This is a Good Book Thursday, February 3, 2022

~ Jenny

I FINALLY found a new book that is at least a Sorta Sure Thing, I’ll know after I reread it, which I definitely plan to do: Matchmaking For Beginners. Just loved it.

What did you read and love this week?

142 thoughts on “This is a Good Book Thursday, February 3, 2022”

  1. I read the Taking Shield series, suggested by LN. Holy intense sci fi, Bat Girl! Gut wrenching is how I’d describe it, especially the final book. Human civilization living in a 100-year old world war with an alien threat in five books, with a special ops MC who is trying to gather desperately needed intel about the mysterious aliens. An M/M romance threading its way through this series, sometimes barely visible. I read the whole thing in a kind of white hot heat, and had to re-read a comfort book in between each book in the series just to clear my mind before forging ahead with the next one.

    And then I read Out, thanks to Alexandra, yes that was definitely an adorable book.

    Finally, a new entry into the M/M hockey player world – Cait Nary with Season’s Change. A common trope, two roommates, but Nary impresses with an MC who is struggling with anxiety and the other who is battling to rise above roots in poverty. Intelligently written, and a long, slow burn of a book. Loved it.

    Tell us why you think the new book is a Sorta Sure Thing, Jenny, dying to know!

        1. It’s Anna Butler. I am glad you liked it too. It is definitely an intense series with heart wrenching moments.
          For me, it is a bit like this is what happened before Battlestars Galactica. I keep picturing the heroes as Apollo and Starbuck 🙂

          1. LN, it was heart wrenching all right. And yes – Apollo and Starbuck in the first series where they were boys but with the writing and production values of the second series.

    2. It’s a little bit of magic realism, a little bit of awful-ex/wrong-rebound/complicated-true-love, a lot of escaping loving family expectations, the shock of moving to a radically new place, developing a found family, belief in true love, adopted dog, old house, wonderful cast of secondary characters . . . basically my catnip.

  2. Just finished #3 of the Bedwyns – Slightly Scandalous by Mary Balogh. The ending was satisfying and I don’t think I rolled my eyes as much at the behavior as I did with #2. It was an enjoyable way to end my day.

  3. I read Katee Robert’s Neon Gods and Electric Idol. I was very happy with both. I think that she is a new Sure Thing for me, and has an impressive backlog of work for me to play with. My only complaints are that her next book is about Helen, not Callisto, and I Need to find out what happens to Callisto, and that no one bitch slaps Demeter repeatedly (still holding out hope for Callisto there too).

    Another win is that I bought the audio book of the Goblin Emperor when it was on sale. It’s so good and I forgot so much. And bless the narrator for learning all of those names.

    Last, we have been watching Space Force on Netflix. It’s really good. Smart and self aware funny with a surprising core of wholesomeness and poignancy. Season two is coming out soon, which is good because season one ended a little cliffhanger-y. All in all a good week.

    And I can’t wait to try all the recipes from earlier this week!

      1. Oh, that’s tough… They are so different.

        Probably Vespertine? It’s more snark, less sexy, so probably going to be a comfort reread. But it is a close thing.

        1. Neon Gods and Electric Idol do the thing where the author creates a feeling and you carry it with you after the book is over, you know? And I really lover her characters… Sigh. Just kill me. I can’t choose.

  4. My thanks to Brook who recommended Heyer’s Pistols for Two last week. Now that I’m riding the stationary bike again, I need reading matter to keep me from falling off from sheer boredom. Rereading Pistols for Two is perfect.

  5. Ah, thanks for the reminder. I loved that book.

    My recent fave is The Guncle by Steven Rowley.

  6. I read Jessie Mihalik’s new book, Hunt the Stars. I enjoyed it. Its a fairly low stress, engaging science fiction romance. Just what I needed this week.

    3. Hunt the Stars is on the top of my pile. I have really enjoyed her books. Polaris Rising was the last series.

    4. Also, in case anyone is wondering: no cliffhanger! It clearly is set up for the start of a series, but it ties up nicely and can sit on its own. I was very relieved.

