sandragon's 2012 Reading Journal

I wasn't very good about keeping up my 2011 journal and tended to post a chunk of books read once every month or longer. I'm going to try to be more diligent about posting while I read this year.

I've just started today O Jerusalem, a Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes reread, which will be my main read.

But, I finished up 2011 still reading:

Nemesis, a Miss Marple mystery, on audio.

A Traveller's Christmas, compiled by Sue Bradbury. This is a collection of Christmas essays/stories that I started reading in December. I'm about a 3rd of the way through and I haven't decided whether to keep reading though it or leave it until next December.

The Complete Paddington, to my youngest Spawn. This will take a while because we only read a chapter at a time, occasionally, between other reads. Spawn tends to prefer more action filled books (like the Jack Stalwart series), but he'll let me read to him about Paddington every so often.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes, which I haven't picked up in quite a while.

Hans Anderson's Fairy Tales, ditto. I tried reading this to my youngest but he isn't very interested so I think I'll just read this on my own to finish it up.

I've been in the middle of the Complete Sherlock Holmes for ages now. Maybe I'll return to it and finish it up this year. Look forward to reading about your reading.

*waves hello*

Welcome back!

My Mum read me Anderson's Fairy Tales when I was a kid...I loved them to pieces and have a huge collection in a big ol' book now. Most of them were so sad though.

While you're lurking in my thread, I'll be lurking in yours! (starred)

5 - Young Spawn agrees with you. Last month I started reading Tommelise to him and partway through he asked me to stop, with tears in his eyes. He said it was too sad. Admittedly he was tired out and suffering from a cold, but this is the first time I'd seen him cry for someone else.

Awww. You know, my Mum raised me on those and also Oscar Wilde's stories like The Selfish Giant and The Happy Prince. Those were wonderful at teaching empathy. And heart-breaking. I blubbered for the 'Happy' Prince.

The Happy Prince always makes me teary.

I found Nemesis interesting to start of with. Miss Marple is bequeathed a large amount of money, but she will only get it if she accepts a quest and successfully solves an unspecified crime. Various bits of information are given her as she goes along. But while the whole story was still enjoyable, towards the end it all just seemed too pat. Her benefactor has arranged everything, including a trip during which she will become acquainted with various people. But if he knew all the people relevant to the case why did he wait until after his death before setting Miss Marple in place? And then it seemed all too easy for Miss Marple, everything falling into place for her, just like that.

I've started listening to The Taking of Chelsea 426, a Doctor Who story. Liqht and fluffy. It's pretty much like watching an episode. And Christopher Ryan does a good enough David Tennant Dr Who that I can see him in my head as I listen.

'Wellll'
'Nawww'
'Just, the Doctor'

Hmn, I never tried HC Andersen on my son. I can't even get him to continue with HP because he got so upset when Sirius died.

He still thinks the worst thing he's ever seen on film is the evil emperor/Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker showdown, because parents should NOT try to kill their kids, and vice versa.

I used to love the Miss Marple books. Maybe I should go back and read them again. . .

I have a beautiful illustrated hardback Complete H. C. Andersen. Unfortunately it's so heavy I probably need a lectern to read it on!

The Taking of Chelsea 426 was fun to begin with, but once the novelty of listening to a Dr Who book wore off it turned kind of meh, even though the narrator did decent enough Doctor and Sontarans. I kept thinking it would have have been more exciting as an actual episode. I tend to stay away from books based on TV shows or movies but this, and another for later Autonomy, kept catching my eye so I thought I would give them a try.

The only other TV book I've ever wanted to try is Uhura's Song, but the library doesn't have it, paper or audio.

Next up is another Miss Marple, Sleeping Murder.

I don't remember O Jerusalem from my first read of it about 11 years ago and I'm very much enjoying this reread. It is the 5th Russell/Holmes story published but it covers a part of the first story that was glossed over, an interlude in a different country that had nothing to do with the actual events of The Beekeeper's Apprentice and saved for now. King's writing is like the way tales are told in the Arabic fashion as described by King in O Jerusalem. Slow and slightly meandering, subtle and full of wonderful details and gripping. I can't believe I'd forgotten all the details of places and history and events.

Mar Saba Monastery - visited by Russell/Holmes in the course of their travels in Palestine.

that is a remarkable place!

'It looked like the home of a race of mud wasps infected with cubism ... to the horizons, all the world seemed made of grey, pitted rock. Then the eyes focussed on the facing rim, dropping down into the pits and shadows of erosion until they were caught by the sudden awareness that some of those pits were too square for natural artefacts, and that many of the shadows had remarkably sharp edges. ' pg 158

Thank you for the photo, sandragon! Has it really been 11 years? I think I may need to reread those books, but be on the lookout for the real characters and places King inserts in them. The first time around I was too caught up in the relationship, tone, and the action, to pay attention to the details.

Just recently realized that one of the more fantastic characters in one of her recent books was a real person! I only realized it when stumbling across him in another nonfiction book. And no, I can't name him because of my traitorous memory and the fact that my cat has me permanently pinned to my chair at the moment.

You're welcome, MrsLee.

I hope I recognize the fantastic character as a real person when I come across him (her?). I'm not the greatest at history, I forget dates and people and events easily. But I seem to be paying more attention to the real people and places this time through the books and they are sticking with me better. Even the not so real people, like Lord Peter Wimsey whom I missed the first time I read A Letter of Mary. Maybe it's a function of age patience. I'm not always rushing ahead to get to what happens next.

And I'm thankful for the internet for enabling me to see the places described. I must not have had internet the first time through these books, or was not as internet savvy.

I'm thinking that could be a real bonus with the Nook or Kindle Fire. I already love having the dictionary so handy, but I imagine with those you would also have your atlas and images to hand as well. I could do so with my Netbook as well, but haven't gotten into the habit yet.

I think the character I was talking about from The Pirate King, was Jorge Luis Borges, but I'm not sure because someone has made off with my copy so I can't check it.

I like to be able to quickly go from page to map to page to map as I read a passage. To me it seems like it would be more frustrating trying to use a Nook or Kindle like this but I haven't tried it out so don't really know. On the other hand, I do like having a dictionary in my ereader becasue I can look up definitions with a quick tap of the word.

I've heard of Borges, but haven't read any of his work. Maybe I'll be inspired to when (if) I meet him in The Pirate King.

The recent book I read of letters from Edward Gorey to a man whose name I can't remember at the moment (this is a recurring theme in my life), was full of mention of Borges, they loved him.

Nutso. Waking Murder skipped and hicced the last 3 minutes of each disc. Didn't bother me except for the last disc. I know who dunnit, but I would've liked to hear the whole conclusion. Will have to find the book.

Next up is for listening to is Autonomy, another Dr Who story.

I sprained my neck and shoulder somehow so spent the day in, reading Real Ponies Don't Go Oink!. Quick, silly, fun. A collection of articles Patrick McManus wrote for Outdoor Life magazine I believe. I thought of you MrsLee, wondering if you were more like Bun, witness to the silliness, or Pat, cause of the silliness :o)
'Blood Sausage' had me helplessly laughing out loud. 'Crash Dive' had me guffawing as well, half wishing my boys had the same freedom and space to roam and let loose their imaginations, half thankful they don't! I can especially see my youngest getting into the same hijinks if he had the chance.

:) When my brother and I were getting along, we were the ones causing the trouble *remembering playing alligators in the swamp*. I also had a very good friend I managed to get in a lot of creative trouble with. *thinking about the flood we caused and the farmer's face when he saw what we did* I only became like Bun when I got married, but there's still a bit of Pat in me.

Maybe it was because I was sick and feeling miserable when I finished it, but I ended up finding Autonomy too long winded. I like that the Doctor has a tendency to go off on tangents, but not a couple of times every chapter! At least, that's what it seemed like. Just get on with the story...

