MickyFine's 2025 Reads

Kilt Rock, Isle of Skye (not my photo)

I'm Micky, 38 years old, librarian, and generally bookish nerd. I usually have a good mix of reads going on every year with strong doses of romance, sff, historicals, and a dash of non-fiction. I'm largely kicking around without any goals this year beyond a list of 12 books off my own shelves that I want to (re)read. We'll see where my reading mood takes me!

I do my best to be chatty on my own thread (these days I pop in weekly-ish) and in addition to my reading, I'll also discuss highlights of my craft projects (check out my NeedleArts thread if you like more details), board games, what we're watching, and general life goings on, often featuring my husband, Mr. Fine, and our two cats, Ash and Smee. Posters and lurkers alike are welcome.

This year's toppers will all be photos of Scotland in celebration of the fact that Mr. Fine and I are planning to go in the fall of 2025. I'm so excited!

January
1. Starter Villain - John Scalzi
2. I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons - Peter S. Beagle
3. First Comes Scandal - Julia Quinn
4. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen (re-read)
5. Chilling Effect - Valerie Valdes
6. Blithe Spirit - Noel Coward (re-read)
7. People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry
8. Highly Irregular: Why Tough, Through, and Dough Don't Rhyme and Other Oddities of the English Language - Arika Okrent
9. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (re-read)
10. The Great Dating Fake Off - Livy Hart
11. Just Like Heaven - Julia Quinn
Favourite(s):


February
12. You Sexy Thing - Cat Rambo
13. Nora Goes Off Script - Annabel Monaghan
14. One for the Books - Jenn McKinlay
15. All Things Bright and Beautiful - James Herriot
16. You, Again - Kate Goldbeck
17. The Well of Lost Plots - Jasper Fforde (re-read)
18. The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love - India Holton
19. Hench - Natalie Zina Walschots
20. Emma - Jane Austen (re-read)
21. Yours From the Tower - Sally Nicholls
22. A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers
Favourite(s):


March
23. How Would You Like Your Mammoth?: 12,000 Years of Culinary History in 50 Bite-Size Essays - Uta Seeburg
24. Uprooted - Naomi Novik
25. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (re-read)
26. Bringing Down the Duke - Evie Dunmore
27. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow - Jessica Townsend (re-read)
28. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy - Becky Chambers
29. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams (re-read)
30. The Other Side of Disappearing - Kate Clayborn
31. No Ordinary Duchess - Elizabeth Hoyt
Favourite(s):

April
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May
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June
Favourite(s):

July
Favourite(s):

August
Favourite(s):

September
Favourite(s):

October
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November
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December
Favourite(s):

My rating system:

/ = Ran screaming in the other direction (aka did not finish)
* = Suffered through it for reasons I'm still not sure of
** = Had far more flaws than virtues
*** = A read I don't regret but could use some improvement
**** = A good, solid read that I might revisit
***** = Loved it beyond reason and will probably re-read in short order

Last year, I set a list of 12 books off my own shelf to (re)read and that went so well, I'm doing it again this year. I'll be aiming for one a month but we'll see how it goes.

From My Shelves
Soulless (re-read)
Caliban's War
Bringing Down the Duke
The Well of Lost Plots (re-read)
Just Like Heaven
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (re-read)
Blackout (re-read)
All Clear (re-read)
Anne of Green Gables (re-read)
Making It So
Star Trek Picard: Last Best Hope
Summer Knight

Putting the year-end book meme just on the new thread this year to allow for more chatting about it. :)

Describe yourself: The Untold Story

Describe how you feel: Truly Devious

Describe where you currently live: The Galaxy and the Ground Within

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Night Circus

Your favorite form of transportation is: Planes, Trains, and All the Feels

Your favorite food is: Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe

Your favorite time of day is: Nightwatch on the Hinterlands

Your best friend is: Of Noble Family

You and your friends are: Close Knit

What’s the weather like: No Words

You fear: An Unexpected Peril

What is the best advice you have to give: The Frugal Wizard's Handbook to Medieval England

Thought for the day: Adulthood Is a Gift

What is life for you: Ten Thousand Stitches

How you would like to die: Lost in a Good Book

Your soul’s present condition: Across the Green Grass Fields

What was 2023 like for you? Funny Story

What do you want from 2024? Slow Dance

And with that, my 2025 thread is officially open for business! Come in, get cozy, and tell me if you have any travel plans for 2025. Armchair travel plans also welcome so feel free to share plans to visit Narnia, Avonlea, or the like too. :)

Happy new year of reading, Micky!

I had the same answer to favorite mode of transportation last year :)

Hi Micky, love the Skye topper. That's a place I'd like to visit again. Have a Happy New Year!

>9 MickyFine: I hope your 2025 is outstandingly good, Micky.

My travel plans are to discover how to hop timelines and places so I can clean the gene pool.

Happy new thread! I’m hoping for a quick trip to Scotland and a train ride across Canada this year, but we shall see.

I’m planning to work on my meme answers in the next day or two.

>1 MickyFine: Stunning area!

Looking forward to de lurking more here. Happy New year!

Happy 2025, Micky! Gorgeous photo! I'm excited for you guys to go to Scotland.

We don't have anything nailed down yet, but are thinking something tropical in the first half of the year (Mexico or Hawaii most likely).

Happy 2025, Micky.

Love the topper, Micky and would love to visit the Scottish highlands and islands again this year.

>8 MickyFine: Lost in a good book would be a great way to go!

>10 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie. That one was a BB from you, as well. :)

>11 Familyhistorian: I'm excited to see Skye. Happy new year to you as well!

>12 richardderus: Wishing you the same. And good luck with your timeliness hopping.

>13 foggidawn: Ooh, the train ride through the Rockies is on my travel bucket list. I hope it happens for you!

>14 figsfromthistle: Always happy to see you, Figs!

>15 curioussquared: I'm excited too. I look forward to hearing about your warm weather vacation!

>17 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul.

Happy New Reading Year! Love the topper and your trip to Scotland sounds wonderful.

From your "12" list, last year I re-read Anne of GG, and I gave a 5 star rating to The Annotated Anne of Green Gables, edited by Margaret Doody, Mary Doody Jones and Wendy Barry (1997). It has lots of illustrations and photos, and loads of extra material, particularly about the place and times. I found it through inter-library loan. It's an over-sized book, and I actually listened to the original text on audio and then read all the extra annotations after each listening session. If you like to dive into extra stuff (like the educational system of PEI at the time or how Montgomery's life parallels Anne's), it's well worth the heft effort!

>1 MickyFine: Happy New Year Micky! Lovely picture of Skye. Do you know where you intend to visit in Scotland yet?

Happy New Year Micky! I love your topper too, and am eager to hear more about your travel plans.

Happy new year, Micky!

Happy New Year, Micky! May it be filled with good books.

Welcome back, Micky!

Happy New Year, Micky!

Great meme answers! Hope you have a great year of reading!

Happy New Year, Micky!

My travel plans for this year are to spend a few days in Portland, OR and then take the train cross-country to Chicago, but not sure when it's going to happen since I have a lot of job stuff up in the air.

>7 MickyFine: Good luck with that! I need to get to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue too. I love the Connie Willis books.

>8 MickyFine: I love your answers to the memes!

Happy New Year, Micky!

Dropping a star.

Hi Micky! Can't wait to see the pictures and reads this year. Happy New Year!

>7 MickyFine: It looks like we'll have a little reading overlap this year -- I'm planning to read Addie LaRue for the first time, as well as Doomsday Book for the first time. (I finally feel ready for a plague book, lol.)

Happy New Year, Micky! That topper is full of gorgeous.

Happy new thread, and

Happy New Year, Micky!

>1 MickyFine: Those are some cliffs! Thank you for the photo.

Always nice to see your thread in the new group, Micky. I look forward to seeing what you read this year.

Happy 2025, Micky! Hope the new year brings great things for you!

Happy New year, Micky!

I envy you your planned trip to Scotland. Have you been before? It’s so beautiful there.

I loved The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. I hope you and Stasia have a good time with it.

>19 kac522: Thanks, Kathy. I'm glad to hear the annotated edition of Anne was a rewarding read for you. I've got beautiful paperback editions that I love to re-read but I'll keep that edition in mind if I decide I want to dig further into LMM.

>20 SandDune: Nice to see you, Rhian! We're planning to spend a few days in Edinburgh and then we're doing a six-day tour around the Highlands and a couple of the islands (including Skye). We were pleased to find a tour that includes a little bit of everything Mr. Fine and I definitely wanted to see (Loch Ness, a standing stone circle, a whisky distillery, etc.) and I don't have to wrap my brain around driving on the "wrong" side of the road.

>21 lauralkeet: Nice to see you, Laura. My notes to Rhian above will probably interest you. :)

>22 bell7: Thank you, Mary! Same to you.

>23 Matke: Thanks so much!

>24 drneutron: Thanks, Jim! And thanks once again for managing the set-up of the group. It's hugely appreciated by all of us, I know.

>25 swynn: Thanks, Steve!

>26 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori. Wishing the same for you!

>27 norabelle414: Happy New Year to you too, Nora! Sorry you've got work uncertainty going on but I look forward to hearing about your travels when things are more certain.

>28 alcottacre: Nice to see you, Stasia. I did the 12 books off my shelf challenge last year and while there were a couple books I DNF'd (gift books that ended up not being my jam), I did get through all of them, so I'm hopeful I can do it again this year.

>29 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks for dropping by, Raven!

>30 curioussquared: Ooh, I look forward to your thoughts on both. I love the other books in Connie Willis' time travel series but I don't think I'll ever revisit Doomsday Book. It was stressful when I read it the first time and that was well before I'd lived through a pandemic. I hope your reading experience is good though!

>31 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie. I'm so excited to see views like this one IRL this fall!

>32 quondame: Happy new year, Susan!

>33 PawsforThought: Thanks, Paws. Looking forward to keeping up with you as well.

>34 ChelleBearss: Chelle! It's a delight to see you!

