Another Great Reading Adventure for Storeeteller, Part 2

Happy (Almost) Autumn, and welcome to the second thread chronicling my reading adventures for this year.



Hope you like the image ~ I took it a few years ago on an early morning hike at a park in Newhall, which is in Southern California. I was thrilled to get this much color in SoCal. Usually it's either green or brown.

Books Read in 2013 & Brief Reviews (reviews expanded in first thread (http://www.librarything.com/topic/147319) and below):

January

1. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. 4 stars. Audio. The Devil visits Moscow and causes havoc.
2. The Black Box by Michael Connelly. 4 stars. Audio. Another strong offering in the series featuring Harry Bosch, L.A. murder detective/former Vietnam tunnel rat extraordinaire.
3. The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer. 4.25 stars. Kindle. Another charming novel by the woman I have begun to think of as the Queen of Regencies.
4. False Colours by Georgette Heyer. 4 stars.
5. Somewhere I'll Find You by Lisa Kleypas. 3.75 stars. Audio. This is the first in The Capitol Theater twosome.
6. Angel's Flight by Nalini Singh. 4 stars. Four short stories from the world of the Guild Hunters.
7. Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh. 3.75 stars. The latest novel in the Guild Hunter series.
8. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz. 4 stars. Audio. YA very short stories featuring various young people living in and around a medieval village.
9. Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blaire. 4.5 stars. My November Early Review win, this debut novel is a dark and gritty mystery set in modern-day Havana featuring a police inspector with a slight problem: he sees the spirits of murder victims.
10. The Enemy by Lee Child. 4 stars. Audio. Jack Reacher mystery set just before the Berlin Wall fell, when Major Reacher was still in the military.
11. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn. 4 stars. Kindle. Sweet and amusing romance, first in the Bridgerton series.

February

12. Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child. 4 stars. Audio. Jack Reacher versus the world (feds, the DOD, NYC cops, foreign gangsters, foreign freedom fighting women).
13. The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz. 5 stars. A complete & welcome change of pace. Enchanting story of a young night fairy who loses her wings.
14. Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz. 5 stars YA fantasy
15. Telegraph Days by Larry McMurtry. 4.5 stars. Audio The last days of the Wild West
16. Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt. 3.5 stars. Soft porn
17. The Affair by Lee Child. 4.5 stars. Audio. This is the one with the train metaphor for sex
18. Angels' Blood 4 stars
19. Archangel's Kiss 4 stars
20. Archangel's Consort 3.75 stars (audio)
21. Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh. 4 stars.
(From the Hunters' Guild series by Nalini Singh)
22. A Wanted Man by Lee Child. 4.5 stars. Audio. More macho Reacher
23. The Lost Night by Jayne Castle. 4 stars. Paranormal romance.
24. Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger. 4 stars YA steampunk

March

25. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. 5 stars Epic fantasy
26. Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas. 4 stars
27. Mind over Monsters by Jennifer Harlow. 4.75 stars. Kindle
28. Calculated in Death by J.D. Robb. 3.5 stars. Audio
29. The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer. 4 stars. Audio.
30. A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer. 3.75 stars. Audio
31. Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. 4.5 stars. Kindle
32. Black Hills by Nora Roberts. 3 stars. Audio
33. Flora's Fury by Ysabeau S. Wilce. 4 stars
34. To Catch a Vampire by Jennifer Harlow. 3.5 stars
35. What Darkness Brings by C. S. Harris. 3.75 stars.
36. The Hard Way by Lee Child. 4 stars. Audio.
37. The Woman Who Wouldn't Die by Colin Cotterill. 3.75 stars.

April

38. Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child. 4.5 stars. Audio.
39. The Mystery Woman by Amanda Quick. 4 stars. LTER.
40. The 61 Hours by Lee Child. 4 stars. Audio
41. Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas. 3.75 stars. Audio.
42. Mercury Rises by Robert Kroese. 3.75 stars. Kindle
43. Kitty Goes to War by Carrie Vaughn. 4 stars. Audio
44. Nothing to Lose by Lee Child. 4 stars. Audio

May

45. Running Blind by Lee Child. 3 stars.
46. Worth Dying For by Lee Child. 3.5 stars. Audio
47. Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts. 4.5 stars. For contemporary romance, you cannot do better than one of Nora Roberts stand-alones, not that I am dissing her Eve Dallas series, which is also excellent for what it is.
48. Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg. 4 stars. Audio
49. Crystal Flame by Jayne Ann Krentz . 3.5 stars. Ebook
50. The Bull Slayer by Bruce Macbain. 3.5 stars.
51. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. 4 stars. Audio

June

52. The Last Victim by Karen Robards. 3 stars. LTER. Kinda lame thriller featuring a ghost whisperer and a bunch of serial killers, one of which was a ghost. Lame, but it had its moments.
53. Dante Valentine, the Complete Series by Lilith Saintcrow. 4 stars. eBook. Danny Valentine is relatively happy living the violent life of a Necromance bounty hunter until a demon shows up at her door one day and drags her off to Hell for a job interview with Lucifer aka The Devil and all hell breaks loose. After the first book in the omnibus, I was hooked and couldn't seem to get enough, though at times I wanted to slap Danny (and the author) for being an idiot.
54. Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. 4 stars. Audio. Although the writing was good and the history and culture interesting, this alternate historical fantasy was no Lions of al Rassan. For one thing, although there were moments where I started to like one or another of the characters, I never really connected with any of them.

July

55. Dreamsnake by Vonda Macintyre. 3 stars. Audio. I loved the short story Of Mist, Grass and Sand when I read it a million years ago, but this novel just did not do it for me. I found it dated and not all that exciting. I should probably not even count it as one of my 2013 books, because I dozed through large swathes of it.
56. Tales of Majipoor by Robert Silverberg. 3 stars. Audio. Loved Lord Valentine's Castle when I read it back in the 70s, but this series of short stories of important events in Majipoorian story just was not that exciting.
57. InterWorld by Neil Gaiman. 3.5 stars. Audio.
58. Echo Burning by Lee Child. 4 stars. Audio
59. Immortal Ever After by Lyndsay Sands. 3 stars. Audio
60. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. 4 stars. Audio
61. The Circle by Peter Lovesey. 3.5 stars. Audio
62. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. 3 stars. Audio
63. Along Came a Duke by Elizabeth Boyle 3 stars. eBook
64. A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole. 3 stars. eBook
65. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn. 3.5 stars. eBook

August

66. Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. 3 stars. Audio
67. The Wedding Shroud by Elisabeth Storrs. 3 stars. eBook
68. Countdown City by Ben H. Winters. 4 stars. LTER
69. I, Claudius by Robert Graves. 4 stars. Audio
70. Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. 4 stars
71. Tilt A Whirl by Chris Grabenstein. 4.5 stars. eBook (reccied by RD and (I think) coppers)
72. Mad Mouse by Chris Grabenstein. 4 stars. eBook

(Series & Sequels) September

73. The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James. 3.5 stars. Audio.
74. The First Prophet by Kay Hooper. 3.5 stars.
75. Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh. 3.5 stars.
76. Persuader by Lee Child. 4 stars.
77. Whack A Mole by Chris Grabensein. 4.5 stars. eBook
78. Lucinda, Darkly by Sunny. 3.5 stars.
79. The Good Knight by Sarah Woodbury. 4 stars. eBook
80. Mind Scrambler, 4 stars and
81. Rolling Thunder, 4 stars, both by Chris Grabenstein
82. Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas. 3.5 stars
83. Hell Hole by Chris Grabenstein. 4 stars.
84. Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch. 4.5 stars.
85. Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh. 3.5 stars
86. It Happens in the Dark by Carol O'Connell. 3.5 stars. Audio
87. Fun House by Chris Grabenstein. 4 stars.

