Jim's (drneutron's) Life in Books

I'm Jim, 61, husband of 38 years, father of a son gainfully employed creating our robot overlords, who reads pretty much anything. We're in central Maryland with roots in Louisiana. I like to read (obviously), cook, trail bike ride/kayak with mrsdrneutron, and want to learn to fly fish. There's probably bourbon somewhere in there too. Of course, LT is a big time sink, but mrsdrneutron seems to have come to terms with my LT addiction...

Got here as soon as you told me it was up, Doc. Thanks as always for doing the work.

My pleasure!

Happy new thread and thank you for all your Work!

Welcome, Thomas!

Happy New Year and thanks for setting up the 2024 group. Everything looks great.

Thanks for setting up the 2024 group, Doc! It's like an extra Christmas present. All the best to you and yours for the Holiday Season!

My pleasure, Meg! I hope your holiday is merry too!

Thanks for setting up this group, Jim! Wishing you and your dear family a wonderful Christmas. Hope your new year is the best!

Merry Christmas, Jim!

Merry Christmas Jim. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.

Thank you for setting up for us again this year.

Thanks, Madeline, Susan, Adrienne! Happy holidays to you!

Thanks as always for setting this up, Jim.

My pleasure, Paul!

Thanks for all you do Jim. Reading wishes for 2024.

Happy holidays Jim! Glad to see the new years group and thread up and running again.

Jim, you are the best. Thank you for your great work on L.T.!

>16 EllaTim: welcome back, Ella and Mary! I’ve enjoyed doing this over the years.

Thanks Doc! Here's to a great Reading Year!!!

Hi, Jim!
Wishing you Happy New Year and happy reading. Thanks for setting things up for us!

Cooking and reading---you can't be all bad! Good luck with your 2024 reading.

Happy holidays!! Starred for 24 of course. : ) Thanks for keeping us going!

Best wishes for a healthy and contented year in 2024, Jim, and of added thanks for all the work you do to keep this going.

Happy New Thread!

Here's the New Year's readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/356315

>19 hredwards:, >20 mstrust: Welcome back, Harold and Jennifer!

>21 Tess_W: Thanks, Tess! Both are some of my favorite things. 😀

>22 Berly: Welcome back, Kim!

>23 Matke: Thanks, Matke, it’s my pleasure!

>24 SilverWolf28: Thanks for keeping the Readathons going, Silver!

Happy New Year's Thread! I'm making my move over here.

As always, thanks so much for setting all this up for us!

Welcome back, Jeff!

Hi Jim, I tracked you down because you also read two books by Rivers Solomon. I read 2 of her books last year and was very impressed by her. I haven’t found anyone else who’s been reading her. Going to read The Deep next. I hang out in Club Read https://www.librarything.com/topic/356361#n8332267.

Best wishes for the new year, Jim!

And I add my thanks for all the work you do to keep us going.

>29 dianeham: Visited your thread, left a message!

>30 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie! Happy new year!

>31 cyderry: Happy new year, Chèli!

Happy New Year Jim! Thanks for all your hard work in setting up the group.

Hi Jim!

Wishing you a great one!

Happy New Year, Jim! Thanks for fixing my thread title! So embarrassing!

Happy new thread and new year, Jim. And especially, thanks for all you do to keep the engine humming and the tires filled here!

Happy New Year, Jim. Thanks for all you do, my friend. Looking forward to sharing another reading year with you.

ETA- READ Orbital!

Happy New Year, Jim and mrs. drneutron.

Hi Jim, and happy New Year!

Thank you for all the work you do for this group all year long.

>34 quondame: Hiyah, Susan!

>35 vancouverdeb: My pleasure!

>36 jessibud2: Happy New Year!

>37 msf59: Yes Sir! 😀

>38 mstrust: Happy New Year, Jennifer!

>39 mitchma: Happy New Year, Paula!

>40 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen, and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and new thread! Hope 2024 is kind to you

Happy new year and thanks for all you do!

Happy New Year, Jim, and thanks for organizing us! I look forward to seeing what you read in 2024.