>35 jnwelch: Happy New Year, Joe! I've never been to Scotland before and I'm very much looking forward to it.

First life update of the year!

This week was a mix of quiet and full. I took vacation for the days between Christmas and New Year this year. One of those days I purposefully planned as a pajama day where Mr. Fine and I did absolutely no responsible tasks and it was glorious. Must remember to have pajama days in future staycations. NYE we went to our friends, M&A's for our traditional game night and sleepover. A couple other friends joined us and we played Scythe. I was basically useless on New Year's Day as even though I slept eight hours, I was still feeling a little rough around the edges (and I don't drink alcohol so it was really just sleep related, lol). Once we got home from our friends' place, I basically lounged around the house.

I was back at work and in office on Thursday and working from home Friday. My temp manager returned from his medical leave on the 31st and I assume he's busily catching up after his six weeks off as I didn't see/hear from him during my two working days. My own catch-up after being off was pretty minimal as things are generally quiet during the holiday week.

On the crafting front, I've got the same cross-stitch project ongoing and I've started crocheting a pair of fingerless mitts for me to use in the office (this winter the HVAC has taken to blowing cold air at my desk). I'm trying to work on each project on alternate weekday evenings and give each project roughly equal time on the weekends. We'll see how it goes. Cross-stitch is a much slower craft so the (relatively) greater speed with which I can complete a crochet project can feel more rewarding and easier to focus on.

On the gaming front, we tried my Christmas gift The Books of Time this week and while it took Mr. Fine a bit to wrap his brain around the game play the first time, we ultimately enjoyed it. NYE was the aforementioned game of Scythe. Last night we played our first game of 2025 and broke out Farshore, which I'd forgotten was enjoyable in all its differences from Everdell (its parent game).

We've returned to our regular weeknight viewing so here's the shows we're currently working our way through:
*Downton Abbey - we're about to start the final season
*The X-Files - we're starting season 6 this week and I'm excited as several of my favourite episodes are in this season
*Skeleton Crew - we caught up on this latest Star Wars show during the holiday break and are now watching episodes as they're released. While I've had mixed feelings about previous Star Wars shows, this one is a lot of fun and definitely has elements that will appeal to fans of The Goonies and Treasure Island.
*Castle - we'll be diving into season 7 starting this week
*Lost - we're a handful of episodes into season 2. This one is a Mr. Fine pick and I have to admit at this point I'm not super into it. It seems like a lot of misery from week to week with very little fun.
*The Muppet Show - we're on season 4 and just watched the Dudley Moore episode, which felt weirdly current with a plot about a music-playing robot replacing Dr. Teeth and the Band (or maybe I just see AI metaphors everywhere).
*Gargoyles - we're on season 2 but seeing as there's 50 episodes in that season, most of the show is in season 2, lol. This is a first viewing for me and rewatch for Mr. Fine and I am delighted with how much of the Star Trek TNG cast shows up as different character voices.

I've finished one book since the start of the year and will post that review shortly.

Book 1



Starter Villain - John Scalzi

Charlie Fitzer is 32, divorced, underemployed as a substitute teacher after being laid off from his job as a journalist, and trying to convince the bank to loan him money to buy the local pub. When he sees news that his estranged uncle has died, he thinks little of it. Until a representative of his uncle arrives on his porch and informs Charlie that he has inherited his uncle's businesses, including his lucrative business as a villain - volcano lair and all. Suddenly Charlie finds himself trying to wrap his brain around the villain business, negotiating with dolphins who are threatening to go on strike, having discussions with super-intelligent cats who serve as spies, and fending off threats from a league of other villains. It turns out being a villain is not simple.

I loved this book right from the dedication through to the end. It is funny and smart, with Scalzi riffing on all of those over the top villain tropes, all while building a believable world to drop Charlie into. While the cats and dolphins were definitely my favourite parts of the book (who doesn't love unionizing dolphins who swear constantly?), the whole book is a delight. And while the plot resolves pretty much as I expected, the whole journey was a great time. Recommended.

Rating: ****

>40 MickyFine: I thought this one was a hoot, too - glad you enjoyed it!

Micky, I've just been to see the play The Little Foxes in London and noticed your review from a few years ago:

Largely terrible people being terrible to each other but with Southern accents..

That is such a perfect description!

>40 MickyFine: I love John Scalzi and really enjoyed that novel last year
Have you read his Lock In series?

Happy New Year, Micky! Your first book got me. Sounds very fun. As does Scotland - how wonderful!

>8 MickyFine: This year I think I should read books with these memes in mind so I can have better answers for it next year!! LOL I like that you are an Untold Story and that your friends are Close Knit. : )

>40 MickyFine: Scalzi...what a hoot his stuff is. That one sounds engagingly unhinged.

>40 MickyFine: Glad you enjoyed this one! I picked it up on a Kindle sale recently. Not sure when I'll get to it, though.

A belated Happy New Year, Micky! I love your topper, and I too envy your travel plans for the year. It sounds like a lot of fun!

I look forward to following your reading this year.

Funny thing about me and Scalzi: his books always sound terrific when I'm reading reviews of them, but when I pick them up they just haven't sparked with me. But your review of Starter Villain makes me want to give it a chance.

Hi Micky! Looking forward to your reading, life updates, and travel pictures this year. We don't have set travel plans, but I am looking forward to a summer vacation . My boys also want to go to Wisconsin to see their cousins, so we will try to make that happen sometime. Happy New Year!

>40 MickyFine: I have that one in the BlackHole already or I would be adding it again. Glad to see you enjoyed it!

Have a fantastic Friday, Micky!

>41 scaifea: Oh excellent. I was going to recommend it to you, if you hadn't read it yet. :)

>42 SandDune: Hopefully your next play going experience is much more fun, Rhian.

>43 ChelleBearss: I've only read this one, Redshirts, and The Kaiju Preservation Society. I tend to go for his more fun books, apparently.

>44 AMQS: Thanks, Anne. I hope you have a grand time with the book whenever you get around to it.

>45 Berly: Thanks, Kim. I was lucky to have some really apt titles for the meme this year. Usually I have the hardest time with the mode of transportation one.

>46 richardderus: I adore how he's willing to go all in on a concept. I'm looking forward to his new book this year in which the moon suddenly turns to literal cheese (When the Moon Hits Your Eye if you want to add it to your own TBR).

>47 curioussquared: It's a shorter read so it might make a fun palate cleanser between some of your chunkier fantasy novels. :)

>48 atozgrl: Nice to see you, Irene!

>49 swynn: Maybe this will be the Scalzi that's a winner for you, Steve. But if not, there's always plenty of other books in the sea (or shelf I suppose if you want to unmix metaphors, lol).

>50 aktakukac: A summer vacation with the family sounds grand, Rachel. I have many fond memories of my childhood family trips. Whereas now, as Mr. Fine and I have no kiddos, we tend to travel more in the fall to skip out on some of the crowds. I do miss the break during the summer though.

>51 alcottacre: Thanks so much, Stasia. Whenever it emerges from the Black Hole. I'm sure you'll have a grand time.

Tomorrow is likely going to be pretty full so doing my weekly check-in this evening.

Sunday was a little more eventful than planned as I discovered that the hose from our kitchen faucet had sprung a leak. Happily we caught it before there was any water damage to under the sink or the ceiling in the basement. After a phone consultation with my on-call plumber (AKA my brother), it was determined our best option was to replace the whole faucet. So with some assistance from Mr. Fine, I removed the old tap, picked up a new one, and then installed it. Mr. Fine is a little too broad in the shoulders to fit in the under sink cupboard so I got to take the lead on this DIY repair. Felt very handy after managing it and the faucet works like a charm.

Monday I had my EDO. In the morning I went downtown to Service Canada to submit my passport application. My passport expires this year and I needed to change it over to my married name so I had to do a full application rather than renewal. Happily, I had an appointment for their first slot of the day and was in and out in 15 minutes. In the afternoon, I had physio. My physiotherapist is pleased with how I'm doing with my tennis elbow symptoms but I still came out with bruises on both arms from treatment, lol.

Tuesday evening I had a church committee meeting that I didn't think I really need to be at. I was correct. But at least it was via Zoom so I could attend with camera off and did some crafting while listening to other people talk.

Work has been steadily productive. I finally got to catch up with my friend, V, (we typically have lunch together when we're both in office) whom I hadn't seen since the first week of December due to one or the other of us being away or busy during our usual lunch time. My co-worker/friend, C, and I are chuffed that we got the nod to write a small report recommending a change to how we catalogue the 200s (this is SUPER inside baseball but I'm happy to point library folk at some content about it if you're curious). The odds of us getting the nod to go ahead isn't super high as it would be pretty labour intensive for a library system our size, but we're delighted just to get the report on file. We'll start working on that report hopefully at the end of this month.

Date night this week was take out from our favourite Indian food place and it was delicious as ever. I had leftovers for lunch today and was so stuffed afterwards. :)

On the crafting front, I'm nearing the end of a pattern page on my cross-stitch project, which always feels like a big achievement. As for crochet, I finished the main body for one of my fingerless mitts and have started on the second one. I have sneaking suspicion that the mitts will end up being slightly different sizes as my stitches are more relaxed for this second one, but honestly I don't care as long as they keep my hands warm so *shrug*.

No major changes on the TV shows in rotation this week although I realized last week that I forgot to include Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as part of our line-up. We're over halfway through season 5 and I have finally got Mr. Fine to agree to using a skip/watch guide for the rest of the series because the bad episodes of 90s Trek are BAD (we're using the guide from Liz Tells Frank, if you're curious). We also started the new season of The Rookie, which started back up this week. And I started watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch (the Melissa Joan Hart version) as my background show while crafting.

I finished two books this week with reviews to come shortly.

Book 2



I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons - Peter S. Beagle

Robert is a dragon exterminator, a job he inherited from his father and truly detests, particularly as Robert tends to get on very well with the many small dragons that are common in the kingdom of Bellemontagne. When the roving Prince Reginald asks Robert to prepare him to face a dragon, Robert agrees, in the hopes that it will get him closer to his dream career of being a valet to a royal. But when Robert and Prince Reginald are joined on their dragon hunting quest by Princess Cerise, the experience will change them all and begins a chain of events that threatens the entire kingdom.