October

88. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch. 4 stars
89. Free Fall by Chris Grabenstein. 4 stars
90. Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch. 3.75 stars
91. Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman. 3 stars
92. Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer. 3.75 stars
94. The Accusers by Lindsay Davis. 3.75 stars
95. The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer. 5 stars
96. The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston. 3.5 stars

November

97. Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn. 5 stars
98. Never Go Back by Lee Child. 4.5 stars
99. Nine for the Devil by Mary Reed. 3.5 stars
100. Doc by Mary Doria Russell. 5 stars
101. Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler. 5 stars

December

102. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn. 3.5 stars
103. Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Garriger. 4.5 stars
104. The Shining by Stephen King. 4 stars. Audio
105. Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer. 3.5 stars. Audio
106. Ovid by David Wishart. 3.5 stars
107. Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt. 4 stars Audio
108. River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz. 3.5 stars. LT Early Review.
109. Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway by Sara Gran. 4 stars.
110. Kitty's Big Trouble by Carrie Vaughn. 3.5 stars. Audio.
111. The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer. 4.5 stars. Kindle.

Currently reading:

The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer
The Calamitous Fourteenth Century by Barbara W. Tuchman (audiio)

On the TBR pile:

The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Archangel's Legion by Nalini Singh

Hi Mary!! Hope you have a nice Labor Day!! Today is my last day of vacation. :-( I think I'll read, maybe go for a long walk. Hopefully I can convince my guy to go out to dinner or at least get take out so I don't have to cook.

Hi Mary, I just read on Joanne's (coppers) thread that you are a new resident in Colorado. I live in Missouri now but have fond memories of living in Colorado Springs in the 90s. My son and DIL live in Littleton so I try to get out there once or twice a year. They are expecting their first baby January 1st so I will be a more regular visitor. I hope you can join Joanne, Anne (AMQS), and me next time I come out. Not sure when that will be. We usually try to get together at The Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch but maybe we could meet in LoDo as that will be closer to you. I haven't been to that location yet.

I love that picture. You will have to go up in the mountains soon and take some pictures of the Aspen in the fall. So pretty. I think later in September is probably the best time.

Around here, the Japanese maples change color in November and lose their leaves in late December. YOu'll have to get used to having dramatic seasons again.

Mary - congratulations on your new thread! Love the atmospheric opening photo.

Hi, Tammy ~ Hope you managed to go out on your last day of vacation! Labor Day was strange for me this year. For one thing, I almost forgot what day it was (I've found that, if I don't look at a calendar every day, now that I'm not working, I lose track of what day it is). For another, no sadness that a long weekend was ending.

Oh, Donna ~ That would be lovely! My niece lives in Littleton, so I get over there frequently. I'd love getting together with you, Joanne and Anne and don't at all mind going to Highlands Ranch. My nieces live up in the mountains, in the small town of Frisco, which is just north of Breckenridge and a bit northeast of Aspen, so I plan to visit them with my cameras and, I hope, get a little shooting in.

Hi, Roni ~ I'm looking forward to the changes of season, though the cold and snow of winter is not something I think I will enjoy too much. After 40 years in SoCal, my blood is thin (and my arthritis painful). But we have a fireplace, and I plan to spend a lot of time in front of a fire, under a comforter, with a cup of hot tea/cocoa/coffee and a pile of books beside me. BTW, I thought you lived in SoCal too. Did you move?

Thanks, Paul! Glad you like the photo. It's one of my favorites!

73. The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James. 3.5 stars. Audio. Sweet, but I got a little bored in the middle.

74. The First Prophet by Kay Hooper. 3.5 stars. A new series in the Bishop Files group, about a young woman who's head injury brought about psychic abilities in her that have made her a target for a shadowy group. I would have given it a higher rating, but she was a bit annoying with her "oh, poor me, I'm doomed" attitude. I just wanted to slap her and say to get over it and learn to use her superpowers that many people would probably give a lot to have.

75. Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh. 3.5 stars. I really like her angel fantasy series, and I liked this one too, but there was just too many sex scenes. I must be getting old, because though I enjoyed the story surrounding them, all that graphic sex just didn't appeal to me. Anyone, this is the latest in a fantasy series about a world controlled by psy talents.

I do live in S. Cal, and while we don't have much color change, those Japanese maples do just as I said--change color in November and drop their leaves in late December! And I'm retired too, so no problems about a last day of vacation--I think that was tjblue's comment.

Mary - Well I suppose that at least the graphic sex was not in a graphic book; those are not, thankfully, available for sale in Malaysia.
Have a lovely weekend.

Haha, Paul ~ No, and thank goodness for that! Though graphic sexually explicit novels are available in the U.S. ~ I've seen The Story of O in a bookstore, for one ~ they are definitely not for me! You have a great weekend too!

Hi, Roni ~ Sorry for the mixup. I've edited my post so it is correct. You're also right about the Japanese maples, which do change color in the late fall in L.A. My next-door neighbor in Pasadena had a huge one that I just loved to look at, all year long! I don't think there is any green quite as fresh as a Japanese maple in the spring, and the beautiful red leaves in the autumn are lovely in a landscape of mainly brown and green.

Hi Mary, it's hard to believe that autumn is just around the corner! Here on the west coast of Canada we had a beautiful day, but there is that definite feeling of summer ending in the air. I've read the first of the John Ceepak series and quite enjoyed it as well. I have the next two on my shelves but not sure when I will get around to pulling one down.

Hi, Judy ~ Hope you've recovered from your cold. It's been sweltering here the past few days to the point I think I got a touch of heat stroke the other day after being outside for awhile, so I can't even imagine the cooler weather that is coming soon, though I am looking forward to a colorful autumn this year! I'm on the third in the Ceepak series ~ Whack A Mole (aren't the titles of these books such fun!?) ~ and enjoying it a lot. These books are such a treat!

76. Persuader by Lee Child. 4 stars. eBook. In this one, Jack Reacher goes undercover in the house of a smuggler to rescue a compromised undercover agent (or is she dead?) and bring down a psychokiller traitor who he thought he had killed a decade or so earlier. Pretty good story, and the last of the series I had not read yet but for the latest, which I hope to be reading soon.

Well, yesterday the weather suddenly shifted from the 90s to the upper 60s. Quite a shock to the system. It happened so quickly, I was driving home from dropping off my sister at work at around 2 p.m., saw a sign saying the community pool was closed, and thought, "Damn, why did they have to close the pool when it's still so hot out!" Then an hour later, I was shivering and looking for a sweater, thinking about turning on the heat, though I refrained. Even in L.A., we got 60 degree weather sometimes and I survived okay.

So, books. All these are part of series, for September Series and Sequels.

77. Whack A Mole by Chris Grabensein. 4.5 stars. eBook These murder mysteries set on the Jersey shore are so good!

78. Lucinda, Darkly by Sunny. 3.5 stars. A fantasy novel, third in the series on the Moniere, this one about the sister of the High Prince of Hell, a demon dead female named, well, Lucinda. Not bad for soft porn, though the changes from first person to third in alternating chapters isn't a style I enjoy.

