Hairballsrus 2019: Reads, Rants and the Occasional Instant Pot Recipe...woohoo!

Hello, my name is Paula and I'm a bookaholic. The rest is subject to change.

Welcome to my world.....

Welcome back, Paula. I'm with you on the bookaholicism!

Instant Pot recipes? I am there! I love my IP :)

Happy New Year, Paula!

Happy reading in 2019, Paula!

Happy New Year!

Dropping off my star, Paula!

This is a guess at what I read this month since my beloved husband lost the notebook I was using to track stuff. Grrr. I was participating in the January Jam Jar Challenge where my friends chose what I read.

1. Down Among the Sticks and Bones I've read the first three of these now and I'm still not the greatest fan. Library borrow. Audio
2. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore meh. Unbelievable melodrama. Library borrow. Audio.
3. Mr. Flood's Last Resort Another unbelievable melodrama but this had the charm to pull it off. Audible. Bought this month.
4. One Way Physical copy. Bought 2018 I think. Jam Jar.
5. The Screaming Staircase reread
6. The Million Novella in the Lockstep Universe. Physical copy. Jam Jar. Bought 2018.
7. When Breathe Becomes Air Library borrow. Audio.

Other Jam Jar Picks:

I didn't finish Full Fathom Five, I just wasn't in the mood and I'm still reading The Uploaded by Ferrett Steinmetz. I'm also about sixty pages into An Excess Male

The notebook has been found and I missed one.

8. The Oracle Year Physical TBR. Bought 2018. Entertaining until the main character started to act like a superhero. I did enjoy the very ending.

Duh. Still missed one.

9. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up Audible bought this month. Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon and started the tidying process in January. I'm not a complete convert but I did manage to weed out our clothing quite and bit and (gasp!) took seventeen boxes of books to HalfPriceBooks while I was on vacation last week. 99% of the stuff I do not regret. I managed to empty the bottom shelves of all of the bookcases in my Fantasy room (yes, my books are separated by room and by category) so the five kitty residents can sleep there. They were doing it anyway and causing damage.

What on my fantasy shelves gives me JOY and survived the cull? All of my Terry Pratchett, Charles de Lint and Jonathan Carroll. I need to start doing some rereads. I am actually not a great fan of deLint's short stories even though he's famous for them. That's a personal preference. I just don't like short fiction much. There are very few short stories I can claim as favorites.

Lots and lots of YA got the boot. I'm over the genre for the most part except for a few prime picks.

What I am not looking forward to is editing my librarything account.

I plan to participate in Fantastic February which is all about the fantasy books on your shelves.

Possible reads from my physical TBR:

Tess of the Road
Brown Girl in the Ring
Reservation Blues
The Seventh Bride
California Bones
Strange the Dreamer (an unfinished book from last year)
Gods and Monsters (I'd like to put this series to rest finally)
The Thinking Woman's Guide to Magic
Lady Midnight
The Wolf in the Whale
The Girl with Glass Feet
Foundryside
Reincarnation Blues
Noir
The Last Witness

Obviously I still have plenty to choose from even though I got rid of hundreds of books!

ooo! And the new Jasper Fforde Early Riser.

Is Fantastic February an LT thing?

No, sorry, I discovered Fantastic February on the Readathon Calendar that YouTuber or rather BookTuber "the little Book Owl" has on her blog. She gathers Readathon announcements from all over the web and then posts both a video with the info and then the blog form I was talking about. I'm trying to participate in a different event each month. I figure if I participate at least six times I'll call it a win. So far Jam Jar January and Fantastic February are from a blogger called Books and Munches. For March I'm considering March Mystery Madness which is actually a BookTube spawned event. It gives my reading a bit of a direction but I still basically read what I want.

I just recently subscribed to Scribd and I am seriously enjoying the bounty available. But in my defense, I am also trying to read from my physical TBR, but if Scribd has an ebook or audiobook version of it, I don't see any reason why I can't use them.

