TBR@61 Robertgreaves's challenge for 2018/2019 part 1

Continued from this thread.



Number of books on the physical TBR shelves 57
Number of books on the virtual TBR shelves 123

Both are up from last year but the physical TBR shelves are down from January while the virtual TBR shelves are unchanged.

All books purchased up to today count as ROOTS from now on.

In an atttempt to bring the burgeoning TBR shelves (physical and virtual) (not to mention my burgeoning weight) under control I decided that I would only buy books as follows:

1. 2 books as a reward for each kg I lose;
2. next in a series;
3. bookclub books.

I am pleased to report that I've lost 4 kg since January.

Currently reading:

Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine
The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives by Mike Ashley

Happy new thread, and happy birthday!!

Happy New Thread and congrats on your birthday.

Thank you Connie and Rabbit. I went to a bookshop this morning and bought two books for myself: The Last Romeo by Justin Myers and 1984 by George Orwell.

I am now starting my No. 1 for this year of my age, Arabella and the Battle of Venus by David D. Levine.

My review of the first in the series, Arabella of Mars:

In the hope of instilling a better sense of decorum in her, the 16-year-old Arabella Ashby is sent home from Mars to England. After her father's death she learns her cousin is going to Mars to murder her brother so that he can inherit the family estate. She runs away to foil his dastardly plan.

Although I felt the author hadn't quite caught the cadences of Regency language and manners, I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed this rip-roaring yarn of derring-do.

Happy new thread and happy birthday, Robert. Congrats on the weight loss!

Happy birthday and happy new thread, Robert. I always like seeing pictures of people's *actual* bookshelves.

Happy birthday, Robert.

Thank you, Miss Watson, Jackie, and Ameise

My possibilities for October:

Starting my No. 2, the latest in the series, Arabella The Traitor of Mars. It's not a ROOT but counts for the ColourCAT, AlphaKIT and SFFKIT.

My review of Arabella and the Battle of Venus:

When her fiance is captured by the French and held on Venus, Arabella decides, contrary to instructions, to rescue him. Can she outwit the French, their Venusian allies, and Napoleon himself?

Understandably darker given the author's circumstances, but this rip roaring yarn is still great fun.

Hi Robert - I'm assuming from your dates of posting that you're nowhere near the earthquake - but I hope the tectonic plates round your way stay calmer.

Thank you for your concern, but no, it's about 2,500 km away. Every 3 or 4 years we get a quake big enough to evacuate buildings but apparently the shape of the Jakarta bay means we are unlikely to suffer from tsunamis.

Starting my No. 3, On the Nature of the Universe by Lucretius. This book counts as my seventy-ninth ROOT for 2018 and brings the physical TBR books down to 56. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT.

My review of Arabella the Traitor of Mars:

Napoleon having been defeated, the Prince Regent decides to expand English territory on Mars by taking over the whole planet. Arabella (now Mrs Singh), her family and friends are forced to choose sides in the conflict - are they English or Martian?

This final episode in the trilogy started off well, showing how difficult the choices were for all involved but lagged a bit in the middle with the battles being overlong. Still, it was great fun with lots of derring do even if some of the miraculous escapes were a little too miraculous. I do wish we could have seen more of Lady Corey, though.

Starting my No. 4 The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking. This is my eightieth ROOT for 2018 and brings the physical TBR books down to 55. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT but I originally put it on the TBR shelves to re-read in memoriam after he died.

Starting my No. 5, Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King. This ebook is my eighty-first ROOT for 2018 and I am reading it now for my online reading group, and it also fits the RandomCAT.

My review of The Universe in A Nutshell, unchanged from when I read it in 2010:

The first chapter is about the theory of relativity, which governs the world on a large scale, and the second chapter is about quantum mechanics, which governs the world on a very small scale. These two chapters are meant to serve as an introduction after which the other chapters (dealing with such topics as multiple histories, black holes, what would have to be true for time travel to be possible, the future of our civilization, and whether we live on a brane) can be read in any order.

I managed to get through all 200 pages, though it was a struggle. Some parts I think I sort of understood, others not at all. The pictures sometimes clarified things, sometimes didn't.

Alfonso the Wise, King of Aragon in the Middle Ages didn't get a mention but he has my sympathies. When studying the intricacies of the Ptolemaic system he is reputed to have said, "If I had been present at the creation I might have been tempted to suggest to the Almighty that simplicity was desirable."

