (170 books read)
2013 journal: http://www.librarything.com/topic/147262 (185 books read)

Mt. TBR is currently at 83 items (slightly lower than this time last year) and like last year, that's where I'm starting, because I have no library books on hand.

Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with exciting new books to read.

Wishing you a satisfying reading year!

I hope you have a great year, in reading and in life. I'm just putting my armour on to prepare for the book bullets you always send my way!

Happy new reading year :)

From the very hot to the very cool, a happy new year!

Happy 2017, @tardis.

Happy New Year, >1 tardis:! I hope you manage to make a dent in the TBR stack. :o)

Thanks, all!

1. Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews. A re-read as the paperback, purchased some time ago, was on my TBR pile and I felt like it. Halloween in Caerphilly, and Meg Langslow is head of the Goblin Squad, which is security for the big Halloween event being put on by the town. Mayhem, scavenger hunters, murder, and fun. Love this series.

2. Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell. A re-read as I now own a copy. Just as good as I remembered. Looking forward to the sequel.

3. A Season Of Spells by Sylvia Izzo Hunter. Third (last) book in the Noctis Magicae series, after The Midnight Queen, and Lady of Magick. I enjoyed it greatly. The alt-history is interesting, and the society is not without annoyances (condescending male magicians, societal expectations of women) but it hangs together. I look forward to seeing what this author does next.

4. Joey and Co. in Tirol by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. A Chalet School book that doesn't take place in the Chalet School. 15 years or so after having to flee due to Nazis, Jo Maynard and most of her family take a summer vacation in the Tirol, where the school began. Introduces Ruey Richardson, who goes to the school in the next book.

5. The Perfect Time To Garden is Not Necessarily Right Now by Kevin Napora. Kevin is a talented local garden designer, and this book is like having him come over to chat with me. It's a what-to-do-when book, month by month, and exactly timed for my area. Not sure how useful it would be for anyone not from Central Alberta, though. Also, like many self-published books, it really needed a good editor. Typos galore.

>9 tardis: Her books always make me smile.

>10 tardis: A season of spells is on my Tbr pile. I'm glad you thought it was a good end to the series. I've really enjoyed Sophie, Gray and their friends so far.
And I thought Joey and Co. was one of the better holiday books, though I always miss the school setting.

6. Shadow Study
7. Night Study

both by Maria V. Snyder. I have mixed feelings about this series. On the one hand, it's action-packed and the characters are decent. On the other hand, coincidence plays too large a role, the characters get fooled by the same trick multiple times, and weird anachronisms drag me out of the story periodically. Well, anachronisms is maybe not the right word for an out-of-place detail in a fantasy, but this is not our world, and yet so many things in it are far too much like ours, for no good reason. The opposing drugs, theobroma and curare. The main characters having a "king-size" bed. One character referring to another as "bro." Lots more. It seems lazy to me.

8. Step To The Stars by Lester Del Rey. This is the kind of book I devoured in my youth, that made me love SF. Published in 1954, this one is dated in tech and attitudes, but still worthwhile. It's a cold war era race to build a space station so the military can put bombs on it to ensure peace in our time. Del Rey made it near future, and tried to keep it to 1950s scientific capability. Also, there's lip service to space having room for all races and both men and women, although the only woman who is a major character is a nurse, although a plucky one who gets the job done and the guys don't spend time babying her - they just expect her to do her job. Also, by the end of the book she's training as a pilot.

9. The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. A re-read, because so many other people are reading and talking about it right now that I just had to. Still just as good. I think this one makes the comfort read list :)

>16 tardis: Yeah, I think I might be revisiting this one in a few years as well. :o) Maybe I should start adding a comfort tag to my library.

>16 tardis: Yes, I think "comfort read" is a good category for this one. (This statement is based on the assumption that the final 91 pages do not change my current impression of the book.)

>16 tardis: I agree, comfort read! I don't re-read many books, but this may just be one. I just loved all the characters so much!

10. Mindscan by Robert J. Sawyer. Usually Sawyer is reliable for me, but this took me a long time to get into, partly because the main character annoyed me and also I felt sorry for his poor dog (spoiler: no dog was harmed in this book), but eventually it picked up and I was able to finish. Not one I'll go back to.

11. An Ancient Peace by Tanya Huff. Re-read because got the paperback. I love Huff's work, especially her more recent stuff. Former Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr and team are sent by the Justice Dept. to stop a team of mercenaries from acquiring some old but still very hot weaponry. Mayhem ensues.

>21 tardis: I really like Tanya Huff too. I have a couple books to get caught up in the Torin Kerr Valor series. I think there's another one in that series coming out soon.

>22 tottman: I think you're right - she occasionally tweets lines that are "new Torin." Haven't seen one in a while - maybe that means it's done and moving through the production pipeline.

12. The Family Trade by Charles Stross. Beginning of the Merchant Princes series, which I somehow never read before. Very good, if a bit dated tech-wise. Need to get the rest of the series.

>23 tardis: I read the first 3 books of the Merchant Princes series and enjoyed them, but sadly the library never bought the rest of the series and I didn't like them quite enough to buy the books. I do remember thinking the first book was the best.

>24 Sakerfalcon: Sadly, my library only has the first volume. Going to have to buy the rest :(

13. Haunted by Kelley Armstrong. Eve Levine, ghost, gets a job. Always a reliably enjoyable series.

14. Doris Force at Cloudy Cove by Julia K. Duncan. A very fast read - a girl's adventure story from 1931. Very tame. No sparkly vampires at all - only an evil lawyer and an annoying stage performer.

15. Cat in an Alphabet Endgame by Carole Nelson Douglas. The end of the Midnight Louie series, in which Douglas wraps up nearly all the loose ends and gives almost everyone a happy ending. Or is that too much of a spoiler? I don't think so. It's been clear for a while where this was going :) I enjoyed it.

16. The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett. Comfort re-read, although it makes me sad all over again that there will be no more books by Sir Pterry. Still, we remember.

17. Wizard's Hall by Jane Yolen. A children's book which belonged to one of my sons. Said son decided he didn't want it anymore, but I decided to read it before it went away, and now I'll probably keep it. It's a timeless little story about a boy who goes to wizard school, and tries really hard.

>27 tardis: I remember there being some flap about Wizard's Hall when Harald Potter showed up. Not sure if it was Yolen or an agent of hers. I believe it went so far as accusations of stolen ideas...

>27 tardis: I can't read any Pratchett now without feeling wistful.

>28 BookstoogeLT: I recall that flap, too. I've lost the details in the mists of memory. The points of congruence that I see are wizard school, talking portraits. Otherwise, not much similarity.
>29 clamairy: Yeah.

18. The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein. A book bullet from majkia, which I was lucky to find in a used book store last week. This early edition has a terrible cover - a big spoiler in the middle of it. I really liked the story - particularly the friendship between the two lead female characters, Rowan and Bel. They made a great team.

19. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan. First in the Lady Trent series. Fun. Will read on.

20. Wild Card by Jim Butcher. Dresden Files graphic novel. Good story. The art was good, but the men were impossibly muscular and the women mostly improbably Barbie-figured.

21. Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame by Mara Wilson. A memoir by the actor/playwright/storyteller who played Matilda, all those years ago, and grew up "not cute enough" for Hollywood. Funny, honest, and affecting. Recommended.

22. The Tropic of Serpents
23. Voyage of the Basilisk
both by Marie Brennan. Two more Lady Trent expeditions to research the natural history of dragons. Pretty fun.

24. Dead and Breakfast by Kate Kingsbury. 1st in a new cozy mystery series set in a haunted bed and breakfast inn on the Oregon Coast. Characters are okay, but the plot was kind of thin, and the main character had not one but TWO tragic backstories in her past.

25. In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan. Lady Trent adventure. Isabella and co. go to Akhia to take over a dragon-breeding program. Science and mayhem ensue.

>30 tardis: Glad to see you enjoyed The Steerswoman. I wish more SFF/
SF books had friendship as the binding in them.

26. Mary Russell's War and other stories of suspense by Laurie R. King. A collection of stories filling in before, after, and between the Holmes and Russell novels. Most were very good, but one just seemed like the author being self indulgent. It featured 92-year old Mary getting ready to send her trunk of memoirs off to Laurie King (the conceit in the series is that King is just publishing Mary's real papers as fiction), which would be fine, except that in the story, Holmes is still alive. He's about 40 years older than Mary!

>36 tardis: Holmes is a Time Lord. ;)

27. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. I guess I only ever saw the TV movie version of this, and I had no idea how slight a book it was. Very good, but I read it in about half an hour. Single woman from New England comes west to see if she'd like to marry a widowed farmer with two kids. Not a lot of surprises in the story but a nice, gentle read.

>31 tardis: "The art was good, but the men were impossibly muscular and the women mostly improbably Barbie-figured."