Funny, looking back on the list of "possibles" I posted for this month, I don't think I've read any of them!

10. The Golem and the Jinni Audible purchase from 2018 I wanted to like this more than I did honestly. It was just too long without enough happening.

11. The Last Adventure of Constance Verity Physical TBR/Scribd audio. Not my favorite A. Lee Martinez, but still fun.

12. Dark Fever by Karen Marie Moning I've meant to start this urban fantasy series for years and having weeded down my physical TBR, it popped up again (I actually sold off later books and kept only the first one for a trial run) and Fantastic February seemed a good enough reason to give it go. Then I found the audiobook on Scribd and off I went. I'd say it has more in common with paranormal romance than straight urban fantasy, but lordy, lordy, the books are addictive; you just want to know what will happen next.

13. Bloodfever Scribd audiobook Did I mention I needed to know what happened next??

Like always, I'm way behind in listing my reads. So far, 2019 has been a very enjoyable year. Picking a readathon to join each month has really worked out for me.

14. Jack the Giant Killer by Charles de LInt I revisited some long ago loves from Mr. de Lint. He isn't mentioned so much anymore, but in the 80's and 90's he was one of my "go to" authors. This novel and its sequel aren't exactly his best stuff, but I remembered really enjoying them when I was in my early twenties. YA before it was called YA I'd say. And YA when it was actually what I was expected to read. :) A retelling of what else....Jack the Giant Killer. Physical copy

15. Drink Down the Moon by Charles de Lint Sequel to the above. The main character drove me nuts. She was supposed to be the hero, but everyone else around her had more common sense. Jackie truly relied on her luck and her friends. Still, the idea of the fae living inside an urban environment and trying to adapt to modern times; the concept of two worlds on top of each other, is something I visit again and again. Physical Copy

Now that I have these two out of the way, I'm really like to reread Greenmantle, Someplace to Be Flying, Yarrow, The Mystery of Grace, The Little Country and others. Maybe I should add a de Lint novel to each month's reading this year.

16. Early Riser by Jasper Fforde Oh Lord, the first line to this book makes me laugh every time I hear it. "Mrs. Tiffen could play the bouzouki. Not well and only one tune: Help Yourself by Tom Jones."
I went into this not knowing what to expect and got another complicated dystopian world from Jasper Fforde. At first, it felt a little too close to Shades of Grey with the male narrator and the train journey, although I honestly don't know that that's a bad thing because I LOVE that book. It could use a stronger ending. I wish I could get into his Thursday Next series because I love his humor and I know I'm selling myself short by not reading them. I, unfortunately, missed seeing the author in person at Book People in Austin, but I bought a signed copy from them as well as the audiobook from Audible. This author I will happily support with cold hard cash. Please write faster!

17. In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire Finally, one of the Wayward Children books that I actually like. Maybe it's because it feels like we got a complete story this time and maybe it's because I like "there and back again" tales as well as decisions that have consequences. More of this and less of the candy corn crap from the third novella, please. And I'm not being nasty because I don't like the author; I love the author, just not all of her stories. Library Overdrive audio borrow.

18. Wide Open by Deborah Coates Solid opening for a paranormal series with an unusual setting, South Dakota! So much for urban fantasy. I really enjoyed the kick-ass heroine. Newly returned from Afghanistan on compassionate leave, soldier Hallie Michaels is haunted by her dead sister and convinced she didn't commit suicide; she was murdered. Well of course she was, goes without saying. You really get the feel of the setting; the emptiness of the land, the biting wind, the loneliness of it all. But it's also a love letter to that type of life as well. Interesting magic system. Creepy villain. Two thumbs up! Physical TBR

19. Deep Down by Deborah Coates I needed to know what happened next! I requested a physical copy from the Plano library system, but by the time it arrived, I had already read the ebook copy from Scribd and moved on to the third novel. Harbingers of Death in the form of dogs. The walls between here and the hereafter thinning. Nifty stuff.