>43 ChelleBearss: Chelle! Glad to see you again.

>44 banjo123: My pleasure, banjo!

>45 BLBera: Welcome back, Beth!

Happy New Year!

Back from the kids' home, settled into my easy chair, a bit of Glengoyne on the table next to me. Summary from 2023:



Some thoughts:
- Starting in 2020, my total dropped off, this year was somewhat better. I'm hoping that the upward trend continues this year!
- I made a point to pick a few extra authors that are no longer with us in 2023. I often pick books from my library's new books list, so I tend to read new stuff by current authors. I'd like to balance that, and 2023 was a start.
- Books by non-male authors have shown a slight downward trend over the last few years. That's another thing I'd like to change this year.

Happy New Year, Jim! Thanks for organizing another year of 75er fun!

And I've finished a book! On January 1!



1. The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud

4th in the Lockwood & Co series of ghostly adventures. We did the first three when driving from Maryland to Texas/Louisiana and back at Thanksgiving. Going to see the kids and back at Christmas meant finishing the 4th. Still a fun series, gonna have to find an excuse to listen to the fifth!

>49 Storeetllr: Welcome, Mary!

Happy New Year, Jim!

Happy New Year, Anne!

>50 drneutron: Nice!

Happy new year and many thanks for setting up this group.

Happy New Year, Jim! Glad to be back and hope to be more active this year. What program did you use to do your graphs? And I love that Lockwood & Co series.

>55 ronincats: Just an excel spreadsheet. Happy to send it to you if you'd like an example

>56 drneutron: I wonder if I could convert it to Numbers?

>57 ronincats: Probably. I'm just hand entering data, then using Excel to calculate sums and percentages. Then plotting them by year. PM an email address if you'd like me to send the spreadsheet. Anyone else that's interested too, I'm happy to share what I've done.

>58 drneutron: I am sending you a message.

hej Jim, wish you a peaceful and enriching 2024

Happy New Year, Jim, and thanks again for all the work you put in!

Happy reading in 2024, Jim, and thanks for all you do!

>59 elorin: Got it!

>60 paulstalder:, >61 DianaNL:, >62 FAMeulstee: Happy New Year, Paul, Diana, and Anita!

Happy New Year, Jim!

Happy New Year Jim,

Love the charts! (but I'm geeky like that).

If anyone is interested, here's the one I use. I got it from BookRiot several years ago, and have tweaked it a bit to meet my quirks

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iCFfjfIBa4lm5GSlo0WOgcN4vfrT3RFNlZl_omkn...

>64 norabelle414: Happy new year, Nora!

>65 mahsdad: Thanks, Jeff. I think several others of the 75ers use that one too. Seems like a good one!

Joining the chorus of "thank you" and "Happy New Year", Jim. I do truly appreciate your keeping this group going and the new year's wish is also heart-felt.

Hi Jim, stopping by to wish you a Happy New Year and best wishes for 2024!

>48 drneutron: - Oooooohhhhh data! Love the charts!

Happy New Year and happy new thread!

>1 drneutron: Happy New Year and happy reading!

>67 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba!

>68 lkernagh: 😀 Engineer, what can I say?

>69 foggidawn:, >70 ocgreg34: Happy New Year, foggi and Greg!

Hi Jim. It is wonderful to know you are back! Thanks as always for all the wonderful work you do in making this a cohesive, caring group. I deeply appreciate your assistance for the many times I've contacted you regarding a computer problem. All good wishes for a lovely 2024!

Hope your New Years was a good one, Jim. Good luck with your planned reading changes.

>48 drneutron: Love seeing the stats. Hmm, I should put my non-male authors on a timeline too, I have pie charts for each year and one for overall, but years of reading dead white guys makes the needle on the overall chart move very slowly! I'd like to see how it shakes out from year to year. Thanks for the inspiration and good luck on making the changes you want to this year!

>50 drneutron: I was disappointed that Netflix canceled the TV adaptation of this series. It was good, but I haven't read the books so I don't know how faithful it was.