I did enjoy the narrator, Georgia Moffett, who also happened to play the Doctor's daughter Jenny in an episode in Season 4. The whole first disc I kept thinking 'I've heard her voice somewhere before' before I finally looked her up. And this one was about the nestene consciousness which I hadn't known very much about before.

I've been listening to Miss Marple's Final Cases, a collection of short mysteries. I've been enjoying a story each night before bed. So far I haven't figured out a single one :op (not unusual for me I must admit, LOL.)

I'm also halfway through Spindle's End by Robin McKinley. I'm enjoying her twist on the Sleeping Beauty tale, the twists on the Fairy Godmothers' gifts, and a unique and down-to-earth Rose.

I love Spindle's end, especially the way McKinley makes the heroine active, rather than passive as in the original tale. I also liked the image of magic as something that physically builds up and has to be cleaned from the house!

I really enjoy McKinley's imagery. Every thing has a personality in this book - magic, the wind, the animals, the fog, the iron...

Oh yes, she writes animals particularly well!

Spindle's End is definitely one of my favourite McKinley books.

Spindle's End had all the elements I remembered from reading the fairy tale as a kid (I think it was the Disney version though that I remember) but not quite as I remembered them! Loved it. Wonderful book.

I followed this up with a dip into Hans Anderson's Fairy Tales and read The Little Mermaid.

Do I need to put a Spoiler Alert for a fairy tale? Well, just in case:

Spoiler Alert!!

It's as sad as I remember it, definitely not like the Disney version (which I still like for all it's Disneyfication). But the story didn't end on as bleak a note as I remember. I remembered the mermaid giving up her family and tail and voice, and that every step she took as a human would hurt like a hundred knives. I remember her leaving the Prince in peace at the end, even though it meant her death. But I'd completely forgotten about the daughters of the air and their good works done in hopes of being rewarded with an immortal soul and how the mermaid becomes one of them, rather than simply becoming sea foam after death with no hope of an afterlife.

I think I'll start on Komarr now.

I've just lent some of my Robin McKinley books to a friend, who is trying to get her god-daughter hooked. She already likes Beauty, so we're trying some of the other fairy tale retellings.

Komarr is awesome, one of my favourites of the Miles books that I've read.

The little mermaid is my favourite Andersen fairytale. Especially because of the ending, which I find very loving and beautiful. I read many times a year

tris - Even though I've always like the story, The Little Mermaid was not one of my favourites before, because of the bleak ending I remembered. But now that I know all her sacrifices were not for nought, I like it that much better.

sakerfalcon - Glad to hear you enjoyed Komarr so much. I'm looking forward to sinking into the story, though I'm a little worried. I've been reading the books in chronological order and because of how the last book ended, I'm wondering how the Dendarii Mercenaries fit into Miles' life now, if at all. I'll miss them if they don't show up again.

Re: Komar: Sadly, I really dislike Ekatrina. Haven't really cared to read any more with her in them.

I've finished my last Miss Marple audio. I'm going to miss her. But the last story in this collection (Miss Marple's Final Cases) had nothing to do with Miss Marple. The Dressmaker's Doll was a spooky story rather than a mystery.

I couldn't resist getting How to Train Your Dragon when I saw it at the library, mostly because it's read by David Tennant. I fell asleep last night listening to his beautiful Scotts accent. All of which reminds me of my favourite Tennant/Tate short:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHAJ4VFStUE

majkia - I'm not sure what to think of Ekatrina yet. Hoping I warm up to her because don't she and Miles....?

>37 majkia: Ah, too bad, Jean. Why don't you like her? She seems like a good balance to our crazy hero to me.

#38 - Love that clip! I hadn't seen it before.

I love Ekaterin - possibly helps that she's a gardener :) but also I just think she's a really neat person, and just right for Miles.

I'm biting my nails in anticpation of Lord Vorpatril's Alliance (or whatever the titles ends up as), which will be published on November 9, 2012, IIRC. Ivan's book - Hooray!

I just find Eka whatever insipid. He had such neat other women in his life and he ends up with the weakest one. Sigh.

I liked Ekaterin, but I think that is because I've only read a few of the other books, and totally out of sequence. A civil campaign was my first, and I picked it up randomly because of the comparisons to Austen, Heyer, et al. So I had no grounds to compare Ekaterin with any of Miles' other women. Also, I think Ekaterin is strong, but it is a different kind of strength as she has had a different kind of life to shape her.

How to Train Your Dragon - This was more fun than I expected. I hear David Tennant is a father now. Lucky is the child that has Tennant as a bedtime storyteller. Wonderful and varied voices for vikings and dragons, lots of energy. I know it's not correct, but Scottish accented vikings work for me :o)

I need a place to remember books being released this year that I'm looking forward to:

Bitterblue - Kristin Cashore, May
Unwholly - Neal Shusterman, August
A Garment of Shadows - Laurie R. King, September
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance - Lois McMaster Bujold, November

Graphic Novels:
Cinderella: Fables are Forever, April
Fables 17: Inherit the Wind, July
Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland, November

>Captain Vorpatril's Alliance - Lois McMaster Bujold, November

OooooOooOoooooh...

#45 - I do love a good brogue! :o) I find audiobooks read by people with accents so enjoyable, for some reason. Especially if it's pertinent to the story.

#47 Waiting for November is as bad as waiting for April 1st. Sigh. I see Jon and Ivan as quite alike!

Jon? Who is Jon? Why can't I remember who Jon is?

Jon Snow from A Song of Ice and Fire series, and Game of Thrones on HBO which starts season 2 on 1 April.

Ah. I haven't read/watched those yet. I like Ivan, so maybe I'll like Jon, so maybe I'll like A Song of Ice and Fire? I'm hoping anyways, even though I know how different the stories and writing are.

48 - I agree. If the accents are obviously mismatched with the story, it throws the story off. But I love listening to accents as well. Puts a little exotic in my day.

There are two more Hiccup Horrendous Haddock books read by Tennant at the library. I've put them on hold, fingers crossed they're not abridged. The library records were ambiguous.

I finished up Komarr and enjoyed it as much as the other Miles books. Miles does seem to be slowing down, his manicness showing up more rarely or only in his thoughts. Ekaterin has strength, but a much different type compared to the combat proven and more worldly Elena, Ellie and Taura. After 10 years of being browbeaten by her husband she finally stands up to him. At the end, when she had only herself to rely on, not knowing if anyone was coming to help her, she did what she thought necessary to help herself. Made me wonder and hope I had the nerve to do the same in her situation.

I'm not enjoying Whose Body so much. Wimsey is starting to irritate me the way he runs rough shod over Bunter and Parker, and there seems to be a lot of rambling which is making me lose interest. Some of this is due to the reader, who I'm not finding easy or so enjoyable to listen to. I'm finding it hard to keep track of what's happening with the investigation.

I've had a bad reader experience several times. It ruins a book I would otherwise enjoy.

Have you read other Lord Peter books? I can't remember. I believe Whose Body is the very earliest? Anyway, Bunter comes into his own later. His relationship with Peter is a beautiful example of the very best of male friendships, so don't give up on them yet. So much of Lord Peter's frippery is explained further on as well. He is a man struggling to keep the demons at bay.

My favourite Lord Peter books are the ones with Harriet Vane in them, Have His Carcass, Busman's Honeymoon and Gaudy Night. But yes, the Lord Peter/Bunter relationship is wonderful, even when Harriet comes on the scene. Lord Peter's mother is wonderful too.

That's disappointing about the narrator sandragon, 'cause really Sayers is such an amazing author.

p.s. I just finished Diplomatic Immunity and have started Cryoburn. Oh NO!! The last one (for now). I think I'll just start over again. I love the narrator (Grover Gardner) and life will be so much more boring without Miles' adventures.

I'm very glad to hear about the new book, and that it's about Ivan. That should be great fun.

