souloftherose's 2017 books and more

I’m Heather and this is my 8th(!) year in the 75 Book Challenge Group. I'm in my midthirties and live in a small town to the northwest of London in the United Kingdom with my husband and our rescue cat, Erica.

I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction (including children's/young adult books) as well as a good spattering of crime/historical/other fiction. A fair number of the books I read are older books - I particularly enjoy 18th and 19th century fiction, golden age detective novels and women's literature from the first half of the 20th century. Last year I read 195 books - I don't have a specific target for this year other than the perpetual resolution to make a dent in the TBR piles.

This is Erica curled up in one of her favourite winter spots:

Books read in January
#1 All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (TBR)
#2 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling (Reread)
#3 Rivers of London: Night Witch by Ben Aaronovitch (Library)
#4 Deerbrook by Harriet Martineau (TBR)
#5 Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula K. Le Guin (TBR)
#6 Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (TBR)
#7 Mitosis by Brandon Sanderson (TBR)
#8 Big Chief Elizabeth: How England's Adventurers Gambled and Won the New World by Giles Milton (Library)
#9 Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (TBR)
#10 Firefight by Brandon Sanderson (TBR)
#11 The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (Library)
#12 Mrs Tim Flies Home by D. E. Stevenson (Library)
#13 March: Book One by John Lewis (TBR)
#14 One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie (Reread)

Books read in February
#15 Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#16 Take Courage: Anne Bronte and the Art of Life by Samantha Ellis (TBR)
#17 The Time of the Dark by Barbara Hambly (Omnibus)
#18 Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards (Amazon Prime)
#19 Black Widow, Vol 3: Last Days by Nathan Edmondson (Marvel Unlimited)
#20 Four Roads Cross by Max Gladstone (TBR)
#21 Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham (TBR)
#22 Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone (TBR)
#23 The Game by Diana Wynne Jones (TBR)
#24 Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (TBR)
#25 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (Reread)
#26 The Devil You Know by K. J. Parker (TBR)

Books read in March
#27 The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (TBR)
#28 The Walls of Air by Barbara Hambly (Omnibus)
#29 The Armies of Daylight by Barbara Hambly (TBR)
#30 The Unwinding: Thirty Years of American Decline by George Packer (Library)
#30.5 Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (Reread)
#31 Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor (TBR)
#32 Behind the Throne by K. B Wagers (Library)
#33 The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman (Free kindle)
#34 The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman (TBR)

Books acquired




#1 The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams - Kindle
#2 Born a Crime by Trevor Noah - Audible
#3 The Art of Biblical Narrative by Robert Alter - Paper
#4 Deerbrook by Harriet Martineau - Paper
#5 The Darwath Series by Barbara Hambly - Kindle
#6 The Five Books of Moses by Robert Alter - Paper
#7 Mitosis by Brandon Sanderson - Kindle
#8 Gilded Cage by Vic James - Kindle
#9 Goldenhand by Garth Nix - Kindle
#10 Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer - Kindle
#11 Take Courage: Anne Bronte and the Art of Life by Samantha Ellis - Paper
#12 Golden Hill by Francis Spufford - Paper
#13 Zoe: A History of Two Lives by Geraldine Jewsbury - Paper
#14 The Game by Diana Wynne Jones - Kindle
#15 Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson - Kindle
#16 Four Roads Cross by Max Gladstone - Kindle
#17 Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone - Kindle
#18 The Devil You Know by K. J. Parker - Kindle
#19 The Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope - Paper
#20 Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor Kindle
#21 The Enigma Score by Sheri S. Tepper Paper
#22 Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan McGuire Kindle
#23 The Mislaid Magician by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer Kindle
#24 The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman Kindle

An idea borrowed from Liz (@lyzard), this lists ongoing series that I am actively reading. This doesn't include series where I have the first book in my TBR pile (i.e. series I haven't started reading yet aren't included). An asterisk indicates a series where I already have a copy of the next book and bold indicates an intention to finish the series soon(ish)...

Series I'm actively* reading (*for a rather lax definition of active)
*Albert Campion: Next up The China Governess by Margery Allingham (17/19)
Arbai trilogy Next up Raising the Stones by Sheri S. Tepper (2/3)
*Barsetshire Books by Angela Thirkell: Reading out of order. Next up The Brandons (5/29 read)
Darwath: Next up Mother of Winter by Barbara Hambly (4/5)
Fables: Next up Fables, Vol. 14: Witches by Bill Willingham (14/22)
*Gilead: Next up Lila by Marilynne Robinson (3/3)
*Green Knowe: Next up: The River at Green Knowe by L. M. Boston (3/6)
Hainish Cycle: Next up The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin (6/8)
The Indranan Wars: Next up After the Crown by K. B. Wagers (2/3)
*Liaden Universe Publication Order: Next up Fledgling by Shareon Lee & Steve Miller (9/21)
Ms. Marvel 2015: Next up: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 6: Civil War II by G. Willow Wilson (1/2)
Newsflesh Next up Feedback by Mira Grant (5/5)
*Old Kingdom: Next up Goldenhand by Garth Nix (5/5)
*The Palliser Novels: Next up The Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope (6/6)
Poldark Saga: Next up The Stranger from the Sea by Winston Graham (8/12)
The Reckoners: Next up Calamity by Brandon Sanderson (4/4)
*Richard Hannay: Next up The Three Hostages by John Buchan (4/5)
*Sorcery and Celia: Next up The Mislaid Magician by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (3/3)
The Stormlight Archive: Next up Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
Wolves Chronicles: Next up The Witch of Clatteringshaws by Joan Aiken (11/11)
World of the Five Gods: Next up Mira's Last Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (6/6)

Series I've stalled on but want to get back to
*Allan Quatermain: Next up Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard (2/15)
*Arsène Lupin: Next up Arsène Lupin vs. Holmlock Shears by Maurice Leblanc (2/23?)
*Barsoom: Next up The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (3/11)
Bas-Lag: Next up The Scar by China Mieville (2/3)
David Wintringham by Josephine Bell: Reading out of order (2/12 read)
*Dolphin Ring Cycle: Next up Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff (5/8)
Dragonslayer: Next up The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde (3/4)
*Ebenezer Gryce: Next up Lost Man's Lane by Anna Katharine Green (8/13)
Empire Trilogy: Next up: The Singapore Grip by J. G. Farrell (3/3)
*Father Brown: Next up: The Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton (2/5)
The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire: Next up Unseemly Science by Rod Duncan (2/3)
Finishing School: Next up Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger (4/4)
*Fionavar Tapestry: Next up The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay (3/3)
The Fractured Europe Sequence: Next up Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson (2/3)
*The Girl Who: Next up The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente (3/5)
Hilary Tamar: Next up The Shortest Way to Hades by Sarah Caudwell (2/4)
The Iremonger Trilogy: Next up Foulsham by Edward Carey (2/3)
Jimm Juree: Next up Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach by Colin Cotterill (2/2)
Lady Trent's Memoirs: Next up Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan (3/4)
Les Voyages Extraordinaires: Next up From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne (4/54)
*The Long Earth: Next up The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (2/3)
Maigret: Next up Maigret in Holland by Georges Simenon (7/76)
The Penderwicks: Next up The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall (2/4)
*The Prairie Trilogy: Next up The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (3/3) (Reading out of order)
*Revelation Space : Next up Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds (2/7)
*Roderick Alleyn: Next up Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh (2/32)
Romantic Poets and Nephilim: Next up A Time to Cast Away Stones in The Bible Repairman and Other Stories by Tim Powers (2/3)
Ruth Galloway: Next up A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths (5/9)
Dr. Siri Paiboun: Next up: Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (5/10)
*Tales of a New Jerusalem: Next up Family Britain, 1951-57 by David Kynaston (2/5?)
*Turtle: Next up Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver (2/2)
Vlad Taltos: Next up Dragon by Steven Brust (8/14)
Young Pilots: Next up Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein (3/3)

Series I'm rereading
*Discworld: Tiffany Aching: Next up Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett (2/5)
*Chief Inspector Armand Gamache: Next up A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (7/11)
*Thursday Next: Next up The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde (7/7)

Up to date series
Binti: Latest book Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor (2/3)
The Broken Earth Latest book The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin (2/3)
The Cinder Spires: Latest book The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher (1/?)
Corta Hélio: Latest book Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald (1/2)
Craft Sequence: Chronological Order Next up A Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone (6/6)
Empire of Masks: Latest book The Traitor by Seth Dickinson (1/?)
Every Heart a Doorway: Latest book Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (1/?)
The Gentleman Bastard Sequence: Next up The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch (4/7?)
The Kingkiller Chronicle: Next up The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss (4/4)
Lady Helen: Latest book The Dark Days Pact by Alsino Goodman (2/3)
Matthew Shardlake: Latest book Lamentation by C. J. Sansom (6/6)
Mistborn Latest book Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson (7/8)
Peter Grant: Latest book The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch (6/6)
Shades of Grey: Latest book Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (1/3)
A Song of Ice and Fire: Latest book A Dance with Dragons by G. R. R. Martin (5/7?)
Sorcerer Royal: Latest book Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho (1/3)
Vorkosigan Series: Latest book Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold (17/17)
Wayfarers: Latest book A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (2/2)
Witches of Lychford: Latest book The Lost Child of Lychford by Paul Cornell (2/2)
Wolf Hall: Latest book Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (2/3)

Completed series
Black Widow (2014) by Nathan Edmondson (3/3)
Mrs Tim by D. E. Stevenson (4/4)

Ideas for 2017

2016 was a year of mostly unplanned reading. I'd like to stretch myself a little bit more in 2017 but still give myself the guilt-free option of going back to unplanned reading if I need to so these are 'ideas' for 2017 rather than 'plans'.

1. Participate in shared monthly reads with @lyzard/Liz. Current plans are:

February Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun
February Georgette Heyer: Charity Girl
March Palliser series: The Duke's Children
May VMC Chronological Read: Zoe: The History of Two Lives by Geraldine Jewsbury

2. Participate/follow along with @The_Hibernator's/Rachel's year long read of the Bible as Literature (thread here). I have Robert Alter's The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary on loan from the library and I'm hoping that reading as literature will be a less intimidating way to get back to reading the Bible.

3. Participate in group reads of the New York Times' 6 books to help understand Trump's win. The Unwinding by George Packer is the Jan/Feb read (thread here).

4. Read more diversely - I don't really have a firm definition for this but I would like to read more books by authors whose experience doesn't match mine. My aim is to read one diverse science fiction/fantasy (sff) book a month and one non-sff book a month.

And I'm done - happy new year to all visitors!

Currently reading:



All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula K. Le Guin

Happy New Year and Thread, Heather! :)

Happy reading 2017, Heather. I dropped a start. Looking forward to you readings

Happy New Year Heather. I look forward to seeing what you read this year.

Happy New Year, Heather!

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.

Happy New Thread, Heather!

Happy New Year, Heather! More kitty love! Erica looks like a beauty!!
I wish you and yours a happy happy 2017

Happy new year, Heather!

Happy new year, Heather!

Dropping my star. Happy New Year, Heather! I LOVE the photo of Erica up top - so sweet.

Happy New Year! (dropping a star)

Happy New Year, Heather. Two books already?

Hi Heather! I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of All The Birds In The Sky – I've seen some bad reviews for it, but I've also seen it on a bunch of "best of 2016" lists.

Happy New Year! Dropping off my star :-)

I'm also interested in your thoughts on All The Birds In the Sky. I've seen such a mixed bag of reviews on it and I plan to put a hold on it at the library as soon as I've worked through my current massive stack of books.

