Lucy's (Sibyx) Quarterly Report: Autumn into Winter 2019

NOTA BENE: I've contemplated a name change for yonks. I am Sibylline now, similar, but not quite the same!

Winter snooze mode:


Sometimes the most we see of the sun all day!

Currently Reading in December 2019



new BBG White Oleander Janet Fitch contemp fic
new Oath of Fealty Elizabeth Moon fantasy

131. ♬ The Secrets of Wishtide Kate Saunders ***1/2
132. ✔ The Kingdom of the Cats(3 of 3) Phyllis Gotlieb sf sp/op ****
133. ✔ ROOT Like You'd Understand Anyway Jim Shepard ss ****
134. ♬ Black Sheep Georgette Heyer ***1/2
135. ♬The Talisman Ring Georgette Heyer ****
136. ♬ A Man of Some Repute Elizabeth Edmondson cosy mys ***1/2
137. ♬ A Question of Inheritance Elizabeth Edmondson cosy mys ***1/2
138. ♬ A Matter of Loyalty Elizabeth Edmondson cosy mys ***1/2
139. ✔ROOT The Heat of the Sun Sean O'Faolain SS ***1/2
140. ✔ ROOT The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll Alvaro Mutis contemp/hist fiction contemp fic ****1/2
141. new No-One Land Henry Ralph Carse essays ****
142. ♬ Arabella Georgette Heyer hist rom ***1/2
143. ♬ A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce classic fic ****1/2
144. ♬ Prima Facie Lindsey Davis hist mys ***1/2
145. Dream Sender David Huddle poems ****

Pearled in 2019
1. ROOT (Pearl-100) The Mandarins Simone de Beauvoir (January)
2. library A Court of Mist and Fury Sarah J. Maas YA fantasy
3.✔ROOT Gibbon's Decline and Fall Sherri S.
Tepper dyst (sped thru, got the gist) (May)
4. ✔ROOT The Russian Debutante's Handbook Gary Shteyngart (June)
5. ✔ROOT At the Gate of All Wonder Kevin McIlvoy
6. ✔ROOT The Wrong Set Angus Wilson (July)
7. A Map of Time Felix J. Palma
8. ♬ The Witches of New York Ami McKay urban fantasy
9. ✔ A Blight of Mages Karen Miller fantasy TOO LONG and repetitive!
10. new Dragon Prince Melanie Rawn fantasy
11. ♬ Absolution by Murder Peter Tremayne hist mys
12. ✔ Four Letters of Love Niall Williams contemp fic

*BBG=Bridgeside Book Group

Here is a link to my ROOT thread: ROOT 2019

Series Tally 2019

New this year
Pelbar Cycle(7) Paul O. Williams NEXT UP (6) The Sword of Forbearance
Lady Hardcastle mysteries (4) T. E. Kinsey NEXT UP (3) A Picture of Murder (Audio)
Galaxy Outlaws (16.5) Listening to #2
Three Californias Kim Stanley Robinson NEXT UP The Gold Coast

Continuing in 2019
Cass Neary(3) Elizabeth Hand NEXT UP (2) Available Dark
Inspector Gamache (15) Louse PennyNEXT UP (15) A Better Man

Will continue this year, I hope!
Paksenarrion's World (7) Elizabeth Moon NEXT UP: Oath of Fealty (4)
The Craft Sequence(6) Max Gladstone NEXT UP: (2)Two Serpents Rise
Terra Ignota(3) Ada Palmer NEXT UP:(3) The Will to Battle

May continue?
Oxford Medieval Mysteries (1 of 6) Ann Swinfen
Roma sub Rosa (12) Steven Saylor NEXT UP (2) Arms of Nemesis

Caught up! or Finished!
Ungrukh (3) Phyllis Gotlieb (3) also known as The Kingdom of the Cats
Matthew Shardlake(7) C.J. Sansom DONE (7) Tombland
Flavia Alba (8) Lindsey Davis
Sebastian St. Cyr(14) C.S. Harris Who Slays the Wicked (14)
Spiritwalker Trilogy Kate Elliott (3)
Ruth Galloway Elly Griffiths (11)
The Divine Cities Robert Jackson Bennett
The Mortal Instruments (6) Cassandra Clare
Flavia de Luce (10)
Her Royal Spyness (12)
Foreigner (20) (I read three a year! Done 19 now)
Wayfarers (3) Becky Chambers Record of a Spaceborn Few (3)

Books Read in September

93. new The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon contemp fic ***1/2
94. ♬ Where the Dead Lie C.S. Harris hist mys ****
95. E The Untethered Soul Michael A. Singer meditation ****1/2
96. new Lud-in-the-Mist Hope Mirrlees fantasy ****
97. ♬ Why Kill the Innocent? C. S. Harris hist mys ****
98. E The Flowers of Vashnoi (Vorkosigan) Lois Bujold sf sp/op ***1/2
99. E The Orphans of Raspay(Penric #7) Lois Bujold fantasy ***1/2
100. ROOT Thirteen Moons Charles Frazier contemp fic ****
101. ♬ Who Slays the Wicked C.S. Harris hist mys ****
102. new Duct Tape Parenting Vicki Hoefle parenting ***1/2
103. new The Wild Shore (Three Californias)(1 of 3) Kim Stanley Robinson sf dystopic ***1/2
104. new BBG The Overstory Richard Powers contemp fic ****1/2
105. ♬ The Cater Street Hangman Anne Perry hist mys ***

Stats
Total: 13
Men: 5
Women: 8
M/W writing together: 0
Non-fiction: 2
Contemp/Classic/Hist Fiction: 3
SF/F: 4
Mystery(inc hist mys): 4
YA or J: 0
Poetry: 0
New author: 3
Reread: 0

Book origins/type:
From library or borrowed: 0
Audio: 4
New (to my library): 5
e-book: 2
Off Shelf/ROOT: 1
Pearled: 0

September Books In
54. The Appalachian Book of the Dead Dale Neal
55. The Wild Shore Kim Stanley Robinson READ
56. The Gold Coast Kim Stanley Robinson
57. Pacific Edge Kim Stanley Robinson

E
6. The Orphans of Raspay Lois Bujold READ

audio
22. Absolution by Murder Peter Tremayne
23. The Cater Street Hangman Anne Perry
24.Tombland C.J. Sansom

Housekeeping:
IN in September = 8
physical books (for year) IN=57
e-books (for year)=6
audio (ditto) = 24
ALL IN: 87
TOTAL OUT=19

Books read in October

106. new My Ex-Life Stephen McCauley contemp fic ****
107. ♬Monstrous Regiment Terry Pratchett fantasy ****
108. new The Breaking of Northwall(Pelbar 1) Paul O. Williams sf dystopic ****1/2
109. ♬ Snobbery With Violence Marion Chesney ***
110. E The Ends of the Circle (Pelbar 2) Paul O. Williams sf dystopic ****
111. ♬Powder and Patch Georgette Heyer ***
112. new Last Night in Montreal Emily St. John Mandel contemp fic ***1/2
113. E The Dome in the Forest (Pelbar 3) Paul O. Williams sf dystopic ****
114. ✔ROOT Sula Toni Morrison contemp fic ****
115. new A Judgment of Dragons Phyllis Gotlieb ****

Stats
Total: 10
Men: 5
Women: 5
M/W writing together: 0
Non-fiction: 0
Contemp/Classic/Hist Fiction: 4
SF/F: 4
Mystery(inc hist mys): 1
YA or J: 0
Poetry: 0
New author: 3
Reread: 0

Book origins/type:
From library or borrowed: 0
Audio: 3
New (to my library): 4
e-book: 2
Off Shelf/ROOT: 1
Pearled: 0

October books IN
59. C.J. Cherryh
60. Spinning Silver Naomi Novik
61. Children of Time Adrian Tchaikovsky kxmas
62. Children of Ruin Adrian Tchaikovsky kxmas
63. Shadow Captain Alastair Reynolds kxmas

E
7. The Dome in the Forest Paul O. Williams READ
8. The Fall of the Shell Paul O. Williams
9. An Ambush of Shadows Paul O. Williams

Audio:
25. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce (read by C. Firth)

OUT in Oct=

Housekeeping:
IN in October = 5
physical books (for year) IN=63
e-books (for year)=9
audio (ditto) = 25
ALL IN: 97
TOTAL OUT=19

Books Read in November

116. E The Fall of the Shell Paul O. Williams sf dystopic ****
117. E An Ambush of Shadows (5) Paul O. Williams ****
118. ♬ Tombland C.J. Sansom hist mys
119. E Daring Greatly Brené Brown psychology *****
120. ♬ Devil's Cub Georgette Heyer hist rom ****
121. ♬ The Grand Sophy Georgette Heyer hist rom ****
122. ♬ The Unknown Ajax Georgette Heyer hist rom *****
123. ✔ Emperors, Swords, Pentacles Phyllis Gotlieb sf sp/op ***1/2
124. ♬ Frederica Georgette Heyer hist rom ****
125. new Bitterblue(3 of 3) Kristen Cashore fantasy ***
126. ♬ Cotillion Georgette Heyer hist rom ****
127. ♬ Venetia Georgette Heyer hist rom ****
128. ♬ The Nonesuch Georgette Heyer hist rom ***1/2
129. lib Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders hist fic ****1/2
130. ♬ The Quiet Gentleman Georgette Heyer hist rom