I think I came across this title in a review journal at work, where the title caught my eye and the fairy tale-esque plot appealed to me. I will admit I have never consumed The Last Unicorn in any medium and had no prior experience with Beagle's writing so I had no expectations beyond expecting some cheeky fun based on the title. And the book never quite lived up to it. It's an entirely serviceable fantasy tale, full of dragons and it does some undercutting of tropes of the genre, but the writing never quite lived up to the humour of the title. It's much more traditional fantasy in its style than one would expect and while I largely enjoyed the reading experience, it's not one that has me keenly interested in seeking out Beagle's other books. Might work better for other readers but for me this was just a decent read.

Rating: ***

Book 3



First Comes Scandal - Julia Quinn

When Nicholas Rokesby is unceremoniously summoned to his family estate, he expects something dire to await him to have his parents interrupt his medical studies in Edinburgh. Little does he expect that it is so they can tell him that he must marry his neighbour and longtime friend, Georgiana Bridgerton. Georgie has recently been kidnapped by a suitor and while she managed to escape unharmed, her reputation is still ruined. While Nicholas and Georgiana are initially uncertain about the concept of getting married, as they spend more time together they begin to feel that rather than just being a means of saving Georgie's reputation, there might be a real connection between them.

The marriage of convenience trope is one of my favourite's and Quinn turns her deft hand to it here with excellent effect. She does a brilliant job of establishing Georgie's character and recognizing the tremendous injustice of her reputation being ruined. The banter between Georgie and Nicholas is top notch, their romance is an excellent slow burn, and I particularly enjoyed the chaos introduced into the novel throughout by Georgie's three cats. If you're a Bridgerton fan, there's also the fun of seeing Violet and her husband happily married and Anthony and Benedict as young children. An excellent historical romance.

Rating: ****

I haven't read any of the Bridgerton prequels yet, but plan to get to the first one this year. Your review of First Comes Scandal makes me excited to get going. I do love me a marriage of convenience!

Hi Mickey!
The tap adventure sounds like quite the day. I'm DIY illiterate so I'm impressed if that means anything, lol.
You're the second person I've seen be sad by the new book from Beagle, which makes me sad.

>57 katiekrug: Huzzah for marriages of convenience! I was shocked to discover that with this one, I have now read all the Bridgerton prequels. I thought I had another one or two left. Ah well, I'll be on to the Smythe-Smiths next. :)

>58 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks, Raven. My Dad is very handy (he works in facilities at a long term care center) so I've picked up a little knowledge from him. But I also know my limits and know when to call him or my brother.

The Beagle wasn't bad, it just never quite lived up to the cleverness and humour of the title.

Three consecutive weeks I've managed to check in. It's almost becoming a habit. Yay!

Last weekend I led the singing portion of the service at church on Saturday and then had to stick around for the monthly potluck as I had a committee meeting afterwards. The meeting was a little... circular and scattered. I was so exhausted after all that peopling, I put on flannel pjs as soon as we got home, lol. On Sunday, we did our usual cleaning and fit in a board game in the afternoon. In the evening, Mr. Fine had a group of his friends over for their monthly board game hang out. They're a great group of guys but a little loud, so I didn't really fall asleep until after they left (a slight problem as it was 5 a.m. wake-up week).

Work was solidly productive this week, although it felt long as it was my first five-day work week since the first week of December (I know, I'm spoiled). I got permission to pause on a project that ended up being far more unwieldy than originally imagined. My manager is going to talk with his supervisor about it and then we'll go from there. Fingers crossed it dies. Otherwise work was spent focusing on all the usual tasks with only two meetings (and those on one day).

Winter returned this week with an Alberta clipper that blew through with snow and very high winds. Since it departed we've dropped into a cold snap in its wake (according to my phone it currently feels like -26C outside). I spent a little over an hour clearing snow off the sidewalk and driveway yesterday as there was a fair amount of snow with some drifting in the mix (although thankfully not terrible drifts).

Date night this week was my pick and I was really craving a burger and shake so we went to Fatburger. While their burgers are still good, I was sad to see signs of them cheaping out in small ways (at least at our local franchise location). They've switched from real cheese to processed cheese (boo) and my milkshake was decidedly watery (they used to be quite thick). I won't give up on them entirely but I'll have to change my standard order, le sigh.

Today we watched a church service online and mostly stayed cozy in the house, other than a brief trip outside to clear some light snow that arrived last night. We're headed out for our monthly dinner and game night with our friends, M&A this evening. Thankfully this is the kind of gathering where sweatpants are practically the dress code so we can stay warm and comfy.

I'm a little over halfway done the second body of my crochet fingerless mitts. I'm hoping to wrap that up this weekend and then do the thumbs this coming week but we'll see how it goes. Cross-stitch is shaping up nicely and I finished another leaf this morning.

On the gaming front, last weekend we played Botany with the Tantalizing Trees expansion I got from Mr. Fine for Christmas. I adore this game already and the expansion added some fun variety to the mix. Last night we played Flamecraft, which is always a good time. Although while reading the rules, I discovered we'd been missing an element of the goods gathering mechanic the whole time we've had the game so that changed things up a bit, lol.

Only thing of note on the viewing front is that we finished Skeleton Crew. I HIGHLY recommend this one. I keep pitching it to friends as The Goonies meets Treasure Island in the Star Wars universe and it is so much fun. It might even edge out The Mandalorian as my favourite Star Wars show.

I completed two paper books and two audiobooks this week (ah, the new year voracious reading phase) and I'll review those right away.

Book 4



Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen (re-read)

This year will be Jane Austen's 250th birthday and I've decided to do a re-read of her six major novels to celebrate. However, I'm mixing it up and trying them on audio for the first time. Happily, I can access all of the editions read by Juliet Stevenson through my work library and I definitely recommend these ones if you can get your hands on them (thank to Kerry (CDVicarage) for putting them on my radar in the first place). Stevenson does justice to Austen's dryly humourous prose and creates unique voices for each character that are never over the top. While her voice for Henry Tilney (my ultimate book boyfriend) was perhaps a bit too serious, I had no other quibbles with her choices. An excellent way to revisit a favourite author.

Rating: *****

Book 5



Chilling Effect - Valerie Valdes

Captain Eva Innocente and her crew aboard La Sirena Negra are just making ends meet doing legal jobs moving cargo and the occasional passenger. But right after a deal reselling twenty psychic cats falls through, Eva receives word that her sister, Mari, has been kidnapped by The Fridge, a shadowy criminal organization. In order to rescue Mari, Eva must do whatever jobs The Fridge gives her and tell no one why. But as the missions get more and more dangerous and Eva has to tell more and more lies, she begins to wonder if there isn't a better way to get out of this particular tight spot.

A really fun space opera with a full cast of diverse and queer characters, some fun subtle pop culture references/homages, and a rolicking adventure plot. Eva and her crew are a delightful group of characters and the future and universe Valdes has created for them to inhabit is fascinating. As a non-Spanish speaker there was definitely some dialogue that completely passed me by, but the plot still makes sense even when I missed the occasional phrase (my phone wasn't always handy for using Google Translate). I had a good time with this and I'll definitely be tracking down the subsequent books in the series.

Rating: ****

I know I picked this BB up on LT and I feel like it was either from Natalie or Mary, but I can't say for sure. So feel free to take credit if you think you put this on my radar. :)

Book 6



Blithe Spirit - Noel Coward (re-read)

I was looking for a short audiobook to listen to while awaiting holds and opted for this old favourite. Noel Coward never fails to amuse and this comedy in which an author and his friends hold a seance and accidentally bring back the spirit of his deceased wife, much to the chagrin of both him and his current wife, is funny no matter how many times I experience it. Joanna Lumley was particularly good in this production as Elvira, the ghost. Highly recommended if you're looking for a funny couple hours of listening.

Rating: *****

Book 7



People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry

Alex and Poppy have been unlikely best friends since they met their first year of university and no matter where they were in their lives, they always met up for their annual summer trip. Until two years ago when poor choices were made and they drifted apart. Now, Poppy is feeling a bit stuck in her life and when a friend asks her about the last time she was truly happy, she realizes it was on all those trips with Alex. On a whim she reaches out and to her surprise he agrees to join her on a one-week trip. Poppy plans to make sure this is the perfect trip to remind Alex of just how great their friendship is so they can go back to how things were. But everything keeps going wrong and the more time Alex and Poppy spend together the more the prospect of how things were dims when up against the potential for them to be so much more.

A cute friends to lovers romance with plenty of humour and a dash of wanderlust. In the additional material included in the edition I read, Henry notes that she didn't intentionally write this novel as an homage to When Harry Met Sally but that her love for the Ephron film definitely seeps in. And I can definitely see it as Alex and Poppy are unlikely friends who are somehow the perfect match. I also appreciated how Henry let her characters grow and that part of the final big conflict was waiting for them to grow enough to be prepared for a real relationship. Plus Henry manages to craft an extra happy happy ending that gave me a lot of feels. While it won't nudge my favourite Emily Henry novels out of their current rankings, this was a good time.

Rating: ****

I now have no unread Emily Henry (adult) novels - at least until her new book this spring. Since I mentioned my favourites in my review above, I thought I'd share my ranking for the curious:

1. Book Lovers
2. Funny Story
3. Beach Read
4. Happy Place
5. People We Meet on Vacation

To be clear, I'd recommend all of them, they're all a good time. But if you like to save the best for last (as I often do), I'd read them from #5 to #1. :)

>62 MickyFine: that one's on my list but I haven't read it and can't take credit. Glad to see you liked it, though, as that's even more indication it will be my jam.

>65 MickyFine: I agree with you about Book Lovers, but from there our list would diverge. Actually, I need to try Beach Read again, as it was a DNF for me a couple years back, but I've enjoyed the rest of her books so I think it was a bit of a mood/timing thing.