79. The Good Knight by Sarah Woodbury. 4 stars. eBook. A Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mystery. First in a series. Not bad, but at times the writing was a little confusing, and the character of Gwen seemed a bit independent for those times. Also, I caught an anachronism, I think, though I failed to make note of it. If I get a chance, I'll find it and post it here. I do intend to continue with the series.

Here you are - I lost you briefly.

LOL, well, yes, our weather can, and often does, turn on a dime! Don't worry, it'll be warm (and hopefully not 90!) again in a few days, probably. Really, you are going to be so surprised by our winters.

I'm glad Donna mentioned our little get-togethers! The TC's LoDo location would be fun for a change.

South Park (where Frisco is) will have some great fall color soon.

So glad you're continuing to enjoy the Ceepak series. I'm still only reading the second one - I can't seem to finish anything. Maybe I should get off the computer and read... :)

Are you okay, Joanne? I was offline for a couple of days ~ power was out ALL DAY on Thursday, and then I couldn't get the wifi to work yesterday, so I wasn't able to get online until today. What's the situation where you live? I'm going to check your thread now.

80. Mind Scrambler, 4 stars and
81. Rolling Thunder, 4 stars, both by Chris Grabenstein, and both great fun.
82. Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas, 3.5 stars. Okay paranormal romance.

We are high and dry here in the South Metro area. I saw on Anne's thread news of your hail storm today. That was quite a storm! Hope you're all dried out tonight.

You are rolling right through the Ceepak books! I'm glad to see that they continue to please! I'm almost done with #2, Mad Mouse.

So glad you're okay, Joanne! We're still mopping up. Tomorrow we're going out to buy sandbags. And a wetvac. LOL

Glad you're enjoying the Ceepak mysteries too. I may have to buy Hell Hole, because I don't think it's available at the library. (Unless I can get it from the interlibrary system.

Mary, I found you! And WOW -- I didn't realize you moved here so recently, so welcome! I love Colorado, and consider myself a near-native (though I have lived other places, including overseas). I hope you love it (though it's not so nice to start off with flooding. I assure you in all my years here there's never been anything like this). I find that people are very friendly. You will have very cold days, but they don't last. Even throughout winter we have sunshine more often than not. Denver is well known for having many parks, and of course the mountains are very, very close. You will love visiting your niece in Frisco, and Breckenridge is a beautiful little town.

Hopefully we can all meet up when Donna comes back. I'd love to go to LoDo -- it is closer for me, and I love that Tattered Cover. Donna, when are you coming?

I have heard tell that that Tattered Cover is a bookstore to travel miles to see. I guess it will have to be on my itinery when I finally make it to the States sometime in 2014.

Mary have a lovely remainder of your weekend. x

Hi, Anne ~ Thanks for your welcome! I'm looking forward to getting together with you, Joanne and Donna. I hadn't known about The Tattered Cover, but I'm putting it on my list of things to do before the winter snows (with my luck, this year could be a record breaker, sigh) turn me into a hermit. :) It's pretty close to me, less than 1/2 hour's drive. (BTW, that's the way Angelenos describe how far a place is, by driving time rather than miles. Is it the same here?)

Hi, Paul ~ Thanks! I had a pretty good weekend. Read a lot and watched The Lion in Winter with O'Toole and Hepburn (and a couple of other wonderful actors whom I love) on our new big screen TV.

I don't usually watch TV, but my sister does, and I decided that, now that I'm retired, I will have time to watch some films I've missed over the years (and rewatch some that I loved), so we went with a big fancy-dancy TV. It's a little overwhelming, having it hanging in the middle of the living room wall, but I try to avoid looking at it when I walk through the room. Also, we plan to move the bookcases to either side of it, which I hope will tone it down a bit.

Haha, I was so busy reading I forgot to add the books I've read:

83. Hell Hole by Chris Grabenstein. 4 stars. Another really excellent adventure with Danny and Ceepak. This one involves a boardwalk ride that's been shut down, a politician who's a presidential contender, military veterans recently returned from Iraq, and the horrors of war.

84. Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch. 4.5 stars. The first in the Rivers of London series, all I can say is "Wow!" and "Thank you everyone on LT who raved about it." Set in present day London, it follows the career of a Metropolitan Police cadet whose encounter with a ghost one night sets him on course to become a sorcerer's apprentice and an introduction to the gods and goddesses who personify the various Rivers of London, hence the clever title of the series. Good writing and world building, the juxtaposition of the magical and the mundane, and a good sense of humor, make this a worthwhile read.

85. Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh. 3.5 stars. If you enjoy (or don't mind skipping over) the soft porn, this novel in the Psi/Changling series is a pretty good.

Wait what?? How did I miss this. 85 books???

Well CONGRATULATIONS to you, Mary!!

That's quite an accomplishment, especially considering your recent move.

Thanks, Joanne! Reading is one of the ways I got through it all without cracking. :) Also, now that I'm retired, I can get through a lot more books than when I had to work. And most of the books I've read were easy reading. Even so, 85 books in a little over half the year is pretty cool beans!

Hi, Mary. I've been off the threads while I was with company, but wanted to come by and see how the settling in was going for you. Great to see a meet-up in your future, too.

Hi, Roni ~ Hope you had fun with your company. I'm really looking forward to meeting face-to-face and getting to know some of the lovely LTers I've met and gotten to know here on LT. Wish we could all have a meet-up ~ wouldn't that just be amazing!

Mary, not sure about Coloradans in general, but I think of distances in terms of how long it takes to get there rather than miles. The distance to my school this year is about the same as it was to my schools last year, but the drive time is about half this year.

Part of me would love lots of snow this year, but my school has already been closed two days for flooding. I'm not sure how many extra days the district has built in, but I'm guessing that any more school missed will result in make-up days in June. The truth is that Denver has so much sunshine and nice weather that the snow is gone fairly quickly. You should be able to drive wherever you need most days.

Hi, Anne! Good to know that I can continue to talk about distance in terms of time rather than miles. So much is different here from SoCal; it's good to have one thing that's similar.

I am hoping for a little snow, but not much, at least not down here in the Denver area. I guess up in the ski resort areas, a hefty snowfall would be good, both for winter revenues and for spring melt. But I have my down coat and Ugg boots and woolen socks and heavy silk head/neck wrap and lots and lots of scarves (some that I knitted myself)so I should be good to go in the cold, so long as we have heat in the house. In that regard, we are going to be getting a half-cord of wood for the fireplace, even though I don't think that will provide enough heat to get us through an electrical outage during a cold snap. I guess we should also get a generator and a couple of portable heaters, at least one for the parrot's room. She's a tropical creature and doesn't do well in temps below, like, 60.

86. It Happens in the Dark by Carol O'Connell. 3.5 stars. Audio, read by Barbara Rosenblat. The latest Kathy Mallory mystery. Not my favorite of the series.

87. Fun House by Chris Grabenstein. 4 stars. No. 7 in the John Ceepak mystery series, set in a Jersey shore resort town, and poking fun at reality TV, one of the worst features of modern culture, imho.

Hi Mary -- just found you and noticed you are fond of L.A. main library. I grew up in Sunland/Tujunga and have always loved that library (left you a note about that at your profile page before coming here). I see now that you lived in Pasadena until recently which explains why a Coloraden would list it as a favorite library.

Also wanted to remind you and Roni about liquidambars -- another lovely source of fall color here in So. Cal.