20. Strange Country by Deborah Coates This time there's a murder to solve. I slowed down abruptly when I realized this wasn't a continuing series, just a trilogy. Well, bummer. The climax wasn't so well done in this one. More tell than show. Yes, it ends well enough, but there should be more books. Hmph. ebook from Scribd

21. Faefever by Karen Marie Moning These books are like crack! Always with the cliffhangers you evil woman you. Scribd audio.

And that brings us to the end of Fantastic February.

Wait, I totally forgot I reread a Betty Neels novel in honor of Valentine's Day. Now, which one was it.....?? The one with the doctor and the nurse? That could describe about eighty of them. No, she was a physiotherapist.

22. The Course of True Love I got hooked on these in the mid-eighties. I'm pretty sure I read everything she ever put out; the epitome of a comfort read. I remember one of the cats' is named Toots. Going blank other than it had a happy ending. Well duh. The doctor is always a bit full of himself but he has a good heart.

Next Up is March Mystery Madness

23. Caught Dead in Philadelphia by Gillian Roberts Reread These murder mysteries involve an English teacher and her detective boyfriend, C.K. McKenzie. There's an ongoing joke that she doesn't know his first name, at least not until Book Eleven. My original intent was to read the later books in the series. What I wound up doing was rereading books 1 and 2 and then skipping on to Book 11. Books 12,13 and 14 are the ones I was SUPPOSED to read. But I didn't feel like reading them after reading the other three right in a row. Maybe I need to spread out the rest of the series over the next few months.

24. Philly Stakes by Gillian Roberts Reread

25. Helen Hath No Fury by Gillian Roberts First read? Sounded familiar, but I'm honestly not sure.

26. Morgue: A Life in Death by Vincent DiMaio Nonfiction. Forensic pathologist describes some of the more famous cases in his career. I guess I was expecting more details about the actual autopsies. There's a fair amount about gunshot residue and tracking down the past history of a suspect. I cannot believe how long the baby killer got away with it. Seriously that woman was deranged. How do you rate a book like this? Should I even say it was entertaining?

27. City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong I cannot describe how much I dislike this book. I just can't. I think I don't like straight thrillers. I don't like dumb straight thrillers. You don't negotiate with a killer while someone is bleeding out from a gunshot wound. That just crosses the line. And enough already will the petty best friend. Psycho bitch honestly.

28. Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning Yes, the addiction continues. That ending!!!! Arggh. What they do to Kayla in this series would obviously be unacceptable in any other genre, but in paranormal romance, it's anything goes. Problematic? Oh yeah. Entertaining? You betcha.

29. Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent I'm torn about this one. On the one hand, it felt like I was plopped down in the middle of someone's term paper with so many historical occurrences slapped in my face like dead fish (where is this sentence headed??? who knows), but on the other hand, I actually enjoyed some of the melodrama. But it was listed as a murder mystery!!! No one died suspiciously until page 380!!!!!! And then naturally they were the victim of a real serial killer WHO COULD HAVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT IF THEY HAD ONLY SHUT UP!!!! There's like five or six books in this series. Somebody likes them. A female Victorian undertaker. Such a cool idea. I don't know. I kept hoping the husband would be murdered. He was such a shmuck. Let's just move on, shall we?

30. Seances are for Suckers First book in a murder mystery series about a fake medium. Amusing. A few off notes. A black cat named Beast. Haunted castle. Smugglers caves. An unnecessary romance that makes sense once you realize the author also writes romances. Cute cover. A little paranormal prod. Has possibilities.

31. Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire First book in the Incryptid Series. Right up my alley. More McGuire books to read. GOODY! So far I love the mice and the glimpses I've gotten of Verity's kookie family. Nobody spoil me, please. I'm going to enjoy catching up on this world.

Next Up on the Readathon Calendar is the O.W.L.S. hosted by The Book Roast on Youtube.

