Ronincats targets Books off my own Shelves for 2017: Sector Four

Spring is here. Here's what came in with me from the garden today.

I’m Roni in San Diego and I’ve been a member of the 75 book challenge group since 2008. I have a husband, 3 cats, 1 dog, a garden, many books, and am retired. I spend my time reading, gardening, crocheting, and making pottery and wire jewelry. Last year I did miserably on my reading goals, not meeting a single one. This year I want to focus on reading books already on my shelves. My main focus in reading is in speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy) but I also try to read at least a dozen nonfiction books per year and am keeping up, more or less, with 4 mystery series. Welcome to my thread. If you are a speculative fiction reader, comment on my thread and I’ll come visit you. I follow those members with similar tastes or that I forged friendships with back in the days when this group was smaller--there is no way I can keep up with everyone, although I would love to be able to.

Goals for 2017:

I will continue my goals to read 150 books and 50,000 pages, as I have met that goal 6 out of 9 years, but amount is really not a focus.

Previous goals have included limiting the number of books acquired to fewer than the previous year and to de-acquisition as many books as acquired. This year I will set a goal of limiting acquired books to 85 and to send at least 50 books on their way out of my house.

I have done very poorly on my goal of reading unread books already on my shelves, but I really want to highlight that this year, and so I’m setting an all-time high goal of 50 books. I did read 40 such books in 2013, but only 41 in the last three years combined.

Books read in 2017:

January:
DNF Daughter of Gods and Shadows by Jayde Brooks (135 pp.) (2015)
1. The Kindred of Darkness by Barbara Hambly (248 pp.)(2016)
2. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them by J. R. Rowling (42 pp.) (pre-2011)
3. The Story of Charlotte's Web by Michael Sims (305 pp.) (2015)
4. Starship's Mage by Glynn Stewart (299 pp.) (2016)
5. The Heart of What was Lost by Tad Williams (222 pp.) (2017)
6. I Shot the Buddha by Colin Cotterill (342 pp.) (library)
7. Linesman by S. K. Dunstall (372 pp.) (2016)
8. The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman (361 pp.) (library)
9. Everything is Miscellaneous by David Weinberger (260 pp.) (pre-2011)
10. Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan McGuire (192 pp.)
11. The Iron Tactician by Alastair Reynolds (94 pp.) (2016)
12. Dawn by Octavia Butler (256 pp.) (pre-2011)
13. Spoiled Harvest by Leah Cutter (222 pp.) (2016)
14. Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire (352 pp.) (reread)
15. Where Shadows Dance by C. S. Harris (342 pp.) (library)
16. Where Maidens Mourn by C. S. Harris (341 pp.)
17. Evicted by Matthew Desmond (420 pp.)
18. The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud (445 pp.)

February
19. The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch (298 pp.)
20. Deeds of Honor by Elizabeth Moon (152 pp.)
21. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (265 pp.)
22. Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt (360 pp.)
23. Juana & Lucas by Juana Medina (90 pp.)
24. Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (447 pp.)
25. Why Kings Confess by C. S. Harris (340 pp.)
26. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (388 pp.)
27. What Darkness Brings by C. S. Harris (353 pp.)
28. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (106 pp.)
29. Wanderings: Chaim Potok's History of the Jews (431 pp.)
30. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (243 pp.)
31. Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage (312 pp.)
32. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (467 pp.)
33. Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox (436 pp.)

March
34. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan (333 pp.)
35. Mira's Last Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (87 pp.)
36. Magic for Nothing by Seanan McGuire (368 pp.)
37. The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (514 pp.)
38. The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman (478 pp.)
39. Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer (249 pp.)
40. Heartstone by Elle Katharine White (337 pp.)
41. The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (479 pp.)
42. Borderline by Mishell Baker (392 pp.)
43. Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton by Edward Rice (619 pp.)
44. Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit (160 pp.)
45. Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire (338 pp.)

Books acquired in 2017:

January:
1. The Heart of What was Lost by Tad Williams (Kindle)
2. Evicted by Matthew Desmond
3. Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger
4. Zeroes by Chuck Wendig
5. Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan McGuire (Kindle)
6. Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman (Kindle)
7. The Unwinding by George Packer (Kindle)
8. Rough Crossings by Simon Schwama (Kindle)
9. The Inkblots by Damion Searles
10. The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch (Kindle)
11. Juana & Lucas by Juana Medina (Amazon)

February
12. City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett (ER)

March
13. Mira's Last Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle)
14. Magic For Nothing by Seanan McGuire (Amazon)
15. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta (PBS)
16. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt (PBS)
17. In Other Lands by Sarah Brennan (ER)
18. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (MG)
19. Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor (MG)
20. A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab (MG)

Challenges:
British Author Challenge
February - Terry Pratchett: Wyrd Sisters
June - Georgette Heyer:
October - Jo Walton: Necessity
December - Neil Gaiman: Odd and the Frost Giants

SFFCAT Challenge
January: "Read an SFF you meant to read in 2016, but never started/completed" - Starship's Mage by Glynn Stewart
(https://www.librarything.com/topic/243698)

February: "Space Travel!" - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
(http://www.librarything.com/topic/246706)

March: "Religious Themed SciFi/Fantasy" - Lamentation (Psalms of Isaak) by Ken Scholes, The Gospel of the Knife by Will Shetterly

April: "Dystopian/Apocalyptic theme" - On Such a Full Sea

May: "Alien contact" -

June: "Series Month" -

July: "Award Winners/Nominees" -

August: "Humorous sci fi/fantasy" -

September: "Steampunk" -

October: "Near Future SciFi" -

November: "Historical SFF" -

December: "Magic Systems" -

Nonfiction Challenge

January: Prizewinners - Evicted by Desmond Morris

February: Voyages of Exploration - Wanderings by Chaim Potok

March: Heroes and Villains - Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton by Edward Rice

April: Hobbies, Pastimes and Passions

May: History

June: The Natural World

July: Creators and Creativity

August: I’ve Always Been Curious About….

September: Gods, Demons and Spirits

October: The World We Live In: Current Affairs

November: Science and Technology

December: Out of Your Comfort Zone

Obama Reading List Challenge http://www.librarything.com/topic/247375

February--Non-Fiction Titles: The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
March--All-time Favorites: The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
April--Excellent Novels and Poetry Collections
May--Books About Other Presidents
June--Summer Reads 2016
July--Summer Reads 2015
August--Independent Bookstore Purchases
September--Childhood Classics
October--Additional Authors and Philosophers
November--Informative Reads
December--Books for Daughters

I have been getting ready for my first craft show of the season tomorrow. One of the things I needed to do was to add a wire accent to what started out to be a yard bowl, but the curlicue broke off before it was fired. Here's what I ended up with. The pottery is 7 inches across and 4 inches tall.

Happy New thread, Roni! I've been loving all your gorgeous photos. :)

My reading has slowed down with all the work we did on the rental and the garden in the last few weeks, as well as inventorying and prepping for the show tomorrow. I am reading regularly out of The Book that Changed America but I've had difficulty getting into Everfair and haven't picked up anything else.

Happy new thread!! And good luck at tomorrow's craft show.

Things are looking rosy here, Roni.

happy new thread my dear.

I am sure that tomorrow will go off splendidly and will add my best wishes of course. xx

Hi,Liz. Welcome!

And welcome to Kim and Paul as well. :-)

Oh, what a lovely luminaria! Neat use of the bowl.

What beautiful flowers! Love the luminaria as well. You are so talented. Good luck with your show.

>6 ronincats: Love your crafty rescue.

In the last thread there was a little discussion of Boston intellectuals around the time of the civil war. I wondered if you had read M. T. Anderson's Octavian Nothing books which while YA fiction start out in that Darwin-eugenics type environment of early Boston.

Thanks, Jenn, Beth and Kerry. My husband was underwhelmed so it's good to have the support!

That's the book I'm currently reading, The Book That Changed America, Kerry. I am aware of the Octavian Nothing books but haven't ever actually read them.

>6 ronincats: That turned out really nice. I really admire your talent with wire. I find it challenging. Happy new thread and Happy Weekend!

I hope you have a very successful day at the craft show, Roni! If only I lived closer ...

Happy weekend and congrats on your shiny new thread, Roni. I love both photos. Wishing you good luck for with your craft show.

Happy new thread and happy weekend, Roni. Have fun at the craft show.

Happy New Thread, Roni.

I'm a ways into The Three-Body Problem and, after a rocky, not well-written start, it's settled down and I'm enjoying it.

Howdy Ro! I went to see John Scalzi on the 27th last month. He was so delightful. When I was in line to get my book signed, I was talking to the gentleman behind me. He is a retired doctor and told me about a series called Sector General by James White. Have you read any of these? It sounds intriguing due to the medical aspect.

Happy new thread!

Hi, everybody! Just got home. It's been a long day--there to set up at 8 this morning, and starting to break down the booth at 4. Despite forecasts, it did NOT rain although there were a couple of misty periods this morning, and then sunshine and wind this afternoon. I am pooped. But happy--set a single day sales record!

Thanks for all the good wishes, Jenn, Julia, Barbara, and Anita. They worked. I wish you all were closer as well.

Joe, I've heard the beginning of The Three-Body Problem is the weakest part. Looking forward to getting to it this month.

Ro, the Sector General books are classics! White wrote them between 1953 and his death in 1999. The early writings were stories published in the pulps, and then collected into books starting in 1963. Because of this, the early books are quite episodic. But after the first few, White started writing them AS novels, and they developed more depth, as well as moving beyond cardboard woman characters. He's notable for his vision of a peaceable universe, with many alien species working together--indeed, it's his hospital setting with the issues of treating all those species medically that creates the stories. There are 12 books in all. I found The Galactic Gourmet a hoot and a favorite--can you imagine the problems not only with providing medical care but also feeding hundreds of alien species appropriately?

Thanks, Misti!

Off to eat and collapse. See ya tomorrow. I may be reading Binti tonight.

Congratulations on your best-selling day and a new thread!
The roses are lovely!
The luminaria brown is a favorite ---- Did it go?
I see that you got City of Miracles too. (LOVE ER!) I'm currently reading City of Blades so that I can get to it!
Sleep well, (((((Roni)))))!

Sweet peas and roses! (right?) Lovely!!

We appear to be on the verge of a good tulip year. My fingers are crossed.

Oh, and Happy New Thread!

>1 ronincats: Beautiful! Happy new thread!

From catching up on your last thread I got hit with a book bullet for Heartstone, Borderline and also Men Explain Things to Me.

