Natalie SW / 2016

I, Natalie Wainwright, hereby begin my second annual LibraryThing 75-Book-Challenge!

In 2015 I read a bunch of good books. I read mysteries, science fiction, graphic novels, poetry, children's middle grade and young adult fiction, adult fiction, and narrative memoir — "H is for Hawk" was especially fantastic. For background reading for an ongoing project, I focused on history of America and China in the 1830s, and of disease and its treatment in that same time period. For the very first time I'm fascinated with history, especially the actions, attitudes, and appurtenances of everyday life.

I've also moved into new areas of instructional non-fiction — jewelry-making, particularly metalwork. I'm making some of my own metal jewelry now, among them a Moby Dick pendant (in keeping with my lit interests). If I ever figure out how to post a photo, I'll post it here.

So: Onward!

1. The first-read book of my year is The Changes Trilogy, somewhat dated but very engaging middle-grade scifi/ fantasy. The author, Peter Dickinson, wrote them (or at least published them) in a different order from their presentation in this 2015 re-release, in 1969 through 1970. They were re-released in 1986. Dickinson, who wrote for both kids and adults, died Dec. 16 of 2015.

Here's a link to his obituary in the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/17/peter-dickinson . He was married to writer Robin McKinley.

Wishing you a good reading year.

I looked up The Changes, interesting premise, certainly for the time it was written.

Welcome back! Glad you jumped into the challenge again this year!

Thank you!

You, too! What are you reading now?

#2 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It was just as good as it was the other three times I read it, when I saw the play, and each of the film versions I saw and enjoyed!
#3 Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction by Francis J. Bremer. It was good, and at 136 pp, quite clear; I'd not before understood how much government and religion in the US were influenced by the development of puritanism in Britain. I need now to find a book on Congregationalism to fill in the picture.

>7 NatalieSW: The "short introduction" series seems to be pretty good for what it is. I read that one a couple of years ago and enjoyed it.

#4 The Diabolical Miss Hyde and
#5 The Devious Dr. Jekyll by Viola Carr
Steampunky, swashbuckling, and fun!
#6 Providence Rider also swashbuckling, but slightly skewed American history. Also fun!
#7 Collected issues for March 1833 to September 1833 of the Baltimore Nile's Weekly Register, vol. 44. Fascinating.

#8 Flight by Sherman Alexie Cried at points along the way. What a book.

At this point, a little reverie is in order about the different kinds of books I read. I've looked at some other LT members' threads here and lots have a real structure to their reading. I read in different kinds of books for different purposes and, one way or another, I'm reading all the time. I don't have a structure that guides or analyses my reading into one sensible schema. Well, aside from reading nothing that does not afford me some pleasure.

My "categories" are somewhat ambiguously but pretty much truthfully the following:

• relaxation/fun (science fiction, fantasy, mysteries);


• mental stimulation (sounds weird)/ fun (can be in any genre, but is mostly fiction on a range of "somewhat literary" to "very literary");


• literary fiction that has been recognized as exceptional in quality and which I really ought to read it for the betterment of my self and/or my writing


• some subject I have a passing interest in (Greek mythology of the time before the gods of Olympus, historical individuals);


• research for Opium Wars book that I am working on (which covers a lot of different materials—all fascinating, and that lead to yet other


• materials—and sub-subjects. This book's a YA, so it can go into a lot greater depth than The Mystery of the Ancient Poem below);


• research for the Middle Grade, Qing mystery that I've completed, but, you know, you can always revise until it's actually in print;


• some subject that I have a serious interest in (such as American history of the Dust Bowl era, Japanese art, word games, graphic novels, Irish folk music, jazz, some aspects of Buddhism);


• techniques and methods for doing something I have a non-reading interest in (currently, that's metalworking; in the past it's been gardening, beading, papermaking...)

I have other "metacategories," such as "books on Audible that look like they might be especially good to work out to," but they also fall under the categories above.