>72 Whisper1: All good, Linda. I'm happy to help anytime.

>73 Familyhistorian: Thanks!

>74 ursula: So far it's going well. I'm finishing up The Godfather, then have a T. Kingfisher book, which will jump start the non-male reading.

>75 richardderus: The series was pretty good, and what got us interested in the books, especially after the series was canceled. It was reasonably faithful to the first two books, though there were some changes for clarity and brevity. All in all, I'd say they got it right.

Happy New Year, Jim!

A favor? I created two threads by accident. One has lovely happy new year wishes, the other just my header. Would you be able to delete the second one? Thanks.

I can't delete threads, but I can change the topic title to "Please Ignore".

Happy New Year, Jim. Thanks for all the work you do for the group. And happy reading! Loved your charts!

2. The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Never read this classic, but knew the story. What I didn’t know is how good Puzo’s spare writing is. Reminds me of Cormac McCarthy. With punctuation.

If you haven’t read it, by all means, do.

>80 drneutron: Well, I had to go check (wasn't sure I'd read The Godfather or if I was having a false memory from seeing the movie). LT says that I did read it, and pulled up another book that I'd flagged "to read"--The Family Corleone, which Puzo had started before his untimely death, and which Ed Falco finished.

This book is meant as a prequel to The Godfather. So I've got a Libby copy from the library. Thanks for the prompt, sideways though it turned out to be.

Karen O

Happy New Year doc and mrsdrneutron! Wishing you happiness, health and lots of reading adventures in 2024.



Thanks for all the hard work putting the group together and visiting everyone's threads. ... but mrsdrneutron seems to have come to terms with my LT addiction... Resigned to us, is she? How many years has it been, now?

The March trip to your part of the world is off ... but my grandfather's eldest great-grandchild is due to get married this year, and the family is based in Bethesda ... so. Maybe?

>80 drneutron: The new year has barely begun and the TBR pile is already growing.
Many thanks for the recommendation!

>81 klobrien2: I'd be interested in how the one is - there's also The Sicilian which is set in Sicily while Michael wa hiding out there, touches on that part of The Godfather.

>82 humouress: Bethesda is essentially out my back door, so fingers crossed!

>83 SirThomas: My pleasure!

>50 drneutron: I'm going to check to see if my library has the Lockwood series on audiobook. I need a good book to get me -- and keep me -- at the gym!

>85 BLBera: 😀 Those would be good ones!

>1 drneutron: So have you tried fly fishing Jim? I picked it up recently on a trip to Breckenridge Colorado. While I consider myself an accomplished and regular fisherman, going with a guide was absolutely the way to do it.

>87 Oberon: A couple of times - the vast majority of my fishing experience is bass fishing on a lake in Louisiana where my grandparents used to live. I've never done the guide thing, but that's definitely what I want to do, at least to start.

There's some good opportunities out in western Maryland on the Potomac that I'd like to try.

The little I have learned is that success really depends on knowing what kind of insects the fish are feeding on and then selecting a fly to match. I am much more accustomed to throwing a couple of my favorite rapalas or spoons.

>88 drneutron: Take my son and grandson when you go there! They want to try fly fishing. They're great at saltwater fishing.

Hope you have a great year of reading!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/356840

>50 drneutron: Fine ... fine. BB'd

93 messages already! (well 94 now!) Happy new year Jim and happy new thread. Just dropping my star.

>89 Oberon: Yeah, that's my experience. 😀

>90 SqueakyChu: 😀 I'll see what I can do.

>91 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori!

>92 SilverWolf28: Awesome, Silver! Thanks for continuing to get these organized.

>93 humouress: 😀 My work here is done...

>94 sirfurboy: 😀 It's that time of year...

Hi Jim, Mate. Thanks or setting it up again and a belated Happy New Year to you and Mrs D.

First weekend of the new year, Jim, and I hope it goes swimmingly mate.

By the way for some reason you have not included me in the threadbook this time which Karen pointed out to me.

>96 johnsimpson: Happy 2024, John!