I did gather that Hawking believes that the important thing is whether the mathematical expression of a theory accounts for observed facts and makes verifiable predictions, without worrying about what reality corresponds to the maths, which we can visualise in different ways according to what suits our purpose at the time. So perhaps it doesn't matter if I understand it or not.

My No. 6 was a very quick read, The Shrine by Ben Kane. It was not much more than a short story read while my tablet was charging. However, I've had the ebook on my reader for long enough for it to count as my eighty-second ROOT for 2018.

My review:

In this competently done prequel in the form of a short story, our hero survives an attempted mugging and at the shrine where he makes a thanks offering he is given a prophecy, which presumably foreshadows events in the main series, which I haven't read.

Starting my No. 7, Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8 by Naoki Higashida. This brings the books on the physical TBR shelves down to 56. It is my eighty-third ROOT for 2018. It counts for the AlphaKIT and the RandomCAT.

My review of Feast of Sorrow:

Thrasius, former slave of Apicius, tells the story of his old master and how he brought him fame with his cooking during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius.

I suspect this picture of how the slave-master relationship actually worked (for some slaves) is probably closer to the reality than in most novels set in this period.

However, Sejanus, the villain of the piece, is rather too dastardly. I'm sure if he'd had a moustache he'd have twirled it. In other respects as well, I get the impression the author hasn't really done her homework. It's a bit of a conundrum. What do you do with an author whose got the relationships and atmosphere right but slips up on the history?

Starting my No. 8, Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd. I want to re-read Gulliver's Travels so the TBR shelf stays the same. This is my eighty-fourth ROOT for 2018.

My review of Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8:

A miscellany of pieces from a non verbal autistic Japanese man written in his late teens/early twenties, mostly pleas for a little more understanding and kindness in the world.

Starting my No. 9, The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar. This ebook is my eighty-fifth ROOT for 2018 and I'm reading it now for the SFFKIT.

My review for Hawksmoor (unchanged from when I first read it three years ago):

An occultist and architect, Nicholas Dyer, builds churches in the City of London from 1711 to 1715, events in his life are strangely echoed in the life of Nick Hawksmoor, a detective in the 1980s who is investigating murders whose victims are found in Dyer's churches.

A complex and demanding read, obviously taking Dyer's side in the belief that there is more to life than the facts we perceive based on experience and experiment as championed by the Greshamites as he calls the scientists who were early members of the Royal Society.

Starting my No. 10, Three Wrong Turns in the Desert by Neil Plakcy. This ebook is my eighty-sixth ROOT for 2018 and I'm reading it now for ColourCAT and AlphaKIT.

My review for The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock:

When Georgian shipowner Jonah Hancock of Deptford finds his captain has sold his ship to buy the body of a mermaid, he has no option but to exhibit it, which brings him together with Angelica Neale, a high class courtesan in search of a new protector.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started this book, having forgotten what impulse led me to buy it. I first thought it was going to be some sort of historical urban fantasy, but it isn't really, just historical fiction with a touch of the uncanny thrown in. There were a few places when I just wanted the author to get on with it, but I grew to be very fond of the characters and in quite some trepidation as to whether things would work out well for them even if I wasn't sure what that would involve.

Starting my No. 11, Dancing With The Tide, the second in the Have Body Will Guard series. It's a new ebook and so doesn't count as a ROOT but still counts for ColourCAT and AlphaKIT.

My review for Three Wrong Turns in the Desert:

Aidan Greene, an ESL teacher, travels to Tunis for a job only to find when he gets there that the job has fallen through but in the meantime he has met hunky ex Navy SEAL Liam McCullough and gets involved in his mission, delivering funds to a Tuareg tribe while being chased by various bad guys intent on getting their hands on the money.

This mix of action adventure and romance was competently done with moments of real suspense. As far as I could tell (not very far I must admit) the picture of Tunisia seemed reasonably true to life even if like most places ABROAD it is there mainly as an exotic but dangerous playground for our American boys. One quibble. I thought and the internet agrees that symptoms of anthrax exposure take a week or so to manifest themselves rather than an hour or so.