Hi, Reba! I saw your note and replied on your page before seeing this; glad to make your acquaintance! I still love L.A. Central Library, though I very much like Aurora Central Library too. That reminds me, I need to post a picture I took of the inside of the library showing the neat slanted bottom shelves, which every library in the world should emulate!

Thanks for the tip on liquidambars, which I apparently missed while living in SoCal.

Here's one of the snapshots I got while in the mountains on Tuesday:

And another:



ETA that my sister says the sky was not that deep blue, but I did not 'shop this pic; it's the way it came out using my iPhone's camera.

And here's the picture I took at the Aurora Central Library. I'm so impressed with the bottom shelves, the way they tilt up, that I told the librarian on my way out. Gushed at her, actually. She looked surprised that I even noticed, but, at my age, bending down to see the titles on the lower shelves is no fun!

I agree those shelves are wonderful!! I too am at that age and my knees absolutely do not appreciate regular bottom shelves. I'm surprised you didn't know about liquidambar. They're lovely trees all year and in the fall turn shades from red to yellow. We drove I-70 from east to west last fall and I was breathless from the wonderful colors in the Rockies. Beautiful area any time of year but the aspens were fantastic in fall.

I may have seen liquidambar but not known their name. My nieces live in Frisco, up near Breckenridge, which is where we went to see the aspens and where I took those pix. I love going up to visit them, but oh! The air is thin. I end up gasping for breath, sometimes just sitting there. :) At least I haven't had any other bad reactions from the altitude. I do drink an incredible amount of extra water when I go up, so that may help.

I can see the shelves, but the other two pictures have messages from Photobucket that you have moved or deleted the pictures!

Oh! Thanks, Roni. I'll fix that right now.

ETA would you let me know if you can see them now? Thanks!

Yes, they are there now. Beautiful!

Beautiful photos, Mary!

Here's a liquidambar in fall. This one looks fairly young because they get much bigger and fuller than this and many get much darker red in the fall but it gives you the idea.

Thanks, Roni and Joanne! Yes, the aspens were just gorgeous. Even more so than my snapshots show.

Oh! I've seen those before, Reba! I guess I just never knew they were called liquidambar.

The liquidambar is a beautful tree in any season but they do drop spiney balls in the late summer which act as ball-bearings when underfoot on a sidewalk. I've had two really nasty falls from them in my life which, I hope, has taught me to be very careful when they're around.

Oh, ow! Not sure I'd want to be around one of those trees when they drop their...I was going to say balls, but that sounds a bit risque. Anyway, they are apparently beautiful but deadly.

I saw this cartoon on FB today and had to share. Unfortunately, it describes my life on some days too well.

great cartoon!!

I am intent on seizing the day too Mary as I am starting with a personal trainer today. It was confession time this morning as to how much time was spent sitting, what we eat etc etc etc. Nicholas the personal trainer spent much of the time with eyebrows arched!

LOL I don't even want to think of how far up on his head his brows would have been raised had it been me there instead of you. Such a good thing you're doing for yourself, though, Paul! When do you plan to start working out? Me, I plan to start yoga as soon as my Medicare supplemental coverage membership card arrives ~ gym memberships (including yoga) are included in the plan I chose here in Colorado. I decided to begin with yoga because (I hope) the stretching will help with my joint pain, which makes it hard even to walk, much less exercise.

Hi Mary! Beautiful leaf-peeping photos -- where did you go?

Thanks, Anne! We went up to Frisco for a late lunch at Silverheels, and then through Breckenridge and just beyond up a mountain road, not sure which one, around 4:30 or 5 p.m. to just before sunset (the "golden hour"). My niece who used to live up there was driving. I'm thinking of returning tomorrow, alone, just to take a few more photos, but I need to check with the girls (my nieces who live in Frisco now) to see about weather, whether the leaves are still golden, where exactly I should go.

Oh, I love Breckenridge! Have a great day tomorrow.

Thanks! I really liked Breckenridge too. So quaint and cute! I like Frisco, too, but it's not quite as quaint as Breck.

Not sure I'll make it up there, but I'll be posting more photos if I do (and anything comes out).

Mary, I do so miss the Aspens at this time of year. Thanks for posting the pictures.

I also think those slanted lower shelves are a great idea. Our library is doing a big makeover next year. I'm going to suggest that they do this.

I hear ya' about joint pain and difficulty moving!! I too am thinking about starting yoga. Our church is offering a free 90 minute hatha yoga class starting 11/2...sounds too good to pass up.

Oh, yes! You should definitely give it a try, Reba! Especially if it's free. I did yoga before a few years ago, and it helped me a lot!

Glad you liked the pix, Donna! I was brought up in Chicago, so I used to know about seasons, but I lived in the L.A. basin or the semi-desert area of the Santa Clarita Valley for about 40 years, where there are only two seasons: summer and rain. (Except for a few specimens like the ones Reba posted about and the one I posted in my first picture that change colors in the fall, it's usually either green or brown.) So this is a real treat for me, with all the golds and even some reds and oranges mixed in. And as for the library shelves, whoever thought that up should be awarded a medal on behalf of seniors everywhere!

88. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch. 4 stars. 2nd in the Rivers of London series, starring magician's apprentice Peter Grant and a supporting cast of London cops, evil magicians, talking heads, ghosties and ghoulies and other creatures one wouldn't want to meet on a brightly lit street, never mind in a dark alley. Though I thought the first in the series, Midnight Riot, better, I still enjoyed this one and am looking forward to the third.

89. Free Fall by Chris Grabenstein. 4 stars. 8th and latest in the John Ceepak mystery series, and another good one. This time, Ceepak's reprobate father is back, complicating the investigation Ceepak and his sidekick Danny are working on ~ the murder of a wealthy retired dentist.

90. Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch. 3.75 stars. Audio. Third in the Rivers of London series has Peter Grant investigating a murder of an American art student and stumbling on the mystery of something magical happening beneath London. A little confusing, but I think that was because it was an audiobook and it's better to read this series in print, though I eventually came to like the voice of the reader (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, someone I've never come across before).

91. Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman. 3 stars. Audio. This could have been a really great horror story if the protagonist wasn't such a pompous jerk and all the characters unsavory, not to mention TSTL. I won't go into specifics, not to spoil it for others, but there were two points in the story where common sense would have dictated other actions by the residents of the beseiged town, and they did not even consider it. (I call that lazy plotting. Yes, if they had done either of those things, without something else happening, the story would have been over, but there were a number of things that could have changed that result, if the author hadn't been too lazy to find them. IMO.) I almost stopped reading at the second point, but I'd already invested a lot of time, so I read on and used the listening time to knit a scarf to give to one of my nieces for Christmas.

At least you made good use of your time :-) I'm one of those who never (at least yet) abandons a book once I've started reading it. May reflect my innate optimism or just stubbornness -- not sure which.

I used to be like that, Reba ~ I'd slog through every book I started out of sheer stubborness and because I was raised that way: "You finish every bite on your plate before you leave the table, young lady." But I was younger then, and time seemed to stretch into forever. Now I'm looking old age in the eye, and I realized a few years ago that I just don't have time for that.

I'm more than looking old age in the eye, I'm afraid. Not sure I'll ever get over my drive to finish every book I start *sigh*

92. Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer. 3.75 stars. I love Heyer's romances. They are erudite and fun and sweet. In this one, Philip is a young man of the land, happy to be a country squire and to marry the girl next door whom he has loved forever. But she (and his father) wish he were just a bit more refined. When he hies off to Paris to learn refinement and returns a dandy, she gets a little more than she had hoped for.