Happy new thread, Roni! Your flowers up top are stunning. And hooray for setting a new best sales day record!! Most exciting!

At last, a chance to catch up a little bit! Your bouquet at the top is a total WOW!

>23 ronincats: Thanks Ro!

>23 ronincats: Hooray for single day sales records!! Glad you had a good show and glad the rain stayed away (funny thing for a San Diegian to say, eh? but we've had enough this winter that I feel safe saying that for the moment)

Wow, Roni -- congrats on your single-day sales record!

Yes, big congratulations on yesterday's single-day sales record! You must be exhausted - and happy. I may have missed where you said it, but is it a new venue?

Gorgeous photo of your garden's flowers! I am so envious and can't wait to get started on my own garden, once I get moved in my new place. This year's effort may be a bit sparse as I will be starting late, but anything will be welcome!

Love the flowers from your garden. I too am not making much progress this month in reading. I just have too much I need to get done otherwise to spend a lot of time reading. I'm trying to sneak a few minutes in here and there. I need to leave LT alone long enough to read for an hour before heading to evening service at church!

>21 luvamystery65:, >23 ronincats: Heh. Love Sector General - but what does it say about me that I actually prefer the early books to the last few? I'm not sure I've ever read The Galactic Gourmet, but Code Blue - Emergency and The Genocidal Healer left me cold. Hospital Station, Major Operation, and Ambulance Ship are old favorites.

I'm a bit under the weather today--being out yesterday all day in the wind and pollen has done a number on my sinuses and I've been headache-y all day. So I've browsed the threads a bit and watched the Masters finale. I did get Binti read last night. Not too ambitious otherwise.

>23 ronincats: Congrats on the sales! I read The Three-Body Problem when it was nominated a couple of years ago. It's not an easy one to get going on, but I found it picked up when I stuck with it and I ended up enjoying it a lot.

>30 RebaRelishesReading: Sorry you're not feeling good :-( But Binti was hopefully worth it, and that Masters finale was so good :-)

I am going to have to give the Sector General series a try. Thanks for the mention, Roni.

I hope the sinuses are better today!

Happy new thread!

I hope you feel better soon Ro.

>34 jjmcgaffey: Thanks for the info! Now to find these books.

Roni--Hope you are feeling better today and congrats on your single-day record sales!!!

Hope you are feeling better, Roni!

>35 ronincats: We are paying for our lovely wet winter, aren't we. I'm feeling my hay fever and hubby's nose is totally stopped up. Still, everything is so lovely and I did love the cool, rainy winter so I'm good with it. Meanwhile, hope you're feeling better and that you can enjoy this beautiful day without setting it all off again.

Happy new thread, Roni!

Much better today, thank you to everyone!

>24 LizzieD: Peggy, yes, it did go. I had forgotten to put a price on it when I finished it (all the other pottery had already been priced and packed) and so was caught out when someone picked it up and wanted to know how much. I said $35 (after all, I charge 20 for the smaller trees of life) and she said would you take $30 and my husband, always the get money quick guy, immediately said yes. I wouldn't have--I think $35 was a very fair price, but that's how it goes.
>25 EBT1002: No tulips here, Ellen. They don't naturalize because the soil doesn't get cold enough for long enough. But lots of other flowers!
>26 souloftherose: Heather, you must be leaking like a sieve from all those book bullets! All good ones.
>27 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie. Lovely flowers indeed, and you all can't even see the other 3 roses in the bouquet on the other side.
>28 sibylline: Hi, Lucy. Are you back home now?
>29 luvamystery65: De nada, Ro!
>30 RebaRelishesReading:, >42 RebaRelishesReading: Right! I am greedy for rain anytime, but not when I'm setting up a show on grass, please. We got lucky. And yes, all our lovely flowering plants are beautiful and producing pollen overtime as a result of our rains.
>31 AMQS: Thanks, Anne. The bowl with the wirework was the most expensive item I sold along with a casserole, but I sold lots of stuff from $10 to $15.
>32 Storeetllr: Mary, your perennials may be thin this year but you should have plenty of time to get annuals and vegetables in.
>33 thornton37814: Lori, I feel your pain. Yes, this month has been full of other stuff. I did finally finish one novella.
>34 jjmcgaffey: Jenn, I like the early books a lot too, but they do have their shortcomings for someone used to today's writing styles so I always feel like I need to warn people.
>36 archerygirl: I've heard that from several people about The Three-Body Problem, Jo, so will keep it in mind. And I haven't watched much golf this year but if there was one day to watch, yesterday was certainly it!
>37 alcottacre: They are much better, Stasia, after a respite from the wind yesterday.
>38 drneutron: Thanks, Jim.
>39 luvamystery65: And thank you, Ro.
>40 Berly:, >41 katiekrug: And thank YOU, Kim and Katie.
>43 kidzdoc: Hi, Darryl. So glad you have some time off work, and that you are spending part of it catching up here.



Book #46 Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (94 pp.)

I read the author's first award-winning book, Who Fears Death, and have always meant to read this, so I picked it up at my independent bookstore along with the next one when I was there last month. It's a little pricey for what you get, imho, but I like to support the indies so wanted to buy it there instead of from Amazon. It's a good story (won Best Novella at the Hugos last year) but, as always with this length, left me wanting more.

Glad to hear you've been selling so much pottery. Kt must be very satisfying when other people want your handmade items :).

>45 lunacat: It is, Jenny. However, I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Your work is so beautiful, but I already have so much at home. I need to downsize." That gets to be frustrating. ;-)

>46 ronincats:

"Your work is so beautiful, but I already have so much at home. I need to downsize."
All very true but I love pottery! If I ever get to San Diego, I hope to buy some of your beautiful pieces.
My cousin lives there and she's an artist too - glass art, jewelry, greeting cards. I told her to look for you at the craft shows and say 'hi'! She does some fairs but mostly sells online.

Sort of like books and cats - you can't have too much lovely pottery!

Hi Roni! Well done on all the craft market sales!
I am catching up after not being around much and have caught several book bullets, lots of reading to admire as usual. Also a personal exciting moment for me when I realised the sport you are always watching is confirmed as BASKETBALL!! I did have my suspicions but was never quite sure! My brother is a big basketball fan so I know most of the NBA teams, but college level sport is a sealed book to me! Now I know what to picture you watching when you are doing all your lovely craft projects!

>44 ronincats: But there's a second book now! (just published, I think). Binti: Home --I just got it from my library. And I believe that there will be a third book in the series, although I can't confirm that. I just read the first book myself, and just loved it. Can't wait to get started on the second book!

Karen O.

I thought Binti: Home was even better than Binti. Can't wait for the third one!

>49 klobrien2:, >50 jnwelch: But I have been told it ends on a real cliffhanger, so even though I bought the book at the same time as Binti, I am thinking of waiting to read it until the third book comes out.

>48 HanGerg: Yes, college basketball, Hannah. Good catch!

>47 nrmay: That's how I feel, Nancy, but I meet a lot of resisters.

Thorough cleaning of the kitchen today. Tomorrow is fishing, but the hubby has lost the handle for my reel somehow.

*waves*, as always I'm trying desperately to get caught up on these threads. Great pottery and some great book talks :)

Hi Roni, I feel like time is getting away from me and all I seem to be doing these days is sorting through stuff. Our next project is going through the hubby's clothes and trying to pare them down. I am not looking forward to applying this same process on my clothes!

I love the bouquet at the top of this thread, I can almost smell those delicious sweet peas! And congratulations on doing so well at the recent craft fair.

>21 luvamystery65: and >23 ronincats: and >34 jjmcgaffey: and >37 alcottacre: I've read all of the Sector General books, plus various stand-alone stories by James White. I enjoy them and own most of them, though I too prefer the older books to the newer ones. The Genocidal Healer and The Galactic Gourmet didn't do much for me. On the other hand, the stories in general are WAY sexist. Only human men can be doctors because women's brains just can't handle alien "tapes." So the human women are all nurses. And our hero, Dr Conway, is kinda stereotypical cardboard man figure--he loves steak, thinks greens are what food eats, practically wolf whistles at the beautiful Nurse Murchison, etc. It's not just the female characters who are two-dimensional.

But. It's a great series for biology geeks, medical geeks, etc. Because he loves to explore what alien biology might be like, and what medical conundrums across species/biology lines mean, particularly when dealing with first contact heretofore unknown biologies and the evolutionary drivers that might be involved. Lots of fun there.

I particularly like White's The Silent Stars Go By, which is not connected to the Sector General books but does feature a medical practitioner in an alternate future setting. It is really kinda an exploration of gender stereotypes and colonialism, because it is premised on the Industrial Revolution happening hundreds of years earlier, in Ireland, and a nonexploitative Age of Exploration leading to various cultures remaining intact after contact with the so-called New World and the Far East, culminating in a multicultural colony spaceship and a medical caste controlled by women because men are considered not sufficiently enlightened and emotionally regulated to become healers.

Hi, Roni! I take it you're feeling 100% - certainly hope so!
Thanks for the note about J. White, Chris. I need to get back to *Sector General* - I have so many to read, and I'll tolerate the sexism very well. Shades of my youth! I'll certainly look for *Silent Stars*

>54 justchris: The Silent Stars Go By sounds really good, Chris. I'll definitely look out for it.
>52 Kassilem: Hi, Melissa. I know the feeling of desperately trying to catch up.
>53 DeltaQueen50: Thank you, Judy. I do love my sweet peas and roses. And I do feel with you about the paring down effort.
>55 LizzieD: Hi, Peggy. Feeling fine, although lots of sneezing.

We got up this morning and went out to Santee Lakes to throw some lures into their stocked lakes, but no one was catching anything today. Still, we got up and out. My old boots that I wore separated the uppers from the soles--they were cheap boots and I hadn't worn them for a couple of years.

Yesterday I finished my nonfiction book.



Book #47 The Book That Changed America: How Darwin's Theory of Evolution Ignited a Nation by Randall Fuller (294 pp.)

This book is NOT about the Scopes trial in the 1920s but in the response of key naturalists and natural philosophers in reacting to Darwin's book as it became available in 1860 and how the scientific mindset it generated penetrated American thought. The author draws extensively from letters and journals of such luminaries as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Branson Alcott (and Louisa May), Asa Gray (well known to aficionados of the San Diego Zoo), Franklin Benjamin Sanborn, Charles Loring Brace (founder of the orphan trains), Louis Agassiz, and many others, such as the founder of MIT, centered mostly around Boston. The history is fascinating and well-documented, the writing very adequate, and the connection with the abolitionist movement supported. I enjoyed it.