  7. I’m re-reading Julia Quinn books. I left Everything But The Moon towards the end and good job too – there is a Big Misunderstanding and the man is very controlling. Worst of all, the name of a town I live near is mis-spelt MANY times. Not that thats stopped me reading it. Her latest is a graphic novel based on a comically bad book referenced in her books. I’m sceptical. Do these things ever work out well?

    2. Janet Evanovich did a 2 book series : Metro Girl & Motor Mouth. Main characters are Alexandra Barnaby & Nascar driver Sam Hooker.
      I loved those books.
      She followed them with 2 graphic novels: Troublemaker 1&2 illustrated by Alex Evanovich.
      I loved the graphic novels also.

  8. The second book in the Thursday Murder Club series (of two so far, hoping for more), The Many Who died Twice. The first was very good. This one is better. Maybe because I knew the characters already it was easier to follow who is who. Great plotting but really outstanding characters. It is rare indeed that one finds a book with so may engaging and well drawn characters, capable of learning and growing. A ripping good book!

    2. I didn’t even know about these, but I’ve now read a couple descriptions. Intriguing! I just requested the first one from my library. Thank you.

      1. My library has 81 copies of the first title, plus 25 copies of the audiobook, and I am still number 75 on the hold list, after having started out six or seven weeks ago as 169 on the list. So I just placed a hold on Book 2, for which I’m 198th on the list.

        My advice is to get a copy reserved well in advance! 🙂

        1. Inspired by you I have moved Thursday Murder Club to the top of my TBR list so that the next people on the reserve list have a chance.

    3. I am reading the first one now (my hold came in after a month or two) and enjoying it a lot. Looking forward to number two.

  9. I have been working my way through the Martha Grimes Richard Jury books. They are all titled with the name of a pub. Very odd pub names. I enjoy them quite a bit and it doesn’t seem to matter that I’m reading them out of sequence.

    1. I loved those. Haven’t reread them in years, though. The audiobooks are well done, too.

    2. I like the Martha Grimes Richard Jury books, too. A friend recently gave me her “Belle Ruin,“ which is not a Richard Jury procedural. It’s terrific, though—a 12-year-old girl tries to unravel the story of a 40-year-old kidnapping. The book was a bit confusing at first, because there were a lot of characters and the story referenced an attempted murder that was never fully explained. I thought maybe I’d missed a book one. But I don’t think so. Anyway, the book was so evocative and wonderfully written and so not a Richard Jury. Quite a revelation about the depth of Grimes’s talent.

  10. I DFN’d a bunch of samples, but have read new things I really liked lately, thanks to y’all

    “Magic and the Shinigami Detective” was really good. I bought the second one and liked that as well.

    I had never read any Cat Sebastian; I loved “Hither Page”, and have bought the next one, hoping to save it for weekend, but……

    Currently reading “Famous in a Small Town” by Emma Mills. Dear Sister warned me that she liked “First and Then” better, and it is a deeper, better book, but this one keeps making me laugh out loud. And I am charmed by the word play between the characters.

    Come to think if it, one of the things all these books have in common is good not-the-main-characters. Particularly “Hither Page”. Never stop to think ‘who is that again?’

    And it is Thursday and I am not working today so I not only read new things, but can actually comment in a timely fashion!

    1. Jennifer, I thought the sequel to Hither Page was even better so enjoy. And most of the Cat Sebastian I have read is similar high quality and even better…

  11. I have decided to just reread this month as I am planning to not buy anything but necessities this month. Not that books are not classed in my mind as necessities but I am being good here!
    I am just finishing the last Pern I bought before Feb, The skies of Pern which is a bit of a slog so I think that’s it for Pern.
    I am pondering what to reread next. I might have a look at all the books hidden on my kindle to see what strikes my fancy.
    I will of course still make lists of books recommended here but I’ll wait until March to buy them.

    1. Not to tempt you or anything but…since you like fantasy, have you read Sharon Shinn’s Mystic and Rider series? Or a Megan Turner Whalen’s strolls series? Probably my two favourites.