Stats
Total: 15
Men: 3
Women: 12
M/W writing together: 0
Non-fiction: 1
Contemp/Classic/Hist Fiction: 9
SF/F: 4
Mystery(inc hist mys): 1
YA or J:
Poetry: 0
New author: 0
Reread: 8

Book origins/type:
From library or borrowed: 1
Audio: 9
New (to my library): 1
e-book: 3
Off Shelf/ROOT: 0
Pearled:0

New books:
64. Bitterblue Kristin Cashore YA fantasy

E
9. Daring Greatly Brené Brown READ
10. The Sword of Forbearance Paul O. Williams

Audio
26. Devil's Cub Georgette Heyer READ
27. The Unknown Ajax Georgette Heyer READ
28. Frederica Georgette Heyer READ
29. Powder and Patch Georgette Heyer READ
30. These Old Shades Georgette Heyer READ
31. Cotillion Georgette Heyer READ
32. Venetia Georgette Heyer READ
33. Prima Facie Ruth Downie READ

OUT in Nov

Housekeeping:
IN in November = 1
physical books (for year) IN= (64)
e-books (for year)= (10)
audio (ditto) = (33)
ALL IN: (107)

TOTAL OUT=(21)

Books Read in December
131. ♬ The Secrets of Wishtide Kate Saunders ***1/2
132. ✔ The Kingdom of the Cats(3 of 3) Phyllis Gotlieb sf sp/op ****
133. ✔ ROOT Like You'd Understand Anyway Jim Shepard ss ****
134. ♬ Black Sheep Georgette Heyer ***1/2
135. ♬The Talisman Ring Georgette Heyer ****
136. ♬ A Man of Some Repute Elizabeth Edmondson cosy mys ***1/2
137. ♬ A Question of Inheritance Elizabeth Edmondson cosy mys ***1/2
138. ♬ A Matter of Loyalty Elizabeth Edmondson cosy mys ***1/2
139. ✔ROOT The Heat of the Sun Sean O'Faolain SS ***1/2
140. ✔ ROOT The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll Alvaro Mutis contemp/hist fiction contemp fic *****
141. new No-One Land Henry Ralph Carse essays ****
142. ♬ A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce classic fic ****1/2
143. ♬ Prima Facie Lindsey Davis hist mys ***1/2
144. Dream Sender David Huddle poems ****

Stats
Total: 14
Men: 6
Women: 8
M/W writing together: 0
Non-fiction: 1
Contemp/Classic/Hist Fiction: 4
SF/F: 1
Mystery(inc hist mys and hist rom): 7
YA or J: 0
Poetry: 1
New author: 4
Reread: 1

Book origins/type:
From library or borrowed: 0
Audio: 8
New (to my library): 1 (paper only)
e-book: 0
Off Shelf/ROOT: 2
Pearled:0

December BOOKS IN
65. The Dutch House Ann Patchett
66. The Debatable Land Graham Robb
67. This is How You Lose the Time War Amal El-Mohtar
68. Shadow Captain Alastair Reynolds
69. Elysium Fire Alastair Reynolds
70. Where I'm Reading From Tim Parks
71. Out of My Head: On the Trail of Consciousness Tim Parks
72. Feeding Your Demons Tsultrim Allione
73. The Bear Comes Home Rafi Zabor
74. Pitch Dark Renata Adler
75. Alice James: A Biography Jean Strouse Read!! DNK
76. The Unpossessed Tess Slesinger
77. Against A Dark Background Iain Banks
78. Wood Whys Michael Snyder

E
11.

Audio
34. The Talisman Ring Georgette Heyer READ
35. Arabella Georgette Heyer READ
36. The Quiet Gentleman Georgette Heyer READ
37.A Man of Some Repute Elizabeth Edmondson READ
38. A Question of Inheritance Elizabeth Edmondson READ
39. A Matter of Loyalty Elizabeth Edmondson Anselm Audley READ
40. Pandora's Box Lindsey Davis
41. Black Sheep Georgette Heyer READ
42. Prima Facie Ruth Downie READ
43. Rising Strong Brene Brown

OUT in Dec=

Housekeeping:
IN in December: P=14 / E=0 / A= 10
physical books (for year) IN=78
e-books (for year)= 11
audio (ditto) =43
ALL IN: 132

TOTAL OUT= 30

Books Read in 2019: 145
Paper: 80
E: 12
Audio: 53

But not THIS one! *muuuaaaaaahaaahaaa*

Happy new one

Happy new thread, Lucy!

>1 sibylline: The cuties are very cute together :-)

Happy New Thread, Lucy!

Happy new thread, Lucy. Love the doggie photo :)

Happy New Thread, Lucy! Also love the doggy photo, but the cats deserve equal time!

We walk our dogs down along the Delaware River, where we can pay a visit to a little cormorant community. I like them.

Hello to the cuties!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

104. contemp fic *****
The Overstory Richard Powers

Powers' novel awakens all the misery and fury I keep damped down and I am dreading writing comments that appear even halfway rational, so if you are a scoffer, do me and you a favor and just stop reading right here.
I'm tempted to throw out a superlative, something I don't do: An Important Book, maybe even a The Hugely Important Book, but I will spare Powers because . . . (imagine I'm whispering now) he's right and it is already far too late and nobody listens to anybody anymore. The point of no return was a while ago, so saying, "Oh I don't believe in climate change" is kind of like saying "Oh I don 't believe in gravity." And keep in mind IF YOU ARE WRONG you can't opt out! Even if you're a megatrillionaire you can't leave this house for a better one.

Not only do we live here, the way too many billions of us, but Powers makes the point that a legal argument can be made that if we can call a corporation a person, we had better understand the planet is a person too, not to mention the trees and other complex life forms we blithely destroy an acre a second.

Anyway, the story is a sprawler - about seven or eight protagonists -among them, a computer genius, a scientist, a lawyer, a vietnam vet and we see each person grow up, and each have an awakening. Most, not all, of them end up working together out west working to save some redwoods, but the battle goes on everywhere. The central (to me) figure is Patricia Westerford, a Rachel Carson of trees, whose work influences and affects all of the other characters.

This is a painful read. Powers helps us see by accompanying these people on their own life journeys that we need a new paradigm -- one possibility is to think in a longer slower way about time, "tree time", and that our individual efforts at reducing footprint etc are valiant and worthy, but the bigger task is to shift the majority mind as humans tend to do whatever everyone else is doing. (In our case, nothing) unless powerfully shown otherwise. Can this novel do that? Not by itself, no, but Powers' attempt is valiant. *****

Now I've gone a little nuts adding books to read -- as the deadline to finish The Overstory (for my book group this week) bore down I decided I couldn't pick up a new book until I finished. I might not continue with all of them! A variety of "fare" -- light, medium, dark.

>16 sibylline: I've noticed The Overstory being mentioned in several of the threads I follow and looking at the list of threads mentioning it makes its popularity or at least its comment worthiness even more evident!

Happy new thread, Lucy. xx

I have The Overstory on the shelf and I will read it even though I suspect it will be a very, very tough read. Thanks for your fine comments.

>16 sibylline: superb review Lucy. Well said. I need to move this one up in my queue.

>16 sibylline: superb review Lucy. Well said. I need to move this one up in my queue.

>16 sibylline: Well said, Lucy. No scoffing here - I agree, except I continue to hope it's not too late. We're pretty clever when we put our collective minds to it. Will we?

105. ♬ hist mys ***
The Cater Street Hangman Anne Perry

106. contemp fic ****
My Ex-Life Stephen McCauley

Immensely enjoyable and strangely apropos for me as something so similar has happened in my own family, with my brother and his ex-wife, so that it was almost eerie to read about the two of main characters, the ex-es, deciding to share a property. It's somewhat courageous too, as McCauley is willing to blur the lines between what relationships are all about, say, maybe you only want to have sex with one gender or the other, but really you prefer your closest friends be the other, and, maybe you would even prefer to live with your closest friend not the people you have sex with. We tend to want everything so neat and tidy and it isn't. Plenty else is going on, issues with the adolescent daughter of a second marriage, for example, and McCauley isn't aiming for great literary heights (or depths, or whatever) but he has his finger on the pulse of the current moment. Charming and fun and in an in-between place of not hard to read but not shallow either. ****

*waving hi*

Oh, Lucy, you put me in an attract/run far away situation with The Overstory. I have a copy on Kindle though, so because I love Powers, I'll get to it. Thank you for your review!
Listening to the Perry might be fun. When I was reading her, I liked the Monk books more than the Pitts ones. I see that you're pretty neutral about them too.
Meanwhile, wouldn't it be easy if life were neat and tidy?!?

10. Pearled
fantasy
Dragon Prince Melanie Rawn

Rawn comes up on lists of "good" fantasy and I've been sort of systematically checking out anyone who makes it onto a list . . . but she's just a tad too romanticky for me, a bit too clichéd. Not terrible, just not quite there for me. It's possible I would read Rawn if I really really needed to just get away in a not very challenging way. I take it as a good sign that right now I need more.

>16 sibylline: Good for you, Lucy. I'm glad you didn't pull your punches on climate change.

Change deniers are kind of like anti-vaxxers: no amount of evidence-based data will change their minds.
My take: back in the 1970's, I worked with a group at Ocean Chemistry, an Environment Canada department.