I am moving Everfair (Nebula nominee) to be my bathtub book (means I read about 20 pages each morning) until and if it starts to move along more quickly for me, and placing On Such a Full Sea on my nightstand, for the Category Challenge SFF of a dystopian/apocalyptic book, and it's also an ER book I am way behind on a review.

In other news, I should be reading The Three-Body Problem for the Obama Challenge and Congress of Secrets for my book club at the end of the month. I need some light fantasy or a reread to balance these, TBD.

And some photos from this morning--

And there were lots of birds around.

And these ones were hanging around hoping for some of the bait fish from some guys fishing for catfish.

Those are ibis and I believe a blue heron.

>57 ronincats: Definitely a great blue heron in the last photo.

Happy newish thread! Oh my on the topper flowers! They are so lovely!

The bowl with wire accent is gorgeous. No wonder you set a personal sales record at your craft show!

>57 ronincats: OK, I'm challenged. Where were the photos taken?

>58 Oberon: Thanks for confirming it, Eric.
>59 streamsong: Hi, Janet. Thank you.
>60 RebaRelishesReading: Out at Santee Lakes in Santee, Reba.

So, I went in to pottery at my new time today. Had loads to do, both glazing and trimming, and only got part of it done. Only thing I brought home was another pitcher. It's a squat thing, only 5 and a half inches tall.

Love it! That blue that you do often is my favorite color. I would call it Lapis Lazuli, like my favorite stone. Gorgeous work, as always!

Karen O.

>61 ronincats: Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.

Liking book #47 and your morning photos. I look forward to your There-Body thoughts. Happy Friday!!

>61 ronincats: Aw, that's adorable! And my favorite color!

Gorgeous blue bowl on last thread and I WL'ed the Solnit. And. . . I read Three-Body and while I appreciated it, I won't continue, which is hard for a Mustcompletist like me.

Those sweet peas!!! Lovely, just about my favourite flower. Must get some going this year.

Hope you have a great Easter weekend!

>57 ronincats: Gorgeous pics, Roni! Looks so peaceful, and warm!

>61 ronincats: I love that sweet little pitcher! Agree with >62 klobrien2: - that lapis lazuli blue is wonderful!

Hi Roni, wishing you a wonderful Easter weekend.

Gorgeous pictures, Roni. You live in paradise.

Love the little blue pitcher -- sounds just the right size for a cream pitcher.

Or just Happy Sunday!!

I finished listening to my latest commuter book. Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown turned out to be a surprisingly good book. I don't usually read chick lit and so had put of listening to this one for a long time and, honestly, had set the bar quite low for this title. This was a pleasant surprise when I did get around to it.

This is a story of three sisters who love each other, but don't want to spend the rest of their lives in close proximity. Circumstances, however, have other plans, and the sisters find themselves all back at home living with their parents due to one thing or another. All of them use their mother's cancer and subsequent illness as the excuse, but all of them are back because they have unfinished business with their siblings. How, this quandary is resolved is the story, and the author does a bang-up job of telling it. The narrator for this recorded version was also very good and did a great job of bringing this twist on the genre to life. It was a great commute book. And, I loved all the Shakespeare quotes.

>62 klobrien2: Thanks, Karen. I have a couple of different variations, from dark to medium blue, but it is one of my favorite palettes.
>63 RebaRelishesReading: You are welcome, Reba.
>64 Berly: I'm just one third of the way through The Three-Body Problem, Kim, but finding it interesting so far.
>65 scaifea: Thanks, Amber. One of my favorite colors too.
>66 sibylline: Thanks for stopping in, Lucy. The Solnit is well worth reading--did I say I've bought a copy for my great niece for her 15th birthday?
>67 ChelleBearss: Chelle, I hope you all are having a rejuvenating weekend.
>68 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary.
>69 DianaNL:, >70 Ameise1: Happy Easter to you, my European friends Diana and Barbara!
>71 BLBera: It is a pretty gorgeous place, Kim.
>72 foggidawn: It might be a touch large for cream for coffee, Beth, but for cream for scones or strawberries, or for syrup, it would be perfect.
>73 Berly: All of the above, Kim.
>74 benitastrnad: Hi, Benita. Thanks for your input.

So, for all my Christian friends out there, Happy Easter! This is the most important day of your religious year, the one that makes all the others meaningful.

For all my Jewish friends, you started your remembrance on the 10th and will be wrapping up on the 18th. You have passed your traditions down to your children and their children, and remembered your ancestors.

For those of other religious traditions and those of none at all, a beautiful spring is out there, bursting out all over in the annual rebirth of the natural cycle.

For all of you, I wish you a burgeoning of new growth in all areas of your life. For some of you, it is new beginnings in new homes or starting up new gardens, while for others it is moving on to new activities in life and yet others, preparing to welcome a new life into the family, both human and fur babies. I wish you peace in all its aspects, between family members, between political factions, between nations, and within yourselves. I wish you prosperity--may all your endeavors prosper and flourish. I wish you comfort for losses and fears and pain and illness. I wish you the strength to move on and to continue to contribute to this wonderful community that provides support to so many. I thank you all for that.

Easter dinner is in our stomachs--a Krause ham with baked yam and fresh peas from the garden. Yesterday I took multiple pictures of the garden flowers and if I can get them uploaded to Photobucket, I will post a link and some examples here. Nine of my 13 rosebushes are in bloom, as are the milkweed, purple sage, milkweed and sweet peas. I also brought in a harvest of carrots that we ate last night. The weather has been beautiful--clear blue skies and highs in the mid-70s.

Thanks for all your thoughtful and generous good wishes, Roni! I wish you the same back!

Good grief! I haven't used Photobucket for a while, and now it is nearly unusable for a free account, with ads popping up so much that you can't see your pictures. I certainly won't be using them again. But I couldn't get the photos to download from the camera to the desktop computer and so put them up from the laptop so I could come over here and post. Again, these are from my garden yesterday.

My new iris!



Milkweed!

Some insect damage here.

>75 ronincats: Lovely thoughts followed by beautiful flowers!! Thanks for sharing.

I LOVE your garden photos, Roni. Happy Monday.

I adore Irises and that is a really beautiful variety. Your garden must look wonderful!

Wow. Love your garden pictures. The roses here are just budding, looking forward to seeing the colours. Have yet to have a successfully flowering Iris, sob. Maybe this will be my year?

Amazing photos, Roni, thanks for sharing!

Hi Roni! Your garden is gorgeous. Belated congratulations on the record sales! I've been pottering about in my garden a little. I've weeded most of the front walk way and around the mailbox - it's the first proper mail box I've had since I was a kid - and planted some flowers. The kids each chose a flower. My son chose day lilies and my daughter went for dahlias. I also planted a lavender bush behind the mailbox. I should take some photos tomorrow. I do have a flip-flop tan line to show for it. *grin*
Tonight I went on a splurge. I picked up blocking mats and wires for proper blocking of my latest knitting projects and then stopped by the fabric store and got fabric for a dress and a skirt. It's already feeling hot to me and we're just getting to 80F in the daytime. Sigh. Nights are lovely though. If you don't mind the pollen lol.

OOOOooo, you green-thumbed person, you! Thanks for all the pics.

>77 ronincats: Bloomin' nice!

A quick but belated Happy Easter message from your jet lagged pal. xx

>77 ronincats: Lovely garden pictures, Roni, thanks for sharing.
I love the velvet look of the first and third rose pictures..

Great garden pictures, Roni. I noticed that many of our rhododendrons are showing color and will be in full bloom in a matter of days. We will miss our garden when we move, but of course, we won't miss the work!

>75 ronincats: Roni, your good wishes got me all choked up. You said everything I also wish for you and others in this marvelous group. Thank you for your eloquence and kind heart.

I also love the pictures of your bounty of garden flowers, scenes from your morning walk, and the "squatty" pitcher. (Love it) Which reminds me I must congratulate you on a record-setting sale day.

Oh my, what a lush garden you have. I wish I had your green thumb!

Book #48 Crown of Renewal by Elizabeth Moon (503 pp.)

I've been trudging through two books that, while interesting, are not very engaging and was needing some story-telling that pulled me in. I've only read this last book of the series once (having reread every prior book each time a new one came out) and it was calling to me. And I flew through it. Only for those already pulled into Paks' world and familiar with its characters, as the series is very character-driven, this final book of the series wraps up some storylines and leaves others tantalizingly open-ended--but it was great fun getting there. I powered through it in two days. Now I'm back to working on Everfair and The Three-Body Problem.

So, on Monday I managed to take the dog to Balboa Park for a walk without my Fitbit, nor did I have in on during my morning of gardening on Tuesday. At least I had it on today. More carrots harvested, some new tomatoes bought and planted, the fennel cleared out of the north bed so the tomatoes could be planted, and almost all the peas pulled after a final harvesting, giving the cucumbers sun and support to grow. Lovely sweet peas brought in again, and more roses getting ready to bloom while the original bushes are covered in roses. I love this time of year.

Thanks, Kim, Barbara, Reba, and Liz. I love my flowers too.
Charlotte, most irises don't naturalize here--doesn't get cold enough for them--but I'm hopeful that this is a native. I used to have banks of them in Kansas.
Good for you, Jenn. Isn't it lovely having your own house again, to receive your projects?
Peggy, Paul, Anita and Judy, I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures.
Kim and Donna, thank you for noting my Easter wishes for all of you. I realize I obscured them by posting all those flower photos right afterwards, but they are important and I mean them with all my heart.

>77 ronincats: Such gorgeous lush garden shots, Roni! Am quite impressed at your green thumb. Spring is only just making hints at coming here in Boston. A few buds on the trees and a neighbor's Bradford pear is just starting to show some color. Aching for more after our gray days!

You have a true talent. Thanks for sharing!

>90 michigantrumpet: Marianne! Good to see you--you've been missing in action for a while.

Now that I'm going to the pottery studio on Thursday mornings, I have a different photo posting schedule too. Here's what I brought home today.

I like the generous handles on your mugs. And, though I usually favor the blues, my favorite this time is the green and yellow one on the bottom left.

I love the fat chunky one furthest left (as we look at them).

I love the fat, chunky one on the left. It looks perfect for tea :)

Thank you, Misti and Reba. It's big, though--holds lots of tea!

See the green beans ready to pick at the top of the photo here? Those are my volunteers.

Book #49 The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell (340 pp.)

Recommended by Marianne (michigantrumpet), this is chicklit expresso, along the lines of Austenland but with the Brontes as the literary underpinning. Fun, but I found the protagonist somewhat frustrating at times. The literary discussion was great, though!