My only beef was the blatant sexism toward the end. "Women don't reason. That's a man's part." and "They (women) want mastering, most of 'em." I suppose that may have been the prevailing sensibility in Georgian England, but it annoyed me nonetheless. Even so, I found much to enjoy in the transformation of an English country bumpkin into a nonpareil to win the hand of the woman he loved.

94. The Accusers by Lindsay Davis. 3.75 stars. Audio. I may or may not have read this before. I thought I had read all of the Falco mysteries, but this one just did not ring a bell. Anyway, it was okay ~ well written and erudite, as are all of Ms. Davis's works ~ but I just didn't find it as fun and interesting as the others in the series. For one thing, the only characters at all appealing were Falco and his extended family; the others were all evil or just plain nasty. Well, most of the Falco books feature nasty characters, but this one just didn't appeal. Maybe it had to do with the fact that much of the "action" took place in a courtroom, and I'm not that much into courtroom dramas.

ETA that, though it is October and I'm supposed to be reading horror in honor of Halloween, I'm currently enjoying another Heyer: The Nonesuch.

Hope your weather is as lovely as ours and that you're having a wonderful weekend.

How lovely to be enjoying Heyer!

I know what you mean about not giving up on a book -- there's something about it I find very hard. I'm getting better about it, though, particularly for audio books. Those can represent hours and hours in the car, and I just can't go there if I hate it.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Hi, Reba ~ We had some nice weather over the weekend, though it stayed cold, but I mostly stayed inside doing fun things like rearranging my bedroom and trying to figure out how a MOUSE got in the house. *shudder* I saw the little critter tearing down the hallway from the direction of MY BEDROOM *bigger shudder* to my sister's room. I tore the place apart and found some holes under my sister's bathroom sink. My sister thinks it came in because of the cold, since we never saw any signs of vermin before. I'm just worried that they (because, you know, where there's one, there's a hundred) are after the parrot's food, so I've been removing her dry food in the evening and vacuuming up all the bits that she tosses around during the day when she eats. Anyway, my sis and I are trying to decide whether to plug up the holes and set traps ourselves or hire an exterminator. I'm for an exterminator. So, anyway, that was my weekend. Hope yours was MUCH better!

Hi, Anne ~ Yes, I got turned onto Heyer toward the end of 2011 and have been gobbling up her romances ever since. She has such a way with characters and dialogue, and I love the humor in her books. I used to read a lot of romance until it got to be that so many of them seemed like soft porn. Nothing wrong with a little sex, but I was always more into the way the characters dealt with each other OUT of the bedroom, their growth, their interactions with their others in their world ~ in other words, the story. So far, I've only given up on one of her books (Friday's Child, I think the title was), but only because it was an audiobook and I disliked the reader. I'm not partial to her mysteries, but I only read one of them and it was okay. Hope you had a great weekend!

Mouse in the house = not fun!! We had a mouse/mice get into the RV each winter it was in storage. Never could figure out how to stop them. It's certainly one thing I"ll not miss now that the RV is sold. Since we live on the 6th floor in the middle of the city we don't have to worry about that at home. In fact, we hardly even have flies up here.

Adopt a cat, Mary, or better yet, a pair! Goodby, mice!

Ha! That's what I said to my sister, Roni. She vetoed it. :( In her defense, we aren't really allowed to have a cat or dog in this place. I tell you, I can't WAIT to move! We will start looking in May and hope to have another place by the first of June.

They are such craftly little critters, Reba! I called the landlady (I call her the Dragon Lady, begging pardon of any dragon who might see this) and she is having someone come over and plug up all the holes and cracks and such where they can get in. AFTER she accused me of bad housekeeping skills and of bringing them with me in boxes from L.A. and of not cleaning up after my parrot and even that I might have brought a mouse into the house in a grocery shopping bag! Apparently, the person she called to do the repairs told her that mice often come into houses with the cold weather, if there is even a crack 1/4 inch wide somewhere in the walls of the house. Honestly, I don't know HOW I kept my temper.

95. The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer. 5 stars. I think this may be my favorite Heyer romance yet. What rich humor! What great characters! Just delightful!

Yes indeed it sounds like you need to move. Your landlady must be a very unhappy person (and trying to spread her misery to others). You're wise to get away from that bad energy.

The few years out of the last 25 or so that we didn't have a cat, we always had a mouse in the house this time of year.

We were just talking about mice at work a few weeks ago. Mice and spiders are common complaints! Try putting steel wool around the pipes (where they come in the apt.) under your sinks.

I've yet to read a Heyer...but I think I have one around somewhere...

I'm going to send you a PM, Mary.

SUCCESS! Caught the little critter inside my parrot's cage last night. (Luckily, Nickel slept in my bedroom last night rather than in her cage.) It is now history. I'm leaving the traps around just in case it has siblings, but crossing my fingers it was the only one. Whew!

Hi, Joanne ~ Got your PM and thank you! Looking forward to it!

I will certainly keep my fingers crossed, Mary. I would be freaking out!!

It was so nice to finally meet you, Mary! I hope to see you again soon!

Mary, I hope our meetup on Sunday is the first of many more. You know how strong the pull of a baby can be. I'll definitely be a more frequent visitor to Littleton.

I am still on my stop over in KC. My daughter had a dead battery this morning. It's a good thing I was here so we could get the kids to school! I need to figure out a way to be with all of my kids and grandkids more frequently. It's a good thing I don't mind driving!

Have a good week.

It was great meeting you both and Anne last weekend and also hope it's the first of many (frequent) meetups!

96. The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston. 3.5 stars. Audio. Chilling look at the real possibility of smallpox used as a biological weapon by al Quaida, Russia...the U.S.? Well, the possible culprits are legion, but the ultimate fault apparently lies with those (including some in the U.S.) who decided, instead of destroying all traces of smallpox, to hold onto samples of the smallpox virus after the disease had been eradicated in the late 70s. (Shades of Isuldur at the end of the War of the Last Alliance!) Of course, with the anthrax and other biological weapon scares of the past couple of decades, and the rise of extremists all over the globe, the chance of the virus falling into the wrong hands is all too real, so the U.S. is experimenting on it to try and find a vaccine that will protect everyone in the country.

Oh, you say you had a smallpox vaccination when you were a kid? Sorry to burst your bubble, but it is no longer effective, so you're (and I'm) just as much at risk as those who haven't been innoculated before.

You're welcome. Happy Halloween.

97. Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn. 5 stars. Latest in the Chet and Bernie mystery series, and a lovely way to end my reading until I can start up again when NaNoWriMo is over on December 1. In this one, the duo goes to Louisiana bayou country on a missing person case, which, of course, turns into so much more, including lots of boat rides and a battle between Chet and Iko, a huge alligator that terrorizes the swamps thereabouts. Needless to say, (SPOILER ALERT)
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Chet the Jet will be starring in the next book of the series.

Looks like a very successful meet-up, Mary. A bit envious that I am so far away from potential meet-ups most of the time.

Have a lovely weekend.

Hi, Paul! Yes, the meetup was lovely, and I'm looking forward to the next. Hope one of these days you can join us! Have a great week!