CS Wong was our leader and a very insightful research scientist. He had our group monitoring a number of parameters and the whole group of us could *already* see that changes had occurred that affected climate on a global level. Since then, subsequent data have contributed to these earlier discoveries and the scientific credibility for current climate models has never faltered, based on the original hypotheses.

I'm hopeful commonsense will prevail at the political level. And yes, these changes are so entrenched, that reversal is "a new challenge" for the scientific community (except adequate long term funding for such research has never entered any federal mandate).

Go figure. And no sign in Canada of such thoughts despite our being about 2 weeks away from a federal election. We have a bunch of self-interested idiots for party-leaders campaigning.

>28 sibylline: Melanie Rawn's earlier books are so-so if certain romantic tropes aren't appealing in themselves, I found them mostly silly, but the Glass Thorns series starting with Touchstone is so different that it seems to come from an entirely different mindset. As a series GT isn't altogether even, but it builds and gets somewhere.

>29 SandyAMcPherson: I was at (high) school in Boston for the first Earth Day! My god-father (Sterling E. Lanier--he has has a page here on LT) was super-aware of the issues also and made sure I was aware at a young age. Hal Clement was a chemistry teacher at my school then too, also super aware.

>30 quondame: I will take that under advisement. Certainly Kate Elliott has recently proved to me that some series "catch" with the author as well as the reader.

Hi Lucy! That is all.

107. ♬ fantasy ****
Monstrous Regiment Terry Pratchett

It's an abomination unto Nuggin! In secret Polly joins the Borogravian military to search for her missing brother. Turns out she's not the only one. Cameo of Vimes too. Delightful. I'll never look at a rolled up pair of socks the same way ever again. I love Stephen Briggs as a reader and I love Terry Pratchett!!

11. Pearled
♬ hist mys
Absolution by Murder Peter Tremayne

The problem is likely mine, here, I just can't get into the convolutions of the controversy or Fidelma. I did listen for a couple of hours worth. Seventh century Britain and Ireland, Sister Fidelma is a follower of Columba and is caught up in the debates with Rome. A lot is at stake for women as the Roman view is for full celibacy and no participation of women in any rites or political deliberations. This is a period that normally would be of huge interest to me, so I don't know why it's not catching. It's all just "okay" -- narrator and the writing. Not capturing my attention and imagination sufficiently.

After romping with Ruth Galloway I am finding it hard to get into any new series, I'm trying, but so far no go.

Today I'm preparing for a trip to the other side of the country, Ashland, Oregon, to visit with our daughter who is at school out there. I'm working hard to get the right books on the audio and the ipad mini and vowing to only take two physical books with me. The books on my "currently reading" list aren't really suitable for a trip, so I have to do some thinking. The best, too, is a book you don't mind leaving behind.

Ha ha. I don't like flying much so today is a day full of anxiety. Dogs are already delivered to the kennel which helps make it real, although it is so wrenching to hand them over. Miss Po especially does the big eyes/puppy face. Fin loves the people who run the kennel, so he is perfectly happy.

Enjoy the visit with your daughter, Lucy. I hope your travels are uneventful.

>31 sibylline: Hal Clement was a chemistry teacher at my school
That's pretty cool. What was it like having a sci-fi author teach chemistry? Did he make amazing analogies? How did global climate play into his teaching?

>35 sibylline:, check your comments on your wall. I had a suggestion for your e-books...

Have a lovely time in Ashland! Beautiful, beautiful place.

Hope you have smooth travel and a wonderful trip! I know you'll enjoy being with your daughter and Oregon should be lovely at this time of year, so that part should be taken care of :)

>31 sibylline: >37 SandyAMcPherson: Hal Clement's work still remains high in my favorites, while many others I read before leaving home haven't held up nearly so well.

>41 quondame: You almost convince me to try SF. Not my usual genre!

>42 SandyAMcPherson: There are lots of fantasy in space sold as SF, the major reason I see them as the same genre in different dresses. Some books I'll put firmly in the SF bin, but alien causes issues on contemporary earth isn't that different from fae prince causes issues in medieval earth.

Safe travels, Lucy, and enjoy!

Lucy, just wondering how I can deliver the e-books? We will be away for a few days (Thanksgiving here), so wanted to fulfill my offer.

No worries. No hurry Sandy. I’m a bit chaotic at the moment.

OK. I thought you were imminently about to depart... and cut off from being able to upload anything.

108. dystopic ****1/2
The Breaking of Northwall Paul O. Williams

My spousal unit found out about this series somehow or other and ordered the first book. It's a thousand years into the future after a huge nuclear holocaust, the remnant populations, gathered in small tribal groups are reaching a turning point, large enough to start rubbing up against one another. In this first novel Williams introduces three major tribal groups near one another and in conflict, each group with quite different beliefs and folkways. Jestak, from the Pelbar tribe, a group that lives within huge fortresses and primarily governed by women, doesn't fit. He had been sent East to learn about the eastern coastal culture and beyond, but when he returned he wouldn't talk about his experience. First he was punished, then banished to the farthest north of the walled fortresses (Northwall) but he doesn't stay. There is a fourth tribal culture, not far away and he is aware they are going to try invading and wants to get the three groups to cooperate. OK so that is the plot. What makes the story work so well is that the characters are very engaging, the writing is straightforward and the different cultural choices are intriguing. I was on a trip and couldn't wait for book 2 and so continued by E. book, but will likely purchase the set! That's how much I love it!

109. hist mys ***
♬Snobbery With Violence Marion Chesney

Less said the better. I adore Davina Porter as a reader and so am trying all the books she's read. I wanted so much to love it, but the characters, the mystery and everything were too improbable and yet predictable . . . I do like the Captain, but I doubt I will continue. A pleasant but slightly boring listen, except for Davina, of course. ***

110.
E The Ends of the Circle (2) Paul O. Williams

In book 2 we meet another young man, Stel, who doesn't fit in. He has married into the most conservative family and they have decided that he must go--permanently. As he realizes this and realizes that either his wife either knows and is letting it happen or that she doesn't know and won't believe him, he decides, after almost dying while cutting ice, that he must leave. So he goes. He simply heads westward. His wife decides to follow him when she does figure out what happened. They both have great adventures, meet more tribal groups, some on the verge of extinction, some very warped and weird. That's the plot. It's lots of fun and I raced through it. On to book 3! ****

I'm back from Oregon -- changed the top photo to show Mount Shasta -- what a stirring sight! Good trip. AND I have my computer back all fixed. I've been having screen problems and they replaced that whole piece. Still under warranty thank goodness!

Apologies for the long silences on your threads. I can't write on either the ipad mini or the phone for long.

Welcome back -- glad you had a good trip!

Welcome home, Lucy!

Ben tornata in casa, Lucy, and what a beautiful shot to open the thread with.

♬
111. hist rom.***
Powder and Patch Georgette Heyer

I'm reading (listening to) Heyer more or less in chronological order and catching up on ones I missed. P&P is a slight contribution. I tired long ago of the simpering heroine and the masterful man meme, but Heyer can still amuse. The best characters are secondary, Lady Marma-something and the like. I look forward to the relative subtleties of the later novels! ***

112. contemp fic ***1/2
Last Night in Montreal Emily St. John Mandel

A young girl (7) is abducted by her father from her house just over the border from the US. A detective is hired to look for her. For almost ten years she and her father roam the United States and evade capture. Mandel writes so well and so evocatively and the characters are strong, but . . . overall there were too many improbables in it for me, too much silence. She handles the multiple POV's deftly and the back and forth in time as well -- that is characteritic, I expect of her style of weaving a story. The ending is a bit over the top. But after the sheer joy of Station Eleven I will be patient with Mandel. ***1/2

Glad to see you had a good trip, Lucy. And some satisfying reading as well. I can't decide whether I can "take" The Overstory or not. I feel I know how bad things are, and if I'm wrong, it's only because they are actually worse, and that's beyond depressing...

113. E sf dystopic ****
The Dome in the Forest(3) Paul O. Williams

Every year the Shumai witness a spike appearing out of the ground and it has become a ritual to go watch. Stel accompanies them this time and is convinced it is something mechanical. It is. Inside there are people who have lived there since the Great Fire. They raise the spike to see if the radiation has abated. What they don't know is that the spike itself is so heavily irradiated that it is useless. They are in an edge area that is still mildly dangerous, though. They have evolved a very small creepy society, very sciency, genetically engineered, but just as the dome itself is on a cliff that is eroding, their culture, too, is compromised.
And, of course, Stel ends up smack dab in the middle of it all. Some great new characters though and another good story. I love how Williams thinks up these cultures then gives them a big problem, juxtaposes them with the Pelbar culture, which, although it has many flaws, seems to have a believable (enough) resilience and flexibility to take on and solve the problem. ****

>57 laytonwoman3rd: It is an upsetting book in many ways, but weirdly hopeful too. There is a "life will go on" undercurrent to it -- although the life might not include us! I am very glad I read it.

And once again apologies for not being here other than to pop in a book that I've finished. I've been running around like mad, but things are looking to settle a bit now. I hope to get around to see what folks have been reading!

I am nuts about this Pelbar Cycle all you sf/dystopic fans! A treat and a half!