I agree that Whose Body? does need to be regarded as a freshman effort. I think that because I saw the PBS Mystery! series first with Edward Petherbridge playing him with such sensitivity, I was better able to disregard and understand the "upper class twit of the year" mannerisms.

Whose Body? is my first Dorothy Sayers book, and it's the first Peter Wimsey book she wrote. I've heard enough good things about this series, and I'd like to see the relationships develop, that I've already put the next book on hold at the library. I can't remember what it's called, but it's read by Ian Carmichael. I'm looking forward to it. I think it being read by a male reader will be more suitable as well. Whose Body? is read by Nadia May. I don't remember it bothering me when she read Partners in Crime but maybe that's because the book is from Tuppence's POV and a female voice more fitting. Her Peter Wimsey grates on me somewhat and sometimes I find it hard to distinguish between Wimsey, Parker and Freke.

#58 Ian Carmichael plays Lord Peter in the BBC radio and TV/Video series. He's very good (though how he'd be reading Bunter and Parker I don't know). Hope you enjoy the series!

59 - Oh! That's good to know. It'll be fun to watch Clouds of Witness (I finally remembered which one I put on hold) after listening to it, assuming I like Ian Carmichael.

The Miss Marple stories read by Joan Dickson were fun because I could tell immediately when she was doing Miss Marple, and that was after watching only a couple of her Miss Marple movies years ago. Dickson's way of speaking completely changed and it was Miss Marple talking.

>58 sandragon: I never saw the Ian Carmichael videos, only the later ones with Edward Petherbridge. Do you recommend them?

#61 Very much so. Only after I formed a liking for them did I read the credits and see that one Richard Beynon, who was in high school with me, was involved in the production.

I didn't like Ian Carmichael as Wimsey. I did love Edward Petherbridge, though.

I'd started A Civil Campaign, which I can already tell will be much fun, but I came across Unwind when I took my kids to the library. I read the first few pages and was hooked. Miles will have to wait a bit. Unwind is fast paced, emotionally wrenching and horrifying. I think I'll enjoy this as much as Hunger Games and will probably end up getting a copy for my niece as one of her birthday presents when she turns, crikeys!, 18 later this month.

I can hardly wait for the new Bujold book!

I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying Unwind.

I thought Unwind was really well done, and gave a copy for Christmas to my sister who also liked it a lot. I think you'll be happy with it when you finish, and your niece should like it, too, if she's a reader.

I thought Edward Petherbridge was better, too, although I enjoyed seeing the stories acted out even if I didn't like Ian Carmichael as much. I'm also a pushover for the Harriet Vane stories, so I'm glad Petherbridge handled those.

For my first Wimsey movie I won't have a choice. The library only has the Clouds of Witness version with Ian Carmichael. But the library has 4 movies with Carmichael and 3 with Edward Petherbridge, so I'll get to see both in action.

For my next audio, I've started listening to Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, read by Lorna Raver. She has a wonderful drawl that draws me right into the story. I watched the movie quite a while ago and remember the basic plot and how it ends, but don't remember the people whom I'm enjoying getting reaquainted with. I will definitely have to watch the movie again when I'm finished the book.

65, 66 - I believe I have the two of you to thank for bringing Unwind to my attention. Thank you!

My niece is another lover of books and we have shared many book recommendations over the years. She has enjoyed both the Uglies series (which she's reread a few times) and the Hunger Games series (which she's stayed up too late reading) that I've given her for previous birthdays so I know she likes the genre. I'll wait until I finish it to decide, but I'm pretty sure she'll like Unwind.

In return, she has told me about Cornelia Funke, Kenneth Oppel and Diana Wynn Jones. I'm looking forward to sharing the same kind of reading relationship with my boys as they get older.

Unwind - Blood and gore descriptions are definitely not needed to qualify a book as a horror. Worse are the justifications people make for doing horrible things. In the book we are given several reasons why an adult-in-charge would sign a teen up for unwinding and all of them were actually quite believable. I could actually see adults thinking it through and coming to this, to them, logical conclusion. *shivers*
Neal Shusterman has set this in the not-too-distant future in an America that doesn't seem very different from the one we're used to today, and then thrown in details that build up to show us how off the world has actually become.

"The Bill of Life

The Second Civil War, also known as 'The Heartland War,' was a long and bloody conflict fought over a single issue.

To end the war, as set of constitutional amendments known as 'The Bill of Life' was passed.

It satisfied both the Pro-life and the Pro-choice armies.

The Bill Of Life states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen.

However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, a parent may choose to retroactively 'abort' a child...

... on the condition that the child's life doesn't 'technically' end.

The process by which a child is both terminated and yet kept alive is called 'unwinding.'

Unwinding is now a common and accepted practice in society."

Now back to Miles in A Civil Campaign. I've just met the butter bugs. 8,000 of them. Heehee. I can see where this may be headed.

Ah, the pursuit of Ekaterin! You're in for a fun time.

Unwind made me shudder too, as it didn't seem that implausible a scenario.

A civil campaign was my first, and still my favourite, Vorkosigan book!

Butter bugs, bug butter!! Loved it :)

So would you? Eat bug butter? katy? Sakerfalcon? Joe? GeorgiaDawn? tardis? Anyone?

I've had bird's nest soup a couple of times, which is made from the saliva of swiftlets, but I think that's the closest I've come to eating vomit. Wasn't bad either.

Loki, our yellow lab, used to follow me around whenever I had one of our baby boys over my shoulder, hoping for a nice messy burp up. I kinda appreciated the help cleaning up!

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a wonderful story about friendships and the support provided by friends. The only thing I didn't like was how Flagg jumped around from year to year and back again. Not the jump from Evelyn's part of the story, to the past, and back again, but the Idgy et al part which jumped around a lot in the past. Looking forward to revisiting the movie now. I'm not sure which and when, but I would definitely try another Fannie Flagg.

Sure, I'd eat bug butter - doesn't seem that different from honey to me in how the bugs produce it, and it sounds like flavour-wise it's kind of like tofu, so it would totally depend on how it was flavoured.

Now how did I forget honey? Mark even mentions it when he's trying to convince Miles to back him. And I've had royal jelly as well, though it's not technically regurgitated.

I think for me it would depend on the texture of bug butter. If it's at all slimey and slippery (like okra, natto or uni) I wouldn't be able to handle it. But if it's like cottage cheese or cream cheese or tofu it would stand a chance.

I'd do it, too. Honey, yup.

78> You're right - if slimy, yuk. However, like tofu, I expect the texture of bug butter depends on processing. IIRC, Ma Kosti turned it into all sorts of things - faux ice cream, for example.

I've never had okra - am going to grow it this year for the first time. Hope there's a way of preparing it that is not too slimy. Hate slimy.

Fried Green Tomatoes finished up with some recipes mentioned in the book and, I must admit, fried okra sounds edible. I'm tempted to try it, but I'll have to find a substitute for bacon fat as I've stopped eating pork and beef.

Source: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Ingredients
•Okra
•Cornmeal
•Bacon fat

Directions:

1.Wash your okra well and cut off the stems.
2.Cut pods into sections about 1/2 inch long.
3.Roll in cornmeal and fry in hot bacon drippings and deep hot fat until a nice crisp brown.
4.Drain on paper towel, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

Fried okra is delicious, my grandmother mixed a little flour in with the cornmeal. I love okra in jambalaya or other cajun foods, too.

I figure if I can eat the crab butter, I could eat bug butter.

I love Fried Green Tomatoes, the book, the movie and the dish. :) I have another Fannie Flagg book on my TBR shelf and am interested to see if I like it as well. The only way I ever knew her before was from game shows.

I'd try the bug butter, especially if Ma Kosti was preparing it!

>80 tardis:: I don't have a recipe, but Bhindi Bhaji, the Indian okra based dish, is delicious. There are recipes online if you google, or look for it on the menu if you go to an Indian restaurant. I do like fried okra as well, although not done in bacon fat!

