Bob sent me an e-mail this week: Book done yet? And I could finally tell him yes, I’d finished my revision of the end of Vermillion. So that’s what I’ve been reading, the books we just finished. I am very tired of reading them.
What did you read this week that you did not get tired of?
Happy Official Weigh-In Day #79. I weigh 256 pounds or 116 kilograms or 18.3 stone, or a couple meters of books, more or less.
Last week, I started reading The Hunger Games and watched the first movie. This week I finished the trilogy and watched the three movie sequels. Not content to stop there, I watched The Starving Games, a parody. Then I watched several videos about tHG and a few Cinema Sins: Everything wrong with Hunger Games. I managed not to watch the Hungover Games.
Since I was doing Amazon Prime Video, I looked for something else to watch. The Light Touch was a diversion. Not great, but interesting. I also rewatched The Cutting Edge.
I am Rereading the Enola Holmes Mysteries and have so far completed the first of six.
The Variation on a Theme Book 4 serialization continues. I continue reading it.
Last week I binged the Webcomic Too Much Information by AndyOH. This week I binged www dot Unshelved dot com, the Library Comic by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes. The comic is done and currently in reruns
Gardening: Too. Much. Lettuce! I need to salad! The Romaine lettuce in Fredonia, positioned by Sheba, is attempting to invade Sheba to steal light. Some leaves are more than a foot long.
Food: I baked chicken thighs in many vegetables. Needs salt. I finished yesterday’s meals with Ukrops Apple Spice Cake. I have committed salad.
Romaine that steal light. Interesting concept, and could be a sci-fi theme.
Not anymore. That’s the one I committed salad with, plus tomato and one fried egg and a little onion. I replaced the seed pod with a Marvel of the 4 Seasons lettuce seed pod. I got to lower the halo grow lamp over 6 inches. Also, it works in both directions – the tomato plant in Sheba was sending branches to bask under the halos.
I think that committing salad is an appropriate term for any preparation that relies so heavily on the use of knives. Is it preparing a side dish or murdering vegetables?
I love the imagery, but I wielded kitchen scissors and my trusty Paraguayan fork. [Insert maniacal laughter.]
Sharpened tools abound!
I went for back to back comfort reads. I reread “Charlie All Night”, and “Other Birds” by Sarah Addison Allen.
New reads “The Herbalist” by Heather Morrison-Tapley. It was very enjoyable, a few predictable things but still enjoyed visiting the small village in England Finally finished “My Lie in France” by Julia Child and Alex Prud’homme
Just started “Mystic Tea” by Rea Nolan Martin which I got just because I liked the name.
Thank goodness for books to escape into when the rest of life feels just a tad overwhelming.
hmmm…. a few typos…. missing period between England. (and)
Finally. And that would be My LiFe in France, cuz I don’t think Julia lied her way through France. 🙂
But what a great title if she had!
Well, she did work for intelligence during WWII…..
I’ve started “First Frost” by Sarah Addison Allen. Very interesting to be back in the world of the family from “Garden Spells,” and the timing of the book is paralleling the weather in my area, where we’re due to have that frost any old day now. Allen is clearly an author that I will enjoy reading every title from.
The other thing I’ve loved recently is this interview with Fiona Hill. Not that the subject matter is pleasant, but her insight is so trustworthy that I’m glad to hear from somebody who is not just passing on “latest news about XYZ,” but thinking through it deeply.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/10/17/fiona-hill-putin-war-00061894
While in Croatia my wife and I read The Bullet that Missed by Richard Osman, the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series. It was my wife’s favorite of the three, and I liked it as well though I’m not sure I’d put it favorite. We unfortunately had several days of downtime while I was sick 🙁
I ended up reading The Rainbow Recipe by Patricia Rice, the fourth in her Psychic Solutions series. Pretty good. I continue to really like the characters but the plotting on this one was a little haphazard.
I finally read Soul Taken, Patricia Briggs latest Mercy Thompson book. It was okay. I didn’t like it quite as much some of the other Argher’s seem to have.
WHAT how did I not know there was book 3 out, eeek!
Fwiw, I wasn’t wild about Soul Taken either. Seemed thin, with lots of filler about past books.
I liked Soul Taken, but I wouldn’t say it was my favorite or the strongest of the series.