>62 MickyFine: I remember being put out that the 20 psychic cats had so little impact on the plot. The gun was not fired.

>61 MickyFine: I think that's the first time I've sent a successful BB! I'm glad you're enjoying Juliet Stevenson's reading. These six versions have become 'comfort' reading for me and now often fill a 'What shall I read?' gap when nothing else leaps to my attention.

>66 bell7: I definitely think you'll like Chilling Effect, Mary, whenever you get to it. I'll be interested to see if Beach Read works better for you a second time. I could definitely see it not working for everyone.

>67 quondame: That's fair, Susan. I'm hoping the cats get more to do in the subsequent books. And that more than one of them gets a name.

>68 CDVicarage: I can definitely see returning to these audiobooks again and again, Kerry.

I have a copy of Chilling Effect on my Kindle -- glad to see you liked it!!

I agree with your top two Emily Henrys. I think I need to reread Beach Read and PWMoV to decide which one gets third place. Happy Place is definitely #5 for me.

>70 curioussquared: Well then I'm at a loss where I got this BB.

I'm getting a real kick out of seeing other people's ranking of Henry's books. Not too surprising that all of us put Book Lovers at the top though.

I'd also put Book Lovers at the top of the list. I feel liked I ranked them after finishing Happy Place, but I'm too lazy to dig through my old threads and see where I landed. I think my rankings were similar to yours, though maybe I would swap the bottom two? Depends on how I'm feeling at the moment, I think.

And you didn't get the rec for Chilling Effect from me, but it's on my list now!

Thanks for the Emily Henry list - I haven't read anything of hers but I'll take a look.

I, too, love Juliet Stevenson, and will listen to her read just about anything.

Hello, Micky! I also love Juliet Stevenson as a narrator. And I have not read any Emily Henry, although I do think maybe I have one in the stacks...

>62 MickyFine: You got me with this one - adding it to The List.

>63 MickyFine: This one also sounds good, and I love Joanna Lumley.

>63 MickyFine: Such a fun, absurd romp, so typically arch and ever-so ever-so! Coward might not amuse everyone, but he deffo amuses me.

Happy freezyfrosty January, Micky!

Happy Thursday! Hope Alberta is warming up a bit!

>62 MickyFine: That looks like a fun read!

>72 foggidawn: I can believe our rankings would be pretty similar, Foggi. Also, I'm delighted to hand you a BB. I feel like I take so many from you, it's only fair to return the favour occasionally. :)

>73 AMQS: Emily Henry's books are a good time, Anne, and I hope whichever one you choose to read first is an enjoyable one for you.

>74 Crazymamie: Nice to see you, Mamie. You made excellent choices on your entries to The List, both are a good time.

>75 richardderus: I'm a big fan of Coward's and have been ever since the local theatre did a production of Private Lives. The slapstick and zaniness of the farce completely won me over and I'll often return to audio productions of his plays if I'm looking for a fun and funny listen.

>76 ChelleBearss: Welcome back, Chelle! Happily, our cold snap was short-lived (unlike most of the continent it seems) and our bigger issue this week has been high winds. Temperatures have been quite warm for January with highs hovering a few degrees below 0C most of the week.

Weekly check in time!

Last Sunday we did our usual cleaning, I sorted out some budget stuff, we played a board game, and in the evening I went for my rescheduled monthly massage. My massage therapist had to cancel my appointment that had been booked earlier in the week and squeezed me in Sunday evening instead. My shoulders have been very tight lately so the massage was particularly needed this time.

Work ticked along steadily and I managed to survive three days in office this week (it's been ages since I've had to do that, with all my short weeks in December). I got some concrete expectations for a project that I'm the "lead" for (air quotes because all decisions have to be run through two levels of management so...) and spent some time troubleshooting data issues for it. For the same project, I also spent time brainstorming with a colleague around an issue that if I try to describe vaguely enough for the general internet makes no sense. Suffice to say trying to figure out options for this thing made my brain melt.

Tuesday evening I donated blood. Canadian Blood Services does a regular mobile clinic in my 'burb and conveniently it's in the same building as our local library so I bled into a bag (new personal best bleed time of 6 minutes - I get excited about weird things, I know) and then picked up holds. Wednesday evening we did date night at our favourite Mexican restaurant. I had fish tacos and a virgin strawberry margarita and it was delicious as usual.

I finished my crochet project this week (see separate post below). Next up I'm going to make a sweater and am currently working on the gauge swatch for it. Cross-stitch is slow but steady as always.

On the gaming front, last weekend's game night with our friends we played Skyrise, which was new to them and a big hit. I have a feeling we'll be playing it again next month. On Sunday afternoon, Mr. Fine and I played the duet version of Wingspan that's an option in the Asian birds expansion.

On the viewing front, I've started my umpteenth rewatch of Gilmore Girls as I was craving some comfort watching. I mostly put it on while crafting but I haven't abandoned Sabrina as crafting viewing either.

Only one book completed since last week but I'm about three quarters of the way through both my current print and audio reads so next week's reading update will be more exciting, I think.

My completed fingerless mitts:



Pattern: Hello Autumn
Designer: Sidsel Sangild
Hooks: 3.5 mm and 4.5 mm
Yarn: Best Kind Sock in Partridgeberries from Windswept Fibres

Book 8



Highly Irregular: Why Tough, Through, and Dough Don't Rhyme and Other Oddities of the English Language - Arika Okrent

Taking a roughly chronological approach Okrent explores the the various reasons for quirks of the English language from "barbarians," through the French, the printing press, language snobs, and modern usage. There's some fun tidbits in here like why the phrase "How dare you?" works, pointing out the relics of Old English that still hang out in modern English, and, of course, why words that look like they should rhyme absolutely don't. As outlined in the introduction, the book can be read straight through or readers can go hop about to particular issues of interest to them. As a result, readers who opt to go straight through might run into similar explanations more than once (the Great Vowel Shift was explained twice that I noticed). The illustrations from O'Neill add some fun to what can be occasionally dense text as Okrent can get a bit heavy with phonetic and linguistic theory. If you're a language and word nerd, you'll likely have a good time with this one but English language learners would need to be pretty advanced to get much out of this.

Rating: ***1/2

>79 MickyFine: So full of gorgeous, Micky! I love the color that you chose.

>79 MickyFine: Your mitts are beautiful!

>80 MickyFine: Hmmmm, I do love language books but I know you do too and with a sort of middling rating, I think I will stick to the books already on my TBR list rather than adding that one just now.

>79 MickyFine: I love that yarn! Enjoy the week to come.

The fingerless mitts look great!!

>81 Crazymamie: Thank you, Mamie!

>82 bell7: Thanks for the mitts compliment, Mary. I don't blame you for skipping the book. I can think of other word nerd titles I'd recommend before this one.

>83 richardderus: The yarn is so gorgeous and also warm. I still have a fair amount left so I'll have to ponder what to make with the last of it.

>84 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie!

Ali Hazelwood wrote a list of recommended romance novels for the NYT. Not all of them are for me but I definitely took a bunch of BBs. Read at your own risk, lol.

>86 MickyFine: - Thanks for posting that, Micky! I only added two to my WL :)

Weekly update:

Last Saturday we went to church as usual and made sure to leave pretty shortly after service ended to get a chicken into the oven to roast (I always roast them from frozen, so it takes about 4 hours). We played Libertalia: Gales of Windcrest in the afternoon. It was a new game for us and I LOVE it. Then I untangled some yarn while Mr. Fine assembled some lego. Our usual double feature in the evening. We opted for Northanger Abbey (the Felicity Jones and JJ Feild version) and Star Trek Into Darkness.

On Sunday, I resisted my usual instinct to hurkle-durkle and got up a bit early to get all my cleaning chores out of the way before my friend, A, arrived for our monthly hang out. Mr. Fine made us potato waffles (a winning Instagram reel recipe we discovered last year) and then we enjoyed making fun of Timeless while crafting. In the afternoon Mr. Fine and I played Libertalia again (I told you I loved it).

Monday was my EDO but Mr. Fine was on early shift this week so I still had to get up at 5 to take him to the bus. I did a bit of laundry, played some Hogwarts Legacy, had a physio appointment (arms continue to do ok), and then crafted while watching The Sound of Music.

While work was technically a short week it felt really long. I had a few meetings, made decisions about a couple projects, spent an hour and forty minutes crafting a detailed response to a customer who took umbrage to my refusal to their request to buy more copies of some older audiobooks (budgets are tight and ebooks and audiobooks are expensive for libraries - please be kind and understanding when talking to library staff about title availability), and I got some regular ordering in too.

Wednesday we popped into the library for our weekly visit and then went out for date night. I chose one of our favourite breakfast places, which is open in the evenings a few weeknights. I love breakfast for dinner and had poached eggs, cinnamon roll, and fresh fruit. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves the entire time we were there, although a few delivery drivers popped in during that time.

Thursday we did grocery shopping, which went pretty smoothly although I continue to hate the Costco parking lot. *grumble*

Yesterday after work we popped up to the Italian grocery store to pick up some meat for charcuterie (they have The Best smoked beef salami in their deli) and I also got garlic stuffed olives to fulfill a craving. The rest of the evening was spent playing Cascadia, followed by crafting for me and video gaming for Mr. Fine.

On the crafting side, I'm still gauge swatching for my crochet sweater. Here's hoping the third time's the charm. I did finish a pattern page for the cross-stitch project so the top third is done.

No changes to report for TV viewing but there should be next week.

I finished three books this week and reviews should pop up here later today.

Book 9



Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (re-read)

Revisiting with the Dashwoods in their sorrows and joys is always a delight and Juliet Stevenson's reading adds to the experience. Her voices for all the characters are apt from Marianne's emotional impetuosity to Elinor's steady reserve to Colonel Brandon's quiet yearning. I always find new things to discover in every re-read and this time it was to find that the older I get, the funnier I find Marianne's strong opinions about second love and the impossibility of passion at the advanced age of 35.

