Norabelle414's Trilogy in Five Parts

Rory, snoozing

Hello and welcome! I'm Nora. I live in the Washington DC area. This is my fifteenth year in the 75ers group! Aside from books, I also love:

animals/biology/zoology - I volunteer at the National Zoo
TV - scripted only (except Taskmaster and a few documentaries), mostly science fiction and fantasy, especially anything based on a book
theater - I have season tickets to Arena Stage but I go to shows elsewhere as well
podcasts - especially about books
knitting (I'm on Ravelry), and also occasional cross stitch and embroidery
progressive politics (particularly urbanism)

You can find me on Bluesky @ norabelle.bsky.social (now open to all, no invite needed!)

My reading has been ticking up lately, so I have a few modest goals for 2024:
1) Be more present here, including actually posting on everyone else's thread instead of just lurking
2) Write reviews promptly after finishing a book
3) Read at least two books by the same author DONE!
4) Read another book in a series I've already started DONE!
5) Read at least one book in each of the following categories: romance, science non-fiction, science fiction, picture book, graphic novel, audiobook DONE!
6) Read at least 2 books by the same author that are not in the same series DONE!
7) Get caught up on a series of at least 3 books DONE!
8) Read at least 3 books published in 2024 (2 down, 1 to go) DONE!
9) Post mid-year reading statistics DONE!
10) Read as many comics as possible in the month of August DONE!
11) Finish reading The Iliad DONE!

A selection of books I have finished recently:
Lumberjanes, Vol 8: Stone Cold by Shannon Watters - 4.5/5
West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge - 3.5/5
Blue Ridge Babies 1, 2, 3 by Laura Sperry Gardner and Stephanie Fizer Coleman - 5/5
Exhalation by Ted Chiang - 5/5
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark - 3.5/5
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland (audiobook) by Patrick Radden Keefe - 4.5/5
You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian - 5/5

For a full list of books I have read this year, click here: https://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=norabelle414&collection=840181...

It's Monday.

Nothing happened this weekend. I got a little bit of chores done but not as much as I had hoped. The weather finally cooled down on Friday and I've slept well the last few nights, though I went to bed way too late.

Today is a holiday. I'm going out to lunch with a friend, then he is taking Rory while I'm on my trip to Seattle. Then I'm going to my brother's house for dinner.

I'll be working in the office on Tuesday and Wednesday and doing laundry, packing, and cleaning in the evenings. Then I'm leaving for Seattle early Thursday morning.

Currently reading:
Finished the remaining two comics. Started The Wind in the Willows and This Winter. Nothing is grabbing me at the moment but I think I have some good stuff to bring on my trip.
November plans: Unbecoming a Lady, The Wind in the Willows, This Winter
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 126 (I expect I might lose my streak on my trip so I'm pre-emptively forgiving myself. It's fine!)

Currently playing:
Picked up The Witcher 3 again, which is still great. I'm so out of practice playing games on the couch, but I should get back into it because it keeps me from doomscrolling.

Currently watching:
Taskmaster, Marlowe Murder Club, Superman & Lois, Saturday Night Live, Whose Line Is It Anyway, Hysteria!, Disclaimer, Joan, . Started new shows Junior Taskmaster and Happy's Place

Happy new thread! Enjoy Seattle!

Happy new thread! Looking forward to our meetup :)

Happy new one!

Happy new one, Nora!

>6 curioussquared: - Ooh, a Nora-Natalie meet-up. I'm a little jealous.

Natalie - don't let Nora talk you into drinking too much wine. She's wily like that ;-)

Ok, now we're in business. New Rory pic has been added to >1 norabelle414: and recent books are now listed in >2 norabelle414:.

It's Tuesday.

Yesterday I went out to eat bento for lunch with some friends, which was lovely. The first time I'd hung out in-person with anyone besides coworkers and family since the election, and it was nice to be myself. One of my friends then picked up Rory, who will be staying with him until I get back from Seattle. Then I went to my brother's house to see my niblings.

Today I'm in the office. After work I need to do laundry and take out the trash, and return some library books if possible. Then tomorrow I will pack and clean my apartment. I have some maintenance work to get done while I'm away so I want my apartment to be tidy. Thankfully none of it involves my bedroom, so I can just throw all my junk in there.

I'm leaving for Seattle early on Thursday. Before COVID I used to travel quite a bit, but this is the first time I'm traveling anywhere except my mom's house in 5 years and I'm a bit frazzled.
Once I get there I'm going to meet up with a friend to visit a blown glass workshop (cool!) and then get dinner. Friday I'm going to the zoo and then meeting up with Natalie. My conference starts on Monday.

Currently reading:
A little bit of The Wind in the Willows yesterday on the Metro and even less this morning on the shuttle (there are always loud people on the shuttle on Tuesday mornings). I have 150 pages left so it's unlikely I'll finish it before I leave.
November plans: Unbecoming a Lady, The Wind in the Willows, This Winter
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 127

Currently playing:
The New York Times Tech Guild has ended their week-long strike, though unfortunately management still won't bargain with them. Per their press release, they have called off the NYT Games and Cooking boycotts. Enjoy!

Currently watching:
Nothing

>5 foggidawn:, >7 figsfromthistle: Thanks foggi and Anita!

>6 curioussquared: I'm looking forward to it too, Natalie!

>8 katiekrug: That bottle of wine was your idea!!!

>10 norabelle414: - If we're talking about our first meet-up, in Old Town, there were two bottles of wine :-Pf

>11 katiekrug: Let's split the difference and call it The Wayne's fault.

>12 norabelle414: - *handshake*

Agreed.

Happy new one, Nora!

Slightly late to the party, but happy new thread, Nora. x

>8 katiekrug: Lol, I'll watch out for her wily ways ;)

Happy New Thread! Travel safely and enjoy Seattle.

>14 drneutron:, >15 PaulCranswick:, >17 elorin: Thanks Jim, Paul, and Robyn!

It's Wednesday.

Yesterday it was actually a seasonal temperature! On my walk home I almost wished I had a sweater or tights on. I did laundry and vacuumed and took out the trash and recycling and returned 3 library books. I now have a reasonable 5 physical books checked out, and only one has a due date before I get home (and I expect it to be renewed). I picked a suitcase to bring (the small one was too small so I was going to bring the large one but then I remembered I have a medium one) and shirts, skirts/dresses, and PJs. I also picked what books I'm bringing:
Fodor's Travel Seattle (I have almost read it cover-to-cover so I'm going to count it as a book read when I get back!)
The Drowning House by Cherie Priest (a library book, which I don't love taking out of town but it's set in Washington so seems appropriate)
The Starless Sea
She Is a Haunting
Where Dark Things Grow (LTER)
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are
That seems like plenty, especially since I have at least 3 bookstore trips scheduled.

Today I'm in the office. After work I need to pack and clean my apartment, including cleaning out the fridge and loading the dishwasher. My flight is at 8am tomorrow so I need to leave around 6, which is not ideal but could be worse.

Currently reading:
A little over halfway through The Wind in the Willows. I'm finding it pretty boring and also not easy to read, though the anti-car stuff is really cracking me up.
November plans: Unbecoming a Lady, The Wind in the Willows, This Winter
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 128

Currently watching:
Last Week Tonight, Somebody Somewhere, The Franchise

>19 norabelle414: I enjoyed the bucolic environs of The Wind in the Willows more than the plot. I also liked Ratty and Mole's friendship. I do think the Christmas chapter is lovely, and I've read it a few times as a holiday treat.

I always mix up Wind in the Willows with Frog and Toad, in my head, although I definitely haven't read either in recent memory.

I hope the flight to Seattle went smoothly and you're having a grand time so far.

Hope your travel day was uneventful, Nora!

>20 libraryperilous: It's certainly an interesting portrayal of several different friendship dynamics. Also very anti-car, which is so amusing.

>21 MickyFine: I mixed them up too, but now that I've read both in close proximity I don't think I'll mix them up again (I like Frog and Toad better)

>22 katiekrug: Thanks Katie! The flight was uncomfortable (middle seat) but it got in early and the train ride was smooth and I was able to check into my hotel early, so I can't complain!

It's Friday!

Tuesday after work I got all the cleaning and packing done, cleaned out the fridge, took out the trash, and loaded the dishwasher. Yesterday I flew to Seattle in the morning, met up with a friend and we went to an antique glass blower. My friend bought some glass while I just looked around, and we watched the glassblowers making glass. Then we met up with my friend's girlfriend and the three of us went to a boardgame speakeasy for dinner. We played Captain Flip, a simple game since I was very tired.