Now I'm hungry . . . :-(

Yeah, the things Ma Kosti comes up with for bug butter make it sound like it would be quite edible. I'd probably enjoy it very much, especially if I didn't know it was bug vomit. Such a funny section in that book, I loved the dinner, made me laugh out loud.

I tried the fried green tomato recipe from Fried Green Tomatoes, they were delicious. I remember really enjoying that book when I read it years ago. It's curious I never read any more of Fannie Flagg.

I've read a couple of her others. I believe they were Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man and Welcome to the World, Baby Girl. I got them from the library before I joined LT, so they aren't in my LT stats. I liked them, but I didn't love them the way I loved Tomatoes.

I've had pan fried red tomatoes, but never fried green ones. They sound yummy. Ok, here's the recipe from the book so I can try it someday. (There were other recipes in the back of the book. What am I going to do after I return the audio to the library?!?)

•1 medium green tomato per person
•salt, pepper
•white cornmeal
•bacon drippings

Slice tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick.
Season with salt and pepper
Coat both sides with cornmeal
In a large skillet, heat enough bacon drippings to coat bottom of pan
Fry tomatoes until lightly brown on both sides

The fried green tomatoes with milk gravy recipe sounds good, too. Actually, Fannie Flagg made every dish from the cafe sound yummy.

*googles crab butter*

Ooooh. I'll never be able to try any now because I've developed an allergy to crab. Can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing ;o)

Finished listening to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, read by Hugh Fraser, last night. What a creepy story! I was listening to this in bed, lights out, headphones on, and near the end, (you know, when it gets all tense and we still don't know who the culprit is and someone else could still be murdered) I opened my eyes to suddenly see a shadow looming beside my side of the bed. Holy moley did I jump!
It was my youngest wanting to crawl into bed with me :op

Ten strangers are lured onto an island with no way off. One by one they start to die. They can't find anyone else on the island. So which one of them is the murderer? Or are they really all alone on the island? And, unlike a Miss Marple mystery, you can't easily eliminate anyone (like Miss Marple and her family or the friend who calls her in to help). Very well done.

I liked that one, too. I am glad I did not have a short person quietly sneaking into my awareness during the tense part. But on the other hand, what a great story for you to tell future girl friends! Good red face material.

I like that story too. I have the old movie of it, not quite as suspenseful, it is a little funny instead of scary, but still good.

At least it's good to know your adrenal glands are still working! I only read that book a few years ago. Really loved it. Did you know it used to have several VERY politically incorrect titles before it was finally re-titled?

LOL! What a great story of your experience, sandragon! :)

It's a good thing I have a strong heart :o)

I noticed the original/other titles of And Then There Were None when I was choosing a cover for the audiobook. I'm guessing the 'Ten Little Indians' nursery rhyme was changed from the original version as well, but I wonder if anything else was changed. I can't say I'm bothered by the changes, I don't see how they would have affected/weakened the story, but I do wonder if I'm supposed to be bothered by the changes.

On the other hand, when I read Superfudge to my oldest a few years ago, I was sad that our version had modernized Peter's Christmas wish list. He asked Santa for, among other things, "a laptop computer, an MP3 player and six CD's". I don't remember what was on the list originally but these items definitely didn't exist when I read this book as a kid. There went any nostalgic feelings about the book out the window. I can't see how the changes affected the book badly, but I was still disappointed.

Wow. I was thinking about books like this and the Henry Huggins books and earlier to the Moffats, and wondering if the Fudge series will achieve "historical fiction" status like the Moffats where updating details like that would change the story, which is firmly set in its time. I wonder if they ever will?

I think such things should not be changed! First I think it disrespectful of the author. Somehow people seems to think kids' an YA books aren't real books so the authors aren't real authors either. Shame!!!
Second I think it changes history, even if it doesn't change that particular story. So, there's very few phone booths, for example, nowadays. So what? By changing out such things we make it seems like nothing changes, when in reality change goes on always and forever. It is making a lie of existence and I think it is disingenuous.
Sorry. End of rant :)

#96 Hear, hear! Busifer, you are absolutely dead right in many ways, and far from being sorry, you should be relaying this to wherever that kind of Politically Correct gather!

But in both instances, the authors (Agatha Christie and Judy Blume) were alive when the changes were made. So each author must have made the changes herself, or ok'd the changes.

Also, it looks like Christie's book was published as Ten Little Niggers in the UK in 1939, and as And Then There Were None in the US in 1940. So the title used depended on which country it was released, just like nowadays with The Golden Compass (US) and Northern Lights (UK), or The Sorceror's Stone (US) and The Philosopher's Stone (UK).

And there was the Mike Meyers movie, The Spy who Shagged Me (US) that had to have it's title changed before it could be released in various other countries.

Still, I think it falsification of history when they change things. That the author agrees to the change is no excuse, in my opinion.

That titles change I think is sad but not that controversial, except maybe in cases such as philosopher's/sorcerer's - what IS the US problem with philosophers, I ask?! ;-) But generally speaking it's much the same as when sometimes a US or French title is translated to for example Swedish or Japanese.
UK and US English is somewhat different and can well be treated as two different languages. Muffins, anyone? ;-)

This is not the same thing as changing parts of the actual story, setting or content to something more contemporary.

Listened to Quitters, Inc, a short story by Stephen King. It was only about 45 minutes long, about a company that helps you to stop smoking using a 'pragmatist''s method. Kind of disturbing. Can't say I really liked it.

Was going to try something by Irene Nemirovsky, couldn't get into it. Then tried MT Anderson's The Pox Party, couldn't get into it. Have finally settled into Flashback by Dan Simmons, about a dystopic future (just, it's 2032) where addicts use the drug flashback to relive their favourite memories at the expense of their health and actual memories. It's a rough and gritty future. Not too sure what I think of it yet, but there are 3 POVs from 3 characters (a grandfather, a father and a son), each read by its own narrator. I like the effect, though I'm not sure about the characters themselves.

I finished A Civil Campaign last week and quickly followed it up with the short story Winterfair Gifts. A Civil Campaign was a wonderful read. I don't usually read romance these days but don't mind some romance in whatever I'm reading. This was a romance but there was also politics and intrigue and humour and the whole thing was fun! I understand Bujold modeled this on Georgette Heyer's books which I'm now more open to trying :o)
I kept thinking of Downton Abbey while I read this, and especially while reading Winterfair Gifts, which is from the POV of one of the armsmen (servants). Lots of similarities with the TV show but my mind still sometimes has troubles reconciling the upstairs/downstairs way of life with a technologically advanced future society.

I was seduced by The Gardener at the library which I'd heard about on the YA Lit group. It's about a company that is trying to bioengineer people into autotrophs, self feeders like plants are, needing only the sun and water to survive. The idea and the moral dilemmas it brings about are interesting but I found most of the characters wooden and the writing flat. At least if was a very quick short read.

Now on to The Riddle-Master of Hed for the Green Dragon Morphy group read. I've started it but have only been able to read short bits in spurts and haven't been sucked in yet. I'm still trying to figure out who's who and where's where. And how to pronounce Raederle, one of the female character names. That last is really bugging me.

#101 I've started The Riddle-master of Hed as well and have really not been impressed so far. I'll keep at it for awhile but no guarantees I'm going to stick with it given how little interest I have in any of the obnoxious characters I've met so far.

"ray*der*lee" might be it...what do you think?

Majkia - Tristan seemed interesting, but I don't suppose she will be a major part of the book since it's about Morgon and his travels. None of the other characters have turned me off yet, but they haven't grabbed me either. But it's still early goings so there's still hope.

Maggie - I like your suggestion. It sounds nicer than what I came up with: ree' der lee and ray durl'.