I'm having to put all these down at once; between other work and traveling for work and being sick as a dog for a week with a vile bug one of my daughters bestowed upon us during a visit, I haven't kept up with posting. I'll add Kindle/Nook/etc books later. So here are the real, physical books I've been reading:

8. Silver Boxes Eric Delieb
9. Deaf Sentence David Lodge
10. Resin Jewelry Kathie Murphy
11. Sentences and Rain Elaine Equi
12. The Art of Jewelry: Plastic & Resin Debra Adelson
13. Chain and Bead Jewelry: Creative Connections Scott David Plumlee
14. Hands and Hearts: A History of Courtship in America Ellen K. Rothman
15. The Quakers: A Very Short Introduction Pink Dandelion

I'm really enjoying reading for hobby aka "most recently acquired obsession" (jewelry-making) and stuff for my Opium Wars book. I'm trying to read more poetry (no. 11), because it's such a hard thing to make work—but when it does, it's incredible.

Yes, I agree. I'm not liking "The Quakers" one quite as much. I'm now 1 for 2; have you read more of them?

>13 NatalieSW: Sorry you aren't enjoying the Quaker one. I haven't tried that one.

Okay, got behind on posting. Not on reading, so here's where I try to catch up on the former. Don't have the dates I read them, though.
16. The System of Dante's Hell by Amiri Baraka. This was an early reviewers book from Akashic Press, who puts out some really interesting titles. I've reviewed it. Prose-poetry of the 60s, still relevant, unfortunately. I'll be rereading it.

17. A Test of Wills by Charles Todd. Didn't love it. It was an okay mystery. Liked his familiarity with and references to WWI more than the mystery.

18. Silver Masters of Mexico by Morril; really interesting history of craft, craftsmen, cool photos.

19. Jewelry Design by Elizabeth Olver. Very good, especially for someone still newish to jewelry design. Was lucky enough to find a copy on ebay for $100 less than every other copy available.

20. The Complete Jewelry Making Course by Jinks McGrath. Very good.

21. The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon. Middle grade, lots of fun, with lively, simple illustrations.

22. Lumberjanes 2: Friendship to the Max by Noelle Stevenson, is a great graphic novel with a cast of intrepid girl campers who encounter strange and scary events and overcome them. :-)

23. Injection by Warren Ellis. Woohoo! Very good graphic novel. Magic is science, not yet understood. Isn't it?

24. Descender by Jeff Lemire; postapocalyptic graphic novel. Science fiction, very good.

25. Saga vol 5, by Brian K. Vaughan, continues to be good.

26. Golly! by Phil Hester, enjoyable graphic novel, add "Preacher" to TV's "Carnivale" and lower the level of sophistication.

27. Jewelry Maker's Field Guide by Helen I. Driggs. Good. These various books are definitely worth reading; everyone explains, shows things differently, and it helps me to understand the processes and desired outcomes with greater depth.

28. Images of America: Newport by Rob Lewis. Interesting, especially if you're into Newport's boat-racing history. I'm not, but the book had some earlier historical stuff I found useful.

29. The Canton Register, vol. 10, collected issues of the English-language newspaper put out by Britons in Canton in 1835, not long after the British East India Company's monopoly on the China tea trade was dissolved in favor of "free trade." Absolutely fascinating. Amazingly, found online at google play.

30. Indian Jewelry Making vol 1, Oscar T. Branson. Good.

31. Indian Silver-Smithing is also very good.

32. The Storied Life of AJ Fikry was great. I'd been saving it up — having read earlier books by Zevin, I was 99% percent sure I'd like this one — and it was worth it.

33. Arcadia by Iain Pears. Enjoyed this fantasy/scifi multiple-timeline/-world story very much. I'll go back and try "Instance of the Fingerpost" again; I couldn't get into it the first time I tried it.

34. Noonday by Pat Barker. I loved the Regeneration Trilogy. This one takes place in 1940, mostly London; I love her writing.