Congrats on finishing of Madwoman! The discussion of the different modes of literary criticism were the best parts for me. The somewhat clueless protagonist, not so much.

>61 ronincats: I love that blue pitcher, Roni. The photos of your garden are lovely as are the roses and sweet peas.

Love the green jug and your beans look great - I'm still at seedling stage, so quite a long way to go...

Okay, I love the idea of a bathtub book in which you read about 20 pages each morning. My version might be a coffee book in which I read about 20 pages each mooring with my first cup of coffee. I'm liking this idea of a dedicated book for such....

Yay for green beans (with a few sweet peas tossed in for aroma, I see). We have had great success with green beans in the past few years, being able to freeze several quart bags of them for winter's eating. We just run a bit later than you do. :-)

Happy Sunday, Roni.

Wishing you a great Sunday, Roni.

>97 michigantrumpet: It was fun, Marianne. Thanks for the recommendation.
>98 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg.
>99 charl08: We're so much further south than you, Charlotte, that it's not surprising you are only at the seedling stage. Your time will come.
>100 EBT1002: Hi, Ellen. Yes, I find it a great way to get through nonfiction and also fiction books that I am finding a slow read. Safe travels back home! These are very early green beans as they sprouted way earlier than we would have planted them around here from overripe beans I let drop last summer.
>101 Ameise1:, >102 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Barbara and Paul. It's been great so far. I slept in a bit after a restless sleep the night previous, so woke up refreshed, and went out and picked my daily bouquet of sweet peas, so lovely and relaxing. Now the hubby is cooking breakfast (brunch) and then we are out back to do yard work and clean the deck on a simply gorgeous day. Yesterday was too warm in the 80s for such work, but today we are in the low 70s which is perfect.

Deck was cleared, scrubbed and painted for the warm season, and then the furniture was put back on, so it looks nice and decluttered now. Yesterday we were out running errands, and today we cleared out the laundry room, which tends to become a catchall and so needs periodic rehoming of clutter. Next I'm grubbing the grass out of the rosebeds along the back yard wall. The clouds have moved in--we had sun all morning--and it's been breezy for the last two days, so now it feels cooler even though it isn't.

^^^ Sounds to me like a perfect day!

Made even better, Mary, by Within the Sanctuary of Wings appearing in the mail this morning and by my husband excusing me from yard work for a couple of hours this afternoon to finish the following book for my online book club discussion this evening.



Book #50 Congress of Secrets by Stephanie Burgis (347 pp.)

Set in Vienna during the international Congress held after Napoleon was banished to Elba, this book uses the historical setting and a number of historical characters, inserting three protagonists within this setting. Two are returning to Vienna under false personae, one for rescue and revenge, the other for a con, while the third is pulled into intrigue and torture through no fault of his own. A touch of fantasy, dark powers of alchemy underlie the primary villain's power. Interesting, not outstanding, but a fascinating historical setting.

Oh, I do want to get to the latest Paks, but I don't have them and have no plans to get them - yet!
Love the pottery and the beans and the idea of the deck!
I have just realized that I do Ellen's coffee book - I read 20 pp or so as I finish my coffee each morning. I'm glad that bit of indulgence now has a name! My only problem is that it's not always the same book, but I could never get a thing exactly right.

>107 LizzieD: I bought all 5 in hardback as soon as they came out--could not resist. Any chance your library might have them? I know my library has all of them in paper and on CD.

I don't always do the same book either, Peggy, but usually I do. I took a late bath today, what with all the gardening, and skimmed through the rest of the current bathtub book, my second DNF of the year.



DidNotFinish Everfair by Nisi Shawl (168 pp.)

I reached page 168 in this book, out of 381, and I still didn't care. This is an ambitious book. I understand why it was nominated for a Nebula Award. It's alternate history and fantasy where English and American whites and blacks set up a free colony in the heart of the Congo and eventually defeat King Leopold and his Belgians against all odds. There are so many characters, so many points of view, so much politicking, that the interesting parts of the story got lost in it all from my point of view. And skimming through to the end confirms that for me, it was just not worth the time and effort expended. Your mileage may very well vary. It is a worthy book, dealing with issues of freedom and race and religion and technology and gender. I just couldn't hang with it.

>104 ronincats: So the deck is ready for lots of reading time.

Happy Wednesday, Roni.

Hi Roni - taking note of The Madwoman Upstairs.

>108 ronincats: Sorry that book did not work out, but thanks for the warning. I will not try it then.

>104 ronincats: And of course I had taken off my Fitbit to charge the night before and forgot to put it back on before all that cleaning and gardening on Tuesday. :-(

>109 Ameise1: Exactly, Barbara, and we are having the weather for it as well.
>110 avatiakh: Hi, Kerry!
>111 sirfurboy: Hi, Stephen. As I said, your mileage may vary but I often have difficulty getting into books with multiple, multiple POV and with short chapters that move all over the place--it may just be format.

Sorry about Everfair but clearly you gave it a good shot. Also sorry Fitbit wasn't with you in the garden. I hate when that happens!!

Ah, but I had the Fitbit on today while I was at pottery and even more when I came home and cleaned out several cabinets in my office, making room to put away some new containers I had bought to fit on the shelves, clearing off the couch which is now full of winter bedding and Jayhawk gear and decor to be put up for the season. And I am over 5000 steps as a result.

And here is what I brought home from the pottery today.


And I should finish Within the Sanctuary of Wings before bedtime tonight.

>108 ronincats: I doubt that my library has them, Roni. On the other hand, the first 2 are quite cheap for Kindle, and that's what I'll do when I'm ready for them!
Love both your latest potting ventures - especially that bowl!

Hi Roni, you've been busy both with your pottery and with your reading. We are still working on sorting out stuff before the move, but we are quite happy with our progress. I love that little bowl with the lid!

I'm looking forward to what you think of Within the Sanctuary of Wings!

Lovely pottery! I like the little ginger jar (at least, that's what it looks like) in this latest post. The mug with the much bigger top than bottom looks odd, but functional. I like the other blue mug behind it, and the lower one on the left - I like all of them, but those two and the ginger jar are particularly attractive to me.

My mom and I are planning to take a ceramics class at our local senior center in the fall. I'm pretty sure mine won't look like yours, but it's good to have ambition!

I think I forgot to mention that the fifth and final memoir of Lady Trent showed up in my mailbox early Tuesday morning. Unusually for me, I had to go to the end of the book and ascertain that Suhail survives, or I would have worried about the possibility that he doesn't the whole time I was reading it. Rather ironically, as it turns out. ;-) before starting the story. Since I've been somewhat busy during the days, I've been working on it the last three evenings.



Book #51 Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan (333 pp.)

The great strength of all five volumes of Lady Trent's memoirs is the fantastic verisimilitude of the world-building of this alternative world. It's not the characters, although Lady Trent's ascerbic voice and her passion for the study of dragons certainly contribute. It's not the plots or the action, although there is plenty of both; these could be found in any action-adventure story involving Victorian exploration and nation-building. It is the extent to which you identify and believe in this world and Lady Trent that sucks you in and refuses to let you go. I'm sad that my journeys with her are over, but this book is the same high quality as the earlier books, does not disappoint, and is a fitting finale.

You know, Terri's message on the Message Board about the traditional May Murder and Mayhem thread brought to this rather forgetful mind the fact that we also used to have several science fiction and fantasy themed months, namely Fantasy February, May Mars, Myth, and Make-Believe, and September Science Fiction. When did those go by the wayside? A review of past groups shows Fantasy February in 2015 and both Fantasy February and May Mars etc. in 2014. Did all the national author challenges among others crowd them out? Anyone up for a general May thread this year focused on science fiction, fantasy, myth and make-believe in the 75er group?

>114 ronincats: Beautiful! Happy Friday, Roni. We are backnto snow.

And after you finish de-cluttering your home, could maybe swing by here? LOL. I know just what you mean about the laundry room becoming the home for all sorts of miscellaneous stuff. My girls just switched rooms, or rather the younger moved into the older's now that she has moved into her own apartment, and we had a major purge/cleanout which felt awesome.

Loving your pottery, as usual. And I quite agree with your review of The Madwoman Upstairs. Happy Friday!

>121 Ameise1: Oh no, Barbara. Is that typical there for this time of year? We are warming up here for the weekend when I have a show.

>122 Berly: I'm afraid you will have to wait until after I get the attic cleaned out, Kim. Maybe in about 15 years? I've been putting stuff up there for 30.

>123 ronincats: It's a long time ago that we got snow so late but it isn't unusual. When I was a kid it was quite common.

Nice new shapes on the pottery, Roni. Also, I continue to be amazed at your cleaning/organizing in your house. You certainly take the prize among people I know!! We're thinking about moving my desk from the "great room" into the spare bedroom where my husband's desk is and getting rid of the twin bed in there that is never used anymore. The idea is to do it next winter when we get back from Chautauqua but I'm already feeling tired just thinking about it. You would probably do it in an afternoon and never blink :)

#120
I think that some of the people who hosted the threads for those themed reads moved on to other things and nobody took up the mantle.

Ooo, another Lady Trent book. Gotta get it!

>120 ronincats: Hey, I am in! I am trying to expand my science fiction/fantasy reading.

>120 ronincats: I would also be in if you decide to create the thread, Roni. Truly lovely pottery, as always. Hoping that your Saturday is full of fabulous!

My Saturday is full of craft show--up and about getting ready to go set up. I'll be back about 5 local time this afternoon.

Also, I forgot to add this book yesterday.



Book #52 Crochet With Wire by Nancie Wiseman (88 pp.)

I was preparing for a craft fair today (happening tomorrow) so I took time to sit down and read my hobby book, Crochet with Wire by Nancie Wiseman, all 88 pages of it. It was very basic. There are two techniques and one idea I take away from it. Slightly disappointing, actually.

Dying over your sweet peas. I love those flowers. The wild kind used to be all over the place here on roadsides, but various ditching improvement/widening etc. programs seem to have pretty well eradicated them. I must fix this!

I have fallen horribly behind on my Marie Brennan's. They are very fun.

>120 ronincats: Mark was the go to man to host Fantasy February, and May Murder and Mayhem. I forget what March used to be. He has got so busy with his American Author challenge that he passed the mantle on. Last year I hosted Fantasy February but I was hosting something in the Category Challenge this year. There are a lot of challenges both in the CC group and here in the 75. I do miss those months where you can binge read a genre and then go back to your regular reading. I am following the SFFKIT in the CC group so I haven't missed out on Fantasy February this year, but I do hope you host a month Ro. It would be fun and I have plenty to read from.