The central romance, however, follows the strictest cliches of the genre. One of the pair has a macho job, is taller and bigger built, and is not emotionally expressive. The other likes cooking, instinctively cleans and tidies and generally tries to make his man's domestic situation comfortable. He cries as a reaction to stress. He is also on the rebound from a relationship where he felt taken for granted and unappreciated by a high-earning partner. Biological plumbing seems to make no difference at all, the formula WILL be followed no matter what.

Having said that, there are hints that the series might develop on more unorthodox lines and I have enjoyed the author's other series, so I will read at least the next one.

My No. 12 is the next in the series, Teach Me Tonight, again not a ROOT. Still fits AlphaKIT thanks to the author's name.

My review of Dancing With The Tide:

Liam and Aidan are asked to guard a pop star who has been receiving death threats after he comes out as gay.

The boys' relationship is less lopsided than in the first book. It's still pretty brainless fluff, but that's what I'm in mood for at the moment.

My No. 13 is still in the Have Body Will Guard series, Olives for the Stranger. Not a ROOT.

My review of Teach Me Tonight:

Liam and Aidan are guarding the son of a Turkmen businessman who has come to Tunis to study English before going to the US. The bad guys want to kidnap him to put pressure on his father to sign a deal with a Russian company rather than a Chinese one.

Some back story on the boys add an extra frisson to the story in this one as they also deal with a crisis in their relationship with each other. Otherwise still the same fluff.

Starting my No. 14, On The Move by Oliver Sacks. I'm reading it now because my bookclub is reading his Musicophilia in November, so since this has been sitting on my shelves for about 18 months, it's probably a good time to read it. It's my eighty-seventh ROOT for 2018 and brings the TBR shelf down to 55.

My review of Olives for the Stranger:

The boys are hired to protect the daughter of an exiled political activist after her mother is murdered. The usual shenanigans ensue.

Enjoyable but time to give the boys a rest even if they are off for pastures new in the South of France.

Possible reads for November:

>24 Robertgreaves: On the Move keeps appearing on my kobo recommendations, I'm quite tempted! I have Musicophilia on the TBR shelf too so am really keen to see what you think. I really like his writing.

Starting my No. 15, Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. It is my eighty-eighth ROOT for 2018 and I am reading it now for my book club.

My review of On the Move:

Oliver Sacks's memoirs published shortly before his death in 2015.

Thoroughly enjoyable, written in a conversational narrative style, the memoirs left me feeling I really had spent a couple of days with Dr. Sacks, revelling in his humanity, his wide range of interests, the people he'd known (famous and obscure), his good humour, and self-awareness. I was really quite sorry to have finished the book.

Starting my No. 16, Flatlander by Larry Niven, an ebook which I've had long enough for it to count as my eighty-ninth ROOT.

My review of Musicophilia:

Oliver Sacks explores connections between neurology and music, how brain damage can affect enjoyment of music negatively and positively, and how music can help patients with brain damage.

At times, like The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, it feels like it's just one case after another of a person whose name I will soon forget who has been injured or has a congenital difference in some area of the brain whose location I'm not terribly sure of and who shows this odd behaviour.

Yes, I'm sure it does give hope to some people who are dealing with this sort of thing either themselves or in relatives and friends to know there are others out there. And it helps us understand how music works. But there were times I felt like an 18th century gentleman being shown round Bedlam and being invited to draw useful lessons from the inmates.

Starting my No. 17, Chronicle of the Russian Tsars by David Warnes. This is my ninetieth ROOT for 2018 and it brings the TBR shelves down to 54. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT and the ColourCAT.

I have lost another kg so I am rewarding myself with 2 books:

Strange Children by Kate Charles
Jamie Fessenden's Greatest Hits by Jamie Fessenden

My review of Flatlander:

A collection of crime/SF cross-genre novellas featuring Gil 'The Arm' Hamilton.

Rather disappointing, but perhaps my expectations were too high. For many of them I found the solutions as baffling as the crimes.

Starting my No. 18, The Complete Poems by Catullus. This is my ninety-first ROOT for 2018 and brings the TBR shelves count down to 53. I am reading it now for my online Reading Group.

Yesterday I read my No. 19, Shards of Murder by Cheryl Hollon. This ebook was my ninety-second ROOT for 2018. I was reading it for ColourCAT and AlphaKIT.

My review:
Savannah Webb is invited to be a judge at a local art fair. When she's out running with her dog the next morning she finds the body of one of the winning contestant. As the person who found the body and the last known person to see her alive, Savannah is a prime suspect. She and her friends try to solve the case to clear her name.