114. contemp fic ****1/2
Sula Toni Morrison

In what I think of as true novella, Morrison examines a turbulent, even tragic, life, through the eyes, mainly of her closest friend. Sula and Nel recognize some kinship, a mix of opposites and similarities combined (mostly the former). What both share are that they are observant, love language, love movement. But Sula is different--she seems to have no moral compass, she is oblivious to social cues and niceties, she is "like a man" in that she pursues what she wants without thinking about consequences. In a black woman in the early 20th century, this made you into a pariah, at best, a worse, a witch. There is so much depth in so few pages, I can hardly think what to mention, the moving way Morrison writes about the way the black neighborhood of Medallion, Ohio resists all despair by simply ignoring it and going on. But it is also a culture that is dying, a community that will disappear in the second half of the century. Today, a Sula would find a place in this more disconnected and amoral world, for better or worse. Another is the way so many characters are entwined, have witnessed or just "know" things about one another. There are hints of forces that lie beneath the surface of "normal" life, call it magic if you will, but it's entangled with nature and with life energy than any sort of "magic" in the wave a wand sort. Beautiful book! ****1/2

115. sf classic ****
A Judgment of Dragons Phyllis Gotlieb

Complex and seriously fun. The main characters, Prandra and Khreng, sentient felines, the females capable of powerful telepathy are not cuddly! Their origins are mysterious too . . . On assignment for the Galactic Federation, a pair end up in Poland, in a shtetl, in the middle ages and in a predicament that only the rabbi can help them get out of. That's the first story. Oh and the dragons are . . . really scary . . . and not really dragons exactly the way we've come to think of them. These entities live out in the universe. I have no doubt that Cherryh is a disciple. ****

>61 sibylline: Oh, I am SO happy that you loved this! The last LTer I referred it to did not. This book is obviously several short stories mashed together, but the next two books are actual full-length novels, and Prandra and Khreng continue to rock! I love this series.

>62 ronincats: Hi! When I finished writing this review I went over to catch up on your thread (that plate with the cat and the daffodil is just so wonderful! Love it! Love it!) and just as I got to the end, ready to write to you, stuff started happening at this end, people arriving, dogs barking etcetera and I am only just now getting back to LT!

I loved it! Like Cherryh, (or Hodgell) you've gotta do some work! Story isn't handed to you on a plate.

So I'm going to go over to your thread and say hi.

Hi Lucy. I'm back from a small side trip (totally unexpected) and had very little time to get to LT and see what's happening on the threads in the 75er group.

I did post a little here and there and now have discovered BBs all over the place!

Lots of snow here the last 2 days (for us, not like in Vermont) and the wind is howling. It's great to be home. I am a little embarrassed to confess how much I missed a reliable WiFi connection!

No more travelling until next year when I hope there's a break in the winter weather!

116. E
sf dystopic ****
The Fall of the Shell Paul O. Williams

The most conservative of the Pelbar cultures is the most southerly, Three Rivers. Here men must behave within strict parameters or be punished (generally with more labor). The fortress was designed and built by Craydor, the engineer philosopher many generations ago. She used as her model various seashells and the building is an aesthetic marvel as well as being impregnable. Udge (yep, shades of Dolores Umbridge!) is presently the Protector for this community and she brooks no disobedience from anyone and feels very threatened by the changes in the Pelbar communities to the north. Bival, an engineer, closest to her, buys a spiral shell (taking her husband's money as her right) and while she is holding it, two boys, careening around on errands, bump into her and the shell breaks. She badly injures one of the boys and the other boy in a rage injures her. Udge is livid. From that moment on, you know that Three Rivers, under Udge's rule is doomed.
One boy, badly injured is sent north (to Udge's disgust) and another runs away southward, hoping to fix everything if he can only find another shell like the one that was broken. They both have adventures and make amazing discoveries and it all comes together in a smashing climax. There are some very moving scenes in this one as well, as one person learns to rethink everything from the ground up. ****

117. E sf dystopic ****
An Ambush of Shadows Paul O. Williams

A great convention is taking place to try and form a Federation of the cultures of the western lands: Pelbar, Sentani, Shumai, Atherer, and all the rest--so many of them drawn together by Jestak and Stel in earlier books. One group stubbornly persists in fighting, the Tantal who are the buffer now between the Innanigani of the east coast and the developing Federation. The Innanigani are a true threat, the most "advanced" culture (with the most remnant toys from the Great Fire to help them) they are expanding westward. Ahroe, Stel's wife is the Director of this convention. She and Stel have lost their way maritally as their separate preoccupations and interests have gradually drawn them apart. Stel has built a steamboat from plans and ideas offered by the (very few survivin) Dome people, now part of Pelbar culture, and heads north to the Bitter Sea (Great Lakes). But in a clash with the Tantal his daughter Raydi, who stowed away, is captured. Well, of course, being Stel, he will get her back. And the Tantal will be very very sorry they took her, of course! Lots of emotional stuff in this one, about family and the way people and marriages evolve. Beautifully done. ****

118. ♬
hist mys ****
Tombland C.J. Sansom

Confession: I skipped the downward spiral in the last 1/4 or so of the book. When I'm driving around listening I can only take so much gore and guts and misery and betrayal, etc. That said, this is an amazing story imagined with care and convincing detail. In 1549 during the protectorate of the Duke of Somerset for Henry VIII son Edward, rebellions broke out all over England. The peasantry was being squeezed between enclosure by their landlords and the devaluation of the currency due to Somerset's disastrous attempt to quell Scotland. Enter Shardlake, sent to Norfolk by Elizabeth to find out what happened to the wife of a distant Boleyn cousin . . . He gets involved in Kett's Rebellion which was centered in and around Norwich, notable for its size and, until pressed, peacefulness as the common folk were trying to prove they could govern themselves. For centuries these periodic rebellions were written about unsympathetically; only recently have historians put them in context with the slow accretion of rights that the "body, hands, and feet" of the country (the "head" being the ruling aristocrats) steadily fought to be given. Although I skipped the bloodbath in Norwich (coming in for the last couple of chapters and the long and fascinating historical essay at the very end) I feel I "got" the essence of what the novel had to offer. Had I been reading a paper book, I would have skimmed the bloody bits. The depth of research and the passion that went into telling the story earns the book ****.

>67 sibylline: Had I been reading a paper book, I would have skimmed the bloody bits.
I can't say I blame you! I enjoyed this book for its detailed historical account of something I knew nothing about. But the mystery seemed secondary, and I wish there had been more of a balance between historic account and whodunnit.

Well, BB's galore, but not for The Overstory. I'm ashamed at how late I've come to an understanding of just where we're at, and I'm also one that doesn't believe it's too late, because with a four year old at home I just can't let myself believe that, but I'm comforted to know there is a hopeful "life will go on" theme to the book. I've been on a few climate marches in the last twelve months, and there are lots of signs that evoke the dinosaurs, as in "The dinosaurs probably thought they had plenty of time too!". Not a great analogy perhaps, but I do think about how different life was after they were gone, and about how the life forms that emerge after us might be something totally different again and carry on the world in another way. But of course, that's for pessimistic days. For optimistic days I like to think about how we will survive in a new, better way, that values the important things because we will have no choice but to do without everything else, and actually, that is a future I can really wish for my son. In that frame of mind, I actually love the sound of the dystopian SF series! I will search them out asap! And the Duct Tape parenting book from the last thread also sounds good. We certainly do try and equip him for adult life - that is always the intention, but I can see so clearly the pitfalls ahead, as you just love them so much and don't want them to struggle or suffer. And of course the Cherryh influencing book - that has to go on the list too!

>67 sibylline: Wow Lucy, that is some story you read!
I admire the review greatly (upthumbed). It has balance and sincerity. I was especially pleased to see how you handled the not liking this part so I skimmed.

I always feel like I'm cheating when I don't give full attention to what the author was trying to say. But meh! and trying to navigate traffic while a blood letting and rebellion is in progress?! No wonder. That's one reason I prefer written work, so I can go, whoops, and away we slide through the prose.

119. E psychology *****
Daring Greatly Brené Brown

When someone is pasted all over the internet, darling of Ted Talks etcetera, it can be hard to summon up the desire to jump in. Make no mistake, however, this is an excellent book. I am sure there are others that cover this material, but therapy/psychology is always changing in subtle ways and Brown captures the needs of the moment. Brown is a researcher, first and foremost and the book lays out the results of a decade (more?) of interviews and how deeply she was surprised (flabbergasted in some cases) and changed by her discoveries.
The first few chapters take on the idea of "scarcity" in our culture. If you think of our overstuffed box stores and houses overflowing with the stuff we've bought in them, this seems laughable. Brown points out that all we do is lament about how "we don't have enough time". "I'm not thin enough" and so on. Moving on, Brown examines our misconceptions of what being vulnerable means. Is it weakness . . . or strength? Shame is the real focus of the book, and how it drives us. Very important point -- shame is hard-wired into us, unavoidable to some degree, but a person can become self-aware and shame-resistant with help. Shame is "You're bad." Guilt is "You did something bad." The former can, literally, destroy a person's sense of self worth, the latter, interestingly, generally spurs one on to better effort. OK so, then if you've been destroyed, what do you do? Create defenses. She goes through the ways we defend ourselves from being vulnerable and the effect that these defensive moves have on us and the people around us. Throughout she goes back and forth from addressing business culture and parenting. The two share many features, the difference being that you can leave a bad employment situation, but you can't leave a family so easily. The biggest takeaways for me are the shame-guilt distinction and the gap between our values and what we actually model for our children and the ways we can inflict shame unthinkingly but there is so much here, I'll be rereading it. Brown is great to watch TedTalking on you tube, but do yourself a favor and read the book! *****

120. ♬ hist rom. ****
Devil's Cub Georgette Heyer

I feel silly listening to these, for the people and situations really are silly, but Heyer weaves a glittering web, writes so well . . . Perfect listening when driving around as I seem to do so much more than I would like. The reader was truly brilliant at conveying the character of each person. ****

>72 sibylline: I liked this story!
The beginning is a bit crazy, but a rollicking good tale, no?
It was a fun sequel to These Old Shades, but they're amongst my favourite Heyer's despite the improbable situations IRL.

thank you everyone for visiting!