Honestly, I am always thrilled when a Mercy novel isn’t super dark, so maybe over exude joy at the relief? I like a more light-hearted episode for her and Adam once in a while and really appreciate Wulfe’s potential redemption. The last Alpha and Omega was just so dark and I am a little anxious about the next one.
“and not get tired of.” Well, then it definitely wouldn’t be the book I finished yesterday…
I am enjoying my current read, Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross. Found it on KU.
I used my browser bookmark to get this post. I’m so glad the books are finished. I hope you can move on, soon, Jenny.
We re-read The Goblin Emperor, and we were pleased that it was still very interesting to us. We wish there was more, but we are glad to have what there was. We have had dreams about revethvoran two nights in a row. It is horrible and dreadful, but so civilized in contrast to the way executions are conducted in the U.S. We like the idea of a perpetrator taking responsibility for their acts, apologizing, and that they are the one to end their lives, not hirelings. We are also very pleased with Cala’s powers of execution. We love the way it was described: ” there was a crack like lightning and the sharp reek of ozone.”
I am reading We’ll Always Have Parrots. I dnf the 3rd book in the series. The nerds and the subject matter just were not interesting or engaging to me. I’m astounded that there has not been a murder, yet, in Parrots, and I’m about to start chapter 12! The parrots are very diverting.
I read Alexandra Caluen’s The Ghost of Carlos Gardel, second in her Co-Stars series, and enjoyed the making of an indie dance movie plot (thoroughly and satisfyingly described) with some hater-stalker drama thrown in. I do love Andy and Victor and have downloaded the next in the series.
Also read Camera Shy – I think a few people recommended it here – and liked it although it was similar enough to The Charm Offensive – television reality series – that I went back and read that again and …it was better than Camera Shy.
I read Eden because it was by Avon Gale cowriting with Emily Rossman – not as strong as Avon Gale on her own or in her Iris Foxglove collaboration but still worth a look – two former coast guard members who ended their professional relationship badly and find themselves coincidentally working for the same tour company in Alaska and…a different kind of relationship.
The book I did get tired of was Heppel Ever After. I wanted to find out how Charlie ended up – but the whole background plot of older duke languishing away on island and isolating himself did not grab me at all and I wish the story had been about Charlie and Hugh in a new vicarage or something, anything really.
so glad you liked that book o’ mine! It was the devil to write!! LOL
Because of the movie detail? I learned a lot.
The first draft centered on a different character (Tomas). Once I figured out this should be an Andy & Victor book I had to extract most of the Tomas storyline (imagine the old game ‘Operation’) and turn it into a novella. Then I ended up writing a whole separate novel about Tanith’s P.A. Sandesh (‘A Few Kisses Ago’). Then I had to write the actual screenplay. And then I could finally finish the book. The only reason I don’t feel like a complete idiot about my process is our host’s generosity in sharing her writing trials.
I did that once. In Faking It. I thought Eve was the heroine. Damn book wouldn’t work until Davy met Tilda. And I had a great theme going about doubles and the Shadow, too. Sigh.
To the both of you: That sounds so painful and I have never appreciated writers more than in this moment.
I was thinking about Eve the other day, especially her line about thinking she might be Louise. I have these moments in my life when that thought echoes.
I wouldn’t want to read a book about Eve, but I think that I would for Louise. And I do wonder what happened to both of them.
Spurred on by mentions of a potential discussion of it here last week, I have read the Scholomance trilogy.
I am glad I waited for the 3 books to be published before reading them as otherwise the cliffhangers at the end of the first two would have really put me out.
I really enjoyed the books but disconcertingly, I kept feeling that the whole wizard society was a metaphor for our modern world with its haves and have nots, the rich countries continuing to consume without paying heed to the consequences of their excesses on the rest of the world.
I am not used to having such deep thoughts while reading fantasy.
Oh you need to hold that deep thought for the separate post that we’ve asked Jenny to make once she’s finished reading the trilogy – is too good a thought to waste.
Separate post is up! Comment away!
I am rereading The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance). The first time I read it, it was frustrating and so slow and up until the last third, sort of disappointing. The cliffhanger at the end of The Last Graduate overshadowed the entire book. After I finished GE, I realized that I had been reading for action, not looking to see what El might have gotten wrong. Previous books told us she tended to react and not think and her reactions were frequently immature until she did think. Also I viewed a lot of the introspection as just a rehash, which it turned out it wasn’t. She made some major mistakes in understanding that she was having to come to grips with. I waited a week in between reads. It is an entirely different book and I am reading every word and enjoying it. The layering is astounding.