I wasn't overwhelmed with the first in this series but I thought I'd give it another chance. I wish I hadn't bothered. Too much exposition, what appear to me to be continuity errors (the same information being given twice in the same conversation as if the first half of the conversation didn't exist, a character who specifically asked to be addressed as Miss Carter and was, then being referred to and addressed as Helen on her next appearance), and the murderer being obvious.

Starting my No. 20, Gulliver's Travels and Other Writings by Jonathan Swift. I'm actually only going to re-read "Gulliver's Travels", but as it's a book on my shelves I'm going to count it as my ninety-third ROOT for 2018. It brings the TBR shelves down to 52 and it counts for the AlphaKIT and ColourCAT.

My review of Chronicle of the Russian Tsars:

What it says on the tin: a reign by reign history of Russia from Ivan III to Nicholas II.

I must admit my knowledge of Russian history was rather vague, but this book was a good introduction with excellent illustrations although some of the maps could have been clearer, especially those showing changes using different shades of blue.

Starting my No. 21, The Merchant's House by Kate Ellis. This ebook is my ninety-fourth ROOT for 2018. I'm reading it for RandomCAT since it has Merchant in the title, but am wondering if it will fit the MysteryCAT as well.

Starting the next in the series, The Armada Boy. It's a new ebook, so not a ROOT.

My review of The Merchant's House (which didn't really fit the RandomCAT or the MysteryCAT):

A toddler is abducted and a few days later a woman's body is found on a clifftop. Newly transferred Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson is investigating the murder, while his archaeologist friend Neil Watson has found evidence of a Jacobean tragedy during an excavation.

The modern day mystery was very well done, setting up a good group of characters I'd like to see more of, but I found the extracts from the Jacobean journal which served as chapter epigraphs unsatisfactory, not so much from the story-telling point of view but simply unconvincing as Jacobean English.

Starting the third in the series, my No. 23, An Unhallowed Grave.

My review of The Armada Boy:

When a group of GI veterans comes to visit where they served for a commemorative service, one of them is stabbed to death. A local psychic insists the murder is connected with someone she refers to as "The Armada Boy". DS Wesley Peterson investigates while his archaeologist friends are excavating a wreck from the Spanish Armada and the ruined chapel where the GI's body was found.

Again a good modern day mystery with interesting characters, and this time for the most part without the author's attempt to write in Elizabethan/Jacobean English. I was surprised spoiler the right to sanctuary still existed after the Reformation but apparently it was restricted by Henry VIII but not finally abolished until the time of James I/VI.

My No. 24 is the fourth in the series, The Funeral Boat:

My review of An Unhallowed Grave:

A woman is found hanging from a churchyard tree but the autopsy shows she was strangled before being strung up. DS Wesley Peterson investigates while his archaeologist friends are excavating land due for development nearby.

I'm enjoying these, but I notice there are 22 in the series. I can't help but wonder how long it will be before the characters notice the pattern of Neil's archaeological and historical discoveries parallelling Wesley's cases and use that information.

Starting my No. 25, Descartes: A Very Short Introduction by Tom Sorell. This brings the TBR shelves down to 51 and is my ninety-fifth ROOT for 2018. It fits the ColourCAT and AlphaKIT.

My review of The Funeral Boat:

Isolated farmhouses are being attacked and robbed, a Danish tourist has been abducted, and a Viking burial has been discovered. The summer holiday season is upon us.

Some touches of humour in this one. There are hints that a promotion may be in the offing for Wesley, and about time too. It sometimes seems that Detective Inspector Gerry Heffernan reports to Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson rather than vice versa.

Starting my No. 26, Embassytown by China Miéville. This brings the TBR shelves down to 50 and is my ninety-sixth ROOT for 2018. I'm hoping it fits the SFFKIT.

My review of Descartes: A Very Short Introduction:

I'm not sure I really understand more about Descartes's philosophy than I did before, however that may be my fault rather than the author's.

Starting my No. 27, Operation Pax by Michael Innes. This is an ebook I've had for long enough to count as my ninety-seventh ROOT for 2018.