>97 PaulCranswick: All fixed now. Left you a message on your thread - there were a couple of days between Christmas and New Year’s Day when the wiki system was down and it looks like you were a victim. Sorry about that!

>98 drneutron: No problem, Jim. I have been a bit slow myself this year so far and I hadn't noticed it actually.

Update Time!



3. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

Kingfisher’s retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher, and a very creepy retelling it is. Don’t want to say too much, but there’s something really disturbing about sentient fungus. Already have the next on reserve, even though it doesn’t come out until the Spring…



4. Into Siberia: George Kennan's Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia by Gregory J Wallance

George Kenner wanted to prove himself in 1880s America. So he was one of those guys (yeah, they’re pretty much all guys) who ran off to some godforsaken place and nearly died. In his case, it was Siberia, working on a team looking for a telegraph route across Russia.

And he fell in love with Russia, to the point that he gave lectures telling people how great Tsarist Russia was. Until he was challenged to investigate how political and criminal exiles in Siberia were treated. So he did, once again nearly dying and coming face-to-face with a pretty harsh reality.

When he got back to the US, he made a complete turn-around and spent the rest of his life lecturing and writing about what he saw there. And greatly impacting how Americans, and the US government, thought about and treated with Russia. Even predicting the fall of Soviet Russia.

Really good bio of a really good - and interesting - person.

Happy new year of reading Jim! >100 drneutron: I read the Kingfisher in 2022 and loved it, thanks for the reminder that there is a sequel coming out.

>100 drneutron: I like the sound of What Moves the Dead - added it to the Wish list.

>100 drneutron: Well both books have really tremendous covers, Jim and look interesting, though I am unfamiliar with both.

Happy Sunday, Jim. I was also surprised how good The Godfather was. It is also my favorite film of all time, along with Part 2. I have never read another Puzo.

Morning, Jim!

>100 drneutron: I've seen What Moves the Dead around and I think it's already on my list. It sounds excellent!

>101 WhiteRaven.17: yup, and it looks like there will be a vampire! 😀

>102 SandDune: Great! Kingfisher’s really good, so I hope you get a chance to give her a go.

>103 PaulCranswick: 😀 I think the Siberia one would be up your alley. Good story well told.

>104 msf59: I think I’m going to read The Sicilian sometime this year. We’ll see after that.

>105 scaifea: I really enjoyed it - looking forward to the second. It may be a while, though. I’m like 50th in line on Overdrive. 😀

Yes George Kennan the famous "Long Telegram" about Containment of Russian Expansionism. Seems like a loooong time ago.

You couldn't say he didn't know whereof he spoke.

Hi Jim! May 2024 bring many good books your way!

Hi Jim!

Just a drive-by, trying to stay caught up on threads but...

>100 drneutron: I bought that book but haven't read it yet. I looked at the spoiler before remembering, but that's okay, by the time I do actually read it, I'll have forgotten about the spoiler-ish element again.

Happy New Year, Jim to you and yours. Looking forward to another year of great books and the best seat in the house for the goings on of the Parker Solar Probe.

Thanks for herding cats for the group!

Oops, I've been following along and forgot to post. Happy new year, Jim, and thanks for getting us all set up for another year (and navigating wiki challenges to boot).

Hope you have a great reading year in 2024. I haven't read T. Kingfisher yet, but a few of her fantasy titles are on my radar, particularly Nettle and Bone.

>107 magicians_nephew: 😀 Actually, this George Keenan was the older third cousin of George F. Kennan of Long Telegram fame. They only met once or twice before the older Kennan died in the late 1920s.

>108 The_Hibernator: Thsnks, Rachel!

>109 karenmarie: Great! I hope you like it!

>110 streamsong: Thanks! By the way, Parker just successfully made it through the 18th pass through the corona. Heat shield temp was up over 1000 F!

>111 bell7: Nettle and Bone was a 4.5 star for me. At this point, I’ll read pretty much anything Kingfisher writes. 😀

>100 drneutron: That sounds really good, Jim. I am always looking for biographies that my dad would like. I think this one has his name on it.

