tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589544590102530522024-02-18T23:29:37.615-06:00Don't Be Afraid of the DorkCovered in Dog Hair, Obsessed with Books, Wondering what it's all about...Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.comBlogger770125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-37926029480013254552017-11-12T21:06:00.000-06:002017-11-12T21:11:04.506-06:00Retirement for Don't Be Afraid of the Dork<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBiSNW2ZRBmfDNGUnEUA0FyHSe-FMIebMRHmyREi0bSR9zwU2_NZmlzbMEYnme3cHrcq1XSzr-w3J35P9we3-Pr6E79-lUVw2qcmkEEdEu5NL4-e7Pv1iqZXKSzw0bAlG_NBYdMU1Fvk/s1600/FarewellGIF.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="500" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBiSNW2ZRBmfDNGUnEUA0FyHSe-FMIebMRHmyREi0bSR9zwU2_NZmlzbMEYnme3cHrcq1XSzr-w3J35P9we3-Pr6E79-lUVw2qcmkEEdEu5NL4-e7Pv1iqZXKSzw0bAlG_NBYdMU1Fvk/s640/FarewellGIF.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hi. I'm retiring. Sort of. Well, the blog is retiring. Don't Be Afraid of the Dork is shutting its doors and moving to Costa Rica (or some other nice place where retired blogs like to hang out). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For whatever reason, my heart just hasn't been in it this year. I don't know that I can pinpoint a reason or that it even really matters. The point is, I'm not really producing the content I want and it's best if I just bite the bullet and shut things down. I still have the desires that made me start the blog in the first place - to connect with other like-minded book and TV dorks, to practice my writing skills and create something - but finding/making the time to devote to producing the blog just hasn't been happening. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My plan is to see if some different platforms might allow me to continue to connect with folks and continue to write. Sporadic blog-like activities will take place on Tumblr (<a href="https://rudejasper.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">my Tumblr page</a>) and I will refocus on reviewing books on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/761675-stephanie" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>. Please connect with me at one or both of those places if you haven't already!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That's the saddest consequence of shutting things down. I've met and interacted with so many amazing people and learned SO MUCH from all of them. Thank you to everyone who has ever visited the blog, read and commented and shared your thoughts. You're amazing and making the world a better place by sharing your enthusiasm and thoughtfulness regarding books and storytelling! Keep being beautiful!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's been great and I am grateful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh</span></blockquote>
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<br />Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-72619823371836406482017-10-21T21:03:00.001-05:002017-10-21T21:03:37.254-05:00TV REVIEW | Arrow Season 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZOUpthKuWGIoX65m1eHz69NJ-ejLl5yTXeQtTX1INmlds6GtzyCZpdqFbtKT5ZJF4dXlGv7qZouGqtyxnI7pMChTySYPho4_IjjEnYNvmYR5hMXq1StR6JWFwjjxT_c9wg6OQlj8w_o/s1600/FelicityComfortingOllie.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZOUpthKuWGIoX65m1eHz69NJ-ejLl5yTXeQtTX1INmlds6GtzyCZpdqFbtKT5ZJF4dXlGv7qZouGqtyxnI7pMChTySYPho4_IjjEnYNvmYR5hMXq1StR6JWFwjjxT_c9wg6OQlj8w_o/s400/FelicityComfortingOllie.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Imagine that I am Oliver and season 5 of the Arrow is Felicity and you will get how I feel about this season. No, not sleepy, but comforted and reassured that the show I know and love is back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had problems with season 4. Let’s just get it out of the way, I am an Olicity shipper but more so, I’m a fan of Felicity the character. In my opinion, Season 4 blithely threw her character under the bus in the service of giving Oliver something interesting to deal with. I know, I know - the show’s called Arrow and is about Oliver/Green Arrow so it makes sense that he gets to be the hero and get the development BUT I don’t have to like it. So there. Also, Damien Darhk and the story surrounding him just wasn’t super compelling for me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I was all good riddance to season 4. And it wasn’t immediately warm cookies and trampolines for season 5 either. Here was my trajectory:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FIRST 1/3RD of SEASON: Ho hum. Really this show should have ended after season 4. Or maybe even 3. I mean how many ways can they keep having Oliver question his monstrousness and humanity? And where’s Thea? Why is she doing a desk job instead of kicking ass? Have they run out of interesting villains? This gang fellow is like a bargain basement villain and Prometheus just seems like a shady Arrow. And seriously show, are you really going to try and shove a new team down our throats? No thank you - these people are boring. Despite all of this, I am oddly compelled and can’t stop watching episodes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FROM the PROMETHEUS STORYLINE REVVING UP TO EPISODE 19: So this is getting good now. I love all these new characters and the new team and Diggle is back and being awesome. Prometheus is a SUPER great bad guy - I love how’s he’s jerking everyone’s strings. Hacktivist Felicity is kinda awesome. Oliver’s angst is back to being compelling and I’m actually kind of enjoying the flashbacks in this season. Kind of. All I want to do is watch Arrow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">LAST FOUR EPISODES: OMG. Wow. WOW. wow. CAN’T STOP WATCHING. SO MUCH GOODNESS. Why can’t I watch all of season 6 right now immediately? Best. Season. Ever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Or visually my trajectory was this:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRYeDovcXGXo22RdodEUHsWVmWNKs_lYKy06n1eJH-AFFaOO9I_v37_WOdGEaA9n2i-g671aBHvtrlQ37v003pN_A-NU3ciYtFG_iqnmmiO1Ryr9A9QQ_zSUG7YuRGeKWdoqgh_otIh20/s1600/SlothGettingExcited.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRYeDovcXGXo22RdodEUHsWVmWNKs_lYKy06n1eJH-AFFaOO9I_v37_WOdGEaA9n2i-g671aBHvtrlQ37v003pN_A-NU3ciYtFG_iqnmmiO1Ryr9A9QQ_zSUG7YuRGeKWdoqgh_otIh20/s400/SlothGettingExcited.gif" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Originally posted by dziesiemdziesiat</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So season 5 was great, ya’ll. I watched the entire season in a week’s time even though it overlapped with some extensive travel for work. I spent every night, anti-socially huddled over my laptop in my hotel room. Free Wi-Fi is a beautiful thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Every season, the villain/conflict has gotten more and more operatic and I doubted they had anywhere new to go but they proved me wrong. Prometheus’ machinations ended up feeling fresh, surprising and seriously threatening. His origins and motives actually do force out some interesting development and emotions from Oliver (eventually) AND the present day events and flashbacks intertwine in meaningful ways which hasn’t always been the case. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The other cool thing about the flashbacks is that they bring us up to where Arrow began. They also answer a lot of questions about earlier sketchy developments, like Oliver’s status as a Bratva Captain and his friendship with Anatoly. I’m curious if there will be flashbacks in season 6 and what they will focus on?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The new characters that are introduced could use some more development but I did eventually really enjoy their inclusion and thought they added an interesting dynamic. I am still bummed that Willa Holland (Thea) has decided to cut back on her time on the show so she played and will continue to play a pretty minor role. However, the new team managed to make assuage my sorrow about the loss of Roy, Laurel and now Thea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And Felicity? She claimed back some of her awesome and we finally get a reckoning of what went down in season 4 in a mostly (but not entirely) satisfying way. Felicity and Oliver’s relationship throughout the season was nuanced and interesting and overall I was very happy! And really Team Arrow is Oliver, Diggle and Felicity - as long as they are kicking ass and taking names at the core, it’s all good!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, now I am faced with a dilemma. Do I go back and do a complete re-watch from season 1 like I mostly want to, even though I will have to suffer through season 4? Do I just re-watch season 5? Do I try to move on and forget that season 6 is months away from Netflix? Such hard, hard decisions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thoughts on season 5 of Arrow?</span><br />
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<br />Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-3258739671158563932017-10-12T05:30:00.000-05:002017-10-12T05:30:13.772-05:00REVIEW | All Systems Red by Martha Wells<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivU8aKqtnTgdbAqO65bF6L2HrG7lOIDlVjFvVb7PkjytPw2zOlFhjT_bY0Q8SC4RPNFF2aNfLkKWKozscbaXnwEJb_uRRZKaC-Rb6k4FjnvJcc1oQlMvI5-gtcCXLtHO8KmHl8Hqn2eLk/s1600/AllSystemsRed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivU8aKqtnTgdbAqO65bF6L2HrG7lOIDlVjFvVb7PkjytPw2zOlFhjT_bY0Q8SC4RPNFF2aNfLkKWKozscbaXnwEJb_uRRZKaC-Rb6k4FjnvJcc1oQlMvI5-gtcCXLtHO8KmHl8Hqn2eLk/s320/AllSystemsRed.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32758901-all-systems-red" target="_blank">All Systems Red </a></i>by Martha Wells</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Publication Year: 2017</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Genre: Science Fiction (novella)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Series: The Murderbot Diaries #1</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awards: None</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: Paperback (from Library)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Narrator: NA</b></span></div>
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<b>WHY?: A LOT of love out there for this novella, it sounded fun and I need some quicker reads to catch up to my reading goal for the year. </b></div>
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<b>SYNOPSIS: Self-monikered Murderbot, is a security AI assigned to protect a group of scientists looking for usable resources on an unexplored planet. Murderbot has long ago hacked its governor chip, meaning it has free will, but it must keep this fact hidden or risk being dismantled, or worse, become a mindless drone again for The Company. When things go wrong on the expedition, however, Murderbot finds it harder and harder to stay hidden and still keep the humans safe.</b></div>
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THOUGHTS</div>
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My affection for stories about Artificial Intelligence was firmly established a few years ago when I re-watched <i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i> and found that Data has become my favorite character. Or maybe it goes all the way back to my teenage years when I unexpectedly fell in love with Terminator 2 which I saw 7 times in the movie theater (I happened to work at a theater at the time so it's not <i>that</i> impressive...or geeky - Much). I think I really enjoy the scope stories abut AIs give to ask big questions like...what does it mean to be human?...what is life?...what constitutes sentience?... but in a way that is more entertaining and less stuffy than reading a philosophy text book. </div>
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And that's the main reason you should read <i>All Systems Red</i> - it's hugely entertaining! Murderbot is one of the best characters I've read all year. The very vision of a bored, apathetic, socially awkward corporate worker who can't wait to get off and lose itself in the thousands of hours of entertainment serials it can download. It has a wicked, sardonic sense of humor and cynical outlook on life that was a beauty to behold and often made me laugh out loud. We've mostly all been there and had to try to hide that negative, shy, pathetic side of ourselves.</div>
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The difference with Murderbot is that it's a made thing out of a blend of organic and inorganic materials and it is not supposed to have a personality. It's also not supposed to care about the humans it is guarding but even though it is inclined not to, it does, because they are a nice, intelligent, tight knit group of friends that don't make Murderbot do horrible or humiliating things. Against its will, it develops an affection for them or, at least, doesn't want to see them die.</div>
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The story is also fast-paced and a lot of fun being part mystery, part sci-fi thriller and part action-adventure. Given that this is a novella and only has a limited page count, Wells does an admirable job telling a well-rounded, satisfying and complete story that also left me wanting more and excited that this is book one in a series. You can probably thank Murderbot for me wanting more! </div>
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The society and and context of the "Sec Units" in the universe is also well established, which is again really impressive for such a short book especially since the world-building is well-integrated into the plot and does not slow the pace down one bit.</div>
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All in all this was a very enjoyable and neat bit of storytelling which I would highly recommend!</div>
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FINAL VERDICT: A really entertaining and well told AI novella! 4 out of 5 stars.</div>
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<b>OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: <a href="https://gregsbookhaven.blogspot.com/2017/07/all-systems-red-murderbot-diaries-1.html" target="_blank">Greg's Book Haven</a> | <a href="http://thebooksmugglers.com/2017/05/joint-review-all-systems-red-by-martha-wells.html" target="_blank">The Book Smugglers</a></b></div>
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<b>QUOTES:</b><br />
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<i>“I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don't know, a little under 35,00 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.” </i></blockquote>
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<i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“Yes, talk to Murderbot about its feelings. The idea was so painful I dropped to 97 percent efficiency. I’d rather climb back into Hostile One’s mouth.” </i></blockquote>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-8108913654510091772017-10-08T11:45:00.000-05:002017-10-08T11:45:53.324-05:00REVIEW | The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20819657-the-whispering-skull" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwaCoBm5ycaKY6aBCTz5dOZ2DOW-RPVh6G2iDUzHtrIXYXsH_FYbGH56v9ouP0JLi04s0yOypIcMcWnbb2JzXufDgw1CLFw_uxFlDCdDIZkz4SYbaVb8f4o_CCRvCykwDRgSMI1miAlAU/s320/TheWHisperingSkull.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20819657-the-whispering-skull" target="_blank">The Whispering Skull</a> </i>by Jonathan Stroud</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publication Year: 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Middle Grade, Urban Fantasy </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Series: Lockwood and Co. #2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awards: None</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Audio (from Library)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Narrator: Katie Lyons</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Related Reviews: <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/08/review-screaming-staircase-by-jonathan.html" target="_blank">Book 1</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>WHY?: Because I really enjoyed the first book, <i>The Screaming Staircase</i>.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>SYNOPSIS: While business has picked up since </b></span><b>Lockwood and Co. </b><b>cleaned out the most haunted house in England, it's still not great. Lucy, Lockwood and George have really meshed as a team however and Lockwood really wants to see them tackle another big case. They agree to help out at the disinterment of a Dr. Bickerstaff, who in Victorian times was accused of grisly acts and murder. With the body, a mysterious artifact is also dug up that seems to have dangerous effects on any who look on it, so when it is stolen, Lockwood & Co. set about getting it back at all costs so it can be destroyed. In their quest, they get some unexpected help from a ghostly Skull in a jar, who happens to have known Dr. Bickerstaff in life.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's a little challenging writing a review for this book because I've already read (voraciously devoured) the final three volumes in the series. I adore it quite devotedly and it has been one of my most enjoyable reads of the year but that poses some challenges for speaking rationally about this book - book 2. It was good and I really enjoyed it but the series didn't truly get addictive for me until book 3. Anyway, I will try to separate out my reasonable and clinical thoughts on this installment without letting my love for the future books cloud my thoughts. Much.</span></div>
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One of the rules learned in book one is that ghosts don't talk except for the very rare type 3s and the last person to encounter one of the those, Marissa Fittes, is long dead. So, Lucy was shocked at the end of <i>The Screaming Staircase </i>when the haunted and gruesome skull they keep in a jar spoke to her. Much to her chagrin and unease (because it has nothing nice to say) it becomes downright chatty in this book and no one else can hear him, except Lucy. Thus is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. (Seriously, just wait!)</div>
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It turns out that the skull knew the evil Victorian Dr. Bickerstaff in life and he has crucial information about the deadly supernatural mirror the doctor created which no one seems to be able to look into without dying. It's obviously very dangerous which is why Lockwood & Co. risk life and limb to retrieve the mirror from an underworld auctioneer of ghostly artifacts after it is stolen of the disinterment site. Lockwood and George are both excited about Lucy's ability to talk to the skull and think it is a huge ace up their sleeves but Lucy isn't so sure they can trust any of the information the skull is giving to them. </div>
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Like book one, the smart-alecky humor shines and there are plenty of ghosts. In almost every other way it surpasses <i>The Screaming Staircase</i>. The characters and their relationships really deepen and become more complex. George in particular, gets a good bit more development as his friends worry he's been possessed by the mirror and also fret a little about how well he fits in. By the end of this book, the three members of Lockwood and Co. are really and truly bonded and it's ridiculously heartwarming but not in a trite way. Stroud does a great job writing interesting complex characters for a middle grade audience. Sure, the characters act and seem quite a bit older than their 13 years but he makes sure to bring in some juvenile humor and recklessness from time to time and you can justify their maturity by the fact that they have to hunt ghosts and face peril for a living.</div>
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The plot in <i>The Whispering Skull</i> is also a good bit more cohesive and better paced than book one. <b>The Screaming Staircase</b> had some serious set up work to do and the flow and plot was sacrificed a bit to establish the world and the characters. With all that set up out of the way, this book has a good bit more meat to the plot and juggles several intertwining story lines, like Lockwood and Co.'s David and Goliath type rivalry with a team from the bigger, older and fancier Fittes Agency. This book did not become an obsession for me like the later books but it was a really satisfying read and a step up from book one.<br />
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The narrator for the audio book is really good. She does an excellent job voicing all of the characters.<br />
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FINAL VERDICT: About as good a book series as you can get about young folk fighting ghosts and this second book in the installment is a step up from book one and sets up the rest of the series nicely. 4 out of 5 stars.<br />
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<b>OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: <a href="https://thebookmonsters.com/book-review-the-whispering-skull/" target="_blank">The Book Monsters</a> | <a href="https://bookshelfpiratereviews.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/book-review-lockwood-co-2-the-whispering-skull/" target="_blank">Navigating the Stormy Shelves</a></b></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-26817889338708686932017-10-02T23:00:00.000-05:002017-10-02T23:00:23.623-05:00TOP TEN TUESDAY | The Book Characters I Wish Were Real<div style="font-family: gotham, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">