I've settled in to The Riddle-Master of Hed. I'm intrigued by the idea of a prince/ruler bound on a metaphysical level to his land. I think I've used the word 'metaphysical' correctly, I can't think of another word that would fit. I also like that Morgon, the ruler of Hed, is also a farmer with a deep love for his demesne. He is comfortable with who he is and not with this unknown destiny that is calling him and seems to want to make him someone other than who he is.

I've given up on Flashback. I wasn't quite halfway through but I'd had enough of its bleak and anger-filled tone. The 6 year old murder mystery, the Flashback drug and the mystery that's come up about the protagonist's dead wife are all interesting. But there's a lot of sidetracking and rambling and I was getting impatient to get on with the actual story and losing interest.

I listened to The Mysterious Affair at Stlyes a few years ago and didn't really care for it, but I think that was due a lot to the reader. I've found a version read by David Suchet and, so far, I'm really enjoying it. Poirot hasn't made an appearance yet, but I'm looking forward to hearing his prissy prim voice. Normally Poirot drives me nuts, but I need something light and easy to listen to.

My youngest and I have also started listening to How to be a Pirate on the way to gymnastics. David Tennant is such a fun reader. Unfortunately, the library has only 3 books narrated by Tennant. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.

Last Friday, my boys' school had a guest author come to speak, Eric Wilson. I'm not sure which grades got to meet him, but my grade fiver did. I can remember Eric Wilson visiting my school when I was in grade five. Almost 30 years ago! How cool is that?

Finally finished The Riddle-Master of Hed. This is the 3rd Patricia McKillip book I've read and I'm starting to think McKillip is not an author for me. There's a dream-like quality to her writing that just leaves me feeling distanced from the characters and the events. It's not the 'dream-like' that I mind. Robin McKinley's writing has a dream-like quality as well, but I love McKinley's stories. So there's something about McKillip's writing that I'm not connecting with.

Reposted from Morphy's 'March Fantasy Read - SPOILERS - The Riddle-Master of Hed':

I love the idea of rulers that are psychically bound to their land, of a country and its ruler shaping the character of each other. I also like the idea of a hero that's torn between his responsibilites to his people, and his destiny. But the writing left me feeling detached from the events and the characters. The characters were interesting, but I never got around to caring for any of them. Too many questions were left unanswered: why do some people live for centuries? Who are the shape-changers and why are they trying to kill Morgon? What was the war that happened centuries earlier about? Who are the Masters of Wind, Air, Earth and Fire, and why are they masters? How is the High One connected with what has been happening to Morgan? Any kind of answers we got were sooo vague.

I think if more of the questions had been answered I would be more willing to keep reading the series. But I feel too much in the dark and frustrated by not knowing what's going on; I'm not sure I'll go on to read Heir of Sea and Fire.

On the plus side, I very much enjoyed my re-listen of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, read by David Suchet this time instead of Penelope Dellaporta. Luckily I hadn't remembered who-dunnit. 2.5 years ago, I gave Dellaporta's narration 2.5 stars and was ready to give up on Poirot. I'm glad I didn't; Suchet's narration got 4 stars and I'm looking forward to listening to Murder on the Links, even though the library's copy is read by Hugh Fraser.

I love Poirot. David Suchet brings him to life with his acting, as well.

I've just finished reading Falling Free by Bujold. It's the story of the quaddies (humans biogenetically engineered to live in free fall for space work) and their revolt against the human corporation that 'owns' them. This is set in the Vorkosiverse, but happens 200 years before Miles shows up on the scene. Looking forward to reading more about them in Diplomatic Immunity.

But before I can, I need to read a couple of others. First is How to Speak Dragonese. The library doesn't have this, the third How to Train your Dragon book, on audio, so I was going to jump right to book 4, How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse. Dragon's Curse is the last one narrated by David Tennant that the library has; my kids and I have enjoyed listening to these books in the car during long-ish drives. But my boys were adamant skipping a book was not a good idea. I definitely needed to read book 3 first, otherwise I would miss important plot developments and have the ending for book 3 spoiled for me. I hadn't planned to read it at all, but my oldest just happens to have book 3 and brought it up for me right away. How can I resist? In the meantime we're re-listening to How to be a Pirate in the car :o)

I can hear David Tennant's voices in my head while reading How to Speak Dragonese. (Except for the Romans'; they didn't show up in the previous two books so I have to make up their voices on my own.) Makes reading the book pretty enjoyable, not counting the crude and rude young boy humour. I didn't notice as much of this in the other two books. But I can see why my boys are drawn to this series (any one know how to do a rolling-eyes smiley to fit in here?)

I couldn't resist. Had planned to start Heir of Sea and Fire, but am now galavanting around the wormhole nexus with Miles and Ekaterin in Diplomatic Immunity.

I tried out the audios to Holly Black's Faerie books: Tithe and Valiant. They were okay, narrated well, and I enjoyed them when they concentrated on the bits of magic showing up in the real world, but I lost interest when the story turned to descriptions and happenings of the un-seelie court. I probably won't finish up the series.

Also finished up the last of the How to Train a Dragon audio CD the library has, How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse narrated by David Tenant. The fun was mostly from Tenant's narration, so I probably won't go on to read any more of these books either.

Clouds of Witness, narrated by Ian Carmichael - The mystery was kind of so-so; Wimsey's brother is suspected of murdering his sister's fiance. But I enjoyed meeting more of Wimsey's family and friends, and watching how they all interacted. I still think Wimsey is too terse and flippant a character, especially with the people who care about him, but I'm willing to try another to see if he grows on me.

Up next is The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal, about a con man who, after assuming various identities, ends up passing himself off as a Rockefeller for several years, well enough to marry and convince his wife for 12 years until after they divorce and he kidnaps their daughter. I don't normally listen to non-fiction audio books because I have a hard time taking in all the facts quickly enough (I flip back and forth through a tree book quite a bit when it's non-fiction) but so far this one reads like fiction.

I've given up on The Man in the Rockefeller Suit. It started off promising, but 3 hours in I find I'm really not that interested in learning all the minutiae about Clark Rockefeller (aka Christopher Chichester, nee Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter) and in hearing the numerous interviews with the people he's conned. When he's not actively conning someone he comes off as not a likeable person, and not someone I want to get to know better. Although part of me wonders: what if he hadn't been shunned and looked down on, whilst a young teen in Germany, for being too smart and not fitting in (as related by some of the interviewees); maybe he would have been happier as he was and not have tried to become someone he wasn't and deceived/hurt so many people in the process.

Diplomatic Immunity was another fun romp in space with Miles Vorkosigan, with much intrigue, politics, genetically modified humans and biowarfare.

The Apothecary is a young adult novel about a 14 year old American girl, after WWII and during the start of the Cold War. She and her parents leave for London when her parents are tagged as Communists and find themselves under surveillance for being open about some of their beliefs. In London Janie meets an apothecary who is also an alchemist. The apothecary and his fellow alchemists are concerned about the decisions of various nations to develop nuclear arms, but they believe they can use their alchemical knowledge to prevent the after effects of nuclear explosions. Janie and the apothecary's son, Benjamin, find themselves caught up in the alchemists' affairs when spies come looking for the apothecary and the book that contains all his knowledge, the Pharmacopeia.

The elixirs and powders that the alchemists come up with were fun and interesting, but the characters felt a little cardboardy, especially some of the side characters that show up to help Janie and Benjamin. Details of events and people both needed a little more substance. There was also some inconsistancy with how the teens behaved. One moment they seemed more like 10 year olds, the next they were aware of each other physically as teens would be. Overall, an ok story but not one I'd go out of my way to recommend.

The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium by Gerald Durrell - 6 anecdotes, mostly funny with, I suspect, the truth stretched somewhat. Most were travel related, 2 used as a vehicle to tell another's story, one is about food, one about sex, one macabre, one really spooky, and no animals were featured although some poor animals had a small role in the last story. I was ready to pass this collection over because it wasn't natural history-related like My Family and Other Animals, but I found all the stories fun.