Happy New Year, Heather. I wish I could see Erica in the topper photo but nothing comes through for me.

>1 souloftherose:, >21 Familyhistorian: I thought it was just my computer playing up, but perhaps not

I can see Erica! And I'm one who wasn't so impressed by All The Birds in the Sky.

And I can't! {*sob*}

Browser issue, I imagine.

I can't see the image of Erica on the browser I usually use (Firefox), but if I open the thread up in Google Chrome, the image works fine.

Starred you Heather!

>25 kgodey: I'm looking at it with Firefox. Maybe that is the issue.

Yay! Your 2017 thread is up. I'm a fan. : )

Happy reading in 2017, Heather!

Happy New Year, Heather! Erica is such a cutie. I'm looking forward to following along with your loosely planned reading in 2017.

Every time I stop in and see your little fur ball all curled up I simply go aaawwwweeee! Hope 2017 is starting out right for you!

Welcome back!

Ooh - visitors! Thank you to Liz, Barbara, calm, Susan, Paul, Diana, Lynda, Amber, Katie, Mamie, Roni, Beth, Kriti, Katherine, Meg, Jo, Rhian, Kim, Anita, Julia and Jim for the visits and new year wishes (whew - did I miss anyone?).

Having checked on firefox and chrome there was an issue with the picture of Erica in >1 souloftherose: in firefox. Not technical enough to really understand why but I changed the link slightly and now it seems to be working in both browsers for me - let me know if there are still issues for anyone.

Today is my last day off before going back to work tomorrow (boo!) - I am trying to visit all the threads but they are moving so flipping fast......

>18 BLBera: 'Two books already?' I know. And I am seriously considering buying a third (Burial Rites) in the kindle sale. This is the wrong place to ask for help though, isn't it?

>19 kgodey:, >20 archerygirl:, >23 ronincats: I've finished All the Birds in the Sky now and letting my thoughts settle. Will try to write them up soon but it will probably be at the weekend.

And my currently reading list has expanded somewhat:



Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula K. Le Guin
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (audio)
Deerbrook by Harriet Martineau (group read)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
The Five Books of Moses By Robert Alter (group read)

Ok, I've got you to blame for my book-buying-binge just now. You mention a Kindle sale and the next thing you know, I've bought 6 books and counting.................

All your fault ;)

Ooh! The famous Erica. So pretty.

Gotcha starred, Heather!

Go Heather! Two books already. So whatcha reading today? I love seeing Erica so settled as I remember when you were trying to tame her. Good job! I just ordered a Robert Alter book for the Bible group read. I already forgot the title but will put it on my thread when it arrives tomorrow.

Reading five at once already...and so it begins! Have fun!

The Erica pic is working fine now (in Safari). Such a cutie!

Hope the return to work tomorrow is as easy as it can be.

Gorgeous Erica is now with us on Firefox!

Happy New Year Heather! I look forward to more book chat, online and (hopefully) in real life this year!

I was disappointed by All the birds in the sky, so I'm curious as to your thoughts.

Happy New Year, dear Heather! Sorry for the late greeting, but I've finally finished with my Christmas and New Year's Day work stretch and now have time to make the rounds. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Happy New Year, Heather!

The one after Binti, Binti Home, comes out pretty soon. The end of this month, according to Amazon U.S.

I'm another one looking forward to your reaction to All the Birds in the Sky. I had a bookstore clerk recommend it to me, but I'm still not sure.

I, too, am reading HP and the Sorcerer's Stone. And I'll read Trevor Noah's book soon.

I just got the illustration HP and the Philosopher's Stone, so I'll probably be rereading soon, too :-)

Hey, two in a row!---

I also selected my stenographer with care, and Norah MacCormack was a red-haired piece of perfection. If she had a weakness, it was for reading detective stories, but I condoned that, for in my hammocky moods I, too, dipped into the tangled-web school of fiction...
---The Man Who Fell Through The Earth, Carolyn Wells

my friend's daughter is called Norah MacCormack. I wonder if they've read it?

Oh, really? Ha! (It's available free online, if they want to.)

My family's favourite book is Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey: I'm Elizabeth, and my niece's name is Emma Healey. :)

Hi Heather! Just visiting threads to drop off stars. A belated Happy New Year to you!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you end up reading this year!

threads moving flipping fast Yup, that's this group! I may join you on the understanding Trump's win thread. Can't say anything for the year in politics, but there's no reason this shouldn't be a good reading year.

>47 lyzard: Thanks!

Book #1: All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders - 3.2 stars



A 2016 release that seems to have split opinions, I found this to be a very strange read and I'm still not sure I've understood what this book is about.

Patricia and Laurence are both social outcasts at their high school. Patricia becomes a witch and Laurence becomes a computer genius. As they grow up they lose touch but later meet again on opposing sides of what turns into a war between magic users and science geeks that could cause the end of the world. It was a fairly quick, easy read that wasn't uninteresting but the characters didn't have that much depth and I'm not seeing whatever put it on so many best of 2016 lists. Ultimately, I never really felt invested in this one.

People have mentioned similarities to Lev Grossman's The Magicians and I can see the similarities but was much more engaged by Grossman's book.

Also I still can't decide whether Patricia and Laurence cause the apocalypse they seemed to save the world from.

Book #2: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling - 4.2 stars



This year's (or I suppose I should say last year's) Christmas and New Year coping strategy in our house was watching/rewatching all the Harry Potter films which has led on to a reread of the books. I always find it much more difficult to talk about books I'm rereading so I will just say this was fun, as always, and really interesting to see which bits had been left out of the films.

>34 lunacat: Ha! Sorry Jenny (#sorrynotsorry)! I bought quite a few before the end of 2016 myself....

>35 Fourpawz2: Thanks Charlotte!

>36 Donna828: Lovely to see you Donna. Yes, in many ways Erica's come on a lot since we first got her. I think she's always going to be very cautious/wary of new people but I think she's firmly accepted us as her humans.

>37 Berly: 'Reading five at once already...and so it begins!' Yeah, I seem to be doing the same thing with craft projects too.....

>38 eclecticdodo: Thanks Jo. I think everyone who was back at work this week was complaining of slow brains. I hope I'll get back into the rhythm a bit more this week.

>39 lyzard: :-)

>40 Sakerfalcon: Hi Claire. I wouldn't say All the Birds in the Sky was a disappointment to me but I think it would have been if I hadn't been prepared by the mixed reviews I'd already seen. I've really enjoyed Anders' short stories in the past and I didn't find this novel length work as good.

>41 kidzdoc: Thank you Darryl!

>42 jnwelch: Thanks for the reminder about Binti: Home Joe. I will probably buy it when it's released. I also saw somewhere that Nnedi Okorafor will have a full length novel released towards the end of this year called Remote Control.

>43 The_Hibernator: I've been enjoying your blog comments on HP Rachel.

>44 archerygirl: Oooh, I've been coveting the illustrated versions of HP. So far, I've convinced myself that I don't need additional copies of these books so shouldn't get the illustrated versions (as I wouldn't get rid of my original Bloomsbury editions). Also, I'm a bit concerned about how big the later illustrated versions are going to have to be for something like Goblet of Fire. But the first two volumes do look lovely.

>45 lyzard:, >46 eclecticdodo:, >47 lyzard: How funny! I like 'red-haired piece of perfection'!

>48 HanGerg: Happy new year Hannah! Off to see if you have a thread this year.

>49 Kassilem: Thanks Melissa!

>50 cammykitty: Hi Katie!

>53 souloftherose: It was a present and I'm so happy. I just need to save for the second book. It had ocurred to me that Order of the Pheonix might be ridiculously huge. I wonder if they'll split up the bigger books into something more manageable?

Your review of All the Birds in the Sky hasn't persuaded me to prioritise it, but it does echo a lot of what I've heard. Unless it ends up on the Hugo nominations list, I won't worry about trying to read it soon.

I adore HP so much that I've been buying the illustrated editions as they are released. I can't imagine what size OftP is going to be, but they are really lovely copies so it feels an essential purchase to me (my ideas of essentials are probably rather skewed!).

Hi Heather - I have All the Birds in the Sky waiting for me at the library, and now I'm thinking I can leave it there. There are so many other books calling my name.

Happy Sunday, Heather! I also have been purchasing the illustrated Harry Potter books as they become available. They are so lovely!

>52 souloftherose: Ah, validation, sister across the Atlantic!! That is EXACTLY how I felt about the book. It feels like literary science fiction, where a bunch of people unused to the sf genre read it and think how cool, but there's no there there. Not to say that literary science fiction never works--look at Station Eleven for a
great story.

>55 lunacat: If your priorities are skewed, so are mine! :-)

Hi Heather, I've finally gotten here to drop my star. I have All the Birds in the Sky on my Kindle but I think I will just leave it there for awhile.

>52 souloftherose: Heather--The first book is not calling to me, but Harry always brings me great joy. A re-read would be fun and I have never seen the illustrated versions, which I think my daughter would LOVE, so I might have to look into those.... Happy Monday!

We seem to have gone from one extreme to the other with the Mrs Tim covers. Here's my ILL; almost makes me nostalgic for your flowing-70s-tea-gown-in-Austerity-Britain cover! :D

>54 archerygirl: Yes, maybe they'll do the longer books in two volumes? I think that would be better than an absolutely enormous hardback. The non-illustrated hardbacks are large enough!

>55 lunacat:, >56 BLBera:, >59 archerygirl:, >61 Berly: The more I read about people who are buying the HP illustrated books the more I can feel my self-control weakening...

>56 BLBera:, >60 DeltaQueen50: I'm always a bit concerned when I stop someone reading a book - what if you really liked it? But I understand that feeling of too many books calling.

>58 ronincats: I know what you mean but it seems strange given that Anders isn't new to sff.

>62 lyzard: My copy is almost identical to yours! Just slightly different colours (a lighter blue).

Happy Sunday, Heather! Sorry your first finish didn't quite work out. But onwards! At least we know there are all sorts of other awesome things out there :-) I've finished Genesis in the Bible Group Read, and I see you're reading the Robert Alter book. I looked in the library catalogue but there is no sign of it. I feel I could do with a bit of help!

The start of 2017 has been a bit more bumpy than I was hoping. Some of you know that my husband has not been well for the last 10 years and this affects his ability to work amongst other things (he can normally do some hours of work a week but he can't do the regular hours required of someone in paid employment so does freelance work from home). The diagnosis he has is depression but I wouldn't say his symptoms for the last few weeks match that exactly although there is some overlap. And I know depression can manifest in very strange ways. In the latter half of 2016 it felt like we were starting to make real progress and he had several months in a row that were very good. Then December was not so good and January was really bad and he hasn't been able to work at all so far this month. So we have been doing the rounds of doctors, blood tests and counsellors to see if we have the correct diagnosis, there's any reason why he has suddenly got so much worse and whether there's anything we can do about it. Which is all quite exhausting.

I'm also trying to find a counsellor for myself as I have been feeling quite run down physically as well as exhausted emotionally. My back/shoulder is playing up again too and I think this is related.

>64 susanj67: Congrats on finishing Genesis! I have got behind with the Bible read this week and am only just over halfway through Genesis. Does your library do inter-library loans? I've decided to buy the Alter translation I've got on loan from Bedfordshire libraries so will be returning that shortly. I was quite surprised they had this in stock and would love to know who else has borrowed it.

----------------------------------------------

Two books read this week bringing my total this year up to 4. I'm sure this has to be the fewest number of books I've read at this point in the year since I started tracking my reading back in 2010. I am enjoying what I'm reading so I'm trying to focus on that rather than worry about the numbers.