Today I went to the Woodland Park Zoo all day, and saw some great animals. They had 3 baby snow leopards, born in May, who were super cute. After that I met up with Natalie. We went bookshopping at Twice Sold Tales (I bought The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild (January's zoo book club book) and Brimstone (a Cherie Priest book I haven't read), and then to Secret Garden Books where I bought Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. We had noodles for dinner.

Currently reading:
I did not finish The Wind in the Willows before leaving so I did bring it with me. I started The Starless Sea on the plane, but I think it was not a great book to start on a sleepy plane ride and I only read about 50 pages. I'm into it now but it took awhile.
November plans: Unbecoming a Lady, The Wind in the Willows, This Winter
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 63?? (Bookly does not do well with timezone changes, not sure how that goes from 128 to 63 but whatever)

Currently watching:
St. Denis Medical, What We Do in the Shadows, Shrinking

Sounds like your Seattle trip has been great so far. Envious of your meet-up with Natalie!

Oh I love Woodland Park Zoo! Book shopping sounds fun! Enjoy Seattle.

Hey Natalie :)

Just from your last thread, I can see how you'd feel numb after everything that's happening. But it also seems like the trip has helped lift your spirits, which I'm happy to see :)
Happy new thread and I wish you the best on your trip, have fun!

I'm doing fine but my hotel wifi has been down. Heading home tomorrow.

Happy Friday (again)!

Saturday I went to Volunteer Park, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, had Laotian food for lunch, and went to the Conservatory. For dinner I went to a fancy restaurant at Pike Place Market and sat at the bar and ate oysters and read.

Sunday I went to Biscuit Bitch for breakfast (it was everything I thought it would be) and walked around the market. My coworker came in around 11:30 and we went to the Museum of Pop Culture, the Chihuly Glass Museum, and the Olympic Sculpture Park, then had Thai for dinner.

Monday my conference started. It was SO NICE to see all of my contacts in-person and I made several new friends. I had piroshki for lunch but it took me a long time to find the place and the line was very long and I got the LAST savory one (I went back the next day for a better selection). In the evening my coworker and I took the bus to an art supply store, had gyros for dinner, then went to Elliott Bay Books which was CLOSED FOR A STAFF MEETING. Crushing. We got ice cream and went home.

Tuesday after the conference, my office held a social at a bar at the Market, which was very fun. Afterward I went back to Elliott Bay Books, which was open. I bought A Good Man Is Hard to Find & Other Stories, When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency, and To Shape a Dragon's Breath.

Wednesday the conference was over at noon, so a bunch of coworkers and I ate seafood at the Market then went to the Seattle Aquarium. My close coworker and I had dinner at Din Tai Fung.

Yesterday I had a leisurely morning and a great breakfast and then flew home. I had an aisle seat with no one in the middle, which was great, but I also got my period mid-flight, which was not great.

Today I'm teleworking, then I'm going to a play called Data tonight. No plans this weekend, except getting my cat back.

Currently reading:
Chugging along slowly in The Starless Sea and really enjoying it.
November plans: Unbecoming a Lady, The Wind in the Willows, This Winter, The Starless Sea
Reviews behind: 0
Consecutive reading days: 136

Currently watching:
Taskmaster, Junior Taskmaster, The Day of the Jackal, High Potential, The Marlowe Murder Club

Sounds like a great trip, Nora!

I hope you and Rory had a reunion full of snuggles. 😻

Sounds like a fantastic Seattle visit. I love the aquarium but I haven't made it to the Chihuly Glass exhibit yet. Here's to snuggly cat reunion and a quiet weekend.

>27 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks Angela! It was nice to have a solid distraction for a bit.

>30 MickyFine: He was extremely clingy when he got home! Though he seemed to be having a grand time at my friend's new house. He got to experience stairs for the first time (maybe when he was a baby, but that was 11 years ago) and they said he had a lot of fun dropping toys down the stairs then chasing them.

>31 elorin: Thanks Robyn! The Chihuly Glass museum was very beautiful, and we got to see a little glass blowing demonstration.

It's Monday.

Friday I went to dinner with my dad then to a play called Data. It was fine, nothing groundbreaking but only 90 minutes long which is nice.
Saturday I cleaned my apartment a bit but mostly did nothing. Rory came home in the evening and I went out to dinner with some friends.
Sunday I did the dishes and updated my TV spreadsheet. I got up on time every day this weekend but still struggled to get to sleep at a reasonable hour so I'm very tired.

Today I'm working in the office. After work I am hoping to unpack my suitcase and get to sleep on time. I'm in the office my usual Mon-Tue-Wed, then going to my brother's house Thursday for Thanksgiving dinner around 3pm.

Currently reading:
I finished This Winter yesterday and I'm also marking my Seattle guidebook as "read" since I did read almost all of it and I'm done with it now. I read a little bit of The Wind in the Willows on the bus this morning but it's not an easy book to concentrate on. I thought this was a reread but I'm pretty sure I've never read it before.
November plans: The Wind in the Willows, The Starless Sea
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 140

Currently watching:
I rewatched all of season 1 of Bad Sisters and the first episode of season 2. Caught up on Abbott Elementary and The Franchise. Watched a few episodes of Rivals, finished The Marlow Murder Club and started new show Interior Chinatown. I rewatched a few episodes of season 1 of Silo but haven't started the new season yet.

It's Tuesday.

I did not unpack yesterday but I did vacuum. Rory is still very cuddly. Got to sleep a little bit earlier than Sunday night. Progress.

Working in the office today. Tonight I need to go to the grocery store in preparation for Thanksgiving (I have most of what I need except heavy cream)

Tomorrow I'm working in the office. There's a slight possibility I might go to my brother's after work, but probably not.

Currently reading:
I am actually going to finish The Wind in the Willows soon, I swear. I only have about 30 pages left.
Thinking about the end of the year, now, and I don't want to be too ambitious and set myself up to fail. I have an LTER book to read, and a book club book for January, plus a couple out from the library.
November plans: The Wind in the Willows, The Starless Sea
December plans: Unbecoming a Lady, Where Dark Things Grow, The Elephant Whisperer, Crying in H Mart (audiobook), The Drowning House
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 141

Currently watching:
I finished rewatching season 1 of Silo and watched the first episode of season 2.

It's Wednesday.

Uneventful day yesterday. I went to the grocery store in the evening but I forgot to get gruyere for the mac and cheese I'm making on Thursday morning. I should be able to grab it on my way home today (the cheese is right by the door so it shouldn't be too scary) and it's not the end of the world if I have to make it with only cheddar, which I do have.

Not going to my brother's after work today. I might leave work a bit early so I can go to the grocery store and also stop by the library, which is closing at 5. I don't need to be at my brother's until 1pm tomorrow so no need to cook anything tonight.

Currently reading:
Finished The Wind in the Willows last night. I didn't care for it! The first couple chapters are fine but I think everyone who idolizes it is forgetting everything that comes afterward. I read a bit of The Starless Sea on the bus this morning. Bookly says I need 3 more hours to finish, which I think is doable.
November plans: The Starless Sea
December plans: Unbecoming a Lady, Where Dark Things Grow, The Elephant Whisperer, Crying in H Mart (audiobook), The Drowning House
Reviews behind: 3
Consecutive reading days: 142

Currently watching:
Watched the season finales of Last Week Tonight and The Franchise (pretty blah. It wasn't unwatchable but it was closer to Avenue 5 than to Veep), and caught up on Somebody Somewhere. I started the new show Like Water for Chocolate, which I read and loved in high school. It's a good production but is in Spanish so it will take me longer to watch than shows I can put on in the background.

In difficult times we have to be thankful for:
Friends and friendship
Books and readers.
This special group
Our loved ones near and far.

Thinking about you, Nora, this holiday period.

>36 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! Happy Thanksgiving!

116. Fodor’s Travel Seattle (8th edition, 2023) by AnnaMaria Stephens and Naomi Tomky

I read this guidebook almost cover-to-cover before and during a multi-day trip to Seattle. I found a lot of the suggestions quite good, and I did use the highlights and suggested itineraries to plan my trip. I only ended up hitting 3 or 4 neighborhoods but I felt like I was able to see a lot in the amount of time I had. The boundaries between neighborhoods were not great; I spent a lot of time flipping back and forth between different maps when I had only walked a block or two. A little overlap might have been nice. The book’s coffee suggestions were particularly great. There were several places I read about in the book that were closed or had incorrect hours/pricing. Inevitable, but sad since this guidebook is only a year old.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

117. This Winter (Heartstopper series) by Alice Oseman

The events of Christmas Day set in the middle of Heartstopper, Volume 4 (Charlie’s first Christmas shortly after his hospitalization for disordered eating), which were originally from Nick’s point of view, as experienced by Tori, Charlie, and Oliver (I always forget there’s a 3rd sibling).