The great thing about the general thread versus the yearly challenges is that you can pick off your shelf without your book having to meet a specific criteria.

Had another record day of sales. Turns out 2 weeks before Mother's Day is an optimum time to be sell gift-type items. I am exhausted--have been home for two hours but spent the first lying on the bed with my feet up, and now am heading back there with a book. See you in the morning.

Photos of the event here--my pottery and jewelry are in the 6th row down.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/CityFarmers/photos/?tab=album&album_id=101560217...

Hooray for two weeks before Mother's Day! Glad you sales went well. Hope you're rested and resting today.

>133 ronincats: Wow - great news about the sales but sounds exhausting! You've also reminded me I need to get back to the Lady Trent series.

>133 ronincats: Congratulations on the sales, Roni! I hope you caught up on your rest!

Well done, Roni! The photos on Facebook were lovely.

Hi, all. Had a day of rest and recuperation yesterday, and finished my reread of Beauty by Robin McKinley.



Book #53 Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley (264 pp.)

I had recently acquired this and several other McKinleys on my Kindle as part of a Humble Bundle deal, and could not resist a quick reread. (I've now gone straight into Rose Daughter) One of my favorite retellings, I've always loved the relationships between the family members in this one.

>124 Ameise1: I hope your snow has melted, Barbara. They have snow in Denver and western Kansas over the weekend--amazing!
>125 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, it all sounds good but the house is still cluttered and messy no matter how much I do. Today is clearing out the cardboard boxes from the dining room. The truck is still packed up with the craft stuff, since I have another show this Saturday--no use in unpacking--so I'm also going to clean out that corner of the dining room.
>126 benitastrnad: I think you are right, Benita. Of course, I am also the last person who hosted the May Martians and Magic thread, so some of us just...forgot?
>127 drneutron: Oh, yes, Jim, don't neglect Lady Trent!
>128 alcottacre: I'm going to do it as soon as I finish this, Stasia, so welcome to the thread. You'd enjoy the Lady Trent books.
>129 Crazymamie: A Mamie sighting, yay! See message just above.
>131 sibylline: I adore my sweet peas, Lucy. I need to pick a new bouquet this morning. And get you some more Lady Trent!
>132 luvamystery65: I'm also following the SFFKIT challenge in the CC group but I do miss our 75er months, Ro, so I will start up a thread as soon as I catch up here.
>134 RebaRelishesReading: I was exhausted, Reba, but I'm back to normal today.
>135 souloftherose: Yes, and please do, Heather. ;-)
>136 alcottacre: I did, Stasia.
>137 rosalita: Thanks, Julia. I love spending the day among the plants at the nursery for this show. This time I was in the midst of the apple trees.

Now, I am going to set up the May Martians and Magic thread and then go out and pick my sweet peas and do some watering and feeding of plants before I come back in and do my April summary and May plans!

And here it is:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/256332

>138 ronincats: Oh, one of my top five all-time favorite books -- ask me on the right day, and I might even rank it as my very favorite. I'll probably do a reread some time this summer.

>138 ronincats: I think I got the same Humble Bundle package. Was very excited to read Sunshine for the first time and coincidentally have Rose Daughter lined up for later this month!

Hi Roni, like Ro I have been participating in the monthly Science Fiction/Fantasy Challenge over at the Category Challenge, but I will certainly check into this new thread. Looking forward to picking up some recommendations.

>139 foggidawn: Hard to believe that next year will be its 40th anniversary, Misti!
>140 souloftherose: Sounds like we did indeed get the same package, Heather. Fancy that! ;-) I really enjoy Sunshine too.
>141 DeltaQueen50: I also have been participating over in the CC, although I didn't get anything dystopian/apocalyptic read last month despite having one on my nightstand. Tmb,tlt! But it's nice to address a genre without having theme limitations too, and I liked our 75er themes as well.

So I've fed the garden beds and potted plants, picked the sweet peas and green beans, and now ready to start on the dining room after I take a break for lunch.

Roni,
I've been meaning to tell you how I admire all your various endeavors, accomplishments and high energy!
I read a lot of books, but not as fast as you do.
I have many pottery bowls and pots but I collect them; I don't make them myself.
I put a few tomatoes and peppers in my raised bed, but I aspire to garden year round and grow all my own produce!
I appreciate your inspiration and motivation! You're a shining and excellent example.

Beautiful work, as always. How big is the little container with the lid?

Happy May Day! I LOVE sweet peas. Lucky girl, we're. Good three to four weeks away on them.

April Statistics

Books read: 8 + 1 DNF
Pages read:2431
Average pages per day: 81
Average pages per book: 283

New reads: 6
Rereads: 2
Library books: 3
Books off the shelf: 2
New purchases read: 2

Genre:
science fiction 1
fantasy 5
children's 0
nonfiction 2
fiction 0
romance 0
mystery 0

Author gender: 7 female, 1 male

Country of origin: USA 8

Books acquired: 2
Books out the door: 0

>145 ronincats: I hope to get my books read stats up to speed at the weekend, Roni.

Did I hear tell of a themed read this month involving martians and such like?

>143 nrmay: You forgot to give yourself credit for being a top-notch, A-1 Secret Santa as well, Nancy!! But thank you for your kind words.
>144 michigantrumpet: It's about 5" by 5", Marianne.
>146 PaulCranswick: Indeed there is, Paul. I'll post the link, found in >138 ronincats:, on your thread.



Book #54 Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley (306 pp.)

Written 20 years after the first, McKinley questions some of the tropes in the original tale, but although very different, the relationships between the sisters still anchor the tale. I think we see much less of the relationship-building between Beauty and the Beast but a lot more of the magic at work. And the ending is much more realistic and grounded.

I loved Beauty but haven't read Rose Daughter. I just discovered there's supposed to be a copy on my own shelves (if I can put my hands on it.)

>148 nrmay: Good luck finding it, Nancy.



Book #55 The Gathering Edge by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (352 pp.)

This book follows directly upon Dragon Ship, with Theo and Bechimel hidden out in his "safe" space where flotsam from the old universe occasionally floats in. This time a whole damaged ship floats in with two living Troop and a cat. The book spends most of its time dealing with the ship and crew accommodating to the Troops and vice versa, finally moving out to a station where, of course, things do not go smoothly, and finishing with a launch toward Surebleak where we know that all kinds of s--t are going to break loose very shortly. And we have some premonitions...

Now I only have to wait another year. :-(

*sigh* When will I ever get back to Liaden????
I'm happy that you had such a fabulous selling day the other week ---
I mostly came by to tell you that Stasia and I are reading the Mary Lovell A Rage to Live and loving it at 100 pp or so in. I'm not finding it too detailed at all. Apparently, she located a bunch of primary source material and had time to read it (as Fawn Brodie, whose RFB bio she praises, did not), so she makes a good case for her facts. In fact, I just like Mary Lovell in general.

Finally getting a chance to catch up on your thread. Beautiful roses! My mother used to grow roses, but for some reason, it didn't pass down to me. I love to look at them though, especially the unusually colored ones.

The pottery, as always, is stunning. One day I'm going to have to try my hand

>149 ronincats: Woot!

Here is today's bring-home from the pottery studio, plus earclimbers and a tree of life pendant I've done in the last few days to replenish my stock. The small bowls are the ones I make for my friend who packages shaving soap (she makes) in it and are 3.25 to 3.75 inches across, the larger flat bowl is 8 inches across.


>150 LizzieD: Hi, Peggy! Good to hear about the other Burton bio.
>151 rretzler: Thank you, Robin.
>152 rretzler: THANK YOU, Robin!
>153 jnwelch: Indeed, Joe.

>154 ronincats: I love the green bowl in the bottom right - the color is so pretty and unusual.

I'm with Robin. That green bowl is gorgeous!

Your bowls are lovely, Roni, and what a neat idea for your friend to package her homemade soap in them!

I got my copy of Court of Wings and Ruin on May 2, and of course I have started reading it.

Thanks, Robin and Peggy and Julia!
I saw that came out on the same day as the Liaden book, Benita.



Book #56 All Seated on the Ground by Connie Willis (128 pp.)

Someone over in the SFF Category Challenge thread mentioned this Willis novella and it sounded like fun, so I grabbed it for my Kindle. This was delightful! I love Connie's sense of humor and of the weirdness of our society and this madcap romp of trying to figure out aliens and the important men not listening to our heroine, plus a touch of romance--well, let's just say this has now joined my list of stories to reread every Christmas.

I made 13 pairs of ear-climbers, one tree of life pendant, and a tree of life cover for the hole in my broken yarn bowl which now has become a candelaria. Pictures on Sunday. Tomorrow promises to be cool and cloudy with a chance of scattered showers--May gray has finally descended with a vengeance!

I've got Sunshine on my own kindle. About 5% into it but I'm spending less time with my kindle these days so it's kind of fallen off to the side. I'll have to pick it up soon though :)

>161 Kassilem:

I'm a fan of Sunshine!

>159 ronincats: I need to read more by Connie Willis - so far I've loved everything I've read, but that's only about 4-5 books. So many books, so little time...sigh!

Glad to hear that your show went so well. Snow is gone now but we still have lots of rain.
Happy weekend, Roni.

I have a Connie Willis book Doomsday Book on the shelves and am tempted to read it for the monthly themed challenge.

Have a great weekend, Roni.

#165
I am sure that you will like Doomsday Book. It will be a quick read for you.

We're cool and cloudy on this coast too. Having had a taste of the 90s, I'll take it!
Thanks for the reminder about the C. Willis. It will appear on my Kindle one of these days, I'm sure.
Paul, READ Doomsday Book! Read it NOW!!!

>161 Kassilem:, >162 nrmay: I am a fan of Sunshine too, Melissa and Nancy.
>163 rretzler: Not everyone loves Willis, but I surely do, Robin.
>164 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara.
>165 PaulCranswick: Paul, that is a wonderful plan. You will not regret it!! Listen to >166 benitastrnad: Benita and >167 LizzieD: Peggy.

So we got rained out at 1 o'clock, but fortunately I had made a good day's profit by then, although setting no records.

Here is this week's work.

You have been busy creating beautiful wearable art, Roni! The ear jewelry kind of made me chuckle because i just finished reading A Wild Sheep Chase this evening. Have you read it? One bit involves the protagonist's girlfriend who has very alluring ears. He goes on about them for a while....

I need to think about what book I want to designate as my "morning coffee book."

Have a great Sunday!