Next up is Dreamweaver's Dilemma by Lois McMaster Bujold, a collection of essays and short stories, one of which takes place in the Vorkosiverse I believe.

Someday, I do plan on updating this thread, but I for now I just need to gripe.

My library has only 20 Terry Pratchett novels as audiobooks, and of those only 8 are unabridged. Bah. I've discovered I prefer listening to Pratchett's books rather than eye-balling them. I seem to get the humour better. This year I've listened to Good Omens (wonderful!) and am now listening to Nation.

I've read only a few Discworld books, and those were a long time ago, but hopefully that will be enough that I don't get too confused listening to the three unabridged Discworlds books the library has: Unseen Academicals, Going Postal and Thud!

A Hat Full of Sky and Wee Free Men are whole, but Wintersmith is abridged. Why?

Hmm. Maybe this should go in the First World Grievance thread.

Audiobook catch up:

I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg - About a woman who is contemplating suicide but wants to leave her affairs in immaculate order before she goes; she doesn't want to inconvenience any of the friends she leaves behind. But the circumstances keep getting in the way. This is a little sad, but also done with a light and humourous hand. Fannie Flagg writes about people I'd love to get to know and narrates it well (after I got over my skepticism about an author being able to read their own books well. It doesn't always, but it worked for me this time.)

The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie - All Poirot mysteries, all enjoyable. Poirot and his fastidious nature have grown on me. I especially like how Christie mixes up POVs between stories. My favourite Poirot so far is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which is from the POV of Dr. James Sheppard and 'Mr. Porrit' doesn't show up until partway through the book.

The Running Man, Roadwork, and The Long Walk by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman - All dark stories that I finished listening to only because I tend to enjoy King's non-horror stories. But these are horrific in their own ways, and violent. I think what disturbed me most is that no reason is given for the various hopeless situations that provoke the protagonists. It's just the way things are and mostly people go along with the status quo. And there is a darkness in each of the protagonists I found myself backing away from. Eventually the protagonist in each story reaches a trigger point and feels compelled to strike back against the system.

Mile 81 and Stationary Bike, also by Stephen King - 2 hour (ish) novellas that had their dark sides but which I enjoyed more than the above because the darkness was not in the characters. King writing as Bachman is a very different author from King writing as King.

More audiobook catch up:

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett - a re-listen and just as great the second time. I find Gaiman's tendency to darkness is offset by Pratchett's overly (to me) satyrical style, and blended they are awesome. Adam, the young Antichrist, along with his hell hound, Dog, unwittingly prevents armageddon by being the human boy he thinks he is and has grown up being. And I love the image of the angel and the demon, like two spies from opposing forces, happy with the balance they've achieved, more friends than enemies and not very happy with the thought of all out war and the changes that would cause.

The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley - Orphaned sisters find out they are actually descended from the brothers Grimm and that fairy tales are more fact than fiction. They help the grandmother they thought was dead look into some mysterious happenings in the town of Ferryport Landing where the Everafters now live. I listened to this with my 11 year old who has gone on to finish the 10 book series. I thought it was meh, have no urge to carry on with the series. Maybe just too 'young' for me after having read the Fables graphic novels.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher - Incarceron is an immense closed-off self-aware changeable prison into which a group of people were shut so long ago their descendants have no knowledge of the outside world, other than legends passed down. The society that sent them there believes the perfect era was 17th century England and have adopted a facade of its manners and customs that has become illegal to break, with modern technology running things in the background. The story plodded along, it took too long to find out how the two worlds were connected and it bothered me that no one seemed to trust anyone else. I won't be reading the sequel.

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi - An independant contractor is helping a mutigalactic corporation to strip mine a planet wealthy in minerals when he discovers an overlooked sentient species. Somewhat reminiscent of Avatar but enjoyable in its own right. Fast paced with snarky characters and loveable aliens. It took a little while to get used to Wil Wheaton's narration, he read a little fast, but otherwise he did a great job with the characters and the humour.

Oh, I should listen to Good Omens! Is the narrator anyone famous? Just curious.

Edited to add: Glad you're back to posting in this thread!

Hi, Sandragon, I hope all is well with you! I need to find a way, and some time, to come back up to Victoria. I just returned from Hawaii so unfortunately it will be a while before I travel again!

120 - Thanks, Clamairy. I've missed being more a part of the Green Dragon and keeping my thread up to date, but real life has been such that, I'm sorry to say, most days I hadn't the ethusiasm to do more than lurk.

The reader of Good Omens is Martin Jarvis. He's done some acting but I'm not very familiar with his work. He did a wonderful job of reading, lovely accent. I thought this was my second time listening to this, but it looks like I borrowed the paper copy last time. Either way, the story was a lot of fun.

121 - Hi, Maggie. All is well, pretty much.

We're in the midst of buying a an existing U-brew/U-vin franchise which OH is going to run. He finished his job last week, spent this week organizing for the takeover and is gone next week to their head office for training. I'm about 95% anxiety, 5% excitement for this venture. OH is 95% excitement, 5% anxiety. Which is about right. I definitely tend to worry more :op

I'm tempted to join you, Maggie, next year in Kauai. I'll be ready for the vacation!

Oh, that would be so wonderful. If you are serious - send me a PM, I'll send you the name of the place where I'm staying an maybe there will be space available. Should be since it is a year away....

Good luck on your new venture. That sounds very exciting. I know about worry..... but do remember you can call it excitement any time you want to; I've been told they are the same physiologically.

I just love Good omens! Especially the little throwaway touches, like how all cassette tapes left in a car overnight become "The best of Queen", regardless of what music was on them originally!

I wish you every success with your new venture. It must be very daunting to take the plunge, but you know that everyone in the GD is holding their thumbs for you!

...like how all cassette tapes left in a car overnight become "The best of Queen", regardless of what music was on them originally!
That is one of my absolute favourites!
I also love how Crowley intervened in the building of that motorway.
Explains a LOT of things ;D

I think I have reread Good Omens perhaps 6 or 7 times.

And good luck with the new venture. I'm holding my thumbs!
I had to google "U-brew/U-vin", there's nothing like that here but sounds... interesting. Like something my husband would love to try.

Maggie, Sakerfalcon, Busifer - thanks for the well wishes and thumb-holding. My husband is a sommelier (affectionately referred to as the Cork Dork) and he can be a bit of a snob about it so this will be a big change in the wine-related world for him, but it'll also give him the chance to, erm, tinker with wines a bit which will be fun for him. There are even some mini barrels at the shop for clients who want to 'age' their wines in oak :oD

That is way neat, Sandragon! We have a few U-brews in our area, but no U-vin...that sounds fascinating! Best wishes for your new venture--and better sleep for you. ;)

Cork Dork - I love that! I guess he's not to fond of the new plastic corks ;-)

123 - Maggie, I won't be able to make any plans yet. Just very tempted. I enjoyed seeing Kauai through you this year. I'll have to see how I feel about finances in 6 months or so.

127 - Thanks, Marissa. We've been keeping it under wraps for so long, until we were more sure it was going to happen, that it feels good to even finally share the news!

128 - The Cork Dork doesn't actually mind plastic corks, or even screw tops. But plastic corks don't let wines age properly because they don't let any air in at all. So he doesn't comment unless he sees one on a nice expensive wine he's been saving for a special occasion. Then he'll have plenty to say!

Even more audiobook catch up:

The Veteran by Frederick Forsyth - 3 short stories: The Veteran, The Miracle, and The Art of the Matter. Non-spy related stories that grabbed my attention, with satisfying little twists in the endings.