You were expecting actual humans perhaps? ;o)

>39 clamairy: :) You know, there are comic artists who can do realistic humans. Not this one, though :)

>38 tardis: I love Sarah plain and tall. It is short but it says everything it needs to. There are sequels too.

>40 tardis: Yes, I know. My daughter complains about this as well.

I have one Jim Butcher graphic novel, Welcome to the Jungle. I prefer his other novels I think. The story was fun, but comic format may not be my cup of tea. I have read and loved several graphic novels though, and enjoyed them, but this one didn't grab me.

>38 tardis: I used to use Sarah, Plain and Tall with a reading group. It's a great book. I would show the kids the movie, too. I haven't read it in years.

28. Dawn Study by Maria V. Snyder. Decent conclusion to the series, but still with the lazy worldbuilding as per >14 tardis: above.

For my birthday, I bought myself a book. Seanan McGuire's Magic For Nothing. Haven't read it yet, though :)

Also. my husband gave me an e-reader! A Kobo Aura One. It isn't going to replace paper books, and I doubt I'll ever buy many e-books, but I do get free e-books from Early Reviewers, and I can use it to borrow e-books from the public library. It replaces the iPad from work that I'll have to give back at the end of the month when I retire. Reading e-books was the only thing I used that for that I couldn't do as well or better on my laptop or phone.

>46 tardis: I've just got that one too! I've been looking forward to an Antimony book for ages!

>47 Sakerfalcon: Ooh, finally a book about Antimony? YAY!!

>46 tardis: - I got Magic for Nothing in the mail the other day - looking forward to reading it!

Hope you like the Kobo, I still prefer paper books most of the time, but an ereader is sure nice for portability and always having a book handy. The light and waterproofness of the Aura One seem like great features which mine doesn't have.

>46 tardis: Oooo, an Aura One. That's the larger kobo reader isn't it? I've been tempted, but after reading so many complaints about kobo in general over at Mobileread.com I've held off.
If you do start using it regularly, please let me know what you think of it, good, bad or indifferent.

I'd also like to know what you think of your Kobo. I'm thinking of getting one as a second ereader, and it would be nice to have something that I could read in the bath.

>51 SylviaC: I think the waterproof one is the H20. Not sure if the Aura1 is waterproof...

>50 BookstoogeLT: >52 BookstoogeLT: So far, I like it very much. Yes, the Aura One is waterproof (big plus, IMO). I also read reviews, but the main complaint seemed to be battery life. So far, that hasn't been a problem, but we'll see. It works very well with Overdrive so I can borrow library books, and it was quite easy to put all the e-books I already have (mostly from Early Reviewers) onto it, except the ones I got from the iTunes store, which I haven't figured out yet. Probably just need to google to figure out how.

29. A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. Victorian-era female lepidopterist with mysterious origins meets male taxidermist/explorer and they shout at each other. Actually kind of fun.

30. Magic for Nothing by Seanan McGuire. The problem with this one is that I can't believe I've finished it already. I want to go back to Antimony and the cryptids and the mice. Love this series.

>52 BookstoogeLT: >52 BookstoogeLT: Off to research...

...Aura One is the Cadillac of Kobos. It has it all, and is priced accordingly. "Waterproof for up to 60 minutes in up to 2 metres of water." The Aura H2O is "Waterproof for up to 30 minutes in 1M of water with port cover closed", which seems perfectly adequate. Screen size seems to be the biggest difference between them.

>52 BookstoogeLT: Deanna Raybourn is on my list of authors I want to try out. I'm pretty sure I have something by her tucked away somewhere.

Thanks for the info about the waterproofing. It is not something I care about, so it never crossed my radar. But it is good to know.
I've got a kindle non-touch and the buttons are starting to act up reading so much=lots of button pushing, ha! so I figure by years end I'll need another ereader. Problem is, I have a spare non-touch for Mrs Bookstooge, but she never uses it. But I want a "new" reader. Going to be tough to justify one though :-D

I just like the size of the AuraOne. More screen real estate means less page turns...

>53 tardis: I took a book bullet for A Curious Beginning. Loved her other books!

>57 reconditereader: You're welcome :)

31. Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn. YA, about Martian twins who get sent to school on Earth. Fish out of water, mean girls (and guys), snobby earthlings, mysterious accidents, etc. A quick read, but enjoyable.

>53 tardis: I too blew through Magic for nothing this weekend! I want some Aeslin mice!

>53 tardis:, >59 Sakerfalcon: I picked up a copy of Magic for Nothing as well, but I'm way behind in the series so I started reading Half-Off Ragnarok to catch up. Great series. And I totally agree on the Aeslin mice!!

32. The Everything Box by Richard Kadrey. So, this angel was supposed to destroy humanity after the flood (we're tenacious - a few of us survived) but he lost the box that had the destruction in it. Fast forward 4,000 years and the angel, exiled from Heaven until the job is done, is still trying to find the box, as are two separate doomsday cults of surprising banality (one of them holds bake sales to raise money), a secret government agency, and a high-up mob boss with ties to the uncanny. Coop, a thief, newly out of prison, is hired by the mob boss to get the box. Mayhem ensues. Amusing heist book.

33. Twelve Angry Librarians by Miranda James. Cutesy cozy featuring librarian and his Maine Coon cat. I did like the library conference setting.

34. Death of a Ghost by M.C. Beaton. Latest Hamish MacBeth mystery. Fun, although Hamish's love life continues annoying and the feud with Blair drags.

35. The Impossible Cube by Steven Harper. Steampunk, 2nd in a series. Action-packed, if improbable (even for such a setting) fun.

>34 tardis: Don't tell me Hamish's love life is still dragging on? I gave up after just a few books.

>62 tardis: I had to recommend the Cat in the Stacks series to a friend, who is a cat-loving librarian who reads mysteries!

36. The Fall of the House of Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard. Conclusion (probably?) to the history of Johannes Cabal as he seeks a cure for death, with help from his vampire brother, Horst, a criminologist, and a devil (not The Devil, though!). I enjoyed it.

37. The Ghoul Vendetta by Lisa Shearin. Good urban fantasy, and refreshingly with NO LOVE TRIANGLE. Male-female work partners who aren't falling for each other but do care about each other.

38. Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers. Excellent space opera about a runaway princess who gets dragged home to become the heir. Matriarchal society based on India.

39. Pekoe Most Poison by Laura Childs. Nosy amateur who is smarter than the cops. Spoiler: the poison wasn't in the pekoe. There's a new hot cop in town, apparently added as potential love interest for Theodosia, but he's practically a cypher, and the author basically shoves them together at the end. The mystery was adequate. Charleston sounds like a lovely city.

I keep saying I'm done with this series, but I keep trying it anyway so I might as well stop saying that.

40. Empire Games by Charles Stross. Latest in the Family Trade series. Very good.

>67 tardis: That's my favorite new series. Can't wait for the third book this fall! I also really enjoyed the first book in that Lisa Shearin series but I haven't kept up. Good to hear the quality is still there. I'd like to get caught up sometime.

41. London Fog: A Biography by Christine L. Corton. A rather academic examination of the dreadful fogs of London, from the industrial revolution to the last great polluted fogs in the 1960s. Looks at fog in literature, art, and even pop culture. Interesting but a bit dry in spots.

Hmm...a book about fog shouldn't be dry, should it? It does seem like a subject that has potential, though.

>72 SylviaC:
No, but it can be dense.

42. After the Crown by K.B. Wagers. Damn, I want that third book! Wagers ratchets up the stakes as Hail and her team try to prevent war, cope with treason and more treason, and keep each other safe. Very good.

>71 tardis: Just saw the episode of The Crown that deals with that deadly fog (more of a smog, actually) of 1952 that apparently killed as many as 12,000 people. I had no idea they were so deadly. The topic sounds fascinating, but it seems as though it wasn't well executed.

>72 SylviaC: >73 suitable1: *groan* :o)

43. Very Important Corpses by Simon R. Green. Second in the Ishmael Jones mysteries. In the same universe as Green's other work - namechecks the Droods among others. Although honestly, you could almost change Ishmael's name to Eddie Drood and the story would be the same. Partner Penny isn't quite a clone of Eddie's Molly, but she has similarities. High body count but snide and funny. I liked it.

44. Clockwork Canada : Steampunk Fiction edited by Dominik Parisien. Anthology of overall very good stories. There were a couple of historical incidents (Laura Secord, Komagatu Maru) that were re-invented with a twist (or two).

Crappy weather so getting a lot of reading done.

45. Dreadnought by April Daniels. Loved this. Super hero falls out of the sky and dies in front of a trans girl, bequeathing her his powers and (incidentally) the transformation of her body, making her in fact the girl she's always known she was. Coping with new body, superpowers, other superheros, school, her best friend's reaction, her father's rage at the change to his "son", making new friends, and combating the supervillain who killed the previous Dreadnought makes for an action-packed tale. It's self-contained but also the first in a new series. Looking forward to more!