>68 lauralkeet: I knew nothing about any of the specific rebellions, although I knew that Somerset "the Protector" was ousted for having failed to keep the lid on things.

Have you read Dorothy Dunnett's Crawford of Lymond series? They are set around this period. I listened to them all back when the little darling was going to high school. Dense but amazing! Francis Crawford of Lymond has to be the ultimate charismatic mystery man. The historical details are all accurate.

>69 HanGerg: I wouldn't have embarked on The Overstory while the little darling was a young'un either. I probably would have avoided it except that my wonderful book group chose it. I am very glad I have read it. You might want to at some point, but in the meantime, if you want to read about trees The Secret Life of Trees is a good one.

>70 SandyAMcPherson: Merci du compliment! I find these book comments, responses or whatever they are work best when I plunge in and don't think too much.

I am making a bold step today, posting a link to the blog site where I have focussed most of my writing energy of late. Most of you have gleaned my daughter has had some difficulties; I'm cagey about labelling: some mood issues and an unusual learning quirk -- hard to say what influenced what -- together created a dissonance that made her move into independence tricky. Three years ago she lost her way. Now she is moving towards full independence, but now with a deeper sense of herself. She is an extraordinary person.

I'm writing the blog to reach parents who have a child who has hit some kind of wall and they are at a loss about what to do to help. So if you know anyone with an unhappy teen or young adult -- not with unsurmountable difficulties -- please feel free to recommend they read this.

amothersjourneyintowildernesstherapy.blogspot.com

On no account put in an apostrophe in the word "mother's"!!!!!!!! Warn anyone if you send the link.

This is a big step for me. Scary to open up.

>75 sibylline: Blessings to you, Lucy, and thank you for sharing this very personal family journey.

We have a nephew who is a sweet young man with a high level of intelligence, but ... shares some (many?) characteristics of which you've written in the blog. I have only read the first few entries, but already know that this 'diary' will be very positive reading material which gets to the heart of the issue. I hope his parents will benefit because the wilderness approach sounds so enabling for finding a path to recovery.

What Sandy said. You and your family are on quite a journey, and I know that your writing will help others as much as it has helped you. Sending a hug.

Also thanks for recommending the Lymond Chronicles series. Like I need another series! But I love the history in the Shardlake books so this will be a good one to start when I'm ready. It looks like the library has these books so I've added it to a list of interesting/potential series that I keep track of on my library account.

>77 lauralkeet: Lymond has a host of mad fans -- there is a Crawford of Lymond Facebook group where people pitch ideas for who should/could play Francis Crawford in a film. Problem: He is unique. The only actor one could ever tolerate is one who is a complete unknown and very remarkable. And insanely good-looking and dashing and engaging. And . . . so on and so forth!

Thank you for sharing this, Lucy. You're brave and strong.

>78 sibylline: When Jude Law was young he was pretty and masculine enough, but other than that, nah!

I know it is the combination of "pretty" -- lean and lithe but, as you say, totally masculine. I believe Law was touted on that site. I do enjoy visiting it once in a while for, of course, I am a member of that group!

>81 sibylline: I was on the (dunnettdom) yahoo group for Dorothy Dunnett, and volunteered the name by which they called the Patrick O'Brian sub group, The Open Seas, which are alas now to be no more. I dropped out once I realized I could contribute not a single new idea. And belong to the camp that believes Lymond was convinced he chose the death of his own son, not Graham's, which seems a minority position

>82 quondame: I read those Lymond chronicles as they were released... I had a love-hate relationship with the story!

I also belonged to the 'camp' that chose to believe Lymond didn't preserved his son. I later agreed with a fellow Dunnett fan that the author perhaps never really clarified the situation because she couldn't decide which way to develop her theme.

>75 sibylline: I think it's very strong and kind of you to share your journey and I'm sure it will be helpful to many others. It has sounded here like your daughter is finding her way now. With your love and guidance I'm sure she will do well. Hugs to you all.

121. ♬ hist rom. ****
The Grand Sophy Georgette Heyer

123. sf, sf cats ****
Emperors, Swords, Pentacles Phyllis Gotlieb

The second book about the giant and intelligent cats of Ungrukh, featuring the daughter and son-in-law of the pair in Book One. Kinnear also features as the leader of the attempt to save a civilization from destruction by a madman enraged that his attempt to have a settlement there failed -- all the children were born, um, unfinished would be the best description -- I wasn't as taken with this one, it was just a bit too complicated a plot for me. Sure, I followed it fine, but I found I was stepping back from immersion and thinking too much to stay involved. I'll read the third one, no problem, because there is a lot to like here. The cats are marvelous and several other characters very engaging and original. ***1/2

12. DNF
Four Letters of Love Niall Williams

I LOVED History of the Rain but this is an earlier novel, maybe even the first?, and I have completely bogged down, something too inward and closed about it for me right now. Usually when I stop reading a book I send it away to a new life, but this one I will keep around. He's such a good writer, but this one not drawing me at all at this time.

>87 sibylline: I was never able to "get into" any of Niall Williams novels. Well, all of 2 that I tried.

One was acclaimed by a friend, The Fall of Light but I forget the other title. The Irish folk had (have?) such an impoverished circumstance, despite the wealth of the aristocracy, that it maddened me to read of the destitution in most of the rural population. Had I owned the book, I would have promptly decluttered it! I guess a lot of my reading is escapist.

124. ♬ hist rom
Frederica Georgette Heyer

So, yep, it's official, I'm bingeing on GH. It's been over forty years since I've read any of them and I am enjoying it, although . . . having read so much else in the interval, I am aware that the wealth of this tiny class depended on horrors: enclosure, exploitation of workers of all ages and gender, lack of educational opportunities and all the rest, but so be it. I'll accept the paradox or contradictions or whatever because the whole point is not to be serious and
this one is lots of fun -- Frederica is determined to give her beautiful sister a London season -- she, at 24, is so sure she is 'on the shelf'. Boldly she enlists the help of a distant relations, Lord Alverstoke . . . and you get the idea, don't you? ****

>87 sibylline: At the moment I am deeply immersed in escape reading, but I do hope to emerge from it refreshed and read to tackle more challenging stuff. In the meantime, I am enjoying myself immensely if a bit bemused. Sometimes this is what we need.

I nearly always have a Georgette Heyer on the go, usually in audio. It's so easy to sit down and say "Alexa play audiobook..."

>82 quondame: > 83 Oh No! Oh No! I think that Francis believed that he sacrificed his son for Phillipa's sake - and because he knew that that boy had a better chance for a good life. Because of Dame de Doubetance though, I think that Kuzum was his child. If that's wishful thinking, so be it.
Hi, Lucy.
I just finished Frederica too, and it's still my favorite Heyer.

>92 LizzieD: In fact I don't disagree with you. My opinion was about what Francis believed. Much more than just to save Phillipa and his other friends and allies - he needed to stop Graham.

>92 LizzieD: >93 quondame: When I reread I'll be paying close attention. I had the impression also that he felt he had no choice at all in the bigger picture. Just one more terrible thing he had to do.

>92 LizzieD: Frederica was a lot of fun. And I'm remembering how much I enjoyed Freddie in this latest one, Cotillion. The best one so far in terms of the reader, though, is The Unknown Ajax. Sublime and very very funny!

I loved The Unknown Ajax, too, and can see that as #1. So funny! Both Frederica and Cotillion are favorites, too.

>94 sibylline: and >95 jnwelch: I'm a total Heyer fan-junkie.

My favourite-favourites always juggle up and down as I re-read the top 7 or 8 best of the Regencies (according to me), so I've given up preferring one over the other.

All the titles you've mentioned here are in my top-best group!

>89 sibylline: I wish I could binge on something, Lucy! My reading would be in reverse if it stagnated any further.

The Unknown Ajax is definitely my #1 Heyer, and #2 is Cotillion. After that, there is a cluster where relative position shifts over time.

I love The Unknown Ajax too, and Cotillion, but then I also love The Toll Gate and Talisman Ring and A Civil Contract (probably not on many others' favorites list) and --- and --- and --- as much.

>16 sibylline: Your evaluation is such an important opinion. Thank you for being unequivocal.

As I've said in earlier threads, global warming/climate change due to human activity has been scientifically evident since the 1960's. I won't reiterate the work I was part of in the 1970's (because that won't change anybody's mind).

