NorthernStar's Notes for 2018

Well, I'm trying again to keep a reading thread. I've tried twice before (2015 and 2016, I think), and don't think I lasted past February either time, so I took a year off, and this time I'm starting in February. No promises, but I'll try to keep it up.

I don't plan to list everything I read, but want to keep track of highlights.

So here goes January!

This year I was reading Artemis by Andy Weir over the new year. Quite different from The Martian, but I liked it.

I'm not sure exactly what came next, but shortly after that I re-read A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, knowing that a copy of A Closed and Common Orbit was heading my way.

Somewhere in there came The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch, which was a Christmas gift from tardis, and Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn (but I might have read this one in late 2017).

January also brought me some new paperbacks in the mail:

Cold Welcome by Elizabeth Moon - new series following Ky Vatta, starting some time after the Vatta's War series ended.

Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews - latest in the Kate Daniels series.

Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier - finishes the Blackthorn & Grim trilogy

Dragon Blood by Eileen Wilks - had to re-read the previous book in this series first - they really should have been one book, not two.

A Closed and Common Orbit finally arrived - not quite what I expected, but I liked it a lot.

Also read The Golem and the Jinni which I'd picked up used last summer, and had been sitting on my TBR pile ever since.

Oh, and Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen arrived by interlibrary loan - I liked it enough to put in a request for the next.

No duds here - enjoyed them all!

More library books over the past week:

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi from my local library, and

Conspiracy of Ravens by Lila Bowen through interlibrary loan. Am enjoying this series - magic meets old west.

Also more paperbacks:

Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs - more Mercy Thompson

The Queen of Blood and The Reluctant Queen by Sara Beth Durst - haven't got into the second of these yet.

Still no duds. Several book bullets in this and the last post.

I'm not a great reviewer - can never think of anything much useful to say, except whether I liked it or not.

Oh - and a non-reading note - the latest Star Wars finally came to our theatre! It started Friday, so I took the afternoon off to see it, just because I could.

>3 NorthernStar: I am proud of your determination. :-)

Looks like you have a lot of great reading in store this year! I hope you enjoy it all and don't feel pressured to keep up the thread if it becomes a chore.

I am looking forward to The reluctant queen - will have to look out for the paperback.

You seem to have gotten off to a good start this year. That's quite a few books to read without hitting any duds. Happy reading!

>1 NorthernStar:

Would it help if the enforcers paid you a visit?

No duds! Yay!

I bought The Golem and the Jinni last Summer as well, and still haven't gotten to it. Glad to know you enjoyed it.

>7 suitable1: I'd love a visit! I don't think that makes a very good threat.

Since my last post I've read several Janet Evanovitch collaborations, which were quick and amusing but pretty forgettable. Then I went on to read several ebooks starting with What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by Jodi Tayor, another fun entry in her Chronicles of St. Mary's (#6). I had read the earlier books some time ago, but got right back into it, and downloaded the rest of the series after I finished: Lies, Damned Lies, and History (#7), And the Rest is History (#8), and The Long and Short of It (collected short stories) finish the series, at least for now. It gets darker, but I've loved them all. I have to watch it, because sometimes I forget to add ebooks to my library, and I discovered I hadn't entered quite a few. There are probably still some ebooks I've missed.

By the time I'd finished with St. Mary's, a few interlibrary loans and another new book had arrived. So far I've read The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Anne Noble and Behind the Throne by K. B. Wagers. Both book bullets, and I especially loved Behind the Throne. I've got the next one on order at the library, and if they were available in regular paperback, rather than large format, I'd buy them all. I hate this trend to only publish large format paperbacks. I'll read them if I have to, but much prefer to read and own the smaller books.

The weather was really cold (-41 to -20°C) here for most of January and early February, and finally started to warm up last weekend. We even had a few days that got close to 0. Combining that with the longer days (9 hours 32 minutes now, up from 6 hours 14 minutes at the winter solstice) it is starting to feel like spring is on the way.

>10 NorthernStar: Janet Evanovich makes for good brain candy.

>10 NorthernStar: I'm glad you enjoyed Behind the throne. I thought the whole trilogy was great!

Well, it's a couple of weeks since I updated.

After reading several of the St. Mary's books I re-read The Nothing Girl and read The Something Girl, which are also by Jodi Taylor. Very different from the St. Mary's books, but so far I've liked everything she writes.

