Laurel-in-CA
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Posts posted by Laurel-in-CA
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On 1/22/2022 at 10:41 AM, LaughingCat said:
Maybe so - I always remember I chose that name because of my pic of then baby cat's super grumpy face-- but looking at their book list I think that Laughing Cat Limited is created in "Dragon Ship" that came out in 2012 (wow! time flies! ) so the timing makes it seem likely that is what put it in my head. (Mouse and Dragon is Aelliana and Daav's continued story after Scout's Progress)
Haven't read Bread Alone yet -- I believe I've read all the stories in that chapbook except the new one, and I always waffle around for a while before buying chapbook type offerings for some reason no matter the author or how much I like them. Looking forward to their new book of short stories though: Liaden Univers Constellation 5 - coming out start of Feb (which I've probably read all the stories in too -- but somehow when it's a full book worth of stories I have no problem buying it LOL)
Yep, I'm looking forward to Constellation V too. Thanks for correcting me on which book it came up in!! Here's to more Liaden books!
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I was a bit ahead on the space opera, as I've been re-reading Jack Campbell's military SF series on The Lost Fleet, about a group of ships deceived and ambushed deep in enemy space, given an unlikely rescue by a hero from their past who has been in survival sleep for decades but whom they find and revive just before the ambush. As he's got the oldest service date, he ends up in charge of the battered fleet and uses his skills and the values he brings from the past to lead them home (eventually). The first book is "Relentless."
My favorite read this week was "Sparks Like Stars" by Nadia Hashimi -- story of a young girl who survived the soviet coup that assassinated Afghanistan's last president in the 70s (before the mujahedeen, the Taliban, and the US occupation). She is adopted by a US state dept. employee and eventually becomes an oncologist in the US. The book also talks about her return and discovery of her parents' graves. A sad tale but with many happy memories of her childhood before the coup and also of her hard work to survive and thrive. I found it fascinating -- led to several late nights of reading! I have her next book in my Kindle queue.
In the past week *all* 4 of my young adults have had covid exposure via co-workers and/or roommates. We're vaxxed to the max, but one kid works in a public high school as an aid, one's bosses both got sick, one's roommate brought it home from vacation, and one works in a bakery cafe where most of the workers got sick in a single week (she missed that exposure due to the wisdom teeth being pulled, but some of them came to work before being fully recovered). Just waiting to see what happens, LOL.
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On 1/16/2022 at 8:57 PM, LaughingCat said:
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are my favorites for space opera. They have a long running series that I jumped in the middle of (picked up an attractive cover at the library as I remember) -- some of their books are less stand alone and some are more stand alone -- although as I said, I jumped in the middle of a non-standalone set and still completely enjoyed it (and went back and read the previous books). However I'll offer Scout's Progress and Conflict of Honors as good starter stand alone books( though within the same on-ongoing saga) .
And "Laughing Cat" is from "Mouse and Dragon" - right? Theo's new logo?
Love Lee & Miller. Have you seen the new anthology "Bread Alone"?
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My dd has migraines, not quite as severe since she can work through them if she must, and they were happening several times a week. For christmas this year we got her a device called Cefaly, which does electro stimulation. https://www.cefaly.com
It's pricey but the other things she's tried (supplements, medications, diet control) haven't helped much. It has a preventive mode and a mode for stopping migraines in process. Is said to induce sleepiness after treatment. We're only in the first stages of trying it so I can't give you personal evidence, but I thought you might want to look into it.
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We have an Aussie + ? [something tall] that we adopted at about a year and a half old (feral until she was 6 months old, then in a family home). She's anxious and cuddly and very trainable. We have to use a gentle leader when we walk her or she pulls and barks a lot....not good at dog parks but pretty well behaved at home except when packages get delivered, has to go outside when we have guests.
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On 1/7/2022 at 6:24 PM, scholarly said:
I love the All Souls Trilogy! And the TV show is very good, too. Although I eagerly awaited the release of the first three books, I've never read Time's Convert. I'm hoping to this year. (And to see the third season of the show!)
We're watching the 3rd season now. But I didn't like the 4th book as well, too much focus on how to become a vampire, which ups the ick factor for me. Maybe she's marking time until she figures out how the Congregation will unravel? I do like how they've developed the Finnish witch character in the TV series.