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<i style="color: #333333; font-family: gotham, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme for bloggers who like books and lists. It's awesome and is graciously hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. </span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is shocking to me that I haven't done a list like this before! I kind of suspect I have bt can't find it... Anyway, I love writing about my favorite characters and there are so many I'd love to meet as real people. Yes, this week's topic is...</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">October 3: Top Ten Book Boyfriends/Girlfriends (Which characters do you have crushes on?)</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I think I am going to stick with male characters - if I opened it up to females it would be too hard to narrow down. And these are all men that I have a little bit of a crush on. It's not weird to crush on fictional characters, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>1) Anthony Lockwood from the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/76807-lockwood-co" target="_blank">Lockwood and Co.Series</a> by Jonathan Stroud</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is my most recent book crush and it does feel a little skeevy since Lockwood is only supposed to be like 14. My only excuse is that the way he is written makes him seem much older. Lockwood is very warm and charming, has a distinctive style, is a great leader, courageous, loyal and has a great sense of humor. He's also got his emotions locked away tight and doesn't open up too easily.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>2) Peter Grant from the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/51937-peter-grant-rivers-of-london" target="_blank">Peter Grant Series </a>by Ben Aaronovitch...Or maybe Nightingale...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I love Peter's sense of humor and how down to earth and loyal he is. Nightingale is his mentor and boss in the supernatural unit of the London Metropolitan Police and is also very alluring though we don't get to know him as well or as personally. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>3) Augustus "Gus" McCrae from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256008.Lonesome_Dove" target="_blank">Lonesome Dove </a>by Larry McMurtry</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gus is one of my favorite characters of all time. He's romantic, sweet, genuinely likes and respects women, and is funny and wise. He's also a bad ass retired Texas Ranger. I just simply adore him. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://merwild.deviantart.com/art/Kaz-Brekker-648574110" target="_blank">Art by Merwild</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">4) Kaz Brekker from the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/131836-six-of-crows" target="_blank">Six of Crows series</a> by Leigh Bardugo</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Kaz is basically a darker more extreme version of Lockwood, above. I don't know what it is about emotionally damaged men who have reined in their emotions so tight except for that one girl that they are madly in love with, but I adore them with every fiber of my being. It creates such sweet, slow-burn romance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>5) Frances Crawford of Lymond from the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, in reality, Lymond would make me feel like a moronic, awkward clod of earth and I would be no where near interesting enough to capture his attention but I'd surely <i>like</i> to be the type of lady that could turn his head. Lymond is impossibly clever, charming and always 10 steps ahead of everyone. And yes, he is basically an even darker version of Kaz and Lockwood. A blonde Tom Hiddleston is probably my favorite fantasy casting for him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>6) Adam Parrish from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/73675-the-raven-cycle" target="_blank">The Raven Cycle</a> by Maggie Stiefvater</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm afraid that once again, I fall for the damaged boy who just needs love to start healing him. You could argue that Ronan is more damaged but I really identify with how Adam deals with his issues in becoming more of a rule follower and striving to excel and get out. He's so sweet and was definitely the character who had my most steadfast loyalty throughout the series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>7) Zacharias Wythe from <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23943137-sorcerer-to-the-crown" target="_blank">Sorcerer to the Crown</a></i> by Zen Cho</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oh how I loved the clever, introverted, talented wizard in <i>Sorcerer to the Crown</i> who defeated his enemies by being more polite, more talented and better than all of them. Sadly, the love interest that Zen Cho chose for him, reckless, impulsive, rule-disdainer Prunella, stressed me out big time and I kind of hated them together. 😢</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6deHMPy8IheoHdp8mv4rVt3_lAtxy3-c-1K9oxOXyemwNrNhCg85Kq0G___4fOL6PNuTSg9QwGR4K9qK2dF8lLqESzgg0rW0kKwuqO1D7YwUPcFj5Ctc2Kpo2V8np8rB6UCeWnENCshY/s1600/CarswellThorne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6deHMPy8IheoHdp8mv4rVt3_lAtxy3-c-1K9oxOXyemwNrNhCg85Kq0G___4fOL6PNuTSg9QwGR4K9qK2dF8lLqESzgg0rW0kKwuqO1D7YwUPcFj5Ctc2Kpo2V8np8rB6UCeWnENCshY/s320/CarswellThorne.jpg" width="226" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2F0DB8t8dCPD1JqCWelyneyKvAbZXbNUgXNIWUKM7YYjm1KFRBuoNNAr6VLXixAzvk7y7-je1EnkDMdGkDh_4BAkGOAqRKc60eBgLwoMfZ9bp83ISNS355aW06jlTGJ25tT-WjOpKc8/s1600/THorneQuote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="474" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2F0DB8t8dCPD1JqCWelyneyKvAbZXbNUgXNIWUKM7YYjm1KFRBuoNNAr6VLXixAzvk7y7-je1EnkDMdGkDh_4BAkGOAqRKc60eBgLwoMfZ9bp83ISNS355aW06jlTGJ25tT-WjOpKc8/s320/THorneQuote.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>8) Carswell Thorne from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/62018-the-lunar-chronicles" target="_blank">The Lunar Chronicles</a> by Marissa Meyer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Just to show what a complete double standard I have, I find reckless, impulsive, disdainer-of-rules Carswell Thorne, delightful. I don't think it's because he's a guy and can get away with it, I think it's because he's got a great sense of humor and is very charming. He and Cress are my fave couple in the Lunar Chronicles and I love his and Cinder's dynamic so much as well. He's for sure the quintessential, lovable rogue!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY_Bf4HRG6XrvLjgWdI4aEioUmhuy-tm31nzOh035K53hz1v2QFAHQb5xbKMdZ6W2fDY4Po4yq_6JCPn8NbfUfkPEq8inr0wiR4NbVpWyOlRn426YDBQ44ljzNY_bnE4IkMTYVeE0frPc/s1600/OneGoodEarl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="294" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY_Bf4HRG6XrvLjgWdI4aEioUmhuy-tm31nzOh035K53hz1v2QFAHQb5xbKMdZ6W2fDY4Po4yq_6JCPn8NbfUfkPEq8inr0wiR4NbVpWyOlRn426YDBQ44ljzNY_bnE4IkMTYVeE0frPc/s320/OneGoodEarl.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>9) Cross aka Jasper Arlesey from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13424032-one-good-earl-deserves-a-lover" target="_blank">One Good Earl Deserves a Lover </a>by Sarah MacLean</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Perhaps my favorite all-time romance hero though my affection for me him may be mostly influenced by his good sense to fall in love with the odd and quirky Pippa. He's a big old nerd who, you guessed it, is damaged and haunted by his past. He swears to stay abstinent as a punishment and because he thinks he's no good when really he is known by women low and high as the person you go to for respect and no judgement. Sigh...I love he and Pippa. AND now I want to do a re-read:). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b>10) Mark Watney from <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18007564-the-martian" target="_blank">The Martian </a></i>by Andy Weir</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A super smart, botanist, astronaut with a goofy, sarcastic sense of humor? I was definitely smitten with Mark Watney!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That's it for me! Do you have any book characters that you'd be particularly excited about if you met them in real life?</span></div>
Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-75798984471889195632017-10-01T07:00:00.000-05:002017-10-01T14:05:17.303-05:00September is Dead. Long Live October!<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The Monthly Wrap up</span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hi! I don't normally do monthly wrap ups, being more inclined in the past towards a weekly format. BUT...well...This year has been a weird one for the blog. I have no desire <i>not</i> to blog but staying on any kind of predictable schedule seems equivalent to performing brain surgery on an earthworm...nigh on impossible. I've lost my rhythm and that's probably okay. <a href="http://readingtheend.com/2017/09/27/something-sunday-tiny-plan/" target="_blank"> Jenny @ Reading the End</a> has noticed a trend of blogger burnout of late and she attributes it to U.S. President-related trauma. If you follow the link you'll see she has a nice simple idea for a Sunday post and link up called Something on Sundays which she describes as "write about something that kept you on your feet during the week." I plan to participate at least sometimes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Anyhoo, I also decided to mix it up a little and do monthly rather than weekly wrap ups. RADICAL, I know. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Outside In The Garden</span></u></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">September is a bountiful month outside. Many species of wildlife are migrating. In Iowa, we had an especially huge hatch of migrating Painted Ladies that were moving south at the same time as the Monarch Butterflies. It was a butterfly-palooza. The Sawtooth Sunflower has also had an amazing bloom this year so they all had good nectar availability.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is like 8 feet tall!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The latter part of thes season in the garden has been a little disappointing as it often is, to be frank. I didn't plant enough green beans so never had more than like 5 beans at a time, lol. Most went to Ella. 🐰 My lima beans have been productive but all the pods are at many different stages so like the green beans I've gotten a small handful at a time. I find it frustrating to know what to do with these small quantities. I'm not sure I'd ever be happy though - I'd probably be overwhelmed if I had too many come in at once:). </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Escaping Reality</span></u></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">READING</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I read 8 books in September. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">4 Middle-grade Fantasy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2 Mysteries</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1 YA Historical </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1 Romance</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Highlights...</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The highlight of my reading month has to be the last three books of The Lockwood and Co. series by Jonathan Stroud. I started book 3, <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24397043-the-hollow-boy" target="_blank">The Hollow Boy</a></i> on September 20th and finished the final book in the series, book 5 <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32324555-the-empty-grave" target="_blank">The Empty Grave</a></i>, on September 24th. <i>The Hollow Boy</i> took this series to another obsessive, amazing level, a pedestal from which it did not fall, right through the amazing conclusion to the series. I am a little bummed that I will no longer get to share Lockwood and Co.'s ghost-fighting adventures so I was THRILLED to learn that <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/strouds-lockwood-co-becomes-tv-series-640656" target="_blank">the series was optioned this month for a TV series </a>by a pretty successful production company. I really hope it gets made - it would be A-MAZING!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Honorable mention goes to the really excellent <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1914973.The_Likeness" target="_blank">The Likeness</a></i> by Tana French, the second in her Dublin Murder Squad series. I don't know why it took me so long to read this after I loved <i>In The Woods</i> and it was, of course, fantastic. If you like character driven, emotionally complex mysteries, Tana French is your author. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Second honorable mention goes to <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34667795-the-gentleman-s-guide-to-vice-and-virtue" target="_blank">The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue</a></i> by Mackenzi Lee for being delightful and to <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23042087-the-fatal-flame" target="_blank">The Fatal Flame</a></i> by Lyndsay Faye, the final book in her Timothy Wilde trilogy for being a wonderful if bittersweet conclusion to a great historical mystery series.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Obviously, it was a good reading month! Only 2 of the eight books got less than 4 stars. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A Quote - </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <i>“There's a Spanish proverb," he said, "that's always fascinated me. "Take what you want and pay for it, says God.'" "I don't believe in God," Daniel said, "but that principle seems, to me, to have a divinity of its own; a kind of blazing purity. What could be simpler, or more crucial? You can have anything you want, as long as you accept that there is a price and that you will have to pay it.” </i>-The Likeness by Tana French</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <b>YTD Books Read: 74 (15 books behind schedule for my Goodreads challenge - yikes!)</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Added to the TBR...</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I added 9 books to my To-Be-Read list in September with two that I am most excited about which are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34913546-snowspelled" target="_blank">Snowspelled</a></i> by Stephanie Burgis</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31702733-an-alchemy-of-masques-and-mirrors" target="_blank">An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors</a></i> by Curtis Craddock</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I believe both of these were brought to my attention by <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiJ_vnz-83WAhVIwVQKHeERBEUQFggoMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffineprintblog.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw1bwYSHMgY7o6Gp_zhP85Vs" target="_blank">Danya at Fine Print</a> - go check out her reviews and thanks Danya!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WATCHING</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My TV slump continues. The only show I really watched was The Doctor Blake Mysteries, a historical mystery series set in Australia in the 1950s, featuring, you guessed it, a Doctor. There are three seasons available on Netflix and I watched all of them. The show is pretty good but nothing super special.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I did just (like JUST, in the last couple hours) discover a show on Netflix called Very British Problems that has me laughing like a hyena. I suspect I do have more than my fair share of Brit in me. My favorite thing so far was in fact making fun of Americans:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">LISTENING</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's pretty much been all audiobooks all the time so no new podcasts or favorite music to report.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">October Forecast</span></u></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">October is one of if not my one and only favorite month of the year. The weather is usually divine in Iowa and my work is in a lull before all hell breaks loose. What 5 things am I really looking forward to this October?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1) Kombucha! A co-worker of mine shared a scoby with me so I am going to embark on experimenting with this fizzy, fermented tea drink. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2) Dickinson, North Dakota! I will be traveling to Dickinson, ND for a work-related meeting and part of me is kind of nervous about it. The only real way to get there reasonably is a 10 hour drive and the meeting will be a little out of my comfort zone - most if not the entire attendance will be hunting bro-dudes which generally regard my middle-aged, unmarried, non-hunting, butterfly loving self with suspicion and awkwardness and to be fair, vice versa. BUT, it's good to stretch myself and I've never been to ND. Dickinson is a hunting hub and a lot of the hotels allow dogs for free so I am bringing my pups with. There's a huge National Park just to the west of town which I'm hoping to have time to check out. It won't be winter...yet. It will be an adventure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">3) Something Rotten! The 2017-2018 Theater season starts with Something Rotten, a spoof musical comedy ala Spamalot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">4) Planting Garlic! The gardening season is winding down here in Iowa but for the garlic it is just the beginning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">5) <a href="http://www.24hourreadathon.com/october-2017-reader-sign-ups/" target="_blank">Dewey's Read-a-thon</a>! This fun 24-hour readathon is on the 21st and I'm going to try and participate. Any excuse to just read all day long!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">SO. How was your September? Anything in particular you are looking forward to in October?</span></b></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-91768646906166759502017-09-28T19:59:00.002-05:002017-09-28T19:59:37.074-05:00REVIEW | A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25790952-a-murder-in-time" target="_blank">A Murder in Time</a> </i>by Julie McElwain</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publication Year: 2016</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Historical Mystery (?) Science Fiction (?)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Series: Kendra Donovan #1</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awards: None</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Audio (from Audible)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Narrator: Lucy Rayner</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHY?: Murder! Mystery! Time Travel! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SYNOPSIS: Kendra Donovan is a genius who was more experiment than daughter to her parents, so it's no surprise that she rebelled against them and is using all her inherited smarts as a profiler for the FBI. After an operation goes terribly wrong she chases the perpetrator to a role-playing house party in the English countryside where, while in pursuit, she unceremoniously is transported back to 1815. While stumbling around trying to find her footing in this weird situation, one of the housemaids goes missing and she snaps into full-on FBI mode which, needless to say, is rather shocking for all the 1815ers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THOUGHTS</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I liked this book. I really, really did. I'm putting this right up front because I suspect that contrary to that fact, my review is going to read like a litany of complaints. There were a number of little things that bugged me and kept the book from being all it could be but even with all that I had an enjoyable time reading it. So just keep that in mind while I fail to prevent myself from whining about what was and what could have been.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>A Murder in Time</i>'s protagonist and main perspective character is Kendra Donovan. When we meet her at the start of the novel she is a brainy FBI agent yearning to see a little field action. She gets her wish but unfortunately it's in an operation that goes terribly wrong. Afterwards, she gets really pissed off and goes rogue in order to get revenge on the big bad. She's on the verge of getting said revenge when she walks down a hallway in a English country manor house, walks through a door and into the 19th Century. There is very little explanation for this in this book though there are some hints that discovering why and how she went back in time will play a larger role in future books.</span><br />
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Once the book shifts in time, the story really begins. A missing housemaid leads into a mystery and manhunt that is an interesting and fun whodunnit. Kendra must figure out how to solve a crime without modern law enforcement technology and must rely more heavily on her profiling skills. Needless to say, in a society that sees women as delicate, emotional flowers, she sticks out like a sore thumb. She makes little effort to blend in with the time period which in many ways bugged me (more on that later) but the author was clever to have her stick to being American so Kendra is able to pass off her eccentricities to her nationality. Because, <i>obviously</i>, Americans are <i>crazy</i>! I may seem like I'm joking there but I'm not - we're nuts - hopefully in a lovable way. <br />
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There are a couple of other characters that help Kendra and are quite interesting as well. The first is the owner of the manor house, who is luckily for Kendra, a little scholarly and eccentric so he is very tolerant and open-minded about Kendra her behavior. I can see him developing into a father figure for Kendra whose real family in the modern day is less than ideal. The second is a noble spinster lady, about Kendra's own age, who is scarred by smallpox and who chafes against society's restrictions on women. In solidarity, she takes Kendra under her wing despite being rather shocked by her. To be honest, and this is a big reason for mild dissatisfaction, I actually found both these two characters more interesting and likable than Kendra. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Which leads nicely into the complaining portion of post. The book had so much potential and only partially lived up to it in my estimation. The first issue I thought was with the beginning. The book didn't really get interesting for me until the first murder is discovered in the historic time period and there is SO MUCH set up and dallying in the modern-day before that takes place. I appreciate that the author really wanted to establish Kendra's life in contemporary times before shooting her into the past but I honestly didn't feel like I got to know her all that well in those first chapters and the modern day storyline was boring and pointless. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And speaking of the modern day, one of my biggest complaints which has nothing to do with the book itself was with the audio version. The narrator, Lucy Rayner, was all wrong for it in my opinion. She has this very plummy, almost cartoonish British accent with a treacly sweet voice. It's really jarring during the modern day section where the author is going for hard-boiled modern America with F bombs being dropped and an elaborate shoot out. In the historic sections it fits a little better but she was still too sweet voiced for this. I could see her reading the crap out of a Gail Carriger book or a particularly fluffy Regency romance but a mystery/thriller starring an American lead? Nope. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Kendra. The reader is repeatedly told what a genius Kendra is, and not in a normal sort of way - she is supposed to be a brilliant, through-the-roof, graduated from college when she was 15 kind of smart. She's read Jane Austen and at times recalls dates in history for specific and often obscure inventions. From her actions, she's not great with people but she doesn't completely lack social skills. Put all of that together and you'd think she'd be on the ball enough to at least try to be inconspicuous and fit into the time period she finds herself in, but nope. She doesn't even really seem to try and it is only because she has the good fortune to find herself with the two champions I mention above that she is not carted off to a madhouse or tarred and feathered. She's always bossing everyone about, finding herself alone with gentlemen and referring to modern day things carelessly. It stressed me out! Maybe I need to stop reading so much literature set in the Regency era,lol. Her fish out of water behavior definitely leads to a few interesting scenes but overall it just felt lazy that Kendra didn't even try to fit in. The author, I think, was just really jazzed up about using modern forensic profiling in a historic setting so didn't fuss with the reality of the situation. Your mileage will vary on how much that bothers you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There is some romance for our intrepid heroine but the love interest is basically "Generic Regency Dude" and the interactions between he and Kendra who is also a little flat, are pretty lackluster. The chemistry isn't absent but it's barely bubbling. I was much more invested in headstrong spinster lady friend finding herself some lovin' but there isn't even a whisper in that direction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FINAL VERDICT: I found this time-travel mystery thriller to be a mixed bag - it had a lot of potential but only got halfway there, at least for what I was looking for. The mystery was pretty good and because of that and some of the side characters, I am definitely interested in checking out subsequent books in the series. 3 out of 5 stars.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: <a href="http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/murder-time-julie-mcelwain/" target="_blank">Smart Bitches, Trashy Books</a> | <a href="https://thelitbitch.com/2016/10/25/review-a-murder-in-time-kendra-donovan-1-by-julie-mcelwain/" target="_blank">The Lit Bitch</a></span></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-83317628120064310822017-09-25T23:00:00.000-05:002017-09-25T23:00:00.271-05:00Top Ten Tuesday | Fave Characters Who Fight the Supernatural Menace<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i style="color: #333333; font-family: gotham, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.8px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme for bloggers who like books and lists. It's awesome and is graciously hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. </span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This week's TTT topic reads thusly:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Ten Books That Feature Characters ____________: Examples: Ten books that feature black main characters, characters who hold interesting jobs, characters who have a mental illness, characters that are adopted, characters that play sports, etc, etc. Can't wait to see what you all come up with!