Then I caught up on a few ER ebooks. First Twisted Genius by Patricia Rice, which is fifth in her Family Genius series. Fun, mystery-suspense. I've read quite a few books in different genres by Patricia Rice, and always enjoy them.

Next was Exception to the Rules by Doranna Durgin. This was more of a romantic mystery-suspense than her usual fantasy genre. I find her another reliable author whose books I always enjoy, even if they aren't great literature. This was no exception.

I also got caught up on reviewing these and a couple of other ER ebooks which I had read a while ago: Just Bill (just OK) and Reckoner Redeemed by Doranna Durgin - a good conclusion to this trilogy.

Several more library books were up next, most the result of book bullets. The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley is another Flavia de Luce mystery. I enjoyed this, but not as much as earlier books in the series. I'd been interested by mention (by someone in the Green Dragon) of The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, so when I saw it at the library I grabbed it. Well worth reading. And continuing the Russian theme, a copy of A Gentleman in Moscow I'd requested finally came available. Wow - great book. Then my ILL of After the Crown by K. B. Wagers arrived - excellent. Next one is requested.

Aside from reading, I've been busy. Volunteered at Heritage Days at the museum last weekend, plus organized a Moonlight Ski for the ski club. This weekend was Trapper's Rendezvous - local winter celebration. I was running the ski club Rendezvous Loppet yesterday. It was fun, we had a gorgeous sunny day for it. Not as many participants as some years, but not too bad, and everything went well. Today I've been watching the birds, reading, and updating LT. Will go for a ski later, and drop off a bunch of library books. And I have some new paperbacks to get into.

I've been less busy the last couple of weeks, and the weather has turned warm. It's been above freezing every day for more than a week, and mostly sunny. The ski trails are still good, and the days are getting much longer, which is lovely!

I'm not sure about the order, but here are the books I've been reading since the last update:

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop - I really like this series.

Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs - picked up a used paperback copy at the library. It turned out I'd read it before, but didn't remember much about it except for the visits to Edmonton and Yellowknife. Having a poor memory for book plots and details helps keep rereading fun!

Tricks for Free by Seanan McGuire - loved this, as expected. I kind of wish I'd reread the previous book before reading this, but couldn't wait.

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter - fun urban fantasy, some violence, but without major sex scenes. I think I've only read one other by this author, in a connected series. Will read more.

Hunger Makes the Wolf and Blood Binds the Pack by Alex Wells - Science fiction/fantasy, little guys fight the big company on a remote planet. Good.

Queen of All the Crows by Rod Duncan - picked this up at the library, interesting steampunk fantasy, to be continued... I think there are more related books in a previous series, but didn't need to have read them to enjoy this.

The Never King by James Abbott - another library book, and I haven't finished this yet. Fantasy, disgraced heroes escape prison and meet up with allies to try to take back the kingdom from the evil usurper.

Duncan's first birthday was yesterday, so here is his birthday picture.



Finished The Never King - I had mixed feelings, enjoyed the story, but not so much the writing. Also felt the characters didn't really come to life for me. Feels like there should be a sequel, not sure if I will read it.

>15 NorthernStar: Belated Happy Birthday to Duncan.

>15 NorthernStar:

What >16 pgmcc: said!

Happy birthday, Duncan. What's that object he's caught?

Duncan says thanks for the birthday wishes!

>18 hfglen: - it's a birthday present: a new ball with handles for a dog to grab, a squeaker, and another little ball inside. He likes it a lot.

Like this:

Duncan is a very handsome dog! I wish him many more happy birthdays!

Happy birthday, Duncan! He’s gotten big! Love that ball, too!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes for Duncan! >21 catzteach: he sure has grown, and I'm hoping that he's finished now he's passed his first birthday.

Finished A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford. From hfglen's comments it sounded interesting, and indeed it was. I would recommend this to anyone interested in genetics, genomics, evolution, or anthropology. I'm glad my library had it. And even though the author makes that point that genetic testing still can't really give you as much information as it claims, I'm tempted to do it anyway.

Finished the first three of Michelle Sagara's Elantra series: Cast in Shadow, Cast in Courtlight, and Cast in Secret. I'd picked up the second and third some time ago, but never read them, as I wanted to start at the beginning. Then I recently found a copy of the first in the used books for sale at the library. I enjoyed these, but am not in a rush to read the rest of the series.