I finally gave up and jumped to the end, which was of course confusing since I’d missed stuff.
I promised a post on that? It’ll be a short one, but a good place to talk spoilers. I’ll get on that.
Oh that would be confusing indeed!
I did enjoy the third personally as it explains many things.
It worked for me but maybe it is because I read all of them in a row.
I am still waiting for my Golden Enclaves library hold, so there’s an entire Jenny post about a specific book that I CAN’T READ YET. 🙁
My fingers are itching.
This week’s Good Books: Menopausing, which I highly, highly, highly recommend, full of good information nobody will tell you including your doctor, and Hate Machine, Eric Carter goes to Vegas, and nothing stays in Vegas (except maybe the corpses and collateral damage).
I’m so far behind on the Eric Carter books. I really need to start over at the beginning and just go straight through.
Listened to The Goblin Emperor (again). Then listened to the new Time Police novel by Jodi Taylor and enjoyed it very much. We started watching Magpie Murders on PBS, which has a story within a story, kind of fun.
I am watching Magpie Murders as I write this. So far, so interesting.
They had an interview with Anthony Horowitz at the end of the first episode. I had no idea he was involved in writing Poirot episodes and Midsomer Murders episodes and Foyle’s War episodes and now Magpie Murders. Amazing. He also has plenty of books to his credit (45???). So now I’m wondering if I should try one of his books. Has anyone here read him?
I tried Horowitz’s “Moonflower Murders”, which my sister enjoyed. For me it was a DNF
I also read his first Alex Rider book for young adults (about a teen spy); think it was an easy read, action packed, not my usual genre. Apparently the Alex Rider series is now an Amazon TV series …
I am re-reading two favorites: The Return of Fitzroy Angursell for the second time, and Polaris Rising for more than the third time…I’ve lost count. I’m also trying to finish Foz Meadows’ Stars Ascendant (is that the right title?) because I enjoyed her latest one so much that I thought I would try this one again. Unfortunately it is losing me just as it did the first time when I DNFd it about a third of the way in. And I’m trying to finish a book I’m enjoying in small pieces, but which I keep putting down for something else because it is written in present tense which I always find difficult. So, nothing new the whole week.
In more optimistic news, I have put the vegetable garden to bed for the winter and set out some rose cuttings I hope will root. They didn’t last year, but roses are like that. My father was much better at this than I am, although I do things exactly as he did. He was one of those annoying people who just stick things in the ground and they grow.
I liked Return of Fitzroy too. Now, I’m eagerly waiting for the new Goddard book coming out in, I think, December. It’s called At the Feet of the Sun, and it’s supposed to be a sequel to Hands of the Emperor.
For the past few weeks, I have been traveling. I came home a few days ago. During my travels, the only reading materials I had with me were on my Kindle. In general, I prefer paper books, but they are too heavy to lug from airport to airport. Besides, in the past couple years, I had amassed quite a few books on my Kindle, some at the recommendations from this forum, others because I liked the descriptions on GoodReads. It was time to try them on, see if any of them worked for me.
I did enjoy some of them, while many others were DNFs for one reason or another. A couple I abandoned with a provision: I might try to finish them later. Overall, it was a successful inroads into my digital TBR pile.
The books I finished:
Aliette de Bodard’s Of Dragons, Feasts, and Murders was a dark tale of dragons and murders, as advertised by the title. It was a quick and absorbing read, like everything by this author.
Janet Kagan’s Mirabile was an oldie, published in 1991. This was a collection of short stories united by the same characters, although the stories follow each other in chronological order. The action in every story takes place on a distant planet of Mirabile, which makes the entire book science fiction. Of a sort: sweet and quiet. Not the adjectives usually applied to science fiction.
There are no battles and no space flights in the stories. The only science is biology. The protagonist is a biologist and geneticist, and her main job is to keep the Earth native species the colonists had brought to the planet of Mirabile and the Mirabile’s native biota to work in harmony. Of course, crises arise now and again, and every crisis warrants its own story. There are no villains there, only good people against nature. In a way, the entire book is an idyll. But the protagonist is a wonderful female scientist, capable and warmhearted, and it was a pleasure to read about her adventures.