Rating: *****

Book 10



The Great Dating Fake Off - Livy Hart

Nora would do anything for her best friend, including pretending to be his girlfriend for a week long wedding extravaganza in the wilds of New York with his very large Italian family. And everything would be fine if it weren't that Sebastian, Nora's new crush, is also at the wedding, also pretending to be a boyfriend for his very dear best friend. While trying to convince both families that their fake relationships are real, Nora and Sebastian also have to try and resist their growing attraction. The consequences if they fail could be disastrous.

Fake dating is one of my favourite romance tropes and Hart takes a fun spin with it in this novel. Is it a little contrived that both fake couples immediately reveal that they're fake dating to each other? Yes. Does that diminish the fun? Not really. While I enjoyed all the wedding hijinks, I felt the novel lost a little something in the last third and the big conflict felt pretty telegraphed from the start. That said, if you're looking for a fun read that's on the high end of medium spicy, this one is a decent time.

Rating: ****

>89 MickyFine: ...don't think I understood passion *until* I was 35, maybe forty...I think the world makes no sense now, but it's better than it was when I was young. (Mostly because I understand Humanity is irredeemable in my bones.)

>79 MickyFine: Oh thats great! Nice to keep warm with a nice long sleeved winter jacket.

Happy Sunday reading

>91 richardderus: I think Jane Austen is definitely having some fun at the expense of the young who think they know EVERYTHING. As a teen reading this, Marianne's comments just passed me by but on the other side of 35, I find them hilarious.

>92 figsfromthistle: I tend to run cold so these will be for indoor use. Our current windchill is -37C so proper gloves are required out there right now, lol.

Book 11



Just Like Heaven - Julia Quinn

I was going to do a plot blurb for this one but then changed my mind. It's Julia Quinn so there's lots of funny, witty banter. It's the first of the Smythe-Smiths series, so of course the musicale makes an appearance (and I do so love how the FMC feels about the musicale). The romance is a slow burn as the leads go from being long-time family friends to realizing they might be something more. And for this one there's a dash of medical peril as the MMC sprains his ankle and then gets a more serious injury as a result. Basically, if you like historical romance, and a brief passage describing some more gruesome medical stuff doesn't put you off, you'll have a good time.

Rating: ****

And that wraps up my January reads. I'm not going to do extensive stats like I used to, but I feel like end of the month deserves a little bit of recognition so I'm going to try something smaller this year.

January
Books read : 11 (8 physical, 3 audio)
Re-reads: 3
Off My Shelf read: Just Like Heaven
Favourite new to me read(s): Starter Villain

Book 12



You Sexy Thing - Cat Rambo

Niko Larsen and her team managed to retire alive from the military of the Holy Hive Mind several years ago and since then have been trying to make a go of running a restaurant on the space station TwiceFar. But while in the midst of preparing to serve a very important food critic, the station is attacked and Niko and her crew are forced to take refuge on the bioship, You Sexy Thing. And that's really when all hell breaks loose with space pirates, old vendettas, and a sense that fate may have great plans for Niko and the ragtag group she calls family.

This was a fun space opera with a diverse and queer cast of characters doing all the things I love including found family, space adventures, and fascinating backstories that kept me turning pages. Cat Rambo has crafted a really fascinating tale. My only quibble is that their choice to use third person omniscient as the point of view makes for some occasional jarring perspective jumps as things moved from character to character without a section break. Otherwise, I had a grand time with this and look forward to reading the other books in the series.

Rating: ****

I really enjoyed the Smythe-Smith novels when I read them a while ago. They might be due a re-read soonish....

>96 MickyFine: The POV in You Sexy Thing bothered me too

>96 MickyFine: >98 norabelle414: Same here, and I feel like I've seen it mentioned as an issue in almost every review I've read, lol. I don't think anyone likes it.

>97 katiekrug: I'm glad to hear the whole series is good.

>98 norabelle414: >99 curioussquared: I knew in advance from reviews on LT about the POV issue and that helped I think. Also reading it in print. I can only imagine how baffled I'd be listening to this on audio.

Weekly life update incoming.

Last Saturday we went to church, which despite the cold temperatures was not as empty as I thought it might be. Mr. Fine went to the gym afterwards and I got in some cozy reading time with a cat in my lap while he was out. When he got home we gave our new boardgame, Finspan, a spin. I'm delighted with the different mechanics of this one - it's not just Wingspan with fish. Our double feature in the evening was Star Trek Beyond followed by Sense and Sensibility (the Emma Thompson version 😍).

Sunday I was up early-ish to get my chores done and then my friend, A came over for our monthly hang out (if this sounds familiar, yes we did this the previous Sunday as well - our schedules just shook out this way). We had French toast and continued making fun of Timeless. In the afternoon, I did some budget stuff and then ordered some books while they're still GST-free. Mr. Fine and I also played Finspan again.

Work this week was pretty normal. I started writing a recommendations report for a large project we're undertaking this year. I've got a month-ish to put this together before my supervisors expect to review it and finalize it, so I'm feeling on schedule. Besides that, and all the usual ordering, I also made a list for our OverDrive/Libby of Victorian historical romances. And now have a significant grudge against publishers who apply BISACs (publishing industry equivalent of subject headings) for both Victorian and Regency to the same book. They are not the same! *shakes fist* Thursday was very meeting heavy but one of them was at a coffee shop where I had a very tasty cruller.

Friday evening I had to myself as Mr. Fine was out having his monthly hangout with a friend. I thoroughly enjoyed my solo time. After work, I watched an episode of Gilmore Girls and crocheted. Then I made myself tomato soup and open-faced grilled cheese for dinner and listened to my audiobook while I ate. After dinner, I tried the solo mode of Everdell and I enjoyed it, even though I lost. Then I finished up my audiobook while cross-stitching and then went to bed and finished my paper book. Basically a perfect solo evening, IMO. ❤️

On the crafting side of things, my third gauge swatch was a success and I've now started on my sweater. The yarn I'm using for this is so pretty and I'm excited for it to be a wearable object. Cross-stitch is also coming along nicely.

And for viewing updates, we finished the last season of Downton Abbey this week. If you had told me back when we started that I'd be happy even Thomas got a happy ending I wouldn't have believed you. But I was pleased how they wrapped things up. Of course, we're not quite done with Downton as we still have the movies to watch. So it will probably be another couple weeks before I have a new show in the rotation.

I've completed four books since my last batch of reviews and comments on those will likely crop up later today.

Book 13



Nora Goes Off Script - Annabel Monaghan

Nora writes scripts for the romance channel and she's good at it. She knows all the beats of a good romantic comedy and her ability to churn out scripts has kept her family financially afloat for years. When her good-for-nothing husband finally leaves, Nora turns it into a script that her agent sells as a serious movie. When the film crew comes to shoot on Nora's property for a few days, she expects minor upheaval. What she doesn't expect is one of Hollywood's sexiest stars, Leo Vance, to be on her porch after filming ends to ask to stay. She doesn't expect him to be so fascinated by her and her structured days, nor to be having thoughtful dinner conversations with her two kids. Nora's written scripts exactly like this, but in real life can a potential romance between her and Leo actually have a happy ending?

I had a grand time with this cute romance and devoured it in two days. Nora is a smart, competent woman in her late thirties who is largely relieved by her divorce rather than devastated. But she still comes with baggage and watching her and Leo find their common ground is charming. While I expected the big misunderstanding of this one, the final resolution of it surprised me. A fun contemporary romance, especially for those who love (but also love to mock) formulaic rom coms.

Rating: ****

Book 14



One for the Books - Jenn McKinlay

Lindsey and Sully's winter wedding is coming up soon and while all the final details have Lindsey pretty stressed, she's still looking forward to the big day and starting married life. But while doing some last minute reviewing of plans on the nearby island where they're planning to host the wedding, Lindsey and Sully find the body of the justice of the peace that was supposed to officiate. Now with a week to go, they need to find a new officiant, deal with a bunch of unexpected wedding guests, and, if they have time, they might also help solve what might just be another murder in their small town.

As book eleven in the series, readers should know what they're getting here. It's a cozy mystery with fun background characters, a dash of romance, and plenty of bookishness. Plus, most importantly to this reader, all the library work details are highly accurate. While the final section of the novel pushes the limits of disbelief, I still had a good time and I'll be back for another round of coziness when the mood next strikes me.

Rating: ***

Good to read your life update, Micky. And thanks for the nudge on Nora Goes Off Script. It's been on my library WL for a while now. Maybe I should actually request it 🙂

Book 15



All Things Bright and Beautiful - James Herriot

The second collection of James Herriot's veterinary tales are just as charming of the first. The collection is one that easy to dip in and out of, as chapters are often unrelated to each other. He also often jumps back and forth in time, with stories from when he was courting Helen in between ones from after their marriage. Obviously the stars here are the animals and Herriot brings all of his patients and their frequently eccentric owners to brilliant life. Christopher Timothy's narration is well done for the audiobook and definitely adds to the charm of the reading experience.

Rating: ****

Book 16



You, Again - Kate Goldbeck

When aspiring comedian, Ari, meets up-and-coming chef, Josh, they have nothing in common other than that they're sleeping with the same woman. Their subsequent random encounters are similarly largely disastrous. But after years of occasionally bumping into each other, one day they meet and suddenly fall into an unlikely friendship. Now they're spending hours on the phone while watching the same movie, going on shopping trips, and quickly becoming close. But when sexual and romantic feelings start to creep in, will it completely ruin everything?

This novel is a modern interpretation of When Harry Met Sally and while the writing quality kept me turning pages, I finished the book not quite certain why I stuck it out and kind of hating both the main characters. I love the 1985 film that inspired this and while Goldbeck hits similar plot beats, her characters are two miserable people who frequently act like a-holes to everyone around them and lack all the charm and banter of Ephron's original (Harry might be misanthropic but he's still dang charming). Gender swapping the Harry and Sally roles while also making Ari both bisexual and polyamorous definitely differentiates this from the source material and the more contemporary dating issues the book addresses may appeal to some readers. But I largely spent the novel concerned at how much Ari self-medicates with alcohol and various drugs and annoyed with both her and Josh for their idiotic decisions. I will, however, give Goldbeck credit for really rooting this novel in New York City and the edition I read even included additional content with a list of recommendations of restaurants and stores to visit in New York. This might be a great read for other readers but it was decidedly not for me.