Currently reading:



Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula K. Le Guin
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (audio)
The Five Books of Moses By Robert Alter (group read)
The Art of Biblical Narrative by Robert Alter
Big Chief Elizabeth: How England's Adventurers Gambled and Won the New World by Giles Milton
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards

Book #3: Rivers of London: Night Witch by Ben Aaronovitch - 3.5 stars



The second Rivers of London graphic novel with the story taking place between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree. This was good but not quite as good as the first GN - there was a plot about the Russian mafia which I found quite confusing at times.

I'm sorry to hear about the problems your husband is having. I hope the doctors can come up with some answers, or at least offer some words of wisdom or a treatment plan that will help. Mental illness is so debilitating - of course physical illness is as well but it can be so disheartening when there is no test results that can give you a diagnosis, and no one single pill to take that will guarantee improvement.

My back flares up when I'm stressed too - I think it's because I am tense in my sleep, and I lock my jaw as well. So I will wake up one morning and find I can barely move. The most help I've had with it was a physio who showed me some exercises to help release the muscle spasms and that has been of some assistance.

Fingers crossed your reading doesn't suffer too much, what with everything else going on.

Heather, I'm sorry for what you and your husband are going through. I find myself more worn down and stressed when my husband is having issues than when I am, so I'm not surprised you feel emotionally and physically spent. I wish I had something wise to say, but please know I'll be thinking of you both and hoping for some answers for you. Take care.

>65 souloftherose: So sorry to read about your husbands troubles, Heather, especially after some time of progress.
I hope something treatable is found. Take care of yourself!

Heather, I'm sorry to hear about the struggles your husband and you are having right now. I hope the doctors/therapists can find some answers that will help you both feel better, and soon. Take care, and know that we are thinking of you.

>66 souloftherose: Well with seven books on the go Heather you will soon boost your numbers in one fell swoop.

Have a great Sunday.

So sorry to hear about your troubles Heather. here's hoping that you can get a clearer diagnosis for your husband.

Heather - I am so sorry to hear about your husband's health problems. I hope you can get some help -- for both of you.

Adding my sympathies on your husband's health issues. I hope you find a good solution for him soon.

Oh, Heather, so sorry to hear about the difficult times there. {{{{Heather}}}}

I agree, Anders is very familiar with the SF world and certainly knows the tropes. I'm assuming she was trying to break them.

I'm working on my purse, but only in section two right now. I'll take pictures for you when I get further along.

Thinking of you and sending calm, positive mojo.

>66 souloftherose: Heather, I might ask about an ILL for the Alter book.

>65 souloftherose: Sorry to hear about your husband's health issues and the additional stress for you. I hope he can start to feel better.

>65 souloftherose: Sorry to read that Dan is struggling. I pray you'll get some answers and some positive steps to take. There's nothing worse than being told there's nothing to be done.

>67 souloftherose: I have that one on order from the library so I'm hopeful to get it soon. I thoroughly enjoyed Rivers Of London: Body Work so it would have a tough job living up to that.

Heather, I'm sorry to hear about your husband's illness. I hope you're able to get some answers. It's highly likely your symptoms are related, so do take a bit of time to care for yourself as well.

Very sorry to hear about your troubles, Heather.

>65 souloftherose: Sorry Heather I somehow missed your post at >65 souloftherose:; I do hope that a clear pathwya is determined for your husband and that it lifts the strain from you a little. Hugs a plenty from the tropics.

From Red Pepper's Patients:

...the hair which showed from under the small and close-fitting hat of black was of a wonderful and contradictory colour. It was almost the shade, it occurred to Amy Mathewson, of that which thatched the head of Red Pepper Burns himself, but it was more picturesque hair than his, finer of texture, with a hint of curl. The mass of it which showed at the back as the stranger turned her head away for a moment, evidently hesitating over her next course of action, had in it tints of bronze which were more beautiful than Burns's coppery hues.

...and after the inevitable observation:

    For the first time he saw a smile touch her lips. "So he has a quick temper," she mused. "I'm glad of that---I have one myself. It goes with the hair surely enough."
    "It goes with some other things," ventured Jordan King, determined, if he made any more mistakes, to make them on the side of encouragement. "Pluck, and endurance, and keeping jolly when you don't feel so..."

>65 souloftherose: Heather, I'm so sorry that your husband is struggling. I hope the doctors are able to find a diagnosis that gives you both a way forward. It's no wonder you're feeling under the weather, too, from all the stress! It's also no wonder you're not reading quite so much - that's a lot you've got on your plate.

Heather, I am keeping you and your husband in my thoughts. I am sorry that you are both dealing with so much. This group works magic with its positive thinking, so I am glad you have shared with us.

I'm very sorry to hear about your and your husband's current problems, Heather. My thoughts and prayers go out to both of you, and I hope things get better for the two of you soon.

Me, too, Heather. I hope the doctors are able to figure out something helpful for your husband, and that you're able to find some effective counseling help and relief for your back/shoulder. Sending lots of positive thoughts.

Thank you so much to Jenny, Katie, Anita, Julia, Rhian, Beth, Amber, Roni, Susan, Jo, Laura, Liz, Paul, Katherine, Mamie, Darryl and Joe for your kind and thoughtful comments.

DH slept better last night and has managed to get up and do a little bit of work today which is hopefully a good sign. Today is my day off work but instead of relaxing I have managed to get myself into a properly cross frame of mind by trying to sort out a problem with our dishwasher and external drain (a little bit of a blocked drain means the dishwasher's rinse cycle doesn't work). I think I've fixed it but now need to say STOP very firmly to myself and sit down and read. Or watch something on TV.

>68 lunacat: Yes, I think there can often be a link between physical issues and the emotional/mental side. I saw the physio yesterday and other than saying "your back is so tight!" she said that a lot of her patients mention that there may be underlying emotional/mental causes. So, as well as seeing the physio to hopefully sort out the current muscle tightness, I'm hoping that seeing a counsellor will stop this happening each time I get a bit more stressed than usual.

>72 PaulCranswick: 'Well with seven books on the go Heather you will soon boost your numbers in one fell swoop.'

Ha ha! Yes, starting things doesn't seem to be a problem at the moment, but finishing.....? I think I'm on track to finish a couple of the shorter books this week.

>76 ronincats: 'I agree, Anders is very familiar with the SF world and certainly knows the tropes. I'm assuming she was trying to break them.'

I think you've probably hit it and that may explain why the book had such a strange feel. Anyway, even though I didn't love this one I hope she keeps writing and experimenting.

And you've reminded me I still haven't shared the pictures I took - will put them in the next post.

>78 eclecticdodo: Night Witch was still a fun read, just not quite as enjoyable as Body Work.

>82 lyzard: Thank you Liz! That made me smile :-)

I've finally made it back by and am seeing the troubles 2017 is bringing. We'll add you and your family to our prayers.

>88 drneutron: Thank you Jim.

One good thing with being behind with my reading is that it's much easier to stay up to date with my reviews!

Book #4: Deerbrook by Harriet Martineau - 4.1 stars



'Every town-bred person who travels in a rich country region, knows what it is to see a neat white house planted in a pretty situation,—in a shrubbery, or commanding a sunny common, or nestling between two hills,—and to say to himself, as the carriage sweeps past its gate, “I should like to live there,”—“I could be very happy in that pretty place.”'

So opens Martineau's only novel which then proceeds to firmly disabuse the reader of any idea that life in a small country village could be idyllic in any sense. Two sisters, Hester and Margaret Ibbotson, move to the seemingly pleasant village of Deerbrook from Brimingham after the death of their parents. Even before they arrive there is much speculation and gossip about who they could marry and some not very friendly rivalry between certain village families regarding their visit. The result of the gossip and meddling is that one sister does soon marry someone from the village but it's not at all clear that this will be a happy marriage and further meddling soon has some very serious repercussions.

I thought one or two of the characters were a little exaggerated and perhaps there could have been less moralising but generally the characters were well drawn and this was a very enjoyable novel of early 19th century country life. Especially interesting when read as a bridge between Jane Austen and George Eliot/Elizabeth Gaskell later in the same century.

A brief craft update:

I'm still crocheting my peacock bag and have finished making the back and front section (pictured below). Progress has stalled because the next step is to block them (wet and reshape) to make sure they're the same size before joining together and I keep putting it off.



And a close up of the detail of the front of the bag:

Whilst I'm waiting to block the bag I've started another project which is to make a Moorland blanket - the pattern is being released weekly but there's no way I'm keeping up. The colours are chosen to reflect a Yorkshire moorland landscape so there are going to be browns, purples and blues later but at the moment I am enjoying my slow progress with the greens:



I'm also trying to make some coasters for a friend who's just moved to America and got married and knit two cardigans for a friend's baby twins. So, it's fair to say I approach crafting projects the way I approach my reading - trying to do too many things at once!

oh I love your crochet projects!

My crafts seem to have fallen by the wayside lately, I must start again. In fact, Andy is out tonight so it's time to have a look at what I've got going.

*runs off to dig through mountains of yarn*

>87 souloftherose:

Absolutely emotional issues and stress can manifest physically. I have a long history of stress turning into back and neck problems, which in turn lead to bad headaches. I have found remedial massage to be an enormous help in addressing these issues.

At the outset of the worst bout I ever had, which led to almost migraine-like headaches, I remember my therapist feeling around my lower back and saying, "I cannot BELIEVE how much tension you're carrying!"

Dear Heather, peace to you and your DH! I do hope that 2017 is the year when things come right. Meanwhile, take care of yourself too!
What GORGEOUS work!!!!!! The peacock bag is amazing, but my heart is already with the moorland blanket. I'll be checking in for updates regularly!
I'm another who carries her stress in her back. There's the place near the right shoulder blade that almost always is tight, and then there's the lower back that I pull from time to time. And all of that is better than my poor mother, who is dealing with a new compression fracture in her lower back from October. She will begin PT next week, and I'm excited and happy for her.
Love to you two and Miss Erica, who remains lovely!

Oh, lovely work on the purse, Heather! I'm way behind you...

The blanket sounds like it will be lovely as well.

Heather (and Roni) that Peacock purse is gorgeous, such lovely colors! All my best to you and your husband, Heather, here's hoping that 2017 is the year that sees things take a massive change for the good.

>94 LizzieD:

There's the place near the right shoulder blade that almost always is tight, and then there's the lower back that I pull from time to time.

We weren't separated at birth, were we, Peggy? (Though it's the left shoulder blade I tend to get a knot under, which I guess proves that I'm the evil twin.)

Heather--Wow! Loving your Peacock purse!! And way to look on the bright side of being slow on the reading front (less reviews to write!). I am sending best wishes to you and your hubby. Hang in there.

I love the colours in the peacock purse -- they really pop! I find knitting to be very relaxing and almost meditative (assuming I'm not tackling an especially difficult part of a project). I hope you experience similar benefits.

Oh that bag is going to be gorgeous!!

>90 souloftherose: It's so beautiful. I love the pattern and the colours.

Your crochet work is stunning. Mine has completely fallen by the wayside, but I should pick it up again.

I'm glad to see that your hubby has had a couple of good days. I'm about to head into the nightmare that is the change of a longstanding anti-depressant in order to try and find something that works better, with less side effects, but I'm terrified. I know this isn't the 'perfect' one and I'm hoping there is something better, but I'm so scared of the process of gradually reducing one whilst adding a new one. I think I might end up a gibbering wreck. Or a hidden-under-the-duvet wreck.