I've gotten hideously far behind in posting my reading. Here it goes:

35. The Canton Register, Volume 8
36. Chinese Jewelry - A Picture Book - The Metropolitan Museum of Art
37. Sea of Poppies Ibis Trilogy, #1, by Ghosh, Amitav
38. Ships and Shipmasters of Old Providence
39. The Regional Office Is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales
40. Flood of Fire Ibis Trilogy, #1, by Amitav Ghosh
41. The Whites by Richard Price
42. All the Birds in the Sky Charlie Jane Anders
43. Every Seven Years by Denise Mina (everything she writes is fantastic)
44. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo was wonderful.
45. Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, orig Dee Gong An, by Robert Van Gulik, was a second- (maybe a third-?) read for me and I still love it.
46. A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts by Ying Chang Compestine, was "deliciously frightening," as billed!
47. The Life and Recollections of John Howland: Late President of the Rhode Island Historical Society
48. The Disapparation of James by Anne Ursu was unusual and thought-provoking.
49. London Under by Peter Ackroyd: the first half was fascinating, the second, not so much.
50. A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina

I had some comments on the above the first time I wrote it up. After I lost the list, I decided I'd just get everything up there and edit it later if I get the chance. Here are the rest of them, out of order of reading, since I tried to import from GoodReads and only about 2/3 made it over:

51. Chinese Clothing, An Illustrated Guide by Valery Garrett, was excellent.
52. Seveneves by Neal Stephenson was impossible to put down till I finished it. I've liked everything I've read by Stephenson.
53. The Seascape Tattoo by Larry Niven, was okay; I loved his Dream Park.
54. The Everything Box, Richard Kadrey, was another rather Holt-like book, enjoyed it.
55. Sandman Slim #1, by Kadrey again, was pretty good.
56. Butcher Bird, the third I read by Kadrey, was somewhat too reminiscent (perhaps unconsciously) of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, and not as good.
57. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova, good fantasy/horror
58. House of Shattered Wings, good fantasy, science-y fiction
59. The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew. Fantastic, beautiful book.
60. The Boy Who Spoke to Stars by Ben Miles, was pretty good.

I take it back. Hardly any of the books I'd added to GoodReads made it over here to LT. I'm sure that's my fault, not LT's. It's a plot.
Here are more:

61. A Midwife's Tale: The LIfe of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812, by Pullitze-prize winning writer Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, was wonderful.
62. A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale, another excellent piece of historical fiction.
63. It was the war of the trenches Tardi— incredibly powerful and disturbing graphic novel —and necessary
64. Goddamn this War, also by Tardi, a history of WWI, very good, not as disturbing as the previous, but very worth reading.

Well, I think that's it for the moment. I'll try to keep up better in future.

65. Devil in the Dollhouse by Richard Kadrey was okay; not pushing me to read more, however.
66. Black Magick vol. 1, by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Nicola Scott, was good and I'm looking forward to the next volume of this graphic novel in trade format. The story was enjoyable and the art very nice.
67. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, a YA by the author of the marvelous "A Northern Light," is by and large fantastic. I "read" this via Audible, and the readers were perfect.

Post-family-turmoil-two-weeks posting:
68. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. Great middle-grade book that finally shows what some regular people were doing in 1968, during the thick of the fight for civil rights, and how they were affected.
69. Old Heart by Peter Ferry, very, very good novel of an old man, freed by circumstance and good planning, who escapes his well-meaning offspring (and the not-so-well-meaning one) to discover what remains of his past and the love of his life, lost in the aftermath of WWII.
70. Hero by Perry Moore. Interesting, different version of lives, training of superheroes and of one troubled young man in particular.
71. I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly. Incredibly moving graphic novel about a tough girl surviving a terrible time in her life.
72. Hard Magic by Larry Correia. Very enjoyable scifi/ fantasy/ magic series beginner with interesting characters, premise, plot.

I didn't realize it had been THIS long since I last posted. I might miss a few books I read in September. As it's the night before Thanksgiving and I'm up baking etc. for tomorrow, I'll catch up (as far as I can!) now. I am thankful for being able to read and enjoy a good book!