In the non-fiction section of the library, while looking for something else, I picked up The Million Death Quake by Roger Musson. I love a good disaster book, and this certainly fits the criteria. Well-explained book on the science of predicting worldwide earthquake threats and what we can do about them.

Happy belated birthday to Duncan! I'm glad you enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale. I've been eyeing that one for a while.

>23 NorthernStar: I have been reading the Elantra series and finding it quite frustrating. There is so much good stuff in it - the different races, the history, the "police" that Kaylin is part of - but I find Sagara's prose is often a barrier between me and the world. Cast in courtlight drove me bats because everyone conversed in hints and ellipses but still seemed to know what was going on while I was left in the dark! I have several of the later books which I found cheap so I will probably keep going, but I'm almost ready to abandon the series if it doesn't get better.

>23 NorthernStar: >25 Sakerfalcon: I'd have a very silly problem with this series. Here, "Elantra" is an oriental car-model >:-)

>26 hfglen: Ha! It's also often confused with Brandon Sanderson's Elantris, although Sagara's series came first.

>26 hfglen: - we have those cars here too - I never made the connection, though!

>25 Sakerfalcon: - I'm not in a hurry to find the rest of the series.

I meant to catch this up over a week ago, but LT was down and then I got busy.

Got through several library books over the past few weeks:

Bad Science by Ben Goldacre - interesting, but not always as well documented as it could be. Mostly focuses on how the alternative and mainstream health industry sells itself using questionable science, and how poor reporting has contributed to various misunderstandings. One of the goals of this book it to teach the reader to look critically at various claims of health benefits. Worth a read.

Smoke Eaters by Sean Grigsby - Alternative future in which dragons have brought a future US to ruins. Firefighters not only put out fires, but fight dragons. I enjoyed the combination of firefighting and dragons. This is not great literature, but it is fun.

Robots VS Fairies - this is a book of 18 short stories by Seanan McGuire, Sarah Gailey, Mary Robinette Kowal, Jim C. Hines, John Scalzi, Max Gladstone, and others, featuring robots, fairies, or both.

Yiddish for Pirates by Gary Barwin - this looked liked a lot of fun, but I couldn't get into it. DNF

City of the Lost and This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong - first (a reread) and third in the Rockton series. The second was already checked out by someone else. There are no raccoons in the Yukon, Kelley! The number of aircraft flying around and the curiosity and friendliness of the people living and working there make it very unlikely that a whole town could go unnoticed for any length of time, and the climate and wildlife make it unlikely that people would be living in feral groups around this invisible town. Now that I've vented, I can report that I actually really enjoyed these books.

Cravings - picked this up used from the library book sale rack. An anthology of four novellas, urban fantasy/paranormal romance. The first, Blood Upon My Lips, by Laurell K. Hamilton, was 85 pages of awful. Angsty female vampire agonizing about how much she did or didn't want to have sex or share blood with all the hot men who were involved with her. No plot, just angst. Dead Girls Don't Dance, by MaryJanice Davidson was kind of a fun, cute story about how a female vampire comes to terms with her new life and finds love with her (human) college crush. Originally Human, by Eileen Wilks is the story of a couple who find their unusual gifts work well together. It works as a decent stand alone story, but it also fills in a gap in her Lupi series. The last story, Burning Moon, by Rebecca York, features a blind tarot card reader, and a serial killer being tracked by a werewolf.

The last post was getting a bit long, so I'll list the non-library reading here:

Besieged by Kevin Hearne - short stories from the Iron Druid chronicles. Fun, especially the stories featuring Oberon, the Irish wolfhound.

Beyond the Rules by Doranna Durgin - ebook, from Early Reviewers

The Library, the Witch, and the Warder by Mindy Klasky - ebook, from Early Reviewers

Stone Mad by Elizabeth Bear - ebook, novella, second Karen Memery story. Good.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells - ebook, novella, Murderbot 1. Good.

Revelations by Jennifer Carole Lewis - ebook, first in an urban fantasy/paranormal series, I saw this mentioned on (I think) Twitter and was interested enough (and it was inexpensive enough) to pick it up. Not bad.