      1. I have everything that Sharon Shinn has written and the Mystic and Rider series is one of my favourite of hers but I reread it not so long ago so it’s still fresh in my mind
        I also have Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s thief series and that one I haven’t reread for a long time so it’s definitely on the list for this month. Thanks for reminding me!

          1. Let me think, I have read many dragon books in my time but most of them have left my brain.
            I do like Thea Harrison’s elder series and I remember enjoying Naomi Novik’s Temeraire (one of the first books I bought for my first kindle when in those days few books were available).
            Mercedes Lackey did also a nice YA series.
            I also vaguely remember liking a Melanie Rawn series back in the day.

          2. Temeraire is definitely a favourite series. I also love Deagonhaven by Robin Mckinley, very unusual kind of dragon book.

  13. I haven’t read any real fiction or non-fiction for a long time. Dokmscrollin’ are us!

    It’s Merica’s Black History Month.
    So I took the plunge and just bought “Why I’m no Longer Talking to White People About Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge. I hope it knocks me outta my shoes.

    I’m also trying to act within the Nap Ministry teachings online (as there isn’t a book out yet) while still actually achieving what I choose to attempt this year. So it’s not just time management, it’s energy management.

    Thanks for the recipes y’all. Was inspired today. Hope you try out a spice or two from my post.

    2. Black History Month: a friend of mine made a t shirt (gold lettering on black): “I’m black all the time but for this month I’m Blackity black black.” I wish I could wear it without having to explain that actually yes I’m white, but….

  14. I was in the mood for some magical realism and read Willa Reece’s “Wildwood Whispers” and it was perfect! Gorgeous prose and the setting made me want to head to the mountains.

    I also read “A Peculiar Combination” by Ashley Weaver and it was very fun! (That may have been recced here, and if so, thank you!)

    I’ve also been watching a lot of Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain on HBOMax and dreaming of the days when I can travel again.

  15. I was reading a library book about a firefighter romance which entailed a lot of typically intense fire service fire service Newby hazing, so it was a little draining. As I drifted off to sleep, I kept trying to grasp a memory of some book that involved finding something unknown but very exciting in a dark attic, but couldn’t for the life of me recall what book it was.

    I woke up the next day realizing that the book was “The Pinhoe Egg” – my very favorite Diana Wynne Jones’ so-called “childrens book”. I’ve been delightedly re-reading it before bed each night, and it’s as wonderful on the tenth re-read as it was on every earlier one. It’s hard to see it as simply a children’s book, since it’s essentially the very beginning of what I can’t help but see as a lifelong romance between two children who will be perfect for one another when they reach adulthood. Does that make any sense? I don’t know anyone else who has read this book, but I’d love to hear from someone who has.

    1. I LOVE Diana Wynne Jones. For anyone who doesn’t know–I’m sure Jinx does–PINHOE EGG is part of Jones’ Chrestomanci series, which are far and away my favorite books of hers (although ARCHER’S GOON is a fantastic stand-alone). The Chrestomanci series is marvelous. Although they’re classified as children’s books, they’re every bit as enjoyable for adults. The first one is CHARMED LIFE, and to my mind its still the best, but the entire series is very enjoyable. PINHOE EGG is the last one she wrote in that series. I know a lot of folks here already like Jones, but if you’ve never read her, you’re missing out on an outstanding writer. Thanks, Jinx, for mentioning this title. (I’m realizing that I’ve now let enough time go by that I can reread this series again.)

      1. Time for a reread for me too. I remember liking the book, and the Chrestomancy series, but I’ve forgotten a lot of tge details. Thanks for bringing it to mind!

    2. I had better reread Pinhole Egg soon, since I seem to have forgotten too much of it. I think Archer’s Goon may be my absolute total favorite, but all her books are wonderful and none of them are simply a children’s book.

      1. One of my favorite books to give adults is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. A really good children’s book can enchant for a lifetime.

    3. I felt that way about Lord Perfect. The adult romance is fine, but the two kids running away together absolutely platonically to find treasure was such a set-up for a great pairing, so I was very happy when she wrote about them as adults in Last Night’s Scandal.