The politicians just need to get the H--- out of the way and let the experts go forward with the changes, albeit having meagre impact. IMHO, the political machinery worldwide is too selfish and to focussed on short term power to see past their own power-hungry idiocy.

So stupid that there are unconvinced folks out there. Kind of like the Flat Earth Society, they're total anachronisms, conspicuously lacking in critical thinking skills.

OK, done... I know I already replied to this post but recent news articles coming out of the USA brought this to mind, again. I feel so unable to see alteration in the Deniers' mindset.

Tell me to delete my post if it annoys you that I'm reiterating old news...

>97 PaulCranswick: I'm sorry to hear that you aren't reading much Paul.

>98 ronincats: I really had totally forgotten The Unknown Ajax so it was extra-delightful. With some others I remember bits and have mixed up some other bits with different novels. Cotillion is pretty wonderful.

99. Shows what excellent taste you have! The wonderful thing about Heyer is that while she does have favoured memes she also experiments with less obvious "heroes" like Freddie!

>100 SandyAMcPherson: I don't mind.

>101 sibylline: Thanks for that tolerance.
Some mornings I feel like I just want to crawl bak into bed and sleep. A different type of denial!

125. YA fantasy ***
Bitterblue Kristin Cashore

Recently this third volume in a trilogy came my way, but alas, either it has been too long since I read the first two or I have somehow moved on. I can't remember enough to compare, however, only to say that a YA characteristic was all too very present: serious issues interleaved with romance and jolly banter, each succeeding the other too quickly for my adult tastes. The princess Bitterblue, from the first book, Graceling is back, but now Queen and trying to sort out her kingdom and her personal life. Many of the ideas are very imaginative. ***

126. ♬ hist rom, reread ****
Cotillion Georgette Heyer

A lot of fun, this one has a reversal in the usual romantic trend and so excellently done. Hurrah for Freddie Standon! Another wonderful reader too. ****

Freddie rocks!!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Lucy.

Heyers are a wonderful escape, Lucy. You are making me want to pull one off the shelf soon.

>105 ronincats: Yes!

>106 PaulCranswick: Nice to have you stop by, Paul

>107 Familyhistorian: Uh oh! Bad influence!

127. ♬ hist rom ****
Venetia Georgette Heyer

128. ♬♬

The binge continues. Nuff said!

Happy Thanksgiving, Lucy!

129. hist fic ****1/2
Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders

Two days. A year or so into the Civil War, thousands dead, the country was waking up to the fact that the war would be long and hard, the bloodshed was only beginning. The president of the Union and his wife have previously decided best to give one big party than many smaller dinners. Son Willie has fallen ill, the doctor reassures, the party goes on, the boy dies. His body is put, temporarily in a mausoleum in a cemetery nearby in Georgetown. What we, the living, do not know is that the souls not ready to leave, not able to accept that they have died, live here. This is the bardo. The in-between. A liminal place where the inhabitants while incorporeal can, with effort, feel, remember, and interact with one another. Willie emerges into this place. Three men, longtime residents, watch, comment and observe.

The book is put together somewhat like a play, or a play that has only a kind of choral feel, of statements being made and remade, singly and by others. The story, at first is not evident. The boy is dead, the president is grieving, the public is incensed with him for having the party in the midst of slaughter. Saunders quotes from original sources -- the disapprobation, the seeming rudderlessness of the president in his direction of the war.

Lincoln visits the cemetery. The three "gentlemen" watch in awe and are deeply moved by this evidence of love. Gradually the narrators begin to shift from observing to anxiousness, Willie is in danger of being trapped forever in the bardo, and we realize that Lincoln must let go, so that Willie goes forward.

While addressing private individual grief Saunders also approaches the mystery of how and why Lincoln's focus shifted around this time. The cause was, yes, still to keep the Union intact, but took on a wider scope, Emancipation, giving the war a moral platform. Saunders connects the personal grief to this change with such subtlety and psychological rightness--grief breaks some, narrows and grinds them in solitude, for others grief strengthens, opens the heart to the suffering of all. ****1/2

Glad you've had a happy day!
I'll be waiting for anon to get here. Meanwhile, I've said what I thought about *LitB*, but I see that I gave it 4 stars.

Go, Georgette! Well worth binging.

Loved your comments on Lincoln in the Bardo. I had a similar positive reaction.

130. ♬ hist rom ****
The Quiet Gentleman Georgette Heyer

Delightful, as ever. This one has a bit of suspense in it. The reader was very good, especially of the two principles, St. Erth and Drusilla, but he made the Dowager just a little too shrill. Had to turn the volume down when she was blathering on! I think he was having a lot of fun. ****

Hmm I'm just noticing that the audio/knitting bingeing (baby blanket for a neice/god-daughter) is really upping my book numbers! I doubt I'll make 150 but I'll get closer than I have done in several years.

I love audio with walking/knitting/ironing/driving.

Glad you are having a great splurge with Georgette Heyer's oeuvre. I re-read all the ones I have just 2 years ago and so thoroughly enjoyed them. It was disappointing when I ran out of titles!

I'm just seeing your new toppers - love those snoozing pups!
Very little sun and snow - not a way I could live, I don't think.

I love the snoozing pups too!

131. ♬ hist mys ***1/2
The Secrets of Wishtide Kate Saunders

I enjoyed it well enough, not utterly taken up, although I do like the dynamics between Letty Rodd and her brother Fred. The setting is mid-1800's, Letty is a widow living in straitened circumstances. She does undercover work for her brother who is a very successful defense lawyer. There were a few places where the coincidences were a bit over the top, but I don't listen to these as fussily as I read print. Good reader too. Likely that I will listen to the second book. ***1/2

On quite the historicals binge, eh what? It beats listening to the news. Anything beats listening to the news.

Happy Yuletide orisons, Lucy.

>121 richardderus: Amen to that, RD.

132. sf sp/op ****

Aha! It dawned on me as I kept reading this that the Qumedon is the inspiration for Q in Star Trek Next Gen. Anyway, that aside, in this last installment, the Ungrukh (the cat folk) have come to live in the Grand Canyon as guests for a bit, invited by the Solthree's. But, horrors, they have an enemy, who, when she learns of their presence, determines to wipe them out. Three generations of Ungrukh are involved, so is Kinnear, close to retirement from GalFed. Gotlieb is good fun! ****

132. sf sp/op ****
The Kingdom of the Cats Phyllis Gotlieb

In this last installment of the story of the Ungrukh, a group have been invited to come and live for awhile in the Grand Canyon on Solthree (Earth). Her reasons are convoluted, but it turns out that the cats have a nearby enemy and she manages to kill more than thirty of the visiting Ungrukh, enraging and energizing many, including the strange energy being Qumedon, who created the Ungrukh. Kinnear, close to retirement, returns and three generations of Ungrukh all work to bring justice to the fallen. All along I have wondered if the Qumedon is not the inspiration for "Q" in Star Trek Next Generation. Something in this last book makes me surer than ever.
****

Well, at least the above isn't escapist hist fiction!!!! Oh whoops, I guess it is escapist space opera. Oh well.

>122 LizzieD: Heh!

>125 sibylline: Escape is where one finds it, and goodness knows we all need it about now.

133. ss ROOT ****
Like You'd Understand Anyway Jim Shepard T

This story collection has languished on my shelves for over a decade and so it went on the ROOT pile. A third of those books turn out to be ones I don't want to read, never did, but wouldn't admit it, but the rest have turned out to be gems, including this one. The stories have a similar underpinning, a smart weird kid/adult in some isolated situation, either to do with family or work. Things generally do not go well. A Nazi era ornithologist sent by Himmler to explore Tibet, nominally to bolster H's super bizarre Aryan origin theories, but in fact, seeking the Yeti. (Irony, yeh). A boy with a younger brother with emerging schizophrenia and clueless parents sent off to a horrible camp. The first female Russian cosmonaut. Explorers of the Australian Outback in the 1840's . . . there is often an older brother or mentor who has whacked the younger one into some kind of shape, able to cope with whatever life dishes out. The stories do probe, most of them, this male compulsion to be tough, act tough, die tough if need be, all the while totally aware of how stupid and self-defeating this behaviour is. Totally worth reading if you come across this book somewhere! ****

I can't tell you how much I wish I thought I'd be smarter tomorrow. You go, girl!

134. ♬ hist rom ***1/2
Black Sheep Georgette Heyer

Less thrilled with this one -- something indistinct about some of the characters. Heyer relies on the characters given the fairly standard plots she uses, as you can't quite be sure how things will play. Abbie is an odd mix of rebellious and timid--anyway--Miles, also is almost too cool, does he or doesn't he care? He says he doesn't care, but then what he does belies it. I did like it when he said to Abbie that she was so busy pleasing everyone else that she didn't think of what would please him (and herself, too, of course.) There was also a painful ring of truth in the older sister's total dependence on Abbie and desire for her to turn down the offer to stay with her. Also I did rather enjoy just how awful Stacy, the fortune hunter, was. I wasn't overly enamored with the reader, she was competent but not stellar which most readers have been. ***1/2

>128 LizzieD: The problem is the intelligence plummet around 8-9 p.m. I'm never actually any smarter, if you know what I mean!

When our kids were young, I used to tell them to get to me with their homework before 8 pm, because at 8 pm my brain started going away. :-)

>129 sibylline: Black Sheep is one of the poorer Heyers in my opinion. Note I still own it and do re-read the book from time to time.