Rating: **

>104 katiekrug: I think you'd have a good time with it, Katie, whenever you get around to it.

I enjoyed your life update, Micky. I'm not 100% sure, but I *think* we watched all of Downton Abbey. This was back when it aired on PBS (not streaming). We eagerly awaited each new episode and definitely had some favorite (and not-so-favorite) characters. Thomas was despicable! But the Mr Carson - Mrs Hughes storyline was so sweet.

I was pleasantly surprised by Nora Goes Off Script when I read it too, Micky. Have a pleasant rest of your Sunday!

>108 lauralkeet: I'm glad the update made for enjoyable reading, Laura. I had seen the first two seasons of Downton Abbey before this so my hatred of Thomas (and also O'Brien) was well established, lol.

>109 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. It was a fun, quick read.

>101 MickyFine: People thinking Georgian/Regency/Victorian/Edwardian can be used interchangeably always cracks me up. They are separate eras, by definition!

>111 norabelle414: Right?! They're not just synonyms for "historical." Le sigh.

Hi Mickey!
I love the mitts; and the color especially.

Your explanation of expense for audio books and ebooks was a surprise to me. I'd actually been under the impression it was the opposite just due to what I see in consumer costs. I'm genuinely curious if you'd be willing to elaborate (and anyone else can chime in too, I'm good-faith interested).

>101 MickyFine: Your solo evening sounds lovely!

>102 MickyFine: Glad you liked this one!

>106 MickyFine: I didn't love this one, but I think I liked it more than you did :)

Hope you're having a nice week!

>113 Ravenwoodwitch: I think the publishers fear that they will lose sales if libraries can supply lots of copies of e- and audiobooks. Therefore, they charge libraries a large fee to carry their titles in those formats.

>113 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks. That red is really gorgeous, I agree.

I'm going to give you a couple links to articles that talk about the pricing for ebooks and eaudiobooks for libraries since they lay things out pretty well and cover all the points I would.

This piece from 2020 explains the pricing and licensing issues really well. 5 years out the only changes I'd note are that prices are even higher now and since I'm in Canada they're extra higher because of exchange rates.

This BookRiot article from last week talks about similar issues but also delves specifically into the challenges with Hoopla.

>114 curioussquared: It was such a good introvert-y solo evening. ❤️

I think you were one of the people who put Nora Goes Off Script on my radar, so thanks.

And I'm glad you enjoyed You, Again. I think it's likely to really resonate with some readers and I'm just too old and cranky for it, lol.

>115 atozgrl: That's definitely part of it, Irene.

>116 MickyFine: - Both very interesting articles. I knew some of this in a general sense because my sister is a librarian, but the actual numbers were disturbing.

>119 dudes22: Glad you found the reads informative, Betty.

Another week, another life update.

Last Saturday we had a cozy day (mostly) in. Mr. Fine made a big breakfast, we watched a church service online, we bundled up and went for a walk since it was cold but sunny, we played a couple rounds of Santorini (Mr. Fine backed the Kickstarter for the fancy new edition) and then a game of Libertalia. In the evening we did our usual double feature, this time consisting of Van Helsing and I Love Trouble (we are nothing if not eclectic in our choices, lol).

Sunday I was up early to get all my cleaning out of the way before I met up with a friend for brunch out. We had a lovely time chatting and I had a delicious breakfast of poached eggs, blueberry chicken bangers, and brioche French toast. In the afternoon I played Finspan with Mr. Fine. He had his monthly game night with a group of friends in the evening during which they did a sampling buffet of fried chicken for dinner. The chicken from a local Korean place was the crowd favourite. I crafted and watched TV on my laptop in the library while they gamed.

Work was a mixed bag this week. I got in a bunch of the usual tasks but also had a bit of workplace politics to deal. There was an ask from a branch for me to do something that I think is outside of my scope. Managers on both ends have been looped in and now my manager is taking it up to our director. Mr. Fine got to listen to a couple rants about the whole situation over the course of the week and might get another depending on the resolution (although I'm optimistic it'll shake out the way I hope). I should find out the decision on the whole thing in the coming week.

Our Valentine's Day was a low-key event this year. We opted not to do gifts and had a cozy dinner in. Mr. Fine made lasagna with garlic bread and salad and for dessert we had fancy tarts we picked up from the Italian grocery store a couple days in advance. Then we played Calico followed by assembling Lego Wall-E and EVE. We're cute nerds, what can I say, lol.

I didn't touch my craft projects much this week so I've barely done a row on my crochet sweater. The cross-stitch got a bit more attention and I'm getting closer to being two thirds done the current pattern page.

In amongst our regular weekly viewing was the first Downton Abbey movie, which was enjoyable. I was amused as the plot feels like it's putting a button on the whole series, including the heartfelt passing of the baton from the Dowager Countess to Mary for being the cranky old lady at Downton so I'm not sure what more they could do for the second film. We'll find out this coming week.

On the reading front, only a single book completed this week, with review to follow this post.

Book 17



The Well of Lost Plots - Jasper Fforde (re-read)

Thursday Next has taken refuge in the Book World to avoid Goliath and have a (relatively) restful pregnancy - or as restful as it can be when her husband has been eradicated. However, her stresses keep adding up as she continues her studies to be a full Jurisfiction agent, her temporary home in a draft book in the Well of Lost Plots is under threat of being reduced to its parts, and the memory of Aornis Hades trying to erase all of Thursday's memoires of her husband. Things get even more complicated when several Jurisfiction agents die under mysterious circumstances.

I'm so glad I've continued my re-read of this series. Fforde's books are a delight with their puns, literary references, and the delightful imagined world he's created. It's been ages since I've read these and I'd anticipated some of the plot from the next book being in this one. While anyone with some knowledge of Dickens can anticipate at least some of the whodunnit of this book, there is plenty to enjoy. I also appreciated the setting up of Fforde's Nursery Crime books here (a detail I missed the first time as I hadn't read that other series then). If you're bookish and enjoy a good pun, you'll probably have a ball with this series. But start at the beginning, please.

Rating: *****

Reading about you and your husband always feels like a peek into my relationship goals in the future; it's just so cute.

Edit: and thank you for the links! Will be reading those soon.

>123 Ravenwoodwitch: Aww, thanks. *blushes*

Weekly life update.

Last weekend was a long weekend and it was a good mix of hermiting and being social while avoiding the cold. On Saturday we watched a church service online, spent a lot of time being cozy in the house, and then went for our monthly game night with M&A. They were child-free most of the evening (their kiddo was at an event at school) so we had actually had time to fit in two board games. We played Libertalia and Finspan and I lost miserably at both, lol. On Sunday we were up early as Mr. Fine had a date with H to watch Fellowship of the Ring. He's a big LOTR nerd but was always careful not to force his fandoms on H when she was growing up because he didn't want her to hate them. She recently said she wanted to try it so she came over for breakfast and a viewing (of the extended version). She liked enough that she wants to watch the rest of the trilogy so Mr. Fine is delighted. After she left, we did the usual Sunday chores and I started poking at dress options for her wedding in October (we've been given a list of colours we're allowed to wear). In the evening, I opted for a viewing of Titanic which we haven't watched together before and we had a good time with it. Monday we largely lazed about - I did crafts, Mr. Fine played video games, and we got in a game of Everdell too.

Work was pretty normal this week. I don't have the final resolution on the outside my scope ask that I mentioned last week. I definitely don't have to do it this month but my manager didn't meet with our director until Thursday and then my manager was off Friday so I'll find out the final decision on the overall ask next week.

Thursday evening we had a double date with M&A in the evening (out late on a school night *gasp*). We met up for fast food Thai and then went to the movie theatre to watch the National Theatre Live showing of The Importance of Being Earnest. A and I are big fans of the play, our spouses didn't really know anything about it, and everyone had a great time. A and I definitely laughed the most out everyone in the theatre. Ncuti Gatwa was perfection as Algernon (as I expected), but the whole production was a delight from the costumes to the physical comedy and sight gags. If you have a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

The late night on Thursday (we got home around 10:30) made the 5 a.m. wake up on Friday particularly rough. Mr. Fine and I did our best to stay up past 9 since we have plans this weekend and we wanted to push our sleep schedule back a bit. We played 3 rounds of Santorini and then I crafted while he video gamed before turning in for the evening.

The crochet sweater is coming along nicely but I've been more in the mood for cross-stitch lately so I've been giving that more attention. I finished my current pattern page last night and now I'm facing two pattern pages where (almost) every square has a stitch.

We watched the second Downton Abbey movie this week and I enjoyed it more than I expected seeing as I felt the first movie was a sufficient bow on the series. I'm still torn on what I'll be adding to our viewing rotation now that we've wrapped up DA. Guess we'll all find out next week, lol. We finished the first season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man this week and I have to say, if you like Spider-Man, this animated series is a lot of fun.

Only one book completed again this week. Hopefully next week I'll have more completions.

Book 18



The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love - India Holton

It's 1895 and Beth Pickering is the youngest professor of ornithology at Oxford. While out in the field, she is on the verge of capturing a rare magical bird when it is scooped out from under her by the handsome Devon Lockley, professor of ornithology at Cambridge. As a result, Beth is determined to keep her distance from him. But when the International Ornithological Society announces a competition to capture a different rare bird that has suddenly appeared in England, with the prize including *tenure*, Beth will risk anything, including working with Devon to achieve the prize. However, as Beth and Devon travel across the country it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems.

I had an absolutely ball with this book. Holton has managed to craft a Victorian screwball romantic comedy with a dash of magic (although if romantasy is not your jam, note that the magic element here is very light). Holton's book is ridiculously funny, the romance between Beth and Devon is swoony, and the whole book has a definite madcap adventure plot running through it. I enjoyed every second of it and my only quibble is that there were couple anachronisms that pulled me out of the reading experience a bit (a character references a Robert Frost poem that was not published until 1915). Otherwise, a fun, frothy read that I recommend so highly. I'll definitely be seeking out Holton's other books in the near future.