      1. The book about Olivia and Peregrine, Lord Lisle is my favorite in the Carsington series. Olivia is just a force of nature–“Don’t be so thick, Lisle.” Love how she just takes charge and wins!

    4. I LOVE The Pinhoe Egg. Also Charmed Life, which comes before it and sets up the characters. Actually I love pretty much anything by Diana Wynne Jones.

  16. I finished ‘Matriarch’ much respect for Barbara Bush😇

    Now I’m onto Kate Quinns ‘The Huntress’

    1. I lost all respect for her when she called Geraldine Ferraro a “rhymes with rich,” and when that got out, apologized and said she meant “witch.” Just say “bitch,” Barbara and then admit your hypocrisy since calling your husband’s female opponent a witch is still patriarchal sucking-up and a truly bitchy thing to do. Also, if you’re going to be a bitch, own it, don’t try to backtrack with feeble explanations nobody buys.

      Yeah, I’m still mad about that thirty-some years later. I loathe women who backstab women.

        1. Well, for 8 years Nancy was First Lady to a guy who was developing Alzheimers and probably had more power than most First Ladies and Barbara was just the VP’s wife and was used to playing politics and didn’t have much options for anything but “taking it”. Also Barbara came from an old upper class family and Nancy was straight middle class so maybe there was other factors at play. So maybe Barbara just didn’t care how Nancy acted.

  17. Recently we went to dinner at Doc Fords. I learned that Doc Ford is a character in a series of books by Randy Wayne White. I have the first book; Sanibel Flats. I’ve only read the prologue so far but it sounds promising.
    I did a reread of a book I love; The Last Good Man by Kathleen Eagle. It is a romance with a delightful side relationship that develops between the male love interest and the female protagonist’s adopted daughter.
    Throwing a question out: am I the only one who thinks it’s quite weird that female novelists are writing m/m romances? That does mean gay male romances, correct? My brother is gay and a reader. I started to recommend one of those books and then I realized it was written by a female. I’m willing to suspend reality for a good story told in good author voice but a female author writing a m/m romance makes me uncomfortable.

    1. I think most of the M/M romances written by women are probably aimed at a female readership. They made me uneasy, too, until I got into reading them. But, like you, I’m not at all sure many of them would work for gay readers. You could try him with Alexis Hall, and then maybe K.J. Charles, since they’re both fans of each other’s work.

    2. I was wondering the same for a long time. But it seems the target group is female readers. I’d feel uncomfortable to recommend anything explicit to a gay friend/colleague. Well, I’d hesitate to recommend something hot to most people.
      YA is easier:
      A gay colleague of dh ‘s lovedd Becky Albertalli’s Love, Simon. But love as a essential human feeling is less dangerous.A

      1. Try Bill Koenigsberg. The said colleague loved his books.
        Also Brent Hartinger, Alex Silvera and Alex Sanchez. Though all of those are mostly YA and finding oneself might not be the top topic for your brother.
        Brent Hartinger has an interesting blog, currently journeying around the world with his husband.

    3. I had given him a set of 3 books which I thought he would like because there was the sweetest sub plot gay romance throughout. I can’t remember the name of them now. His reaction was – the books were ok but the sex was ridiculous. Largely because he thought women’s approach to sex is radically different to gay males approach.

      1. I’m thinking this is why women write M/M fiction for women? We definitely approach sex differently. I spent some time reading sex scenes written by male authors, and overall, they do not appeal… There was this one anthology by gay authors with a lot of influence on bodily fluids and functions… Shudders.

        1. Now you’ve made me curious 😀.
          I’m very sure I’d shudder tio. But anyhow:
          Which anthology is it?

    4. My BFF is gay and I tried a Cat Sebastian novel on him. He loved it. Although he did like the sexy parts the best.

    5. Late to the party here, but I have been thinking about this discussion. It is a sensitive topic, I know, but as we don’t demand that authors have personal experience in other categories it seems unfair that we demand they do so here. As long as we are reading works of fiction and acknowledge them as such.

      1. Speaking of sensitive topics, there has been a lot of discussion that authors should not write main characters as persons-of-color if they are not a POC themselves. I have to admit that this gives me a problem since the other demand is that romances are more inclusive and include POC as part of the cast.