Ordinary Wizarding Levels: a Harry Potter themed event for the entire month of April. This is followed by the N.E.W.T.S.: Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests to be taken in August. The main rule is you cannot attempt a NEWT in any subject you didn't pass an OWL in. For each OWL, you must read one book/comic/short story/something with the proper prompt. I'm trying to pick from books I already own.
A= Two Passed Exams E=Six Passed Exams O=Nine Passed Exams

Ancient Runes: Read a Retelling: The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

Arithmancy: Read a Book with More Than One Author: The Core of the Sun by Johanna Sinisalo This is translated into English from Finnish

Astronomy: Read a Book with "Star" in the Title: Star Cats: A Feline Zodiac by Leslie Anne Ivory

Care of Magical Creatures: Read a Book with a Land Animal on the Cover: Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles My particular copy has a picture of a cat flattened by a grand piano on the cover. Only its paws are sticking out. I don't suppose dragons could be considered a land animal? Option Two: Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Charms: Read an Adult Book: Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Read a Title That Starts with the Letter R: Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett or Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore

Divination: Read a Book Set in the Future: The Future Will Be BS Free by Will McIntosh

Herbology: Read a Book with a Plant on the Cover: Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore

History of Magic: Read a Book That Was Written More Than Ten Years Ago: Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie

Muggle Studies: Read a Contemporary: Midnight Blue Light Special by Seanan McGuire

Potions: Read a Sequel:Shadowfever b Karen Marie Moning

Transfiguration: Sprayed edges or Red Cover: All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai The letters of the title are in RED on my ARC copy. Another option would be The Wolf in the Whale

The Book Roast also posted a list of career paths to follow and the OWLS and NEWTS necessary for the particular fields. I'm leaning towards Librarian which requires OWLS in Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic and Transfiguration. Then in the NEWTS, I'll need to achieve an O level in Ancient Runes and an E Level in both Defense Against the Dark Art and The History of Magic.

I'm a Hufflepuff by the way. :)

>16 hairballsrus: That looks like an interesting challenge, Paula. Not sure if I'm up to the work it would take to organize it, though.
>14 hairballsrus: I got hooked on Betty Neels in the 70s, and also Essie Summers. I have a box full of each of their works up in the attic, read but uncatalogued. I have almost everything by Neels, although I became more lackadaisical in finding and picking up her books after the turn of the century. The Course of True Love is 1988, so I should have it.

There are two other Readathons I'm interested in for April: the Thirty Day Book Binge hosted by The Book Rat which has no prompts, you just have to read every day and Tome Topple which involves reading books over 500 pages. Not sure about the dates for that one.

Roni- I got rid of a lot of my Neels back in January and just saved my favorites. I don't think it matters if you bought anything past 2000 since I think she died like in '98? I'm sure I've read some Essie Summers but I don't think I own any.

O.W.L.s update:

32. The Seventh Bride retelling of Bluebeard (or at least inspired by the fairytale since I've never read the source material) for Ancient Runes. I wish this had been a bit longer. I will definitely look for more books by this author.

33. The Core of the Sun for Arithmancy (read a book with two authors) This was a unique dystopian world; I really enjoyed it even though it went a bit off the deep end. Imagine a world where chili peppers are illegal and women are bred to be stupid.

34. Midnight Blue Light Special for Muggle Studies (read a contemporary)

35. Half-off Ragnarok My Potions OWL (read a sequel) originally listed a different book, but this works as well. Assuming you can accept all the coincidences in these books, they're fun rides. I had one major issue with the narration of this book though since I listened to the audio. In the first two novels Dominick sounds British (which he isn't and I just assumed the narrator couldn't do the accent), but in this one, the new narrator makes him sound Italian (and the character actually IS), but I was used to him sounding British so he just didn't sound like himself. And being an Anglophile, I'll take a Brit over an Italian any day Just blame it on all those regency romances I read in my youth.

36. Star Cats: a Feline Zodiac for Astronomy (read a book with Star in the title) This was literally the only option in my library if I didn't want to read a Star Wars novel. Needs must!