46. New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson. Told in turn from various viewpoints - all of people living in or associated with one of the residential towers in a New York flooded by rising sea levels. Plus one info-dumpy unidentified person. Typical KSR: economics, politics, ecology, adventure. I enjoyed it.

47. The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman. Sequel to The Dark Days Club in which Lady Helen, Lord Carlston and team try to find a cure for Carlston, retrieve a mysterious book, and find out more about the Grand Deceiver. Action-packed and pretty good, although there is at least one character I'd like to smack upside the head.

The reason I'm ordering The Dark Days Pact from the library is because of some characters in the first book, although I did like (and own) The Dark Days Club.

Getting through some of the TBR pile, finally!

48. The Lost Child of Lychford by Paul Cornell. Something's messing with the boundaries, there's a ghost child haunting Lizzie, and it's Christmas. Lizzie, Judith and Autumn don't need the stress, but they've got it anyway. Excellent!

49. Equoid by Charles Stross. Laundry-verse novella. Unicorns are not what you think, and you're not going to like them. Enjoyed it.

50. Pale Guardian by Barbara Hambly. James Asher vampire mystery. It's 1915 and Lydia Asher is working at a field hospital on the front as a fluorologist and nurse, x-raying the wounded and helping in surgery (even though she's a doctor, she's not a surgeon, even if they'd accept her as such, which they won't). James is back in Oxford, still recovering from pneumonia. Don Simon Ysidro is keeping an eye on Lydia, since James can't. Vampires love the battlefield - all those tasty soldiers, but there's even worse out there. Revenants. And there's at least one in London, too. Very, very good.

Found another library book - an e-book on my reader.

51. A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn. Second Veronica Speedwell mystery. Veronica and Stoker are asked by a member of the royal family to clear a man convicted of murder. Many twists and red herrings. Good.

Now, back the the TBR pile.

>82 tardis: Aren't the Lychford novellas wonderful?

I enjoyed the first few James Asher stories very much, but the ebooks are in the $12.99 to $14.99 range. That would be a large no.

>84 Marissa_Doyle: Yes, I very much like the Lychford books. As for the Asher books, those prices do seem high for an e-book. I buy the hardcovers, but usually the library also gets them, so I'd have an option if I couldn't buy them.

52. Penric and the Shaman
53. Penric's Mission
54. Mira's Last Dance
all by Lois McMaster Bujold, all Penric and Desdemona stories in the Universe of the 5 Gods, all lovely. Shaman and Mission were re-reads, but I just bought the e-book of Mira.

55. Nerilka's Story by Anne McCaffrey. Hard to believe there's a Pern story I haven't read, but this was it. Nerilka's a bit too good to be true, but I still enjoyed being back in that world.

I like Nerilka's Story. It's like a little Pern dessert.

Catching up on Early Reviewer books, too. Some of these I read a while back and never recorded. I still haven't managed all the reviews yet, but I'm getting there.

56. Behind the Mask: A Superhero Anthology edited by Tricia Reeks etc. Quite enjoyable although I preferred the lighter stories to the darker ones.

57. Law and Murder by Mindy Klasky. Lightweight, but fun diversion. Brain candy. Second in a series of which I had not read the first. I would read more if I ran across them.

>82 tardis: & >84 Marissa_Doyle: Yay! Lychford books! My only real complaint about them is that they are much too short.

>89 clamairy: ...and the third one is due out in October. Yay!

>90 pgmcc:, >89 clamairy: It's not that the Lychford books are too short. One of the things I admire is the conciseness of the stories. There just need to be more of them.

58. Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan McGuire. Another short novel by one of my favourite authors. Jenna's sister died, and then Jenna did, too, but it wasn't her time so she didn't move on. It's very good. Loved it.

>91 tardis: I'd be happy with that!

>86 tardis:, >87 SylviaC: I like Nerilka's story too, though the title now looks like a typo for @Narilka to me!

>91 tardis: What Clam said in >92 clamairy:.

>88 tardis: Mindy has another book and a a novella available in that series through Book View Cafe.

>95 Marissa_Doyle: not the kind of thing I'd pay for, though.

59. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. Sequel to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I loved this. A story of finding one's self and a place, of friends, and loyalty. Sidra finding herself, the story of Jane and Owl - I devoured it in one go, and I'm sad it's done :)

>96 tardis: OOOOH! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I keep waiting for this to go on sale, but it hasn't. I think I might just bite the bullet and pay full price. (Especially since I just had my Thingaversary.)

60. Portal of a Thousand Worlds by Dave Duncan. Chinese-flavoured fantasy (19th century-ish). Most of the main characters were murderers, imposters, thieves, insurgents, and/or politicians, and although the murdering wasn't so appealing, I do love good political intrigue and I enjoyed this quite a bit. Oh, also, there's some rape, which also I didn't like, but most of the sex is consensual.

61. Bound by Benedict Jacka. Please note I have touchstoned the author, not the title, because the top pick on the touchstone list was The Hobbit, and nothing even remotely resembling this title came up in the list of other works. Sigh. Anyway, Alex Verus and friends are in hot water as usual, and if it wasn't for bad luck they wouldn't have any. Still, I like this series and it kept me glued to see what would happen next. The end of the book is not so much an ending as a breather, though.

edited to add: new search has fixed the touchstone!

the top pick on the touchstone list was The Hobbit, and nothing even remotely resembling this title came up in the list of other works

>99 tardis: I've tried to fix this by adding in the canonical & original title to the common knowledge page but may need for some databases or suchlike (I don't really know how it works) to be updated. It may or may not work but worth a try I think. I still have to get to the first in the series but it's good to see that you're still enjoying it.

>100 AHS-Wolfy: Thanks. Hasn't taken effect yet, but I'll try tomorrow in case there's a process that runs overnight.

62. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. Short novella about a girl who runs away to school, but so much more than that. Very good.

63. Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson. Orphaned Maia goes from school in London to the wilds of the Amazon to live with her only relatives. They turn out to not very nice, but her governess, Miss Minton, becomes a friend, as does a young actor and the son of a naturalist, and she falls in love with the Amazon jungle. Enjoyable story.

I loved Binti and I just got the sequel, which I can't wait to read!

64. A Secret Garden by Katie Fforde. More romance fluff. Gentle, not a lot of tension, but not dull. Quite English in a nice way :)

65. And On That Bombshell: Inside the Madness and Genius of Top Gear by Richard Porter. I've never been a regular Top Gear watcher, but I live with a couple of car guys, and it's also a generally fun way to spend an hour if I don't have a handy book, so I know it reasonably well. Porter worked for TG for a long time, and writes with humour and a lot of affection for the team and the show. He doesn't avoid, excuse, or accept Clarkson's actions that ended the show (temporarily- I know it's back with new hosts), so the ending is somewhat bittersweet, but the overall impression is of a hilarious, quirky, very British show.

Heartily agreed on your #65, which I actually parted with money for within the past month. My comment is in my own thread here. I used to watch the show regularly when SABC still got it, and so loved the book for all the same reasons you mention.

>105 hfglen: your comment about it might have been why I put a hold on it at the library :)

66. Heat Storm by Richard Castle. "Castle" packs all the action into another far-fetched but entertaining yarn, this time mixing his Heat and Storm series.

67. Unfuck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess by Rachel Hoffman. Despite the somewhat crude title, this is a useful basic book on cleaning and organizing. Is there anything new in it? Eh, not really. But it's plain-spoken and practical, and also a short, easy read.

>78 tardis: I'm in the middle of Dreadnought this week. It is excellent! So glad you recommended it.

>108 2wonderY: You're welcome!

I've been on a trip to Chicago with a friend and had a lovely time, but didn't get much time to post. I did most of my reading on the long plane rides there and back.

68. The Rosetta Man by Clare McCague. A long overdue read of an Early Reviewers win (although I still haven't written the proper review) which I quite enjoyed. It's a first contact story about a man with the ability to understand animals (especially squirrels, for some reason). Not 100% successful, because some elements seemed like farce, while others serious, but I did like it.

While in Chicago, we went for a walk near our hostel, and went past a used book store (note the spacing - not a used bookstore (although it did seem popular), but a store full of used books :) ) and I (surprise!) dragged my friend in there. Faced with this enormous selection of books, I decided to focus on some American authors that I don't find often at home and was happily successful in finding two books by a favourite. I read them on the trip home.

69. Dead Ernest by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (writing as Alice Tilton). A Leonidas Witherall mystery. LW is trying to finish writing a book when a couple of men insist on delivering a freezer that he didn't order, which has a corpse in it. Rather silly but fun.

70. Figure Away by Phoebe Atwood Taylor. An Asey Mayo Cape Cod mystery. The "Codfish Sherlock" gets dragged into trying to figure out who is sabotaging a local celebration, and then there's a murder. A true cosy mystery, with a resolution that somewhat comes out of left field. Very enjoyable.