        I rarely read M/M romances – well, I don’t read many books that are only romances- and one of the reasons is the preponderance of female authors writing them.

  18. Just for fun…my brother is an anti-vaccer (not going on a diatribe here because I try to be very respectful of my brother’s opinions) and he was featured in a Canadian newscast recently – some stuff going down in Canada’s capital right now that again I won’t get into – ANYWAY, I noticed his name was printed as Rick Thomas on the news story – which is not his name and I asked what that was about and he said it was his protester name. So I think this should be like a porn name (you remember, where you used your pet’s name and your first street name or something like that – mine turned out to be Coco Alexander which I think is a pretty good porn name) and there would be a protocol for selecting your protester name – but what should that protocol be??

        1. Some pets at a later stage (again birds): Caruso or Xanthippe Ahornring. Too weird to work as porn names (well maybe for fetish lovers of a kind). LOL.

    2. I started to think about Protester Name protocol, Tammy, but then I realised my keyboard would likely self-immolate… Sigh….

      2. I’m afraid, as soon as I hit enter, I wanted to retract that. Because protesters are mostly decent people. It’s too good a term for those creating hell on wheels in their own interests here in Canada.

        Yes, I know we’ve moved on to the next day’s posting, but I wanted it on record. :^)

    5. I was too young to remember the dog my family had at our first house (which would make me Holler Woodruff) so I’ll go with the cat we got after we moved who’d make me Quaker Ardmore.

      2. I typed “What is my porn name” into Google. The first entry was http://pr0nname.com/

        Your name in the real world might be GARY S JORDAN, but “The Industry” will know you as: Butt Jam

        No.

        Your name in the real world might be GARY JORDAN, but “The Industry” will know you as: BJ Hornball

        NO.

        Your name in the real world might be Reverend Gary J, but “The Industry” will know you as: Slappy Bendover

        NO!!!

        http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/porngen.html at least named me “Sven Biggs.” Yeah, no.

        When I actually wrote adult stories, my name was… Gary. Not very original, but it worked for me.

  19. I finished Kassia St. Clair’s Golden Thread (thanks, Ann, it makes me want to do a master’s degree in fiber) last week, and have finished nothing particularly interesting since, (although as I said above I’m enjoying the Thursday Murder Club) so I have returned to Murderbot once again.

  20. I’ve been going through the Science of Discworld books (3 of 4 so far) and got sidetracked by What’s the Use, (Ian Stewart, one of the co-writers on the Science series), which is all about the unreasonable uses of mathematics – things that math has solved that seem crazy, like using chaos theory to solve a problem with mattress springs not coiling properly.
    Also got sidetracked last week with a couple of silly but fun romances: The Ex Hex (Erin Sterling) and To Have and To Hoax (Martha Waters). Plus I’m rereading the Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss.

    1. I just bought To Love and To Loathe for sale on Kindle today for $1.99 even though I haven’t yet read the first one, but they look fun.

  21. Two good ones this week: I finished ‘Something Fabulous’ by Alexis Hall (m/m Regency), and it was excellent. Then enjoyed ‘The Worst Guy’ by Kate Canterbary, which was recommended here. She’s got a backlist, so I’m now reading an earlier, linked story: ‘Before Girl’. The heroes are great; my only caveat is they can be really coarse, and the sex is full-on. But the characters and romances and humour are good. Even though I don’t usually go for hospital settings. The characters are all convincingly competent (to a non-medic).

    1. I’m currently reading The Worst Guy. Not sure about it yet. I skipped 80 % of the first sex scene because I didn’t feel comfortable with him manhandling her. I know there’s chemistry, it still didn’t sit too well with me.
      Now back to reading.

      1. It was all this stuff at the beginning that threw me, like you; but for me it then started to work. I’m finding the same thing with the one I’m reading now – well, I’m still at the awkward stage; hoping it’ll gel. But otherwise I do like her characters & community.