Rating: ****

>126 MickyFine: I'm pretty sure I bought this for the library and now can't remember for sure if I put a fantasy sticker on it. Should it be romance instead? It's already on my list, or your recommendation would've put it there.

Hope the weekend was pleasant and the work stuff gets sorted out soon.

>126 MickyFine: You got me with that one.

>126 MickyFine: You got me too! Looks fun!

Karen O

>125 MickyFine: Omg, I didn't realize the Ncuti Gatwa Importance of Being Earnest was being shown in theaters! I just checked and the only local showing is tonight which I don't know if I can make it :( There are a few other showings in the state but pretty far away. I'm hoping another Seattle showing will pop up...

>126 MickyFine: Ooh, adding to the list :)

>125 MickyFine: Happy-busy is the best, isn't it Micky? I hope this week will bring you an even-better read than #18!

>127 bell7: I think it would have more appeal to romance readers than fantasy readers. The magic element is pretty light (the birds are magical, it's never explained why) and the plot is much more focused on the relationship between the main characters.

>128 foggidawn: Hope you like it!

>129 klobrien2: I hope it's an enjoyable read for you, Karen.

>130 curioussquared: Fingers crossed they show it again later. It was an absolute delight.

>131 richardderus: It's been a very good reading week thus far, RDear. Wishing you the same!

>132 MickyFine: I just took Ministry of Time off the new shelf and it turns out I didn't put any genre sticker on it. I may leave it that way since it's such a blend of things.

>133 bell7: Understable. That one is definitely more literary fiction.

This week's life update is not super exciting but here it is.

Last weekend we had church on Saturday morning, I spent some chill time at home in the afternoon while Mr. Fine was at the gym, and then we went out for dinner with friends. We went to the local buffet place, which is always tasty but I've never been on a Saturday night and it was HOPPING. Food was delicious as ever and afterwards we came back to our place and played Finspan and Santorini.

On the Sunday, we got up a little early for breakfast and to clean the house. Mr. Fine had one of his groups over for their monthly board game session. I spent that time crafting in front of a show on the laptop. After his group left, I went on a trip to Staples (big excitement, lol) to pick up some accordion folders to sort my crochet patterns and my lyric/lead sheets for church music.

Work was largely chill this week with all the standard tasks. There was a big meeting for a large group of staff on Tuesday afternoon that I found dull but my friend and I sat in the back and may have sent snarky messages to each other to make it better. Wednesday morning I had physio (my elbow continues to improve) so I had a slightly shorter work day. Thursday my department got notice that we're doing an activity assessment (basically a time audit) next week. I asked for a preview of categories because I like to be prepared and spent a bit of time on Friday providing feedback to my manager on categories to add and tasks that we no longer do (and are evidence of how long it's been since my work group has had to do one of these).

For date night this week, Mr. Fine opted to go to The Keg so we had delicious steak dinner and I had their fabulous creme brulee. Sooo good.

I've been pretty good at dividing my time between craft projects this week and while the sweater is slow but steady progress (joys of light weight yarn), the cross-stitch grew appreciably.

Edited to add: Forgot to include a note on viewing. Outlander is back in the rotation; we're watching the second half of season 7 as I wasn't in the mood for it when it was airing at the end of last year. We're also watching the newest season of Reacher and enjoying it a bunch.

I finished four books this week! Go me! Reviews will appear today although I might not get all of them up until this afternoon.

Book 19

>136 MickyFine: I'm so glad you enjoyed Hench! I thought it was a lot of fun to read.

Sounds like the good kind of busy filled your week.

>137 richardderus: I had a great time with Hench and I'm glad you found it a good read also.

It was definitely the right amount of busy for a week.

Book 20

Book 21

Book 22

Time for some month end stats.

February
Books read : 11 (9 physical, 2 audio)
Re-reads: 2
Off My Shelf read: The Well of Lost Plots
Favourite new to me read(s): A Psalm for the Wild-Built

>139 MickyFine: You can't go wrong with Emma. It's not my favorite Austen, but I love it just the same.

>143 lauralkeet: I adore all things Jane Austen so even my least favourite of her novels are still loved above many other books.

>136 MickyFine: You got me with Hench -- adding it to my list.

>145 foggidawn: I'll be really interested to see how you like it, Foggi.

Hi Micky! Well done on reading four books in a week! That's impressive. You seem to have had some pretty good reads, too.

Ooh, I think you got me with Hench as well. Happy Tuesday!

>147 PawsforThought: It was a good week. The 4 completions were a combo of an audio that had been on the go for a few weeks wrapping up plus a couple shorter print reads. This week's update won't be that impressive.

>148 curioussquared: I think you'll like Hench, Natalie.

It's once again time for the weekly life update.

Last weekend I went to church solo on Saturday morning as Mr. Fine was having his monthly hang out with a friend. After I got back and they wrapped up their game, Mr. Fine and I went for a walk. When we got back, I noticed a text from my brother asking if we'd be around if he stopped by with my nephew (my SIL and the girls were out with friends). So we got to hang out with them for a bit, played some board games including Cascadia Landmarks, Connect4 (for my four year-old nephew), and Boop. Then while Mr. Fine and my brother played a Magic-esque Star Wars card game, I watched some Bluey with my nephew. It was a nice surprise visit. In the evening we did a double feature of Kung Fu Panda 4 and the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma. On Sunday I once again powered through all the usual Sunday cleaning before my friend A came over for breakfast (we did a bagel bar this time) and we wrapped up the first season of Timeless. In the afternoon Mr. Fine and I went for a walk and then I did our taxes.

Monday I had my EDO but still was up early to take Mr. Fine to the bus. I was pretty lazy all day and spent most of my time playing Hogwarts Legacy or crafting in front of Gilmore Girls. I contemplated baking cookies but then decided I wasn't in the mood after all. *shrug*

Work included the nuisance of the activity assessment. I opted for keeping track of my tasks on paper each day and then entering it into the electronic form at the end of each day. It's not terrible but no one really likes having to do it and it definitely led to me artificially breaking up tasks in ways I wouldn't if we weren't doing the assessment (like I shifted to only checking email three times a day rather than reading things as they come in). I did however get the final verdict about the ask from a branch that I thought was outside my scope - I definitely don't have to do it. Yay! I also wrapped up the first draft of the initial report for the project I'm leading this year. I made the smart choice for my brain and sent it right at the end of the work day on Friday so I wouldn't have to worry about any feedback from my manager eating up brain space on the weekend. The goal is to have this finalized by the end of this month so we'll see what feedback I get in the coming weeks from both my manager and director.

In crafting, I made some good progress on the crochet sweater. I'm halfway done the short rows and as each one gets progressively shorter, I should be back to crocheting around the whole body of the sweater early next week. Cross-stitch is also continuing to progress well and there's definitely some recognizable shapes in the new section.

I abandoned one book this week and completed two others. Comments on all three coming up shortly.

DNF

Book 23

Book 24

>153 MickyFine: this one is on my list; I REALLY need to get to it.

>153 MickyFine: I think I'm due for a re-read of Uprooted.

>154 Ravenwoodwitch: I think you'll really like it whenever you get your hands on it.

>155 quondame: Sounds like an excellent plan, Susan.

How Would You Like Your Mammoth? sounds like fun. I was thinking it would make a good audio for a car trip with The Wayne, but your comments on the narrator give me pause...

>157 katiekrug: I'd approach the audiobook with caution. Or at least be prepared to make fun of the accents while enjoying the rest of the content, lol.

So glad you loved Uprooted! I've read it a couple times and it held up the second time :) Sorry the Ibañez didn't work for you -- I have that one on my TBR shelf.

>159 curioussquared: You might have a better time with What the River Knows than I did. I see Mary (@bell7) had much nicer things to say about it than I did.

>159 curioussquared: and >160 MickyFine: I had some mixed feelings about it, mostly because it took so long to get going. I had to look back at my review after reading yours, Micky, and apparently at the time I did want to read the sequel. Still haven't picked it up though 🤷‍♀️

Life update time!

Last Saturday I led out for the singing portion of the service at church, which went pretty well. In the evening we had our monthly game night with M&A during which we played Libertalia (on the stormy side of the board, which none of us liked) and a couple rounds of Santorini. We wrapped up pretty early for us but time change negated it, le sigh.

On Sunday, we ordered Tim's for breakfast and H came over to watch Two Towers with Mr. Fine. While they were watching that, I made a quadruple batch of peanut butter cookies. Why so many cookies you ask? My house is not air-conditioned so baking is not an option in the summer. While I usually just buy cookies when it's too hot, with my current efforts to buy Canadian as much as possible (for, you know, reasons), I decided to bake and freeze a bunch of cookies to last us for the summer instead. So expect more baking sessions in the next few updates.

Work this week was largely fine. On Monday, time change really kicked my butt and the morning was rough, which is unusual as I'm a peak brain power in the morning person. However, lunch made a big difference and I even had energy to go to virtual craft circle in the evening. Tuesday was full of meetings and a department potluck social, which was fun. Happily, my WFH days aligned with the arrival of second winter so I didn't have to bundle up and go to the office when temperatures dropped and we got a bunch of snow. Our regular grocery shopping day fell on a day with heavy snow though and I have learned that Costco during a snowstorm is way more chill. I joked with Mr. Fine we should always shop during them, lol.

As of the end of work on Friday, Mr. Fine and I are in staycation mode for the next week. The big goal is to spring clean the inside of the house but we also have plans to do fun things too. So hopefully next week's life update will be good reading. We kicked off our break with a viewing of Green Book (Mr. Fine's pick) and then a game of Mario Party Jubilee.

I didn't do a ton of crafting this week so my progress isn't too exciting. I'm nearly done short rows for my crochet sweater and I'll be back to doing things in the round by the end of the weekend, I think. Cross-stitch also continues to grow.

No changes on the viewing front but I might have some season completions to report next week.

I finished two books this week and there's good odds I'll finish a third today. Reviews will likely show up this afternoon.