Marissa Doyle’s The Forgery Furore was a lighthearted historical regency mystery. It didn’t warrant much of a review. Very little action. Vague and flat characters. Not a lot in the way of conflict either. But despite it all, it was a pleasant, empty-headed read. One big plus: it was short.
Mirabile is great. I’m glad you liked it.
I loved Mirabile, picked it up a fabulous used book store in the S.F. Bay Area when I was younger. Formative on what my taste is towards in Sci fi and short stories.
I have actually read something new this week that I think some of the Argh people will like. The Pirate of Fathoms Deep, by Megan Derr, is a MM fantasy about an ex-pirate and the High Commander of the Empire’s armed forces. They’re both older men who are tired of fighting and even though they start the book mad at each other they talk things out like grown ups fairly early on. I think I missed some of the world building because this was the second book in a series and I hadn’t read the first, but that didn’t affect the story at all.
This week I read the other 4 plays by Ken Ludwig that I’d decided to pass along; reconsidered and decided to keep ‘Shakespeare in Hollywood.’
Also re-read ‘Ngaio Marsh: Her Life In Crime’ by Joanne Drayton, which is not the best bio in the world but there aren’t a ton to choose from, and reminded me of just how amazingly much theater work Marsh did. Also re-read ‘Died in the Wool.’
Read A.L. Lester’s sweet new F/F Celtic Myths story, ‘Sleeping Dogs,’ featuring a writer & a mechanic brought together by an injured fox cub.
DNF’d ‘Twice a Quinceanera’ by Yamile Saied Mendez, F/M alleged romance which I really wanted to like, but I just cannot with a law-school salutatorian who can’t remember the way to her wedding venue, use her nav, or keep gas in her car. Also at 20% in we’d been reintroduced to the one who got away, but most of the heat was between him and the co-worker who wants to get in his pants.
Finally bowed to the weight of recommendations and read ‘A Suitable Consort’ by R. Cooper, and OKAY YOU WERE RIGHT I liked it a lot 🙂 The POV character’s cluelessness was indeed credible and the progress of the relationship very well paced.
Another good read: ‘Snowed In With Benefits’ by Misha Horne, a forced-proximity career-turning-points bad-first-impressions M/M featuring a trainwreck rock star and a stifled balladeer. There’s mild Daddy kink with spanking, but this is mostly about two guys who think they ought to hate each other discovering that they don’t, and then figuring out how they might be good for each other. Recommended.
A few other oddments in the reading mix but I’ll close with ‘What Abigail Did That Summer’ by Ben Aaronovitch, which I finally plucked off my wishlist when the latest Rivers of London title went on sale. 🙂 Excellent novella for those who like non-violent magical creepiness with talking foxes.
I’m so happy that you liked A Suitable Consort. And I’ll have to try Snowed In with Benefits.
Snowed in with Benefits is currently $0.99 on Aust Amazon.
It’s on KU so I saved myself $0.99. LOL!
I must have missed the sale. Rats.
I have been too busy trying to recover from leaving all my meds at home while cat sitting in the suburbs. Then I locked my keys in the house when I tried to go home to get my meds and the rest of my food. So I haven’t had much time to read. But I did start Heart Breaker by Sarah MacLean. This is the third in her Hell’s Belles series and, so far, I am enjoying it. Some of the talents of the gang of female avengers seem a little improbable to a person who doesn’t know a lot about history, but the gang of them banding together to upend the injustices done to women is wonderful. And the romance looks like it is going to be good.
You folks recommended Mrs Pollifax, and you were right.
The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax arrived today. I chugged it. Now I want to take the train down to DC, sign up with Mr Carstairs, and . . . . On second thought, it will be better if I just order the other books in the series.
Cannot go wrong with Emily Pollifax!
I own all the books and re-read them probably once a year. I’m glad you liked yours. I wonder if Dorothy has travelled to all the places she writes about? It would be deductible. Hmmmm.