          1. I think you should read the Walsh series. In Before Girl, the hero is way too much into biting for my taste!

          2. Yes, totally agree – I was enjoying ‘The Worst Guy’ much more by this point. But she’s so good otherwise. I’ll try the Walshes: thanks.

  22. Variations on a Theme, Book 3 – Greyhawk pumps out three chapters per week, so I’m now up to Chapter 45. It isn’t any better. It isn’t any worse. I still want to know how it ends. If it ends.
    The Door Into Summer – Many people point out that Heinlein had issues. I noticed some that weren’t so obvious the first dozen or two times I read it. His vision for the year 2000 (30 years in the future!) was laughable. I still liked the book.
    The Gourmets of Grantsville – BethAnne Kim kicks ass. It isn’t full of detailed recipes, but it’s all about food in the 1630s. Some of it is adapting 20th century stuff to the lack and loss of common spices. All the spices we take for granted are expensive imported spices. Salt and pepper aren’t cheap. It’s a great book.
    OWID #42. 250.4 pounds. Somewhere around 113 kg.

    2. Thanks to you, I got the Grantville book last week. You’re right about what we consider common spices. On a completely different note, the book World War Z (we shall not speak of the movie) has a great scene where they are talking about the label on a bottle of root beer and wondering how long it will be before they can make any more.

  23. I read Jayne Ann Krentz’s Lightning in a Mirror too quickly and I’m probably going to reread this weekend. I was stealing time from other things so there was nothing relaxing about the read.
    Also read A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman and enjoyed it. I mostly steer away from anything that’s “regency” but this was fun.
    Enjoyed The Last Mrs Summers by Rhys Bowen.

    1. I quite enjoyed JAK’s Lightening too. The cat bit made me swoon. Went back a reread the first two Fogg Lake books and enjoyed them just as much.

  24. I’m reading You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo. It’s fun. I’m not sure where the book is heading, but I’m going along for the ride.

  25. Several re-reads last week plus an interesting new book – Jacob Goldstein’s Money: The True Story of a Made-up Thing. It is a non-fiction about the history of money: how, when, what, and who. A fascinating exposition for ignorant readers like me who never knew before. Clear language, simple concepts, and many brief stories of the people involved. I really enjoyed this book.
    Also watched a Japanese anime serial Violet Evergarden on Netflix. It was charming and very poignant. It has only 13 episodes (at least for now). On one hand, the world it describes (a weird blend of history, fantasy, and sci-fi) seems utterly unreal, hard to believe in. On the other, the heroine goes through a profound inner transformation in the course of the overall story arc, and the emotional punches each episode delivers are powerful. I wanted to cry. It felt like catharsis in the end. If you’re into Japanese anime as a genre you should watch this serial.

  26. Thanks to those who recommended A Suitable Consort (for the king and his husband). I wasn’t at all sure what to expect, but it’s a really tender story. And surprisingly funny in parts.

    Now I’m reading The Vanished Days by Susannah Kearsley. Very engrossing – I need to read more of her.

  27. I read 6 full-length things this week, including the proof copy of my February title. I’m one of those women writing M/M romance. And three of the other novels I read were M/M romance written by women. 🙂 Personally, I don’t identify with many female main characters anymore, and too often find the conflicts/obstacles of M/F romance novels predictable and tiresome.

    This week I give the novel crown to ‘The Missing Page’ by Cat Sebastian, though I also really liked ‘Spells and Sensibility’ by K.L. Noone & K.S. Murphy *and* ‘The Experiment’ by Rebecca Raine. All very different books.

    DNFd Amanda Quick’s ‘Close Up’ at 25% at which point I still couldn’t care about either the main character or the plot. Maybe some other time. Read a 1960s thriller by Michael Crichton that was very 1960s.

    Of four shorts, the winner is ‘Mended With Gold’ by Lee Welch, an age-gap M/M about an older photographer and younger artist in New Zealand.

    2. I think you are right.
      I like reading M/M because the conflict is better, especially for regency/victorian times where you couldn’t be out.

      1. There was a discussion about this a month or two ago where someone said that the conflict was the relationship, so m/m stories don’t need other conflicts. It resonated with me and I really appreciate it. I am also tired of traditional conflict arcs.