So if I still want to pursue being a magical librarian, I need to complete OWLs in Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic and Transfiguration. That would be
Reincarnation Blues, Reservation Blues and either All Our Wrong Todays or The Wolf in the Whale or maybe Shadowfever because they all have red on the cover. Hmmm.

I haven't hosted a series or an author for a while. I'd like to do so this summer, during a month when the most interested folk have the time to do at least the targeted book, which is only 200 pp. long. I'd like to expose as many people as possible to the works of James H. Schmitz, a science fiction author who wrote from the late '40s through the 1970s. He is best known for The Witches of Karres, but imho has written much better works. Here is my bookshelf.


Many of his works, especially his shorter ones, were very hard to find for quite a while, but in 2000 and 2001, Baen published almost all of his oeuvre in a collection of 6 books, seen to the right of the shelf above. The book I would like to feature is Demon Breed, also found in the Baen collection The Hub: Dangerous Territory. Schmitz is known for his kick-ass female protagonists long before they became the current ubiquitous status quo in his stories about Telzey Amberdon, Trigger Argee, and the hero of Demon Breed, Nile Etland.

See my thread for more info if interested!

Cheers, Roni! Not sure if that's my cup of tea, but thanks for thinking of me. Every time I'm forced to read a book, I rebel.

Completion of OWLS. I managed to complete all but one of the prompts, so I'm on my way to becoming a magical librarian! Looking forward to the NEWTS in August.

April READS

37.Pride and Prejudice HIstory of Magic Always a pleasure to revisit Elizabeth and Darcy.

38. Reincarnation Blues Defense Against the Dark Arts This turned out to be really charming. Our hero is trying to reach enlightenment and he's already had 9,995 tries.
Did I mention he's in love with Death? Her name is Suzy.

39.Shadowfever Transfiguration I've now completed the first ARC of the crazy ass Faefever books. They're definitely like eating bonbons.

40. Everything Belongs to the Future Divination

41. Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn Herbology

42. The Test by Sylvain Neuvel Charms

Moody May

43. Winds of Marque

44. Kingdom of Needle and Bone

45. Middlegame

46. Ghostland

47. Island of the Sequined Love Nun

48. I'll Be Gone in the Dark

49. The Road to Little Dribbling

50. Crocodile on the Sandbank

June Reads (Jazzy June}

This month's book event suggests revisiting books from the past. I've also decided to try the Summer Romance Book Bingo Challenge, which is actually a three-month event. I'm sure you get the gist of how that works; a bingo card with book prompts helps you make choices. There are, I think, over eighty prompts and you can either create your own card or play one that's already been created. A lot of the prompts are vague enough that you can read something other than a romance if you so desire. So, let's see, I need twenty-five prompts.

1. Read a book with a one-word title: The Seance
2. Subgenre: Paranormal romance: The Cursed
3. Romance with a dog or cat on the cover:
4. Read the next book in a series: Lord of Shadows
5. Read a book published in August of any year: Foundryside
6. Book by an author writing under a pseudonym:
7. Book published the year you were born:
8. Read a book by an author that shares your first or last name:
9. READERS CHOICE
10. Read the first book in a series Lady Midnight
11. A new release (J,J,A 2019): Magic for Liars
12. Read a book you borrowed: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
13. Read a book with more than 500 pages -- Queen of Air and Darkness
14. Romance featuring someone in the medical field Patient Nurse
15. New to you author Illuminae
16. Book you bought for the cover Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
17. Book by a favorite author Calypso
18. Book with a red cover Traitor's Blade
19. Book with a blue cover Gemina
20. A book involving travel Player of Games
21. Subgenre: Romantic suspense
22. A book that takes place during winter
23. Read a book with ice cream on the cover
24.Takes place in a country you don't live in Pocket Apocalypse
25. Two different time periods This is How You Lose the Time War