71. The Rising of the Moon by Gladys Mitchell. I watched the Mrs Bradley mysteries on TV recently, which made me want to go back and re-read some of the books. The TV versions are fun, but not at all like the books, and Diana Rigg is far too glam for the Mrs Bradley in the books. In any case, it's been so long since I read any of the stories that I enjoyed this one without any recollection of the resolution. Must re-read some of the others, too.

72. The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop by Gladys Mitchell. Another Mrs. Bradley mystery. Twisty.

73. Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly. Came highly recommended, and it was very good, but rather dark. Spies, double agents, blackboots, theatre people, violence, sex, a corrupt and decadent city. Also, I want to know how to pronounce "Amberlough."
Edited to add: Amber-low. Found a reading by the author, and she ought to know :)

>110 tardis: I really enjoyed The rising of the moon for its social history, although I guessed the murderer's identity very early on!

>61 tardis: - You remind me that I like Gladys Mitchell, and it's been a long time since I read any of her books.

74. The Gathering Edge by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Latest Liaden series, featuring Theo Waitley and Bechimo, plus crew and a couple of rescued Xtrang. Love this series.

75. Sacred Ground by Mercedes Lackey. This turned out to be an older book than I expected when I put a hold on it at the library, but a good story about native American medicine people and a greedy developer. Not sure how it plays with actual native Americans in the era of anti-cultural appropriation.

76. Lumberjanes Gotham Academy by a whole bunch of awesome people. A crossover of the two series. I haven't read Gotham Academy, but it really didn't matter. The Lumberjanes were as great as ever, and I liked the GA kids, too. It was all teamwork and fun.

77. The Last Chance Olive Ranch by Susan Wittig Albert. Another China Bayles/herb mystery. Herb in this case is olives. I guess that's a herb. Sort of. Anyway... pretty good. Two mysteries for the price of one as China goes off to the Last Chance Olive Ranch, and her husband tracks down an escaped murderer who is killing all the people involved in his conviction, McQuaid being on the list. A bit info-dumpy of herb lore in spots but still enjoyable.

78. Missing by Kelley Armstrong. Decent YA thriller about a girl who realizes that local kids are disappearing, and works with two brothers to try to figure it out.

79. Lost Souls by Kelley Armstrong. Novella in the Cainsville series, which I haven't read any of before, but not too hard to follow. Pretty good.

Edited: Touchstones working again!

I had to separate the bold html from the square bracket with a space. Try that.

>120 2wonderY:: nope, I think it was Tim working on stuff. They worked this time without any messing about, except to choose the right title out of two long lists. Stupid generic titles.

80. Final Girls by Mira Grant (a.k.a. Seanan McGuire. Somewhat creepy novella about facing one's fears as a road to fixing one's problems. Good, but not one of my faves by MG/SM.

81. City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett. Final story in the series that began with City of Stairs. Sigrud must protect Shara's daughter after Shara's assassination while figuring out what the heck Shara was doing. Nothing is what it seems. Very good.

82. The Shambling Guide to New York City
83. Ghost Train to New Orleans
both by Mur Lafferty. In the first, Zoe gets hired as the editor (and only human) on the staff of a publisher of tourist guides for non-humans. In the second, Zoe and some of her team go to New Orleans to research the guide for that city. Mayhem ensues in both cases. Lots of fun, and I wish Lafferty had written more in this series - maybe someday she will, although she seems to be writing SF right now.

84. House of Binding Thorns by Aliette de Bodard. Sequel to House of Shattered Wings, which I liked. I liked this one, too, although it's dreamy and a bit hard to follow at times. It had, perhaps, been a bit too long since I read the first book. Things came back to me after a bit.

I too thought City of miracles (and the whole trilogy) was really good. I haven't read anything else quite like it.

And I'm also hoping for more in that series by Mur Lafferty. The afterword to the second book sounded like she had definite plans for the series, so fingers crossed!

85. Owl and the Electric Samurai by Kristi Charish. I'd have enjoyed this book a lot more if not for the many errors. There's an important difference between "purveying scent" and the "pervading scent". Also "foilage" instead of "foliage", "heads or tales" versus "heads or tails", and more. And this isn't a self-published book! I expect better proofreading and editing from an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Anyway... Owl is still impulsive and reckless, but she's trying to be better... most of the time. It's a fun ride, although a lot of unresolved business at the end.

>126 tardis: Wow, that’s pretty bad! My immediate thought was, “self-published”… until you said it wasn’t. :)

>127 YouKneeK: I know I can be a bit pedantic, but sometimes it just hauls me out of the flow of the story.

86. The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch. A novella in the Rivers of London series. Ghosts on the Metropolitan Line. Peter teams up with Jaget Kumar from the British Transport Police, Abigail (Peter's cousin and potential wizard), and of course Inspector Nightingale and Toby. Typical wit and snark, good story, and far, far too short. I want MORE.

Ak! A new Peter Grant story and I haven't managed to listen to the last one yet. I'm still on queue for it. I read it in print, but it's just not quite as good.

>129 2wonderY: The audiobook reader for the Peter Grant books is particularly good, isn't he? I always enjoy them greatly. I love reading them in print, though.

If they ever film these books (and I think they ought) I hope Kobna Holdbrook-Smith gets the lead. Any other voice wouldn't match.

Agree!

87. Cutting Back: My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto by Leslie Buck. In 1999, 36-year-old Leslie went to Kyoto without even a job lined up, to find a position with a landscaping company to become a better pruner. Culture shock to the max, but she made it. I am inspired to try to find some videos on Japanese pruning.

88. Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan. Final book in the Lady Trent series, in which Isabella, Suhail, etc. go to the highest mountains in the world in search of a new and intriguing type of dragon. Fun.

89. A Peace Divided by Tanya Huff. 2nd in the Peacekeeper series, which is a continuation of the Valour series, which features ex-Gunnery Sgt. Torin Kerr, who, with her team is now working as a Warden. They're sent to rescue some scientists who are being held hostage by mercenaries. Excellent, as always. Really want the next book :)

>134 tardis: - I didn't know there were only 5 of those, it felt like it would continue for a lot longer. I should get around to finishing them off, they're fun.

90. Bookburners by Max Gladstone and others. The Vatican has a black archive and some secret teams that collect and suppress magic and demons. Sal, a NYPD police officer, gets drawn in when her brother, Perry, gets hold of a bad book and is possessed by a demon. The book was written in sections by various authors, including Gladstone and Mur Lafferty, and there's an overarching plot that gets wrapped in the last section. Very good.

91. River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey. Back in the 1800s, somebody thought importing hippos to the US was a good idea for an alternate meat source. Eh, maybe not so much. In the 1890s, feral hippos infest the swamps of Louisiana, and Winslow Houndstooth and his team are hired to corral them and move them down the river. Which they decide to do with explosives, because NOTHING could go wrong with that. Preposterous alt-history fun.

92. The Card Catalog : Books, Cards and Literary Treasures by the Library of Congress. It really hurts me to spell catalogue without the ue at the end but in the title I had to :) A beautiful book on the history of the card catalogue, and specifically that of the Library of Congress. Between the articles are pages and pages of pictures of books with the cards that go with them. I especially loved the hand-written cards.

93. Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews. The usual mayhem as Meg and Michael's kids start playing baseball. Murder ensues. Love this series.

94. Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire. Another in her Wayward Children series, that began with Every Heart A Doorway. This one is the story of Jack and Jill. Rather bleak, but very good.

95. Of Noble Family by Mary Robinette Kowal. The final in her Glamourist History series. A re-read because I just bought it, and as good as I remembered. Also remembered to watch for the obligatory Doctor Who reference this time :)

96. From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain by Minister Faust. A book-within-a-book, being the text of "Unmasked! When Being a Superhero Can't Save You From Yourself : Self-Help for Today's Hyper-Hominids" by Dr. Brain. Dr. Eva Brain-Silverman is a therapist, specializing in helping superbeings cope with their issues. And boy, do they have issues. Funny, full of psychobabble and crazy metaphors.

97. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. One of my kids was getting rid of this and I decided I should read it before it went. A charming, gentle story about a housepainter who is fascinated by the polar regions, and is given a penguin by a famous explorer. Love it, and now I can let it go to someone new :)

And that's two off mount TBR!

98. Six of Swords by Carole Nelson Douglas. A very early book in Douglas' writing career, from 1982, and very much fantasy of that era. Extremely stilted, fanciful language, florid descriptions. Fantasy has changed since then, and more to the point, my tastes have changed. One off my TBR pile, at least, and concurrently one, Exiles of the Rynth off my overcrowded shelves, because it's the sequel to Six of Swords and although I tried, I can't finish it. I just want to smack the protagonists. Also I don't have the next two books in the series, and can't be bothered trying to acquire them.

>142 tardis: Boy, that must have been bad. I hardly ever see a negative review from you. And looking at the LT ratings and the one member review, you weren't alone in your opinion. That reviewer said that many of the sentences belonged in the Bulwer-Lytton contest.