>113 BLBera: Great!

>112 drneutron: 18th trip through the corona with over 1000 F. Wow. Just Wow.

I read What Moves the Dead just a few weeks ago, agree with you. Kingfisher certainly can take a creepy story and make it creepier. I've started another from her, The Seventh Bride, her spin on the Bluebeard legend.

>115 streamsong: 😀 Amazes me how well the spacecraft is doing!

>116 mstrust: Ooo, gonna look for that one!

Hello Jim, finally made it over to your thread. Let me add my thanks for all you do setting up and managing the group!

Best wishes for a great 2024!

Hi, Jim, returning the visit and wishing you a very happy 2024 filled with good books.

Thanks, Irene and Anne! I hope you both have great 2024s!

>112 drneutron: Yup after i posted i thought the ages were wrong for George F. another Russian nabob and containment advocate.

book sounds interesting thought for us armchair travelers

>98 drneutron:, Cheers Jim.

>121 magicians_nephew: It was!

>122 johnsimpson: Hiyah, John!

>100 drneutron: I thought What Moves the Dead was ok; I'll give it an "A" for the creepy factor, though. I recommend A House with Good Bones by the same author.

>116 mstrust: >117 drneutron: Okay, okay, I'm adding Kingfisher to the list. : )

Crackerjack start here. Doing my best to avoid taking any BBs.

>124 ocgreg34: onto the TBR it goes!

>125 Berly: 😀

>126 weird_O: I’ll have to try harder… 😀

>100 drneutron: That's quite the cover! Not sure that book is for me but Paladin's Grace made it onto my library hold list.

>128 Familyhistorian: oooh, I love the Paladin series!

>124 ocgreg34: I was gonna say. If you like creepy, A House with Good Bones is creepy and great.

>128 Familyhistorian:, >129 reconditereader: Ok, looks like a Kingfisher year for me!

Hi Jim! Just realized I don't think I've made it here yet this year. Happy new year!

I am just adding to all the Kingfisher love. I also love the Paladin books although they are a little more romantasy than some of her other stuff. I have Illuminations checked out from the library right now and Bryony and Roses on hold, and want to get to A House With Good Bones soon :) Also highly recommend the Clocktaur War books if you haven't read them yet!

"romantasy"! I love that word. :)

Clearly, I've been missing out on some good Kingfisher. 2024's here to correct that!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/357120

Belated Happy New Year, Jim! Hope 2024 brings you lots of joy, good health, biking and kayaking with mrsdrneutron, and of course excellent reading. And good bourbon. 😁

Hi Jim! Still roasting your own medium-roast coffee beans?

>112 drneutron: Yay for Parker’s continued success. I forget – what is its expected lifespan and trajectory?

>100 drneutron: Both of these seem like great reads!

Happy weekend reading.

Jim, Since you work with this sort of thing and I read a fair share of Science Fiction, I have to ask. Am I the only one concerned that a rocket loaded with DNA from everyone George Washington to Gene Roddenberry and headed to the moon has malfunctioned and is now floating aimlessly in space? This sounds like a Scifi/Horror plot waiting to be written.

Ha! I agree!

>133 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

>134 PlatinumWarlock: Thanks, Lavinia! I’m hoping for good things this year. Especially the bourbon. 😀

>135 karenmarie: Yep, although I think the roasting is done for the winter. The process doesn’t smell too good, so I roast outside and it’s a wee bit chilly!

>136 figsfromthistle: They were! Give ‘em a try. 😀

>137 hredwards:, >138 mstrust: 😀 Well, unless a V’ger scenario a la the Star Trek Movie happens, it should be fine. My understanding is that they’re not going to hit the Moon, and even if they did, space radiation will decay any DNA on board in just a few years.

I’m torn about the whole commercial space thing. On the one hand, these new companies are making access to space really cheap, comparatively speaking. But they also don’t have a lot of experience with building stuff for space, and it’s an unforgiving place. Plus, it’s a bit of the Wild West out there - not a lot of rules to keep folks playing nicely. We’ll see how it goes.