73. King Dork by Frank Portman, fun MG.
74. Spellbound, enjoyable sci fi in alternate universe, book 2: follows Hard Magic
75. Warbound, Book 3 in Grimnoir Chronicles, follows Spellbound; not quite as good, but still fun and ends the trilogy.
76. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu. Very good science fiction.
77. City of Savages by Lee Kelly, was very good. Told alternately by two sisters with very different personalities who are nonetheless close though they have their differences.
78. Side-kicked, a good YA by John David Anderson, was super-hero young adult. Pretty good. I'll read more by this author.
79. The Letter Writer, a historical mystery by Dan Fesperman, was very good; interesting set-up, setting, characters.
80. Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu is a great graphic novel: interesting, different, very nice art. Looking forward to vol. II.

And continuing with the books I read over the last couple of months but didn't get down in LT:

81. Chains, Laurie Halse Anderson, upper middle-grade, is an effective, first-person, present-tense account of an African-American girl's attempts to attain the freedom she was promised and cheated of. I don't want want to spoil anything, so I'll just say the other arcs are intriguing, too.
82. The Night Bell by Inger Ash Wolfe is a cool Canadian mystery in two timelines.

Congrats for blowing past 75!

I really failed on the posting front.

83. Puss in Boots Perrault, in Chinese, Xiao. I actually listened to this on Audible. The voices were adorable and the story translated wonderfully into Chinese.

84. A Double-Barreled Detective Story, Mark Twain. I love Mark Twain, and I'm making a promise to myself to read everything of his I've not yet read. (Connecticut Yankee is one of my favorite books ever.) This one wasn't his absolute best, but medium Twain is excellent so many others.

85. Cerulean Star, by Sharon Cramer, a not very convincing third-person-distant-narrator MG encounter between abandoned earth children and lost-in-space alien children.

86. Crosstalk by Connie Willis. I've enjoyed everything I've ever read by Connie Willis. She's a wonderful writer, sometimes fun, sometimes serious. She always does her research and it shows. Crosstalk was really enjoyable, though not quite as marvelous as, say, Doomsday Book or To Say Nothing of the Dog.

87. Dragons of Silk by Laurence Yep is a really interesting story for middle graders about several generations of girls from a Chinese agricultural silk-working family. It shows their families' struggles to make a good life, first in China, just before the modern period, then in America at different times and places up to the present day.

88. Last Call by Tim Powers was fantastic contemporary fantasy, on a supernatural/horror theme of playing cards, tarot and poker, with mind control, "eating" souls (or psyches?). I listened to this one over two or three days, totally engrossed. Went out and bought the next two books immediately upon finishing.

89. Mystery Girl, vol. 1, by Paul Tobin, is a graphic novel about a young woman answers questions from a stall on the street for a living. For what a person can pay, she will answer their question about something they need or want to know—as long as they ask no questions about her. Her answers are always correct; the instant a question is asked, she knows its answer. The only question she can't answer is how she came to be this way. Very enjoyable story and art.

90. Cinderella, Chinese edition was fun. More Perrault than Disney, thankfully.

91. Expiration Date by Tim Powers, is the second book in the Faultline Trilogy that begins with Last Call. This was almost as good as the first one, with new characters and new crises, in the same "world" as the first.

92. Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier is an okay mystery that takes place in a town in the American Northwest that contains "Wonderland," a big theme park with rides and the like that nearly everyone in the town worked at as a kid and whose kids work there now. Every now and then, an 18-year-old disappears. Who dunnit? I'm still trying to figure out if it's YA or if it's adult.

93. Where All Light Tends to Go by David Joy, who lives in North Carolina, is about an 18-year-old North Carolinian boy with a violent dysfunctional family and a dearth of hope. The events may be based on reality, but the character of the protagonist, especially, is unconvincing. Some very nice turns of phrase and use of light images, as in the title.

94. Findus Plants Meatballs by Sven Nordqvist is really cute with hilarious illustrations.This all compensates for the slightly abrupt ending that I think occurs sometimes with authors who are primarily illustrators!