</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Complex and varied characters are pretty much why I love reading books so this is a topic that speaks right to my heart. For my personal twist, I decided I would choose to celebrate characters who fight, in one way or another, supernatural baddies*. In other words, Urban Fantasy heroines and heroes. This is actually a sub-genre I used to have a hard time getting into so I'm excited that I now have a number of Urban Fantasy characters that I adore!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">* It must be noted that in many characters these characters do not just fight supernatural critters, they often fraternise in friendlier type ways as well. BUT, part of their purpose is to stand against the bad supernatural folk so I think it's a fair characterization.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>1) Anthony Lockwood, Lucy Carlyle and George Cubbins - aka <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/76807-lockwood-co" target="_blank">Lockwood and Co. in the series of the same name</a> by Jonathan Stroud</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I just finished this series and absolutely ADORED it - I finished the last two books in two and a half days. These 3 characters make up the Lockwood & Co. ghost hunting agency in an alt reality London and they are all just wonderfully distinct and complex and lovely. I'm very sad to no longer have their company and wish there were about 5 more books in the series.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>2) Peter Grant from the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/51937-peter-grant-rivers-of-london" target="_blank">Peter Grant series</a> by Ben Aaronovitch</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have raved about Peter many times on this blog. This was a series that convinced me that I did in fact like UF and a lot of that is because Peter is the bomb. He's a London police detective who gets drafted into a supernatural unit after he realizes he can see and talk to ghosts.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>3) Kate Daniels from the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40691-kate-daniels" target="_blank">Kate Daniels series</a> by Ilona Andrews</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This was the other series that convinced me that UF could be awesome and a few years later I am convinced Ilona Andrews can do no wrong. Kate is a strong, complicated, confident but not arrogant heroine who I would like to grow up to be some day. She's sassy and bad ass but she also shows her insecurities and vulnerabilities which keeps her human and relatable.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>4) Karrin Murphy from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40346-the-dresden-files" target="_blank">The Dresden Files </a>by Jim Butcher</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's maybe a little unusual to choose Karrin as my favorite character from this series over Harry but while I like Harry Dresden, I LOVE Karrin. Karrin is a middle aged cop with no supernatural powers but who nevertheless charges in to fight the big bads whenever she is needed. She is my favorite character in this series and I often find myself wishing she was the title character and not Harry.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>5) Katie Chandler from the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/49778-enchanted-inc" target="_blank">Enchanted, Inc. series</a> by Shanna Swendsen</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This series is definitely on the fluffier side and has completely charmed me to pieces. Part of that is Katie, who is a down-to-earth, Texas girl working in a support job for a magical company in New York. She is a nice change from most UF heroines! She shows that you can fight evil armed only with a lot of good organizational skills. This series also has a nice beta hero and a healthy dose of romance.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>6) Mercy Thompson from the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40932-mercy-thompson" target="_blank">Mercy Thompson series</a> by Patricia Briggs</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mercy is an auto mechanic and a Walker - she can shift into the form of a coyote. She's not particularly strong but her magic is unusual and it gets her into some hot water with all the local baddies. I like her because she's down to earth and not too cocky. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>7) Penryn Young from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/63495-penryn-the-end-of-days" target="_blank">Penryn and the End of Days series</a> by Susan Ee</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This series is only on the fringes of Urban Fantasy, being more of a post-apocalyptic type story but I think it fits nicely because I love Penryn because she is SUCH a bad ass, fighting evil angels, and defending her little sister. She is a fantastic character and one of my favorites in YA, period. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I think I must stop at 7 - I am still a relative noobie to Urban Fantasy but am so glad to have found many characters I love already! How about you? Do you have a favorite UF hero or heroine?</span></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-10707142251399623112017-09-18T23:00:00.000-05:002017-09-18T23:00:30.382-05:00TOP TEN TUESDAY | Books At The Top of My List This Fall<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdF2ApoxfUPyGgAj7S3gGlg_9dh5n7Sh1G6LPP3wwYVuA0Oq5L4Jh_QK4bRtRqI4QcoNPq9xN96zTUsxgb5UGHKuWUWkrBbqbqIICgoW_tWdHTAuqMHsvI_DoYSdqfE7rB0mUmDiP_Eo/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" /></div>
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<i style="color: #333333; font-family: gotham, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.8px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme for bloggers who like books and lists. It's awesome and is graciously hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This week's topic is straightforward - Top Ten Books on the Fall TBR. This type of topic is usually focused on books that are being released but my list will mostly just be books that are at the top of my list to be read in the next 3 months. I did try and throw in some up-and-comers that I am particularly excited about! It's always fun for me to look back on these well-intentioned "this is what I'll be reading" posts and see how I so totally did NOT follow the list! Doesn't stop me from makin' 'em. On with the show!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>1) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32324555-the-empty-grave" target="_blank">The Empty Grave </a></i>(Lockwood and Co. #5) by Jonathan Stroud</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm reading book 3 of this series right now. It's about teenaged ghost hunters in England and book 3 is the best in the series so far. I've already checked out book 4 from the library and I know I'll want to immediately jump into this book which finishes the series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>2) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32758901-all-systems-red" target="_blank">All Systems Red</a></i> (The Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am distressingly far behind on my reading goal for the year and I need some shorter, fast moving fiction to help move things along. I am dying to read this novella and it seems to fit the bill. Bonus: Murderbots!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25791216-penric-s-demon" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1agcMQcqn37i8aefEn6tsw2pqWVS1IAAjBl7aWCGFor60ncC9MQEP3ftfU0okkt-vkyIUOjuyskNAQNh29sV4sHE9VfJKeqDYiJ76RFLq-23XU85L5W3PjEjK8rvgsVkg46fzAyvSvQ/s320/PenricsDemon.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>3) <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/183152-penric-and-desdemona-publication-order" target="_blank">Penric and Desdemona Series </a>by Lois McMaster Bujold</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">See above my desire for some shorter fiction, and I've been meaning to read this series of 5 fantasy novella's set in Bujold's World of the Five Gods since the first one, pictured above, was released. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>4) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25791216-penric-s-demon" target="_blank">Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions</a></i> (Kopp Sisters #3) by Amy Stewart</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I completely adore, with all my heart and soul, this lovely historical crime series. This third installment just came out earlier in September and no way am I leaving it for several months like I did book 2. I mean, why would I want to postpone the impatient longing for book 4?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>5) <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18746776-akata-warrior" target="_blank"><i>Akata Warrior</i></a> (Akata Witch #2) by Nnedi Okorafor</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I can't wait to catch up with Sunny and the Leopard Society. It has felt like a long wait! This is Okorafor's YA series about a teenaged Nigerian witch. It's out on October 3rd. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>6) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34286537-city-of-lies" target="_blank">City of Lies</a></i> (Counterfeit Lady #1) by Victoria Thompson</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm a fan of Thompson's Gaslight mystery series that features a turn-of-the-20th-century midwife in New York so I'm excited to see her starting a new series with a very interesting sounding female protagonist! It's out on November 7th. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>7)<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25695756-stiletto" target="_blank"> <i>Stiletto</i></a> (The Checquy Files #2) by Daniel O'Malley</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am truly disappointed and dismayed with myself by my lack of promptness in reading this follow-up to <i>The Rook</i>. I'm gonna fix this, this Fall. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">8) </span><i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28110857-ghostly-echoes" target="_blank">Ghostly Echoes </a></i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(Jackaby #3) by William Ritter</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Samesies as the above. I love this YA fantasy series so not sure why I am two books behind!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>9) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9409469-the-gray-wolf-throne" target="_blank">The Gray Wolf Throne</a></i> (Seven Realms #3) by Cinda Williams Chima</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Like with the Lockwood and Co. series above, I am currently obsessed with this YA fantasy series so there's not a power in the 'verse that will prevent me from picking up book 3 in the near future. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>10) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16307.Hallowe_en_Party" target="_blank">Hallowe'en Party</a></i> (Hercule Poirot #36) by Agatha Christie</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's one of Dame Agatha's books that I haven't read and tis the season!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's my list of Autumn reading list sorted. How about you? What are you most excited about diving into this Fall?</span></b></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-34211553200599657052017-09-18T16:47:00.002-05:002017-09-18T21:37:14.256-05:00REVIEW | The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Cathrynne M. Valente<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17261183-the-girl-who-soared-over-fairyland-and-cut-the-moon-in-two" target="_blank">The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two</a> </i>by Cathrynne M. Valente</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publication Year: 2013</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Series: Fairy Land #3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awards: <a href="http://www.locusmag.com/News/2014/06/2014-locus-awards-winners-2/" target="_blank">Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book</a>, 2014</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Audio (from Library)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Narrator: The Author</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SYNOPSIS: September is now 14 and she has waited a whole year for her birthday to roll around and her 3rd trip to fairyland to begin. But her birthday comes and goes, and she is afraid she will never go back until, when she least expects it, an irascible Blue Wind shows up and grudgingly allows her to hitch a ride to the moon above fairyland. After a happy reunion with L and Saturday, September and her friends must go on a journey to find a Yeti who is terrorizing the moon's citizens. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THOUGHTS:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I should really give Cathrynne Valente credit for at least co-writing this post because a big chunk of it will be in her own words. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Why? I love this series though they are not the most riveting books in the world and they take forever to read, especially for a middle grade book. They sometimes feel like they are just a collection of creative ideas Valente had - really, really creative with beautiful imagery - but with a barely-even-there plot. They are dreamy and odd. The characters took me a bit to warm up to though I must profess that I do now adore September, A-through-L and Saturday. Here's the thing, though. The reason I love them. I'll be listening-reading along, feeling ever-so-slightly bored and then this will happen:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“A silent Library is a sad Library. ... A Library should be full of exclamations! Shouts of delight and horror as the wonders of the world are discovered or the lies of the heavens are uncovered or the wild adventures of devil-knows-who sent romping out of the pages. A Library should be full of now-just-a-minutes and that-can't-be-rights and scientifick folk running skelter to prove somebody wrong. It should positively vibrate with laughing at comedies and sobbing at tragedies, it should echo with gasps as decent ladies glimpse indecent things and indecent ladies stumble upon secret and scandalous decencies! A Library should not shush; it should roar!” </span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And this...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <i>“Marriage is a wrestling match where you hold on tight while your mate changes into a hundred different things. The trick is that you're changing into a hundred other things, but you can't let go. You can only try to match up and never turn into a wolf while he's a rabbit, or a mouse while he's still busy being an owl, a brawny black bull while he's a little blue crab scuttling for shelter. It's harder than it sounds.” </i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And this...</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“Listen to me. Love is a Yeti. It is bigger than you and frightening and terrible. It makes loud and vicious noises. It is hungry all the time. It has horns and teeth and the force of its fists is more than anyone can bear. It speeds up time and slows it down. And it has its own aims and missions that those who are lucky enough to see it cannot begin to guess. You might see a Yeti once in your life or never. You might live in a village of them. But in the end, no matter how fast you think you can go, the Yeti is always faster than you, and you can only choose how you say hello to it, and whether you shake its hand.” </span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And yet again, this...</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> “September tried to show her sternness. It was becoming a habit. She could show her sternness and think about this another time, when it was quiet and no new red Moon turned somersaults in the sky.<br />But when she reached for her sternness, all September found in her heart was the bar of a trapeze, swinging wild, inviting her to catch it.<br />...She leaned up and kissed her Marid and hoped it was the right thing. Her heart caught the bar and swung out, swung wild, over the lights and the gasps below, reaching for a pair of sure blue hands in the air and willing them to find hers.” </span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> And finally, a whole lot of this...</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“Oh, aren't you just the rottenest wet blanket whoever spoiled a sport.” </span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In other words, whenever I start to get a little bored or dismiss the books for having too little plot and flow, Valente hits me with a sentiment which is made of beautiful words and a unique perspective that makes my brain stretch. And occasionally laugh out loud. That's why I keep coming back to this beautiful middle grade series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">FINAL VERDICT: It's always good to visit with September and her friends and this installment has a lot of great imagery and thoughts about growing up. 3.5 out of 5 Stars</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-44184297748716769712017-09-04T23:00:00.000-05:002017-09-04T23:00:36.584-05:00TOP TEN TUESDAY | Books that Took Me a While to Love<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdF2ApoxfUPyGgAj7S3gGlg_9dh5n7Sh1G6LPP3wwYVuA0Oq5L4Jh_QK4bRtRqI4QcoNPq9xN96zTUsxgb5UGHKuWUWkrBbqbqIICgoW_tWdHTAuqMHsvI_DoYSdqfE7rB0mUmDiP_Eo/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" /></div>
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<i style="color: #333333; font-family: gotham, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.8px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme for bloggers who like books and lists. It's awesome and is graciously hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The topic this week allows some leeway in how to approach but I decided to go with the first suggestion, i.e. books (or in a couple of cases, book series) that started off slow but which I ended up really liking. Here's the official topic listing:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Ten Books I Struggled to Get Into But Ended Up Loving or Ten Books That Were A Chore To Get Through or Ten Books I've Most Recently Put Down (the theme is...books you had a hard time with...tweak it how ever you need)</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Without further ado, here's my list:</span><br />
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<b>1) <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/59347-fairyland" target="_blank">The Fairyland Series</a> by Cathrynne M. Valente</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This series is charming and delightful but it took me a while to see these qualities because it is also wildly creative, purposely odd and somewhat dream-like. It's reminiscent of <i>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</i> with the same strange characters and topsy turvy logic and reality. These qualities are in most ways an asset however, the world-building tends to slow down the storytelling and the oddness sometimes gets in the way of getting to know the characters. Glad I persisted because the books are lovely and really worthwhile!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>2) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8161186-the-demon-king" target="_blank">The Demon King</a></i> (Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Chima Williams</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It took half of this book before it really started to click for me and now I'm completely obsessed with this series! It felt like the two main characters took a bit to develop into the awesome characters they are and in fact the book started to work for me when these two characters finally meet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>3) <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/108050-cormoran-strike" target="_blank">Cormoran Strike Series</a> by Robert Galbraith</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This one bends the rules a little bit because I did like this series right from the start. However, while I didn't hate them, the two main protagonists, Cormoran and Robin, didn't endear themselves to me in the first book. As the series has gone on, they've really grown on me and now I love them and this series. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>4) <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/45024-the-lymond-chronicles" target="_blank">The Lymond Chronicles</a> by Dorothy Dunnett</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This series is somewhat infamous for having a first book that can be daunting for newcomers. However, persistence is <u>richly</u> rewarded.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>5) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6690798-the-passage" target="_blank">The Passage</a></i> by Justin Cronin</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I had a hard time getting into both this and book 2 of the series (<i>The Twelve</i>) but they do both pick up and become exciting and marvelous. Marvelous, I tell you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>6) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18318648-the-palace-job" target="_blank">The Palace Job </a></i>by Patrick Weekes</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I love this series, which is a fantasy heist story with a fun and charismatic gang of characters,but the first book took a good long while to get going. This is not an uncommon complaint I have with heist stories simply because, you first have to bring the gang together before they can embark on the heisty goodness. Once the heist gets started though everything's aces!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>7) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26836052-six-of-crows" target="_blank">Six of Crows</a></i> by Leigh Bardugo</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Another fantasy heist series! And this one is unique because it was really only the first chapter that threw a road block. The chapter is just a generic set up and for some reason it really turned me off so it took me a week to get through it, simply because I'd read a little bit, get bored and drift off for a couple days, lol. Once the main characters showed up, however, I was <i>completely</i> addicted and zoomed through it in record time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>8) <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40736-percy-jackson-and-the-olympians" target="_blank">Percy Jackson Series</a> by Rick Riordan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's hard to believe now, after I have devoured this series and loved it, that I had picked up the first book previously and put it down after a couple of chapters, bored. I picked it up again and persisted because I couldn't believe that I wouldn't end up loving a book series that plays with Greek mythology. And I was right!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>9) <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/100839-the-school-for-good-and-evil" target="_blank">The School for Good and Evil Series</a> by Soman Chainani</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All three books in this series started off a little ho hum for me but by the end of the books everything came together and I really enjoyed them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>10) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25996024-a-darker-shade-of-magic" target="_blank">A Darker Shade of Magic</a></i> (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I had a hard time getting into this first book and I really struggled with the female lead. In the end, it worked though and book two was fantastic!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>That's my list this week! Did any of you have similar experiences with any of these books or do you totally disagree? </b></span></div>
Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-87859471780951147342017-08-31T18:35:00.002-05:002017-08-31T18:35:44.244-05:00REVIEW | A Useful Woman by Darcie Wilde<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35425440-a-useful-woman" target="_blank">A Useful Woman</a> </i>by Darcie Wilde</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publication Year: 2016</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Historical Mystery</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Series: Rosalind Thorne Mysteries #1</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awards: None</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Audio (from Audible)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Narrator: Sarah Nichols</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHY?: It was on sale at Audible, I love historical mysteries and the Regency era is one of my favorite time periods, primarily because of Our Lady, Jane and all the romances inspired by her that are set in this era.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SYNOPSIS: Rosalind Thorne is a useful woman in Regency Society. While no longer considered part of the Haute Ton, she has managed to hold on to enough of her respectability, after a scandal, to be able to support herself by advising and doing small favors and jobs for the society ladies. Her life suddenly gets more complicated when she finds a corpse in the famous ballroom of Almack's and her help is solicited in finding out what happened. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THOUGHTS:</span></div>
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I was really chuffed to stumble upon this book on Audible, the first in a new historical mystery series. The Regency time period is always fun to visit and I was especially excited that this series featured a woman detective. I was interested to see how Wilde would manage this, given how hemmed in by society's rules women of this time were. I think ultimately she manages it pretty well primarily by opening up Regency society to include what we would now call the middle class but then is probably more accurately termed the working class. This is a class of mostly educated men and women who perform work that is above the blue collar and servant classes but they must work and earn a living unlike the gentry. </div>
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When we meet Rosalind Thorne she is a genteel and wealthy young lady, not noble but high enough to have achieved an Almack's invitation. She's met a boy of similar station and fallen in love and all seems right with the world. Then disaster strikes within her family and the book skips ahead a few years. With the fall in Rosalind's prospects, she lost her beau and her family, but she has landed on her feet in a pretty unique way. She was taken under the wing of a relatively influential society lady who kept her afloat until she'd made herself, with her good sense and taste, an indispensable asset to many of the ladies of the Ton. It's quite unique to see an independent, spinster lady during this time period and I'm unsure just how realistic this was but the scenario is plausible. </div>
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Rosalind is a fine protagonist, if a tad on the vanilla and boring side. I like that she's pretty independent and believably brave about tracking down a murderer (i.e. she's not foolishly reckless but she doesn't back down). She has two love interests in the book, one of which I clearly prefer but both of which pose interesting relationship conundrums. One represents her past and the other the woman she is evolving into. It's a pretty decent set-up for a fairly low key love triangle.</div>
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The story itself is okay. Wilde does get a little too bogged down sometimes in the minutiae of Regency custom and life but I generally dig that stuff so it didn't bother me much. However, if you're looking for a cracking, page turner of a mystery this isn't going to ring that bell. The mystery story isn't inconsequential but it won't win any awards for inventiveness or suspense. </div>
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I liked the book and I intend to read on in the series though I won't obsessive about it. Rosalind is an engaging enough protagonist and has great potential as a character. I'm also pretty interested in how her romance works out. </div>
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It's been a few weeks since I listened to the book and I don't really remember the narrator which is generally a good thing. She was fine and a good pick for this type of book. </div>
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FINAL VERDICT: This is a perfectly fine and low key historical mystery with a dash of romance set in one of my favorite time periods to read about; Regency England. I'll be picking up the sequels. 3 out of 5 stars</div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-857757805453104992017-08-26T22:28:00.001-05:002017-08-26T22:28:05.803-05:00Saturday in the Garden | Squirrels in the Attic<div style="text-align: left;">
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<i>I like to garden and generally putter around in my yard and my Saturday in the Garden posts serve as my pseudo- garden journal, plus round-up of my week in reading, watching and blogging. Occasionally, I'll whine, rant or gush about something in a GAK section. </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I apparently have a squirrel (or two) living in my attic. My neighbor had to inform me of this because SHE STUDIES MY HOUSE (but that's another story) and saw them going in. I haven't confirmed yet - my attic space is not easily accessible - but it does not surprise me. I like wildlife and encourage their presence but squirrels and attics are likely not the best combo. My plan is to live trap the squirrels and release outside and seal up the holes they are using to get in. Timing will be key. Wish me and the squirrels luck!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While dealing with this situation isn't what you'd call fun, it does give me good perspective and empathy with people who call my work with some kind of a wildlife damage complaint or issue. I can feel their pain but will still always counsel for trying to live as peacefully with the natural world as possible. This means taking a little trouble on ourselves to adjust our homes and landscapes to prevent or mitigate conflict rather than wanting to obliterate all living things in our immediate environs for daring to try to share "our"space. We're all just trying to get down the road of life and deserve the chance to travel it as we need. </span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Finished up <i>Shetland</i>. It's an atmospheric and pretty well done mystery series. It has made me desperately want to spend a month (or so) hiking and exploring Scotland. Anybody wanna go? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">I also got back to and finished the last season of <i>Father Brown</i>. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Reading </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>FINISHED SINCE THE LAST TIME I POSTED</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Nada. I am reading, I promise! I have a few too many books going right now so it's slowing me down. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">CURRENTLY READING</span></b><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7801229-the-exiled-queen" target="_blank">The Exiled Queen</a></i> (Seven Realms #2) by Cinda Chima Williams: The continuation of the story started in The Demon King! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1914973.The_Likeness" target="_blank">The Likeness</a> </i>by Tana French: The second in the Dublin Murder Squad mystery series. This one features Cassie from <i>In the Woods</i> in the lead role.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17282619-hunted?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Spirit Animals: Hunted</a></i> by Maggie Stiefvater: The second in this middle-grade series, each written by a different author. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23042087-the-fatal-flame" target="_blank">The Fatal Flame</a></i> (Timothy Wilde #2) by Lyndsay Faye: The last in a trilogy of historical mysteries set in mid-19th century New York. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14059024-the-whispering-skull" target="_blank">The Whispering Skull</a></i> (Lockwood and Co. #2) by Jonathan Stroud: This is an awesome YA/middle-grade series about ghost hunters in Britain. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235869.Intuitive_Eating" target="_blank">Intuitive Eating</a></i> by Tribole and Resch: Non-fiction about eating psychology and biology. I've been dipping in and out of it for the last few months!</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Added to the TBR:</span></b></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week. It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!</span></i><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/130260.Birdman" target="_blank">Birdman</a></i> (Jack Caffery #1) by Mo Hayder: A Crime/Mystery/Thriller series starter that my Book bub subscription brought to my attention.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7853137-think-of-a-number" target="_blank">Think of a Number</a></i> (Dave Gurney #1) by John Verdon: Ditto the above but I think this one is set in the U.S. and not Britain. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Nothing here either. I was traveling last weekend and had a number of busy nights this week.</span><br />
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-41394693819984980392017-08-21T15:23:00.000-05:002017-08-21T15:23:18.180-05:00Saturday in the Garden | Special Disappointing Eclipse Edition<div style="text-align: left;">
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<i>I like to garden and generally putter around in my yard and my Saturday in the Garden posts serve as my pseudo- garden journal, plus round-up of my week in reading, watching and blogging. Occasionally, I'll whine, rant or gush about something in a GAK section. </i><br />
<u><b><br /></b></u><u><b>OUTSIDE</b></u><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'd like to say this post is two days late because I wanted to do a special eclipse focused essay but alas, it is socked in cloudy and rainy in Iowa today. And really I'm late because I was traveling this weekend. I hope you are having more eclipse related luck where you are! I plan on watching NASA's livestreaming. Yay for days off!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Recently, I've been revamping and reinvigorating my composting system. I want to try and compost as much as possible and I really needed to start thinking about it with the addition of Ella to the household. (Y'all may have heard I have a rabbit named Ella? Ha, Ha, Ha! I mean I never talk about her or anything....) Anyhoo, part of my excitement about having a rabbit is that they produce manure to die for from a gardening point of view. They also produce SO MUCH of it. I'm drowning in rabbit poop, ya'll (um...ewww - sorry for that imagery). I also have her litter, the kitchen scraps and leaves and grass clippings. All in all, it's quite a lot that can be composted and handling it all poses a challenge in a small yard like mine. There is the additional issue, that I have dogs and don't want them (or any other critters) to get into the food scraps. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I already have a wooden box compost bin for yard waste, a large tumbler composter which is currently taking kitchen scraps but which I'm going to switch over to rabbit waste, and a pretty pathetic homemade trash can which will take a mix. I bought another small tumbler to help with rabbit waste and most exciting, decided to revitalize my vermicomposter for kitchen waste! A vermicomposter, if you don't know, is a worm composter and it's pretty cool. I may need to get a second and even third one to handle the amount of fruit and vegetable waste I produce but for now the worms are going to town!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In other news, the city is going to take down one of my street trees. I had contacted them about it a couple of months ago because a pretty big, dead limb came down during a storm and several other big dead limbs hang over the sidewalk. I am afraid they are going to come down and seriously injure someone and I wasn't sure if it was my or the City's responsibility to prune the tree. Apparently, it is theirs if the tree has to come down but I am responsible for trimming. Anyway, they came and checked it out and indicated that they thought the tree was mostly in good shape (which I was a little skeptical about) and that I should get it pruned. Fast forward a couple months and I get a hang tag on my door saying they'll be taking the tree down. Not sure what changed, if it was a staff change or the original fellow had second thoughts. I have mixed feelings because I do like trees and it's an oak BUT it will open up a patch of sun in my front yard! North facing sun but still. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Also, I picked another round of beets that I am super excited about!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This weekend, I</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"> took a quick trip to Baltimore, MD to meet up with family and friends, catch a ball game and snarf down some steamed crabs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">It was a very short trip but I had some time to kill on Sunday and decided to take a tour through the National Aquarium - I hadn't been there in years and years. If you ever want to be astounded and impressed by the beauty and diversity of life on Earth, this is a good pit stop.</span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i><i>Watching </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Caught up on a few episodes of Shetland while traveling. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Reading </span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>FINISHED SINCE THE LAST TIME I POSTED</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">CURRENTLY READING</span></b><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7801229-the-exiled-queen" target="_blank">The Exiled Queen</a></i> (Seven Realms #2) by Cinda Chima Williams: The continuation of the story started in The Demon King! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1914973.The_Likeness" target="_blank">The Likeness</a> </i>by Tana French: The second in the Dublin Murder Squad mystery series. This one features Cassie from <i>In the Woods</i> in the lead role.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17282619-hunted?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Spirit Animals: Hunted</a></i> by Maggie Stiefvater: The second in this middle-grade series, each written by a different author. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23042087-the-fatal-flame" target="_blank">The Fatal Flame</a></i> (Timothy Wilde #2) by Lyndsay Faye: The last in a trilogy of historical mysteries set in mid-19th century New York. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14059024-the-whispering-skull" target="_blank">The Whispering Skull</a></i> (Lockwood and Co. #2) by Jonathan Stroud: This is an awesome YA/middle-grade series about ghost hunters in Britain. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235869.Intuitive_Eating" target="_blank">Intuitive Eating</a></i> by Tribole and Resch: Non-fiction about eating psychology and biology. I've been dipping in and out of it for the last few months!</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Added to the TBR:</span></b></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week. It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!</span></i><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35356030-jane-of-austin" target="_blank">Jane of Austin: A Novel of Sweet Tea and Sensibility</a> </i>by Hillary Manton Lodge<i>: </i><a href="https://abibliophilesstyle.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Selah at A Bibliophile's Style</a> liked this and I love a good Austen re-telling!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7908762-troubled-waters" target="_blank">Troubled Waters</a></i> (Elemental Blessings #1) by Sharon Shinn: I've wanted to read a fantasy by Shinn for years and <a href="http://fineprintblog.com/" target="_blank">Danya at Fine Print </a>had good things to say about this one!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32469783-the-court-of-broken-knives" target="_blank">The Court of Broken Knives </a></i>by Anna Smith Spark: A debut Grimdark novel that <a href="https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/08/14/book-review-the-court-of-broken-knives-by-anna-smith-spark/" target="_blank">Mogsy at The Bibliosanctum</a> really liked.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31920820-priestdaddy" target="_blank">Priestdaddy</a></i> by Patricia Lockwood: Jeff and Rebecca of Book Riot were singing the praises of this unique memoir, especially the audio read by the author, on the main Book Riot podcast.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46614.The_Distant_Echo" target="_blank">The Distant Echo</a></i> by Val McDermid: A cold case mystery series my friend Liz recommended!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/541920.An_Army_at_Dawn" target="_blank">An Army at Dawn</a></i> by Rick Atkinson: A non-fiction World War II book. Recommended by my brother.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31753011-lorien-legacies-by-pitticus-lore-3-books-collection-set" target="_blank">Lorien Legacies</a> by Pitticus Lore: Recommended by my sister and nephews:). </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17402605-the-alchemyst" target="_blank">The Alchemyst</a></i> by Michael Scott: Ditto the above. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">I also got to visit a HUGE Barnes and Noble in the harbor area of Baltimore and I couldn't help but pick up a few books...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32830440-an-oath-of-dogs" target="_blank">An Oath of Dogs</a></i> is one I have no idea about but the blurb mentioned eco-terrorism and sentient dogs so I said, WTH. Wild card pick!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On the BLOG since I last Posted:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">WEDNESDAY: <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/08/review-screaming-staircase-by-jonathan.html" target="_blank">REVIEW | The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud </a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>HAVE A GREAT WEEK!</b></span></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-25133758998997751502017-08-16T06:19:00.000-05:002017-08-16T06:19:45.776-05:00REVIEW | The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13555073-the-screaming-staircase" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fotChV9snfB5lddWJd5eDmGe-Q3TpoBsHoJB9tJgvj3aGXQWpW9lK42ojlnipVcGKFV8MlO5lg4EXAGTj-X4cFGxgQIn0U_DhhC2FI6eV16SJI8mEhMuELqGVTuT9BNyDRA9lYzcjgA/s1600/TheScreamingStaircase.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13555073-the-screaming-staircase" target="_blank">The Screaming Staircase</a> </i>by Jonathan Stroud</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publication Year: 2011</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Middle-Grade, Paranormal Mystery (Urban Fantasy?)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Series: Lockwood & Co. #1</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awards: It did not win any but was nominated for a couple</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Audio (from Library)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Narrator: Miranda Raison</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHY?: It's about kids who hunt ghosts. Who doesn't want to read that?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SYNOPSIS: In an England that has been overtaken by spirits that only children can see, Lockwood & Co. is one of the many agencies that people can hire to rid themselves of ghostly problems. When one of their cases goes spectacularly wrong, Lockwood, Lucy and George, who make up the agency, must take on an extremely deadly assignment; to quiet the spirits in the most haunted house in England. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THOUGHTS:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>I am fascinated by ghosts but, strangely, I haven't found many books featuring them that I really love. I'm happy to say that the first book in the middle-grade Lockwood & Co. series is a book about ghosts that really worked for me. It is exciting, has a multi-layered plot and a distinct take on ghosts and the hunting of them.<br />
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The story is told from the perspective of Lucy Carlyle. In the England the book is set in, something has occurred that has caused spirits to manifest all over the country and these ghosts are not just a spooky nuisance. If one touches you, you don't just feel a chill, you die. <br />
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Children under a certain age (15 or so) are the only people who can actually see the ghosts and some kids are more adept at it than others. Lucy is one of the more talented ones so she is recruited at a young age to become a ghost hunter. Ghost hunters usually work in a group supervised by an adult who can't see the ghost but takes feedback from the children and develops the plan of action. When Lucy's handler loses his nerve and makes a bad call during an assignment, sending all but she to their deaths, Lucy decides to strike out on her own and heads to London to see if she can find a better situation.<br />
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She ends up being hired by Lockwood & Co. which is unique in that it employs no adult handlers. In fact, it is just Lockwood and his confederate George. Adding Lucy makes them a threesome working out of Lockwood's large house left to him by his parents who are mysteriously missing. Each of them brings something different to the table. Lockwood is very smart and bold, a good planner, strategist and leader and is also very good at seeing ghostly phenomena. George is a science and research dork who spends his time tinkering with ghostly artifacts and doing background research for their cases. Lucy is very talented at hearing ghostly phenomena and at getting emotional readings and flashbacks from the dead and objects associated with them. All together they make a good team and they are all glad not to have the supervision of adults.<br />
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Normally, that whole idea of kids doing dangerous things and not involving adults, is a barrier when I reader literature aimed at a younger audience. What for a younger reader is empowering, I find unrealistic and frustrating. However, there was none of that in this story. Lucy's experience with her adult mentor at the start of the story and the maturity of Lockwood and all of the gang really convinced me that they are better off taking care of themselves. It's a fascinating power structure to explore, with kids having a useful and necessary skill that adults don't, and the story does a good job of imagining what this would mean - it both empowers the kids as well as making them vulnerable for exploitation. <br />
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The idea of kids having this "superpower" denied to adults is only one of the very interesting things in the universe Stroud builds. At first I thought the book was set in a historical setting, likely Victorian, as some of the trappings of the story and setting suggest but actually the book is set contemporarily or even slightly in the future. There are television sets and other modern things but the phenomenon of the ghosts appearing has scrambled society in many ways. And that's one layer of the story that will likely be a constant in the series; what happened to "awaken" the ghosts and how can it be stopped once and for all.<br />