This title (Black Sheep, have to spell it out in this case, cos --- BS? !!) is an earlier story which is grouped in my mind with some of her later novels, such as Bath Tangle and Lady of Quality. The characterizations are predictable when one is reading the entire oeuvre. The publisher must have loved all these reworking, though. They all sold well and have been reprinted in numerous editions.

>130 sibylline: and >131 jnwelch: I am frequently "dead meat" by 8 pm... so I read! It is a challenge to get through the heavier reading material, so I have to be choosy what volume I select from my currently reading stack sometimes.

>131 jnwelch: Uh oh, it is 8:12! I love your anecdote!

>132 SandyAMcPherson: I reread that review for Black Sheep and had to tidy it up. And I don't even have the excuse of writing it after 8 p.m.!

I have the same issues later in the evening. I've always done better serious reading earlier in the day!

Back to add an important note -- I'll mention this again -- I've petitioned to change my name here from Sibyx which I have never quite loved, to Sibylline. Or is it Sybilline? Well, we'll see what comes of it!

Well, Hello Sibylline!

I love that name, and it resonates as a LibraryThing reader because indeed, we do read prophetic and mysterious books, no?

Will we have to re-star your thread? Will I find you under 'Sibylline' in the 2020 threads??
I didn't know we had to "petition" to change our user names. I thought it was altered at whim on our profiles.

OK, I think I can handle that since it starts with the same letters so when I'm looking for Sibyx I'll see it and remember the change :)

Happy name change, Sibylline!

I love the new name!!! Thanks for the heads up about it too.

135. ♬ hist rom
The Talisman Ring Georgette Heyer

I'm nostalgically uncritical of The Talisman Ring. Definitely worth 4-stars (however do people post those green LT stars?)
It was one of my first Heyers that I read, then found in a book market, so one of the first I owned (along with the Nonesuch and The Corinthian).

>139 SandyAMcPherson: I have the names of ½ to 5 stars as image files that some lovely person on this tread made.

https://static.librarything.com/pics/s1.gif
https://static.librarything.com/pics/s2.gif
https://static.librarything.com/pics/s3.gif
https://static.librarything.com/pics/s4.gif
https://static.librarything.com/pics/s5.gif
https://static.librarything.com/pics/s6.gif
https://static.librarything.com/pics/s7.gif
https://static.librarything.com/pics/s8.gif
https://static.librarything.com/pics/s9.gif
https://static.librarything.com/pics/s10.gif

>139 SandyAMcPherson: Sarah Thane is definitely a five star character!

>140 quondame: Wonderful! How do you get the green stars to actually appear?

>141 sibylline: After some messing about...

To post , for example,

use the usual image code ( img src="https://static.librarything.com/pics/s8.gif" ) with the 'less than' and 'greater than' characters. (I forget what those symbols are called).

Hmm. I tried that. I must have made an error. will try again!

Nope, tried it above there with The Talisman Ring, no luck. Well. I'll keep at it!

>143 sibylline: I was successful on my thread this morning (comments on my Book #105)

>143 sibylline: To check, you can select the stars - they are just a single graphic like a picture - and right hold on the mouse for "View Selection Source" - and get what the poster actually typed. Usually more than you actually selected, but at least that.

HA! That worked! Yippee!

>146 sibylline: Isn't it great when we learn a new coding thing?
Probably not *really* called coding, but feels very geeky to me....

Yes!

That is all very interesting, but I'm too done at night to try it myself. I have, however, favorited Sandy's list of codes with thanks for some other time.

136. cosy mys ***1/2
A Man of Some Repute Elizabeth Edmondson

This was a "party at the castle" sort of mystery, although about a disappearance that had occurred seven years previously. Hugo Hawksworth (what a name!) leg injury from a bullet in Berlin when on intelligence assignment (cold war stuff) is billeted at the castle which is in a sort of inheritance limbo while he takes up a new desk assignment at the hush-hush government facility at Thorn Hall up the road. Selchester, Earl of etc is the one who disappeared and his daughter, who inherits, when the wait to declare him dead is up, plans to sell the whole lot. She hated her father and mystery swirls around him. Hugo has a thirteen year old sister, much much younger with him. (Their parents were killed in the blitz.) Georgia is a fun character. I didn't care for the reader, and was glad to see someone else reading the next two in the series. Not super-fantastic, but good enough for me in my present mental state. ***1/2

>150 sibylline: I remember this story.
Must have been read before I joined LT ~ I can't recall what opinion I had of the story (overall). It must have been a fleeting novel for me, but the theme is appealing.

I haven't reached for a Heyer yet because I have too many library holds coming in. It looks like you are almost through and there are still more holds coming in so looks like I dodged that bullet, although I do have two Heyers on the shelf that I have never read. Hmm.

I saw some posts on other threads from sibylline and didn't recognize the poster. Now I know it's you, Lucy.

137. ♬ cosy mys ***1/2
A Question of Inheritance Elizabeth Edmonson

There will be a new Earl after all! An American, a classics professor from Boston. But will he survive his first few months in Selchester? Who wants to kill him and why? Good fun, perfect for knitting. This reader, Michael Page, was better.***1/2

138. ♬ cosy mys ***1/2
A Matter of Loyalty Elizabeth Edmondson and Anselm Audley

Edmondson died before completing the first full draft of this third installment of Hawksworth's doings and her son took over, in what is clearly an act of love, finishing. He did a wonderful job. This time, at another nearby "secret" facility, this one exploring atomic ins and outs *(theoretical) an eminent physicist disappears and is thought to have defected. Or has he? Hugh must find out!! There are other questions to be answered too. Will Hugh break up with the terrible Valerie? Will Georgia get to stay at the castle? Will Hugh figure out who he has fallen in love with? Michael Page was the reader again, did a nice job. ***1/2

This makes five audio books in a row. A record.

Wow, you've definitely been on a Heyer binge haven't you. They are pretty much all book s that I can red again and again. Nice new name by the way!

Soviet Santa says "Happy Yule!" Solstice Greetings to all. Read more here: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/soviet-santa

Greetings to my fellow biblio-geeks! It has been a privilege to chatter here with you.

A winter solstice is the moment in time when the Earth's tilt away from the Sun is at its maximum and the Sun's maximum elevation in the sky is at its lowest. Thus the ice crystals form magical lighting effects ~


Sundogs and a sunrise on the Winter Solstice

>157 SandyAMcPherson: That's lovely! I do love the solstice!

Thanks, I do love ice crystal effects. I was wishing we had a fireplace with its radiant energy to toasty up the reading sofa. (A fireplace where you can close the glass doors and not send all the heat out of the house (up the chimney)!

139. SS ***1/2
The Heat of the Sun Sean O'Faolain

This set of stories is more "contemporary" than the last set -- I read earlier this year, those were set in childhood, youth, Cork. These are stories of emigrants and Cork folk relocated to Dublin. Love stories, many of them. In a word, they felt dated in that way the work of many men who wrote in the first half of the 20th century does. An effort of some sort is being made to view women as fellow travelers, but not a very serious one. There are unvarnished moments: "Love, my dear, poor boy, is a sedative disguised as a stimulant. It's a mirror where man sees himself as a monster and women as a thing of unvarnished beauty,. If it wasn't for that all men would, otherwise, and normally, fear all women. You fear women. I fear women. But because we need them we have to have them. And that's where they have us, in the great and final triumph of women over men, called--by them not by us, and well called--Happy Wedlock. Love is a prison staffed by female warders . . . " Now this speech is given by a friend and the narrator, in the story, ends up in a sturdy friendly marriage, yet, in story after story in the collection this first sentiment is present. Or there are two sorts of men (and to be fair, women)--the dull and faithful and the fun and untrustworthy. He's a good writer, O'Faolain, knows his craft, but I did find myself skim-reading by the end. Several stories have an homage to Joyce feeling to them, especially the very short final story, "Passion." In his preface O'Faolain makes a distinction between story and tale (think blunt and incisive versus wandering and intuitive) that was perhaps the biggest takeaway for me. ***1/2

These books were on my mother's bookshelves in her house and I kept them.

I am so hoping to clear the decks of all but one of the books I am presently reading for the New Year. (Oath of Fealty being the exception. Wish me luck!

>161 sibylline: I love it when I finish the year with no "in-progress" books. Are you the same? This absurd desire often results in an end-of-year reading crunch. I currently have 3 books on the go and would like to finish all of them. We'll see.

I just got a "Library cascade" of requests that had been submitted in November. I guess I'll emerge into 2020 with books still "in-progress"!

>162 lauralkeet: Yes, I am the same way -- when it is feasible I try to get it down to close or none. I particularly like finishing up ones that have taken a long time . . .

>163 SandyAMcPherson: Well, at least they won't be books you've been reading for ages! I seem to be choosing entertainment over edification lately.

True (at least they won't be books you've been reading for ages!).

On the other hand, right now I'm feeling like cosy-comfort and brain candy, but the 5 that arrived are edgy mysteries or what I used to call "philosophical and educational" and I'm feeling like I want slightly less worthy reading right now.

I think wintery, short days and deeply cold temperatures too early in the autumns have gotten me down (yeah, I know for many here on the threads, "winter" technically started just yesterday).

Or in other words, Happy Christmas! And have a great New Year as well.