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Hurrah for 2022 and thank you, Robin! And thank you also to everyone who shares about what they do/don't love in their reading. You add to my wish lists!!
This week I finished Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry, which is about an alternate French Revolution that is about allowing commoner magicians to use their magic (France and Britain) and outlawing slave capture and sales (Britain). William Pitt, Wilberforce, Robespierre, and more appear, and behind it all is a hidden blood magician trying to expand his territory (France and its colonies). A great deal of attention is given to the Terror...which in this incarnation includes turning the bodies of the beheaded into an army of walking dead, animated by "shadows." I finished it, but I do not think I will read the sequel, which is called A Radical Act of Free Magic.
My last books of 2021 were the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness and her 4th book, which is about a minor character in the trilogy. Then I found out that there is a series based on these books called A Discovery of Witches and the whole family ended up binge watching it over Christmas break. Season 3 comes out soon!! Normally I would avoid these books, as the vampire angle typically really turns me off, but I found them very well written, and the TV show did some amazing things with costuming and settings (there is time travel back to Elizabethan England).
Mysteries are some of my favorite books to read, after sci fi/fantasy, so I look forward to the suggestions for 2022. I am not very good at keeping track of titles (except now I've discovered my library's History function, so that gives me a virtual memory), but I do love to talk about books. My reading club's suggestion for January is Flat Broke With Two Goats, which sounds like a fun "back to the land" memoir. I am not very good at the challenges thing, but I may actually do some this year, who knows?
This week my last kid got her wisdom teeth pulled and my first kid got spacers put in for braces. Lots of soft food and soups going on here.
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I am going to start reading The Flight Girls, so as to be ready for a Book Club discussion next week. Also have been reading Hosanna, an Advent devotional based on Christmas hymns and their lyrics. I love hymns but about 1/3 of these are new to me and I'm really enjoying the history and just singing them over quietly to myself.
Finished a sweet read, How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry...I'd read another one by her but I wish I could have seen more of the founder of the bookshop, who dies near the beginning and passes the bookshop and its challenges on to his daughter.
Also read Dear Mrs. Bird by A.M. Pearce, which is set in WWII England about a young woman who gets a p/t job working for a newspaper (she thinks) but turns out to be working for an advice columnist at a faltering magazine whose advice to everyone is to shop whining and just get on with what needs to be done. The young woman is much more compassionate and can't stand to leave some of those pleas for advice unanswered. Amusing consequences ensue as she tries to resolve her dilemma.
Also enjoying Swordheart by TS Kingfisher. I like a little sword and sorcery with comedic relief included. 8-)
I think I have a present book for all my immediate family: The Artist's Way, a book on anxiety, a book on gardening, a book on pet photography, a picture book artist's biography, and a novel. And I got myself a book of "intermediate level" crossword puzzles (which are quite challenging for me, but I hope to improve) and some yarn for crocheting.
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I just wanted to say, Granny Weatherwax, how much I appreciate these reflective, open-ended questions.
As for me, zero progress towards weight loss goal; in fact, I am in retrograde motion, particularly due to another back injury that really reduced my activity for several months. Boo, hiss!
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My non-conformist young man was persuaded to finish his college degree (BA communications) but is still working p/t for the zipline company that employed him all through college. HOWEVER, he's also started his own business (Russian River Media, web sites and videography) and helped build a zipline course in Alaska (Tree Dimensional) as well as building luxury platform yurts high in the redwoods. He's forging his own path, for sure!
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Market research focused on a specific product and set of customers. I have learned a lot through this process!
Letting my kids do the family dinner one night a week -- it's been a bit of a revelation, and a step I want to encourage!
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I want to do this in 2022 -- replace our kitchen fan with one that blows harder and provides better light. So, thanks for the info and any additional suggestions appreciated!
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DH got laid off...again - but it's so much LESS scary when it doesn't happen @ the beginning of lockdown! It's been 2-1/2 months and he's employed again....sooo much better than the 10 months of unemployment in 2020!! And I got to see, all over again, how consistent and comitted he was to job hunting and putting his best foot forward. This time his daughters got to hear his interviews (all by phone) and be impressed with him too.