Unlike the prior books, this novella is almost entirely in prose, with a few illustrations. The transition is seamless, reading it didn’t feel any different to me from Heartstopper because Oseman’s drawing style is so descriptive.
Content warning for disordered eating and family conflict, obviously. There’s much less homophobia in this one than other Heartstopper volumes.
This is not a place anyone should start with the series, but if you’re already in the middle it’s a nice, short addition. Even though it’s very Christmas-y I don’t think it can stand alone as a Christmas reread or anything (but I’m not a very Christmas-y person so YMMV)

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

118. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

A mole leaves his cramped underground den and meets a water rat, who introduces him to the wide world, including Rat’s narcissistic friend Toad, who lives in a mansion and is obsessed with cars. Rat tells Mole that he can meet Rat’s friend Badger once spring comes, but Mole doesn’t want to wait and ends up lost in the snowy woods trying to find Badger’s house. Toad crashes all of his own cars by driving too fast, then steals someone else’s and crashes it and goes to prison. He escapes from prison to find his mansion has been overtaken by stoats and weasels, but Mole, Rat, and Badger help him take it back.

The opening story is lovely, with Mole meeting Rat and feeling a friendly connection and them spending a nice time together. Once Toad gets involved the book totally lost me. It’s supposed to be funny that he crashes cars and also that he’s terrible to his servants and the tenants of his estate, escapes from prison and barely learns a lesson. All of the parts without Toad are fine, and I enjoy Mole and Rat’s friendship, but the book is like half about Toad. There’s quite a lot of sexism throughout the book - complaining about how annoying “lady nurses” are, calling a woman a “wench” for no reason, and Toad dressing up like a woman to escape prison and being constantly sexually harassed. And of course there's not a single named female character, let alone any that the text treats respectfully. I would want to heavily edit the text before reading it to a kid (there’s also a small section that repeatedly uses the slur for Roma, but I think the word could just be skipped).

Some of the book is funny-bad (as opposed to bad-bad). Why are there normal horses? Also humans are there, and the animals are roughly the same size as them? Why and how does Toad brush his hair? Also Toad gets sent to HUMAN PRISON which is very funny. And the animals eat things like custard (where did they get the eggs??) and ham. They could almost just be humans with the names of animals.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ♥ (2.5/5)

>38 norabelle414: This was my first time getting a travel guide out from the library instead of buying it, and it worked out great! I hope I'll go to Seattle again one day but unless it's in the next 5 years if I had bought this guidebook it would be pretty out of date by then. I'm definitely going to keep doing this in the future.

My son and his partner moved to Seattle this fall, so I was watching your thread for interesting things to do when we visit at Christmas. Got some great ideas!

>42 drneutron: I definitely recommend a meetup with Natalie :-)

Happy Sunday! It's December!

Wednesday I left work early (I had comp time from my work trip) and stopped at the grocery store to pick up the few things I forgot on Tuesday. I did not make it to the library before they closed early at 5, but that was fine.

Thursday morning I baked my pumpkin macaroni and cheese. I made it gluten-free for my brother (gluten-free flour for the roux, chickpea-based gluten-free macaroni, and gluten-free crackers crumbled on top) which came out fine. i didn't love the cracker crumble on top but it's hard to find gluten-free crackers that don't have whole seeds in them. Went to my brother's house for Thanksgiving, which was good and uneventful.

Friday I worked from home most of the day and then caught up on TV in the evening. Saturday I went to the library and returned some books (BEFORE the due date, for once), donated some books, picked up a hold, and checked out a couple other books. I have 5 physical books out now, right in the sweet spot.

This morning I made a cake and now I'm getting ready to go to my friend's house for Friendsgiving. I was going to make mac & cheese but some people dropped out and they decided to order pizza instead of potluck so I thought cake would be more appropriate. I still have all the ingredients to make pumpkin mac & cheese so I might make one just for me!

This week I'm in the office as normal. Wednesday after work I'm going to my brother's house to help out with the kids, then Thursday maintenance is coming at some point to change the HVAC filters so I need to clean.

Currently reading:
Finished The Starless Sea and Crying in H Mart yesterday. Started Where Dark Things Grow, and Unbecoming a Lady is my current purse book.
December plans: Unbecoming a Lady, Where Dark Things Grow, The Elephant Whisperer, The Drowning House
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 145

Currently listening:
After finishing Crying in H Mart I decided to listen to Japanese Breakfast's album Psychopomp, which Zauner wrote about her mom. It was a fine thing to listen to while baking but nothing stood out to me.

Currently playing:
I picked up The Witcher 3 again, but it's slow going because I am out practice for both a) the Witcher game specifically and b) sitting on the couch and focusing on a console game, as opposed to multitasking a million things while playing a computer game. (grim!)

Currently watching:
Caught up on Saturday Night Live, Happy's Place (disappointing. It's no Reba), St. Denis Medical, Junior Taskmaster, Superman & Lois, What We Do in the Shadows, and Sullivan's Crossing. Watched a few episodes of Hysteria! and The Day of the Jackal.

Hi Nora :)
I'm sure Rory was delighted to be home again, and I'm glad you had fun in seattle.

Sorry about your plans for the potluck kinda falling through. Hope the week goes as smooth as possible.

Welcome back home. Glad you had a nice trip!

>45 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks Angela! I didn't mind the potluck changing into a pizza party since that was easiest for the hosts, and that's all that matters :-)

>47 figsfromthistle: Thanks Figs!

It's Monday.

My cake yesterday turned out great and I took the Metro to my friend's house. We had pizza and dessert (someone else brought custard fruit tarts as well) and then played a fun board game called Hues & Clues, where one player describes a color in one or two words and the other players try to guess the color on a board. It was a great party game because it's very easy to understand, it's not antagonistic (the clue-giver wants the players to get as close as possible, and there are points for being close), and you can use in-group jokes or references as clues. Highly recommend it (though not if someone in your group is colorblind, of course).

This morning I got reprimanded by my boss at 9:07am for reasons that are not terribly clear, so not a great start to the week.

This week I need to clean my apartment, especially my dirty laundry.

Currently reading:
I'm over halfway through Unbecoming a Lady, thanks to two long Metro rides yesterday. I just realized, after doing my monthly book post on Bluesky that I forgot to read a She-Hulk last month so I'll try to do two this month.
December plans: Unbecoming a Lady, Where Dark Things Grow, The Elephant Whisperer, The Drowning House, 2 She-Hulks
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 146

Currently listening:
Have not quite started listening to Christmas music yet, but it's coming soon.

Currently watching:
Nothing

It's Tuesday.

I was annoyed all day yesterday. Even after being reprimanded for something I supposedly said in a meeting that the reprimander wasn't in and isn't sure what I wasn't supposed to have said, he called me THREE times yesterday to ask what my schedule was for this week, even though it's exactly the same as every week. He just didn't write it down so he kept forgetting. I'm tempted to send a passive-aggressive email where I list out where I'll be every single day for the month of December even though almost all of it is the same as always.

Nothing going on today. I still need to clean my apartment; I've been "vacuuming" (i.e. following the Roomba around and moving things out of its way) but I think I've reached the Roomba's limits and it's time for some spot-cleaning. I'll need to do most of that today since I'm baby-sitting after work tomorrow and then maintenance is coming sometime on Thursday.

My dad asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said new suitcases (my set has been slightly broken since uh 2019). So he told me to pick them out and order them and pick them up and pay for them and tell me how much it was and he'll deposit it in my account. Just what I wanted: more chores.

Currently reading:
I was too annoyed to read Unbecoming a Lady on the way home yesterday, and this morning the shuttle was full so I had to sit in the back which is too bouncy to read. So I still have about 40 pages left. I also have the audiobook of Fern Brady's memoir Strong Female Character out from the library but haven't started yet. I expect I'll get to it later this month when my podcasts are on hiatus for the holidays.
December plans: Unbecoming a Lady, Where Dark Things Grow, The Elephant Whisperer, The Drowning House, 2 She-Hulks
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 147

Currently watching:
Caught up on Bad Sisters.