Hi, Jim!

>139 drneutron: My check-in buddy gets up in the week hours to watch rocket launches and chatted a bit this morning about the commercial efforts. Rules proliferate in reaction to people behaving badly. I imagine they'll start showing up soon with more players in the sky with such different agendas.

>137 hredwards: I'd read that story. Bet it'd make a great movie too.

Update Time!



5. The Magic Order by Mark Millar

Fun graphic novel that crosses magicians protecting the world with the Mafia. Great story, great artwork, looking forward to the next two volumes!



6. Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Somewhat Gothic, a bit supernatural, a modern day murder, a mysterious disappearance in the past, a ghost. What else could you want in a story?

Hi, Jim! Belated Happy New Year!

Love your comments about The Broken Girls. I've read a bunch of Simone St. James' books because they often seem to fit that description, which is my cup of tea. I read that one in 2022 and enjoyed it.

I read Silence for the Dead back in 2026 2016 and have two others of hers on my wishlist. Time to bump them up the list!

>143 drneutron: Cool - a real timetravelling scientist!
I've read three of her books so far - all of them were very good.

>144 SirThomas: 😂

Hey, Dr. Jim. Have you read Emperors Soul by Brandon sanderson? It’s a follow up to his Elantris my favorite book of his. I liked it a lot. My DIL is teaching a sci fi/ fantasy course, I think at Pitt, and put this one on the reading list.

Oh, I really enjoyed Elantris and hadn't heard there's a follow up. Onto the list it goes!

Hi Jim. I saw in your intro and following comments that you want to try fly fishing this year. I just finished A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean. It will get you fired up if you haven’t read it. It’s a wonderful story and he is very in-depth with the many fly fishing scenes.

>148 Donna828: Yep, I read it years ago, and that was one of the things that sparked my interest in learning to fly fish. Getting closer to retirement, and it's high on my list! I should read that one again one of these days.

I loved The Broken Girls. St. James has become a favorite for me, and so far, reliably great.

>150 mstrust: She's two-for-two with me, so I added a couple more to my wish list. 😀

Update Time!



7. The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor

Finished a reread of The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World today. For the purposes of the Nonfiction challenge, it won the Independent Publisher Book Awards (Silver – History - World – 2015). For the purposes of the War Room challenge, it talked a lot about the myths about Amazons created by the ancient Greeks, which centered mostly about war with the Amazons, individually and collectively.

Mayor does indeed talk a lot about the Greeks and their legends of warrior women and a women-only society centered in the barbarian east. But it's mostly about how those legends were sourced in Scythian and other steppe cultures of the areas north and east of the Black Sea all the way to China. So there's some description of archaeological finds related to women warriors, and even discussion of Caucasus cultures' mythology, to support the thesis that the Amazon myths were inspired by a steppe culture in which women were equals to men in war and leadership.

This thesis probably won't shock anyone, but when the book was published 10 years ago, this idea was relatively novel. I had the privilege of hearing Mayor talk about her work at the 2014 National Book Festival, where I picked up my copy. It's all in all a great book for looking at the ties between myth and reality as related to the role of women in Greek and "barbarian" cultures.



8. The Syndicate Spy by Brittany Butler

An ER book - here's my review:

Butler's attempt at a spy thriller was confusing and poorly written. Honestly, how many times can we be told that two people communicated with just a look? Books like this are supposed to be unrealistic and overblown - see the Pendergast series, for example - and that's part of the fun. So I didn't mind that. But this one was just silly sometimes. Not one I can recommend.

You got me with Broken Girls by Simone St. James. Onto the WL it goes!

>146 Joseph_N._Welch_II: >147 drneutron: The Emperor's Soul is rather better than Elantris and I liked Elantris

>153 Berly: Awesome!

>154 quondame: Good news. I got a B&N gift card and that sounds like a good use for it.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/357476

>148 Donna828: and >149 drneutron: I loved A River Runs Through It and greatly appreciated the loving descriptions of fly fishing. But it convinced me that it is not the hobby for me. I'll stick with archery, thanks.