Happy holidays, Lucy! We watched White Christmas the other day and i thought of you there in beautiful Vermont.

Have a comfy, caring, and very

Merry Christmas!

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, some other tradition or none at all, this is what I wish for you!

Thank you for keeping me company in 2019.......onward to 2020.

Best wishes this holiday season!!

Thank you one and all! Merry and Happy.

140. contemp fic ****1/2
The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll Alvaro Mutis

Where to begin? Where to end! Seven shorter "novels" are collected in this mighty volume featuring the restless, elusive and ultimately mysterious Maqroll, a sort of everyman in his absolute uniqueness and unknowableness, a subject of fascination to his "Boswell" -- a man both literary and practical and with a settled life. Maqroll is also not everyman in the extraordinary adventures and experiences he has had. Even his place of birth is unknown, as is the peculiar spelling of his name. (I decided he was descended from the Irish Wild Geese--exiles of the late 18th century's failed rebellion.) For he is somewhat like Odysseus, but one not having a home to return to. He is a man of ideals and a man for hire up for almost anything, a man full of dreams and a man with no allegiances to any country, a man of myriad languages and much erudition. He is a man with no country, loose in the world, us and not us--for are not we all in the same predicament? The most consistent aspects of Maqroll's personality are that he cannot keep money in his pocket and that once a friend, always a friend. When someone mentions a money-making scheme however, Maqroll cannot resist even when: "The presence of danger, unspecified but obvious, plunged him into an all too familiar state of mind: ennui, a weary tedium that invited him to admit defeat, to halt the passage of his days, for they were all marked by the kind of venture in which someone else always profited, took the initiative, forced him into the role of the innocent dupe who served other people's purposes without realizing it." My copy of Maqroll bristles with pink stickies. Marvelous bits of pith: of a friend he writes, ". . . one of his typical character traits was a professorial and very German need to explain everything with pointless precision, as if the rest of the human race needed his assistance to understand the world." Or on weather: "Weather is a purely personal matter. There is no such thing as a climate that is cold or hot, good or bad, healthy or unhealthy. People take it upon themselves to create a fantasy in their imaginations and call it weather." One of the fine amusements in this otherwise rather gloomy but strangely compelling and beautiful tale, is how Mutis introduces each new venture -- I wish I had marked them, but you begin to realize that even this 700 page volume doesn't begin to cover the varied enterprises, both criminal and not, Maqroll had been engaged in from Kuala Lumpur to Anchorage, from fishing for salmon to running a high class whorehouse in Panama City. And I haven't mentioned the romantic theme of the book, the tramp steamer, now almost extinct, replaced by the humongous container ships and vigilant customs patrols. (Have I said the book is set in the 50's and 60's and maybe into the 70's for all that it feels timeless?) A deeply romantic and lyrical tale, this is, written in formal, precise, and elegant prose. Quite amazing. It took me so long to read I can't quite give it five stars, but as a literary work, really, it deserves them. ****1/2

141. essays****
No-One Land: Israel / Palestine 2000-2002 Henry Ralph Carse

Carse, a biblical scholar, teacher, guide, father grew up in Vermont, but his studies led him to Jerusalem where he lived for a large part of his life, marrying and bringing up children and watching the dreams and hopes of two peoples evaporate. Is evaporate the right word? Probably not. Go up in smoke, might be a good one. One of the final heartbreaking images of the book is of the Israeli settlers burning down Palestinian olive groves, hundreds of years old, trees that are sacred by any reckoning. He was moved during the second Intifada to write this series of essays about what it was like to be there, an American and a Catholic with children Israeli by birth (therefore having to serve in the military, a subject in another essay.) A hopeful open-hearted man and an eloquent writer, we walk with him as he loses and restores and loses heart with each event. A small group of Israelis determined to help rebuilt a destroyed Palestinian abode, harvest olives, get children together, balanced against the doublespeak of the Israeli government, the bombs, the senseless slaughter on both sides. Discouraging. But Carse's hope shines through even if, by the end of the essays, he is no longer looking for resolution in his lifetime. ****

142. hist rom ***1/2
Arabella Charlotte Heyer

The usual fun, wonderful reader (Phillipa Rodd).

All I have to do is finish listening to the Joyce and I will have cleaned up the unfinished business of the year! I won't make 150 but I'm so close, I'm happy!

Before the year goes away completely,

Good luck with your clean up, Lucy, and on to a new year!

>176 sibylline: Arabella, one of my most re-read Heyers!

>177 sibylline: "very close" to 150 is still amazing, Lucy. I'm going to make 100, exactly. I did that once before but have never gone over. I'm most impressed with anything near 150!

Arabella is one of my top Heyers, too. I just read The Foundling and Charity Girl - neither, for me, at the level of Arabella, but still, of course, fun reads. I still have a few of hers I haven't read yet.

What I think has made the difference this year is listening to audiobooks while knitting as well as when driving around. Several binges helped too -- the Elly Griffiths and the Heyer among them!

143. ♬ classic fic ****1/2
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce

Well, this novel is what it says it is. It is fiction in that I don't think the experiences are all exactly Joyce's but I expect the progression is true to Joyce's own experience of becoming an artist. I listened this time and the part, read, that affected me most strongly is the one I normally kind of skip over -- the religious retreat when Stephen is in the upper grades in Dublin -- the jesuit priests talking about what to expect in hell. On the one hand the whole concept is a staggering achievement of human imagination and truly horrifying, as in, why would anyone think this sort of nonsense up??? Masochist? Sadist? A loving god who nonetheless punishes sinners forever? And that some saint or other was admitted into specific knowledge of the tortures? Seriously? It's too mad to be thought of! On the other it is just this kind of passionate hyperbole that Stephen responds to, eventually transferring his allegiance to the earth and his own senses, his own life. My favourite parts, as are, most likely, everyone's, come near the close as Stephen prepares to commit to a different life from all his friends. The walk on the beach, the conversation in front of the library at college, and his last conversation with Cranley. There is a life and joy here, less evident elsewhere amid the crushing anxieties of Stephen's childhood. It's also marvelous to watch Joyce find his rhythms and cadences as a writer. *****

Having praised I will say that I haven't read Portrait in some thirty years or so and my viewpoint has matured and changed enough so that I ask the question I always ask, "What is it with men when it comes to women??" For this is wholly a portrait of an artist as a young MAN. Not as a person, a human, regardless of gender. It is also a book of its time and very much of its place (both are, to me, the strengths and what endures in the novel.) I accept fully that the past was and will be what it is, limitations, and one has to acknowledge and move on, however . . .

For Joyce women are inspiration, muse, source of mystery, bla bla bla. What does all this idealizing have to do with any woman as an actual real person? As a woman who feels the same urging to a creative and non-conforming life??? Women accept the projections men fling out at them to be what they want (sexy, motherly, mysterious, inspiring). What I am saying is that the book did not speak to me so much--usually I can leap over most of my disquiet and not think about the fact that the protagonist is very male in a very male society (school).

Ah well, I am sure it sounds like sour grapes to some, and so be it. It isn't -- I'm a profound admirer of Joyce, make no mistake. The point is to learn to read with awareness of the swirling currents of assumptions and idealizations.

>184 sibylline: Excellent comments above, Lucy. I'm intimidated by Joyce but after reading that I may get the courage to read Portrait some day, or should I listen to it?

Well, turned out I had 5 credits at Audible just begging to be spent so I bought Portrait -- there were several versions but I picked the one you had. Now I just have to get myself out the door for a walk :)

Hi Lucy! Congrats on your username change - I was confused at first, thought I wasn't on your thread.

>174 sibylline: Added to my wish list. Sounds wonderful.

~ My helpful family pointed out to me that if I read one more book I would achieve ONE GROSS (144) which is also Bilbo's age at the time of his epic birthday party.

ONE GROSS!!!

144. hist mys
Prima Facie Ruth Downie ****

Ruso and Tilla have just arrived at the family manse on their way from Rome back "home" to Britain and, predictably, they arrive to chaos. The boyfriend of Flora, Ruso's youngest sister, has been accused of murder. Ruso's older brother is away, so he is left having to cope. The usual fun. This one is very short, a novella, really. Simon Vance, as ever, is a terrific reader. ****

OK now ONE MORE BOOK!!!

145.
poetry ****
Dream Sender David Huddle

Bear poems are wonderful, esp the dialogue between bear and wren. Many others. Huddle should be more well known. Accessible and forthright and real and also often very funny. ****

>189 sibylline: A gross of congratulations!

>189 sibylline: Congratulations!!! Well done. : )

Just noticed that I undercounted so I have EXCEEDED the GROSS by one. One to grow on!

Did you start a 2020 thread? I looked (and have mentioned to Jim) that the sibylline leads to the wrong person! So are you elsewhere??

My thread will go into action on January 1st!

Congrats on hitting the 145 book mark!

Sandy I did start a thread and you can find it

HERE!

Where did the sibylline moniker take you, how weird!!

Cut-n-paste error due to adminning with scotch.. all fixed now!

>196 drneutron: A scotch error is entirely forgiveable, esp if it was a single malt.

Oh, yes it was! Back in 2008, mrsdrneutron and I visited Scotland, and part of the trip was a tour of the Glengoyne distillery. She tracked down a bottle of the 18-year for me for Christmas! I might have had a bit... 😀