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Smock apron, which gives better coverage than the BBQ style/tie around your back version. Got one for me and each of my girls in different colors/patterns. Happy, happy.
https://www.worldmarket.com/product/washed-cotton-smock.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=Search
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On 12/5/2021 at 7:37 PM, bookbard said:
I've been rereading lots of middle grade/ young adult novels from my childhood bookshelves, seeing if they're any good for my kids. The old format is definitely less inviting than colourful modern books, so we will see if any of them get taken up. Both my kids are avid readers, but they're picky.
Finally read Becky Chamber's new book A Psalm for the Wild-Built, and really enjoyed it. I wish it was a novel rather than a novella though! Looks like part two will come out next year.
I just finished reading Psalm -- and I think tea monk is a wonderful profession!! I love the creative robot ideas, particularly the choice of how to name themselves and why they chose to not be immortal. I definitely could have read more, but it seems so different from the breakneck pace of Chambers' other novels!
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Graduating my last kid and sending her off to community college, finishing 25 years of homeschooling, keeping my business going a 2nd year (and yes, it came in handy again due to dh unemployment).
And getting dh through prostate cancer diagnosis, removal surgery, and recovery, as well as another (blessedly short) bout of unemployment.
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On 12/3/2021 at 4:00 PM, Kareni said:
It's nice to see you again! Yay for your husband's new position and also that your report is nearing completion.
Do tell.
Regards,
Kareni
Very early manuscripts and printed materials.
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Back after a month in nowhere-land...well, working on a market research report that's almost done. DH found a job and starts mid-December. I guess this 2.5 month hiatus balances out the 10 months of 2020 that he spent unemployed. LOL He'll be working from home so we can continue our upstairs-downstairs employment pattern while the youngest finishes her 2 years at community college and figures out what's next.
I guess I inadvertently met the nonfiction November challenge, as I read Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains. I thought it was about Tibet, but it's actually about medicine in central Haiti and how to treat those below the poverty line there and how one man's persistence led to better treatment for both drug-resistant TB and HIV AIDS, particularly to forcing down the costs of drugs so treatment could be offered worldwide. I was impressed with Paul Farmer (focus of the story) and his ability to multi-task while [apparently] never sleeping and moving seamlessly from Boston hospital to Haitian backwoods, Peruvian slums, and Russian prisons, treating the poorest and most at-risk populations.
I also read Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy, which takes place on the coast of Ireland and involves a resistant librarian in search of independence and a library's ability to spark community. This one was just ok.
And I also want to mention The Personal Library by Marie Benedict, which is about the woman who served as JP Getty's personal collection library/acquisitions expert in the early 1900s (revolutionary in itself) and who was also a colored woman passing as white. She had to give up so much, but she gained a great deal too. I just kept on reading this one...very good. And I learned what "incunabulum" means.
Love reading these posts. I learn from all your book adventures!!
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I bought all the women's gifts early this year, while there was a sale, at https://wrapunzel.com/
Now that dh is laid off again, I am *very* glad I shopped early. Only two guys in the immediate family to buy for and dh is happy with new pj pants. I love the retroart site and will probably get my son a t-shirt from there!!
Thanks, kareni, for this yearly thread. I really appreciate it. Last year I signed up for the Archie McPhee catalog and the family think it is so hilarious that they keep it around to re-read!!
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An eventful October for us, as dh was laid off again -- 10 months is not quite his shortest time in one job, but almost. He is busy looking again, using all the skills he learned the last time around; we are re-evaluating our options if nothing comes up by January. This is OK because my work hours picked up a bit and we can get by with that and unemployment for awhile. We celebrate our 31st anniversary today!!
Thanks to Robin for planning to lead us on a reading journey again next year. Maybe we should start celebrating an anniversary for that given how long you've been guiding this annual trip!
I am all caught up on C.J. Box's Joe Picket stories and am on the waiting list for some of his other work. I started A Stranger in Olondria, a fantasy that came highly recommended. It has a very unique world, compares rural vs cosmopolitan and their ideas about ghosts (or are they angels?), but I got bogged down in all the descriptions and frustrated that the plot itself moved so slowly. In the end, I gave up.
Read a lovely, inspiring read called Champions by Craig Johnson (not of Longmire fame), a pastor dad who talks about the challenges of parenting an autistic child and how it led him to begin Champions Clubs - special-needs-focused programs at churches that have spread around the US and even world wide. He also wrote a curriculum for the clubs and that's available too.
Meanwhile I finally got to the top of the list for the first book in Robyn Carr's Virgin River series...eager to compare it to the Netflix show, which I've enjoyed.