Well, archery’s cool too!

>158 drneutron: 😊

Hey, Jim. How are you, my friend. Did you receive Prophet Song?

Oh, sorry! I did. It's on top of the stack once I finish my library book.

Whew! I am glad. I had forgot about it and just remembered. Enjoy!

My new musical obsession: 40 Fingers. A quartet of really talented guitar players from Italy, all established in different styles who got together on acoustic guitars for fun. They do some really astonishing work - I recommend you listen on Youtube so you can see the fingers fly.

Here's a link to their Youtube site: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9jtMR395qXeK6G6AQkxRw

>163 drneutron:, very nice, very relaxing.

>163 drneutron: Wow! That is amazing!! I only listened to the first song so far...off to listen to more. Thank you!

Update--Listened to the whole thing. Beautiful and I loved the closeup of the fingerwork.

>163 drneutron: They're fantastic - thanks for the link! I'm always looking for fun stuff to have playing in the background during Teen Tuesdays, and this will be perfect!

I found out about them the week after they were in the DC area for concerts. Definitely going to a show next time they're in the area.

Hadn't thought about something like the Teen Tuesdays, but yeah!

>163 drneutron: A. MAZ. ING.

Thanks for that, Doc!

My pleasure!

>48 drneutron: Has the consumption of Glengoyne risen since 2019? ;-)

>100 drneutron: Into Siberia sounds really interesting. I don't read many biographies but always on the lookout for a good one. Have added it to my buy list.

>48 drneutron: Did your consumption of Glengoyne go up post 2019 ;-)?

>170 Pendrainllwyn:, >172 Pendrainllwyn: Heh. It probably has... 😀

>171 Pendrainllwyn: Cool! I definitely think it's worth a read.

>163 drneutron: Thanks for pointing out that group. They are fantastic! I was a music major in college and my instrument was classical guitar. I haven't played for years, but I love instrumental acoustic guitars music of all types (genres??). I passed the link on to my middle son who for many years had a rock band (they played in venues around NYC and you can hear them on spotify). He is now mostly "adulting" though he occasionally gets together with other musicians to play. He hadn't heard of them, but liked them too--he thought it was original to have a group of 4 guitars.

I started playing guitar in college when I gave up trombone. I'm just a hacker, but I love to listen to (especially acoustic) guitar of pretty much all kinds. Glad you and your son liked them!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/357793

>100 drneutron: Well, I think non-sentient fungus is disquieting enough. I think I need to get more Kingfishers on board - though maybe not that one yet.

>106 drneutron: re >103 PaulCranswick: Hit KL and keep heading north ;0)

>112 drneutron: Yay for Parker still going strong.

>139 drneutron: What's the space junk situation like now? Are we humans going to clean up our mess?

>152 drneutron: (your book 7) How the mighty have fallen ;0)

>163 drneutron: Nice guitar work.

Hey Jim! Just catching up.

>176 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

>177 humouress: Glad you stopped by. I got a chuckle from your comment on book 7. :)

Space junk situation is an interesting one. There's more junk, we're better at cleaning up after ourselves, and some folks are looking at ways to get rid of what's there. A parallel problem - everybody wants to launch things now. We've got several multi-hundred sat comm fleets going up and all that extra stuff is crowding low Earth orbit, and even making it more difficult to do astronomy from the ground. It'll be interesting to see how that all shakes out.

>178 drneutron: Just send Andy Griffith and Salvage-1 up to clean it all.

That guitar group is amazing. I bought a CD once of guitar music by Charo as a joke and was surprised by how good she played.

>178 drneutron: Planetes is going to need to come true before this issue is solved(ish). Do we need ground based astronomy now? Is there something it can do that can not be done better in space?

>179 hredwards: Wow! I thought i was the only one who remembered Andy Griffith and Salvage-1.
Such a fun show and Griffith got to uncork his inner curmudgeon and i was sad when it was cancelled.

