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It snowed!

Well, I guess the cold will give me an excuse to spend more time indoors and catch up on my reading to meet my BINGO goal!

Andrea, let me be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas... Hee, hee, hee... Oh God it's nearly here... I may hibernate...��

Must admit my mind thought when it snowed the day before Halloween that it wasn't allowed to start on Christmas yet, not till Halloween was over. I've already started seeing the Christmas ads on TV today.

Anyway, back to what I'm reading -

Finished On Love and Evil, if you are into Christian Lit you might enjoy it but it was rather short on plot, and there wasn't much in the way of character either, it was more religious introspection. And Rice clearly intended to write a third book which she never did, so you end on a cliffhanger. Going into the neighbourhood book exchange.

I've been reading the Small Magic anthology, has a mix of Shannara and Landover stories (now I want to read Landover...just not this year). Got 3 more stories to go.

And a summary of my progress on some long running graphic novels and manga I've been working my way through, will finally be able to finish most of these this month:

Shugo Chara - 9/12
Real Account - 21/24
Elfes - 29/35
Nain - 21/24
Orcs & Gobelins - 12/22
Mages - 4/9

Working my way through Persepolis Rising on audio.

A Stroke of the Pen by Terry Pratchett

Finished reading Small Magic, the Terry Brooks anthology of short fictions. This fills my anthology BINGO slot.

Also finished reading Galatea by Madeline Miller where she takes a look at the Pygmalion story from the point of view of the statue brought to life. Some year I'll have to do another mythology year, there are so many new retellings coming out that I want to read!

I also read two (the library was missing one) volumes of Cat Massage Therapy Vol. 1 which was super silly but also super cute. The random things one picks up when one just wanders the library shelves...

Starting on two new ones, one will finally fill my Elfpunk slot - War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

And I'm going to spend a lot of time with the Moomins again as I have the first half (I've already read the second) of the comic strip collection - Moomin: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition by Tove Jansson

Still slogging through Crossroads of Twilight. Talk, talk,talk and at the 69% mark no sign of Rand and several other main characters.

I have finished Shadowrun: Shadows Down Under, which I quite enjoyed, although the ending was wrapped up a bit abruptly. It also fills the Elfpunk slot in my Bingo.

Last year we got snow right before Halloween. Nothing yet this year except in the mountains, but I hear Idaho got it.

Still on Michael Vey 9 The Traitor and Wrong Place Wrong Time on audio.

Gary wrote: "Still slogging through Crossroads of Twilight. Talk, talk,talk and at the 69% mark no sign of Rand and several other main characters."

lol! I used to reread the entire series every time a new one was published. I was young :). The last few are excellent, though.

I have finished Piranesi by Sussanne Clarke and am currently reading Sword of Kaigen by M L Wang.

I have started Isaac Asimov's Camelot, which will fill the Anthology slot in my Bingo.

Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen 1 byHiromi Satō

Finished The BFG, that was a random grab off the library shelf because while I remembered seeing the movie I don't recall reading the book. Though when I got home I saw it was already on my read shelf! So guess that makes this a re-read.

I guess its kind of true for all Dahl's stories for me, I can only remember Charlie and the Chocolate Factory well (due to owning a copy and also watching the two movies many times), and also remember the fact that its sequel, the Great Glass Elevator scared the crud out of me as kid.

I had no idea The BFG was a movie.

The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher

Mary wrote: "The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher"

I have heard mixed things about that, Mary! How did you like it?

I read Robert McCammon's The Hunter from the Woods, and it was great. But his writing usually is! Then I re-read Of Treasons Born just because someone mentioned it to me and I found that I was in the mood to read it. Now I'm in a buddy read of Quo Vadis for one of my other groups. I will probably re-read A Choice of Treasons at the same time.

Mary wrote: "The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher"

I just saw Jim Butcher Wednesday night, where he was promoting his book.

Neat, Audrey!

Working my way through Isaac Asimov's Camelot - I'm in the 4th of 10 stories. They have all been different tales, none, so far, actually set in Arthurian times.