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth - A full length spy novel about the French efforts to prevent the assasination of de Gaulle. This was bogged down by too much detailed information of the OAS and the political atmostphere of the time. And characters that seemed dry and unexciting, although well described. Or maybe it was the reader, Simon Prebble. I just couldn't get enthused by any of it.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - Told by alternating POVs, with a different narrator for each. A beautiful story about two orphans on the bleak island of Thisby which is known for the dangerous carnivorous water horses, the capaill uisce. While most people have been leaving the island, looking for a better life on the mainland, Puck and Sean love the island, even though it is a hard life and difficult to make a living. They meet when they enter the annual November Scopio Race, a race on water horses that have been captured but not tamed and not really controlled, with hopes of winning and being able to stay on the island on their own terms.

Cast in Order of Disappearance by Simon Brett - A full cast BBC production, starring Bill Nighy, so it's not actually an audiobook and was only a couple hours long. But it was fun! Charles Paris, an actor in a Zombie movie, gets caught up in murder, blackmail and bad-acting.

I'd be delighted if you can find the money and the time to do a Meet-Up!

Nation by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs - Mau, an island boy, is the only survivor when a tsunami hits his tropical island village. Daphne, a British girl, is the only survivor of the ship she is on when it shipwrecks on Mau's island. They find they have more in common than not and together they turn away from old assumptions about the other's world and begin to rebuild the village, along with refugees from other islands that find them.

Bloody Jack and Curse of the Blue Tattoo by LA Meyer - The first two books in the Bloody Jack series. Mary Faber, orphaned and living in the London streets in the 18th century, pretends to be Jacky Faber the boy in order to become a ship's boy on the HMS Dolphin. Jacky is full of high spirits and, of course, has a penchant for getting into trouble, all the while trying to keep her secret on a ship full of males. Katherine Kellgren narrates this wonderfully, and as a bonus sings the old songs that crop up in the stories.

Chomp, Hoot and Flush by Carl Hiaasen - 3 books with an environmental bent, each set in Florida. I listened to these with my youngest who learned about how it's okay to speak out if you think someone is doing something wrong, even if you're a kid. Some issues that came up were child abuse or neglect, bullying, and drunkeness. But these stories were light enough to have my 8yo break out in giggles regularly.

Chomp was our favourite, about an animal wrangler (who can't wrangle because of a concussion and migraines caused by a frozen iguana falling on his head in the freak Florida freeze) and his son who agree to be the animal handlers for a 'reality' TV show based on Australian show 'The Crocodile Hunter'. I love what it has to say about how 'real' reality TV shows are.

Hoot was about 3 kids finding out a big corporation is trying to clear ground to build a pancake house, even though there are rare burrowing owls living on the property.

Flush was about kids and their father dealing with a casino boat that seems to be dumping waste into the harbour instead of spending the money to dispose of it properly.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, read by Raul Esparza - The US and Mexico chose to ignore the opium empire that has developed between the two countries. Called Opium, this little nation helps out by capturing the illegal immigrants that move in both directions. The illegals are modified to become idjits, mindless field workers and house slaves. In Opium, the drug lords commonly have clones of themselves created, clones whose intelligence are destroyed at birth and are kept in case they can be used for the drug lord in medical emergencies. But Matt is allowed to grow up with his mind intact, not finding out he is a 'disgusting' clone until boyhood, and not finding out exactly why he was created until much later. Farmer explores various reactions to Matt as a clone and rarely is he viewed as human. A good story, though I found the ending abrupt and I would have liked to find out more how reactions to Matt may have changed after the climax.

Click Clack the Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman, read by Gaiman - A very short and wonderfully creepy Halloween story. Amazing how Gaiman can set the atmosphere in so few words.

The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer, read by Nathaniel Parker - The 8th and final Artemis Fowl adventure. Finally. Not as good as the first several books and I'd hate to see these degenerate even further. I do enjoy the characters but there's nothing really new happening and what there was new there wasn't enough of. I would have loved to hear more about Artemis' twin toddler brothers, Beckett and Miles, but they made a couple of appearances and we didn't event find out how they fared in the end. Same with Juliet, Butler's kick-ass younger sister. She's there, then she isn't.

The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King, read by Bronson Pinchot - A fairy tale style story that King wrote for his daughter. Good vs Evil, with a manipulative evil advisor and a Prince falsely accused of his murdering his father. There was some character development, but the story felt pretty bland to me. It was neat to hear Pinchot use his real voice and accents other than his Balki Bartokomous accent from the TV show Perfect Strangers.

And I think that's it. I'm all caught up with jounaling the audiobooks I've listened to. I've just started The Big Four, a Hercule Poirot mystery read by Hugh Fraser, so nothing to say about it yet.

The Bloody Jack series has made it onto my wishlist but no further as yet. Good to see more positive comments regarding those books. Perhaps one day I'll even go as far as actually acquiring them.

Oh--Poirot stories read by Hugh Fraser? How awesome is that?!

Oh, I enjoyed House of the Scorpion when one (or both?) of my kids convinced me to read it some years back. I agree I would have liked more closure. Also agree about the blandness of The Eyes of Dragon.

135 - AHS-Wolfy, I don't think I would have made it through a paper version of the Bloody Jack books. Jacky can be fun and exciting, and her heart's always in the right place, but her antics get to be a bit much sometimes. But the narrator, Katherine Kellgren, is doing a good job keeping me interested enough to listen to another.

136 - Marissa, I've never watched any Poirot movies, but David Suchet and Hugh Fraser do a wonderful job narrating various of the Poirot books. They obviously know their characters :oD I love how Suchet can switch back and forth from his Poirot voice to his not-Poirot voice so easily. "Tut tut tut" He's so much fun to listen to, and Fraser is a close second.

137 - Clare, I love that my oldest is at an age (almost 12) where we can finally suggest books back and forth. I still mostly suggest to him, but he's convinced me to try The Ruins of Gorlan, the first of one of his favourite series, The Ranger's Apprentice. I've promised it'll be one of my reads in 2013.

Isn't it fun to read the same books as your kids. I remember when my grandson and I went to the launches of a couple of Harry Potter books. Not that he remembers.... he is 21 now, and way too busy.

#138 - It is wonderful! My daughter and I still share books, though she doesn't get to read for pleasure at all during the term. Some of the best books I've read in the last 10 years were the ones my kids suggested. My son only reads what they make him read at school these days, but most of those I've read so we at least get to talk about them. Right now he's doing The Crucible in class, and insisted I watch the Daniel Day Lewis version with him on Netflix.

sandragon, I love David Suchet as Poirot. Of course, I love everything I've seen him in. One of my favorites is Harry and the Hendersons, with him being a villain, and recently I saw him in Terry Pratchet's Going Postal, which I would have watched a long time ago if I had known he was in it. Another villain.

I had almost given up hope that my boys would share my love of reading, but my almost 20 year old is now reading, discussing and recommending books to me! The older boy is not yet an avid reader, but he will read a good one which catches his fancy, like Ready Player One, which I gave him last year for Xmas and he then made me read. This year I'm giving him Redshirts for Xmas, hoping for the same results. :)

MrsLee, I had no idea, or maybe I'd forgotten, that David Suchet was in Harry and the Hendersons. Then again, I watched that movie ages ago. Which means it's time to watch it again and introduce it to the boys.

Is your older boy a trekkie? It was fun keeping an eye out for the Star Trek references when I read Redshirts, although the metaphysicalness (is that a word?) of it at the end was a little mind bending. I hope he likes it and insists you read it :o)

My oldest is an avid reader, but I can't get my youngest out of the comics and into the chapter books. He's able, just not willing. I tell myself, 'At least he's reading, and he's only 8', but it's hard not to push him. I try to keep it to nudges :op

The Big Four - Not really a mystery, more a spy novel. Poirot is trying to track down the international ring of ciminal masterminds called the Big Four. I got a little fed up with Poirot's ego and the way Hastings was continually put down. It definitely started to drag. If it wasn't an audio, and one read by Hugh Fraser, I don't think I would have finished it.