I went up the highway into the mountains after work Friday for a curling event on Muncho Lake. The last time they did this was about 15 years ago. We stayed in Northern Rockies Lodge, which is a huge, beautiful, log building. The food was wonderful and we had a lot of fun. Teams were picked randomly, and my team never lost a game. Totally amazing, really (I'm not that good). The lake ice was getting slushy by the afternoon, and curling on the lake is nothing like curling on the rink. The scenery is much better, though. Duncan got to stay in puppy jail (the kennel). Sunday morning a few of us went another half hour up the highway to the Liard hotsprings. They are one of my favourite places on the highway, and the best road-accessible hotsprings I know of. Headed back to town afterwards, with a stop for tea with friends along the way back. There was a bit of fresh snow at Muncho, but a lot more (about 20 cm) in the mountains closer to town. Didn't see any wildlife except an almost tame deer at my friend's place.

>30 NorthernStar: So adventurous!

>30 NorthernStar: That sounds like a great trip!

>30 NorthernStar: Oh, that sounds lovely. I used to curl years ago but only in clubs--never outdoors. Would have loved to try it.

And I was thinking of GD's Canadians today when I noticed that the juncos are gone. They're on their way north to you.

>33 Marissa_Doyle: - I haven't seen any juncos here yet, but hope to see them soon! The crows have been back for a few weeks, and I saw some hawks along the highway last weekend, although I didn't stop to identify them.

Well, what a difference a week makes! Last weekend I still had at least a foot of snow in the back yard, and this weekend there are only a few small frozen patches in the shade. It was up around +10 to +25°C all week, with no freezing overnight, and a good breeze, so the snow just disappeared. The juncos are back, as well as white-crowned sparrows, tree sparrows, American robins, and Canada geese flying over. I've seen a few butterflies and killed my first mosquito. Last night I finished clearing the backyard of the winter's deposits of dog poop. Just in time, as it rained all day today. Things are greening up fast, it feels like we went straight from winter to summer. My last ski was Thursday. There is still snow on the trails, but there are quite a few bare spots and some very wet areas.

Our library finally got Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs in, and I got it right away. I really like this series, except for the covers, although this book definitely left some threads hanging.

I also picked up Witch Creek by Laura Bickle, a sequel to Nine of Stars. Not bad. I like but don't love this series, but am not sure why. The magic and worldbuilding is interesting.

Next up was the first two books in a series that caught my eye at the library. The second was on the new books shelf, but they didn't have the first, so I requested an ILL, which came very fast. The Rift Uprising and The Rift Frequency were not in the YA section, but should be. The concept is interesting: rifts between alternate versions of earth bring nonhumans, both hostile and peaceful, and different humans to the earth of the protagonist, where they are either captured or killed. Ryn is a young, genetically-modified supersoldier; one of many created to defend the world. She begins to realize that the situation might not be what she thinks. This is all told from her point of view, in first person. I don't usually mind this, but found it irritating here. Also, she is very young, incredibly smart but ignorant, and incredibly perfect. Even her stupid mistakes and misunderstandings all turn out OK.

>35 NorthernStar: Oh dear. I have Rift Uprising but suspect I will not like it. Thanks for the heads up!
Oh, and Duncan is adorable. And I've got to find that Kong for my dogs.

>36 majkia: I'll be interested to hear what you think of Rift Uprising.

Duncan's ball is great, but he keeps losng it under the shed.

>35 NorthernStar: I'm also reading the Laura Bickle series. I think part of the problem is that it started as one series with Dark alchemy and Mercury retrograde but then the author dropped some of the characters and storylines and the publisher promoted it as a new series starting with Nine of stars. So if you started at Nine of stars I think there was quite a lot of assumed knowledge, and if you'd read the previous 2 books the focus suddenly changed. I too like the magic and the focus on geology, and I love Sig, but the series hasn't lived up to the promise of Dark alchemy which I thought was excellent.

> good to know, I'll try to find copies of the older books, I've only read Nine of Stars.

>38 Sakerfalcon: Dark Alchemy was excellent, yes--but after the awfulness of Mercury Retrograde I couldn't continue. Is Nine of Stars better?

>40 Marissa_Doyle: I thought it was a bit better, especially if you like wolves. But it was weird to have some of the plotlines and characters from the first two books just disappear! I liked it enough to give the next book, Witch Creek a try; I'll report back when I've read it.