Michelle wrote: "I read Robert McCammon's The Hunter from the Woods, and it was great. But his writing usually is! Then I re-read Of Treasons Born just because someone mentioned it t..."

I recorded the movie Quo Vadis (haven't watched it yet) but its like ŷ������ read my mind and now it keeps offering up as a suggested read, even when it has nothing to do with what the recommendation is based on, and now someone in this group is reading it. I think its telling me I should both read the book and watch the movie...

Finished reading War for the Oaks and I'm glad I went out of my way to find a library that had it. It was very good and was perfect for the Elfpunk BINGO slot.

I'm reading Moominpappa at Sea by Tove Jansson which I found at the same library, that will complete the entire Moomin novel series. Same library also had volume 1 of the comic strip collection which I finished coupled days ago. My regular library had it too but there were 6 reservations ahead of me, I'd never have gotten it this year :)

But the main thing I need to get back to is Shannara with Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks...I still have 11 books....argh, don't think I can finish in less than 2 months.

I already had to abandon Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series, I read the first two but there's about 8 in total so felt kind of bad starting it and not finishing.

Andrea wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I read Robert McCammon's The Hunter from the Woods, and it was great. But his writing usually is! Then I re-read Of Treasons Born just because someo..."

Isn't that bizarre?

Andrea wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I read Robert McCammon's The Hunter from the Woods, and it was great. But his writing usually is! Then I re-read Of Treasons Born just because someo..."
Love that movie. The music by Miklos Rosza is top notch. Peter Ustinov as Nero is great. When I graduated from college the concert band which I was a member of played music from Quo Vzdis and Ben Hur instead of the usual Elgar march.

i finished Crossroads of Twilight. 3 stars. Rand finally showed up near the 75 to 80% mark.

Gary wrote: "i finished Crossroads of Twilight. 3 stars. Rand finally showed up near the 75 to 80% mark."

I remember being frustrated about that! His was the main storyline after all.

I've yet to see the movie. But Peter Ustinov was terrific in any role. He could have played Bugs Bunny and given an oscar-worthy performance!

Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 5 by Gyeoeul Gwon

Michelle wrote: "Mary wrote: "The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher"

I have heard mixed things about that, Mary! How did you like it?"

Starting out strong, at least

Enjoying the cozy comforts of Bookshops & Bonedust after the Evil Machinations of The Enemy Within.

Robert wrote: "Enjoying the cozy comforts of Bookshops & Bonedust after the Evil Machinations of The Enemy Within."

I was just going through the GR nominees and Bookshops & Bonedust is one of them. There's so many in the fantasy genre I want to read but since I didn't I must hold onto my vote :)

Hmm, because I won them through GR giveaway, I actually did read 2 of the books in the YA SFF category, deciding now which one I liked best.

But goes to show that the voting here doesn't really mean much, I mean if I vote for the one and only book I read, the others might be way better, but I wouldn't know since I didn't read them :D But its still fun to see what bubbles up to these lists at the end of the every year.

I am on The Hidden Oracle and Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir.

Current reads:
When the Sun Burns by Lucia Ashta Book 2 of Six Shooter a Shifter. Currently at the 48% mark.

The Bastard Prince by Katherine Kurtz. Currently at 13% Book 3 of The Heirs of St. Camber

The Magic Engineer by L.E. Modesitt Jr. Currently at 2%. Book 3 of the Recluce Series

Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

A small coffee shop in Tokyo allows people to go back in time for a brief interval. In this book, four people want to go back to make amends.

Quirky and touching book. 3.5 stars

My review: /review/show...

I'm done Bookshops & Bonedust! Here's my review.

Now on to Kings of the Wyld!

I have put aside Isaac Asimov's Camelot for the moment (I have read 6 of the 10 stories) and started Star Trek 1

Tony wrote: "I have put aside Isaac Asimov's Camelot for the moment (I have read 6 of the 10 stories) and started Star Trek 1"

I enjoyed those three Star Trek books!