Nuts, but I need to start journaling the paper books I've read since April. I can't believe it's December already!

I know! And I've decided I need to make a plan for next year's reading! Can you imagine?

Sandragon, there is always the possibility that son #2 feels the need to be "himself" and declare he is not the reader his mother and older bro is. Caution ahead. You know what happens when you push a child who does not want to go - they push back. Not that I imagine you are pushing all that hard, but just a gentle reminder..... children must discover themselves in their own time; and they often insist on doing things exactly the opposite of their parental units' examples.

My daughter, for example, is the absolute picture of a clean and tidy housekeeper. Totally not my thing.

I want to start my 2013 thread, but I feel the need to wrap this one up, even though it's been several months since I journaled my tree and e books. So I'm going to cheat and just list them and consider it done.

Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales by Chris van Allsburg - 14 authors write a short story, each using a different van Allsburg illustrations as inspiration.

Imago by Amy Sterling Casil - Bleh. Card board characters. Didn't finish.

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Rereads to refresh my swiss cheese memory so I could discuss them with #1 son who was reading them for the first time.

Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold - Wonderful story with familiar characters with a punch in the gut at at the end that left me in tears.

The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms by Amy Stewart - Had the urge to start my own worm farm after reading this. "Why is it a worm can regrow most of its body, but we can't regrow so much as a finger? I am left with the troubling conclusion that the worm's survival may, in the grand scheme of things, be more important than my own."

In the Company of Others by Julie Czerneda - My first full-length Czerneda. Great writing, great characters, I felt like I was there on that overcrowded abandoned space station.

The Franchise by Julie Cznerda - a follow up short story to the above.

By John Scalzi: All set in the same universe. Light, fast-paced, action-packed, fun, uncomplicated characters. Perfect books to take on a vacation. Only downside were the aliens that weren't alien-like at all.
Old Man's War
The Ghost Brigades
The Sagan Diary - short story
After the Coup - short story, a reread, my introduction to this series last year
The Last Colony
Zoe's Tale

By Scott Westerfeld: More holiday beach reading. Action and adventure during an alternate WWII, with forces divided between Darwinist and Clanker nations. Iinteresting critters. Want a perspicacious loris of my own.
Leviathan
Behemoth
Goliath

By Laurie R King: Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. Love love love. The two full lengths were rereads.
Beekeeping for Beginners - short story, Mary and Sherlock meet, from his POV. Wonderful
Mrs Hudson's Case - short story, was okay
Justice Hall
The Game

A Study in Sherlock edited by Laurie R King - A collection of Sherlock inspired stories. Was okay. Some better than others.

Charlotte's Web by EB White - a reread for the umpteenth time. Still as wonderful as when I read it as a kid.

The Grand Complication by Allen Kurzwell - Set in a library, a book about books, but didn't care much for the characters. More cardboard. Only interesting bit was the Dewey Decimal Call competition between the librarian and the janitor. Otherwise, meh.

Beholder's Eye by Julie Czerneda - First in a trilogy from the POV of a long-lived shape-shifting alien, Esen-Alit-Quar. Fun. Interesting aliens.

Plus the following short stories set in the Beholder's Eye universe. Rereads, they led me to this series and introduces Esen and her kin.
She's Such a Nasty Morsel
A Touch of Blue
Prism

Human.4 by Mike Lancaster - Humans get an upgrade, but a few get missed. Not bad, may read more in the series, if nothing else was to hand.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams - Light (once you get your head around the time travelling) and quirky, but didn't care much for Dirk. May read the next one, may not.

Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits, short stories by Robin McKinley and her husband, Peter Dickenson. As usual, I prefer McKinley's stories to Dickenson's, though his weren't bad this time round. Preferred the ones he wrote here to the ones he wrote for the Water collection.
McKinley stories: "First Flight" - a great dragon story. "Hellhound" - a great, well, hellhound story.

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld - A reread about vampirism as caused by a symbiotic parasite. As before, loved the alternate chapters which describe various parasites in detail. Not to be read whilst eating.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson - An ejoyable visit with Miss Pettigrew and Delysia LaFosse.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - Good, but nothing really made me care for any of the characters. We're definitely on the outside looking in, trying to keep track of who's who and find out what's going on

Redshirts by John Scalzi - Great fun, loved the listed ways to recognize you're part of a scripted universe, but the ending was a bit abrupt for me, regarding the main plot line anyways. Was glad for the 3 Codas that carried the story on a little more.

Get Off the Unicorn by Anne McCaffrey - a reread. A collection of short stories, some which are the beginnings of my favourite McCaffrey storylines: the Dragonriders of Pern, the Talent series, the Brainship series.

The October Game by Ray Bradbury - a Halloween short story. Ick. Meh.

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien - a reread before watching the movie. #1 son finally finished the book and we watched the movie a couple nights ago. I sighed happily whenever I recognized an actual line from the book.
"Out of the fire..."
"... and into the frying pan."

Waiting for the Dalai Lama: Stories from All Sides of the Tibetan Debate by Annelie Rozeboom - the interviews related are not as unbiased as the subtitle would have us believe. Rozeboom shows her bias towards an independant Tibet and the Chinese pretty much uniformly come across as quite the wicked oppressors. Did learn some interesting tidbits about Tibet and Tibetans though and wouldn't mind reading more about the area and its people.

The Complete Paddington by Michael Bond - I started reading this with #2 son last year, but he lost interest and I finally started reading them on my own. The stories make lovely short breathers between heavier books.

A Gift of Dragons by Anne McCaffrey - 4 short Pern stories, 3 which I'd read before. More happy sighs. Pern dragons are my favourite kinds. Used this as a breather from AToTC (see next).

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - My last book for 2012. I'd been meaning to read this for ages, even though I'm not a fan of Dickens, ever since we did the French Revolution in grade 9 and watched a movie version of AToTC. It was good, I had forgotten all the little bits between beginning and ending, but the language style was exhausting and it took me a whole month to read this little book, so I was glad when I finally finished it.

The last of the audiobooks:

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke - listened to with #2 son. A re-listen for me. We both enjoyed the story and Brendan Fraser's amazing voices.

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz, read by Derek Jacobi. Another wonderful narrator. The style and tone seemed a match with the original Sherlock Holmes stories by Doyle. But I could have sworn Holmes actually said 'I assumed' at one point. I was shocked! I didn't think assumed or guessed were part of his vocabulary.

And that makes 46 visual books (short stories not part of collections not included) and 46 audiobooks for the year. 92 total.

A bit late, but how did you find a copy of Czerneda's The Franchise? I have been looking like mad without finding it!

Thanks for wrapping-up your reading year; I like your short summaries of each book. You read some great ones - Miss Pettigrew and The Westing game are among my favourites, and In the company of others is on my tbr pile.

In the Company of Others is very good, imho.
A bit too romancey, perhaps. But still very good!

150 - Busifer, it was on her website. Click on the treasure box!

http://www.czerneda.com/sf/company.html

Have you read the short story Brothers Bound? It was the one that convinced me I'd discovered a new-to-me great author.

http://www.czerneda.com/sf/clan.html

I don't tend to read romances, but I don't mind if one shows up in a book. The one in In the Company of Others was nice, not immediate and in your face. No love triangle. No teenage angst. No heaving bosoms.

Thank you!

You reminded me that I left the worm bin out last night, and again this night, and it might be too cold for the little guys. I feel like I'm guilty of bad gardening! I'm in bed, and can't think of a good place to pull the bin... long story short, I think I'll just cross my fingers and try to do something kind for them tomorrow.

sigh

I hope your worms don't get too cold tonight, Maggie. I know we have red wrigglers in the compost bin in the back corner of the yard, but I'd like to have a smaller pet worm bin on the porch so I can snoop on them more easily. Up close and personal-like.