Oops, that turned into a mini rant. I only meant to say to look after yourself, and I can sympathise with how difficult it is for both of you.

Wow, lovely crochet Heather! The colours on the peacock bag are gorgeous, and I'm another waiting to see how the moorland blanket will turn out!
I've never really tried crochet. I know I am a very average knitter. I'm still very firmly a beginner and everything comes out very wonky. No-one could ever be in any doubt that something I've knitted is homemade, but I've decided to see that as a virtue!

So sorry to hear about your husband's struggles. And yours as well. I know how hard it can be to have a loved one who is struggling with mental health issues - as others have said, it can be more exhausting than when it is happening to you. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you both that this round of doctors visits yields a fresh approach that helps.

Those are beautiful colours on both the bag and the blanket! I can knit, but I've never tried crochet. Your work is gorgeous :)

Wow! I am blown away by the gorgeous colors in your peacock bag. You (And Roni) do such beautiful work. Thank you for sharing. I've never crocheted but would imagine it to be good therapy for those down days. I hope both you and your husband have better health and more "up" days in 2017.

Your projects are all so beautiful, Heather! Thinking of you and wishing for you a weekend filled with fabulous.

Hope your husband is doing a little better and that you're having a peaceful and happy weekend.

Thank you for all the kind messages - I don't have time to respond individually right now but just wanted to say that we are going to be away for a few days. Sadly, Dan found out that his Granny died last weekend so we are heading to Wales for the funeral and big family gathering. But I think we had a better week - Dan managed to do a few hours work most days and I finished some books!

I'm so sorry for your loss, Heather. thinking of you and yours and sending lots of positive vibes. Love and hugs

>108 souloftherose: Hugs from here to you both, Heather. I was reading a poem called "Effects" by Alan Jenkins about the loss of a loved one in this case his mother and it brought a tear to my eye as he talked about her "giving love the only way she knew". This put me in mind of my own Gran. xx

I am so sorry for your loss, Heather. Keeping the both of you in my thoughts and wishing you safe travels.

Oh, Heather, I'm so sorry about Dan's Granny. I'll be keeping you both in my thoughts.

So sorry to hear the news of Dan's granny. Thinking of you both at this time.

Sorry, Heather. Sending good thoughts to you and Dan. Hugs.

Yup, sending thoughts and prayers too!

Sending my thoughts to both of you. I hope it doesn't cause a downturn in Dan's health, and that you're able to keep your heads above water at this time.

I'm late, but I add my sympathy to you and Dan. I hope that the family time has been both a celebration of her life and a time for healing.
Take care!

Thank you Barbara, Paul, Mamie, Amber, Kim, Jim, Jenny and Peggy for your condolences. It was good to see all the family together and I think especially good for Dan to catch up with them. There were a few less good moments (aside from the funeral) but this time I was able to see that other people in the family also find those comments from those people unhelpful and that's really helped me realise it's not me, it's them. And now those comments have lost some of their sting.

So, we're back. Dan had a being gentle with himself day and I was late to work due to cancelled trains and then barely managed to sit down before I got inundated with everything everyone wanted to ask me about for the two days I was off. Definitely looking forward to the weekend.

>92 eclecticdodo: I've seen the photos of your crafts progress Jo and couldn't believe how quickly you finished those mitts!

>93 lyzard: My physiotherapist's weekly comment at the moment is 'You're so tight!' But yes, I'm sure you're right. I'm hoping trying to address the problem from both directions will stop it from turning into anything worse. I used to get migraines but they mysteriously stopped - definitely don't want them coming back.

>94 LizzieD: Thank you Peggy! Now that I've got into the rhythm of the pattern I'm finding the moorland blanket very relaxing and therapeutic - partly the pattern is nice to follow but doesn't require too much concentration and partly that I am really enjoying the colours and finding out which colour is next in the sequence.

I hope the PT for your Mama goes well. I am probably not going to get thread visiting done before the weekend but will try to pop over then and see how she's doing.

>94 LizzieD:, >97 lyzard: ' There's the place near the right shoulder blade that almost always is tight' Triplets! That's where mine is too.

>95 ronincats: Lovely colours Roni!

>96 DeltaQueen50: Thank you Judy.

>98 Berly: Thanks Kim. My bright side has switched - I'm now behind with reviews but at least that means I've finished some books! :-)

>99 lauralkeet: Thank you Laura. I can't take credit for the colours as they were the ones specified in the pattern but I do love them and I think that's why that particular pattern called to me. I think I've found the project of my current projects that is my therapy and it's my moorland blanket at the moment.

>100 scaifea:, >101 Ameise1: Thanks Amber and Barbara!

>102 lunacat: Jenny, I hope the medication change helps and the side effects of changing aren't too bad. And I feel your fear re changing medication. I have not been very successful at reducing the dosage of mine in the past and I can empathise with your hiding under the duvet feeling.

>103 HanGerg: Thanks Hannah. We have another doctor's appointment next week. At the moment I feel like I have no idea how to explain everything in the doctor's appt but I think that can be left as a problem for next week.

>103 HanGerg:, >104 archerygirl: Until June last year I was another knitter but not a crocheter. Now I'm a crochet geek I'd encourage anyone to try crochet - you can do a lot of different things with just the three basic stitches.

>105 Donna828:, >106 Crazymamie:, >107 PaulCranswick: Thank you Donna, Mamie and Paul.

>118 souloftherose: I'm so glad the family get together and funeral were ok. And ignore those stinging comments - it says far more about them than you

re. the knitting - to be fair I did very little else for two days... I'm on to the next project now.

Checking in, Heather, and hoping that you are both recovering from the stress of travel, funeral, etc., AND that you're enjoying The Gate to Women's Country. It is among my top Sheri S. Teppers. I can't reread it for a long time since I have already.
Restful, renewing weekend to both of you - and Ms. Erica!

Heather, I hope you can relax over the weekend. You derserve it.

>119 eclecticdodo: Glad you're back into your projects Jo. Will pop over to your thread to check out what you're up to next.

>120 LizzieD: Thank you Peggy, although I still haven't started The Gate to Women's Country - got rather distracted by other books....

>121 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara - I have a long weekend this weekend as my employer gives everyone a birthday holiday day so I have taken it on Monday. We are going out for dinner tonight for my birthday but other than that I have no real plans. Looking forward to relaxing and reading/knitting/crocheting.

-----------

And some birthday presents that I was very happy to open this morning:

The illustrated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with the gorgeous illustrations by Jim Kay from some wonderful friends. They're as lovely as everyone said and now I clearly *have to* buy the others when they're released :-D



Take Courage: Anne Bronte and the Art of Life by Samantha Ellis from my husband (picked by me) because I loved How to be a Heroine and have always had a soft spot for Anne Bronte.

Reviewing out of order because I need to take this back to the library today:

Book #8: Big Chief Elizabeth: How England's Adventurers Gambled and Won the New World by Giles Milton - 3.8 stars



A Susan recommendation from last year, this was a really interesting and very readable work of narrative non-fiction about the early English settlements in the New World (Roanoke and Jamestown). I knew very little about these early settlements (in fact I had never heard of Roanoke, the lost colony) and found this really interesting. The key word in the title is 'gamble' - it's hard to believe how we eventually managed to make a successful colony (Jamestown) with so little understanding of what the New World was like. And voyages by ship were still so dangerous and unpredictable at that time - on several occasions colonists arrived in the New World without any provisions due to lost ships. And we behaved terribly towards the Native Americans as often as we could.

Sorry to hear about your husband's health problems but glad to hear that he felt a little better recently.

Happy birthday and birthday weekend!

So glad to see you indulged and got the Harry Potter illustrated editions. And I hope you have a lovely relaxing long weekend. Enjoy :).

Happy birthday, Heather. What a wonderful present from your employer to give you a day off.

Happy Birthday, Heather! And hooray for the books - how lovely! Hoping that your day is full of fabulous!

Birthday? Did someone say birthday? Happy, happy birthday, Heather!!!!

Happy Birthday to you Heather!

I hope you get lots of books for your birthday.

Oh a birthday holiday, how cool is that? Happy birthday and weekend!

I'm sorry that I missed your birthday, Heather, but I hope it was splendid! And the rest of your long birthday weekend, too.

Happy Belated Birthday, Heather! Hope you're having a great weekend.

Sorry to hear about your recent loss, Heather. On a happier note, Happy belated Birthday! Is the party still going on? How nice that your extra day off came on a Monday. Weekends should always be 3 days long imo!

Happy Belated Birthday, Heather!

>124 elkiedee:, >125 lunacat:, >126 Ameise1:>, 127, >128 Berly:, >129 ronincats:, >130 Whisper1:, >131 bell7:, >132 rosalita:, >133 jnwelch:, >134 Donna828:, >135 katiekrug: Thank you Luci, Jenny, Barbara, Mamie, Kim, Roni, Linda, Mary, Julia, Joe, Donna and Katie for the birthday wishes! We had a nice meal out on Saturday.

I think I got my reading mojo back towards the end of this month (yay!) which means I am, as usual, several reviews behind.

Book #5: Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula K. Le Guin - 3.7 stars



I'm very excited that Gollancz are bringing more of Le Guin's works back into print in the UK. Worlds of Exile and Illusion is an omnibus containing Le Guin's three first novels from 1966 and 1967: Rocannon's World, Planet of Exile and City of Illusions. All are part of her Hainish cycle of science fiction novels but whilst they are set in the same universe and the books are linked they don't generally need to be read in any particular order.

Rocannon's World was my favourite - it's a short science fiction novel or novella which feels like fantasy. The alien races seem akin to dwarves and elves and there's a quest-like feel to the story which also seems influenced by Norse mythology.

Planet of Exile is a story about a group of humans who were exploring an alien planet and then became stranded having lost contact with the rest of the human race. The story is set 600 years after this has happened and looks at the descendant's of these humans trying to survive on an alien world alongside the native aliens and keep their culture intact without interfering with the alien race's development.

City of Illusions was the strangest of the three and the last to be written. I'm still not sure what I think about it but it did draw together some themes from the two earlier books so if you've read those then it's worth reading CoI to see what happens.

As with all of Le Guin's work that I've read so far all of the stories are quite anthropological in nature - as a science fiction writer Le Guin is more interested in exploring cultures and communities than in hard science - and there's often a journey of some kind involved. These aren't my favourite of Le Guin's books or even my favourites of the Hainish cycle (that would be The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed which are both excellent) but these early works are still well worth reading for Le Guin fans.

Book #6: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson - 3 stars
Book #7: Mitosis (novella) by Brandon Sanderson - 3 stars
Book #7: Firefight by Brandon Sanderson - 3 stars



I'm normally a big fan of Sanderson's books but this young adult, superhero series hasn't quite hit the spot for me. It's set in the near future when the appearance of an object in orbit around the Earth mysteriously grants some people superpowers. However instead of using their powers for good, these new 'superheroes', known as Epics, create devastation and at best, set themselves up as dictators. At worst they just kill and destroy creating chaos. Steelheart is one of the 'better' evil superheroes in that he allows a semblance of order in Chicago, the city he's taken over, and its inhabitants can have the closest thing possible to a normal life. But there's a group that have sworn to fight the Epics whenever they can and David, a young boy who's grown up in Chicago, wants to join them as he's vowed to kill Steelheart because Steelheart killed his father.

This series has a very interesting idea at its foundation but I didn't think the execution lived up to it. These are the first of Sanderson's non-adult novels I've read and it felt like by aiming at a young adult market he's left out all the things that make his adult books good. The characters seemed very one-dimensional and the main character in particular got on my nerves a lot. Even the jokes are annoying rather than amusing. Saying that, these are still very readable, just kind of unsatisfying afterwards.