>143 SylviaC: Yes, exactly. I hadn't thought of Bulwer-Lytton but that's a perfect description. Douglas did get better. Her Irene Adler series, although also not to my taste, is much better written, and I enjoyed the Midnight Louie mysteries, although I think the series could have been shorter :)

99. Indigo by Charlaine Harris and 9 other people. Pretty good for a joint project novel. Nora is also Indigo, who can walk in shadows. There are cultists murdering kids, and a demon and stuff. Action-packed.

100. All Systems Red by Martha Wells. Wells' books are always a treat, and this novella is no exception. A SecUnit (security android) working for a planetary survey team, is more independent that it is supposed to be, which comes in handy when things start to go sideways for the team. Very good.

>146 tardis: I really enjoyed that book too. I read recently that she's writing more in the series.

>146 tardis: This sounds great! It's been on my radar for a while but you are nudging me nearer to actually downloading it.

101. Feedback by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire). Another in the Newsflesh series, but taking place concurrently with Feed and Deadline and featuring a different cast of characters. If you liked the other books, you'll like this one, too - I did :)

102. Company Town by Madeline Ashby. Broke my rule and read a Canada Reads book, but it's SF, and actually really good. I liked Hwa a lot.

>150 tardis: Yeah, it really didn't seem like a Canada Reads book at all. Not only were there some likeable characters, but not an entirely depressing ending either.

>150 tardis:, >151 SylviaC: :)

Have to check that one out!

>150 tardis: I've seen a few good reviews of this and it's on my wishlist already. Maybe I'll actually get around to picking it up one of these days.

103. Murder Below Zero by John Lawrence Reynolds. A slight but decent mystery about a cold June in Muskoka (Ontario's picturesque cottage country), although not cold enough to account for the naked, frozen corpse found in a ditch. The small-town police chief, a former Toronto police officer, butts heads with the Ontario Provincial Police, who have no respect for town cops' ability to investigate or the value of their local knowledge.

Second in a series, although it was not a problem that I had not read the first book. This is in the Rapid Reads series, which are high-interest short novels for adult readers who need something quick, or to go with ESL or literacy programs. They don't talk down to readers and the stories are solid and the characters are good, but shortness does come at a price of lack of depth in characterization and plot complexity.

Reviewed from an Advance Reading copy received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.

104. Thirteenth Child
105. Across the Great Barrier
106. The Far West

All by Patricia C. Wrede, all re-reads because I finally bought the third in the series (to complete my set!) and had to re-read the first two. Still excellent books. Alt-history with magic, on the Columbian frontier. Eff is the 13th child, twin sister of 7th son of a 7th son, Lan. The family moves west to a new university right by the magical Great Barrier that keeps the most dangerous magical animals away from civilization. The Great Barrier follows the Mammoth River (in our world, the Mississippi). Eff finds her niche by the end of the third book, exploring the vast area on the other side of the barrier. Great world-building and characters, and I very much enjoyed the whole series again.

>149 tardis: - I didn't even know she'd written that! one to look out for thanks!

107. Pressed to Death by Kirsten Weiss. A decent timewaster for a day when I had a migraine and anyway it was too hot to actually do any of the things that needed doing, like working on my new compost bins. A not especially original cozy mystery about a woman who owns a paranormal museum, the scary Ladies Aid society women, a haunted grape press, and wine. Second in a series, but you don't need to have read the first, which I hadn't.

108. The Tattooed Queen by Susan MacGregor. Conclusion to Susan's alt-history-with-magic Tattooed Witch trilogy. Miriam, Joachim, and company finally make it to the New World, by different paths and with much hardship and suffering. Very good ending to the series which I mainly started reading as the author is a friend. I liked the middle book least (it suffered from common middle-book problems like not having a proper ending), but as a whole it's rather good.

109. Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert. An older book in the China Bayles herb mystery series, and somehow I missed it on the way by. China and a friend go to a restored Shaker village, where there's larceny and murder among the management. I enjoyed it, as with the rest of the series.

110. Black Mould by Ben Aaronovitch. 3rd Rivers of London graphic novel. Evil mould is making people cranky. Very good.

111. Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light by Tanya Huff. Stand-alone urban fantasy about a mentally challenged woman who can see the little people. When one is hurt she drags her friend, Roland, a street musician, in to help. Very good.

112. The Fire's Stone by Tanya Huff. A thief, a dissolute prince, and a young wizard must retrieve the stolen magical stone that protects a city. Very good. Not what I expected.

113. Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff. A re-read, because I was having a bout of insomnia and needed something that a) I could reach off the shelf without finding a stool and b) comfort read. This fits the bill perfectly. Keeper Claire Hansen is summoned to deal with a problem in Kingston, Ontario, which turns out to be a very complicated hole to hell. Snarky talking cat.

114. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Both the story of the construction and operation of the World's Fair in Chicago and the story of serial killer H.H. Holmes, who built a "Murder Castle" in Chicago. Fascinating and creepy.

>161 tardis: Yes, that's not one that you necessarily want to revisit, once you're gotten through the first read. But I agree with you that it was a fascinating book. Quite educational and yet creepier than one might have expected.

Hmmmm! So Jill finds a book about a serial killer educatinal! Worrying indeed.

>163 pgmcc: Holmes was pretty good at it. Although, maybe she found the "how to build a World's Fair" bit educational, although honestly it sounded like a almost as much of a nightmare to me as the whole serial killer thing - just with a positive outcome.

115. Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho. Alt-history-with-magic, Britain in the Napoleonic era. A re-read as I just acquired a copy. Enjoyed it greatly.

>163 pgmcc: & >164 tardis: The Devil in the White City is an awesome book. I read it when it was relatively fresh from the press for a library book group. Really enjoyed it.

116. Wizard of the Grove by Tanya Huff. An omnibus edition of Child of the Grove and The Last Wizard. Earlier works in Huff's career, and much more traditional fantasy, but very good.

117. Devil's Breath by G.M. Malliet. Max Tudor, Anglican vicar and ex-MI5 operative, is asked by his former MI5 boss to help with a drugs and murder investigation. Pretty good!

118. Second Nature: A Gardener's Education by Michael Pollan. How Pollan became a gardener, and a bit about his home garden, with lots of his philosophy of gardening and ecology. Good.

119. Arabella and the Battle of Venus by David D. Levine. Sequel to Arabella of Mars. In the installment of the Burroughs-esque steampunk fantasy, Arabella goes to Venus to try to ransom her fiance, who has been captured by the French. Napoleon, Nelson, and a cast of privateers and other sailors. Fun.

120. The Elusive Grasshopper by Malcolm Saville. English children's adventure story - published 1972. Still a good story, but a bit dated. Villain would have made it if not for those pesky kids!

121. The Good, The Bad, and the Undead by Kim Harrison. In the Rachel Morgan series, which I haven't read before, but considering it wasn't the first book, it was pretty easy to follow. Good urban fantasy. Would read more.

>171 tardis: I've read at least two of The Hollows, and enjoyed their hominess and quirks. I'm thinking of returning to them, especially now that I'm learning Cincinnati first hand.

122. Steel Blood by J.L. Gribble. An Early Reviewer book. Victory, a vampire and retired mercenary, and her daywalker, Mikelos, travel to Qin to so he can play a concert and she can be bodyguard to a princess. I rather liked it, despite it being a world-building mess of alt-history, electric cars, sailing ships, steampunk, weredragons, werewolves, kitsune, vampires, etc. The characters were good, and the story hung together. A decent summer read.

123. Assassin's Price by L.E. Modesitt Jr. Another in the Imager series, although this time the main character isn't an imager. Charyn is the son and heir to Rex Lorien. His father doesn't share much, and Charyn wants to learn how to be a good Rex when his time comes, so he starts educating himself. Full of the usual battles between factors and holders. A pretty good story.

124. A Question of Death by Kerry Greenwood. A charmingly illustrated collection of short stories about the divine Hon. Phryne Fisher, detective. Peopled with the usual cast of lovely young men, damsels in distress, Cec, Bert, Dot, and Inspector Jack Robinson. Very enjoyable.

>168 tardis: I enjoyed this Pollan quite a bit. There was a lot of humor in it, if I recall correctly. I chuckled over his memory of his father's refusal to keep his lawn mowed and his neighbors' and family's reaction to that. :o)

>174 clamairy: Yes, that and his grandfather sending them plants and gardeners to try to jump-start a love of gardening in the family :)

125. Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal. A re-read as I just bought it. Still very good. WW1, with soldiers trained to report in to mediums after they die.

126. Bloody Good by Georgia Evans. WW2 in a small village. Alt-history rural fantasy. A bunch of German vampires have been parachuted in to conduct sabotage in rural England, and Dr. Alice Doyle, her grandmother, and a bunch of others have to stop them.

127. The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi. Really good space opera, with politics and economics and all that good stuff, but it stops more than ends. I hope there's a sequel in the works.