More lovely jewelry!! Can you believe rain in May?? I must say I like it, especially after the above average temps recently, but "wow"!

>68 Storeetllr: Gorgeous, all of it!

You've probably answered this before, so apologies for being both a dumb-dumb and forgetful, but how do the ear climbers work? How do they stay on?

Love the jewelry, Roni, and the pottery, and the garden...

You are so fortunate in your weather, Roni. Up here to the north (way to the north) we have had months of rain. We are starting to have sunny days now. I love all the colourful crafty photos!

>169 EBT1002: No, I haven't read that Murakami, Ellen. My bathtub book is now McCullough's John Adams--a little heavy, I grant you.

>170 RebaRelishesReading: A whole rain-filled day in May, Reba! Definitely out of whack, although I wouldn't mind at all if only it had not started until after the craft show yesterday instead of in the middle. My yard, garden and trees were all definitely ready for a good watering.

>171 scaifea: Hey, Amber, you're an academic! "There are no stupid questions." If you look at the photo, right in the middle are two blue earrings sitting on top of the card with the red and silver ones. You can see that the wire on the back is just as long as that in front. After it goes through the piercing, that wire lies along the back of the ear and serves as a lever to hold it in place.

>172 BLBera: Thank you, Beth.

>173 Familyhistorian: How ironic, Meg, that you should write this during our mid-50s soaking rain day typical of our rainy season, which this is not! Still, we had a warm sunny April so we definitely have had a break from the rain. And it should all be gone tomorrow.

So, other than reading the John Adams biography in the bath today, no reading yet. The husband pulled me out into the rain to eat Mexican and check out the Talmadge Art Show instead of leaving me home to drink Lapsang Souchang and read. Why is there no touchstone for John Adams?

Thanks, Amber, for asking the quesiton and thanks, Roni, for answering it. I see now that I was looking at them wrong — I thought each card (and how clever to have ears pictured on the cards to show off the jewelry) showed one ear climber that somehow wrapped around the ear, and I couldn't figure out how you got the wire through a piercing with those beads on the back side, too! But now I see that each card shows two separate pieces, and all makes sense once again. They are truly lovely work.

>174 ronincats: Thanks for the explanation!
Oh, and yes, I'm an academic, so I've been to tons of faculty meetings and believe me, my tribe can ask *incredibly* stupid questions...

>175 rosalita: I can see how you might have thought that. There is just no really good way to mount the second earring--I don't want TWO ears on the card. Thank you.
>176 scaifea: I've been an academic too, and I was funning about what we tell the students. Definitely heard stupid questions in professional meetings--had one colleague who would turn off his hearing aide during the meeting and 5 minutes after we had spent 10 minutes discussing a topic would ask a question about that specific topic. Which we had just treated in depth. *eye roll* Yours was not a stupid question, however.

So besides the inch to inch and a half of rain we received west of the mountains yesterday, our San Diego mountains received 4-6 inches of snow (at Laguna Mountain and Palomar Mountain respectively, yes, that Mount Palomar with the observatory). Not a record--that was set in 1915 for May 7 snowfall in the county.

>154 ronincats: That red is gorgeous!

Sunshine is the only McKinley I've read, and I don't know why that is because I loved it! I may need to find some of her other stuff and try it.

I've got the latest Liaden novel on reserve from the library. I hope I don't have to wait forever for it, though maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing - if it leaves so many loose ends that will not be answered for another year...

So, finally, it's been a quiet day at home! The sun was out, the temp got up to 70, but it still seemed chilly outside. I got the flannel sheets and quilts as well as all the KU paraphernalia up into the attic finally. I also sent pictures to another promoter and got signed up for a show in June with potential for several more this year. Cleared out the last four days of email and caught up on all my Facebook games. Ate leftovers for meals. The hubby cleaned out his closet. Read a chapter or so of John Adams in the tub. (And NOW the touchstone is working!) Watching The Voice. Will tackle The Three-Body Problem when it is over--I'm at about the 80% point, surely I can manage to power on through.

Yay for a day at home! Sounds like it was well spent. Hope you enjoy the rest of The Three-Body Problem.

Oops, forgot to add that I'm waiting for books in transit to arrive at my local library branch. The sequel to Too Like the Lightning (Seven Surrenders)has been waiting for me since last week and I've been waiting for some of the others to get there so I maximize my trip. In transit are The Dark Days Pact (and has been for the last week) and Frogkisser and Phantom Pains. Probably they will all come in at once, isn't that the way of it?

>178 Storeetllr: So glad you're getting settled in, Mary. With the Liaden books, the journey IS the treasure, so even though the latest book contributes to a bit set up for the next book, it's a wonderful journey in and of itself. Sunshine is very unlike in tone from McKinley's other books, except that her wonderful characters are just as alive and engaging. My favorite is still The Blue Sword. Go for it!

Hurrah for the quiet day! The Blue Sword was my first McKinley and is still by far my favourite.

I've posted a few fox photos on my thread as requested. It's been a quieter few days with visits but they are still around.

You continue to amaze me with all you accomplish! Here's another lovely cool, day to enjoy. Maybe you can curl up with a book :)

>181 ronincats: I don't mind the loose ends - it means there will be a next book - but to have to wait a year... :)

I'll definitely look for The Blue Sword, especially with both you and Jenny lauding it.

>159 ronincats: That looks fun.

Loved Blue Sword and Hero and the Crown when l read them years ago. Might be time to reread.

I love all the McKinleys. The Blue Sword was, I _think_, my first - it's certainly the one I've reread most often (I lived in Afghanistan for quite a while. Familiar territory!). Sunshine is possibly the weirdest one. Chalice is great. Don't read Pegasus yet (though you might buy it, to help her with her publisher) - it's a total cliffhanger (much to her disgust and dismay - she doesn't _like_ writing series) and the second book isn't finished yet. Since you loved Sunshine, you might try Shadows - completely different (no vampires, for one thing) but the flavor is a little like. (Why are Robin's books the second one on the list, every time? And the first one has a completely different title - Chalice brought up The Chronicles of Narnia, for heavens sake.)

I read The Dark Days Club a while ago - I thought you'd warbled me into it, Roni, but apparently it was someone else. Excellent urban fantasy _and_ excellent Regency...not-quite-romance. The precision and accuracy of her research is gorgeous (without interfering with the story one bit).

My current reading is quite slow - reading lots, not finishing any. Like you, I need to power through the last bits of a few books (Covalent Bonds, The Bible Repairman, Earth: An Intimate History, etc). All good, just not quite catching me right now. And two are library books due back this week...eek!

>180 Berly: Hey, Kim, another day at home today. Was going to mop and wax the front hallway but we had showers so am going to wait until tomorrow when the odds of tracking in dirt are less. I'm not 85% of the way through The Three-Body Problem, will have more time tonight.
>182 lunacat: Loved the fox pictures, Jenny--thank you!
>183 RebaRelishesReading: Read more John Adams but otherwise have put away show stuff (have my next show on June 10) and cooked a slow cooker recipe in my Instant Pot imitator that won't be a keeper (stuffed pepper soup) and worked my Farmville 2 bonuses to death.
>184 Storeetllr: Definitely a winner, Mary.
>185 TadAD: Yes, for those who appreciate Willis, this is a classic, Tad. Good to see you around.
>186 nrmay: Sounds like a good idea, Nancy.
>187 jjmcgaffey: It WAS me, Jenn. It's the sequel to The Dark Days Club that I'm waiting for, and none of the three books arrived today at the library. Drat! Yeah, I just like McKinley's writing style. That's exactly what I tell people about Pegasus as well. Don't read it until the second half of the story comes out because it is so long and complex you will definitely have to reread it then.

I think Peggy's warbling means I will pick up City of Miracles next, ahead of The Obelisk Gate, although I also picked up the Bobiverse book that is getting lots of buzz here on sale yesterday (We Are Legion) on sale for Kindle yesterday and also a freebie The Glass Gargoyle. The Kindle First book I got for free this month was The Hundredth Queen and I got an ER book Inferior: How Science got Women Wrong--and the New Research that's Rewriting the Story in the mail. Also downloaded some new crochet patterns and bought King Leopold's Ghost on sale for Kindle as well, stimulated by Everfair even if I didn't finish it. So I do have choices if I can just move through what I've already started.

Hi Roni, stopping by with to say hello and to get caught up. I continue to love the pictures of your pottery. The glazing of the bowl in >114 ronincats: is lovely.

>106 ronincats: - Looks like a BB for me. I do love a book with a fascinating historical setting, even if the story overall isn't outstanding.

>130 ronincats: - Darn, I was kind of hoping that book would be a winner. Glad to see you were able to glean something from it.

Waving hello!

Gosh, Roni, you manage to get so much done and still do lots of reading! My excuse for not being on LT much is that I've been overwhelmed by RL lately. But I think you must read faster than me; I'd turn into a prune if I read 20 pages in the bath. Mind you, I haven't had a bath in a few years ;0)

Lots of gardening, crafts and books to catch up on. What gorgeous stuff you bring in from your own garden. I've got lots growing in my garden but it's manly leaves and nothing edible. I've loved The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown for years, so much so that I've been wary of picking up any more McKinley in case it disappoints (perverse, right?). But with so many recommendations from so many people, I may be brave and try one out.

Also stopping by to wave hello! And I'm going to be a bit controversial by saying that I think I preferred The Hero and the Crown to The Blue Sword - but maybe just because I read that one first.

>168 ronincats: Beautiful work, as always!

>191 souloftherose: I think I feel the same way, though I love them both so much it's hard to say which I prefer.

>191 souloftherose:, >193 foggidawn: I read The Blue Sword first and that is probably why I favor it. But also, I identify with Harry more than I do Aerin, although I love Aerin's appearances in The Blue Sword. And a lot less angst...

So, I got the front hallway done today but managed to forget to put on my fitbit after my bath yesterday and still haven't put it on today--boo, hiss for all the missed steps!

>189 lkernagh: Hi, Lori! Thank you, and hope you can find and like Congress of Secrets.
>190 humouress: Hey, Nina! You have to remember, this is a no-kid zone so I have plenty of time. If I actually read during the day instead of playing on the computer and doing other house-type stuff or running around...I actually have two reading periods, one in the tub which is usually in the morning, and one to two hours at night when I get into bed at either 9 or 10. Only when I am engrossed in a book do I read during the day. Other McKinley's are different--nothing else is like Damar--but her skill in characterizations makes them worthwhile.
>192 rretzler: Thanks, Robin. I just put A Useful Woman on hold at the library based on your review of the second book in the series.