Steelheart is the first book in the series followed by a short story/novella, Mitosis and then Firefight is book 2. I will probably read Calamity which is the third and final book to see what happens....

>122 souloftherose: A very belated Happy Birthday! I must say, your company giving you a birthday holiday sounds very civilised and lovely. And what wonderful presents! I really need to get myself the illustrated Chamber of Secrets. They're such beautiful books.

>137 souloftherose: I really like Sanderson's works, but these sound like ones I might put on the low priority list. It's the complexity and originality of his plotting and world-building I appreciate, so these may feel a bit disappointing for me:-( Ah, well. I've still got some of his very long novels to read, so its not like I'm in danger of running out of unread Sanderson!

Ooh, like the sound of the Le Guins. I didn't realise things were out of print, I figured she's a very well regarded writer so most of her catalogue would be available somewhere, but glad publishers are now addressing that! Might have to try and get myself a copy pronto!

Okay, skipping these YA Sandersons and have to get back to LeGuin!! I read Left Hand of Darkness but I never got around to The Dispossessed.

I'm one with Kim in not having moved on to The Dispossessed. I feel guilty that I don't enjoy Le Guin more, but there it is. I could never make it through Always Coming Home, but I did enjoy Lavinia. *Left Hand* was a real winner for me though!
Hope you're well and enjoying your weekend, Heather!

Heather - Happy belated birthday; it looks as though you received some good books.

I LOVE the peacock purse and the blanket. You are an artist. I've been doing rag rugs, but they are nothing near your artistry. I would like to crochet more though.

I was sorry to hear about the death of your husband's grandmother. I hope he is feeling better.

Take care of yourself as well.

>138 archerygirl: Yes, re the Sanderson they were a bit disappointing. I'm still hoping to read Words of Radiance this year in preparation for the release of Oathbringer although then that gives me the quandary of deciding whether or not to buy the hardback! My husband has started the Mistborn series and is really enjoying it which I'm very happy about because he's normally more into science fiction than fantasy (with some notable exceptions).

>139 HanGerg: I think her more well-known books have stayed in print in the UK (Earthseas, Left Hand of Darkness, Dispossessed) but her lesser well known works fell out of print. Gollancz have republished several as part of their rebranded SF Masterworks series: Worlds of Exile and Illusion, The Word for World is Forest, Always Coming Home, The Wind's Twelve Quarters and The Compass Rose and later this year Orsinia: Malafrena, Orsinian Tales.

>140 Berly:, >141 LizzieD: I really enjoyed The Dispossessed - maybe more of a slow burn compared to Left Hand but very thought-provoking.

>141 LizzieD: I read Always Coming Home for a group read several years ago and found it quite challenging. If I recall it has quite an unusual structure and I'm not sure I 'got it'. It might be one I try to reread once I've read more of her work but I find her other books more approachable. Lavinia is another one I haven't read....

>142 BLBera: Thanks Beth!

Yesterday I went to my monthly crochet club and made a cute little plant pot holder for some spring flowers. Photo taken during some rare sunshine.

Book #9: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah, narrated by Trevor Noah - 4.5 stars



I know Trevor Noah as the new face of The Daily Show (US political satire comedy show) which my husband has been addicted to since the Jon Stewart days. I can't remember now where I saw recommendations for this memoir but it appeared on a few best of 2016 lists and I had an audible credit so.... It was superb - Trevor Noah manages to talk about growing up as an illegal mixed race child during apartheid in South Africa in a way which clearly acknowledges the injustices and difficult times he grew up in but still manages to be really funny. Through it all shines the strong character of his mother, Patricia Noah, who raised him as a single mother and then survived domestic abuse when married to his stepfather. This made me laugh and made me cry (sometimes at the same time). Highly recommended (and the audio narration by Trevor Noah is superb).

Nice review, Heather. I had wondered about that audio, and your comments have put it firmly on the list. Hoping your Sunday is full of relaxing.

>145 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie!

I still have some January reviews to write up but my currently reading list is looking like this:



The Five Books of Moses By Robert Alter - Finished Genesis, now in Exodus
The Art of Biblical Narrative by Robert Alter - dipping in and out of this collection of essays
Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards - nearly finished this short story collection
The Unwinding: Thirty Years of American Decline by George Packer
Bleak House by Charles Dickens - inspired by the group read although I haven't really joined in with the discussion yet
The Time of the Dark by Barbara Hambly

>143 souloftherose: Heh, I think when I get to The Stormlight Archive books, I'll probably get them as ebooks. I know the hard back will be very pretty, but it'll also be pretty unwieldy and trying to wrangle a book that heft tends to put me off reading! So it works much better in my nice light little Kindle :-)

Unless I can wrangle buying the books in both formats - dead tree for shelf admiring and lending to friends, ebook for personal consumption :-)

>147 archerygirl: Yes, the Stormlight books are huge (and over here the paperbacks are split into two volumes) but there are so many illustrations and maps that I think I prefer the paper version. Maybe I'll change my mind when I see the size of the hardback!

Book #11: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry - 3.9 stars



This book has been getting a lot of attention in the UK (shortlisted for the Costa Prize and Waterstones' book of the year for 2016) although I haven't seen it mentioned much on LT so far.

Set in London and Essex in the 1890s Sarah Perry has drawn on local 17th century accounts of a winged serpent terrifying villages in Essex and imagined what might have happened if locals had started to fear the return of this beast in the 1890s. Has the serpent returned and, if so, has the village done something wrong to justify its return?

It's strange and quirky book - reading it I felt more conscious than I normally am with historical fiction that this was a 21st century novel set in the 19th century but I think that was deliberate on Perry's part. As she said in an interview (in the Guardian) “I really wanted to write a version of the 19th century that, if you blinked, looked a little like ours. I wanted to write a version of the Victorian age that wasn’t a theme park of peasoupers and street urchins. The more I looked, the more I found that not a great deal has changed – an ineffectual parliament, the power of big business and the insecurity around housing. And contemporary Conservatism going back to this idea that morality and poverty are in some way linked.”

There's also an ongoing discussion around science and religion throughout the novel - one of the main characters is a vicar despairing over his congregation resorting to superstition to ward off the serpent and a female fossil-hunter inspired by Mary Anning who thinks the serpent might be a modern day dinosaur.

I feel like I spent 2016 avoiding contemporary literary fiction thinking it would all be quite depressing but although often strange this was in many ways quite an uplifting book as well as being a very interesting one in the parallels it drew between modern society and the 1890s.

I first heard of Sarah Perry when her first novel, After Me Comes the Flood, was longlisted for the Guardian First Book award and although set in a more contemporary period I think that also deals with questions of faith and I think I will check this out from the library. Further on in the interview I linked to above Perry describes how she grew up in a strict church group (although she is no longer a member) and questions of faith are still something she is trying to answer.

Interesting, the sub-title of The Unwinding is different on your version. The US version is "An Inner History of the New America." Perhaps evoking "decline" was deemed too depressing for American audiences?

>148 souloftherose: I've had The Essex Serpent on my vague wishlist since I read the jacket in a bookshop in London last year. It sounds like one I need to move up my list!

Darn, illustrations and maps in the Stormlight books? I guess that means they'll have to be read in hard copy form! I always find myself wanting to flip back to the maps when I'm reading that kind of book, which is much harder in ebooks. Oh well, at least now I know my cunning plan might not work so well :-)

Hi Heather - You got me with both the Noah book and The Essex Serpent!

>144 souloftherose: Perfect! I have an audible credit just looking to be used and Born A Crime wins!! I just bought it and noticed these comments:

Highest-rated new book of 2016 by Audible customers
Winner: Audible's Best of 2016 - Celebrity Memoirs

So excited! Thanks.

Nice review, Heather. Happy Wednesday.

Hi Heather!

I had to skip your review of Born a Crime because we're reading it for our September book club discussion. I can't wait to get my hands on it! Your 4 1/2 stars (all I allowed myself to look at!) is encouraging.

>146 souloftherose: thanks for drawing my attention to the Bleak House group read. I started reading it a few years ago but gave up and I've been intending to try again, so I'll give it a go now.

>148 souloftherose: I've been interested in the press about The Essex Serpent too but a little put off by a review I read that it strongly opposes science to religion, when I don't see a dispute between the two. Perhaps I'll pick it up after all...

Hope you're well Heather.

>144 souloftherose: I really liked Born a Crime (I read an ebook version). I bet the audiobook is great--Noah has such a great voice, and seems so eloquent on "The Daily Show" (when he's not being hysterically funny; well, even then!) I'll look for the audio, thanks!

Karen O.

>148 souloftherose: What a great review!

>149 katiekrug: I've noticed US and UK books often have slightly different subtitles - not sure why in this case. I still haven't read beyond the first short chapter but am hoping to get a bit more into it this weekend.

>150 archerygirl: Hope you enjoy The Essex Serpent Katherine. Yes, there a lot of illustrations in The Way of Kings - I almost wondered if the hardback would have been better because sometimes even in paperback they are a bit small and difficult to read.

>151 BLBera:, >152 Berly: Hope you enjoy them Beth and Kim!

>153 Ameise1: Thank Barbara!

>154 karenmarie: I don't think there were any spoilers in my review Karen but I understand skipping it just in case :-) Strangely I haven't decided on my next audiobook - finding it difficult to settle on something.

>155 eclecticdodo: The Essex Serpent didn't strike me that way - there is a discussion between two characters about science and religion but I wouldn't have said the book strongly opposes them. I think it sees an opposition between rational and irrational thought so maybe it depends on how one views religion? I did notice that some reviewers seem to have interpreted it as there being more of an opposition between the two but that wasn't what I took away.

>156 klobrien2: Yes, I was really impressed by Noah as narrator - I could see his experience as a stand-up comic probably stood him in good stead for narrating an audio book.

>157 Whisper1: Thanks Linda. As there weren't many on the book page your compliment tipped me into posting it (I generally don't consider my fairly scrabbled thoughts a 'proper review').

Book #11: Mrs Tim Flies Home by D. E. Stevenson - 3.9 stars



Sadly, the final book in the Mrs Tim series - these are lovely, gentle books without being overly soppy or sentimental. This one has the usual mishaps and trials of living in a small village post WWII. I was interested to see that Tony Morley's long-held unrequited feelings for Hester feature more predominantly in the plot although, as ever, Hester seems to remain completely oblivious to them. Now that I've finished this series I will go on to read more of Stevenson's work but I've heard her other books don't quite come up to the mark of this series or the Miss Buncle books.

I have Miss Buncle's Book as an audio and will listen to it later this year. I've never read Stevenson before.

Happy weekend, Heather.

Many thanks for bringing The Essex Serpent to my attention, Heather. It's firmly on my wish list!
My mama is currently alternating D.E. Stevenson with Angela Thirkell and enjoying them both. I guess I'll have to get the remaining *Mrs Tims*s for her.
Hoping your weekend is restful and restorative!

>158 souloftherose: You and Liz have really whetted my appetite to look for that Mrs. Tim series, Heather. I don't know that any library around here has the books, but I haven't exhausted the possibilities yet.

>158 souloftherose: Hi Heather! I skip reviews even if I know there aren't spoilers - I want to come to a book as unprejudiced as possible - whether pro or con.

Well, I'm not quite sure where the last week went (possibly lost in a fog of tiredness?) but a very quiet weekend has left me feeling a bit restored.

>159 Ameise1: I hope you enjoy the audio Barbara. Miss Buncle is my absolute favourite D E Stevenson novel but the sequels and the Mrs Tim series are also very good.