51. The Seance by Heather Graham Bleah. Why title your book based on a tiny scene that happens three-quarter's of the way through the plot? Because no one would buy it otherwise. I borrowed this from the library and thought, fine, anyone can write one bad book, I'll seek out some of the Krewe of Hunters novels she's famous for and try one of those...
52. The Cursed by Heather Graham Double bleah. I think this is like Book Ten, but I doubt that matters. This is supposed to be a paranormal romance where the main character can see ghosts. All right, she can. But so can everyone else! Is this supposed to be an unusual talent?? Let's make it a murder mystery, but introduce so few side characters it's impossible not to guess the culprit. Let's give the lovers love scenes that are so generic they could be put in a different book and you wouldn't notice the difference. Let's...okay, you get the point. Calmest murder victim/ghost I've ever seen. At least get angry. I'm angry. I'm angry I still have a couple more books to read by her. I bought them; I suppose I should give them a shot. This book did make me want to visit Key West. That's a plus.
53. Gateway by Fredrik Pohl I decided to revisit a favorite from the past and it was fine; I just didn't realize how sexist this novel is. How did I miss that the first time around? All the women are either bitches or sex kittens. Or both. I'm still fascinated by the Heechees.
54. Calypso by David Sedaris After getting the dates mixed up on an author event we were supposed to go to in early May ( I bought these as a Christmas prez for my husband so I felt like a complete twit!), I jumped at the chance of going to a signing for Calypso at the flagship HPB store that's near us. David Sedaris is very entertaining in person and we definitely enjoyed his live reading, but he's also a chatterbox and it took us four hours to get our book signed! It was still a lovely evening and I'd go to see him again. The book was maybe not his most entertaining, but still enjoyable and full of his quirky outlook on life.

55.Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare It's been a very long time since I've read a Cassandra Clare book, but I did actually buy this in hardback back in the day and this trilogy is now complete so I'm sticking my toe back into the Shadowhunter world. I think this is actually the eleventh book of hers I've read. The main character Emma Carstairs irritated the shit out of me for most of the book. There's the repeated theme of forbidden love that made me roll my eyes, but if to be truthful probably also made me buy the book in the first place. Cassandra Clare is at least better at romance than Heather Graham is. :) Good cliffhanger. Entertaining walk-on scenes by favorite characters from the past. Yes, I'm team Herendale, both Jace and Will. Now I have a new Herandale to follow. Woohoo!

56. Lord of Shadows
57. Queen of Air and Darkness Yuck. Read like fanfic. Bad fanfic.
58. The Bane Chronicles Used Magnus Bane as a chaser to get the taste of QoAaD out of my mouth.
59. Magic for Liars Fantasy noir? Sometimes I just don't like female protagonists. Hopefully, that doesn't get me voted off the island.

Okay, I'm just going to dump book titles in here like a crazy person since I've been gone for a couple of months and have participated in both Summer Romance Bingo and the NEWTS in the interim. I passed my NEWTS by the way. I'm now a Magical Librarian.

60. Illuminae These books were entertaining and quick. The last didn't really have the one-two punch I was hoping for, but at least it answered all the questions.
61. Gemina
62. Obsidio
63. This is How You Lose the Time War
64. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
65. In Order to Live
66. Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
67. Foundryside
68. Player of Games
69. The Patient Nurse
70. Pocket Apocalypse I don't Alex as well as his sisters, but that might have something to do with the audio narrator.
71. Chaos Choreography
72. Fortune's Pawn
73. Harold and the Purple Crayon

All of the Incryptid short stories are where exactly? There's not a published book?

74. The Ghost Line
75. Leviathan Wakes
76. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?

Congratulations on reaching 75, Paula!

Congrats! And such a good one too!

Thank you!

77. Dune Yep, I finally read it. I'm participating in the GoodReads group for Space Opera September.

And yet another good one!

More congrats on passing the 75 book mark! I know I loved Dune when I read it in the late 60s, but I've been afraid to reread it at my advanced age for fear the suck fairy has visited.