128. Bloody Awful
129. Bloody Right
both by Georgia Evans. See book #126, above. These are the sequels, in which the villagers continue disposing of more Nazi vampires. Fun stuff, although there's a fairly significant loose end left at the end of Bloody Right, as the fate of Simon and Bela is left hanging.

Grrr. You always read such interesting sounding stuff. My holds list at the library is hopelessly swollen.

130. The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst. Sequel to Queen of Blood, in which Daleina became queen (and lots of people died) and the one person who can control the elemental spirits and keep them from killing all the humans. In this one, Daleina finds out she has a fatal disease, and not much time, so the Champions have to go out and find her an heir. As expected, the best candidate is NOT keen on the job. Also, lots of people die. That said, this is a really good book (as was the previous one) and I really enjoyed it.

>177 2wonderY: doesn't she, though? I've been hit by a few of her book bullets.

>179 catzteach: I'd say my job here is done, but we all know that's not the case :)

131. Gone Gull by Donna Andrews. A Meg Langslow mystery. Meg is teaching blacksmithing at her grandmother Cordelia's Biscuit Mountain Craft Center, and somebody is playing some very nasty practical "jokes" on the faculty and students. Is a rival craft centre trying to ruin Biscuit Mountain? Also, there's a photo of a supposedly extinct gull, that her grandfather is mad to find before an unscrupulous birder does. Murder ensues. Very enjoyable.

132. On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service by Rhys Bowen. Another Royal Spyness, mystery. Darcy is off on a secret mission, so Georgie goes to Italy to support her old friend Belinda in her time of trial (i.e. last few weeks of secret pregnancy), and, not coincidentally, on a fact-finding mission for the Queen to see how things are between the Prince of Wales and his not-quite-divorced-yet American paramour, Wallis Simpson. There are proto-Nazis, murder, and coincidences galore, but it's a good lightweight summer diversion.

133. The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess. A final Amelia Peabody story, completed by Joan Hess from partial manuscript and notes after Peters' death. A good story, and I'm glad to have one last visit with Peabody, Emerson, Ramses, Nefret, Sethos, David, and co. This one is set earlier in the timeline, before Nefret and Ramses got together.

>178 tardis: I too enjoyed Queen of blood and am looking forward to The reluctant queen. Glad you gave it a good review!

134. The Rat Catchers' Olympics by Colin Cotterill. A new Dr. Siri mystery! Siri and his associates go to the Moscow Olympics with the Lao team and try to figure out who is going to be assassinated by one of the team members, and which team member is the assassin. Funny and silly. I loved it.

>180 tardis: I don't suppose Gone Gull is a play on Gone Girl?

>184 stellarexplorer: I'm sure it is, although I don't expect there's any other relationship, plotwise :)

Not sure how I feel about that...but ok

>186 stellarexplorer: eh, just read it; if you like the series, you'll like Gone Gull. It's fun. If you haven't read the series, start at the beginning :)

135. Harbors of the Sun by Martha Wells. It's the Raksura again, and welcome! Sequel to The Edge of Worlds and wraps things up (although with room for more if Wells wants to). Moon and Stone are following the airship whose crew kidnapped some of their group, and there are Fell and an apocalyptic weapon and more. Really good. Sad to come out of that world at the end.

136. Gardens of the High Line : Elevating the Nature of Modern Landscapes by Piet Oudolf and Rick Darke. This was beautiful. A big, juicy, photo-filled record of the High Line in New York, which is a garden built on a disused elevated railway line. I don't always read the text in gardening books, but I did for this one, and spent ages poring over the photos. Wonderful book. I hope that some day I can go there to see it in person.

>187 tardis: These two are waiting on my Tbr pile; I must get to them soon, although then there will be no new Raksura books for me to look forward to :-/

137. The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire. Latest Toby Daye book, which I pre-ordered before I realized it was being released in hardcover, and then decided not to cancel, because Seanan's cats need to eat. They're good cats. Anyway, in this installment, Toby's mother blackmails her into going to find her (Toby's) half sister, and to do so she has to team up with Simon Torquill, who once turned her into a fish. As always, very good.

Oh no, another Toby Daye book! I'm falling behind. Although I can wait for the paperback so it will match the rest of the series.

138. Yardwork : a Biography of an Urban Place by Daniel Coleman. I expected something a bit more centred on a particular garden but this was much less focused than that. The author does talk a bit about his own garden, but it's much more about the history and politics of land and water in the Hamilton, Ontario area. It was okay, but not really what I wanted. Glad I got it from the library.

Also, no touchstone.

139. Rise : The Complete Newsflesh Collection by Mira Grant. A collection of short stories and novellas, mostly new to me. I'm not a big fan of the zombie genre, but I do like this series and enjoyed this book greatly.

140. Trials for the Chalet School by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. A CS book that wasn't previously in my collection! The CS has a very trying term - scarlet fever, flood, avalanche, and more. Bonus: Mary Lou, a favourite character, is head girl. Always a good time.

141. Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey. Sequel to River of Teeth. Actually, more like the second half of RoT, as the gang search for each other, and for a kidnapped baby. Very good fun :)

142. Heather Leaves School by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. Heather doesn't leave school - she's taken away from it, as its effect on her manners and language is displeasing her parents. A typical EBD story in the La Rochelle series. Enjoyable.

143. The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross. Talk about a contrast to the book above! After the debacle in Leeds, the existence of the Laundry is public, and politics are getting in the way of doing their jobs. Bob, Mo, Mhari, and others have to cope. Very good, but damn, I want the next book in the series NOW.

144. Call of Fire by Beth Cato. Sequel to Breath of Earth, and picks up where that left off, with Ingrid, Cy, Fenris and Lee fleeing San Francisco in the airship Palmetto Bug. They're heading north, and trouble is heading there with them. Or has got there ahead of them. Whatever. Very good.

>193 tardis: that sounds good. I thought she'd stopped writing in that world, - which I prefered over parasite - so I might look at that. I've read some of the novellas though.

>198 reading_fox: I preferred it to parasite, too, although I did like that well enough. I had read one of the stories before. The last two are completely new.

145. Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy. Woman of mixed Irish/Indigenous American ancestry discovers she's a shaman when she runs up against Cernunnos, Herne, and the wild hunt in Seattle. Beginning of a series. I will read more.

>200 tardis: Have you read any of her books before?

>201 pgmcc: I don't think so, but sometimes I lose track :)

>203 pgmcc: Catie lives in Ireland now. She lived in Alaska but moved here in the early 2000s. I shall let her know she has a new reader. She will be pleased.

>202 tardis: Catie is delighted to hear that she has a new reader who wants to read more. You made her day.

I saw Catie at Octocon today and she once again expressed her delight at your positive comments about her book. That's her on the left and she is selling both her book and jams she made from the fruits in her garden.

>200 tardis:, >205 pgmcc: - I have several books in that series and some of her other books. Unfortunately I wasn't able to order all of them, as some seem to be out of print.

>205 pgmcc: Awesome pic! Thanks! I love being able to tell authors how much I like their stuff. It keeps them writing :) Unfortunately, the library doesn't have all of the series so I'm going to have to work a bit harder to read the rest.

146. Skinwalker by Faith Hunter. Another pretty good urban fantasy featuring a woman who can turn into any animal, and has a second soul, that of a puma, in her. Also there are vampires. I'd like to read the next in the series, but the library only has the e-book version and Adobe Digital Editions is being a pig. I'll keep trying, though.

147. The Reckoners
148. Reckoner Redeemed
Both by Doranna Durgin. Early Reviewer books. Decent urban fantasy about a team who deal with unquiet spirits and a man from another dimension. Not terribly original, but a good light read.

149. Blood Cross by Faith Hunter. Second in the Skinwalker series. Again, good, although I don't know how that woman functions considering her diet and sleep pattern.

150. A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris. Some short stories featuring Sookie Stackhouse. Always fun to go back to Bon Temps.

151. Gardens of Plenty : the Art of the Potager Garden by Marylyn Abbot. A lovely book, covering the history and appeal of the potager (my favourite kind of garden!), with examples of potagers in Europe, the US, and Australia. Copious photographs, too. Lovely.

152. Mercy Blade by Faith Hunter. 3rd in her Skinwalker series. More vampires, with added weres for extra fun. Jane gets more clues to her own history and nature.

153. Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions by Amy Stewart. 3rd in the Kopp Sisters series. Constance is coping with "wayward" girls at work, and with Fleurette's mad desire to go on the stage. Good.

154. Sovereign by April Daniels. Second in the Nemesis series that began with Dreadnought. In the second book, trans girl Danny has settled into being the superhero, Dreadnaught, is in the process of "divorcing" her parents, and excited to attend a superhero convention. Of course, things go wrong. Very good!

NB: Can't find the right touchstone for Sovereign, so I've taken the brackets off the title and put them on the author. Will try the title again later.