>160 LizzieD:, >162 rosalita: I hope you can both source the Mrs Tim books - in the UK only the first has been republished recently and the others are quite expensive secondhand - happily my library seems to have a lot of her books in reserve stock but I wonder if that will be the case in the US?

>161 DianaNL: Thank you Diana!

>163 karenmarie: Oh that makes sense Karen.

I'm rather behind with reviews - hoping I may be able to blitz through some this week.

A brief Dan update - we saw the GP a few weeks ago and she agrees that whatever he has seems most like chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) as all blood tests have come back clear and the symptoms are different from depression. We have been referred to a specialist team but I was so relieved we didn't have to have a long argument with the GP over depression vs CFS that I didn't think to ask more about what the team do (have we been referred for diagnosis or treatment?) or how long they think it will be before we hear anything further. I think non-urgent referrals can take 6 weeks so I will call the doctor back if we haven't heard anything by the end of March. Otherwise I think we are slowly adjusting to the new normal - Dan could walk with me to the market on Saturday but I had to rein myself in from my normal power walking pace and we were able to go to my parent's for Sunday dinner last Sunday but the knock-on effect was that he could do a lot less this week. Because we are us, we have also been trying to read various medical articles about CFS (Dan has more success at understanding them having almost completed a PhD in chemistry) but there's still so much controversy and argument over what CFS is and whether it's psychosomatic or physiological and different medical trials give different results that I'm not sure that approach is really going to be all that helpful.

>164 souloftherose: Sorry to hear of Dan's probable diagnosis but also glad you might finally be getting some answers. I expect the referral is to a regional CFS/ME clinic. I didn't find the Bristol one much help beyond energy management and coping strategies, but I didn't push them (too tired!) and there may be more available now. All my research on the illness is several years out of date as I haven't really kept up with it since I've been so much improved. But just know that there is hope for improvement. You know how bad I was 10 years ago and look where I am now. I may still complain about my weak immune system, but it's nothing in comparison.

On another note, The Essex Serpent is on Audible daily deal today so I've just bought it. For now I'm still working through Bleak House though.

I'll try to call tomorrow if you're home

>164 souloftherose: Oh I don't think I feel hopeless about the situation - I hope my post didn't give that impression - but it would be foolish not to acknowledge that this is the new normal for now and that 'for now' is probably going to be more than a couple of weeks.

I hope you enjoy The Essex Serpent!

Final January books:

Book #13: March, Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell - 4.5 stars



I'm very pleased that I allowed several LT recommendations of the series to persuade me to buy the first book. I had never heard of John Lewis the Senator before hearing about these books - I think in the UK there is very little general knowledge about the US Civil Rights movement and we have a very well known department store called John Lewis which just adds to the confusion. But this was an excellent look at John Lewis' life and the Civil Rights movement - a lot of things I didn't know and I was moved and left feeling quite angry after finishing the book. I really liked the black and white illustrations and the way Lewis' story is told in flashbacks from Obama's inauguration ceremony. This is the first of three volumes and I understand from other's comments that the next two volumes are just as good.

Book #14: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie - 4 stars



I've always liked this particular Poirot mystery. It was published in 1940 and I spent a lot of this reread trying to work out whether it's set during WWII or before the war starts. Or whether Christie left out references to the war deliberately. There are a few references to Hitler and Mussolini but nothing I could see that indicated London in wartime or any other direct references to the war. I thought the theme of the plot was interesting though, bearing in mind when it was written and seemed to me that this could be an indirect reference to WWII: the banker, Alistair Blunt, is set up as the establishment figure preventing anarchy and chaos from unrolling across the UK. To save himself from political ruin he murders several average members of society on the grounds that they are dispensable and he is not at this time. Poirot is not convinced:

"I am not concerned with nations, Monsieur. I am concerned with the lives of private individuals who have the right not to have their lives taken from them."

>164 souloftherose: So sorry they think Dan has CFS, Heather.
My husband has CFS since the 1990s, he has slightly improved since then. At first he spend over 14 hours a day in bed and it took many years to reduce that. He still has clear limits, and set backs when he does too much... My husband ingnored his symptoms way too long, so I hope it is caught earlier in Dans case.

>166 souloftherose: no you didn't come across as hopeless, don't worry. It was more that I found researching the illness made me feel pretty pessimistic and I wanted to offer an antidote if that became the case.

>168 FAMeulstee: Sorry to hear your husband has suffered with this for so long Anita :-( We think Dan may have had this for a while but probably at a mild level. But now it has become moderate to more severe - he's not bedbound but doing more than very basic self-care is a bit of a struggle. I am very conscious that it could be a lot worse.

>169 eclecticdodo: I think because Dan has probably had this for so long that in many ways it is a relief for him to finally have a diagnosis. I haven't found the medical articles left me feeling pessimistic but the medical studies are very confusing and a bit frustrating. I suspect because there are probably several conditions/illnesses being classed as ME/CFS and maybe some have psychological causes and maybe some physiological but at the moment no-one seems to be able to tell them apart.

It's that time of year when science fiction and fantasy (sff) award shortlists get announced. Books I have read marked with an asterix (not very many)

The British Science Fiction Award shortlist:

Best Novel

Chris Beckett – Daughter of Eden
*Becky Chambers – A Closed and Common Orbit
Dave Hutchinson – Europe in Winter
Tricia Sullivan – Occupy Me
Nick Wood – Azanian Bridges

I'm probably being a bit curmudgeonly because I'm sure these are all very good books (I adored the Chambers) but it struck me as a bit of a bland shortlist. 3 of the 5 books are sequels to books that have previously won or been nominated for awards - the two that aren't are Tricia Sullivan's Occupy Me and Nick Wood's Azanian Bridges. Azanian Bridges sounds particularly interesting as it's by a South African author (although currently living in the UK) and is set in a modern day South Africa where apartheid still holds sway.

Best Short Fiction

Malcolm Devlin – The End of Hope Street (Interzone #266)
Jaine Fenn – Liberty Bird (Now We Are Ten, NewCon Press)
Una McCormack – Taking Flight (Crises and Conflicts, NewCon Press)
Helen Oyeyemi – Presence (What is Not Yours is Not Yours, Picador)
Tade Thompson – The Apologists (Interzone #266)
Aliya Whiteley – The Arrival of Missives (Unsung Stories)

I've heard of Oyeymi (although not read anything of hers so far) - otherwise all completely new to me.

The Nebula Award nominees:

Best Novel

*All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)
Borderline, Mishell Baker (Saga)
*The Obelisk Gate, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Ninefox Gambit,Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris US; Solaris UK)
Everfair, Nisi Shawl (Tor)

I'm not sure why but this seems like a more exciting shortlist to me even though I was underwhelmed by the Charlie Jane Anders novel.

Novella

Runtime, S.B. Divya (Tor.com Publishing)
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, Kij Johnson (Tor.com Publishing)
The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle (Tor.com Publishing)
*Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
“The Liar”, John P. Murphy (F&SF)
A Taste of Honey, Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor.com Publishing)

I was very excited about the Tor novella programme when it was setup and have really enjoyed almost all of the novellas I've managed to read (just one exception) so I am quite excited to see they have so many slots on the shortlist. I've only read the McGuire (very good) but have been meaning to read all the other Tor novellas listed and now I have an excuse!

Novelette

“The Long Fall Up”, William Ledbetter (F&SF)
“Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea”, Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed)
“Red in Tooth and Cog”, Cat Rambo (F&SF)
“The Orangery”, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Beneath Ceaseless Skies)
“Blood Grains Speak Through Memories”, Jason Sanford (Beneath Ceaseless Skies)
The Jewel and Her Lapidary, Fran Wilde (Tor.com Publishing)
“You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay”, Alyssa Wong (Uncanny)

Short Story

“Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies”, Brooke Bolander (Uncanny)
“Seasons of Glass and Iron”, Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood)
“Sabbath Wine”, Barbara Krasnoff (Clockwork Phoenix 5)
“Things With Beards”, Sam J. Miller (Clarkesworld)
“This Is Not a Wardrobe Door”, A. Merc Rustad (Fireside Magazine)
“A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers”, Alyssa Wong (Tor.com)
“Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station│Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0”, Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed)

I'm not so good at keeping up with shorter sff pieces so have only heard of a couple of these.

Andre Norton (YA)

The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill (Algonquin Young Readers)
The Star-Touched Queen, Roshani Chokshi (St. Martin’s)
*The Lie Tree, Frances Hardinge (Macmillan UK; Abrams)
Arabella of Mars, David D. Levine (Tor)
*Railhead, Philip Reeve (Oxford University Press; Switch)
Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies, Lindsay Ribar (Kathy Dawson Books)
The Evil Wizard Smallbone, Delia Sherman (Candlewick)

I've read The Lie Tree (good) and Railhead (excellent) - probably not a coincidence that both are by British authors. I've been meaning to reread Railhead as the sequel came out in the UK at the end of last year.

Any thoughts/recommendations on the lists?

>170 souloftherose: it was the political situation re funding for any research or treatment that got to me. Plus the general bickering among sufferers over who does and doesn't have a disease with varying diagnostic criteria. I think with hindsight mine is at least partly psychological but woe betide anyone who says that on an internet forum!

I've got CFS and depression as separate diagnoses but of course one can be so linked to the other, I often struggle to see where one ends and the other begins.

I'm assuming (forgive me if I'm wrong) that you've come across the Spoon Theory as a way of understanding limitations etc. I use it all the time, both as a way to help others understand just how hard simple tasks are sometimes, and as a way of portraying to others that I'm out of energy or that I can predict I'll be out in the next couple of days.

For instance, I pushed myself hard this weekend, knowing that I was borrowing against this weeks spoons, and sure enough I have slept for 16hrs of the last 24. And I'll have to do the same tomorrow. But for me it was worth it to have a great weekend and I have learnt to know my body and read the signs.

It's incredibly hard though, and the specialist teams were, in my case, of no use at all. It may have changed in the 5 years since I last saw them though. The research I did was also fairly useless in helping, more a case of 'we don't know what is going on or why, just that it's an immune system muddle, so our best hope is to treat the symptoms and keep your chin up'.

Anyway, I'm glad you've got some kind of answer and hopefully that leads to some support. Antidepressants can still be a very useful medication in helping with some of the symptoms.

I hope this didn't sound too depressing, it's a manageable condition but it does need careful handling and fingers crossed you get help to figure out the new norm.

Dear Heather and Dear Dan, I'm relieved that you have a diagnosis. I'm sure that it's not an easy one, but I'm also sure that it could be much worse. You're good people, and you will do what you have to do and hope that brilliant people are working on it. I'm thinking about our Genny too and how she is coping.
Many thanks for the lists in >171 souloftherose:. I'm pretty sure that *Birds in Sky* was on offer as a Kindle deal sometime earlier this year, and I ignored it. You make me feel better by indicating that you were underwhelmed. The only one I've read is the Chambers, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hi guys. I am glad that things have been labelled, but that doesn't make the day-to-day much easier. Hoping you get in soon to see the team and that maybe they have some practical advice/suggestions. Sending bets wishes to you both!!

And on the reading front, I just started Born A Crime, which I tagged as your fault Heather!! I am loving it. : )

I'm glad that you know what it is now. It's better to handel and communicate it. My thoughts are with you.

>171 souloftherose: The Cat Rambo novelette has been withdrawn for the Nebulas due to the word count. She's been a good egg and not put it into the short story category, because it would have knocked out three works that tied for a placing. And as the president of the SFWA, she didn't feel comfortable doing that, which is sporting of her.