Sounds you and my husband have something in common; Dune makes him smile. He kept texting me a "word of the day" while I was reading.

78. Traitor's Blade
79. Chilling Effect Entertaining but slight disappointing humorous space opera that needs more PSYCHIC CATS and less twitching palps. Just trust me on the second thing.
80. The Atrocities Oh so good creepy gothic novella that does everything right until the last few pages!!!
81. Gods of Jade and Shadow

currently reading: goody, goody, my library hold came in for the ebook of The Unkindest Tide! Still waiting impatiently for the audiobook to become available so I can buy it!

Also The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher, Gideon the Ninth and Forbidden Nights with a Vampire. All good Halloweeny reads indeed!

Ooh, book bullet for Chilling Effect--my library has it on order, but this is the first I've heard of it. I've heard a lot about Gods of Jade and Shadow--what did you think of it? The library also has it on order.

Roni-Both of the books were sort of middle of the road for me but since I haven't been on the site for two months I'm sure you've read them already! :)

Actually, I just finished reading Gods of Jade and Shadow a few minutes ago! Took the library that long to get the book in, catalogued, and get to me on the hold list. I thought it better than Chilling Effect, which was definitely middle of the road and which I nominate for worst use of a shipfull of psychic cats ever! I liked GoJaS best at the start, and even if I found a distance developing between me and Cassiopea as the book went on, I can appreciate what the author was doing and the use of the mythology and how she didn't do the easy or expected thing, so I'll give her credit for all that and also check out her other books.

Still waiting for Gideon the Ninth from the library.

How are you? Are things okay? Are you ready for Christmas? Have you been reading?

I cannot believe I just managed to erase my large post of everything I've read for the past two months. ARGGGH!

Yes, you're right, what a total waste of psychic cats!

Let's try this again.

82. The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher Loved this!
83. Sweet Dreams Cthulhu
84. C is for Cthulhu
85. Unhallowed Ground by Heather Graham I'm done with her cookie-cutter style. I liked her much better when she was Shannon Drake and I was...ahem...in my twenties. I'm considering starting a reread project for 2020 and revisiting my favorite paranormal romances of yesteryear. Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, etc.
86. Pumpkin Heads by Raindbow Rowell So cute.
87. The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett An everything but the kitchen sink story. Not enough about the every day of life on the road in vaudeville for my liking.

OMG, got to get numbers 83 and 84! 😂

>42 drneutron:
You are so right! Is it sacrilege to say I enjoyed the things I read based on Lovecraft more than reading Lovecraft? There were a few of the stories that were real standouts but a lot of his stuff felt like slogging through mud.

Okay, I didn't have the time to continue the list the other night so I'm back again. Knowing how inclined I am to erasing my long posts by accident I'm going to try for short sharp shocks.

>38 ronincats: If you want to try another Moreno-Garcia book I recommend Signal to Noise. I read it in 2018 and loved it. I think her next book to be published piqued my interest too but I can't remember the premise.

October continued...

October Continued...

88. Last Breath by Rachel Caine Each one of the Morganville Vampire books is like an episode of Buffy. They were much better at the beginning, but since I'm up to number eleven I guess you could say I'm committed. This book seems to be the start of the final story arc.
89. The Birds and Other Stories To be honest, I only read The Birds and one other story out of this collection. But I also read Don't Look Now which isn't included so I'm counting it as a complete read. Don't Look Now was by far my favorite. What a great ending.
90. In the Shadow of Spindrift House by Mira Grant Going completely against what I said a few posts ago, I didn't enjoy this Lovecraft inspired story at all; I spent the whole time wanting to strangle the protagonist. This concept was done so much better in Meddling Kids.

Nonfiction November with a few exceptions...