Sounds like a pretty good week, Micky. Is "second winter" a regular thing, or just how you refer to a late season snowstorm?

Second winter is definitely a thing here. The Weather Network posted this image the other week and it's largely pretty accurate.



My area is definitely in second winter at the moment. It's currently -12°C (10°F) outside. In my area you're not completely safe from snow until after May long weekend (third weekend in May). Proper spring doesn't really kick off until mid-April and blooming happens more in May around here.

>162 MickyFine: How did Green Book hit, Micky? It was quite...notorious...when it came out. I love the idea of making lots of cookies to keep on hand for the Dark Times of summer. If it was my freezer, though, they'd all be gone by April 15th.

>164 MickyFine: Thanks for the explanation, Micky. I love that image. The parenthetical captions cracked me up.

>165 richardderus: It wasn't a bad way to spend two hours but it definitely deserves plenty of criticism and I would have loved for it to dig more into who Dr. Shirley was.

I'm pretty good at enforcing a two cookies (per person) per day rule so we should be able to spin them out for a while. Time will tell though.

>166 lauralkeet: Happy to share, Laura, lol.

Book 25

Book 26

Book 27



Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow - Jessica Townsend (re-read)

I'm so excited that book four of this series is (finally) being released in June (in Canada and the US - if you live in Australia or New Zealand, it's out next month *jealous*). In anticipation, I'm re-reading the first three books with plans to read one a month. This is my fourth re-read, I think, and it continues to be a delight. If you haven't met Morrigan yet and you enjoy magic school and/or chosen one tales, I can't recommend this one highly enough for both younger and adult readers.

Rating: *****

>167 MickyFine: I think the biggest problem was, for me anyway, there's a cishet white guy in the big fat middle of the film about the *actual*Green*Book*

grrr

*smothered belch* from the guy who just finished 275gr of white chocolate macadamia cookies

>171 richardderus: Yup, it's hella problematic.

Hey Mickey!
I'd never thought to bake and freeze cookies before; methinks I should.

And your graphic gave me the laugh I needed today. Stay warm!

Hi Micky! Your review of Nevermoor reminds me that I want to reread the books before the fourth is released - finally!! It's definitely one of my most-anticipated releases of the year. I remember ordering Bringing Down the Duke for work. I may have to add that to the list.

I have had good luck freezing some baked goods (mostly muffins, English muffins, bagels, and such) but have never tried with cookies. I may have to rethink that since the boys can devour a batch in an embarrassingly short amount of time!

Enjoy your staycation!

>173 Ravenwoodwitch: I tried freezing back in November with some chewy ginger cookies and it worked really great. I like it as I prefer to bake in big batches so it's done and becomes an occasional task rather than something I'm doing all the time.

Happily we're on the last of the colder days (according to the forecast). We should back to regular March temperatures tomorrow with highs a few degrees (Celsius) above freezing and lows a few degrees below freezing.

>174 aktakukac: Happy to nudge you to a Nevermoor read, Rachel. And definitely give Bringing Down the Duke a try. I think you might have a good time with it.

I can imagine freezing would be helpful with your crew. I wish you much success if you try it. :)

Enjoy your staycation, Micky!

>176 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie! So far, so good. 😊

DNF

Hope you're having a good staycation!

>179 bell7: It's been really lovely so far. ❤️

>170 MickyFine: Soooo excited for Silverborn!! Maybe I should do a series reread too...

>181 curioussquared: I obviously think a reread is a great idea, lol.

Book 28

>178 MickyFine: - As an avowed crossword addict, I'm sad this one wasn't better.

>184 katiekrug: I was bummed too.

Book 29

A staycation week life update!

As mentioned at the end of last week's update, Mr. Fine and I had this week off and it was both a productive and restful break. Saturday we hermited all day - watching church online, going for a walk, playing board games, and in the evening we watched the animated Beauty and the Beast (my childhood favourite movie).

Sunday through Thursday, our days followed a pretty standard routine. We'd get up and breakfast and then Mr. Fine would go to the gym. While he was out, I'd do a mix of walking on the elliptical, puttering, and/or crafting. When he got home we'd snack or have lunch and then tackle spring cleaning a room or two. Depending on how quickly that was finished, we'd squeeze in a board game before dinner, and a quiet evening watching TV.

That probably sounds a bit boring but we did fit in some fun things too. Monday we went out for breakfast to our favourite place. On Wednesday both of us had medical appointments so we went light on the cleaning and did more running around including picking up ingredients for making homemade pizza from the Italian grocery store , went to the library, and went out for dinner. Friday was our day for only doing fun things. We did breakfast at home, played a board game, and then went out for lunch. We go out for lunch so rarely that it feels like an extra treat. Then we popped in to the bookstore for Mr. Fine (I browsed but resisted) and the grocery store to pick up something for Mr. Fine to contribute to his friend group dinner/board game night this coming weekend. Then we made the aforementioned homemade pizza and watched Jurassic Park.

With all the crafting time, I made plenty of progress on both the cross-stitch and crochet projects. I'm definitely at least a quarter done the current pattern page of the cross-stitch piece. As for the sweater, I'm now officially into the body section and I'm pleased that the arm holes are a) where they're supposed to be and b) fit my arms. Woot!

On the viewing front, we finished season 7 of Outlander. While I haven't minded some of the other changes the show has made over the seasons, I strongly disliked the twist at the end of this season and I'm hoping the producers walk it back (there may have been yelling at the TV). With that show wrapped up, I've decided we're going to slot in The Diplomat to that spot in our viewing schedule. I watched the first episode last year, discovered that it was not a background viewing while crafting show, and now I'm excited to dive into it. Also, with all the crafting time this week, I finished season two of Gilmore Girls and am nearly halfway through season three (probably my favourite seasons?).

One DNF and two completed books this week, all of which I've already reviewed (go me!).

Sounds like a great staycation!

I loved the first season of The Diplomat and need to find time to start the second...

What a nice staycation week! I like the daily routine you fell into, it sounds both relaxing and productive/satisfying.

>188 katiekrug: When I saw Debora Cahn's name on it, I knew I was probably going to love it. She was my favourite writer on The West Wing in the post-Sorkin seasons.

>189 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. It really was a lovely staycation.

Book 30

>191 MickyFine: Sounds like a good one!

>192 foggidawn: If you try it, I'll be interested to see your thoughts.

Book 31

>164 MickyFine: Ha! So true. We are also in the second winter right now :)

Glad you had a wonderful staycations. those type of "vacations" are always the most relaxing.

Happy rest of the week

>195 figsfromthistle: We got another dose of winter today. It's been snowing all day although not much is sticking to pavement thankfully. We'll see how icy things are tomorrow.

>196 MickyFine: And then we got a foot and a half of snow and I did a lot of shoveling. 😆

>197 MickyFine: yikes! Hope you also got a lot of reading in to make to for it 😬

>197 MickyFine: wow! Your "second winter" is something else.

>198 bell7: A bit of reading and crocheting. Definitely feeling my low back muscles today, though. 😆

>199 lauralkeet: LOL. Yeah, there's a reason I don't advise visiting Alberta until May. Our weather is kind of all over the place in March and April.

I am only 150 posts behind on your thread, Micky, and not even trying to catch up. I wanted to check in and see how you are doing though. I hope you are doing well despite the recent spate of snow.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lovely of you to stop by, Stasia! I'm doing pretty well over all. The snow is mostly still in the pretty phase so it's nice to look at while hermiting, lol.

>202 MickyFine: I love looking at snow! We do not see it here in Texas all that often - although we did get a whopping (for us anyway) 6 inches not that long ago.

Another weekly update.

Our last weekend of staycation was a nice end to our break. Saturday we went to church and I dropped off Mr. Fine at the gym afterwards. I curled up with a book while he was out and then we went for a walk when he got back. Our evening movie was The Pelican Brief (an old favourite of mine). Hilariously, I had it on DVD but hadn't watched it since I bought it. It was old enough that they split the film over two sides of the disc, lol. Sunday I got up and baked a double batch of chewy ginger cookies for project "stash cookies to last the summer." In the afternoon we went to a "tasting" for H and K's wedding. Quotation marks because there was a private event(s?) going on and so while we tried some of the restaurant's food (they do catering), it wasn't like it was a menu H and K had chosen and there were tons of other people in no way connected with why we were there. It was Greek food but all the meat was pork, which I don't eat, so I mostly ended up eating salads and spanakopita. And, of course, baklava. H had invited quite a crowd for the tasting and after this experience, I have a feeling I am not going to have a great time at this wedding in October.

Work this week was a lot of catching up after my week off. I had 255 emails on Monday morning and over 200 customer suggestions as well (I didn't get those below 100 by the end of the week so they'll probably be high into next week). Part of what kept me from powering through more of my suggestions was that after nudging my manager about feedback on the report I submitted on March 7 (and which he acknowledged and said he'd get to in the next couple days), he finally got around to it on Wednesday AND still wanted to keep the timeline of getting it to our director before the end of this month. I'm sure you can imagine my reaction. Other than that, work was largely fine and happily I worked from home for all the days with tons of snow. Thursday I had physio and tried dry needling, which was actually spectacularly helpful and I only got one bruise from it (which as an easy bruiser, is impressive). We also went grocery shopping on Thursday and macarons were on sale at Costco so I have lots of fancy French cookies in my fridge. :)

I've managed a few rows on my sweater and all my cross-stitching was filling in shadows so lots of black thread.

As mentioned last week, we've added The Diplomat to our viewing rotation and have really enjoyed the first two episodes. We also wrapped up season 7 of Castle, season 6 of The X-Files, and the newest season of Reacher.

I finished two books this week and have already reviewed them (woot!).

I'm glad you had a nice staycation! I love it when some kind of unusual treat is on sale at Costco.

I might finish another book or two before March officially ends but lets start a new thread for a new quarter and see what adventures await!

>205 norabelle414: Agreed it adds some extra joy. I love me a macaron so getting them for a few dollars less feels like a win. Plus tiny tasty cookies!