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The specific plot of the book is also pretty great. It is a little slow to get started but it builds to a really exciting and pretty scary climax. Lockwood & Co. are trying to keep the agency open after a disastrous case and partially as a ploy to get positive publicity they are trying to track down who murdered a young socialite who has become a very restless and murderous ghost. Their involvement in the cold case brings to them the business of an enigmatic millionaire who wishes them to "clean" out his house which is reputed to be the most haunted in a very haunted England. The night they spend at the house is chilling and exciting! My only complaint is that Lockwood has information/suspicions that he does not share with his colleagues and there doesn't seem to be any reason for him to do this except to build suspense and conflict in the story, but I'll let it slide because it leads to a great reveal in the end.<br />
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Finally, all three of the main characters are great. George is the least developed of the three but his peculiarities and bickering with Lucy and Lockwood add much of the humor in the book which lightens up what would be a completely dark tale otherwise. Lucy, as narrator is the one we get to know best and she's a great character, being both traumatised and extremely brave and empathetic. She's got attitude and her narrative voice is engaging and provides interesting perspective. Lockwood is charming and immediately likable but he is also a huge mystery and I expect that also to be one of the plot threads that carries throughout the series.<br />
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Taken as a whole this was a really good start to a series and I think it would go over really well with all age groups. It doesn't shy away from the scary parts so if your young reader is on the easily frightened side I might be a little wary. I listened to the audio and the narrator, who I think is new to me, was great. She is essentially the voice of Lucy and I think she did a great job bringing her to life.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">FINAL VERDICT</span>: <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> A nicely creepy, complex and ultimately exciting ghost hunter story aimed at middle-grade readers though it als entertained my middle-aged brain. Will definitely be continuing the series. 4 out of 5 stars. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: <a href="http://starcrossedbookblog.com/2015/10/book-review-the-screaming-starcase-lockwood-co-1-by-jonathan-stroud/" target="_blank">Star-Crossed Book Blog</a> | <a href="https://athousandlivesoffrankielovely.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/book-review-2/" target="_blank">A Thousand Lives of Frankie Lively</a></span></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-69593093211743747472017-08-12T21:23:00.002-05:002017-08-12T21:23:44.115-05:00Saturday in the Garden | The Books Ahead of Me<div style="text-align: left;">
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<i>I like to garden and generally putter around in my yard and my Saturday in the Garden posts serve as my pseudo- garden journal, plus round-up of my week in reading, watching and blogging. Occasionally, I'll whine, rant or gush about something in a GAK section. </i><br />
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It is so nice in Iowa right now and I took advantage and had breakfast on the veranda (i.e. the concrete pad there) this morning. And while the temperature and humidity have been great we continue to get little rain. I've done a good job watering this year, so most of the plants are doing well, except for my tomatoes. The Beam's Pear have slowly died one by one and the Patio Roma have continued to mostly produce tomatoes with blossom end rot. I don't know why I have such trouble with tomatoes which are supposed to be pretty fool proof. Well I guess I'm a bigger fool than even they can withstand. My speculation is that I've got some tomato disease, like wilt, in the soil in all the beds and it doesn't seem to matter where I move them. I've got one more spot I'll try them next year, fingers crossed.<br />
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Recently, for some reason, the number of my books marked as "read" on Goodreads.com caught my eye. I just broke the 800 book mark and while some of those are books I added from Before Goodreads (BG) most are those that I've logged since I joined in 2008. It's not a particularly impressive number compared to most but it is still a lot of books and I found it making me feel really happy. I suffer occasionally from the anxiety of realizing that there is a finite number of books I will get to read in my life (because if there is something to worry about, I'll worry about it without fail, it's my superpower). The fact that in this roughly 10 year period I've gotten to 700-750 of them feels really good, gives me hope and shifts my thoughts towards all the myriad of books I have in front of me in the years to come and away from what books I will miss. </div>
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<b><u>WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING</u></b></div>
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<i><br /></i><i>Watching </i><br />
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The TV slump is still going strong, though I have been watching <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80075595" target="_blank">Voltron</a></i> a good bit this week. Netflix just released season 3 of the anime(?) that features a giant space robot made out of giant robotic lions. I'm only a couple of episodes into season three and all sorts of surprising things are going down! I'm going to start blaming all my character flaws on the fact that we only had idiotic, simplistic cartoons when I was young.<br />
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<i>Listening</i><br />
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A couple of new podcasts have caught my ear. <br />
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Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell which investigates, analyzes and debunks some common truths held by society. It's fascinating and at times depressing.<br />
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By the Book with Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg is a fun podcast where the hosts pick a self-help book and follow it, to the letter for two weeks and report back on it. It's funny but also seriously and thoughtfully evaluates each book's validity. I really like the format and approach! <br />
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<i>Reading </i><br />
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Finished Since the Last Time I Posted:</h3>
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29496490-prose-and-cons" target="_blank">Prose and Cons </a></i>(Magical Bookshop #2) by Amanda Flower: A cozy mystery series set in a charming New York village with a magical bookshop. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23848559-furiously-happy" target="_blank">Furiously Happy</a></i> by Jenny Lawson: This is the second memoir by "The Bloggess" that focuses specifically on Lawson's struggles with mental illness with a humorous touch. I liked it better than her first book, personally, even though it has quite a bit of filler. The filler is hilarious which helps and the substantive chapters are really good and thought-provoking.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34413312-avatar" target="_blank">Avatar: The Last Airbender North and South</a></i> by Gene Luen Yang: The most recent installment in the graphic novel series that continues Aang and the gang's adventures. I think it's my favorite in the series thus far.</li>
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<b>CURRENTLY READING</b><br />
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7801229-the-exiled-queen" target="_blank">The Exiled Queen</a></i> (Seven Realms #2) by Cinda Chima Williams: The continuation of the story started in The Demon King! </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1914973.The_Likeness" target="_blank">The Likeness</a> </i>by Tana French: The second in the Dublin Murder Squad mystery series. This one features Cassie from <i>In the Woods</i> in the lead role.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17282619-hunted?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Spirit Animals: Hunted</a></i> by Maggie Stiefvater: A </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235869.Intuitive_Eating" target="_blank">Intuitive Eating</a></i> by Tribole and Resch: Non-fiction about eating psychology and biology. I've been dipping in and out of it for the last few months!</li>
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<b>Added to the TBR:</b></h3>
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<i>This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week. It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!</i><br />
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<li style="font-style: italic;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075854-magpie-murders" target="_blank">Magpie Murders</a></i> by Anthony Horowitz: Heard about this on Book Riot's new podcast Read or Dead (all about mysteries). I love Anthony Horowitz and this is homage to Agatha Christie!</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/681941.The_Moral_Animal" target="_blank">The Moral Animal</a>: Why We Are the Way We Are </i>by Robert Wright: I heard an interview with Robert Wright this week where he posits that humans current evolutionary state is not really designed to make us happy in the modern world. It was a fascinating idea so I added this book which is one of his earliest works on Evolutionary Psychology.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32895535-why-buddhism-is-true" target="_blank">Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment</a></i> by Robert Wright: See above. This is Wright's newest book which is what the interview was about.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9633089-the-surrender-of-lady-jane" target="_blank">The Surrender of Lady Jane</a></i> by Marissa Day: I can't remember where I heard about this one but it's a fantasy romance about a British nobleman under the sway of the Faerie Queen Tatiana who sends him on a mission that requires him to seduce a respectable widow name Jane and GUESS WHAT HAPPENS???? I think they fall in love. Just a wild speculation.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25783121-the-bride-behind-the-curtain" target="_blank">The Bride Behind the Curtain</a></i> by Darcie Wilde: This is a Regency romance by an author I recently read a mystery by. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32446949-the-punch-escrow" target="_blank">The Punch Escrow </a></i>by Tal M. Klein: Can I tell you how much I want Teleportation to be a thing. SO SO SO MUCH. So science fiction books that feature teleportation and also how it might be evil are good ones for me to read. This was very highly recommended by <a href="https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/07/25/book-review-the-punch-escrow-by-tal-m-klein/" target="_blank">Mogsy at The Bibliosanctum</a>. </li>
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<b>On the BLOG since I last Posted:</b></div>
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<i>- Didn't actually post anything this week, though I composed many brilliant posts in my head. - </i></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><b>HAVE A GREAT WEEK!</b></span></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-23652013918949809572017-08-06T21:31:00.001-05:002017-08-06T21:31:07.440-05:00Saturday in the Garden | Bees and Dogs Not Getting Along<div style="text-align: left;">
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<i>I like to garden and generally putter around in my yard and my Saturday in the Garden posts serve as my pseudo- garden journal, plus round-up of my week in reading, watching and blogging. Occasionally, I'll whine, rant or gush about something in a GAK section. </i><br />
<u><b><br /></b></u><u><b>OUTSIDE</b></u><br />
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The pear tomatoes are starting to ripen so I've been munching on those. I also got to roast some beets that I grew for like the first time ever! With many of the herbs and wildflowers blooming, I'm also seeing more pollinator activity which makes me smile. Even a bee using the bird bath! Looks like a honey bee, though I'm no expert on bee i.d. Of course my interest in the bee, attracted the attention of Rudy, who, in the absence of other prey, likes to stalk and try to eat bees. Not only is it dumb on his part but now I feel like bee-kind will feel betrayed because apparently I planted all this attractive vegetation to lure them to their deaths by dog. Sigh.... Sometimes dogs and gardens don't mix.<br />
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I have really been enjoying my potted plants this summer and am happy to have the jasmine and gardenia in my life. Funny how plants warm my heart:). It's an outlet for my nurture gene... which may be a gene I made up but it sounds reasonable. </div>
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<i><br /></i><i>Watching </i><br />
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Nothing much actually. TV slump continues. I have been watching a lot of booktube videos lately. so I guess that counts. <br />
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<i>Reading </i><br />
<h3>
Finished Since the Last Time I Posted:</h3>
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6342491-the-demon-king" target="_blank">The Demon King </a></i>by Cinda Williams Chima: I had a slow start with this one but ended up really loving it! I've already started reading book two. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/847871.The_Devil_s_Novice" target="_blank">The Devil's Novice (Brother Cadfael #8)</a></i> by Ellis Peters: This is one of my favorite historical mystery series about a monk in medieval England. It had been a while since I'd read one of these and it was nice to be back with Cadfael. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26067944-a-useful-woman" target="_blank">A Useful Woman</a></i> (Rosalind Thorne Mysteries #1) by Darcie Wilde: This is the start to a historical mystery series set in Regency era England. I really enjoyed it and it was a smidge more substantive than I was expecting.</li>
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<b>CURRENTLY READING</b><br />
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7801229-the-exiled-queen" target="_blank">The Exiled Queen</a></i> (Seven Realms #2) by Cinda Chima Williams: The continuation of the story started in The Demon King! </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29496490-prose-and-cons" target="_blank">Prose and Cons </a></i>(Magical Bookshop #2) by Amanda Flower: A cozy mystery series set in a charming New York village with a magical bookshop. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23848559-furiously-happy" target="_blank">Furiously Happy</a></i> by Jenny Lawson: This is the second memoir by "The Bloggess" that focuses specifically on Lawson's struggles with mental illness with a humorous touch. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235869.Intuitive_Eating" target="_blank">Intuitive Eating</a></i> by Tribole and Resch: Non-fiction about eating psychology and biology. I've been dipping in and out of it for the last few months!</li>
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<b>Added to the TBR:</b></h3>
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<i>This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week. It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!</i><br />
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- Big List Next Week!<br />
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<b>On the BLOG since I last Posted:</b></div>
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TUESDAY: <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/08/quiet-genre-books.html" target="_blank">Quiet Genre Books</a> - A list of SFF and Mystery novels that are on the quieter side<br />
THURSDAY: <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/08/review-queens-play-lymond-2-by-dorothy.html" target="_blank">Review | Queens' Play (Lymond Chronicles #2) by Dorothy Dunnett</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bunnies really do love carrots.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><b>HAVE A GREAT WEEK!</b></span></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-81755692338525905802017-08-03T06:00:00.000-05:002017-08-03T06:00:16.821-05:00REVIEW | Queens Play (Lymond #2) by Dorothy Dunnett<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36I8CYhesJpTwwPgNbC6ws3DZsytBcNmpQFHY8TVIxTrgKsBknCTD3VdKeEldVoJG_YSacU418bn5ANpLcX13nPQtC-1BZNlS4an4qt-eWLMcr4CHx0rKjNu5y3rDlK5iw0aaXMFPUY4/s1600/QueensPlay5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36I8CYhesJpTwwPgNbC6ws3DZsytBcNmpQFHY8TVIxTrgKsBknCTD3VdKeEldVoJG_YSacU418bn5ANpLcX13nPQtC-1BZNlS4an4qt-eWLMcr4CHx0rKjNu5y3rDlK5iw0aaXMFPUY4/s320/QueensPlay5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112080.Queens_Play" target="_blank">Queens' Play</a> </i>by Dorothy Dunnett</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publication Year: 1964</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Historical Fiction</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Series: The Lymond Chronicles, Book 2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awards: None listed but I'm shocked it hasn't gotten some kind of award.</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Audio (from Audible)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Narrator: Andrew Napier</span></div>
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<i>Hi! If you would like to read a (mostly) spoiler-free review of The Lymond Chronicles as a whole, you can do so <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-lymond-chronicles-by-dorothy.html" target="_blank">in this post</a>. The review below of Queen's Play will not be spoiler-free so proceed at your own risk!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHY?: I'm re-reading Lymond!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SYNOPSIS: <i>Queens' Play</i> picks up roughly two years (a little less perhaps) after the events of book one, <i>The Game of Kings</i>. The young Mary Queen of Scots has been living at the French Court and her mother the regent Queen of Scotland and sister to the King of France, Mary of Guise, is preparing to visit her. Rumors are floating around that her daughter may be in danger and Mary de Guise wishes to recruit Lymond to go undercover, keep an eye on young Mary and root out any plots against her. Lymond agrees with equal degrees of enthusiasm and reluctance - it sounds like a good time but he's gonna do it his way and avoid becoming a vassal of the Queen Regent. What ensues is a harrowing and delightful romp through the twisted political highways and byways of Renaissance France.</span></div>
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With <i>The Game of Kings</i>, I came into the re-read remembering almost nothing about it except that it was confusing. <i>Queen's Play</i> is really the first book in the series that left some specific impressions in my brain mostly because it is the first to feature Dunnett's famous set pieces. Scenes of such excitement and unique spectacle that it's hard to credit how believable they are on the page: assassination attempts by first, elephants, than cheetah and a treacherous and crazy night time race over the rooftops of a French City. Seriously, they make total sense while you're reading!<br />
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Zooming out to the big picture, the political situation is no less mind boggling. What's going on in t<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">he Europe in which we find ourselves immersed in 1549 (or thereabouts)? Edward, sickly young son of Henry the VIII sits on the English throne. The war between England and Scotland, that played a large role in book 1, is at a halt for the moment so Scotland is free of the English though still very wary. They are less wary of the French mostly because the Queen Dowager of Scotland, Mary of Guise, is the French King's sister. Her daughter - the famous Mary Queen of Scots is just 8 years old and has been living at the French Court for two years and is betrothed to the heir to the French throne. It's interesting to see Mary Queen of Scots as a precocious and rather charming child:). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lymond has been called to France for the sole purpose of keeping Mary the younger safe because her mother fears she is in danger and indeed there are many assassination attempts throughout the book. Someone in the French Court wants more power and it is Lymond's job to ferret them out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ireland is also in the mix. Like Scotland, they want to get out from under the English but they do not have the central ruler like Scotland nor the close tie to France. One of the stronger chieftains, Cormac O'Connor is in France trying to convince the French to lend their aid in pushing the English out of Ireland, however O'Connor's main goal is to set himself up as Ireland's monarch. The English also show up in France because in their weakened state they seek to forge a peaceful alliance with their enemy France by securing Mary Queen of Scots' hand in marriage for King Edward or barring her one of the King of France's daughters, Elizabeth. Phew! Lots going on and that does not even touch on the jockeying for power and position within the French court. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The people of France are not all enamored of their monarchy and nobles which are at the height of extravagance and profligacy. The king keeps the whole court on the move, not staying in one place for too long and holding lavish dinners and parties for the mostly licentious and drunken nobles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Into this court-gone-wild steps the Irish Prince of Barrow Phelim O'LiamRoe and his ollave Thady Boy Ballagh. What's an ollave you say? Good question! After looking it up, the best way I can describe it is like a personal bard and scholar. O'LiamRoe is ostensibly there to expand his horizons and get a feel for the French in a way that might benefit his home country but his real reason for being there is on a lark to provide cover for Lymond whose alter ego is, of course, Thady Boy Ballagh. I say of course but actually, Dunnett does a good job hiding Lymond's cover personae. We know he's there in the Irish nobleman's party but are unsure who he is until a little ways in. Or at least I was unaware the first time I read it:). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some of the characters from book one make a reappearance. Tom Erskine, the lovesick admirer of Christian Stewart is now a high level dignitary for the Queen Regent and married to Margaret, lady in waiting to the Scottish court. I love the little touch that Lymond is obviously a little put out that Tom has moved on from the deceased Christian and married Margaret and so he is disinclined to like her - Lymond is sentimentally loyal. However, Margaret proves to be a woman of good sense (Tom has a type:) and she and Tom are allies to Lymond/Thady Boy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are also a lot of new characters, some of which will remain important throughout the series like Archie Abernethy (posing as an Indian Elephant trainer) and Oonagh O'Dwyer (the first woman we "witness" Lymond get down and dirty with). As with book one, Lymond attracts the enmity and love (all at the same time) of a young man, in this case Robin Stewart. Phelim O'LiamRoe also ends up having complicated feelings about Lymond though he never obsessively loves him like Robin. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>"He cursed Francis Crawford with hate and yearning in his voice."</i> That quote pretty much encapsulates how most people feel about Lymond. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The men that get attached to him are generally strong and talented themselves but have some weakness of spirit that Lymond tries to remedy but his efforts often go awry.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I really liked O'Liamroe and was kind of bummed he a) didn't get Oonagh in the end and b) doesn't show up or even get mentioned (I don't think) in later books.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In comparison to the first one, this book's plot is as complicated, if not more, but it has a better narrative flow and is a little less episodic. It also goes further in demonstrating how talented Lymond is at being duplicitous. He spends much of the book drunk and rowdy but illustrates again and again that he always has his eye on the mission and is never not focused except for perhaps when he gives in to temptation with Oonagh. I have to say I was surprised by their union and am even more puzzled by readers who describe her as Lymond's first real love - they don't really interact all that much and the banter and intimacy was greater with Christian and eventually Philippa. Anyhoo, Lymond is a machine who even carries on as normal after he is poisoned so that he doesn't blow his cover. Bad Ass. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This book is definitely where the hook is set deep. The political intrigue, the glittering descriptions of the French Court, the astounding set pieces, capped with a daring, nail-biting finale, the fact that Lymond survives despite being poisoned, nearly falling from the top of a cathedral tower, nearly being squeezed to death by a professional wrestler and skewered by a French nobleman in a duel to the death; all of it firmly establishes that this series is fathoms deep and will provide one rollicking ride. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> The narrator changed from book one to book two and I do like Andrew Napier's voice better. He handles all the accents - Scottish, English, French, Irish - really well. I have two complaints however, 1) he reads Lymond very flat and without much expression which wasn't terrible but there is so much missed potential for bring the character to life and 2) he pronounces Lymond (Lie-mond) as Limmond. Super annoying. And he does it for two books before it gets corrected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">FINAL VERDICT</span>: An improvement over the excellent book one and an example of how all novels about 16th century France should be written; swash-buckling and full of political intrigue! 5 out of 5 Stars.<br />