>179 hredwards:, >181 magicians_nephew: Yeah, me too. I thought I was the only one. :)

>180 richardderus: Yeah, there are still some very strong advantages to ground based - much easier to build really really big telescopes, infrastructure is more capable, you can repair and upgrade them, etc. The next big push will be astronomical facilities on the dark side of the Moon, but we're a long way from that. Hence Artemis and returning astronauts to the Moon, etc.

Just keeping up with space clutter talks here. Still listening to 40 Fingers videos!

That's me, Dr Space Cadet! :)

I'm listening to 'em on Spotify right now. Just finishing Earth, Wind, & Fire's September.

>181 magicians_nephew: I was all about the space shows back then!!

>185 hredwards: 😀 Still am!

>184 drneutron: Charlie's marching band played September last year and it was so fun. *Such* a good song.

And I can't wait to share the 40 Fingers music with the teens next week!

>187 scaifea: Def a great song!

Let me know what the teens think of ‘em.

>182 drneutron: None of that sounds like more than a reason not to decommission anything yet while we ramp up the tech to get to the far side of the Moon, really, so more spending on software to mitigate the debris issues sounds like the way forward. I do not expect to live long enough to see the first light from the Lunar Observatory, but daaayuuummm will that be glorious.

BTW I opened my third thread today.

>189 richardderus: so…. On track for 36 thread this year!

We’re doing our part, trying hard to get projects to let us do fun science-enabling things on the Moon. The commercial lunar lander/rover scene is pretty interesting these days.

I hear the Japanese are now the fifth to achieve a soft landing on the moon, stunning everyone with their precision. Unfortunately, their solar panels were slow to wake up.

>190 drneutron: About one every three weeks, so half that...but honestly I expect the pace to slow to a crawl as I ramp up the political-book reviewing. Most will just politely ignore the reviews, and gradually post and visit less and less. Escapism is addictive but very much Not On right now. The stakes could not be higher. 45’s administration taught me that he is a truth teller when he states his aims. I do not want to go quietly when my time comes to go, no matter what or when it is, so CERTAINLY not now!

Which will drive some away. Oh well...it’s my mirror I look in, not theirs.

The science being dependent on the goodwill of the capitalists worries and offends me, but y’all’re makin’ it work, so YAY.

>191 humouress: They succeeded, so yep, the fifth. The lander landed with the solar arrays pointed west early in the lunar day, so the Sun was essentially on the other side of the lander. Once the Sun moved enough that the solar arrays could see light, the battery recharged and the system kicked on. They're up and running and getting some good pictures of the local environment.

The purpose of the mission was to test smart software to autonomously pick a suitable landing spot and land there. This is actually a really hard problem (software like this can be easily fooled) and so just landing safely was mission success. Their approach was to use algorithms based on facial recognition software like on iPads applied to terrain features. It seemed to work pretty well!

>192 richardderus: Yeah, I expect the pace to slow down in general - it usually does starting in February. I think more folks than you realize pay attention to your reviews. Whether they comment or not is a different matter. I'm an example, I suppose - I read all your reviews, but only post if I feel I have something meaningful to contribute or want to point out an especially good one for me.

>193 drneutron: Interesting info about the Japanese moon shot, Jim and at a level even non-scientists like me can understand :)

>192 richardderus: - I agree with Jim. I read your reviews, but personally, I don't want to engage in political stuff on LT (usually). I do that on other social media :)

Hiya, Jim!

>194 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks! One of my interests is finding ways to talk about space stuff in a way that interests and engages the general public.

>195 katiekrug: Hiyah, Katie!

>195 katiekrug:, >192 richardderus: well, that's a bit heartening. Maybe Twitter is just louder about it....

Twitter's louder about everything...

>198 drneutron: Awomen to that, Doc.

>193 drneutron: The purpose of the mission was to test smart software to autonomously pick a suitable landing spot and land there. Well then, mission achieved. I see now why everyone was so excited about it.

Facial recognition of the moon - wow!

>200 humouress: Well there is the Man in the Moon.

>201 hredwards: 😀