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This week I read Mermaids of Bodega Bay by Mary Birk -- a murder mystery with a lot of false trails. I got it because Bodega Bay is a favorite Saturday drive from here, but it really doesn't have a very strong sense of place and I got frustrated with all the fake-outs on whodunit. So, nope, would not necessarily recommend.
Also read A Girl From the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat, a WWII story about the German occupation of these British islands. I enjoyed this one! A native islander ends up sheltering a refugee from Austria (who is jewish); the island feels real, and so do the wartime issues and ethical struggles of the characters.
I have a couple more Joe Pickett books on tap, plus I need to finish The Engineer's Wife for this weekend.
Praying for rain and celebrating my son's 27th birthday. He returned from Alaska with some beautiful drone footage of his hikes and the glacier he explored.
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This week I've been reading Anne Perry (William Monk series of Victorian mysteries) and Anne Hillerman (Leaphorn and Chee series of mysteries on Navajo land). Really enjoying both but hate coming into the middle of a series. Anne Hillerman is following in her father Tony's footsteps and building on his characters, so it's interesting to see how another author handles the same fictional people. Anne Perry has a rather unconventional detective (with amnesia) and his female counterpart (a former nurse in the Crimea) and is definitely into looking below the surface at emotions, aspirations, motives, etc. Unfortunately, my library doesn't have the first books of the Monk series so I am having to intuit some things and I feel I am missing other things.
Earthquake here this week, a small one but centered right under my house and gave us quite a sudden jolt. I squeaked in the middle of a meeting, LOL. All good though. Praying for Afghanistan, for those able to get out and those forced to stay.
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Geraldine MacCaughrean's retellings are illustrated but substantial, not kiddie versions. She has done lots of retellings, from Arthur & Canterbury Tales all the way back to Gilgamesh.
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Thanks for the good wishes for dh -- he had his post-op PSA test this week, very low but not yet zero so next retest in 3 mo. will tell the tale.
Kareni asked about how my son got into ziplines. His first job was for the summer @ a christian camp that also had a commercial zipline course. When he turned 18 he applied to transfer there and has been a zipline course guide ever since. It was a great college job and he's been able to do some marketing and videography for them too, as well as training new guides in safety and course maintenance. A couple summers ago they built platform yurts up in the redwood canopy and he got to be part of the build team. The company that provided and directed assembly for the yurts also builds zipline courses around the world and they offered him a chance to help with the build in Alaska, all expenses and worktime paid! He'll video it too and provide them with some marketing content (his covid project was starting his own media company on the side).
This week I finished The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe (which is a first book for a new book club), all about transitions in middle age for a group of friends who have...a book club. I have this in paperback...and discovered I find it a lot harder to pick up and read now that I am used to my kindle. Or maybe it's that I can't crochet while reading with a physical book like I can with the kindle?
I also read The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah Eden, set in late Victorian times and populated by a cast of penny dreadful writers who have banded together to help London's needy in various ways. Interspersed with the story are episodes from two different writers' stories. I found that device at first distracting and then irritating. Doubt I will read more.
And I enjoyed T.A. White's Firebird series (SF, space opera) and will look for more by her. About a broken hero who isn't and the secret investigation she's pursuing.
My daughter was assigned Summary and Analysis of Caste by Isabel Wilkerson for her first history class at the CC. I think I'll see if the library has it and read along with her.
Cheers to all and thank you for keeping my mind awake!
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Book a Week 2022 - BW4: Bookish Birthdays and Notes
in The Chat Board
Posted
Just finished Harry Turtledove's Guns of the South, which is an alternate history based on Afrikaners showing up in time to furnish better guns to the South (AK-57s) and turn the tide of the war. Their goal is to preserve slavery and create a future ally for South Africa by turning the South towards white supremacy, but they end up losing out to Lee's solution, which is gradual curtailing of slavery and its elimination within 20 years or so after what was termed "The Second Revolution" rather than the Civil War. It did get a bit long, but I was still reading @ 1 am, just to finish, which is the sign of a pretty good book.
And then this week a friend called me with some questions about how to present letters an ancestor had written home *during* the Civil War - she's having them transcribed because the handwriting is awful and the spelling is utterly phonetic. They'll go into a geneology book she's self-publishing and the actual letters will be donated to a museum. Fun coincidence of events!