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<u>Related Lymond Chronicle Posts</u><br />
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<li><a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-lymond-chronicles-by-dorothy.html" target="_blank">A (mostly) spoiler free review of the whole series</a></li>
<li><a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/07/review-game-of-kings-by-dorothy-dunnett.html" target="_blank">Review of The Game of Kings</a></li>
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<br />Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-78839460380827291352017-08-01T07:00:00.000-05:002017-08-01T07:00:26.284-05:00Quiet Genre Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lately I've been thinking about quiet genre books. The vast majority of SFF, mystery, horror I read is fast-paced, action-packed, and momentous. But occasionally you run across a genre book where big things are happening, but the focus of the book isn't directly on those big things, not exactly. Sometimes, these books are kind of dreamy and unfocused and those don't often work for me. Much of the magical realism I've read fits in this category. The other kind of quiet genre book I've run into are those that shift the lens onto the mundane everyday even when the big picture is BONKERS. They are often more focused on the characters and the big things that are happening around them are secondary. It's a unique approach, at least in my experience and there are some really excellent books that do this. Below are some of my favorites!<br />
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<b>1) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12941033-some-kind-of-fairy-tale" target="_blank">Some Kind of Fairy Tale</a></i> by Graham Joyce</b></div>
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Fantasy. A young woman appears back home, 20 years after she disappeared without a trace, looking no different than when she went missing and claiming to have been living in the land of Fairy. The book focuses on the aftermath and the struggles of her family to know what to think.<br />
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<b>2) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12401556-the-age-of-miracles" target="_blank">The Age of Miracles</a></i> by Karen Thompson Walker</b></div>
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Science Fiction, YA. Something has gone wrong with the Earth's rotation causing the world to slowly start dying. The book takes place at the very start of this happening and 11 year old Julia's coming of age during this time.<br />
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<b>3) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89724.We_Have_Always_Lived_in_the_Castle" target="_blank">We Have Always Lived in the Castle</a></i> by Shirley Jackson</b></div>
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Horror. Sisters Merricat and Constance live secluded in their house for years after the majority of the rest of their family was killed by arsenic in the sugar bowl. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94TP9U-9M3q1omZbDobvJ1y8GUPPP-cZh0EdnXAR481N8cMc9_6ScGc2Eh2h5e-AOaN9jFzw1ywEYAhorJenN5zCZCGExEnVEEOotEej_pT4N8eCtv6KA6_DYDzC4xD_P6I2fcxa3lTo/s1600/TheLongWaytoaSmallAngryPlanet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="304" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94TP9U-9M3q1omZbDobvJ1y8GUPPP-cZh0EdnXAR481N8cMc9_6ScGc2Eh2h5e-AOaN9jFzw1ywEYAhorJenN5zCZCGExEnVEEOotEej_pT4N8eCtv6KA6_DYDzC4xD_P6I2fcxa3lTo/s320/TheLongWaytoaSmallAngryPlanet.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
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<b>4) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26042767-the-long-way-to-a-small-angry-planet" target="_blank">The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet</a></i> by Becky Chambers</b></div>
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Science Fiction. (This one is a little borderline as it does have some actiony parts.:) The small crew of a tunneling ship spends a year traveling across space in order to blow a hole in space and create an intergalactic highway. The book focuses on the everyday lives of the crew and their relationships.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdWVYSs4yT6vyIZUGRkuNy7d9eEyI4OiYbfXDl7Dsp7d9xGVVnGeiNfPFXTayObGpfBPkjLHzlYjcsozZ0xXMwfQHgpDoQI7XMmEg7nLfp1bT06MEBvQb8iWxjnDKy4E2Ut-3Q8YsoAM/s1600/GirlWaitsWithGun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdWVYSs4yT6vyIZUGRkuNy7d9eEyI4OiYbfXDl7Dsp7d9xGVVnGeiNfPFXTayObGpfBPkjLHzlYjcsozZ0xXMwfQHgpDoQI7XMmEg7nLfp1bT06MEBvQb8iWxjnDKy4E2Ut-3Q8YsoAM/s320/GirlWaitsWithGun.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b>5) <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23719378-girl-waits-with-gun" target="_blank"><i>Girl Waits With Gun</i> </a>by Amy Stewart</b></div>
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Mystery (Hitsorical). (This one may also be a little borderline). After a fender bender, the Kopp sisters run afoul of a local criminal but stand up to him when he terrorizes their farm.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspZj5NeyEBms86n4tn9jEI-0X4SrVWbZgZLrrtX4h-BKTpbP99hLwkCuqXemvaETrMtTkotbSsBYxu5DSV_7k_b6eEV3kj5VpA_xulxkaWliODHBToNvm_MRFCPO6XIs5A2Jlc6oZsws/s1600/OrdinaryGrace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspZj5NeyEBms86n4tn9jEI-0X4SrVWbZgZLrrtX4h-BKTpbP99hLwkCuqXemvaETrMtTkotbSsBYxu5DSV_7k_b6eEV3kj5VpA_xulxkaWliODHBToNvm_MRFCPO6XIs5A2Jlc6oZsws/s1600/OrdinaryGrace.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>6) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20695879-ordinary-grace" target="_blank">Ordinary Grace</a></i> by William Kent Krueger</b></div>
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Mystery (Historical). A murder in small town Minnesota in 1961 causes 13 year old Frank to face some things about the world and grow up more than he was perhaps ready for.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCTFhGJ9ypIZVe1jOvpE3EoIZWn0BPOSS-fYKuDuHRvdCyFAaYsYLxl4KZTjJae9m6Q3LVw2jmKdu7yEEbo_lbaNFCteCGpKjt15XPEvtC9eHM8RjXcO2jhwykCympHoivbB1ONsABmk/s1600/TheGolemandtheJinni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCTFhGJ9ypIZVe1jOvpE3EoIZWn0BPOSS-fYKuDuHRvdCyFAaYsYLxl4KZTjJae9m6Q3LVw2jmKdu7yEEbo_lbaNFCteCGpKjt15XPEvtC9eHM8RjXcO2jhwykCympHoivbB1ONsABmk/s320/TheGolemandtheJinni.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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<b>7) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15819028-the-golem-and-the-jinni" target="_blank">The Golem and the Jinni</a></i> by Helene Wecker</b></div>
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Fantasy. The immigrant story told through the lens of a golem and Jinni who find themselves in turn of the century New York where they each deal with the challenges they face in very different ways.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqC0xCljFJegVDFgdtRpujaAC-aLJzp5sfEGdtUY7w9fmu_VkucZYRvEYr3-t00ZiZSsFySFaT3Lgdhv1adaFDr86m7PzjgOkKp9m-p7tBGHNPulE-EQ3ohwO3e4QPhcR-Ks1ie0Abys/s1600/ACornerofWhite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqC0xCljFJegVDFgdtRpujaAC-aLJzp5sfEGdtUY7w9fmu_VkucZYRvEYr3-t00ZiZSsFySFaT3Lgdhv1adaFDr86m7PzjgOkKp9m-p7tBGHNPulE-EQ3ohwO3e4QPhcR-Ks1ie0Abys/s320/ACornerofWhite.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b>8) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15703332-a-corner-of-white" target="_blank">A Corner of White</a></i> by Jaclyn Moriarty</b></div>
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Fantasy, YA. Madeliene lives in Cambridge England while Elliot lives in a parallel and much more magical world but they can somehow pass notes to one another ordinary objects in each of their worlds like a parking meter. Their letters back in forth help them both deal with the trials of being a teenager.<br />
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<b>9)<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26370570-lost-stars" target="_blank"> Lost Stars</a></i> by Claudia Gray</b></div>
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Science Fiction, YA. Set against the backdrop of all the adventure and drama of Star Wars, this tie-in novel focuses on two young adults, friends and lovers, who end up on opposite sides of the conflict.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvy8kfCcBh-vGYTMD9l_NegfVXVDUoG1WJNvlSdBdCslLNo4Mevv5Bz-Sv5_usbAcj_rhQovt7TmSjC5ojNlDoB1PZ5ffh2NelvoOyERJwMbUxhoxaVLCrjwZWfuJQP-gkKp9lLa__5o/s1600/TheScorpioRaces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="311" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvy8kfCcBh-vGYTMD9l_NegfVXVDUoG1WJNvlSdBdCslLNo4Mevv5Bz-Sv5_usbAcj_rhQovt7TmSjC5ojNlDoB1PZ5ffh2NelvoOyERJwMbUxhoxaVLCrjwZWfuJQP-gkKp9lLa__5o/s320/TheScorpioRaces.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<b>10) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10626594-the-scorpio-races" target="_blank">The Scorpio Races</a></i> by Maggie Stiefvater</b></div>
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Fantasy, YA. As the famous and dangerous Scorpio Races approach, Puck and Sean train and struggle with life on an island that offers little opportunity and which is beset by man-eating horses that come from the sea. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4t0Nz7Uv8k20ua5Bj2wchho5KA8B9u9AaJVptUiqL66364Iz2aPXN_7jKI5dv_vTSDTUYIprPEFJkyxKAuz1s9k-aK0MOZjbwgvkCDwfRpqDQEl6N6ai-v3T9y9gUwTuq3w1EV9mEIOM/s1600/TheSparrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4t0Nz7Uv8k20ua5Bj2wchho5KA8B9u9AaJVptUiqL66364Iz2aPXN_7jKI5dv_vTSDTUYIprPEFJkyxKAuz1s9k-aK0MOZjbwgvkCDwfRpqDQEl6N6ai-v3T9y9gUwTuq3w1EV9mEIOM/s320/TheSparrow.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>11) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/334176.The_Sparrow" target="_blank">The Sparrow </a></i>by Mary Doria Russell</b></div>
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Science Fiction. A first contact story that is much more interested in the lives and relationships of the the unusual group of Earthlings that embark upon the mission.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRc76mgVvQbtwISdE7iqEx-2enFTTkeLgRddkB1op1NWP9d-5cdvbrM45y87u_3jAygedL1-aOqx7GTb0UrA5UL31ohlk99YNmm8HMfxEl0IWsVJwCmY4j_PNBDvlPqjLmkPmRDwuCdY8/s1600/TheNightCircuscvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRc76mgVvQbtwISdE7iqEx-2enFTTkeLgRddkB1op1NWP9d-5cdvbrM45y87u_3jAygedL1-aOqx7GTb0UrA5UL31ohlk99YNmm8HMfxEl0IWsVJwCmY4j_PNBDvlPqjLmkPmRDwuCdY8/s320/TheNightCircuscvr.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>12) <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9361589-the-night-circus" target="_blank"><i>The Night</i> <i>Circus</i></a> by Erin Morgenstern</b></div>
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Fantasy. A love story between two magicians caught in a life or death battle centered around a whimsical and unearthly traveling circus.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd47whrlX1aaQ7LDoumPbdTaZKQ_XsthiUGRfOQl0QaLZtN64MDGN2CKZIAEcbMECYYX0Slykfj9nSUg84EV9e4zr-yrniCl1JjY9OhAN7hHSOtjRMJ_wB__jH7lEONxhSiqyrsq6Uk1s/s1600/NeverLetMeGo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd47whrlX1aaQ7LDoumPbdTaZKQ_XsthiUGRfOQl0QaLZtN64MDGN2CKZIAEcbMECYYX0Slykfj9nSUg84EV9e4zr-yrniCl1JjY9OhAN7hHSOtjRMJ_wB__jH7lEONxhSiqyrsq6Uk1s/s320/NeverLetMeGo.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b>13) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6334.Never_Let_Me_Go" target="_blank">Never Let Me Go</a></i> by Kazuo Ishiguro</b></div>
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Science Fiction. A group of teenagers bond at an exclusive boarding school. Revealing why this is science fiction, reveals too much but the book is mostly about these kids coming of age and friendships.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IHUxB1Pmc-gmznLeFaRWne-fHgGlHq_4kCLZt8V54wzP65xiUrEUC2nZ_ARAJLiVRBSpk2agdll5urEanIJMct0t3vSIHR8ukUcjV1mX32kjADLPQOAMLezsHNF-NzLZWvktFoNpCq8/s1600/MaisieDobbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IHUxB1Pmc-gmznLeFaRWne-fHgGlHq_4kCLZt8V54wzP65xiUrEUC2nZ_ARAJLiVRBSpk2agdll5urEanIJMct0t3vSIHR8ukUcjV1mX32kjADLPQOAMLezsHNF-NzLZWvktFoNpCq8/s320/MaisieDobbs.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>14) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/462033.Maisie_Dobbs" target="_blank">Maisie Dobbs</a></i> by Jacqueline Winspear</b></div>
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Mystery. Part investigator, part psychologist, Maisie Dobbs is a young woman who after World War I opens up her own private investigation business in London. The rest of the books in the series don't fit this mold but in this first book the focus is definitely on Maisie and her life, the mystery is secondary.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnLoDRCZGOB9vVpflXulFwA0uVgGk_DHkX8mjGHq1Zfr5HGRkh3R3VCb6m7P9B5mYQmvi8w2O7hY5-BJvLn_UBcKsMQnc0Zzz5K3XBdfK8y652bBdtIsfxfUp34JWc1NcjDHRpgm-Jk_U/s1600/InTheWoods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnLoDRCZGOB9vVpflXulFwA0uVgGk_DHkX8mjGHq1Zfr5HGRkh3R3VCb6m7P9B5mYQmvi8w2O7hY5-BJvLn_UBcKsMQnc0Zzz5K3XBdfK8y652bBdtIsfxfUp34JWc1NcjDHRpgm-Jk_U/s320/InTheWoods.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>15) <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/237209.In_the_Woods" target="_blank">In the Woods</a></i> by Tana French</b></div>
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Mystery. Dublin police officer Peter, along with his partner and best friend, must investigate a brutal murder in his childhood neighborhood where he himself disappeared briefly with two of his friends and only he ever returned. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Do you have any favorite books that fit this description? I'd love to hear about them!</span></b></div>
<br />Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-51063790871892190032017-07-29T19:45:00.000-05:002017-07-29T19:45:08.751-05:00Saturday in the Garden | The Prettiest Day in Pretty Land<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFc-fTNn7ftJUx1IGvoePvWr4CoNbiJewwzc8jwvkHXcnkMEtrN9_HAb-Cl4swbZixT4Zsv0MUppIt08Lbz3hpc2dNzWmAkYpMC_d_qvEKn1LnW8IhulFJCh9mt6QRALGfvw_QlUH7_rI/s1600/2017-07-29+13.47.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFc-fTNn7ftJUx1IGvoePvWr4CoNbiJewwzc8jwvkHXcnkMEtrN9_HAb-Cl4swbZixT4Zsv0MUppIt08Lbz3hpc2dNzWmAkYpMC_d_qvEKn1LnW8IhulFJCh9mt6QRALGfvw_QlUH7_rI/s640/2017-07-29+13.47.40.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<i>I like to garden and generally putter around in my yard and my Saturday in the Garden posts serve as my pseudo- garden journal, plus round-up of my week in reading, watching and blogging. Occasionally, I'll whine, rant or gush about something in a GAK section. </i><br />
<u><b><br /></b></u><u><b>OUTSIDE</b></u><br />
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Today is the prettiest day in pretty land. Robin's egg cloudless sky, low humidity, 80ish degrees. Oh summer, you minx, just when I thought you were becoming unbearable.<br />
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The garden has definitely entered that part of the season when things are starting to go to pot. I've already mentioned that most of my tomatoes in pots are a bust and now two of my Beam's Pear in the raised bed are dying...loaded with fruit of course that will now never ripen. *sob* On the up side the few prairie plants I've somehow coaxed to live in my shady yard are looking better than they ever have.<br />
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<b><u>WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING</u></b></div>
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<i><br /></i><i>Watching </i><br />
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In an attempt to break my TV Show slump, I am being SUPER creative and watching...MOVIES. I have been out of the habit of watching movies for years now but I thought the shorter form storytelling may be the break I needed. This week I watched Trolls (cute!), Iron Man and Iron Man 2. I'd seen the two Iron Man movies before but it had been a long while. The first one really is insanely delightful and Robert Downey, Jr. was made for the role of Tony Stark. <br />
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<i>Reading </i><br />
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Finished Since the Last Time I Posted:</h3>
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<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18010355-the-line" target="_blank"><i>The Line</i> (Witching Savannah #1)</a> by J.D. Horn: This is an urban fantasy series that's been on my TBR for a while. This was good. not great but good. Mercy, the main character is a bit of a Mary Sue but I didn't want to shove her off of a tall building so that's something and the story frequently zigged when I expected it to zag.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17244430-wild-born" target="_blank">Spirit Animals: Wild Born</a></i> by Brandon Mull: This is a middle grade fantasy series where each of the books is written by a different author and what a list of authors it is! It got on my radar because Garth Nix is one of the authors but also on the list are Maggie Stiefvater, Shannon Hale and Marie Lu. So despite the fact that the idea for the series sounds so gimmicky (it's a book series paired with a video game apparently) I wanted to give it a try. This wasn't anything that's going to break molds or change lives but I really enjoyed it!</li>
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<b>CURRENTLY READING</b><br />
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6342491-the-demon-king" target="_blank">The Demon King </a></i>by Cinda Williams Chima: Epic YA fantasy that sounds super duper amazing! I'm finally starting to really get into this one! Have been reading it in the lounge chair most of the afternoon.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/847871.The_Devil_s_Novice" target="_blank">The Devil's Novice (Brother Cadfael #8)</a></i> by Ellis Peters: This is one of my favorite historical mystery series about a monk in medieval England.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23848559-furiously-happy" target="_blank">Furiously Happy</a></i> by Jenny Lawson: This is the second memoir by "The Bloggess" that focuses specifically on Lawson's struggles with mental illness with a humorous touch. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235869.Intuitive_Eating" target="_blank">Intuitive Eating</a></i> by Tribole and Resch: Non-fiction about eating psychology and biology. I've been dipping in and out of it for the last few months!</li>
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<b>Added to the TBR:</b></h3>
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<i>This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week. It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!</i><br />
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28169061-you-die-when-you-die" target="_blank">You Die When You Die </a></i>by Angus Watson:<i> </i><a href="https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/07/17/review-you-die-when-you-die/" target="_blank">Mogsy at The Bibliosanctum</a> really liked this one and I am drawn to that title, weird morbid person that I am. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32828538-lost-boy" target="_blank">Lost Boy</a> </i>by Christina Henry: I like stories about the villains of popular tales that reveal that the villain isn't really all that bad. This looks like a satisfying, though dark, Captain Hook origin story. Also recommended by <a href="https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/07/16/book-review-lost-boy-by-christina-henry-giveaway/" target="_blank">Mogsy</a>. </li>
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<b>On the BLOG since I last Posted:</b></div>
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WEDNESDAY: <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/07/review-career-of-evil-by-robert.html" target="_blank">REVIEW | Career of Evil</a> by Robert Galbraith. My favorite of this series thus far and a 5 star read. </div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><b>HAVE A GREAT WEEK!</b></span></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-18849118328114343752017-07-26T21:12:00.003-05:002017-07-26T21:12:31.529-05:00REVIEW | Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25735012-career-of-evil" target="_blank">Career of Evil</a> </i>by Robert Galbraith</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publication Year: 2015</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Mystery,Contemporary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Series: Cormoran Strike #3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awards: <a href="https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2016-winners-circle" target="_blank">Audie Award for Mystery (2016)</a></span><span style="text-align: start;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Audio (from Library)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Narrator: Robert Glenister</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHY?: I am absolutely loving this gritty, contemporary mystery series set in London and have now devoured all three books currently in the series. *twiddles thumbs* This is why it is smarter to start reading a series when it is completed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SYNOPSIS: Robin receives a mysterious, threatening and very alarming package in the mail which sets she and Cormoran</span> on the trail of a killer. It also brings the fragile recovery of their business to a screeching halt and brings Robin and Strike closer together while also simultaneously introducing a boatload of complications into their working relationship. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>It's a little weird to be writing this review without having reviewed the previous two books especially because this book grows so organically and satisfyingly from them. I've always touted that one of Rowling's (Galbraith is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling in case you are one of the 20 people in the world who don't know this) strengths as a writer is that she's obviously a planner. When she sits down to start a new series, she's not just thinking about the manuscript she is writing right then but is planning out where she wants the full arc of series to go and who her characters will be 5 books down the line. It's brilliant and in this case surprising to me that she's gone to that trouble with the Cormoran Strike series because mysteries, traditionally, are all about plot, with each book self-contained. The best series, however, have some good ongoing character development for their recurring cast and the Cormoran Strike series is up there with the best of them in this regard. <br />