155. Away With The Fairies by Kerry Greenwood. A Phryne Fisher mystery. A magazine writer with an addiction to twee fairies is killed, and Phryne must solve that while worrying about her kidnapped lover, Lin Chung. As always, an enjoyable series.

156. Provenance by Ann Leckie. Really good. Set in the same universe as the Ancillary series, but outside the Radchaai empire. A young woman has an ambitious plan to impress her mother and get one up on her brother. Of course, when your pieces are people, they sometimes don't move as you intended. Ambition, murder, politics, diplomacy. I loved it.

>212 tardis: I'll definitely have to get to that one sometime soon!

157. Murder Behind Locked Doors by Ellen Godfrey. The sleuth is a head hunter in an executive search firm in Toronto, working for a high-tech company to replace their financial VP, who died alone in a locked computer room. Pretty good, and surprisingly not as dated as one would expect, given that it was published in 1988. Maybe someone who works in IT would notice more than I did.

158. Raven Cursed by Faith Hunter. Jane Yellowrock is running security for a vampire meeting, but there are werewolves in the area killing people and beau Rick is waiting for his change to were-leopard at the full moon. Lots of action, somewhat far-fetched (even for urban fantasy!) but fun.

159. Death's Rival by Faith Hunter. Another Jane Yellowrock. There's a vampire plague that's been weaponized by a vamp who wants to take over. The usual - enjoyable.

160. Black Arts
161. Broken Soul
162. Dark Heir
163. Shadow Rites
164. Cold Reign
All by Faith Hunter, all in her Skinwalker series. I think I'm caught up with it, now. Quite enjoyable, and I'll read more if more are published. I have to say, though, every time Jane puts Cool Whip in her tea I just about gag. She claims to love good tea, but Cool Whip? That stuff is an abomination. It's not even a real dairy product.

>217 tardis: Hear, hear! Proper tea is served with neither milk (dairy or otherwise) nor sugar, and the bottom of the cup should be clearly visible. In Russian tea, the addition of a slice of lemon is usual. (Harrumph. Don't I sound like a crusty old colonel in his club armchair?)

>217 tardis: Gak! She might as well pour engine oil on it. :P

Mmmmmmmmmm! Engine oil. Cool!

>218 hfglen: I dispute your statement. Milk in tea is acceptable, and indeed is my personal preference for everyday black teas. If I'm trying a new kind of tea, I generally try it first clear, and then decide if I want to add milk. I take green and white teas clear. Hot drinks made of steeped plant matter that does not include Camellia sinensis should not be called tea. /curmudgeon

165. A Scandal in Battersea by Mercedes Lackey. Something wicked this way comes, and it's stealing the minds and souls of young women. A lackluster villain and not a lot of real peril for the protagonists, but I like the elemental masters concept and the story was diverting enough. Brain candy.

166. Big Trouble in Little China Escape From New York by Greg Pak, et al. Graphic novel. Ol' Jack Burton and his rig get hauled into another dimension where they team up with Snake Plisskin and some others to save Blind Apple Mary's guitar (and the world). Don't think too hard about it - your brain will melt. Just enjoy the ride.

>222 tardis: I liked the movie Big Trouble in Little China. Have you seen it? I never realized it was based on a book. Guess I should have though...

>222 tardis: I just looked at the amazon page. I didn't realize it was a cross over. I thought it was a double edition or something.

Wow, that's... something else, I guess?

>223 BookstoogeLT: Yes, I love the movie. Excellent dumb fun. I don't think it is based on a book. Certainly these graphic novels came long afterwards.

167. The Core : Book Five of the Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett. Final book in this series, which means no stupid cliffhanger ending. Brett wraps up the series fairly tidily, although there was a lot of gore and some pretty nasty stuff. Not a series I'll revisit, but definitely worth reading.

168. True Confessions From the Ninth Concession by Dan Needles. A gentle and very Canadian collection of little essays from the back page of Harrowsmith Magazine about living on a hobby farm with an eclectic mix of animals, children, and neighbours. From the author of the Wingfield Farm plays. Loved it.

>227 tardis: I should look for that!

169. Blood of the Earth
170. Curse on the Land
both by Faith Hunter. Books 1 and 2 in her Soulwood series, which takes place in the same universe as the Skinwalker series and overlaps with it. Nell is not human, although doesn't know what she is. She has a relationship with her land, and can "read" other lands. She gets involved with PsyLED, the police for the supernatural community. Good. Will read more.

171. Penric's Fox
172. The Prisoner of Limnos
both by Lois McMaster Bujold, both in her Penric and Desdemona/World of the Five Gods series. So good. Fox is set after Penric and the Shaman and features Shamanic magic and a demon lost when it's sorcerer is killed. Prisoner is a direct sequel to Mira's Last Dance in which Pen and Nikys go to Limnos to rescue Nikys' mother, who is held prisoner there. Loved both.

173. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. First in the Chronicles of St. Mary's series. A book bullet from someone on the Lois McMaster Bujold email list. I'm not a huge fan of time travel, but it's done well here, and I really enjoyed the characters and story. I look forward to seeing how the series develops.

>230 tardis: I got distracted about halfway through that, and haven't gone back to it. I was enjoying it, but just haven't been drawn back.

174. Mystery at Sugar Creek by Paul Hutchens. This is the kind of book that my mother got as a prize for perfect attendance in Sunday School. A decent (if slight) kids' adventure from the 1940s, but with a heavy-handed dose of Christian preaching that pretty much wrecked it for me. I'm sure I read some of this series as a kid, but I'd forgotten how overt it was. At one point one of the boys decides to pray that the police shoot a wanted fugitive, but not kill him, because he hasn't repented his sins and he'll go to hell if he dies. There's also a hint of creationism. Not feeling the need to revisit any more installments of the series.

175. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. I had to re-read this (for the umpteenth time) to overcome the memory of the S&A movie I watched last night. I have ranted about that elsewhere, so won't do it again. As always, it is lovely to sail the big lake with the explorers and pirates. Sea battles, feasts, plank walking, and treasure hunting in a simpler time.

>233 tardis: I blame you. There is no point your trying to shirk responsibility.

I found myself in a bookshop today looking for particular book that has not yet been delivered to the store. While there I happened to see, and buy, Swallows and Amazons. Now, if I read this before I see the film I shall be doubly unqualified to give you my opinion on the book. What am I to do?

>234 pgmcc: - the best thing to do is to read and enjoy!

234> Yes, what NorthernStar said, enjoy! I am proud to take all the credit (or blame) for your purchase. I hope you like it!

176. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor. 2nd in the Chronicles of St. Mary's, and just as much fun. Jack the Ripper, dodoes, Thomas Becket and Mary, Queen of Scots all feature in this installment. Fun.

177. A Second Chance: The Chronicles of St. Mary's
178. A Trail Through Time
both by Jodi Taylor, #s 3 and 4 in the Chronicles of St Mary's. Messy and complicated, but in a good way. The usual genre-bending mix of history, comedy, tragedy, time travel, adventure, romance. I do like Max and Leon and the rest.

179. No Time Like The Past by Jodi Taylor. More mayhem from the ramshackle historians (and techies and security team) at St. Mary's. St. Mary's has been more-or-less rebuilt since the war with the Time Police, but they're short of cash, so Max comes up with a cunning plan to raise some cash. It goes about as well as cunning plans usually do.

>236 tardis: - >238 tardis: Wow, I didn't realize so much had been written since the first book.

>239 MrsLee: And that's not the end of it. I've got two or three more on hold at the library.

180. Where There's a Will by Rex Stout. A twisty mystery featuring a corpse, a gold-digger, a veiled widow, three sisters, some lawyers, various friends and relations, and a will. Wolfe and Archie are on top form, as always.

181. Shocks for the Chalet School by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. The unabridged reprint, replacing my old edited Armada edition. Many surprising things happen (go figure), including the arrival of Emerance Hope, one of the most challenging pupils the school ever dealt with.

182. The Guns Above by Robyn Bennis. Military steampunk. A female airship captain battles prejudice and the enemy. Very good.

183. Cry Wolf
184. Hunting Ground
both by Patricia Briggs. Werewolves, paranormal romance. Sufficiently diverting.

185. Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth Bear. Book one of a new series, so hasn't actually got an ending - more of a pause. I liked it very much, though. Trad fantasy in a kind of Indian Subcontinent-inspired world, with mercenaries, wizards, queens, and rather a nice elephant. Although the elephant is not a big part of the story.

>242 tardis:

"and rather a nice elephant"
Funny how certain phrases make me want to look up a book.

180 - I always enjoy a good Rex Stout book.

186. Moon Called
187. Blood Bound
188. Iron Kissed
189. Bone Crossed
190. Silver Borne
191. River Marked
All by Patricia Briggs, all featuring coyote shifter and mechanic Mercy Thompson, plus werewolves, vampires, witches, and assorted fae. Readable paranormal romance/urban fantasy set in the Pacific Northwest.