  28. A VOW OF SILENCE, by Veronica Black; first in a series of about eight books featuring a nun as the amateur sleuth. I bought a collection of the first several and liked the first. Sister Joan is transferred to a new convent where mysterious things have gone on . . . .

    KDRAMA CURE, by Marie Cole. Ms. Cole is a fan of Korean dramas, and after analyzing them in quantity, put together this book to suggest how the elements of a K-drama can be used to improve anyone’s plotting difficulties, whether plotter or pantser. I haven’t studied this one in depth, but so far I haven’t been able to work out how Korean plots differ significantly from Western plots, except that apparently they’re apt to have a sixteen-episode structure, which she thinks makes a difference. The suggestions for improvement all seem perfectly good, so I recommend taking a look at the book if you think your story is fizzing out. Can’t hurt!

    THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF EGYPTIAN NON-ROYAL BURIAL CUSTOMS IN NEW KINGDOM EGYPT AND ITS EMPIRE, by Wolfram Grajetzki. Serious and scholarly (published by Cambridge U Press). Who’s buried with stuff made especially for burials? Who gets a few daily life objects? What are they? Apparently usually not tools, no matter how rich the departed; they may have been too expensive to include. Leather items were also not usually included. Not that they were there and have disintegrated, apparently not there at all.

    Comfort reread, MOUSE AND DRAGON by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, from Liad. Once I’d finished SCOUT’S PROGRESS, I had to go on and reread the sequel.

      1. I still remember being approached by a wary person at the Salt Lake City Family History Library, inquiring about my tee-shirt, which said in large lettering, “Plan B is now in effect”

        My cousin and I were there for ConDuit and spending every spare moment at the library.

        2. I have a bunch of unread Liaden Universe novels in my library. Should I be moving them to the upper reaches of my TBR list?

          1. The Liaden universe books are good!
            I really think you might like them, too.

            There is a whole family/clan Korval of Liad starring in them, and books about different characters can have different flavors to them.
            Some are more romance focused, like a regency romance (Liad has some strictly enforced customs which can give the setting, in the right circumstances, that mannered twist) plus adventure in space – those are Local custom and Conflict of honors (bundled as Pilot’s choice), and sequel Mouse and Dragon; others are more tense with a spy or secret agent as primary protagonist (Agent of change, Plan B, and I dare); and in some the protagonist is involved in developing trade routes, or dealing with AI self-aware ships, deeprooted conspiracies, etc., or coming of age.

            Lee and Miller have also written a lot of short stories in the same universe as well as separate from it, collected in 5 Liaden Universe Constellations.

      2. Thanks for reminding about these. They are definitely going on the reread list.
        One of the things I like about the Liad University is that everybody eats cheese and drinks tea.

    2. Thanks for the kdrama recommendation. I’ve recently become a convert to kdramas, though my family thinks “addict” would be a more accurate word. I had been wondering how to take what I like about the shows and use it to get me writing romance again.

      1. Have you by chance read the Book of Firsts? It feels so much like a manga to me, though it isn’t set in Japan. I really enjoyed that about it.

        1. [mutter, mutter, mutter] Thanks for the link. Followed it. Ended up 1-clicking a six-book set for $9.99. Will my TBR list never shrink?

  29. I loaded a sample of Matchmaking For Beginners. Bought it before I finished the sample. Read until I finished the book. It was lovely. I enjoy magic realism.

  30. Bought books but have not opened either. My name would be Sam Oak, dh would be Trixie McKenzie. That’s all I’ve got.

  31. I just saw that Anne Stuart’s The Absolutely Positively Worst Man in England, Scotland and Wales is on Kindle for 99 cents. I remember enjoying it when it first came out. It still has the classic Anne Stuart bad boy hero, but it is lighter and more fun than other of her publications.

      1. My favorite is the grandson of the Yakuza with piercings, tattoos and dyed red hair. He twitterpated my young heart…

  32. The Poet, Michael Connelly (NOT Harry Bosch, though I like those); this lived up to my expectations based on Stephen King’s foreword.

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