My review of Embassytown:

Avice Benner Cho lives in Embassytown, an outpost on a distant planet surrounded by the city, the home of the Hosts/Ariekei. As a child she is chosen the Hosts to be a living simile. When she grows up she becomes an immerser, a spaceship pilot, and then returns to Embassytown with her linguist husband. She plays a key role in the catastrophic events that follow the appointment of EzRa, a new, impossible, Ambassador.

As the narrator, Avice makes few concessions to the fact that her readers have no idea what she's talking about much of the time, and getting one's bearings in this strange new world. Finding out about this world, the Hosts, and Language in the first half of the book is far more interesting than the actual events of the story, ingenious though its resolution is. But this is a book which is going to stay with me and ferment in my brain for a while.

I love Miéville's ideas but have not yet finished a book of his. This is one of the books that intrigues me.

Starting my No. 28, "Off the Beaten Path" (no touchstone) by John Lewis Taylor. This is a church friend's memoirs, which he gave me to donate to the church library but I'm going to read it first. Not a ROOT, but it does fit the AlphaKIT.

My review of Operation Pax:

A petty con man stumbles across a major criminal enterprise.

Not one of my favourites of Innes's. A thriller rather than a detective story. Too much Routh and Jane Appleby and not enough Sir John.

Starting my No. 29, Heidegger: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Inwood. This is my ninety-eighth ROOT of 2018 and would have brought my TBR shelves down to 49 but Kinokuniya had a 50% off sale so I bought Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter and It Shouldn't Happen To A Vet by James Herriot, making 51 books on the shelves.

Starting my No. 30 Agatha Raisin and the First Two Tantalising Cases by M. C. Beaton. This is my ninety-ninth ROOT of 2018. I'm reading it now for the AlphaKIT and MysteryCAT.

My review of Heidegger: A Very Short Introduction:

I thought I was keeping my head above water for the first 100 pages or so (out of 134), though whether I could explain it all to somebody else is another matter. Then I just got overwhelmed trying to keep all the technical vocabulary straight, especially as it most involved weird meanings of everyday words. It did not help that the glossary was based on the German terms while the text used English.

Possible reading for December:

Starting my No. 31, The Seven Wonders by Steven Saylor. This ebook is my one hundredth ROOT of 2018. I'm reading it now for my online reading group and it also fits the AlphaKIT.

Added a book I want to re-read to the physical TBR shelves, A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka, because it was mentioned over on Litsy and although I have read it, I really don't remember anything about it.

My review of Agatha Raisin and the First Two Tantalising Cases:

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

Agatha Raisin cheats in a village baking competition by using a shop-bought quiche. Unfortunately when the judge decides to eat her quiche at home he ends up dead, poisoned.

I didn't find this as funny as the TV version, but that may be down to circumstances. Perhaps it just doesn't mesh with life in the tropics in the way it does with Christmas telly in the UK. I found it more enjoyable when the coffee shop started playing Christmas carols.

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet

A handsome vet opens a surgery in the village, much to the delight of the female population. So, when he turns up dead from an injection meant for a horse there are plenty of suspects.

Although I'm enjoying the main characters, the minor ones are not differentiated enough and so nearing the end of this one I found I'd forgotten who was who amongst the suspects, which is not what you really want in a mystery.

Starting my No. 32, Raiders of the Nile, the second Gordianus prequel. It's a new ebook so is not a ROOT.

My review of The Seven Wonders:

The young Gordianus goes on a trip to see the 7 Wonders of the World in a series of mysteries loosely strung together.

Enjoyable, but it's not always easy to see how Gordianus reaches the solution beyond a lucky guess. And where did he or rather his father with the 21st century views get the money for this trip from?

Starting Wrath of the Furies by Steven Saylor, the third prequel. Again not a ROOT but it does fit the AlphaKIT.

My review of Raiders of the Nile:

Bethesda has been mistaken for a rich merchant's mistress and kidnapped for ransom. Gordianus to the rescue.

A romp of an adventure inspired by Ancient Greek novels. Unfortunately not as exciting as a more detailed summary of events might lead one to believe.

Currently reading my No. 34, A Private View by Michael Innes. This is a new-ish ebook and so doesn't count as a ROOT.

My review of Wrath of the Furies:

Having received a mysterious document that seems to be from his old tutor, Antipater, Gordianus decides to go and find him. The only thing is he's in what is now enemy territory, Ephesus under Mithradates.