98. Never Go Back by Lee Child. 4.5 stars. Latest Jack Reacher thriller. Full of great Reacher moments, if the plot is mostly improbable (goes without saying), but without all the gratuitous sex scenes! Yay! In this one, Reacher, goes back to the 110th to meet Susan Turner, the new C.O. of his old M.P. outfit, just because he liked her voice over the telephone. Of course, he falls into a shitstorm, with Susan Turner framed for treason and incarcerated, and himself falsely accused of murder, adultery (apparently a very bad violation in the military), and mayhem, and is likewise incarcerated. Now, we all know that Reacher is no stranger to the aforesaid activities, but these particular crimes were three that he didn't do. A real page turner, one of my favorites. Like another reviewer said, Reacher novels are "paperback crack."

99. Nine for the Devil by Mary Reed. 3.5 stars. A Lord John, Chamberlain mystery, set in the Byzantine court of Justinian just after the death of the Empress Theodora. What a strange time that was.

Hope you're all bundled up and keeping warm today! Brrr!

Happy Winter!

100. Doc by Mary Doria Russell. 5 stars. Audio. I read this in print format when it was first published and loved it, but the audio version brings a whole new dimension to the novel. The reader Mark Bramhall did an amazing job; his rendition of John Henry Holliday's drawl was perfect, as were pretty much every character's individual voices. I plan to read/listen to it again, maybe just before the sequel "Epitaph" comes out. Can't wait.

BTW, I now live in the Denver area, not far from Doc Holliday's burial place. I'm planning a visit come spring.

Hi Mary, I had misplaced your thread somehow and just found it again. I was glad to see you rated The Nonsuch so highly as I just picked it up the other day. Your little snowlady is very cute, but I am in no hurry to see any snow around here. Right now we are having beautiful, clear, sunny and cold weather, but so far no snow in the forecast.

Hi, Judy ~ Thanks, I thought the little snowlady was the cutest thing, but she and most of the rest of the snow's all gone now, and tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50s; next week in the 60s! I'm sure the winter weather is just beginning though.

I've enjoyed all of Heyer's romances, but the only mystery of hers I tried (can't recall the title offhand) wasn't so enjoyable.

101. Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler. 6 stars. Audio. Man, that woman could write! This is vampire fiction unlike any other I've read, told from the pov of the vampire "child." What's really different about it is its themes of race, sexuality, and what it means to be a member of a community, as well as the importance of biodiversity, which was one of the themes of Lilith's Brood, which I enjoyed earlier this year.

Have a great Thansgiving, Mary.

Happy Thanksgiving, Mary!

Happy Thanksgiving Mary!!! Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Mary - From my tropical climes to your temperate ones I wish to send you the warmest Thanksgiving greetings, whether as an exiled Brit I qualify or not. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Thanks so much, Paul, Roni, Tammy and Judy! Hope you all had a great weekend too.

102. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn. 3.5 stars. Audio. Pleasant regency romance. Made me chuckle out loud a few times.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, Mary -- I love the snow lady!

Hi, Reba ~ wasn't she precious! Gone by now, of course, but I don't despair. More snow on the way, along with below zero temps. Happy Winter! Brrrrr.

103. Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Garriger. 4.5 stars. Really fun sequel to Etiquette and Espionage, a YA novel set in the world of Heartless. Actually better than the first, imo. The characters weren't quite so annoyingly teenage-angsty.

I'm looking forward to starting the Gail Carriger Finishing School series, but I have promised myself to finish her Alexia Tarrabotti one first.

>88 Storeetllr: Too cute!

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!

One doesn't need to finish one before starting the other, Judy, though it wouldn't hurt. Actually, the Finishing School novels are set in a time prior to the Parasol Protectorate series. It's kind of fun to see what some of the characters were like when they were young(er), though with vampires I don't suppose they change much. :)

Thanks, Joanne. I'm kind of looking forward to the coming snow so I can make a bigger snowlady or gentleman (or both, depending on how much snow we actually get here). Just hoping it holds off until at least 5 p.m. today as I have a 3 p.m. massage scheduled, and my little sports car will flounder for sure if it has to go out in a blizzard.

Oooh, I love Carriger! Haven't managed the YA series yet. That reminds me, I should go put it on my Christmas list...

For me it more a matter of needing to finish one series before I start on another, I simply have too many series that I am following now! I have over 300 series that I seem to be reading so I really need to finish some off!

That's a lot of series! I am often compelled to "finish" a series once I start it, but what does one do when the author just keeps adding to it? :)

Hi, Faith! I love getting books for Christmas too, though I sometimes don't read the books I'm given (or that I buy) ~ instead, I "save" them and keep borrowing library books which I then must read right away before they're due back. *sigh* One of these days, I'm going to go through my book shelves and pull all the books I've been "saving" and read them. Maybe, if the snow continues and I get socked in, I'll have to do just that.

Oh dear, Mary, I heard from Mike that you are getting more snow. I hope you got your massage in today despite the weather. Colorado is not giving you the warm welcome that I wished for you. I hope the sun comes out tomorrow and evaporates it but not until you've had a chance to build another Snow Lady...and a friend for her. We are supposed to get some sleet or ice in the morning followed by snow. I'm looking forward to an excuse to stay home and read.

Hi, Donna ~ Yes, more snow, but worse is the freezing (well, actually, BELOW freezing) temps we've had over the past week. I didn't go out all week, until today, when it feels positively balmy in the mid-40s! But I guess you are getting some winter weather there too! Looking forward to seeing you sometime next year on one of your trips out to see the newest member of the family.

Have been on a movie jag, having discovered that I have free access to some on demand films and TV shows as an Amazon Prime member (who knew?!?). In the past couple of days, I watched all three of the Millenium Trilogy films from Sweden and thought they were very well done! Now am deciding whether to watch the American version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. In the meantime, I'm halfway through with the Swedish film adaptation of The Man from Beijing, with the same actor playing the judge's husband as played Blomqvist in the Millenium films.

Hi Mary - Well it finally got above freezing today - YAY!!

The Amazon Prime video is a nice little perk, especially since the upped the price of Prime! I bought a Roku box over the summer which allows us to watch on our TV.

Sometimes I think between that and Netflix, we should dump our cable. But nah, that'll never happen! :)

Until I moved in with my sister and we bought a big screen TV, I hadn't done any (or very little) TV or movie watching for about 5 years. I seem to be making up for it in spades!

Roku, huh? I'm going to have to Google that.

TV's gotten a lot better in the last five years or so - you could spend a lot of time catching up! :)

Oh, I am. Believe me. I seem to be addicted to Criminal Minds just now. Before it was Cold Case. I have spent hours watching episode after episode. The mind boggles.

My sis also wants me to start up some dramas like the one that ended just recently ~ about the h.s. chemistry teacher turned drug dealer. Can't remember the name. I'm resisting. I just can't get hung up on yet another series or I'll never get anything else done!

What TV shows have you found particularly watchworthy?

Breaking Bad is the one your sister is referring to. It is excellent! And Mad Men is great. Then there's Downton Abbey.

I agree that TV has gotten better over the last few years. I am a huge fan of Downton Abbey, which should be starting up again in January, I also loved the first season of Homeland which I recently watched. Oh, and Call the Midwives is another one I think is excellent.