Oye dear, your stories are starting to mirror my previous job. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this, Nora, that sounds like a royal pain in the ass.

And yeah, gotta love when a gift becomes an errand, lol.

It's Thursday.

Yesterday after work I went to my brother's house to help out with my niece and nephew.

This morning my apartment maintenance came and changed the HVAC filters; it was uneventful. Then I went into the office because the director was throwing a party for his boss and gave me the 3rd degree when I said I could not come into the office for it. I asked my team lead if it was worth coming into the office an hour and a half after the party had started and he said "I don't know" (super helpful, buddy!) so I went in.

Now I'm heading to my brother's house again. I'm helping out extra this week since it's my sister-in-law's first week back at work. Tomorrow and the weekend should be more relaxing.

I'm extremely behind on Christmas presents. I just don't know what to get anyone. I haven't knit or embroidered anything in a year and I don't really leave the house except to go to work so I don't have any ideas.

Currently reading:
Read She-Hulk (2022) #12 and a bit more of Where Dark Things Grow
December plans: Unbecoming a Lady, Where Dark Things Grow, The Elephant Whisperer, The Drowning House, 2 She-Hulks
Reviews behind: 4
Consecutive reading days: 149

Currently watching:
Caught up on Silo and Shrinking. Finished Disclaimer, which paid off in the end but probably wasn't worth the journey.

Drat, I didn't know about the zoo in Seattle or I would have visited in when I was attending students at a conference. We did get to see the touristy Pike's Market. Overall, I was impressed with the cleanliness of the city. I arrived back at the university on the Monday after new students check in. There yard were strewn with red solo cups. It was a rude awakening to the difference of the cities.

Ugh, I'm sorry to hear that your supervisor has been not great to deal with lately. You have all my sympathies and hugs, if you'd like them.

I hope you had a grand time with the niblings and that your SIL's return to work is going OK.

I have just the final issue of She-Hulk left unread and I've been saving it as I don't really want the series to end.

It's Monday.

Thursday after working in the office I went to my brother's house to help out with my niblings. My brother got home at a decent time so we decorated the Christmas tree.

Friday was uneventful. Saturday I went to the grocery store. Sunday I went to a Christmas market, which was kind of disappointing, with some friends, then we got brunch, then we went to an art market which was very disorganized and spread out over a whole neighborhood. Brunch and friends were good, everything else was disappointing.

Today I'm in the office. Should be a normal week this week, I think. Unsure if I'm going to my brother's on Wednesday. Thursday I have a zoo meeting from 5:30 to 6:30 then I'm going to see a stage adaptation of Death on the Nile.

Currently reading:
I'm about 75% through Where Dark Things Grow, so I've moved it to my bedside. Started The Elephant Whisperer on the bus this morning. It's the book club book for January so I have awhile (the meeting will probably be mid-January) but I figured I would get started. I'm also 40% through Fern Brady's Strong Female Character on audio, narrated by the author.
December plans: Where Dark Things Grow, The Elephant Whisperer, The Drowning House, She-Hulk, Strong Female Character
Reviews behind: 4 (they're mostly written already but need some tweaks)
Consecutive reading days: 154

Currently crafting:
I have started KNITTING for the first time in about a year and a half, fingers crossed. I'm working on a scarf that has mittens on the ends that I think my niece will get a kick out of. So far I've knit 8in, the scarf needs to be 30in before I can start the mittens.

Currently watching:
I started Say Nothing, based on the book I read a couple months ago. I've only seen the first 4 episodes (terrible idea to dump the whole series at once, Hulu!) but so far it is less detailed than the book but also adheres very closely to Dolores' point of view, which works really well for a TV show. Definitely recommend it, and don't feel like you need to wait until you've read the book first.
I also watched a few more episodes of Interior Chinatown and Like Water for Chocolate (I'm watching with (very bad) dubbing because I have too much going on for subtitles at the moment), caught up on Abbott Elementary, Junior Taskmaster, and Somebody Somewhere (last week's episode, not the series finale), and finished Rivals (which was a ton of fun and has thankfully been renewed).

>53 Whisper1: It's called Woodland Park Zoo, so it's not obvious it's in Seattle! There's also an even bigger zoo in Tacoma, Point Defiance Zoo, but I didn't have time to get all the way out there. I'll have to go back!

>54 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! Thankfully it's just small work frustrations for now. Our contract is up in mid-February and we're in the crunch right now, so hopefully it will get renewed and everyone can relax for awhile.

It's Tuesday.

Business as usual around here (procrastinating, computer games, staying up very slightly too late).

I received an Early Reviewer book yesterday; Frostfire by Elly MacKay. It's a very nice finished hardcover so I will probably give it to my niblings after I'm done reading and reviewing. I'd like to review both this one and Where Dark Things Grow by December 26 because there's a book I really want to win in the current batch.

LibraryThing has started their annual Top Five Books of the year list: https://www.librarything.com/list/46058/Top-Five-Books-of-2024. I selected:
-Gender Queer
-We Could Be So Good
-Babel; Or the Necessity of Violence
-System Collapse (Murderbot #7)
-The Shadow Cabinet (HMRC #2)

Having read so many books this year, I've also revived an old tradition that Zoe and I used to do about a decade ago - Dishonorable Mentions of 2024: https://www.librarything.com/list/46059/all/Dishonorable-Mentions-of-2024. Go add your (relatively) worst books to it! Mine are:
-A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
-The Scarlet Pimpernel
-Once There Were Wolves
-The Wind in the Willows
-Waddle! A Scanimation Picture Book (I had a lot of bad picture books to choose from, but this one wins because I think the "technology" was supposed to be revolutionary but it just flopped.)

(Both of these lists are subject to change, as I will hopefully get through a few more books this year)

Currently reading:
80% through Where Dark Things Grow. 15% through The Elephant Whisperer. 48% through Strong Female Character on audio.
December plans: Where Dark Things Grow, The Elephant Whisperer, The Drowning House, She-Hulk, Strong Female Character
Reviews behind: 4 (they're mostly written already but need some tweaks)
Consecutive reading days: 155

Currently crafting:
No knitting yesterday

Currently watching:
Watched the series finale of Somebody Somewhere, which was lovely. Caught up on Like Water for Chocolate and St. Denis Medical.

119. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Zachary Ezra Rollins finds a mysterious, uncataloged book in the library at his university. He starts to read it and… it’s about him. A story he never told anyone about finding a painted door in an alley when he was a kid but chickening out of opening it. He promised himself he would open the door if he ever saw it again, and so he does some sleuthing to track down the origin of this mysterious book. He ends up in a story much larger than he could have imagined, involving libraries and books and secret societies and bees and keys and swords.

Like with The Night Circus, I did not always understand what was going on here even as I very much enjoyed reading it. The first third of the book is fairly grounded, as Zachary digs around in the real world and even as he’s exploring the library for the first time. But once he starts traveling to other places and through time inside the library I got pretty lost. We do get snippets of another grounded POV later on in the story, which I appreciated. A very enjoyable book to spend time in but too metaphorical to be a favorite.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

120. Crying in H Mart {audiobook} by Michelle Zauner, narrated by Michelle Zauner

Pop singer Michelle Zauner describes in detail the process and feeling of her mother’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, and eventual death and the couple years after. She mostly relates to her emotions about her mother using food - the food her mom used to cook for her, the food she tried (and failed) to cook for her mom while she was sick, and the food that now reminds her of her mother (and makes her cry in the middle of H Mart).

A very intimate and touching book, though fortunately for me not about anything I have first-hand experience with. The process-y-ness of the story and the detail Zauner goes into felt very cathartic. She’s an excellent writer and I hope she writes more. She was also a fantastic narrator, and I definitely recommend the audiobook.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

121. Unbecoming a Lady: The Forgotten Sluts and Shrews Who Shaped America by Therese Oneill

A chapter each about many women through American history who have not gotten enough recognition: Celesta Geyer, Aida Overton Walker, the Cherry Sisters, Hetty Green, Poker Alice Stubbs, Reindeer Mary Antisarlook, Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin, Winifred Sweet Black Bonfils, Lillian Gilbreth, Ellen G. White, Aimee Semple McPherson, Carrie Nation, Elizabeth Packard, Mary “Mother” Jones, Ida B. Wells, Martha (Mattie) Hughes Cannon, Mary Edwards Walker, and Victoria Woodhull.