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All that to say that the series is heavy on character development and it is incredibly satisfying in this regard. When the reader meets Strike in book one, his personal life is a shambles, he's just out of a 16 year destructive relationship and really has a hard time focusing on anything else. To be honest, I didn't like him much. His obsession with his strikingly beautiful but obviously manipulative and poisonous ex-girlfriend makes him seem shallow and emotionally immature. Over the course of the first book and definitely in the second, Strike gets over the ex-girlfriend and more of the core person shows up - compassionate, confident but not arrogant, whip-smart and appreciative of this in others. While at first he treats Robin quite dismissively, he pulls his head out of his posterior long enough by the end of book one to recognize her abilities and value and he makes sure she also realizes her worth. He empowers and encourages her without be patronizing. In <i>Career of Evil</i>, we learn much more about Strike's chaotic childhood and also his time in the military and why he might be targeted by a psychopath. One of the best additions to the story and Strike's life is his childhood "friend" Shanker - a streetwise, London criminal who, through circumstances, is like a brother to Strike. A brother who you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley and who demands payment for every favor.<br />
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The real star of the books for me though is Robin. Robin starts off as a temp for Strike on the day after she has become engaged to her high school sweetheart, Matthew. Through book one it is revealed that Robin left University before completing her course work, that she's always had a secret interest in police and investigative work and that even though staying on with Strike doesn't pay nearly as well as being a secretary in some anonymous business firm she's going to stay. We also find out that her fiance Matthew is a wanker - selfish, materialistic, chauvinist, who mostly wants a pretty little wife who will cook and clean and bring in a tidy little salary to supplement his as an accountant.<br />
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The most satisfying part of the series for me has been watching Robin come into her own and realize how capable and strong she is. This book has so much Robin! Many of the blanks in her past are elucidated and it is her turn to be in full on relationship angst mode. I loved every minute of her story, even while I was mentally screaming at her not to do this or that. She's a wonderful, real, flawed woman and her journey through the books to this point is awesome. <br />
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While I've just spent four paragraphs and a bunch of words going on about the characters,<br />
the mystery plotlines throughout the series have also been brilliant - unique, convoluted, and enthralling - and they have each served to examine a different theme. For someone who wrote a beloved and heroic series of books for young people, Rowling has a surprising amount of insightful criticism for the world. Book one focuses on celebrity/fame, book two skewers the publishing industry and <i>Career of Evil</i> tackles misogyny and violence against women. SO, ALL THE TRIGGER WARNINGS. It feels like the series has been building up to this and Rowling examines her theme at all levels from horrible violence to subtle discrimination. She even skewers Strike, "our hero", for his subtle sexism, not truly believing Robin can take care of herself.<br />
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The mystery in <i>Career of Evil</i> is also more personal than the other two - someone from Strike's past is trying to ruin him in the most psychopathic way possible and the investigation has them hopping between three individuals. It kept me guessing, though there were definitely enough clues scattered throughout that I maybe should have figured it out. In other words, the perfect mystery plot!<br />
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One last note about the audio. The narrator for these books, Robert Glenister, is fantastic and I have really enjoyed consuming all the books in this medium. He has to do numerous British accents and he handles them all (as far as my American ears can tell) really well!</div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">FINAL VERDICT</span>: <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">This is my favorite book in the series thus far and combines a great mystery with some stellar character drama. 5 out of 5 stars. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE*: <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/10/20/448977055/rowlings-magic-needs-no-spells-in-career-of-evil" target="_blank">NPR</a> | <a href="http://shinynewbooks.co.uk/shiny-new-books-archive/issue-7-archive/fiction-issue-7/career-of-evil-by-jk-rowling-writing-as-robert-galbraith/" target="_blank">Shiny New Books</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Both of these reviews are a little more spoilery than mine so beware!</span></div>
Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-56858196423908337652017-07-23T12:51:00.000-05:002017-07-23T21:45:37.950-05:00Saturday in the Garden | On Sunday<div style="text-align: left;">
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<i>I like to garden and generally putter around in my yard and my Saturday in the Garden posts serve as my pseudo- garden journal, plus a round-up of my week in reading, watching and blogging. Occasionally, I'll whine, rant or gush about something in a GAK section. </i><br />
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The Jasmine has started blooming this week:). The blooms last 4.3 seconds but it's so pretty. <br />
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And I have a negative review to put out there. I decided to try a hybrid variety of tomatoes in containers this year. I chose the Patio Paste variety from Burpees with the hope I would get lots of paste tomatoes for canning. Instead, every last tomato grown on these plants has blossom end rot. You may argue, because blossom end rot is caused by a mineral deficiency, that I must just be using a poor soil mix in the pots. However, I also have one plant of my favorite tomato variety, Beam's Pear growing in a pot and it is not having these problems. AND. AND. It's an heirloom and not even a variety designed for growing IN POTS like the Patio Paste is. Grrrrr.... Maybe it will eventually improve but so far I am NOT impressed. I will be happy to recant, if necesssary.</div>
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<b><u>WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING</u></b></div>
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<i><br /></i><i>Watching </i><br />
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I think I have to finally accept that I am in a massive TV watching slump at the moment and it's probably been like this for months. I keep finding myself checking out on any new shows I start and drifting back into old favorites. Even if I like the new show, they are not holding my interest. This even goes for new seasons of shows I already like. Most recently, I kind of petered out on Shetland (which I do really like) because I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to re-watch, for the 75th time, <i>The IT Crowd</i>. I wish I could find a new complex and involved show that really sucked me in. I'm starting to think this show doesn't exist. I like shows that are funny, but also have some depth, drama and involved storylines, good characters and some romance. So a little bit of everything. SFF and crime/mystery are also a draw. Any suggestions? I think the last two shows I really got into were <i>Galavant</i> and <i>Arrow</i>.<br />
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Part of the reason this post is going up a day late, is that Saturday was busy; helping some friends move and then heading to the big city to see <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_American_in_Paris_(musical)" target="_blank">An American in Paris</a></i>. I've seen the movie with my beloved Gene Kelly and was interested to read that this musical is actually based on the movie, not the other way around. Also interesting is that it was more inspired by than really trying to recreate the movie. It still features the music of George and Ira Gershwin, though the song list is almost completely different and is still heavy on the dance. In fact, most of the leads are professional ballet dancers. <br />
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I enjoyed it very much and the traveling cast was good. The dancing and choreography was top notch. The scenery was inventive and interesting. The main reason it will never be a favorite musical of mine is the story, which is rather juvenile and has the problem of being focused on the wrong characters, lol. It's basically about these three guys, two American ex-patriates and one French man, that are friends and who are all in love with the same girl, a milk toast, prim and pretty ballerina. SNNNNOOOORRREEE. The main male love interest, Jerry Mulligan, is a pushy ass, and as I already mentioned the lead female could not be more boring. My favorite guy was the wisecracking cynical piano playing composer, Adam and my favorite woman was Milo, a spunky, independent American heiress, who is very interested in the arts and who has the misfortune of falling in love with Jerry. I really wanted her and Adam to run off together and for Jerry and Lise to drown in the Seine:). <br />
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<i>Listening</i><br />
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I am currently totally obsessed with this song. No idea why - it's not my normal fave type of music? But I can't stop listening to it and wanting to blast it at full volume in my car so the windows shake:0). *shrugs*<br />
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<i>Reading </i><br />
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Finished Since the Last Time I Posted:</h3>
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25735012-career-of-evil" target="_blank">Career of Evil </a> (Cormoran Strike #3)</i>by Robert Galbraith: This ended up being my favorite of the series thus far. I love all the character stuff happening in these books. Robin has become one of my very favorite characters. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30008834-a-perilous-undertaking" target="_blank">A Perilous Undertaking</a></i> (Veronica Speedwell #2) by Deanna Raybourn: A mystery set in the Victorian Era in Britain, featuring a pair of Natural Historians as the amateur sleuths. Book one was one of my favorite reads during the first half of the year. AND I really loved this one as well.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/311166.They_Found_Him_Dead" target="_blank">They Found Him Dead</a></i> by Georgette Heyer: Another enjoyable mystery by Heyer. </li>
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<b>CURRENTLY READING</b><br />
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235869.Intuitive_Eating" target="_blank">Intuitive Eating</a></i> by Tribole and Resch: Non-fiction about eating psychology and biology. I've been dipping in and out of it for the last few months!</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6342491-the-demon-king" target="_blank">The Demon King </a></i>by Cinda Williams Chima: Epic YA fantasy that sounds super duper amazing! Starting to make some headway on this one though I am having a little bit of trouble engaging. Problem isn't the book, I don't think, but the fact that my mood right now is for mysteries.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17244430-wild-born" target="_blank">Spirit Animals: Wild Born</a></i> by Brandon Mull: This is a middle grade fantasy series where each of the books is written by a different author and what a list of authors it is! It got on my radar because Garth Nix is one of the authors but also on the list are Maggie Stiefvater, Shannon Hale and Marie Lu. So despite the fact that the idea for series sounds so gimmicky (it's a book series paired with a video game apparently) I wanted to give it a try and so far I am really liking it. </li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18010355-the-line" target="_blank"><i>The Line</i> (Witching Savannah #1)</a> by J.D. Horn: This is an urban fantasy series that's been on my TBR for a while. I haven't gotten very far into yet but I'm really liking it thus far and it has even surprised me a time or two.</li>
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<b>Added to the TBR:</b></h3>
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<i>This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week. It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!</i><br />
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32905343-meddling-kids" target="_blank">Meddling Kids</a></i> by Edgar Cantaro: An adult "where are they now" story about the Scooby Gang. Yep. You read that right.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/802150.The_Dream_Hunter" target="_blank"> The Dream Hunter</a></i> by Laura Kinsale: This was on sale this week and I'm not sure I've ever tried a historic romance by Kinsale. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176327.The_Fairy_Tale_Detectives" target="_blank">The Fairy-Tale Detectives</a></i> (Sisters Grimm #1) by Michael Buckley: I can't believe I was ignorant of this middle-grade series up until now! It looks delightful and this first book was on sale this week. </li>
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<b>On the BLOG since I last Posted:</b></div>
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TUESDAY: <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/07/review-star-touched-queen-by-roshani.html" target="_blank">REVIEW: <i>The Star-touched Queen</i> by Roshani Chokshi</a> This book, which many others love, just wasn't my cup of tea. </div>
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WEDNESDAY: <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/07/review-game-of-kings-by-dorothy-dunnett.html" target="_blank">REVIEW | The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett</a> The first book in The Lymond Chronicles. I try to marshall my fan girl thoughts into something coherent with mixed success. <br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><b>HAVE A GREAT WEEK!</b></span></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-40503706932402827952017-07-20T21:06:00.001-05:002017-07-20T21:06:45.340-05:00REVIEW | The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqJlioWdnTFPNd4h34StAlOPJ_JxQxHyFbNoBTa-xB8WYv_IT-w36ttbBVeINiGLRvPA9vZkhK5Chv6zcejns4flZKFHSGaYDMb-hrIeC6Zve-Oqf9DmOCrU1_QRNijNp8tNJ-nnwwl8/s1600/TheGameofKingsCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="1600" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqJlioWdnTFPNd4h34StAlOPJ_JxQxHyFbNoBTa-xB8WYv_IT-w36ttbBVeINiGLRvPA9vZkhK5Chv6zcejns4flZKFHSGaYDMb-hrIeC6Zve-Oqf9DmOCrU1_QRNijNp8tNJ-nnwwl8/s640/TheGameofKingsCollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>The Game of Kings </i>by Dorothy Dunnett</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publication Year: 1961</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Historical Fiction</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Series: The Lymond Chronicles, Book 1</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awards: None listed but I'm shocked it hasn't gotten some kind of award.</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Audio (from Audible)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Narrator: Samuel Gillies</span></div>
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<i>Hi! If you would like to read a (mostly) spoiler-free review of The Lymond Chronicles as a whole, you can do so <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-lymond-chronicles-by-dorothy.html" target="_blank">in this post</a>. The review below of The Game of Kings will not be spoiler-free so proceed at your own risk!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHY?: I'm re-reading Lymond!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SYNOPSIS: The year is 1547 and tensions between Scotland and England are high. In the middle of the chaos and skirmishes across the borders, Francis Crawford of Lymond, Master of Culter appears back in Scotland after a 5 year absence. Because his loyalty is in question, Lymond skulks around the countryside as an outlaw with a band of rough characters and no one is sure what they are up to. One thing is clear however - they have an agenda l?ut is it for good or il? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THOUGHTS:</span></div>
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The first time I read this book, I was young (college) and I remember being completely mystified and lost throughout most of the book. Despite this, I still somehow realized that I had just read something special and I continued on with the series. Boy, was I rewarded for doing so. Ever since, this series has been my gold standard for Historical Fiction.<br />
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I have recommended the series countless times since then and I always caveat my recommendation with, "<i>The Game of Kings</i> is a rough go but just have patience and bully through it. The series really starts to take off in book two." After a re-read, 20 years later, I think I might not insert that caveat anymore or I would at least soften it because while this book isn't my favorite in the series, I really enjoyed it this time around!</div>
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While this first book is of a slightly different quality and format to later books in the series, it is absolutely astounding - ASTOUNDING - that this was Dunnett's debut novel. The story goes that she was bemoaning to her husband (or somebody) that she just couldn't find any historical fiction that satisfied her and her husband (or whoever) responded that she should write it herself, then. And she did. 😵</div>
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One of the brilliant, and sometimes frustrating, things she does, which must have been SO HARD to write, is keep her hero, Lymond, an unknown entity for most of the book. The reader is unsure whether Lymond is a hero or a villain. I mean, sure the series is named after him but practically the first thing he does in the book is set fire to his childhood home (castle) <i>while his mother is in it</i>. WTH Lymond? That's cold. </div>
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And he continues to do roguish and questionable things and everybody, except his merry band of men, hates or at least is wary of him. Lymond became a prisoner of war to England when he was 16 but there seems to be some question about whether he betrayed his home country, Scotland, a rumor that was circulated by the English so that he was exiled from home. The English toss him over to the continent, to France, where he ends up being kidnapped and becoming a galley slave for two of his 5 year hiatus from Scotland. Part of the distrust towards him is just because he is an unknown entity and is hanging around with a bunch of rough folk. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>“Five years ago your brother Lymond was found to have been selling his own country for years: he’s been kicked from land to land committing every crime on the calendar and now he’s back here, God forgive him, with filthier habits and a nastier mind than he set out with.”</i></span></blockquote>
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Lymond is also at odds with his family, or at least his brother who thinks Lymond was responsible for their sister Eloise's death. What slowly, slowly becomes clear is that Lymond is trying to track down evidence to clear his name of treason against Scotland but he is going about it, in the most Lymond of ways - deviously, secretively, and with all sorts of verse, wit and oblique references thrown in. The result is a twisty narrative which slowly and delightfully reveals its secrets.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>“I wish to God,” said Gideon with mild exasperation, “that you’d talk—just once—in prose like other people.” </i></span></blockquote>
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<i>“I despised men who accepted their fate. I shaped mine twenty times and had it broken twenty times in my hands.” </i></blockquote>
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ONe concrete thing we do find out about Lymond, is that he was a bookish and musical child who lived in the shadow of his older brother, the heir to the Culter title. Their father much preferred his heir to his spare and was kind of a bully. His mother was much more sympathetic and adored her golden-haired, blue-eyed second son. These details do actually become very important later in the series as well as elucidating, ever so slightly, Lymond as a character.<br />
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The current most popular fan-casting for Lymond is a blond Tom Hiddleston and I'm pretty on board with this:<br />
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One thing I found confusing during my first read, along with the enigma of Lymond, was the prodigious cast of characters which I could not for the life of me keep straight. Thankfully this time around I had (mostly) no problem. The important players are:</div>
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FAMILY</div>
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<li>Richard Crawford: Lymond's mostly stolid older brother and lord of Culter. He is holding a massive grudge against his younger brother, is newly married and making a really bad job of it.</li>
<li>Mariotta Crawford: Richard's new wife who has a head on her shoulders and wants to be a partner for her husband - too bad he treats her like a mostly useless appendage. She becomes somewhat enamored of Lymond which increases Richard's hatred toward him.</li>
<li>Sybilla: Placid and brilliant mother of Richard and Francis, she is the only member of the Crawford household who is unperturbed by her younger son's exploits and throughout the series she is one of the few people that truly gets Lymond. She is a force to be reckoned with but is in no way strident or unladylike.</li>
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OTHER SCOTTISH NOBILITY</div>
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<li>Wat Scott of Buccleuch: A bluff, old-fashioned Scottish Laird who's been fighting the English or other lairds his whole life. He is particularly put out with Lymond because...</li>
<li>Will Scott: Is Wat's heir and he's run off and joined Lymond's band of merry men. Will is a good bit more "modern" than his father and he admires Lymond's freedom and pluck. He becomes Lymond's unofficial second-in-command but eventually becomes disillusioned with Lymond, betrays him then becomes re-illusioned with him:). This pattern between Lymond and a younger(they are not always younger in years but definitely in experience/wisdom) protege, will mostly repeat in the next two books with different men. </li>
<li>Christian Stewart: A red-headed, blind lady-in-waiting to the Queen Regent of Scotland (Mary of Guise), who does quite a bit of nurse-maiding for the young Mary, Queen of Scots. She is one of Lymond's early, secret supporters because she sees through his roguish actions and suspects that he has a noble cause. Christian is one of the first important women in Lymond's life and he is quite bereft when she dies but I think his feelings towards her were primarily friendly. She is an example though of how women seem to get Lymond better than men and Lymond seems to relish their company and not just as romantic partners.</li>
<li>Tom Erskine: A Scottish nobleman, on the rise in the Scottish Court, who is smitten with Christian Stewart. Tom is a character I had mostly not noticed my first go round but this time I really liked him. </li>
<li>Mary Queen of Scots: 5 year old future Queen of Scotland. Lymond entertains her with riddles.</li>