Haha, not only do I have to worry about dodging book bullets, now I have to try and dodge TV bullets! :)

Yes, it was Breaking Bad I was thinking of. My sister is/was obsessed with that, and also Homeland and Masters of Sex. I've seen a couple of episodes of each, unfortunately not the first of them so I wasn't able to get into them all that much. We just recently watched the first episode of Downton Abbey and have the rest of Season 1 in the queue for a time we can watch together. I think my daughter liked Mad Men, though I haven't seen that on offer at Amazon Prime. I hadn't heard of Call the Midwives, but it sounds interesting. Thanks for the reccies!

I think they all need to be watched in order to be appreciated.

I can never keep track of what's on Amazon and what's on Netflix.

Seconding the Call the Midwife endorsement! Everybody seems to like Homeland but I haven't tried it yet.

Oh, and Doc Martin is a lot of fun! I could honestly go on and on..... :)

Doc Martin? Another one I haven't heard of before. Keep them coming, Joanne. Now that I'm retired, I have almost unlimited time to read and watch TV shows and movies. I have been knitting scarves and hats for Christmas presents, so watching TV (and listening to audio books) is perfect right now!

Speaking of which:

104. The Shining by Stephen King. 4 stars. Audio. I read this years ~ no, make that decades ~ ago and remember that, while I enjoyed it, it was not my favorite King. Now that he's come out with Doctor Sleep, which I believe is a sequel, I thought it would be a good idea to reread it, and I'm into audiobooks just now, so... I found that I had almost entirely forgotten the story. Oh, I remember the big scene of Jack with the mallet smashing the door and grinning, and I knew it was a sort of ghost story set in a hotel in the mountains of Colorado, but the rest of the story was like reading it for the first time.

Then you can always visit the "Overlook," which was inspired by the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. :)

*waving* at Mary

Oh! I have the Stanley Hotel on my list of places to visit, along with Doc Holliday's grave.

105. Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer. 3.5 stars. Audio. So, I was listening to it and enjoying it okay but thinking that it was kind of laconic for a Heyer historical romance. I was halfway through it before I realized it was condensed! Condensed books should not be allowed, or at least should be prominently labeled. Grrrrr.

106. Ovid by David Wishart. 3.5 stars. First in the Marcus Corvinus mystery series set in Rome during the reign of Tiburius. Enjoyable, but not my favorite of the series. Still, I am glad I finally found a copy to read (apparently it's hard to find and copies are expensive).

Even uncondensed, Faro's Daughter is one of my less-loved Heyer romances. It's just too farcical for me.

I agree, Roni. Farce doesn't usually bother me, but the story wasn't realistic within the context of the world it was set in, and I didn't care much for either of the protagonists. Maybe it's a good thing it was condensed or I might not have bothered to finish it. :)

I didn't realize Doc Holliday's grave was out there. I only went to Buffalo Bill's, which is on Lookout Mountain.

Hmm, I think it is. I think it's to the west of Denver somewhere. Mary Doria Russell posted recently that she went there when she had a book signing in Colorado. I'll go look it up and edit this post when I find the info.

I forgot to mention that Buffalo Bill's gravesite IS on my list of places to go. :)

ETA: Doc Holliday died Nov. 8, 1887 and was buried in Glenwood Springs, Garfield County, Colorado. Here's a pic of the gravestone:

Hard to believe the year is almost over! In fact, I hadn't thought about it until I saw an LT thread asking what our favorite books of 2013 were. I read 106 books (so far), only a few of which I rated 5 stars (or over) ~ not the best year for great books, but, going back, there were a few rated less than 5 stars that have stayed in my mind. Anyway, here's my list, a work in progress since there are still 3 weeks to finish more books:

Five-Star (and +) New (To Me)

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz. Enchanting story of a young night fairy who loses her wings. Going to buy this one when my great-niece gets a little older.
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz. YA fantasy
The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer. Delightful Regency romance
Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn. Latest Chet & Bernie mystery
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler. 6 stars (!) A unique take on the vampire mythos.

Five-Star Rereads

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
Doc by Mary Doria Russell (audio)

Less than 5-star Rated but That Have Stuck With Me

Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blaire, Early Reviewer first novel, a mystery series set in modern day Havana, Cuba
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, the devil wreaks havoc in Moscow
The John Ceepak mystery series, beginning with Tilt A Whirl, by Chris Grabenstein
Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch, book one of the Rivers of London fantasy-mystery series
The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston, non-fiction story of the conquering of smallpox and the potential of biowarfare. Not as well-written as I'd have liked, but the subject matter is chilling.

In happy hopes that 2014 will bring ever greater pleasures to your reading world, Mary:



Celebrate the return of the light with feasts, merriment, and gratitude for all the wonders of this wide green earth.

RMD

Thank you, Richard! I wish you the same, during the season and into 2014! And I LOVE the pomegranite ornament!

BTW, and not exactly on subject, my parrot adores pomegranite seeds, so every morning during pomegranite season, I break out a dozen seeds from a fresh pomegranite that I keep just for her and give them to her to eat with her breakfast. Not infrequently, she picks them out and they are just about the only part of her breakfast that she eats (tempermental eater).

107. Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt. 4 stars. This is the story of the dread pirate (apologies to William Goldman) Charming Mickey O'Connor and the very proper widow, Silence Hollingbrook, whom he had ruined a year prior to this story. I know a lot of people did not like O'Connor and didn't like this story, but I cannnot help myself: I love bad boys who turn out good (and, this being a romance, there must be a HEA or Hoyt would not be able to sell very many future books). Anyway, I liked it (though, again, soft porn).

#126: Looks like some terrific reading there, Mary. I am going to have to check and see if my local library has the ones I have not yet read. Thanks for the recommendations!

>128 Storeetllr:: My parrot adores pomegranate as well!!! He also picks them out of his fruit & veg dish and leaves his carrots / celery / etc... he has such a sweet tooth, I think it's worse than mine. Haha. Right now he's obsessed with clementines -- I can't eat one in his sight without him getting ridiculously excited and doing the "conure beg" for some. Both pomegranate seeds and clementine evoke the same unique reaction that I haven't seen happen with any other foods -- he closes his eyes now and again as he eats, just like when we taste a particularly divine piece of chocolate or dessert.

It's adorable and makes my heart smile every time!

Oh! I haven't tried clementines. Next grocery trip, I'll get some to try with Nickel.

Nickel does the same thing, Faith ~ she picks out the pom seeds (and edamame beans, which she also adores) and leaves the broc and the cauliflower and the carrots and the rest. I squish up the cooked yams, though, so it coats the rest of the stuff and she has to get at least a little Vitamin A each day. LOL

Hi, Stacia! Let me know what you think when you've read them.

I thought I'd post pix of my bookcases (which are still a work in progress, and which are currently stuffed with Christmas-y tchotchkis (if that's not too much an oxymoron). Notice the toys on a couple of the shelves. My niece loves to stand and touch the books and play with the toys there. She especially loves Birdscapes, which is a popup book with different birds and their sounds on each page.

Left


Right

One more photo of the scene that greeted me when I awoke this morning and opened the window shade:



We probably won't be getting snow for Christmas, but it's cold enough here that I imagine some of this snow, though just a light dusting, will still be around through the holidays.

Hi Mary, your bookshelves look very festive. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I will be leaving the day after Christmas to go and visit my Mom. When I get back it will be time to get set up for 2014, boy, did this year ever fly by!

Mary, I love your holiday adorned bookshelves. Of course, I had to enlarge the pictures so I could sneak a peek at your books! I hope you and your Colorado family have a wonderful Christmas!