Saylor is back in form with this adventure. It's a great thriller with lots of twists and turns, made even more exciting if you know enough about the period to know what's coming.

Starting my No. 35, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale. This is my one hundred and first ROOT of 2018 and brings the TBR shelves down to 52. I am reading it now for the AlphaKIT and the ColourCAT.

My review of A Private View:

A painting is stolen from under Sir John Appleby's nose at a memorial private view dedicated to a recently deceased young artist. Was there also something not quite right about the young man's death?

A satisfyingly complex romp from Michael Innes with all the usual battiness on show. However, Hildebert Brown (né Braunkopf), the funny foreigner who can't speak English properly, hasn't worn well.

Starting my No. 36, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. This is my one hundred and second ROOT of 2018 and brings the TBR shelves down to 51. I am re-reading it now for the AlphaKIT and as follow-up to The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, reviewed below:

Fascinating account of the Road Hill House murder in 1860, setting it in the context of the early days of police detection in Britain and pointing forward to its influence on the British, Agatha Christie style of whodunnit detective fiction ever since.

A three-year-old boy is abducted from his bed during the night and after a search the next day his dead body is found stuffed down an outside toilet. Was the murderer the nursemaid, caught in bed with her employer? Or was it his jealous half-sister, possibly suffering from hereditary insanity? Inspector Whicher investigates.

Starting my No. 37, The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. This is a new-ish ebook and so not a ROOT. I am reading it now for the AlphaKIT.

My review of The Moonstone (unchanged since September 2009):

In one of the first if not the first English detective novels, the mystery to be solved is the theft of a large diamond called the Moonstone after it was left to Rachel Verinder on her 18th birthday as a bequest from her uncle.

The story was first published as a serial in which a chain of witnesses each tells their own story about the theft and recovery of the diamond.

Although it doesn't have the impact now that it must have done on its first publication, it's still a suspenseful story full of interesting characters and a sly sense of humour.

The Moonstone is one of my many TBRs - I'm looking forward to it (eventually).

Starting my No. 38, the next in the series, The Janus Stone
My review of The Crossing Places:

Dr. Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist, is asked by the police to identify some bones uncovered in the marsh near her home. They turn out to be those of an Iron Age girl but the police nevertheless consult her on ritual elments that seem to be part of the crime.

I enjoyed this very atmospheric story with a very exciting climax that I had to put down several times just to remember to breathe.

Starting my No. 39, the third in the series, The House at Sea's End.

My review of The Janus Stone (no touchstones today):

A former children's home is being demolished for a block of luxury flats but then a child's skeleton is found under the main door. Ruth Galloway is asked to date the skeleton, was it one of the children from the home or is it earlier - mediaeval or even Roman?

Again, interesting archaeological information combined with a mystery with a thrilling climax.

Hi Robert, just skimming threads and trying to get to all of them before New year. Glad to see you are still reading a lot!

Thanks for dropping by, Connie. Hope you have a good Christmas and New Year with your family.

My No. 40 is the next in the series, A Room Full of Bones.

My review of The House at Sea's End:

Six bodies are found in cleft in the cliffs along an eroding part of the coast. Something happened 70 years ago in the war, but what? And who is willing to kill to preserve the secret?

Some good misdirection in this mystery. And it looks on the last page as if the domestic bombshell is about to go off.

My No. 41 is Ruth's First Christmas Tree, a short story in this series after which I'll give the series a break. It fits the AlphaKIT.

My review of A Room Full of Bones:

A private museum hosts a grand opening of a recently-discovered 14th century AD archbishop's coffin. Unfortunately, when Ruth Galloway arrives early, she finds the curator's dying body next to the coffin.

I was afraid these were becoming formulaic, but this one was quite different from the earlier stories. But Ruth seems curiously ignorant here of many aspects of her profession.

My No. 42 is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. As well as being seasonal (all right I know we are still in Advent), it fits the AlphaKIT.

My review of Ruth's First Christmas Tree:

Sweet vignette like a Christmas story on TV, but not quite that saccharine.

Starting my No. 43, The Long Way to A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. This is my one hundred and third ROOT for 2018 and fits the AlphaKIT.

Starting my No. 44, the next in the series, A Closed and Common Orbit. As a new ebook, it is not a ROOT, though it does fit the AlphaKIT.

My review of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet:

These are the voyages of the tunnel ship 'Wayfarer'', its two-year mission to open up a new trade route to new life and a new civilisation.