It's been a while since I updated. I had to go to meetings in Kelowna from April 30-May 4, and the leaves were coming out when I got back. There have been lots of spring and summer birds back, and yesterday we were the hot spot in Canada - still 28°C at 9 p.m. When it warms up, it really warms up.

Just before I left I read The Fold by Peter Clines - enjoyed it, and need to look for some of his other books.

I got Hidden Figures by Margot Shetterly from the library, and took it with me on the trip. It was interesting, but I felt it really skipped around, and could really use editing for clarity and to avoid repetition. I do want to see the movie at some point. I think our library has it, but it was out when I checked.

I picked up an ebook copy of An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor - love this series.

While I was out of town I had a chance to visit a real bookstore, and came out with a copy of Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. I'm gradually working my way through Discworld as I get the chance to borrow or acquire the books. I've read some of the later books featuring the guards, but not this one, and it was as good as I'd hoped, plus helped to fill in some background.

Read 3 books from the library in the Mystic Isles series by Patricia Rice - romantic fantasy, but I didn't like these nearly as well as some of her other series. The characters and the magic never really clicked for me.

More library books: Race the Darkness and Hunt the Dawn by Abbie Roads - paranormal romantic suspense. I liked these, and will look for more by her.

The Wicked Flea by Susan Conant - cozy dog-related mystery, not bad. I've read a few of her books, and don't mind them, but won't go out of my way to read them.

I think I also reread a few books around the house during this time period, and there are a couple of others I'm working on, but I'll wait until I'm finished to comment.

These calypso orchids are my favourite wild flowers. They are one of the first things out in the spring, and smell amazing, if you get right down to their level. The flowers are 2-3 cm across, and the plants rarely survive if the flowers are picked. Unfortunately they probably won't last long this year with the hot weather we are getting.

>38 Sakerfalcon:, >40 Marissa_Doyle: your touchstones for Dark Alchemy don't go the right book.

OK, so this was last updated May 20, which is better than my previous attempts at a reading thread, which ended in February.

I've read lots of books since then, and am not even going to try to list them all, but here are quite a few of them.

I had a very busy spring and summer, with Dad's 90th birthday, Mom and her husband moving into a senior's residence, and discovering I needed a heart operation, which happened in September. I've been mostly off work and healing since then, so have been reading a lot, but not much on the computer.

Some of what I've read over that time, not necessarily in order:

The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
A bunch of ebook novellas by Gail Carriger
Iron and Magic by Illona Andrews
Heroine Worship by Sarah Kuhn
A Peace Divided by Tanya Huff
Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett
The first 9 of a series of 11 mysteries by Lyn Hamilton starting with The Xibalba Murders
Brief Cases by Jim Butcher
Birdology by Sy Montgomery
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
The Black Wolves of Boston by Wen Spencer
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton
The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
Beyond the Empire by K. B. Wagers - excellent conclusion to the trilogy
The Penric series by Lois McMaster Bujold starting with Penric's Demon - reread
The Chalion books, also by LMB, starting with The Curse of Chalion - reread
The Flowers of Vashnoi by LMB
The Discworld City Watch series by Terry Pratchett, starting with Men at Arms, as I read Guards! Guards! earlier in the year.
The most recent two books in Seanan McGuire's October Daye series: The Brightest Fell and Night and Silence
The Summer of the Horse by Donna Kane, a friend of mine, about some of her experiences in the mountains near here.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte - very good!
Reread almost all of the Georgette Heyer books I own
Reread Illona Andrews Hidden Legacy series (Burn For Me and others) in preparation for reading the latest novella, Diamond Fire
Terminal Alliance by Jim C. Hines
How the Finch Stole Christmas by Donna Andrews
Deadlands: Boneyard by Seanan McGuire
Into the Fire by Elizabeth Moon
Bannerless and The Wild Dead by Carrie Vaughn
The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal
A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne
Several books from the library by Heather Graham
The second, third, and fourth in the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter
Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris
The Ukiah Oregon series by Wen Spencer, which starts with Alien Taste
A reread of the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn, Kitty and the Midnight Hour, etc. Should finish the last of these before the new year.

Well, I didn't quite finish off Kitty before the new year. I'll continue this in a new thread, but don't have enough entries to create an automatic continuation.

Also, I edited the post above as I thought of more books I've read over the year.

Here is the link to my 2019 thread:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/301611