We got a lot more snow here in Kansas than you got, Mary! 11-12 inches, and it will definitely still be here for Christmas. And it will be a week into the New Year before I get back home, so I'll be late setting up for 2013. Great shelves!

Love the bookshelves! Thanks for sharing the pics, Mary.

Snow or not, wishing you a wonderful Christmas, Mary. xx

Thanks, Judy, Donna, Roni, Stasia and Paul! So far, it is a wonderful Christmas! The family got together tonight ~ my nieces who live up in the mountains came down with their S.O.s and my niece, her husband and Baby Dylan came over for Christmas Eve. Here are a few pictures I took with my iPhone:

Baby Dylan entranced by the wind chime I got her (she loves our wind chimes so I thought she'd like one of her own, and maybe I started a tradition).



Dylan wearing the hot pink scarf I knitted for her (she loves pink!).



My nieces wearing the hat/scarf sets I knitted for them.

Dear Mary, what lovely photos! Best wishes to you and your family for a very merry Christmas! Hope to see you soon. Maybe when Donna comes out to see baby Hope:)

Merry Christmas Mary!!! Hope you have a wonderful holiday!!!

Have a great day, Mary. Hopefully, I can follow your reading a bit better next year, especially since I always enjoy your book selections.

Thanks, Anne ~ I wish we could all get together while Donna is here this time, but I kind of doubt she'll be able to be pried from that baby. LOL Next time, though, I hope! Hope you're having a great Christmas!

Thanks, Tammy! Hope yours is wonderful too!

Thanks, Mark. I also hope I can do better following you next year, but your threads go SO FAST! One or two day away and one is faced with hundreds of new posts. LOL I catch you on other threads, though, so for sure keep in touch with you that way.

Sitting here drinking my coffee and listening to Christmas music, contemplating the lovely time I had last night with my family and the Christmas gifts they gave me. I scored only two books, but they are good ones: Rocky Mountains by David Muench, a big photo book of all things Rockies, and Backroads & Byways of Colorado: Drives, Day Trips & Weekend Excursions by Drea Knufken. Being new to Colorado, I am champing at the bit to see more of it and surrounding states, all of which I've read about over the years but never explored. I'm particularly interested in southwest Colorado, around the Four Corners area, and Wyoming. I've never been to Yellowstone, and that omission I hope to remedy next spring.

Other gifts included a photo of me with my great-niece Dylan, a box of goodies from Trader Joe's (sent from Boston by my daughter, who has listened patiently as I bemoaned the lack of a TJs here in Colorado) and some handmade baklava, and a pair of flannel pjs from my sis. I told everyone not to give me anything this year, so these were lovely surprises.

Most thoughtful gift of all, though, was the gift given by one of my nieces who donated $$ to two charities in my and my sister's names. But most precious of all was being able to spend Christmas Eve with them all. Having just moved a huge truckload of my possessions from SoCal to Colorado last summer, much of which I will never use again but which I have been holding onto for years, I have come to know that being with loved ones is better than any things. Except maybe a comfy chair and bed. The rest is just stuff.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Mary!

And I love for photos - thanks for sharing!

Thanks, Joanne! Love the Christmas dogs!

Went a little crazy on Amazon today. Bought 5 eBooks for my Kindle at $1.99 each: Three were Georgette Heyer's (Black Sheep, The Corinthian and The Masqueraders; Doctor Sleep (thanks for the tip, RichardDerus), and the Magician's End. I haven't read any of Feist's fantasies yet, so I thought I'd try at a relatively reasonable price. Now, stepping away from the computer and shutting it down for the night before I do something even crazier!

Well, I started my thread for 2014! I'm still decorating, but, in case anyone would like to stop by while it's still shiny and new, just click here and say hi!

You're brave! I haven't ventured into 2014 just yet... I can barely keep up with threads here, let alone two groups! Ahhh!!! *runs away flailing*

Haha, Faith ~ I know what you mean. Coming on LT is almost enough sometimes for me to need anti-anxiety meds.

108. River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz. 3.5 stars. LT Early Review. I like Krentz and read all her novels, which are always well-written. This, like many, is enjoyable romantic suspense but is ultimately forgettable. I never really felt connected to the main characters ~ Lucy and Mason ~ and didn't feel that they had a strong connection to each other. Yes, we are told they had a strong connection and there is a good backstory to back it up, but I just never felt it. The mystery was okay even though I kind of figured out the villain early on, although many of the secondary characters seemed pretty villainous, if sketchily drawn. I'd recommend this novel to anyone who wants to relax with a llightly suspenseful romance.

Edited to correct touchstone.

109. Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway by Sara Gran. 4 stars. eBook. Second in the series of dark, philosophical mysteries featuring Claire DeWitt, a coke-snorting, sexually dysfunctional, socially misfit detective of the Silletian school. I loved the first book in the series, Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead. It too was dark, though Claire wasn't as wasted throughout that one as she is in this one. It was hard to read about her addiction ~ the nosebleeds, the inability to get off the floor, the thieving of prescription drugs from friends and one-night stands, the skeevy people she bought drugs from and did drugs with ~ but, in a way, it all made sense since she was investigating the murder of her ex-lover, the one man she might have made a good life with had she not been so completely relationship phobic. Not a lot of gore, but violence of the self-inflicted kind and jumping back and forth through time to the first mystery she solved, doesn't make this an easy read, but the writing and the depth makes the effort worthwhile.

110. Kitty's Big Trouble by Carrie Vaughn. 3.5 stars. Audio. In this adventure, Kitty, together with Ben and Cormac, travels to the American Southwest desert to try and find proof that Wyatt Earp was a vampire slayer. While there, she agrees to go to San Francisco to assist a vampire ally in her quest to keep a fabulously ancient and powerful talisman out of the hands of the evil vampire Roman.

111. The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer. 4.5 stars. Kindle. Oh! I do love a Heyer romance! In this one, Penelope (Pen), a young heiress, disguises herself as a boy and escapes from her browbeating aunt's house through a window, determined not to marry her son (Pen's cousin), who has a face like a fish and is a wanna-be dandy like Sir Richard, a London Corinthian of the first tier. As it happens, a slightly foxed Sir Richard is standing more or less under said window and more or less catches Pen in his arms. He realizes immediately that Pen is a she but, instead of returning her to her aunt as he at first threatens, ends up agreeing to accompany her to Somerset find her childhood sweetheard to whom she says she was affianced five years earlier. That was the corny part. The rest was so much fun I smiled pretty much through the entire book.

Did you get any more read? ;)

I'm working on A Distant Mirror, a chunkster which I may finish next summer. LOL I doubt I'll get more read this year. Why, did you pull ahead? :)

New thread for 2014 is here.

Reserved

My favorite books of 2013 are:

New (To Me)

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz. Enchanting story of a young night fairy who loses her wings. Going to buy this one to read to my great-niece when she gets a little older.
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz. Children's fantasy
The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer. Delightful Regency romance
Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn. Latest Chet & Bernie mystery
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler. A unique take on the vampire mythos.
Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blaire, Early Reviewer first novel, a mystery series set in modern day Havana, Cuba
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, the devil wreaks havoc in Moscow
The John Ceepak mystery series, beginning with Tilt A Whirl, by Chris Grabenstein
Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch, book one of the Rivers of London fantasy-mystery series
The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston, non-fiction story of the conquering of smallpox and the potential of biowarfare. Not as well-written as I'd have liked, but the subject matter is chilling.

Rereads

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
Doc by Mary Doria Russell (audio)