I still can't believe this is Seanan McGuire's first Nebula nomination. At least her first is for one of her best pieces.

I've always found the Nebulas have a more interesting line-up than the BSFAs, which always seems like a shame when I want to support British authors more. I'd recommend anything by Alyssa Wong and I'm pretty sure I've read the Sarah Pinsker novelette and really enjoyed it. The Caroline Yoachim short story is one I remember and it's fantastic, so I'm delighted to see it on the list.

I've known Una McCormack for years through the convention scene, so I'm absolutely thrilled to see her on the BSFA short-list. I may be biased, though :-)

I read The Star-Touched Queen earlier this year and I thought it was brilliant - it's on my short-list for a Hugo nomination - so that's one worth picking up.

I'm on the hold list for Ninefox Gambit and All the Birds in the Sky - I need to read them before the Hugo noms close, just in case I want to nominate them.

Looking at the lists, I have a fair bit of reading to do!

Hi, Heather. Very sorry to hear about Dan's situation; I hope things are progressing for both of you. I just wanted to check if you are still okay with starting The Duke's Children in the coming week?

>173 lunacat: Hi Jenny. Yes, I have heard of the spoons theory and I agree it is a good way to explain chronic illnesses to people. At the moment we're trying to figure out Dan's quantity of spoons and how many spoons activities use up. I'm trying to have fairly low expectations of whatever help the specialist team can provide - at best I think it will be advice on energy management and CBT. And no, your post didn't sound too depressing at all - I prefer realism to being told 'everything will be fine'!

>174 LizzieD: Thank you Peggy - I agree it could be a lot worse.

>175 Berly: Thanks Kim. I am happy that you are loving something that you have tagged as my fault :-)

>176 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara. I think it has helped Dan a lot having a diagnosis.

>177 archerygirl: Thanks for letting me know about the Cat Rambo withdrawal - that must have been a hard decision for her to make but as you say, sounds like she made the sporting decision. Also surprised to realise this is McGuire's first nomination for the Nebula - I think probably because she's been nominated (and won in many cases) for so many Hugos I sort of assumed she would have had some Nebula nominations too!

Yes, the BSFA lists have never really captured my interest that much but I like checking them to see what I might have missed from the British perspective. I prefer the Clarke awards but it's going to be a while before their shortlist is announced (May, I think).

I've added The Star-Touched Queen to the list based on your recommendation. I've also been meaning to read Ninefox Gambit for a while as I've heard a lot of good things about it but it sounds like a book that might require more brain than I feel I have at the moment. I'm considering making March a month for short fiction for my kindle reads as there's a long list of Tor novellas and other short fiction I'd like to try.

>178 lyzard: Thanks Liz. Yes, to The Duke's Children (why is the first touchstone Pride and Prejudice???) - although you reminded me that I don't have a copy yet. I've ordered it now - shall we start next weekend (4th/5th)?

--------------------------------------------------------

I realised today that I haven't written comments on any of my February reads and it's nearly the end of February. But I haven't been sleeping well for the last week and a half and have spent today struggling to keep my eyes open. So no reviews but I did finish Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in my lovely new illustrated edition and it was wonderful. I might be able to do a very quick and dirty rundown of February books on Tuesday. If not, I think I will just have to list them and move on.

>158 souloftherose: I very much like your reviews! I don't think there is a proper way to write our feelings about a book. I find that the more I like a book, the harder it is to put my thoughts into words.

Happy Sunday to you Heather.

>179 souloftherose:

Yes, it that suits you; I'll put the thread up on Friday. Take care!

>181 lyzard: oh that's great -- that gives me time to finish my current read. Yay!

Glad to be of service! :)

Just catching up Heather. I hope life is not too tough at the moment.

Having >180 Whisper1: would help of course. xx

>180 Whisper1: Thank you Linda. I agree, I can find it much more difficult to put into words why I've really enjoyed a book than to write about a book I disliked or just found average. And thank you for the lovely image of that library - stunning!

>181 lyzard:, >182 lauralkeet:, >183 lyzard: Sounds good and glad to hear you will be joining us Laura.

>184 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. We're doing ok I think.

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Book #15: Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer - 3.4 stars



An unusual Heyer romance - Kate is one of Heyer's no-nonsense heroines who I always have a soft spot for but the setting was a strange mix of Regency and gothic overtones which I wasn't quite sure worked all that well. And the plot also kept doing things I didn't expect - the romance resolved halfway through the book and the gothic subplot took a direction I didn't expect (I was sure Kate was going to get imprisoned or abducted at some point). Not bad by any means but not a typical Heyer and not her best work.

Book #16: Take Courage: Anne Bronte and the Art of Life by Samantha Ellis - 4.2 stars



I bought this because I loved Samantha Ellis' earlier book, How to Be a Heroine: Or, What I've Learned from Reading too Much, and I've always felt that Anne Bronte is unfairly overshadowed by the other Bronte sisters. Ellis feels the same and was inspired to write this biography/memoir by reading some of Anne's letters at the Bronte Parsonage in Haworth (visiting whilst reading from her first book which was inspired in part by Charlotte and Emily).

I describe this as a biography/memoir because it's not really a straight biography of Anne - Ellis is writing about Anne but also always reflecting on how what she has discovered about Anne impacts her own journey in life - I was used to this style from her first book but I could see that this might be annoying if you picked up Take Courage expecting a traditional literary biography.

I loved this book almost as much as I loved How to Be a Heroine - Ellis is very personal and personable - reading her books feels like you're having a nice long conversation with another friend who enjoys reading in the same way you do. Whereas her first book focused on fictional heroines and what they have taught Ellis, this book looks at Anne and the influences her friends and family had on her as well as what Ellis learnt herself from studying Anne's life.

I would still like to read a more traditional biography of Anne as well as the rest of the Brontes. I've had Juliet Barker's The Brontes on my wishlist for a while and Ellis also added a biography of Anne to my wishlist: Winifred Gerin's Anne Bronte: A Biography.

I'd never read any of Anne Bronte's books before last autumn when I read Agnes Grey for the BAC. Really liked it a great deal - much better than any of my many readings of Wuthering Heights which I've never fully liked, but have read repeatedly hoping I would finally 'get' its popularity.

I've been most remiss visiting most threads this winter and so just read this morning of the things that have been happening in your neck of the woods. Sorry to hear of all that you and your husband have been going through and hope things turn around for you soon.

Nice work on that crocheted bag. Its very beautiful. Looks like a lot of work.

>179 souloftherose: The Clarke awards are usually a much better selection of books, I agree! Una McCormack is one of the jurists this year, so I think they'll pick some good stuff. I think I need to sit down and have a couple of short story weekends in March, too. There are so many great rec lists out there right now and I've barely made a dent in the amazing Tor novellas. Why is there never enough time to read everything?

>186 Fourpawz2: Glad to hear from another Anne fan Charlotte :-)

I would also recommend The Tenant of Wildfell Hall which is longer than Agnes Grey but also takes on more serious issues like alcoholism and women's rights. It's my favourite of her novels. Reading Take Courage also left me wanting to check out some of Anne's poetry which Ellis quoted from quite a bit.

On the subject of Anne/Charlotte and Emily, Ellis also referenced this cartoon from Hark a Vagrant which I think has been shared before:



>187 archerygirl: Yes, and I'm torn between reading the short fiction from last year which has been shortlisted or catching up on the short fiction released this year (Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day or Binti: Home).

>188 souloftherose: - Great cartoon, Heather! I do have The Tenant of Wildfell Hall around here somewhere. Must find it and put it in the TBR Classics pile (if it isn't there already).

Book #17: The Time of the Dark by Barbara Hambly - 3.9 stars



Barbara Hambly's been on my list of fantasy authors to try for some time but her books don't seem to be readily available in the UK and although Open Road Media has been reissuing her books in kindle format the prices are a often a bit on the high side and so I kept putting off trying her out. And then the omnibus edition of the first three books in the Darwath series was suddenly discounted earlier this year and I grabbed it!

The Time of the Dark is the first book in the series - it's a portal fantasy where people from our world are transported to another world where magic exists. As I was reading this I was puzzling over why portal fantasy seems a much more common concept in children's books than it does in adult fiction. C. S. Lewis' Narnia series, Philip Pullman's Dark Materials series are good examples of portal fantasy but it's not been used as much in adult fiction and most of the times it has been used were a few decades ago (1980s or 1970s - Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar series and Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant). I can only think of one or two recent exceptions: Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway and Foz Meadows An Accident of Stars (although I haven't read the latter). Maybe it's making a comeback?

Anyway, reading this reminded me that I like portal fantasy and Hambly's series seems to be a strong example of the genre. Two characters from our world (one male, one female) get transported to the fantasy world so you get to see the new world from different points of view (and the female character doesn't get stuck with a 'womanly' role in the fantasy world - hooray!). There's a world under threat from the forces of darkness (which are suitably scary), a misunderstood wizard trying to hold those forces back and some politicking and people trying to hold onto power when they should be worrying about the destruction of all civilisation. Maybe nothing groundbreaking but what there is, is well done.

What I particularly liked was the sense Hambly managed to convey of normal people being caught up in this situation - both in the characters of Rudy and Gil who have come from our world as well as the normal people of the fantasy world. As this is a trilogy there's an end of book one resolution (our heroes are temporarily safe) but clearly more to come which I'm looking forward to.

>188 souloftherose: For me, because of the Hugo nominations, I'm prioritising the short fiction from last year for the first half of March, at least. After the Hugo nomination deadline closes, I'll try to tuck into some of this year's fiction. I've read Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day already (it's brilliant), but I need to read Binti: Home.

>188 souloftherose: "Love"

Wait until you read Binti:Home, Heather. Some major developments. As good as the first, IMO.

>188 souloftherose:

Hey! That's *my* knee-jerk reaction to any mention of Anne Bronte!! :D

>188 souloftherose: Having just finished a re-read of Jane Eyre, that cartoon is hysterical!! I have not read a bio on any of the sisters Bronte and I really should.

I love a good portal series, and I have enjoyed 3 of the authors you mentioned, so I will have to keep an eye out for this one! Adding it to my Powell's list for a March meetup there.

Hi Heather!

I hope that you and Dan are doing well and that you're getting good information and coping mechanisms for CFS.

I agree with your review of Cousin Kate - I read it last year and was mostly disappointed.

Hi, Heather!

I have put up the thread for the group read of The Duke's Children - here. No hurry about starting, but please check in. :)

(No, not Pride And Prejudice, Go away, Janey!)

Greeting Heather and happy weekend to you! Hope it's fabulous!

>189 Fourpawz2: Sorry I missed you Charlotte. I hope you enjoy *Tenant* if you have a copy.

>191 archerygirl:, >192 jnwelch: Ooh, glad to hear you enjoyed those two. Having said I was going to focus on short fiction I picked up the rest of the Barbara Hambly trilogy instead (doh!). I'm still hoping to get some short fiction squeezed in though.

>193 lyzard: :-D

>195 karenmarie: Thanks Karen. We're still waiting for the referral to come through. I have to remind myself it's only been 4 weeks since we saw the doctor (feels a lot longer). Maybe I will phone the doctor's this week and check the referral did get made and ask how long the wait normally is.

>196 lyzard: Thanks Liz - heading over shortly!

>197 Carmenere: Thanks Mamie. It's going to be quite a craft-filled weekend. Later this morning I have my monthly crochet club and tomorrow I'm meeting up with Bianca (@drachenbraut) and some of her friends to go to the Knitting and Stitching Show in London which I'm looking forward to.