The women chosen to profile here are interesting, but the diversity is very narrow. Only 3 of the 18 are not white, all were active between about 1880 and 1920, and all of them were Christian. The writing has a bit of a blog-turned-book vibe; a little too casual for my taste. I don’t regret reading about any of these women but this book just made me want to read different books about them instead.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (3.5/5)

122. She-Hulk (2022) #12 by Rainbow Rowell, illustrated by Andres Genolet and Joe Quinones

In the first half of this special 175th issue of She-Hulk, Jen is having a hard time with Jack, and a hard time at work. The Fantastic Four tell her not to guard their secret facility anymore, since she got beat up last time, but she ignores them.
The second half is a standalone story, where Jen hosts book club for her friends The Wasp, Hellcat, Invisible Woman, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, and Volcana.

Nothing happens in the first story, but it’s just half an issue so I’ll let it slide. The book club story is just fun, and it’s nice to see them finally address that Jen is living entirely on Janet’s largesse.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

Happy Thursday!

Work yesterday was rough but today is a new day.

I teleworked today, I'm going to have an online zoo meeting in about half an hour, then I'm going to the bookstore to pick up the truly absurd number of books I ordered for Christmas presents, then I'm going to see a stage production of Death on the Nile (the theater is right across the street from the bookstore, thankfully)

Tomorrow is work as usual. Saturday I'm getting breakfast with a friend then I have an in-person zoo meeting where I will, fingers crossed, get to see {redacted}. Then I'm going to a Christmas market downtown.

Currently reading:
I'm about 30% through The Elephant Whisperer and I am enjoying it more. 60% through Strong Female Character. I finished Where Dark Things Grow and She-Hulk (2022) #13. I'm in the mood for something lighter so I might read The Stupidest Angel next.
December plans: The Elephant Whisperer, The Drowning House, Strong Female Character, Frostfire
Reviews behind: 2
Consecutive reading days: 157

Currently listening:
I have a Christmas playlist on Spotify that I have been tweaking for several years - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4y8e6SYEkoh026MTRkwymG?si=3a1e929d6a474e79

Currently crafting:
Only a couple rows of knitting. I also need to come up with a way to patch a knit Christmas stocking so that it says my nephew's name instead of the dog's. I could easily duplicate stitch his name but the existing name is machine-embroidered and impossible to get off. I might just embroider his name on a rectangle of fabric and pin it over.

Currently watching:
A few episodes of Hysteria!, and caught up on What We Do in the Shadows, Sullivan's Crossing, Shrinking, and Silo.

>58 norabelle414: I can’t believe I haven’t read The Starless Sea but I’ve now requested it, and will soon remedy that sad situation. Thanks for the book bullet!

Karen O

>59 norabelle414: I also found that it was well written.

Sorry about your frustrating week. Your workplace sounds stressful and your co workers don't sound too helpful/supportive.

Hop you are able to relax a bit on the weekend.

Crossing my fingers your zoo visit included the hoped for sighting! ❤️

Wishing you much luck with getting the stocking to look how you want.

>63 klobrien2: The Starless Sea came out right before I started my reading slump, but I'm glad I got to it now!

>64 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita! My other boss (I have so many) who usually helps out with this kind of thing is out on parental leave. I'm hoping once she gets back and our contract gets renewed (knock on wood) that things will calm down.

>65 MickyFine: It did! :-)

Happy Sunday.

Thursday I had a good virtual zoo meeting after work, where we got a whole schedule of volunteer events for 2025, including all of the meetings and all of the book club dates. The meeting went over time so I did not have a chance to pick up my bookstore order but I did go to the theater to see Death on the Nile, which was very good.

Friday was uneventful, after teleworking I went to the bookstore to pick up my order then got dinner nearby, which was not good.

Saturday was too eventful. I slept in later than I wanted, got late breakfast with my friend, we went to our zoo meeting which was good and ended up being 3 hours long instead of 2, and we did get to see certain incoming animals which are not on public exhibit yet. Afterward my friend and I went to the downtown Christmas market, which is under new management and had been rearranged and was impossible to navigate. Packed like sardines. A real mess.
When I got home I had an epiphany about my nephew's Christmas stocking, which I had been mulling over for about 2 weeks, and got it finished in about an hour.

Later in the evening as I was getting ready for bed I thought I heard yelling so I turned off my music and went to look out the window and witnessed a horrible domestic violence incident. Seeing something like that on the street is awful, but I'm so thankful I live in an urban area where there were half a dozen people a few steps away to help. It took me a very long time to fall asleep.

Today should have been uneventful, as my only plan is to bake a cake for my coworker's birthday tomorrow, but as I was drafting this post I've already had to evacuate for a fire alarm, so who knows.

Currently reading:
I finished Strong Female Character and started Dead Lions on audiobook. I don't really recommend this series on audio because the POV switches very abruptly between characters and the narrator barely pauses, but I've seen this season of the TV show several times so I can follow what's happening.
December plans: The Elephant Whisperer, Frostfire, The Stupidest Angel, Dead Lions
Reviews behind: 3
Consecutive reading days: 159

Currently crafting:
I had been thinking of finding some white scrap fabric and embroidering my nephew's name on it in red and green, but then I remembered I have some old red/navy plaid pajama pants that ripped too badly to be mended. I cut some fabric out of the leg and embroidered his name in cursive with white thread. The plaid pattern kept my letters straight (I've never free-hand embroidered anything before, let alone letters!) and it will somewhat match the other stockings, which are red with white cursive letters. It's funny how things can work out like that!



Currently watching:
Taskmaster Junior

The embroidery looks so great! Amazing freehand stitching. ❤️

>67 norabelle414: The embroidery looks wonderful! I love the star for the “i”’s dot—made me smile!

Karen O

Sorry you had to witness that, Nora! That sounds awful.

>68 MickyFine: Thank you!

>69 klobrien2: Thanks Karen! The star was another little epiphany, right as I was about to make a boring French knot.

>70 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel. I have not heard anything more about the victims, which I'm hoping means they are in stable condition.

It's Tuesday.

Sunday evening I baked a cake for my coworker's birthday. It was warm and hot Sunday night so I slept terribly. It didn't help that I was just about to get in the shower when the fire alarm went off in the morning, so I ended up skipping a shower entirely because I had no plans. I always think it's no big deal to skip a shower but it really affects my mental health later in the day.

Yesterday I worked in the office. As I do every evening, I started getting ready for bed around 8:30, had a little panic about something (in this case, Christmas gifts, which I am extremely behind on), resumed getting ready for bed at 10:30, and didn't get to bed until after 11. Not a total wash, though, because I do think I have some better Christmas gift ideas now.

Currently reading:
Reading big chunks of The Elephant Whisperer on the bus. I still get frustrated with the author sometimes but overall its pretty good. Over halfway through. I picked up The Stupidest Angel for a few minutes before bed. The early-00s "humorous" misogyny, fatphobia, classism, etc. can get grating but it's otherwise an easy read.
December plans: The Elephant Whisperer, Frostfire, The Stupidest Angel, Dead Lions
Reviews behind: 3
Consecutive reading days: 162

Currently crafting:
I bought a kit of fabric cocktail napkins to embroider, for Christmas presents but it did not come with any guidance on what colors to use so I'm having a bit of a panic.

Currently playing:
I've been getting back into The Witcher 3 on Switch. I'm playing handheld (with TV on in the background) and my battery only lasts about an hour and a half, which is perfect (except for my tendency to put it down and forget about it for 20 minutes at a time).

Currently watching:
Caught up on Happy's Place, finished Hysteria! (a fine background show but I'm not clamoring for another season), and watched the Paul Mescal episode of Saturday Night Live.

It's Wednesday.

Nothing much happened yesterday. Today after work I'm going to my brother's. Tomorrow I need to pick up another bookstore order (panicking about Christmas gifts = buying more books). Saturday is my niece's birthday party.

All my library checkouts auto-renewed so no plans to go to the library anytime soon.

Currently reading:
The Elephant Whisperer (70%), The Stupidest Angel (20%), Dead Lions (audiobook) (43%)
December plans: The Elephant Whisperer, Frostfire, The Stupidest Angel, Dead Lions
Reviews behind: 3
Consecutive reading days: 163

Currently crafting:
Embroidered a little bit of one of the cocktail napkins. The embroidery is only accents, not the whole design, so it shouldn't take too long.

Currently watching:
The series finale of What We Do in the Shadows. It was good, I appreciate that they didn't try to do too much.