((((((Roni)))))) - yourownself!
I didn't get to read much today, but I hope to finish City of Miracles before I go to sleep. While the writing is beginning to irritate me, I think that this is probably the best one. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I also grabbed a Kindle copy of We Are Legion yesterday and am looking forward to it. A friend just lent me *A.J. Fikry*, and I think I'll slip that one in before I start chasing The Essex Serpent. As ever, if you want to borrow it when I've read and reviewed, you know I'll send it to you.
And I love that clear Tree of Life...
Our cool weather has departed. 90s today, 90s tomorrow, oh well.

Hi, Peggy. I'm afraid that distractions from City of Miracles have arrived from the library. I stopped by today after my retired educators luncheon because the website told me that Frogkisser had arrived to keep Seven Surrenders company (and I had to pick up the latter by tomorrow or lose it anyway). But when I got to the library, not only were two more of my holds arrived today (Phantom Pains and The Dark Days Pact), but on the new books shelf I saw The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman. Oh, is that the second one, which I've already read? No, it's the THIRD book, which I haven't read yet. So all five came home with me. And I spent some time this afternoon finishing an impromptu reread of The Hero and the Crown, stimulated of course by the discussion above, after hitting the 92% mark with The Three-Body Problem and still finding it very dry and slow.

>196 ronincats: Sorry to hear that about The Three-Body Problem.

>196 ronincats: >197 rretzler: Ditto what Robin said. Good luck with the library haul!!

>196 ronincats: Sounds like you have a good weekend of reading coming up. I am looking forward to hearing what you make of Frogkisser.

I wasn't a fan of The Three Body Problem -- I don't mind "problem-solving" books in the sf genre, but they have to be balanced with a LOT of humor-- as the Mars and Bobiverse ones are , as examples.

So many books I would like to put on my WL.

Roni, you are so industrious; you put me to shame. I'm glad you are still having record sales days. Your pottery and jewelry are gorgeous and will make some lovely Mother's Day gifts. Have a restful weekend with lots of reading. That's what I plan to do.

>196 ronincats: I'm also struggling to be restrained with library books at the moment. Hope you enjoy The Dark Days Pact!

You'll be pleased to note that I am making good progress with The Doomsday Book and should finish it this weekend.

Have a great weekend yourself, Roni.

Book #57 The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (244 pp.)
This was another reread of a McKinley book discussed above--they are like Lays potato chips--you can't consume just one. In the first book set in Damar, The Blue Sword, we catch glimpses of Aerin's character. After all, the blue sword was hers. And this is the backstory of who she is and why she is important. Still #2 in my heart, but only by a little.



Book #58 Frogkisser! by Garth Nix (372 pp.)

Oh, this is fun. Princess Anya not only has a stepmother (mostly absent) but a stepstepfather who is an evil sorcerer who wants the throne. Anya really just wants to sit in the library and eat tea and cookies and read about magic, and occasionally to help her sister when her stepstepfather transforms the (older) sister's beaus into frogs. But push comes to shove and she is suddenly on a quest with a transformed prince (frog) and one of the palace dogs and very little in the way of supplies and no preparation--not at all the way Anya is accustomed to doing things. Nix plays with fairy tale tropes and characters in a fun but respectful way that adults will recognize and enjoy along with the middle-graders this book is aimed at. Highly recommended!



Book #59 The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (400 pp.)

This book won the Hugo, but I struggled with the dry and to me unemotional laying out of an alien culture and their planned invasion of earth. This is only the first book of the trilogy, and there are no boots on the ground yet, but it moved very slowly for me. Original, lots of hard science, Chinese culture and history, but still not one I enjoyed.

I missed Thursday at the pottery because I had the retired teachers luncheon, so I went in today and got to say hi to all my former fellow students. Threw 4 bowls (soup size) and two pitcher bodies, glazed two mugs and 4 small bowls, and brought the following home:


>197 rretzler:, >198 Berly: As you can see, I finished it but didn't particularly enjoy it. One image will stay with me for way too long.
>199 sirfurboy: Stephen, I hope you'll find a copy of Frogkisser!. Australian author so it may have already been out longer over in your part of the world. I think you'll enjoy it.
>200 sibylline: Well, yes. Funny how much alike we are in that way, Lucy. I picked up the Bobiverse on sale last week so should get to it soon.
>201 Donna828: Thanks, Donna. Hope you have a great Mothers Day.
>202 souloftherose: Heather, it's just that they all always come in at the same time! Makes it hard to manage balancing them with the books waiting patiently in the tbr piles.
>203 PaulCranswick: Well, you should be done by now then, Paul. I'll check out your thread to see if you've commented on it yet.

Revel in your library haul, Roni. *Miracles* will be ready for you when you're ready for it, and you'll lose yourself in it!

>204 ronincats: OK I am definitely getting Frogkisser now. :)

Roni--I hope you enjoy the Bobiverse as much as I did! I was pulling a Mark and warbling away about it. ; )

>204 ronincats: I started Frogkisser a few months back, but I had so many books going that it kind of fell to the wayside. Thank you for the rave! Now I will get back to it sooner!

Karen O.

Hi Roni. I just answered your question about The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything over on my thread. It's now on my Kindle from the library. I hope I get to it before my time runs out (says she, reminding herself that she can borrow books a second time if need be!).

You have been busy as usual. I'm also impressed with all you'v been doing around your house. And you still find time to read! And to bring home too many library books, something I simply cannot understand. Ha.

>205 ronincats: I like all three of those, especially the taller piece in the back on the left.

Hiya, Your comments about The Three-Body Problem being dry etc etc is not uncommon, had the book sitting on my kindle unread, am sure will read one day bit not while so many others are jumping out of the woodwork....

>206 LizzieD: Thanks, Peggy. After your enthusiastic review, I don't want to put it off too long.
>207 sirfurboy: Do it!
>208 Berly: Yes, I downloaded a sample as a result of your warbling, Kim, and that led to the decision to buy it when the price came down.
>209 klobrien2: Karen, I hope you can get back to it and enjoy it.
>210 EBT1002: Ellen, it will be a quick read, so don't put it off! Thank you-- the taller one is 6.5 inches tall and could be a vase or a utensil holder.
>211 roundballnz: I had missed those comments, Alex, so wasn't expecting it.

A chilly day at home today! I got my bathroom cleaned (wood dusted and fed, tile floor mopped, everything neatened up) and not a lot else. Slept in a bit (bit of a headache from the low pressure front moving thought) and so got a late start. Got my farm (Farmville 2) up to date and a couple of bonuses--what a time sink! And I finally finished my ER book.



Book #60 In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan (466 pp.)

An ARC of this book was provided by the Early Reviewers program; it will be published later this summer.

This could have been about so many things. A boy from our world crosses the borderland to go to school in a fantasy world with elves, dwarves, harpies, mermaids, and trolls. But it's not a school for magic, as humans can't do magic. It's a school for warriors (battle-training) and councillors (advisors, drawing up treaties, diplomacy) and the pendulum has swung far toward giving all the status to the warriors, while the humans seem to be at war with almost all the other groups. Elliott is an unlikable, emotionally-needy, foul-mouthed teen who doesn't appreciate a world without modern conveniences or the physical condition necessary to, for example, swing a sword, so he spends his time in classes for the councillors and the library. Starved for attention and unwilling to trust anyone, Elliott not only has the hots for the one Elf girl in the warrior class, but also on general principles (personal survival) has the goal of negotiating fair and peace-producing treaties with the other species in spite of the general disrespect toward the councillors. But despite all the trappings, this is basically a coming of age story. Elliott's insecurities and snark and raging hormones drive this--the setting is incidental although interesting. It drags in spots during the four years covered, the pacing is uneven and it's episodic. All that said, I found the concept intriguing, the world interesting, and I liked it better than The Magicians.

Guess what just downloaded itself on my Kindle 23 minutes ago! Hint: it's by Megan Whalen Turner and I'm going to get a signed copy when I see her Thursday night.

>212 ronincats: It sounds interesting, Roni.

Now that your house is spotless, I could use some help...

>212 ronincats: Thank you for explaining my headache of yesterday. I had a low-grade ache all day and wondered why. Low-pressure zone didn't occur to me. I did FarmVille for a year or so a few years ago -- you're right, it's a terrible time-sink.

Sorry that The three-body problem fell so flat for you, Roni.

I enjoyed it a lot, but never got around to the sequels. Since the third has been nominated for this year's Hugo I'll read them soon, and will be happy to let you know what happens.

Aw heck, actually I know: we lose.

>213 ronincats: You're going to get to see her?!? Jealous!

>214 BLBera: My HOUSE isn't spotless, Beth! Just the bathroom. ;-)
>215 RebaRelishesReading: Today was much better for me, Reba--hopefully for you as well. We are supposed to be warming up after today.
>216 swynn: LOL
>217 foggidawn: Yes, but it's an event with three other authors at the same time (Epic Reads Meet and Greet), with none of whom I am familiar. Kimberly McCreight, Julie Murphy, Evelyn Skye. All with new books out. But I'll get my dead-tree copy signed by her. I just finished my Kindle copy!



Book #61 Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner (352 pp.)

The King of Attolia has sent Costis to steal the slave Kamet, just as his master is poisoned, but getting out of the Empire and back to Attolia is full of difficulties. Not going to say any more, no, just not.

Now that's just weird. I get a sore throat and feel altogether punky when a high pressure system comes through.
Off to investigate Megan Whalen Turner -----

>219 LizzieD: This is the fifth book, Peggy--start with the first!! Well worth your time.

>218 ronincats: All this fuss about this book makes me think I should revisit The Thief, which I see I read in 2010. My review then was:

237. The Thief

An Amazon recommendation I bought on a whim. This book is about a thief, Gen, who starts the book in the King's prison having boasted about his plans to steal the King's seal.

The book is slow going in places, and written in the first person, it somehow failed to engage me in Gen's plight. Nevertheless it has a nice twist in the ending. It then is perhaps a trifle slow wrapping up. Not a bad read, but could have been better executed.

The accolades the series has got makes me think I should have paid closer attention, although I clearly liked the twist. Consequently I will re-read it, I think.

>218 ronincats: I pre-ordered my Turner book, and I'm doing a re-read before getting to it. Gosh, but I LOVE this series.

>221 sirfurboy: Oh, yes, do revisit, I say, especially if you didn't go farther than the first book before - the series really takes off after the first one and it's so, so excellent.

>221 sirfurboy:, >222 scaifea: Listen to Amber, Stephen!