>245 tardis: Good grief, you move fast!

>246 2wonderY: Retired, can't garden in the snow, housework is boring, fast reader, prefer light-weight books :) I'm getting caught up on a few series that I never had time for before and trying to winnow down the stuff on my shelves. I like the Briggs books but they're not going to stay in the permanent collection and any I read in future will be from the library.

192. Frost Burned
193. Fair Game
194. Night Broken
195. Shifting Shadows
196. Dead Heat
197. Fire Touched
198. Silence Fallen
All by Patricia Briggs. All in the world of the Marrok, which includes the Mercy Thompson series as per >245 tardis: above. More urban fantasy: werewolves, vampires, various fae, shifters, a troll, etc. I think I'm caught up with this series now, so time to move on to another one. I'm very behind on urban fantasy, but fortunately they are quick reads.

199. How the Finch Stole Christmas by Donna Andrews. Another fun Christmas romp in Caerphilly with Meg Langslow and her clan. A boozy has-been actor, a full-scale production of A Christmas Carol, endangered bird smuggling, etc. Enjoyed it.

200. Artemis by Andy Weir. Wow, non-stop action! Jazz, underachiever extraordinaire on the moon base called Artemis, takes a lucrative but dodgy job to pay off an old debt. She's tough, mouthy, and competent, and I loved her and her pals. And her dad. Also awesome. Very enjoyable book.

201. The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss. A book bullet from someone on LT. Or several someones. Mary Jekyll teams up with Catherine Moreau, Justine Frankenstein, Diana Hyde, Beatrice Rappaccini plus Holmes and Watson their own selves, Mary's intrepid cook/housekeeper, and a few others to battle the Whitechapel murderer and an unscrupulous society of scientists. Pretty obviously the first in a series. Bit of a dog's breakfast as all the origin stories had to be fitted in, but I liked it. Will read more if there are any.

>250 tardis: Aha! Glad to know Goss is pursuing this team. She wrote a short story with this female cast in The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination.

>249 tardis: I'm quivering with anticipation. Heard Andy Weir talking about it on NPR yesterday.

>249 tardis: I almost bought this yesterday but wanted to wait for a review. Looks like I’ll be getting it. :)

>250 tardis: I was struck by that bullet as well. I enjoyed the book and will read the sequels when I run into them.

>229 tardis: Thanks for the heads up on the new Penric titles. I'd heard about Penric's Fox but not the other. I'm off to hit the buy button.

>250 tardis: Thanks for the reminder of this one. Like you, I'd heard about it from others here on LT, but I hadn't gotten round to it yet.

202. Golden Age and Other Stories by Naomi Novik. A few stories and a bunch of drabbles in the world of Temeraire. I especially liked the Pride and Prejudice pastiche :)

203. Six Geese A-Slaying
204. The Good, The Bad, and the Emus
both by Donna Andrews. Both Meg Langslow mysteries. The first is Christmas-themed, in which Meg manages the annual Caerphilly Christmas parade; the second is a summer roundup of feral emus. re-reads, but it was a really long time since I last read them. Lots of fun.

While working on various projects that require hands and eyes but not so much brain, I've also been going through a lot of downloadable audio books from the library, although I haven't been counting them as "read". Quite a few other Donna Andrews mysteries, some of Tanya Huff's Valor series. All books I've already read in print, because that works best for me when it comes to audio books. Also podcasts have been great. "Stuff You Missed In History Class" is one of the best.

205. Remodelista : The Organized Home : Simple, Stylish Storage Ideas for All Over The House b Julie Carlson and Margot Guralnick. One of those organize by spending money books. They pay lip service to using what you already have, but a big section of the book is where to buy stuff. A few decent ideas, and beautifully photographed, though.

206. The Ghost of Christmas Past by Rhys Bowen. A Molly Murphy mystery. Molly is depressed following a very tough year and a miscarriage, and it's Christmas. Through a series of unlikely events, she and her family end up spending Christmas at an estate in the country and solving the mystery of a child that disappeared ten years ago. Improbable coincidences abound, but basically enjoyable anyway.

207. Detective Stories by Ben Aaronovitch. Touchstone on the title isn't working. A graphic novel in the Rivers of London series, featuring Peter, Lesley, Guleed, Nightingale, Toby, etc. Very enjoyable, and well-drawn. I don't think this bunch of stories stands as well on its own as some of the previous ones, but as a fan who has read all the novels and graphic novels repeatedly, I enjoyed it greatly.

208. Giles's War : Cartoons 1939-45 edited by Tim Benson. A collection of early work by the inimitable Giles, much of it from before he started at the Daily Express, so completely new to me. Very enjoyable, with a side of nostalgia, since a new Giles collection was a hallmark of Christmas in my childhood (Dad always got one), and I still have his collection plus I've tried to acquire more as I find them.

>258 tardis: I really like that one. I've been collecting his books for ages, but still need some of the early ones. They're getting pretty hard to find.

>259 SylviaC: Same here. I keep a list of the ones I'm missing on my phone, and very occasionally I'll find one :)

209. Stop Press by Michael Innes. A convoluted and a bit overwritten classic mystery about an author whose creation, a criminal-turned-detective, seems to be coming to life. I picked up a few new-to-me Michael Innes mysteries, so decided to have a re-read of the ones from my existing collection, too. The hardest part of reading it was keeping the pages in. It's an old classic Penguin paperback.

210. Terminal Alliance by Jim C. Hines. Janitors in space! Saving the universe! Wry, tongue-in-cheek space opera. I liked it.

>255 tardis: I love Donna Andrews books. I'm reading How the Finch Stole Christmas now.

>260 tardis: Terminal Alliance is going to make an appearance on my best books of the year list. I really enjoyed it.

>261 tottman: Yeah, I don't know if Terminal Alliance will make my best-of-2017 list, but it was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to future installments :) And I hope you enjoy How the Finch Stole Christmas - I not only read it, I listened to the audio book version. The reader for that series is good.

211. Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor. Sequel to Binti which I loved. A novella, and a quick read. After a year at school, Binti goes home, accompanied by her Medusae friend, Okwu. Very good and I look forward to the next book, which is on my hold list. I hope it comes soon!

i've never tried the audio for that series. I'll have to check it out.

212. Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod. A seasonal favourite, in which Balaclava College professor Peter Shandy gets fed up with the local Christmas illuminations (and the autocrats who run the festival), hires a crew to over-decorate his house and leaves town. When he gets back, feeling a bit guilty, he finds a corpse. Amusing and fun.

>264 tardis: I like that one. It's so much fun, and I love that Peter and Helen count things. Maybe I should try to fit it in before Christmas.

213. The Secret Vanguard by Michael Innes. A missing girl, German spies, bad poetry, and a chase through the Highlands. Fun.

214. The Daffodil Affair by Michael Innes. A completely far-fetched yard about a missing horse, missing house, missing young women. Kind of fun, but suspension of disbelief was a problem.

215. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
216. Lies, Damned Lies, and History
217. And The Rest is History
All by Jodi Taylor, all in the Chronicles of St. Mary's series. I love these, although would it kill the author to let poor Max and Leon have a break? Anyway, it's the usual madcap racketing around through history, with mammoths, Shakespeare, Joan of Arc, trainee historians, magic swords, etc. Very, very British humour (which I adore) and occasionally made me cry, too.

> 267 - I love those books, I should get the last few, which I haven't read yet.

218. The Voodoo Killings by Kristi Charish. A "practioner" in Seattle who creates zombies and deals with ghosts, ghouls, and poltergeists, has to solve the mystery of a zombie with memory loss. Lots of action. I enjoyed it.

219. The Body In the Casket by Katherine Hall Page. Cozy mystery in which caterer Faith Fairchild is hired to cater an ex-Broadway producer's milestone birthday party, as much for her sleuthing skills than her culinary ones. Has a couple of side-plots unrelated to the main one. One of the better cozy series, although still stretches credulity a bit.

220. A Poisoned Prayer by Michael Skeet. Mike is a friend, so I might be a bit biased, but I enjoyed this story of a French aristo who goes to Paris to try to find a husband. "Blessings" in this case are spells, and the heroine is untalented in casting them, but can sense those cast by others and identify the caster.

221. The Reason for Flowers: Their History, Culture, Biology, and How They Change Our Lives by Stephen Buchmann. The title pretty much says it all, but it's pretty well-written and I found it fascinating.

I'm not sure how much more reading I'll get done this year. I've had a migraine, and it's easier to binge on Netflix when my head hurts, so I haven't read much this week. I did listen to the excellent BBC dramatization of Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman. It's free to listen to from anywhere in the world on the BBC website, and I recommend it. They're also doing Gaiman's Anansi Boys, but I haven't started that one yet.

>271 tardis: And a book bullet for my wish list to end the old year!

>271 tardis: sorry about the migraine. Those things suck. I hope it goes away soon.