>73 norabelle414: I'm trying not to do that panic book-buying thing. I usually buy books for everyone, but I haven't done so this year. I feel kind of badly about it, but I don't think anyone will really notice or mind. (I did buy some for my nephew.)

>74 foggidawn: Books just feel so versatile! If I know what someone's interests are I don't always know how to buy them something related to it, but I know how to find them a good book about it.

Happy weekend!

Late in the day on Wednesday I overheard my contract lead saying some things that I think mean our contract is not going to be renewed, or if it is it will be very different. I'm not sure what it means for the future of my job, since he won't say anything to us directly. After work I went to my brother's house.

Thursday I teleworked, then went to the bookstore to buy more books, then stopped to have dinner and sit at a bar and read for awhile.

Today was uneventful. Tomorrow I'm going to my niece's birthday party then I might stop at a Christmas market on the way home. Part of the Metro is closed for repairs this week so I have to make an extra transfer to get to my brother's house, but I don't think it should be too bad. Sunday I might go see Wicked.

Currently reading:
I finished The Elephant Whisperer on Thursday. 50% through The Stupidest Angel, 50% through Dead Lions (audiobook). Not sure what my next paper book is going to be, but per Murphy's Law of Library Holds, I'm first in line for FOUR audiobooks right now.
December plans: Frostfire, The Stupidest Angel, Dead Lions
Reviews behind: 4 (I really need to write these before the 26th!)
Consecutive reading days: 165

Currently crafting:
Just a little embroidery

Currently watching:
Nothing

123. Where Dark Things Grow by Andrew K. Clark

LibraryThing Early Reviewer Book

Leo is a teenager living in Appalachia in the 1930s. One night while walking home from doing chores for his neighbor, Leo runs into a wulver - a beast from Scottish mythology with the body of a man and the head of a wolf. The power of questionable morals that the wulver offers him could help with a lot of Leo’s problems - his father is missing, his youngest sister is dying, his oldest brother is a bully, the girl he likes is sexually assaulted, and his family doesn’t have enough food. While searching for his father in the usual spots (bar, brothel, etc.) Leo uncovers a sinister plot to kidnap young women from town and force them into abusive sex work deep in the forest. He can use the wulver’s power to hurt the men who are committing these heinous acts, but the wulver feeds on hatred. Will Leo be able to control it?

A good debut novel. There’s lots of interesting mythology here, and the setting is very vibrant. Leo and his family and neighbors feel very well-realized. The villains, less-so - they are complicated, but not in a way that is really coherent. The overall plot was a bit muddled - it felt like there were two interesting books here, one about Leo and the wulver and his family/neighbors, and a separate book about the kidnapped women. Maybe a sequel? Overall I’m glad I read it, and I really hope the author writes more.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (3.5/5)

>58 norabelle414: I've had The Starless Sea on my TBR list since 2024. I'll be sure to read this in 2025. Your review is excellent. I send all good wishes for a wonderful holiday to you and those you love.

>76 norabelle414: Mr. Fine and I went to see Wicked last weekend. I'm a long-time fan of the show but he's never seen it and I was delighted when we left the theatre and he said he really liked it. If you do go, I hope you have a grand time!

124. She-Hulk (2022) #13 by Rainbow Rowell, illustrated by Andres Genolet

Jen runs into the mysterious handsome thief on the street, but the only information she can get out of him is his name - The Scoundrel / Nicolas. At work, she calls Mallory out on the hypocrisy of initially refusing superpowered clients and then taking on too many. At home, Jack has dropped out of college and is spending his time sucking up radiation from Bikini Atoll. They’re flirting, but still strained.

Not a whole lot happened but it still feels pretty balanced. I’ve never heard of The Scoundrel before, and I’m purposely not looking him up. Excited to see what happens next.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

125. Strong Female Character {audiobook} by Fern Brady, narrated by Fern Brady

Scottish comedian Fern Brady always knew she was different, but her family just told her she was naughty and annoying. She got obsessed with things, blew up if she didn’t get enough alone time, and had trouble reading social cues. She was diagnosed with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, but that didn’t quite fit. She suggested to her doctor that she might have autism, but was brushed off because her symptoms didn’t match the common symptoms in boys and men. Eventually she spent some time homeless, and some time in sex work before graduating from university and finding her ideal job in comedy. It took many years and specialists for her to get properly diagnosed with autism, and the effects of being ignored for so long still linger.

A very enjoyable addition to the celebrity comedian memoir genre. Brady’s autism brings a little something extra, since she uses the book not just to tell her story but to inform the reader about autism, particularly undiagnosed autism in women. Her vulnerability and bravery in being open about a stigmatized disorder really shines, and I learned a lot. As expected, she treats her autism and her journey to getting diagnosed with a lot of humor. I particularly liked the story of her realizing she had autism because her boyfriend read a book about how to support a partner with autism and started using its suggestions on her and it worked perfectly. She’s an excellent narrator, though between her fast talking and Scottish accent, this is the first audiobook I’ve listened to on 1.0x speed in years.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

>81 norabelle414: WOW! What a wonderful review. I'm checking online tomorrow to see if my local library has a copy of Strong Female Character.

I send all good wishes for a blessed holiday.

>78 Whisper1: I was sorry I missed The Starless Sea when it first came out but I'm glad I got to it now!

>79 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! I did and I did.

>82 Whisper1: Thank you Linda! I'm glad you enjoy my reviews. I write them mostly for myself, as I found in 2016 that I was sometimes struggling to remember anything about books I had previously read, but I try to make them useful for others since I enjoy reading their reviews too.

Happy Monday!

Saturday was my niece's birthday party (today is her actual birthday). It was a nice time, not too fussy. The best thing about kids birthday parties is they are blissfully short. Last year (2yo) she was old enough to have a great time, but this was the first birthday she really anticipated it and knew what was going on. So much fun! She got a(n unbranded) superhero costume and immediately pooped in it. My cousin who lives near-ish was there with his kids and he mentioned that he took his daughter to the zoo in September and she went nuts for it, so I convinced their family to come with me to see the new giant pandas at the staff preview in January. I'm extremely excited, no one else wanted to go with me.

After the party I went to another Christmas market and bought a knitted dinosaur toy for my nephew, then went to a couple stores to look at gifts for others (I did NOT go to the Barnes & Noble next door, please clap). The stores were busy but not oppressively crowded, it was cold out and there were a few flakes of snow. Idyllic.

Sunday I went out for tacos and then saw the movie Wicked with my friends. It was very good. I was obsessed with the book in 2002 and the Cast Recording in 2005 but didn't see the musical until 2017 and was disappointed with the ending. This movie is just the first half, though, so I really enjoyed it. The lighting and practical sets were particularly stunning. After I got home I inventoried all of the gifts I got for my family members, picked which ones I'm going to give tomorrow (I'm having Christmas with my dad at my brother's house tomorrow, then later in the month my mom will visit and we'll do Christmas again) and wrapped them. Feeling very accomplished! Did I have other tasks I was supposed to be doing at the time? Don't worry about it.

Tomorrow I'll telework a couple hours in the morning, then head to my brother's. Wednesday is for relaxing. Thursday I'm teleworking and trying to finish my big end of year project, so I can take the rest of the month off while my mom is visiting.

Currently reading:
I have 30 pages left in The Stupidest Angel, so I left it at home and started The Drowning House on the bus. I'm not planning to finish it before the end of the year, but I will have several long Metro rides so we'll see. I only have an hour left in Dead Lions (audiobook). I read through Frostfire once, but I'm going to read it again before reviewing since it's an LTER book.
December plans: Frostfire, The Stupidest Angel, Dead Lions
Reviews behind: 1 (mostly written but needs some tweaking)
Consecutive reading days: 168

Currently crafting:
I need to finish embroidering at least a couple of the napkins before my mom gets here. I've given up on the mitten scarf for my niece. I might give some IOUs but its hard because I'm just not that into crafting this year.

Currently watching:
Taskmaster Junior, Say Nothing s1e5 (how does Anthony Boyle look so good with a gross mustache?), Interior Chinatown s1e4

Thinking of you at this time, Nora

I'm kinda lonely over here....

https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24622/75-Books-Challenge-for-2025

>85 Whisper1: Thank you Linda!

>86 PaulCranswick: Thank you Paul!

>87 drneutron: Hi Jim! I'll be right over!

Happy Sunday!!