Michelle wrote: "Tony wrote: "I have put aside Isaac Asimov's Camelot for the moment (I have read 6 of the 10 stories) and started Star Trek 1"

I enjoyed those three Star Trek books!"

It's interesting to see how the episodes translate from the screen to the page - James Blish fits most of them into about 20 pages. However, there are at least 12 volumes (that's how many I have) in that series.

Tony wrote: "I have put aside Isaac Asimov's Camelot for the moment (I have read 6 of the 10 stories) and started Star Trek 1"

I just started watching the original series again. It's been a long time since I've seen most of those episodes. I was a kid when they first aired. I remember my father's excitement when we first watched one on our new, huge 27" B&W TV. (The previous TV was 12".) Unfortunately, I can't remember which episode that was, but it's fun revisiting them.

I just started The Thousand Earths by Stephen Baxter


It's been awhile since I read a real interesting new SF title so I hope this is it ;-).

Finished Wards of Faerie and to have any hope of finishing the series by end of year, jumping straight into Bloodfire Quest by Terry Brooks

Also finished La Cité de Pégase by Bryan Perro which is a kind of french Percy Jackson type series. I don't think I can finish this one by end of year though I'm getting close. They are short but they still take time to read which is time away from Shannara. I do however have the next book La Toison d'Or already borrowed so I'll get to that one at least. The last 3 or 4 might need to wait till after the snow melts next year and I can walk to the library again :)

I have finished Star Trek 1. On the whole, I enjoyed the walk down memory lane - it has been a few years since I watched any of season 1 of the original series, but these adaptation are mostly true to what I remember. James Blish makes one glaring error in "Balance of Terror" where he talks about the Enterprise travelling at relativistic, or near-light speeds, instead of at warp speed. I can't explain how such a basic mistake got through the editing process. It also fills the non-human humanoid slot in my Bingo.

OK so all done with Red Magic, the next in order of The Harpers for what it's worth though, as expected, it had naught to do with the preceding two.



Here's my 3-star review, though honestly this one was one of your proverbial 3.49-star books just on the verge of being good enough to be an honorary 4.

I think it'll be back to Klassic Krynn for my next read, will likely not return to Faerun until some time in the New Year.

Tony wrote: "I have finished Star Trek 1. On the whole, I enjoyed the walk down memory lane - it has been a few years since I watched any of season 1 of the original series, but these adaptation a..."

For what its worth, the terminology in the show kept changing too so it might not be the book's fault. The Prime Directive, the Federation and other terms went through a few names before they stuck.

Making It So: A Memoir by Patrick Stewart

In this memoir, Stewart traces his life and career starting in his hometown, up through the Royal Shakespeare Company, Star Trek: The Next Generation, X-Men....and much much more.

Highly recommended. 4 stars

My review: /review/show...

Who Made Me a Princess Vol. 1 by Plutus

Finished reading The World of Shannara. The problem with companion books, especially one that was written at the midway point or earlier in the series is not only is it missing tons of stuff, but tons of stuff is wrong :) Brooks apparently let the person who wrote the book to fill in gaps, so now some of those "facts" are wrong. Also, showed that Brooks was inconsistent in a few things as well. It must be hard when your series was written over a period of decades, think the first one came out in '76 or something like that?

Now starting La Toison d'Or by Bryan Perro. The last novel I have from the library for the year.

I have finished Isaac Asimov's Camelot, which was somewhat disappointing - not because of the quality of the stories, but more because the link to Camelot and Arthurian mythos was tenuous at best for a lot of them.

I have started reading Tropical Punch

Finished Bloodfire Quest, while I'm happy to be back in this time period, this trilogy is just taking two other storylines and recycling them. I felt it was far too soon to have another Bloodfire Quest.

Of course immediately started in on Witch Wraith, as I'll still have 8 (!!!!) more Shannara books left for December...

From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time by Sean Carroll

In this book, physicist Sean Carroll addresses many current topics in physics, especially the nature of 'time' which seems to be very elusive.

Interesting book. 4 stars

My review: /review/show...