Lots of reccs this week! I continued my Nancy Martin Blackbird Sisters mystery series read from last week, and noticed, among the recommendations listed on one of the back covers, a recommendation from, yes, Jenny Crusie! I’ve also been reading one of Marjorie Liu’s contemporary paranormal romance series, Dirk & Steele, about an agency of paranormal talents that help other paranormals. Each book features a romance between a different M/F pair of talents who face some sort of life threatening danger as a result of being paranormal. They are interesting, if intense. In addition, I’ve been making my way through the High Society Lady Detective series written by Sara Rosett which is set in 1920s England. The first two have been entertaining so the third book is already downloaded on my Nook. Finally, someone here mentioned Nev March’s mystery series approvingly enough that I moved them up Mt. TBR. Thanks for the recc. I motored quickly through the first and will be starting the second soon. Next, at the very top of my Mt. TBR is Daniel O’Malley’s just released Blitz, the third book in the Rook Files, an urban fantasy series. As the official blurb says
the Rook Files series is about a “secret organization tasked with protecting Britain from supernatural threats.” Blitz follows the fabulous Rook and Stiletto. Here’s hoping Blitz is equally good. Happy reading to everybody!
I was interested by your description of Marjorie Liu’s series, but when I went to Amazon to take a look and maybe to buy, the first book of the series on Kindle was $9.99, which I think is too steep for a kindle book published in 2005. I’ll pass. Pity. I wanted to try it.
It does seem kind of high. Too bad. I am getting them through my library via Hoopla e-books. Any chance you could try your local library?
I thought I was rereading Eclipse Bay series by by Jayne Ann Krentz but turns out I have only read 1 of the 3 books before. It is a good little series although not her best. There are some things that are repetitive and she does too much recapping. Good overall, though.
Also watched Catherine Called Birdy on amazon prime – loved it. And Rosaline on Hulu – loved it even more than Birdy. Rosaline is Romeo’s ex before Juliet. Rosaline is played by Kaitlyn Dever who did a fabulous job as Loretta McCready on Justified.
Congrats Jenny on three books finished!
This week I read Ten Thousand Stiches, the second book by Olvia Atwater which was a riff on the Cinderella story with an actual maid and a faerie godfather. I ended up rathe rliking it and I appreciated the notion of being “decently angry” as a desirable quality.
Plus read a bunch of Harry / Draco fanfic which was just fun.
I too found 10,000 Stitches well worth reading. The first book in the series (Half a Soul?) was quite different in many respects, but also fun to read.
I liked both, but I really appreciated the novelty of having a maid as a heroine. The only other instance I can think of was one of Rose Lerner’s historicals.
I’m reading Terminal Peace, book 3 of the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse by Jim C. Hines. Very clever and funny, as usual, although not my favorite of the ones in the series. Definitely all worth reading, though.
Oh, and just a housekeeping note. For some reason, the Wednesday post email didn’t show up until Thursday and this one never showed up at all, although I got the “spoilers” one just fine. No idea why.
Same here, and we had a little discussion about it. It’s very odd.
I just finished Nona the Ninth, and while I adored it… it is definitely a book that needs to be read as part of its series. Holy poot.
I am on vacation, and have always been bad at relaxing. There is just so much to DO. Anyway, I have had an ear bud in for most of the week, have even started wearing them out in public. I am a much nicer person at the grocery store now.
And I am tearing through Charlie Adhara’s m/m werewolf mystery series. There are 5 about Cooper and Park, a werewolf and human team in a special branch of the FBI. They are all on Hoopla, which is great, although the last one is going to have to wait til next month as I am out of borrows. Anyway, they have just the right rhythm for listening. I don’t really know how to explain it, but the pace is good for me to work along with. And I am enjoying the slow burn character growth. The mystery writing isn’t the strongest, but I am not really there for that, so it’s ok.
I’ve downloaded the first one but haven’t got to it – I will catch up soon, I promise.
No, it’s fine. I honestly can’t tell if you will like them. It might be a case of right book/voice and right time. I don’t know if I will buy them or revisit them, but the rhythm is working for me right now. And it’s mostly about the cerebral building of a slow burn relationship, not mystery or action, which is catnip for me.
Actually, apparently I’m reading the second one but what the heck. Enjoying the flirtation quite a bit. Stay tuned.
Reading
Shakespeare and Squirrels, Christopher Moore…middle of it so far good but not as hooked as I have with many of his other novels including this one’s predecessor…but I felt this way about Sacre Blue and when I finished that one it all just hit me and now i love it, so I will withhold full judgment until then. Started The Mare and Through The Glass Darkly but am in need of humor and fantasy right now. Re listening to Storm Warning for a comfort listen.