Tuesday I teleworked for a bit, then went to my brother's house for family Christmas festivities with my dad. We had lobster, and everyone liked the gifts I got them. Wednesday I did nothing but catch up on TV. Thursday I teleworked, did a lot of very overdue laundry, and went to the grocery store. Friday I wrapped gifts and ran errands in the morning then went to my brother's house for dinner with my mom, who had just arrived. Yesterday we had more Christmas festivities, eating lamb for dinner and exchanging presents. I received:
Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist by Jasmin Graham
Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy
Cain's Jawbone: A Novel Problem by Edward Powys Mathers

Everyone seemed to enjoy the gifts I got them. My mom already had one of the books I got her so we're going to the bookstore on Tuesday to get a different one. Today I went with my mom to visit a family friend for breakfast and now I'm resting at home. I caught some kind of non-COVID sore throat illness from the baby, as did my brother and everyone on my sister-in-law's side of the family. I'm not coughing or sneezing but I am a bit uncomfortable and my voice sounds weird.

Tomorrow my mom and her husband and I are going to a couple museums and then to see A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at a local theater. Tuesday I might go over to my brother's house? but maybe not. Wednesday I definitely will.

Currently reading:
I finished The Stupidest Angel, Frostfire, and Dead Lions. I'm halfway through The Drowning House in paper and I have about 45 minutes left of Uglies on audio. I'm also going to count Knight Owl, which I bought for my niece for her birthday and have now read to her a few times. So that will put me at probably 131 or 132 books for the year. Obviously that's so far beyond any goal I could possibly have set for myself, but I don't have anything else to do New Year's Eve so I might try to knock out a graphic novel or other short book. Next up on audio is All Things Bright and Beautiful.
December plans: The Drowning House, Uglies
January plans: ???
Reviews behind: 5
Consecutive reading days: 174

Currently crafting:
I finished embroidering two of the cocktail napkins and gave one to my mom and her husband and one to my brother and sister-in-law. I'm going to try to finish two more for my mom before she leaves on Friday, and then two more for my brother by the 8th.

Currently listening:
Music-wise it's been non-stop Christmas music. I don't like the way Christmas feels like it's shoved out the door by dinner on Christmas Day, so I try to make a point of listening to the songs I like for several days afterward.
I got caught up on podcasts and then several of them went on break for the holidays so I'm running low, as you can tell by my finishing multiple audiobooks in a month.

Currently watching:
Season finales of Taskmaster Junior (really enjoyed it, I hope they do more seasons), Bad Sisters (not as good as the first season but better than I thought it was going to be. I wasn't sure about the involvement of the cops at first but I liked where they went with it), and Shrinking (sad). Watched a few episodes of Interior Chinatown, Say Nothing, Saturday Night Live, Silo, Marvel's What If? (I'm tired of most Marvel shows but I enjoy this one because I don't expect it to make any sense), and St Denis Medical. Started the new show Laid. Watched the Call the Midwife Christmas special but found it very mediocre. It was like a regular mid-season episode that dragged on for two hours.

126. The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild by Lawrence Anthony and Graham Spence

South African Lawrence Anthony manages a nature preserve when he is contacted by an elephant rescue organization. They have information about a small herd that has caused so much destruction and danger that they are going to be killed if someone doesn’t take them away. Anthony steps up to the challenge, and his next several years are spent chasing down the elephants when they escape, gaining their trust, watching them destroy most of his stuff, welcoming babies, and making hard, life-or-death decisions. Anthony has a close relationship with the nearby Zulu tribes, as the land he works on is technically theirs and he sometimes needs their buy-in, as well as his work often affecting their communities (e.g. an escaped elephant, or being a draw for poachers).

I was skeptical of this book in the beginning, since Anthony made his money in real estate during Apartheid. He also does a lot of incredibly stupid things that would not fly in an institution with more oversight, like touching the animals and bringing his dog with him everywhere. Nice that it worked out for him but it very easily could not have. But his stories are charming and sometimes goofy and the book is very readable so it won me over. At the end, Anthony reminds the reader what conservation is really about - while he formed a bond of trust with these particular elephants for their own well-being, and enjoyed their time together and the stories it led to, he had no direct contact with their offspring, so they can learn to be wild and free.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

127. Dead Lions (Slough House, Book 2) {audiobook} by Mick Herron, narrated by Gerard Doyle

The Slough House crew (including two new additions) are investigating dual non-events: minor security detail for a visiting Russian oil executive and the heart-related death on a public bus of a long, long retired agent. Despite appearances, Jackson Lamb believes the agent’s death is suspicious and sends overzealous slow horse River Cartwright undercover in a tiny village to investigate a suspected killer. The clues left behind point to an old myth about sleeper agents. Is it a myth? Or is the myth a myth???

Perfectly fine. The ending is a bit different from the tv show, which helped hold my interest, although I liked the tv ending better. I also don’t really like hearing the inner monologue of the male characters. It’s to be expected of Jackson Lamb and Roddy Ho - their characters are explicitly misogynist and they always speak their mind - but Min Harper and River Cartwright are also annoyingly chauvinistic and fatphobic. Shirley Dander is my favorite character on the show, and I like her here as well, though not her pretending to be a lesbian.

Gerard Doyle is a perfectly fine narrator. However, I can’t really recommend listening to the books in audio, since the perspective changes from character to character very rapidly and there’s no pause at all from one to the next. I’ll keep listening to them that way, though, since I kind of already know what happens.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

128. The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore

Raziel, the stupidest angel in heaven, is sent down to Pine Cove, California to perform a Christmas miracle. When a young boy sees “santa” die in an accident, Raziel gives the boy his wish and brings all of the bodies in the church graveyard back to life. Surely everyone living in town will be happy to see their lost loved ones, and the reanimated dead will be happy to eat their loved one’s brains. The only people who can save the day are a stoner cop, a love-sick pilot whose best friend is a bat, the ex-wife of the deceased “santa”, and a former camp sci-fi actress who has gone off her antipsychotic medication.

I had been meaning to get to this book for a long time, and I did wait too long. The jokes have not aged well in the two decades (lots of "we make fun of everyone so it's okay" misogyny, fatphobia, ablism, etc., with the r-word thrown in), but Moore’s witty writing is still apparent. It's an interesting concept - throwing a bunch of different characters from his different books together for a kind of "Christmas special", which still manages to stand on its own. I’m glad I read it eventually, though I won’t be returning to it, and I’m also glad I have newer, better Christopher Moore to read.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ (3/5)

129. Frostfire written and illustrated by Elly MacKay

LibraryThing Early Reviewer book

Miriam and Celeste are foxes, living in a winter wonderland of a forest. As they go on a walk together, older sister Miriam tells younger sister Celeste a tall tale about snow dragons, who come to collect ‘diamond dust’ (snow), eat princesses, and breath frosty fire onto windowpanes. Or maybe they’re real??

A very sweet, simple story. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the sisters, where Miriam is wrong about something and Celeste knows it but shrugs it off, and at the end when Miriam pretends to see the snow dragon because she feels insecure about not seeing it. The illustrations are out of this world. Per the copyright page, “The illustrations in this book are photographs of paper scenes. Spray paint, watercolor, glitter, fabric, foam, and wire were also used…” This gives a lovely depth to everything, especially the many many near-identical snowbanks. The characters look like a real part of the scene, and have the slightest shadow around them like they’re popping off the page. Beautiful stuff, highly recommended for fans of illustrations and winter.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

>84 norabelle414: Goodness, I would go with you to see the giant pandas if I lived anywhere close!

Last life update for 2024:

I took the 27th, 30th, and 31st off of work so I could spend some time with my mom and her husband. Also my company just switched us to use-or-lose paid time off so I needed to use up my time. This year I get paid out for my "lost" paid time off but I won't in the future. And now it's January and I have zero time off. Fingers crossed I don't get sick, I guess.

Monday my mom and I went to some museums - Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment at the National Gallery of Art (a gorgeous exhibit of art that was accepted in the mainstream art Salon in 1874, alongside paintings that were rejected from the Salon (mostly for being too modern). I absolute love art exhibits that have a lot of historical context, and it doesn't get much more contextual than this), and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania (3D and/or video models of never-realized Frank Lloyd Wright projects in Pittsburgh. The models were beautiful but it made me pretty thankful for the systems (usually budgets) that prevented most of these projects from happening, since most of them involved tearing down marginalized neighborhoods to build structures for cars.), Capital Brutalism (imagining the ways DC's most iconic Brutalist buildings could be renovated and revitalized sustainably (i.e. without just demolishing them)), Brick City (iconic world landmarks made out of Lego bricks), and Building Stories (architecture, engineering, and design as it relates to children's books, both in their construction and within the stories). It was a great day, though my mom's husband couldn't come since he hurt his back. He did join us in the evening to see A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which was fantastic.