So, I only brought home small stuff today--shaving soap bowls and two cups. Trimmed four cereal bowls and two pitchers and threw a large bowl and a jar. No glazing today--my one piece wasn't out of the kiln yet so I won't be bringing anything home next week.

Lovely bunch of pottery, Roni! That blue! Cobalt blue, right? Gorgeous!

>224 Storeetllr: Thank you, Mary!

Behold, Megan Whalen Turner signing my copy of Thick as Thieves an hour ago.



ETA btw, I am going to HAVE to reread the entire series in order before sending this newest one off to my sister to read. There's just no avoiding it.

Great shot! How was the event?
Good luck with the rereading.

>225 ronincats: Awesome!!! I have also long awaited this book and my hold placed long ago on the library system paid off with the book arriving today - as well as another I have wanted to read so I am all booked up.

Love it! I'm all booked up too.

>225 ronincats: Cool! And she looks like she's kinda cute, too..... :-)

I rarely do re-reads but I have finished re-reading Court of Thorns and Roses and Court of Mist and Fury. I started Court of Wings and Ruin late last night. I can't wait to get this one read and with the re-reads fresh in my mind I am sure this one is going to be a goodie. Even if some of my friends have already warned me that it isn't quite the fast ride that "Mist and Fury" was. Can't wait to find out for myself whether Maas can keep the momentum going.

>227 RBeffa: Enjoy!
>228 LizzieD: Hi, Peggy!
>229 EBT1002: She is, and she looks so different from the picture in the back of her 2000 edition of The Queen of Attolia! As she pointed out, it's been exactly 20 years since her first book in this series was published.

So, I've been busy with assorted things. Thursday night I finished



Book #62 Phantom Pains by Mishell Baker (408 pp.)

This is book 2 of the Arcadia Project. The first impressed me with its treatment of mental illnesses in non-stereotypical, non-condescending manner. This book deals with that issue a lot less and becomes a lot more like the other urban fantasy out there. Still, the story became engrossing and entertaining as it went on and ended at a place that seems like an end.

Books have been and are being acquired. Besides pre-ordering Thick as Thieves for my Kindle (so that I could start reading it at 9:00 pm Pacific Time on Monday night), I also bought the hardcover for signing Thursday night and also the trade paperback of A Conspiracy of Kings, as it is the only one of the series I did not own in physical form (it's on my Kindle as well) and had it signed too. And I picked up the trade paperback of Hidden Figures rather than getting it from the library. Then as we were running errands yesterday, we stopped by a local church's rummage sale and they had a book for which I had just read a review in the last few days (although I recall not where), The Little Paris Bookshop. And I can go for months without hearing anything from PaperBackSwap.com about my wishlist there, and TWO have come through in the last two days. Those are All Men of Genius and A Weekend with Mr. Darcy, and I have no idea who put them on my wishlist. So that's 6 books in 3 days, even though I'll have to wait for the last two to get here. So much for restraint.

And yesterday and today I have been reading, as promised, the Queen's Thief series, neglecting poor John Adams and not starting my other library books. Three down, two to go (as I do intend to reread the new one once I finish the prior 4).

Today was gardening. It was in the mid-80s by mid-day and so everything got a good watering and I harvested a giant turnip, a batch of carrots, basil and strawberries. We are having the turnip greens for supper.

Hi, Benita. One of the other people in my group at the book event was buying the third book in the Maas series. She and her neighbor said the second book was much better than the first (I stopped after the first if you recall), so I may reconsider. I'll be interested in what you think of the third.

Oh, yes, the book event. There were four authors and they put the chairs in four circles and sat us in them and the authors moved from group to group. I had never heard of the other authors--Kimberly McCreight, Julie Murphy and Evelyn Skye. Fortunately, Megan came to my group first and signed my books and I yielded to my husband's promptings to leave at the half-way point, since he was only there to convey me. It was very informal and conversational.

Kimberly McCreight is a mystery author. She wrote a book that I have on my bedside stand and want to get to soon. Reconstructing Amelia She was at one of the ALA author events when that title was first published and the publisher thinks she is an author worth reading or they wouldn't be promoting her. I say that even though I have not read the book - yet. (I have to much re-reading to do).

Oh - I just ordered Thick as Thieves for the library. We have all of the other titles in the series, so this is a no brained as far as ordering them. The first in the series The Thief was a Newbery Honor Book back when it was published.

>232 ronincats: That sounds like a very intimate author event, Roni. Too bad you didn't know the other authors.

Oh dear - that may be a book bullet for the Queen's Thief series. If only there were space on my bookshelves.

>231 ronincats: I had a similar reaction, Roni-- fun, but a little lacking in what made the first so special. Still I'll probably read the next.

And the Queen's Thief series: someday ... I have the first on Kindle.

>231 ronincats: Yum - I envy you your growing season, Roni.

>223 ronincats: I love the pottery, but the flowers are gorgeous as well.

>233 benitastrnad: Your library patrons will be ecstatic, Benita.
>234 Familyhistorian: It was, Meg.
>235 humouress: It should be, Nina!
>236 swynn: I don't know what direction it will go next, Steve. And sooner.
>236 swynn: Thanks, Beth. I'm still picking my sweet peas every other day and loving it.

So, it's been a fun three days. Five books off my own shelves. Unfortunately, they are all rereads. ;-)



Book #63 The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (219 pp.)
Book #64 The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner (362 pp.)
Book #65 The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner (410 pp.)
Book #66 A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner (341 pp.)
Book #67 Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner (339 pp.)

Twenty years, five books, and she says there will be at least one more. These are books you can't talk about until people read them because the author has a twisty, twisty mind and spoilers would abound, but that's what makes them so enjoyable. So much fun to immerse myself in this world again for a few days.

>238 ronincats: *Does the Kermit excited happy dance*

I've just started my re-read of the series. Gosh, I do love it so much.

Five books! Wow.

Love the veggie shot - my beans are just budding with flowers, nice to see.

Your author event sounded really chilled and relaxed - I've not been to one with a structure like that, but it sounds like a great idea to make things a bit less formal.

>225 ronincats: I've been buying my books lately for the Kindle instead of the print (unless they are not on Kindle), but this certainly shows a downside to having Kindle books!

We, at least, have parsley and asparagus happening in our garden . . . too many hungry bunnies to plant spinach, although I have thought about having a bunny garden near where he/she/they live behind the barn!

In Other Lands seems worth a look.

With you 100% with The Three Body Problem - I suspect it wins prizes because it has so much science in it - there is such angst about how the genre has been evolving. The fact that everything else is pretty flat ends up being beside the point, I guess. Too bad, since the "fiction" piece is just as important as the "science" piece.

I love the idea of a bunny garden! Years ago, when I lived in Ireland, there was a plot of ground which had obviously been a garden before so the first spring there I got all ambitious, dug it up, started seeds in the remains of a greenhouse that was also on the property and finally one fine spring day set out a whole array of vegetables. Next morning there was one zucchini and one artichoke left...but we had some happy bunnies I'm sure.

>239 scaifea: I know you'll enjoy it just as much as I have, Amber.
>240 charl08: Charlotte, you are a lot further north than I am, but I'm glad your garden is starting to flourish.
>241 rretzler: Of course, in this case I did both, Robin. Bought the Kindle so I could read it as soon as it came out, and then the hardback to be signed and so I could share it with my sister.
>242 sibylline: I've been seeing pictures of these enclosed gardens to deal with animal gourmands, Lucy. I've not had a problem before this year, and still don't have rabbits or gophers or deer.
>243 RebaRelishesReading: That is so sad, Reba. ;-)

The only reading I've done today is my bathtub book, John Adams. He's finally out of Paris and ready to take up duties as ambassador to England. It's all very interesting--I had no idea of all his accomplishments other than at the Continental Congress and being our second President. And I get to see a lot of Abigail as well, always a plus. I'm not sure what I'm going to start for my fiction book next, after my Thief marathon.

We went to the beach and walked 4 miles. For maybe the 3rd or 4th time since getting my Fitbit, I got to feel it vibrate as it hit 10,000 steps. I've got a total of 12,369 for the day, 5.23 miles! And I'm feeling it, too.

Good on you, girl!!! 12,000+ is great. I'm meeting a friend to walk and lunch at Liberty Station today. Your total will urge me on :)

Thanks, Reba. I meant to add, we walked the boardwalk from the Mission Beach lifeguard tower to the Pacific Beach Crystal Pier and back. With Memorial Day weekend coming up, it was interesting to see all the maintenance people working on the empty beach rentals in preparation for the season (and for those of you not familiar with the area, almost all the beachfront housing there IS vacation rental property).

Hi Roni, Love the recent harvest from your garden!

I was thinking of your wonderful skill at beading today when I saw and pinned this interesting pendant:



I have a bit of arachnophobia - I have never been a big fan of spiders - but I find this one to be rather charming. ;-)

Oh yes, I could do that! Thanks for thinking of me, Lori.

>223 ronincats: Lovely pottery, Roni, I love the colors of the one left below and the blue, like always.

>231 ronincats: That is a lot of veggies, yum!

In my garden the rose season has finally started :-)

>249 FAMeulstee: I'm happy for you, Anita--roses are marvelous!

We've been out running around all week--tomorrow is finally supposed to be a day at home. Today was pottery and, as I warned, I didn't bring anything home today. In fact, it was a pretty Klutsy day. My big bowl from last week was too thin on the bottom, so I was trying to throw a small bowl/plate toe fuse to the bottom (after cutting out the bottom of the bowl) and tossed 3 out 4 attempts. I threw a casserole base and took two tries to come up with a lid--I hate lids. And I broke the curve off of my yarn bowl while glazing it. Yuch. My husband did take me down to Ironside for lunch and I had a lobster roll to comfort myself. And a stop at the library to pick up my hold books waiting for me: The Lie Tree, A Useful Woman and Who Buries the Dead. One fantasy and two mysteries.


Ironside bar

Being out and about every morning has meant I haven't gotten out to pick sweet peas, so tomorrow has that first on the agenda. And then yesterday after the mammogram, a stop by Home Depot meant that I brought a lavender plant, cucumber seedlings and a grape tomato plant home, as well as a plastic spray bottle so I can mix up the fungicide for the roses and peas and cucumbers, and they all need to be addressed. And today I picked up some kitten food as I will also start attempting to co-opt the feral kittens, four in the front yard and one in back, through food bribes tomorrow. I'm working on the third book of the Invisible Library series in the evenings, and John Adams is still in England but soon to come home for my bathroom book.

And I see that this puts me at the magic number to start the next thread...