And as I woke up stupidly early today (pre 6am) I thought I would try to get some more reviews written up.

Book #18: Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards - 3.3 stars



Another collection of Christmas themed short crime fiction from the British Library collection (yes, I read Christmas stories in February). These weren't as memorable as the stories in the first collection Silent Nights but they were enjoyable enough at the time. The only stories I remember now were by Margery Allingham and Josephine Bell - two authors I already knew of and enjoyed - and reading the Allingham story reminded me how much I enjoy her writing and inspired me to finally pick up the next book in her Albert Campion series.

Book #19: Black Widow, Vol 3: Last Days by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto - 3 stars



I was reminded that I'd stalled on my Marvel comic reading and picked up the last volume in Nathan Edmondson's and Phil Noto's Black Widow series. Some of the individual stories were good but then it kind of fizzled out which was a shame because the first two volumes were really good and I enjoy Black Widow as a character. Or perhaps I'm still not in the comic reading zone.

>198 souloftherose: Ahem. You missed me. And I was just going to say thank you for recommending Born a Crime, which I LOVED!! But now....I don't know. ; )

Happy weekend, Heather.

Hi Heather! Have fun with your crafts weekend.

Hi Heather. Sorry to hear about the possible CFS diagnosis. I hope you get good treatment advice. Good luck.

So many good books! The Christie sounds interesting; I've been wanting to reread some of hers for a while. Maybe this would be a good one.

The Ellis and Hambly also caught my eye.

>188 souloftherose: I love it!

Have a wonderful weekend.

>200 Berly: Oh Kim, I'm sorry! I even looked at the post numbers as I was writing my message to check I hadn't missed anyone out - and still missed you out! Well, at least I got you to read Born a Crime :-D

>201 Ameise1:, >202 karenmarie:, >203 BLBera: Thank you!

>204 souloftherose: You did indeed! Loved it. And you! : )

I hope your Sunday is going well, Heather.

>205 Berly: :-D

>206 lunacat: Thanks Jenny - it was a nice day out, lovely to catch up with Bianca again and I bought some funky yarn which I will try to take a picture of and share.

A day off work today which should be nice but I am feeling quite anxious and restless which is making it difficult to settle to anything (including reading). Going to try to do some knitting and listen to a podcast/audio book to see if that helps. But hopefully some more reviews will happen later.

Book #20: Four Roads Cross by Max Gladstone - 4.3 stars
Book #22: Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone - 3.7 stars



I love Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence which is an unusual mix of secondary world urban fantasy and corporate law (along with great characters) - usually the UK editions are rather pricey so when someone in the Green Dragon group mentioned all the books were on offer I jumped at the chance to buy the books in the series I hadn't read (and pre-order the newest book The Ruin of Angels (as far as I can tell the offer/discount still applies and each volume is less than £2 on Amazon UK).

Before I go on to talk about the two books I've just read I wanted to make a note about reading order - this is one of those series where the internal chronology of the series differs from the order in which the books were published. However, all the books would stand alone pretty well so it probably doesn't matter where you start. Both series are listed on the book page but to make it easier:

Publication order: Three Parts Dead, Two Serpents Rise, Full Fathom Five, Last First Snow and Four Roads Cross.

Chronological order: Last First Snow, Two Serpents Rise, Three Parts Dead, Four Roads Cross, and Full Fathom Five (easier to figure out because the number in the title gives the number in chronological order).

I started with Three Parts Dead and then went on to read the others in chronological order but I don't think it really matters. The only disadvantage to not reading in publication order is that I found the two most recent volumes (Last First Snow and Four Roads Cross seemed to represent a real step-up in terms of Gladstone's writing so in some ways it was then a little bit disappointing to go back to earlier books. One of the fun things about reading the books in whichever order is that whilst each one stands alone the characters often recur (although sometimes only in minor roles) and if you've read other books it's fun knowing the back story and spotting little connections.

Four Roads Cross is the most recent book and my favourite of the series so far - it's also probably the one that works least well as a standalone (so don't start here!). The main character is Tara Abernathy from Three Parts Dead (who is awesome) and we also get to revisit other characters from TPD: Abelard, Cat, Raz and Shale as well as getting to know new inhabitants of Alt Coulumb. After the events of TPD it would seem that Kos, the fire-god of Alt Coulumb, would now have a secure position but as news of Seril's revival begins to spread some of Kos's creditors start to argue that he may have undisclosed liabilities on his books and start an investigation that Tara needs to defend him from.

Full Fathom Five takes place in a different area of the same world and I think draws a comparison with off-shore banking as it's set on a small island that has no real resources or power but creates a stable economy by offering clients man-made idols to avoid having to pay devotion to real gods. This one was more difficult to get into at first as it features two independent narratives and it seemed to take a really long time for it to become apparent how they would be connected. I wonder if this would be one that would improve on rereading but it was still enjoyable.

The closest comparison I can drawn between the Craft Sequence and other fantasy series is Terry Pratchett's Discworld - not because the Craft Sequence is particularly humourous (to be honest the humour is not the thing I find most compelling about PTerry's work) but because of the detailed and complex world building and the way the authors use this to draw parallels with the modern world. It's rare to find a fantasy world that takes finance or economics seriously but I feel both authors pull this off successfully and make their books very enjoyable to boot. Both are also male authors who manage to write compelling and interesting female characters and both are excellent writers.

>199 souloftherose: I think that last Black Widow book got a bit messed around by the big Last Days cross-over event leading into the Battleworld stuff. I'm not saying she got shafted, but...

Yeah. Much as I love my comics, it does frustrate me when a big cross-over event throws out the storyline a series had been building up. Grr.

I tried one of the Max Gladstone books a while ago and bounced off it quite hard, but you review makes me think I should try again. Is Three Parts Dead the best place to start, do you think?

Oh, I'm looking forward to hearing the answer to >209 archerygirl:'s question, Heather. I'm not sure where to start either.

Hi, Heather.

I can't remember where you got up to with the Ebenezer Gryce stories, but if you haven't read it, I was thinking of reading Lost Man's Lane this month, if you'd like to / can join me? No pressure! :)

>209 archerygirl: That makes sense about the Black Widow books - I've often found that the crossover event issues are my least favourite in other series I've enjoyed.

>209 archerygirl:, >210 jnwelch: Almost any of the books would be a good starting point but I think Three Parts Dead is certainly a good place to start. It's where I started and it's the first volume published. Then you could either go on to read the next in publication order Two Serpents Rise or the next chronologically Four Roads Cross or do what I did and randomly decide to go back to the beginning chronologically and read Last First Snow! I did find TPD required some concentration to get into as it's a fairly complex world and it took me a while to get the hang of.

>211 lyzard: Hi Liz. I'm in the same place as you so yes, let's try for Lost Man's Lane this month. Is N or M? also a possibility?

>212 souloftherose:

Excellent!

And N or M? is definitely a go!

>213 lyzard: Excellent, I have a copy lined up.

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Book #21: Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham - 3.9 stars



Reading an Allingham short story in Crimson Snow earlier this month reminded me how much I enjoy her writing and how long it's been since I read one of her Albert Campion mysteries.

I think the Albert Campion series is unfortunately overlooked compared to Agatha Christie's or Dorothy Sayers' books. One reason for this may be that the Campion novels are less likely to fit the traditional golden age detective novel format with a lot of the earlier books in the series being more akin to adventure stories and the later books being more akin to thrillers. Hide My Eyes is a later Campion (published in 1958 and 16th in the series although the exact numbering depends on whether you count short story collections) and this is a thriller with only a small cameo from Campion. Rather than the reader reading to find out 'whodunit' or how they done it it's a 'will they catch him before he does it again?' I think Allingham excels at this sort of atmospheric build-up of tension and the characterisation in this type of novel - recommended.

Book #23: The Game by Diana Wynne Jones - 3.4 stars



One of the few DWJ novels I hadn't read which I snapped up as part of the half-term kindle sale. This is a short work - almost a novella - and perhaps aimed more at older children or teenagers as it's more complex than some of her other books. There are a lot of references to Greek mythology and Jones' trademark dysfunctional families - enjoyable but not her best work.

>214 souloftherose: You may be right about Allingham being overlooked compared to Christie and Sayers, as I don't think I've read any of her books. I'll be checking the library to see what I can dig up to rectify this oversight. Thanks for the tip, Heather.

>215 rosalita:

Be warned, Julia: she's another who prefers thrillers to whodunnits! :)

>214 souloftherose:

Hiding my eyes from Hide My Eyes...

>211 lyzard:, >212 souloftherose:

Goodness me, have you seen what happens next with Green? Around this time she introduced a third detective, Caleb Sweetwater, and he and Gryce and Amelia Butterworth appear in The Circular Study, which is AB's last appearance.

Naturally this means that I (and maybe you??) have to to read Agatha Webb first.

All caught up here, Heather - I always love reading your thoughtful reviews. I have Three Parts Dead in the stacks, and I am hoping to get to it this year. What you really hit me with is How to be a Heroine - adding that one to the list.

I have read some Hambly and liked it very much - trying to remember the title. The one with Sun Wolf and Starhawk. Now I'm going to have to go look it up. Heh.

*back to add that it is The Ladies of Mandrigyn

>216 lyzard: I consider myself duly warned. :-)

Too much going on here for me to take it all in. Hi, Heather! Thanks for the reviews, but I hope you're sleeping better for tomorrow!
I've never read Hambly, and I've never heard of those others, so I have a lot of research to do. Thanks!
Take care!

Delurking...Hi!

The Ladies of Mandrigyn is one of my favorite Hambly books, but there ARE several sequels as well. I think The Time of the Dark was her first published book and I read it and the rest of the trilogy as they were published.

Glad you are enjoying the Craft Sequence books too.

>221 ronincats: I have the two sequels, but I have not read them yet - maybe this year since I seem to be on a fantasy kick!

>214 souloftherose: I put Diana Wynne-Jones in the British Author Challenge last year and I have to say that I enjoyed reading her.

Have a lovely weekend.

>215 rosalita:, >216 lyzard:, >217 Crazymamie: I hope you enjoy Allingham if the library has her books, Julia. As Liz said, they more often veer off from being crime/detective stories to adventures or thrillers. But I like them.

>216 lyzard: I think I sort of knew we might have to make a diversion to read Agatha Webb first. And then there are some more Caleb Sweetwater books which overlap with Gryce later on but a few that don't inbetween. So complicated!

>217 Crazymamie:, >218 rosalita: Thank you Mamie! The series that starts with Ladies of Mandrigyn is also firmly on my list of Barbara Hambly books I want to read.

Roni - I've now finished the Darwath trilogy but can see that there are also another couple of books published in that series, Mother of Winter and Icefalcon's Quest but they were published about 10 years later then the original trilogy. Have you read the two later books? I'm always a bit worried that sequels written after such a long gap won't be as good but I'd really like to spend more time in Darwath....

>219 LizzieD: Thanks Peggy. I've had a horrible cold inbetween but I think my sleep has improved a bit now. Still seem to be waking up quite early but not ridiculously so.

>220 Berly: Hi Kim!

>223 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. I think DWJ is a really interesting and complex writer in many ways - can't remember which of her books you tried but glad you enjoyed it.

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I feel like I've been largely absent from LT lately: work has been really busy, I was struggling with a bad cold all of last week (mostly gone now) and Dan also had a bad week (although he thankfully didn't catch my cold) and wasn't able to leave the house. I think I have some time today for some reviews and I'm also going to start a new thread shortly.

Please come and join me on my new thread!