Tuesday I laid low. I am once again running a book award for an online group so I spent the day setting everything up so voting could start on the 1st (I hate it when end-of-year stuff comes out way before Dec 31. The year isn't over until it's over!!). I also went to the library and checked out a handful of books to read in the new year, including several Christmas romances which I put on hold in mid-November but just came in now.

Updates about yesterday will go in the 2025 thread. I need to write a few 2024 reviews and post my stats and then I'll be done here!

Currently reading:
I finished The Drowning House and Uglies on the 31st. I decided against adding a last-minute graphic novel. 132 books is plenty! I started All Things Bright and Beautiful on audio but didn't start any new paper book before midnight.
Reviews behind: 3
Consecutive reading days: 177

Currently crafting:
Did not get any more embroidery done.

Currently listening:
Continued to listen to Christmas music through brunch on the 1st but now I need to move on.

Currently watching:
Taskmaster's New Year Treat, Laid, Day of the Jackal. Also rewatching Ghosts UK.

130. Knight Owl written and illustrated by Christopher Denise

A little owl wants to be a big strong knight, and gets his chance when many knights disappear and more need to be recruited. He struggles to be big and strong and stay awake during the day, so he’s placed on the knight night watch. There he runs into a hungry dragon who wants to eat knights. Unless, that is, owl can offer the dragon something better - pizza!

Very cute story. I loved that the owl didn’t need to change, he was helpful and saved the day and made friends just by being himself. The story seems very serious until the pizza gets involved in a perfect full-page reveal. Great decision with the illustration, along with the fact that the owl is so smol and the knights are so big and we never see their faces. Who ever bought this for my niece has great taste (it was me, I bought it).

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (5/5)

>96 norabelle414: Aw, I love that one!

131. Uglies (Uglies, Book 1) {audiobook} by Scott Westerfeld, narrated by Emily Tremaine

Tally Youngblood is an Ugly, just a normal teen in a segregated society, killing time and pulling pranks until her 16th birthday when she can finally get the operation to become Pretty and move to New Pretty Town. She makes friends with Shay, another elder Ugly, who tells her a startling secret - she’s going to run away before her birthday and refuse to get the operation. Tally refuses to go with her, and then on her birthday instead of getting the operation she’s brought before the secret police and given an ultimatum - locate Shay and the encampment of outsiders she escaped to, or stay Ugly forever.

I originally read this book in 2012 when I was steeped in teen girl dystopias and I did not appreciate it much. With some distance I enjoyed it more. The writing is more juvenile than I would expect from YA today, and it feels derivative until I remind myself that it came out a full 3 years before The Hunger Games. Tally feels unique - until almost the halfway point she is acting on behalf of both the authoritarian government and her own desires. Shay is the more common dystopia heroine, but viewing the story from Tally’s perspective feels more realistic. It takes quite a bit of convincing to get her to turn against the status quo, which I find more inspirational than a protagonist who knows the right thing to do from the start.

I’m glad I revisited this book and I plan to keep reading. I’m very intrigued that Westerfeld decided to pick this series back up after more than a decade and I can’t wait to get to the newer books. It's worth noting that Tally and Shay are definitely queer-coded, though I can't tell if it's intentional or not. They clearly make each other feel romantic feelings, and David has a real "him??" quality. (Every time Tally said his name it reminded me of David and his sister Alexis from Schitt's Creek.) I really hope the author goes somewhere with it.

Emily Tremaine is a perfectly good narrator. I appreciated that she didn't try different voices for the different characters, I don't generally enjoy that.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

132. The Drowning House by Cherie Priest

Estranged childhood friends Leo and Melissa get a message from their third childhood friend Simon that his beloved grandmother has died, allegedly scared to death by something she saw on the beach. By the time they make it from their urban adult lives back to remote Marrowstone Island where Simon and his grandmother lived, Simon is nowhere to be found. They do find the thing that scared his grandmother to death - an entire (mostly) intact house has washed up on the shore in their backyard. Their hunt for the origin of the ‘housewreck’ and the fate of their friend leads them to an archive, a creepy hidden basement, a cemetery, and the truth about Simon’s grandmother. How did a whole house wash out to sea 70 years ago, and what does it mean that it’s come back?

A very spooky haunted house/eldritch horror story. It feels like it could be a sequel to Maplecroft/Chapelwood, just a century later and on the other side of the country. Melissa and Leo’s friendship feels very real and specific - they used to be close, somewhat against their will, and haven’t talked in years but are still connected by their unrequited love for Simon. They worked together really well, each gaining motivation from the confidence they believe the other to have, not realizing they’re both equally lonely and scared. Priest’s writing is funny, as always, even while the plot itself is very not-funny. There’s no happy ending here, but there is revenge.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

2024 Statistics

In 2024, I read 132 books. That's 87 more than last year, and the most I've ever read in a year.
29 of those were picture books, 1 short story, and 14 were comic books less than 100 pages, but that's still 88 full books.
23,999 pages, plus 65 hours and 4 minutes of audiobooks.
I averaged 11 days per book (8 if you don't count The Iliad), 65 pages per day, 11 books per month.
Average book length was 192 pages.

The longest paper book was The Iliad at 836 pages
The longest audiobook was Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland at 14 hours and 47 minutes.
The shortest paper book was Waddle! A Scanimation Picture Book at 12 pages
The shortest audiobook was Strong Female Character at 6 hours and 43 minutes.

I acquired 56 books (8 of which were individual issues of comics).
I bought 46 books (8 of which were individual issues of comics).
I deaccessioned 16 books, 8 fewer than last year.

Books read this year:
83 (63%) were marketed for adults
20 (15%) for middle grade/young adult
29 (22%) for children.

94 (60%) of the authors/artists I read were non-male. (Some books have multiple authors/artists)*

31 (23%) had authors/artists of color*
19 (14%) had a main character of color.
28 (21%) had out LGBTQ authors/artists*
38 (29%) had an LGBTQ major character.
8 (6%) had an out trans author*
8 (6%) had a trans major character.

(*These are to the best of my knowledge. It is very hard to find biographic information about a lot of picture book authors!)

24 (18%) had a major character with a disability.

6 (5%) were translated from another language (French, Russian, Japanese, Modern Greek, Ancient Greek).

32 (24%) of the books I read were were purchased by me
62 (47%) checked out from the library
1 was in the public domain
30 (22%) borrowed (mostly from my niece)
4 (3%) gifts
3 (2%) early review copies.

124 (94%) were print books
1 (1%) ebook
7 (5%) audiobooks.

62 (47%) prose books
0 were plays
40 (30%) comics
1 (1%) poetry*
29 (22%) picture books.*
(*There's a picture book category now so I'm no longer counting rhyming picture books as poetry)

114 (86%) fiction
18 (14%) non-fiction

13 (10%) rereads

8 (6%) published in 2024
87 (66%) published from 2014-2023
37 (28%) published before 2014.
The oldest book I read, not counting The Iliad, was The Death of Ivan Ilyich, originally published in 1886.

My best reading month was August, in which I finished 20 books. My worst reading month was March, in which I finished "only" 7 books.

My most-read genre was speculative fiction/science fiction/fantasy/horror, of which I read 59 books (45%).
35 (27%) general fiction
9 (7%) Romance
8 (6%) biography/memoir
6 (5%) historical fiction & fantasy
5 (4%) adventure/mystery/thriller
3 (5%) each science non-fiction, general non-fiction, history non-fiction
1 (1%) short story collection

89 (67%) were from the US
24 (18%) from the UK
6 (5%) from Canada
2 (2%) each from France and Greece
1 (1%) each from Ireland, Japan, Czechia, South Africa, New Zealand, Russia, Italy, and Costa Rica

Favorites:
-Gender Queer
-We Could Be So Good
-Babel; Or the Necessity of Violence
-System Collapse (Murderbot #7)
-The Shadow Cabinet (HMRC #2)

Dishonorable Mentions:
-A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
-The Scarlet Pimpernel
-Once There Were Wolves
-The Wind in the Willows
-Waddle! A Scanimation Picture Book

>94 foggidawn: You're welcome anytime!

>97 foggidawn: I'm pretty sure I got this recommendation from you, thanks!

And with that, I'm done with 2024! See you on my new thread over here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/366913