I enjoyed exploring this universe where humans are a very junior member of the Galactic Commons, although the central part of the story was very episodic to the point where I at least lost sight of the overall story arc and was just watching the aliens of the week interacting with the crew in a friendly or hostile manner or the crew interacting with each other. Looking forward to reading the next one in the series, to see what other adventures they have.

On the journey home I finished off A Closed and Common Orbit, read my No. 45, Dangerous Ground by Josh Lanyon, and started my No. 46, Fire and Water by Andrew Grey.

My review of "A Closed and Common Orbit":

A definite disappointment at first as we are not continuing with the crew of the Wayfarer but alternate the backstory of one planetside character with the early days of a downloaded AI learning how to as a "human". However, by the end of the book I was completely invested in the characters to the point of leaking happy tears.

My review of Dangerous Ground:

This freebie novella was worth about what I paid for it. I won't be reading the series.

Starting my No. 47, The Blazing World and Other Writings by Margaret Cavendish.

My review of Fire and Water:

Police officer Red Markham is called to an altercation at a swimming pool between a woman and one of the lifeguards, Terry Baumgartner. Pretty boy Terry has nothing but disdain for Red, who has facial scarring from the car accident that killed his parents when he was a teenager. When they meet again, it is obvious that Terry is in trouble and Red's aunt insists he help. One thing leads to another.

I started so I was going to finish, but even so I nearly gave up at several points. The story of how Terry's problems intersected with one of Red's cases wasn't very interesting and the sex scenes were the only indication that this was not a traditional heterosexual Mills & Boon story. And if the message is that the heart is more important than looks, isn't it a bit hypocritical for the cover to only show the scarred character from the back?

>61 Robertgreaves: >62 Robertgreaves: I've heard so many good things about The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and A Closed and Common Orbit, I really should try and get to them sometime.

>64 Jackie_K: Same here! But they are not translated so I will have to be patient and wait. Or try the English version.

A very merry Christmas to all who are celebrating the birth of the Christ child and a Kewl Yule to those who aren't.

To you too, Robert! I hope the book elves were generous this year :)

Merry Christmas, Robert!

Merry Christmas, Robert!

I think the Christmas holidays was not the best time to read The Blazing World and Other Writings. It needed sustained concentration, which in the end I had to admit I was not giving it. So, giving up and trying Have Personality Disorder, Will Rule Russia by Jennifer Eremeeva, a humorous gallop through Russian history, as my replacement No. 47. It is my one hundred and seventh ROOT for 2018.

Starting my No. 48, The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog by Elizabeth Peters. This is my one hundred and eighth ROOT for 2018.

My review of Have Personality Disorder, Will Rule Russia:

Fun gallop through Russian history down to 2015 by an American journalist and blogger. I wonder what the author would think of current events.

Reading planned for January 2019:

Starting my No. 49, the next in the series, The Hippopotamus Pool.

My review of The Snake, The Crocodile, and the Dog:

To keep Nefret's identity secret, Emerson and Peabody travel to Egypt for the season by themselves. Once there they are subject to increasing harassment until Emerson is abducted.

A very funny adventure, with Peabody's tart commentary on the action.

During a weekend away visiting friends, I moved on to the next in the series, my No. 50, Seeing a Large Cat.

My review of The Hippopotamus Pool:

Emerson has a mysterious visitor who claims to be a reincarnation of a priest from the time of Queen Tetisheri, produces a genuine artefact from her tomb, and promises to reveal its location. Unfortunately he disappears before he can do so. But Emerson and Peabody try and find it with the usual interruptions from not just one but two rival gangs of criminals.

I found the story rather a muddle in this one, but let's face it, the stories are just an excuse to meet Amelia Peabody and her family again.

While my tablet with Seeing a Large Cat is charging. I'm starting my No. 50, The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton. I'm reading it for my online reading group.

My review of Seeing a Large Cat:

When an American father and daughter arrive Egypt, it means trouble for the Emerson/Peabody family. The daughter seems to be falling for Ramses, and can the father really be wanting Nefret as his next wife? Who is threatening the daughter?

I'm not sure how I feel about Ramses being all grown up. He was such fun as a child.

Starting my No. 51, The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. I am re-reading this for my RL book club.

Moving in to the 2019 group