<li>Mary of Guise: The French mother of the future Queen of Scotland who is serving as regent until her daughter comes of age.</li>
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LYMOND'S OTHER COMPANIONS</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Turkey Mat: This is the only one I remember from Lymonds Merry Band, but I am sorry he doesn't make any more significant appearances in later books. He's the solid, loyal lieutenant who trusts that his commander, Lymond, knows what he's doing though he doesn't really understand totally what's going on.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THE ENGLISH</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gideon Somerville: Owner of an estate, Flaw Valleys, on the English side of the Scottish border. He has fought for the English against the Scots many times but he mostly loves music and his family and when Lymond invades their home, he surprisingly ends up becoming the young Scot's ally. Gideon is very sensible, honest and honorable.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Kate Somerville: Gideon's much younger wife, who shares her husband's love for music and who also becomes a staunch friend and ally to Lymond after a rocky start. She is incredibly witty and a practical, unflappable and formidable woman. This is the another woman who Lymond really connects with and who gets him more than most.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Philippa Somerville: Gideon and Kate's 10 year old daughter who is badly frightened by Lymond on their first meeting and thus resolves to hate him for all time which lasts until the last 1/4 of book 3. Philippa plays a very important role in future books.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox: Niece to Henry the VIII and sister to the former King of Scotland, Margaret Douglas is an extremely important English Court Lady. She seduced a 16 year old Lymond while he was trapped in England and when Lymond eventually spurned her, her infatuation turned to hate and she is a thorn in Lymond's side throughout the series. </span></li>
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Basically, Lymond is pretty much distrusted by Scotland, most of his Family and England and he has one of the most powerful families in both countries (the Douglases) actively trying to prevent him from clearing his name. And Lymond? Is pretty much making jokes the whole time and seeming like he could care less about any of it. This book more than the others is almost structured as a series of vignettes, hopping from event to event as Lymond investigates and the political wrangling between Scotland and England wages. I think it worked really well but I do think the other books are stronger because they are increasingly more focused on a continuous narrative and less episodic.</div>
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Dunnett moves the perspective around from character to character, frequently zooming out to a more omniscient view but we never get an entirely clear picture of Lymond and yet still...still by the end of the book I was 100% in his court. Dunnett builds the sympathy ever so slowly, through exposing the reader to Lymond's humor and wit and providing increasingly more frequent glimpses into his character - his real regret at Philippa hating him, his tete-a-tetes with Christian Stewart and his real sorrow at her death, the good opinions of the sensible and likeable Gideon and Kate Somerville. I love how this knowledge and sympathy with him builds throughout the book and how deftly and subtly it is done. </div>
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I think one of the things I adore most about the series is how funny it is and I think I appreciated it more this time around because my reading comprehension was higher. The first time around I was flummoxed by all the 16th century Scottish Slang and Lymond's very literate speech and I can't say I understood every phrase but the prose really opened up for me this time and made the reading experience so much richer and more fun. Dunnett's writing is a marvel.</div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i>“Repressively, Lymond himself answered. “I dislike being discussed as if I were a disease. Nobody ‘got’ me,” he said.”</i> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i>“Kate slid to her knees, pulling the child’s head to her breast, her mouth in its hair. “Pippa. Pippa, we’re awful fools. What Father means is that truly nothing we have ever done can harm us, and Mr. Crawford has mixed us up with someone else. But you know what unstable-looking parents you have. He doesn’t believe us, but he says he’ll believe you. It’s not very flattering,” said Kate, looking at her daughter with bright eyes, “but you seem to be the one in the family with an honest sort of face, and your father and I must just be thankful for it. Go over to him, darling. I’ll be behind you. And just speak,” she said with an edge like a razor. “Just speak as you would to the dog.” </i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><i>“Versatility is one of the few human traits which are universally intolerable. You may be good at Greek and good at painting and be popular. You may be good at Greek and good at sport, and be wildly popular. But try all three and you're a mountebank. Nothing arouses suspicion quicker than genuine, all-round proficiency.” </i></span></blockquote>
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The other difference this time around was that I listened to the book, read by Samuel Gillies. His voice sounds quite old, which wasn't quite right for a story about a young man, and his elocution was very Shakespearean and proper. It wasn't quite the right fit for the story but it wasn't awful. His style definitely brought home to me how Shakespearean Dunnett's writing is at times - it's part of what makes it somewhat challenging but also so delightful.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">FINAL VERDICT</span>: <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">GAH! This series is so amazing and this is a truly enjoyable and prodigious start. It establishes Lymond's roots from which all the following 5 books flourish. I give this one 4 out of 5 stars while SPOILER ALERT, the rest are getting 5 stars but it's more symbolic so I can claim to not be a total pushover. It is the weakest book in the series but it is still amazing. 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYfVTCaTWsX6jBI_pXMaOEYnkDtZZ12MtuO22A8tbDYCaAsBqo-OZevdyT2tI4R_y6jTcsKEj4xGJq36wTYRQvkIEm-ctpfI2b0tToHwIChPi86me669xn9MoHBn1xdth0FAwB4nGLgc/s1600/4Stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="91" data-original-width="411" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYfVTCaTWsX6jBI_pXMaOEYnkDtZZ12MtuO22A8tbDYCaAsBqo-OZevdyT2tI4R_y6jTcsKEj4xGJq36wTYRQvkIEm-ctpfI2b0tToHwIChPi86me669xn9MoHBn1xdth0FAwB4nGLgc/s200/4Stars.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: <a href="http://www.gerigibbons.com/2012/10/03/they-dont-write-em-like-this-anymore-dorothy-dunnetts-the-game-of-kings/" target="_blank">Geri Gibbons</a> | <a href="https://shereadsnovels.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/the-game-of-kings-by-dorothy-dunnett/" target="_blank">She Reads Novels</a> | <a href="https://astripedarmchair.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/the-game-of-kings-by-dorothy-dunnett-thoughts/" target="_blank">A Striped Armchair</a></div>
Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-22171139519693350112017-07-18T18:17:00.002-05:002017-07-19T18:58:11.744-05:00REVIEW | The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25203675-the-star-touched-queen" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT94Ycq16fXxS-mELPyKAJL3LOuPL2cKuiS8ea1PNdxK6feR0OMv93ynr83LoSywMhdxob3Mx1qN_dxQ2EDEDElxam2AqK-d-H0D2e9lpk_UHNWAM0GNBwjTeEPBoiCWqDy508i1xIcco/s320/TheStar-touchedQueen.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25203675-the-star-touched-queen" target="_blank">The Star-Touched Queen</a> </i>by Roshani Chokshi</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publication Year: 2016</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Fantasy, YA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Series: The Star-Touched Queen # 1</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awards: A bunch of local YA awards</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHY?: The book internets went berserk over this one and I was intrigued by it's Indian mythology inspiration. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SYNOPSIS: Maya is a princess with a horrible horoscope hanging over her head. To escape her fate, or perhaps at its whim, she marries the mysterious Amar and becomes the queen of Akaran. Unfortunately the strangely deserted court of Akaran is steeped in secrets and mystery which leads Maya to make an ill-informed decision that might have dire consequences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THOUGHTS:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Well, it's unpopular opinion time because this book just wasn't for me and I knew it pretty early on. Since it's not a book that angered me, beyond the disappointment, so this shouldn't be too much of a rant and I'll make it short.<br />
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The book is inspired by a number of Hindu myths and it has a very fable-like feel to it which I think may be at the heart of why it did not work for me. Straight up fables and fairy tales work for me if they are short, but most don't have enough character depth or detail to work as a long-form narrative. They are the sketch of a story with a simple theme and characters that are mostly important for what they symbolise. That's why it is awesome when authors take a fairy tale and really flesh it out - breathe life and recognizable motivations into the characters and surround the framework with a fully realized society and world.<br />
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One thing I thought <i>The Star-touched Queen</i> did pretty well was the setting and world development. It's a unique setting and I liked that it was a little unsettling and on the edge of creepy. <br />
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AND...I struggled with pretty much everything else. The protagonists, Maya and Amar, felt very flat to me. I had little interest in either of them and their romance felt forced and insta-lovey even though it's not really? The character's motivations were too opaque or seemed inconsistent or just didn't make sense to me. When Maya shows up at Akaran, nothing makes sense and Amar keeps saying that he is prevented from telling her anything, because reasons. This is frustrating for her and she is extremely wary and untrusting. Okay fine. But then another character comes along, unknown to her, who blatantly manipulates her and she trusts this person immediately, no problem. She is also extremely protective of her homeland and family even though, because of her horoscope, she had been treated mostly abusively and shunned. It would make sense for her to have some loyalty but I'm not sure the solidarity and betrayal she feels when her people are in danger, really makes sense with what we know? Basically, neither character felt real or understandable nor were they compelling and with that the case the rest of the book was going to have an uphill climb. <br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And it just didn't get up the hill. I thought the storytelling was choppy and erratic and much of the conflict in the story felt forced. I also really didn't love the prose which was a little flowery for my taste. In short, it felt like a fable that was awkwardly stretched to novel length and not enough was done to give it more depth. The setting and circumstances were often interesting and strange but the characters lacked understandable motivation and the whole book had a rather dream-like quality which tends to not appeal to me. Also the demon flesh-eating horse that everyone loves? I just thought she was weird. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I listened to the book on audio and the narrator Priya Ayyar was good. Nothing special but nice voice and good fit with the character of Maya who has the perspective. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">FINAL VERDICT</span>: <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This fable-like book just did not work for me on many levels (character, storytelling, prose) but it should be noted I am in the minority, big time! <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> 2 out of 5 stars</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOVqsHvdwT_Mpnv9p6-wTPmFr8lJiSpDFeS1Fdf3qy0gAfWh1GvzWnCEs2S77ajkjsMOm_BJSuIqTSaS8j6NpIV30QCXtZ3BB8xcxjcVGJS9IQzS8O_RqKEtnYN6Vplo1hh3H-TsMNqk/s1600/2Stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="1065" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOVqsHvdwT_Mpnv9p6-wTPmFr8lJiSpDFeS1Fdf3qy0gAfWh1GvzWnCEs2S77ajkjsMOm_BJSuIqTSaS8j6NpIV30QCXtZ3BB8xcxjcVGJS9IQzS8O_RqKEtnYN6Vplo1hh3H-TsMNqk/s200/2Stars.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: <a href="https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/05/14/ya-weekend-audio-the-star-touched-queen-by-roshani-chokshi/" target="_blank">The Bibliosanctum</a> | <a href="http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2016/08/mini-review-the-star-touched-queen-by-roshani-chokshi/" target="_blank">Fantasy Cafe</a></div>
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Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-82409786490418528682017-07-15T21:50:00.000-05:002017-07-15T21:50:06.821-05:00SATURDAY in the GARDEN | Look At Them Roots!<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEK4iHkhLIoiPbpGQVjwSB5laW5f6GbB8cw-nMMZHqoONmerSPJp1AQBJZZz97H4FjreUsH-ay8_69ZAN3JflamitETiUNXWVFri3FtiF2qaLOjCDvWIwUXO0WZJRskzG_qMk5fNlXJ64/s1600/2017-07-15+17.35.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEK4iHkhLIoiPbpGQVjwSB5laW5f6GbB8cw-nMMZHqoONmerSPJp1AQBJZZz97H4FjreUsH-ay8_69ZAN3JflamitETiUNXWVFri3FtiF2qaLOjCDvWIwUXO0WZJRskzG_qMk5fNlXJ64/s640/2017-07-15+17.35.31.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<i>I like to garden and generally putter around in my yard and my Saturday in the Garden posts serves as my pseudo- garden journal, plus a round-up of my week in reading, watching and blogging. Occasionally, I'll whine, rant or gush about something in a GAK section. </i><br />
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You may have heard before that prairie/prairie plants are fantastic at holding soil, preventing erosion, loss of topsoil and improving water quality by keeping the soil out of streams, rivers, lakes and ponds. This is why:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8w8I087BsAn_LtQTcMkV_piQnvKO6zbshse4qzdLfDse7egLC4UGYSbzfJUPhkI7lgfLIwXLEDzEL3MhyphenhyphenpmJrghoocCc2lLFBOXgm9cKQhxZQBX923W2TOHyAtEpXoSphxBFu04nIUg/s1600/prairie-root-line-drawing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1334" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8w8I087BsAn_LtQTcMkV_piQnvKO6zbshse4qzdLfDse7egLC4UGYSbzfJUPhkI7lgfLIwXLEDzEL3MhyphenhyphenpmJrghoocCc2lLFBOXgm9cKQhxZQBX923W2TOHyAtEpXoSphxBFu04nIUg/s640/prairie-root-line-drawing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Holy roots, batman! Prairie plants have prodigious root systems! That little squiggle on the far left is Kentucky Bluegrass, the most popular lawn grass. Buffalo grass is a prairie grass often suggested for lawns because it stays quite short, like Kentucky blue, but it's root system does not - it's the plant on the far right. One of my favorite prairie plants has one of the longest root systems and it is having a spectacular year in Iowa this summer. It's Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum) and is 5th from the left in the diagram above.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MC-Pj2MmueNMCjyDCmcuB4oXFChE7mPkO8_gcoG23ilcJk_sBVPMRcPH_DdqGERR2FmuJLcC_H-XCeqjmwfDLXKpf63hYxUNBxe_MUcWD7ilunGLrglSggVBeFM_TpK0KLanzBsIZKo/s1600/2017-07-13+16.32.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MC-Pj2MmueNMCjyDCmcuB4oXFChE7mPkO8_gcoG23ilcJk_sBVPMRcPH_DdqGERR2FmuJLcC_H-XCeqjmwfDLXKpf63hYxUNBxe_MUcWD7ilunGLrglSggVBeFM_TpK0KLanzBsIZKo/s640/2017-07-13+16.32.52.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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It's tall, has a bright sunflower like bloom and staghorn shaped foliage. They make me happy everytime I see them looming over the prairie at work or in the prairie roadsides. Definitely a plant I will try to establish if I ever have a sunny yard, though I will need to be patient - Compass Plants take a few years to mature to the point of looking like the above but once they do each plant can persist up to a hundred years! Now that's a perennial. By the way they are called compass plants because their leaves tend to orient in a north-south direction so also useful for navigation in case my yard is so large or I get so dotty that I get lost easily:). </div>
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In my vegetable garden, I am excited, as I often am, about root vegetables. I am actually, for real, getting some edible beets for the first time, ever! They aren't huge but I have 5 at the moment that are of a size I can cook and eat. Wow. I gotta get excited by the little things.</div>
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<b><u>WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING</u></b></div>
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<i><br /></i><i>Watching </i><br />
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I finished the K Drama I was watching, <i>Faith</i> - it was okay but not one of my favorites. <br />
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I started watching some episodes of <i>Shetland</i> on Netflix which Greg at A Book Haven brought to my attention. This is a British crime drama set in the Shetland islands. Doug Henshall is the lead actor who I last saw chasing dinosaurs, and looking, quite frankly, awkward about it, in <i>Primeval. </i>He is a much better fit here.<br />
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<i>Reading </i><br />
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112074.Checkmate" target="_blank">Checkmate </a></i>(Lymond Chronicles #6) by Dorothy Dunnett: The last one *sobs*! </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429092-the-girl-of-fire-and-thorns" target="_blank">The Girl of Fire and Thorns</a></i> by Rae Carson: YA epic fantasy that has been on my TBR for ages. It's pretty good though I do agree that the body image/eating disorder stuff is a little on the sketchy side which was the main complaint I heard about it going in. Overall, though I found it to be mostly kind of generic so not sure what the buzz about it was? It's fine, just nothing special in my book. </li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13555073-the-screaming-staircase" target="_blank">The Screaming Staircase</a> (Lockwood & Co. #1) by Jonathan Stroud: A middle-grade novel about ghost fighters in Britain. This book is great - gave me some <i>Jackaby</i> feels. Will be continuing with this series.</li>
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<b>CURRENTLY READING</b><br />
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235869.Intuitive_Eating" target="_blank">Intuitive Eating</a></i> by Tribole and Resch: Non-fiction about eating psychology and biology. I've been dipping in and out of it for the last few months!</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6342491-the-demon-king" target="_blank">The Demon King </a></i>by Cinda Williams Chima: Epic YA fantasy that sounds super duper amazing! Starting to make some headway on this one though I am having a little bit of trouble engaging. Problem isn't the book, I don't think, but the fact that my mood right now is for mysteries.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25735012-career-of-evil" target="_blank">Career of Evil </a> (Cormoran Strike #3)</i>by Robert Galbraith: Listening to in the car. I think Robin may be a target in this one (to get at Strike) and I am not sure I feel good about this? But so far liking it. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30008834-a-perilous-undertaking" target="_blank">A Perilous Undertaking</a></i> (Veronica Speedwell #2) by Deanna Raybourn: A mystery set in the Victorian Era in Britain, featuring a pair of Natural Historians as the amateur sleuths. Book one was one of my favorite reads during the first half of the year.</li>
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<i>This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week. It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!</i><br />
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<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18378017-merivel" target="_blank">Merivel: A Man of his Time </a></i>by Rose Tremain: This was on sale on Kindle and it looked like an intriguing Historical Fiction novel about Robert Merivel, who was a courtier to Charles the II during the Restoration period in England. He apparently made an appearance in one of Tremain's earlier novels as a side character. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/311166.They_Found_Him_Dead" target="_blank">They Found Him Dead</a></i> by Georgette Heyer: Got this through Audible's sale this week. I love Heyer's mysteries almost as much as her Regency Romaances. Almost.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29933053-berkley-street" target="_blank"><i>Berkley Street</i></a> by Ron Ripley: This was free on Kindle though I found it through the Audible sale. It sounds like a mystery but more on the horror/suspense side?</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26067944-a-useful-woman" target="_blank">A Useful Woman</a></i> by Darcie Wilde: Another through the Audible sale. This is a mystery with a female sleuth, set in Regency Era England. Yay!</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6278019-heart-s-blood" target="_blank">Heart's Blood</a></i> by Juliet Marillier: A retelling of Beauty and the Beast by one of the masters of fairy tale re-telling. Recommended by <a href="http://fineprintblog.com/review-hearts-blood-by-juliet-marillier/" target="_blank">Fine Print</a>.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23164931-time-and-time-again" target="_blank">Time and Time Again</a></i> by Ben Elton: An interesting looking time travel novel recommended by <a href="https://bibliosanctum.com/2015/12/11/book-review-time-and-time-again-by-ben-elton/" target="_blank">Mogsy at The Bibliosanctum</a>.</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34728925-the-strange-case-of-the-alchemist-s-daughter" target="_blank">The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter</a></i> by Theodora Goss: Also recommended by <a href="https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/06/20/book-review-the-strange-case-of-the-alchemists-daughter-by-theodora-goss/" target="_blank">Mogsy at The Bibliosanctum</a>. This is a YA novel that features a gang of some of the daughters of historic "monsters" (such as Dr. Jekyll, and Dr. Frankenstein). </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32758901-all-systems-red" target="_blank">All System's Red</a></i> by Martha Wells: A science fiction novel about a "murder bot" who achieves sentience and independence. Recommended by<a href="https://gregsbookhaven.blogspot.com/2017/07/all-systems-red-murderbot-diaries-1.html" target="_blank"> Greg at A Book Haven</a>. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68485.Swordspoint" target="_blank">Swordspoint</a></i> by Ellen Kushner: I've never read anything by Ellen Kushner and since I recently read an article about how she is one of the authors that is a huge fan of Dorothy Dunnett, I decided I need to. This one was recommended by my favorite podcast, Get Booked. </li>
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<b>On the BLOG since I last Posted:</b></div>
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MONDAY: <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/07/troperiffic-books-20-of-my-favorite.html" target="_blank">Twenty of my favorite "Found Family" Stories</a></div>
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WEDNESDAY: <a href="https://nodorkfear.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-lymond-chronicles-by-dorothy.html" target="_blank">The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett - The Beginning</a><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><b>HAVE A GREAT WEEK!</b></span></div>
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