95. Earthquake Weather is the third in Tim Powers's "Fault Lines" trilogy. I was rather disappointed in this one, finding it farfetched (no pun intended) and inconsistent. Powers seems to be trying to bring all the themes and motifs of the first two books together in this one, as well as the main characters, and to connect them to a further set of characters and themes to conclude with a big finale. Unfortunately, for me this book tried to give equal time to what is here a whole cast, with the result of rendering the voices all but indistinguishable. Further, the new theme of wine (spirits?) just didn't grab me as cards had in the first book. Still a pretty good read, and I'll be reading more of Powers' work.

96. New Superman, graphic novel still in individual issues (I'm up to #5 now, is GREAT. It's written by Gene Luen Yang, who wrote "American-Born Chinese" and "Boxers and Saints," and just recently won a MacArthur "genius grant." He's a really good writer who gets both Chinese and American cultures, as well as Chinese American culture. This comic is a pleasure.

Thank you! A lot was going on and I didn't even realize it! I think I may have forgotten a couple or three books that I read around the end of September, which means I won't post them AND I'll probably buy them again unintentionally...

97. The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu. Absolutely amazing and incredibly effective contemporary science fiction and fantasy. Up there with, maybe past, Phillip K. Dick. Read this!

98. 1812: the War that Forged a Nation is a fascinating history of the war the U.S. waged against Canada and it British overlords.

You are nearing 100!

I should get there pretty soon—I'm reading two books and listening to another right now!

99. The Trespasser by Tana French. Just finished this very good gritty Irish mystery that kept me up the night before last till 3:30 a.m.

100. Strange Attractors, a 5-issue graphic novel by Charles Soule and others, does a pretty good rendering of a cool idea: what can, and must, one physicist do to save New York City from spiraling into chaos and destruction every 20 or so years?

101. Down and Out in Purgatory, by Tim Powers, was disappointing next to Faultline Trilogy, especially the first volume. I'll have to get recs for what to read of his, seeing as he's inconsistent.

102. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, graphic novel Saga, volume six is continuing to be enjoyable. I love Hazel.
103. Walking Through Walls by Karen Cioffi, based, the description says, on a Chinese folk story. It's okay. I'd like to read the original!

104. King Rat, James Clavell. I might have to reread Taipan and Shogun; this was moving, exciting, and most of all, disturbing—a really good read.

105. Making Metal Beads by Pauline Warg is extremely good, with lots of helpful photos, charts, and the like.
106. Accidental Creatures was a science fiction book that could have been a lot more successful than it was.
107. Freedom of the Mask -- Robert McCammon's most recent action-adventure-swashbuckler featuring early American problem-solver (i.e. detective) Matthew Corbett. Fun, as always, but not as well-constructed or exciting as the earlier ones. There seemed to be a trend toward the grisly as well, which I don't recall in earlier volumes.
108. Giant George: Life with the World's Biggest Dog by Dave Nasser. Very cute. Though the writing wasn't great, the author's love for his dog (and also his wife!) comes through and makes this a very enjoyable memoir. The dog was ENORMOUS. I had to check out his website and see all the adorable pics. :-)

109. Manifest Destiny vol. 3 Chiroptera & Carniformaves, the most recent trade paperback volume of Chris Dingess' and Matthew Roberts' alt-universe, alt-history account of the explorations of Lewis and Clark. Very good and getting better.

Wouldn't it be nice if 2017 was a year of peace and goodwill.
A year where people set aside their religious and racial differences.
A year where intolerance is given short shrift.
A year where hatred is replaced by, at the very least, respect.
A year where those in need are not looked upon as a burden but as a blessing.
A year where the commonality of man and woman rises up against those who would seek to subvert and divide.
A year without bombs, or shootings, or beheadings, or rape, or abuse, or spite.

2017.

Festive Greetings and a few wishes from Malaysia!

Yes, it would indeed.

109. I read a number of other books before the end of the year; if I can reconstruct which books they were I'll post them. I did reread Felix J. Palma's The Map of Time to have it freshly in mind when I started The Map of the Sky.