91. The Poison Squad I will never look at milk or ketchup the same way again.
92. Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
93. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
94. The White Darkness by David Grann
95. The Unkindest Tide by Seanan Mcguire I started out reading this in October as an ebook borrowed from the library and because of well, life and the short time you can borrow a new title, I only made it to 74% before it disappeared off my tablet. NO! I instantly requested it again, both in ebook and physical form, but there was a loooong line. Luckily the audiobook finally became available and I finished it that way in November. To be honest, this isn't a favorite of mine. I thought the ending was a bit of a cop-out and I still dislike Toby's daughter with a passion. I think she should have focused on the one storyline instead of splitting focus and Tybalt was once again wasted as a side character.
96. Pale Rider: the Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World by Laura Spinney Long winded but interesting book on the topic. Sometimes it felt like I was trapped inside someone's thesis research but I certainly knew a lot more about the flu by the end of it. Went out and got my flu shot the next day!

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, some other tradition or none at all, this is what I wish for you!

>48 ronincats: Thank You! Half the Hairballs household is down sick with a cold and the other half (me) forgot to buy enough honey to make both the pecan squares and the rub for the Moroccan spiced pork roast so we had shrimp curry for dinner! I'm also celebrating having Dec. 26th off for only the second time in thirty years! I think I'll go to the Half Price Book Sale.

More November....

97. Wayward Son Baz eats cats! That's a dealbreaker.
98. The Man from the Train Interesting subject matter (a serial killer case at the turn of last century) butchered by amateurish and repetitive writing. The tone was a bit strange too.
99. Looking for Calvin and Hobbes I was more of a Bloom County fan so this nonfiction book about comic creator Bill Watterson was definitely enlightening to me. I had no idea he shunned the public so much. Unfortunately, the author never scored the coveted interview with the artist so the book suffers from not really having a punchline.
100. Lab Girl Trees! I must admit her real-life story sort of trumped the scientific bits of this book and since I listened to it on audio I probably didn't absorb everything I could have.

December......

101. Bridge of Clay I really enjoyed this once I adjusted to the back and forth narrative style. The pets were a riot. I can't believe I waited so long to read it. I was gifted it the month it came out. Still, if it's another long dry spell before we get another Zusak novel that could be a good thing. I listened to a podcast with the author about his struggles with the book and appreciate his efforts all the more so.
102, Winnie the Pooh I was at work alone on a Sunday and this was available on audio from the library. Enough said. Eyore is the brightest of the bunch.
103. Eating Mindfully My mind kept wandering while listening to this so ....maybe I should work on my mindful listening skills first. :) I am interested in the topic and 2020 is the year of not stuffing everything in my face, but I think I'd rather take a more scientific approach to that goal.
104. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories This has sort of been an ongoing project since September. I read my first and probably still my favorite Lovecraft story on a camping trip back then, The Thing on the Doorstep! There are two stories that I missed in this collection, but I've also read a lot of stories that aren't in this collection so I'm calling it completed. Man, this guy could be dull! And how many times can you repeat the "I lived to tell the tale!" structure? But other stories were so much fun. How can you ever forget Hebert West Reanimator's rallying cry of "It's still not fresh enough!" Okay, maybe Lovecraft wasn't trying to be funny, but I found it a hoot. I know that Lovecraft was a racist and obviously that cannot be condoned, but at least most of the stories I read really didn't reflect that and I am of the mind to separate the author from his works if possible. I enjoyed the better part of my time with these tales.
105, Howl's Moving Castle Have I read this before? I'm not sure. I'm a really big fan of the film and when this popped up on Audible for $5 I said "Yes please!"
106. Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber An incredibly stupid Christmas romance. Okay, the first half wasn't bad.
107, Forbidden Nights with a Vampire Face palm. Ugh. I started this back in October and finally skipped to the end. Am I supposed to care about this couple? I guess they deserve each other. No one else would want them.
108. Atomic Habits This is more like it! I hope to use this advice to get me back to exercising on a regular basis and eliminating refined sugar from my life.
109. The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror It wouldn't be Christmas without a reread of my favorite Christopher Moore novel. As Joshua Barker would say "Well, duh."

110. Angel's Blood
111. Gideon the Ninth