Sally's reading constantly in 2021--Q 4

2021 Fourth Quarter Books

Fourth Quarter Totals=

SF&F -
Children’s -
YA -0
Non-fiction -
General Fiction -
Classics -
Paranormal -
Romances -
Mysteries -
Horror -
Historical Fiction -
Sports -

October

159. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
160. How to Read Poetry Like a Professor by Thomas Foster
161. Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
162. A Long High Whistle by David Biespiel
163. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
164. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
165. A Letter of Mary by Laurie R King
166. Raven Cursed by Faith Hunter
167. Miss Delectable by Grace Burrows
168. Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire
169. A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn
170. Fairy Tales of the Russians and Other Slavs by Ace G. Pilkington
171. The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
172. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn
173. Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins
174. The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G. K. Chesterton
175. A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare
176. The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton
177. Hand of Mars by Glynn Stewart
178. Finder by Emma Bull

November

179. The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter by Sharon McCrumb
180. Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck
181. Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose
182. A Test of Wills by Charles Todd
183. Too Wicked to Wed by Cara Elliott
184. The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill
185. Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn
186. Never Fall for Your Back-Up Guy by Kate O'Keeffe
187. Apple Pie and Arsenic by C. A. Phipps
188. Text Me on Tuesday; All is Fair in Love and Texting by Whitney Dineen and Melanie Summers
189. The Text God; Text and You Shall Receive by by Whitney Dineen and Melanie Summers
190. Text Wars; May the Text Be With You by by Whitney Dineen and Melanie Summers
191. Text in Show; It's a Dog Text Dog World by by Whitney Dineen and Melanie Summers
192. Mistle Text; Twas the Text Before Christmas by by Whitney Dineen and Melanie Summers
193. Miss Timmins' School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy
194. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
195. Dating Mr. Darcy by Kate O'Keeffe
196. The Witches of Cambridge by Menna Van Praag
197. Marrying Mr. Darcy by Kate O'Keeffe
198. The Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex by Owen Chase
199. Hammered by Kevin Hearne
200. The Lady's Protector by Emma Prince

December

201. Mariner's Compass by Earlene Fowler
202. Chaos Choreography by Seanan McGuire
203. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
204. The Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
205. The Apothecary by Mary Kingswood
206. Loathe Thy Neighbor by Teagan Hunter
207. Born Into the Children of God by Natacha Tourmey
208. In Sherlock's Shadow by Liz Hedgecock
209. The Harlow Hoyden by Lynn Messina
210. The New Wife by Sue Watson
211. Death's Rival by Faith Hunter
212. Out of Time by Monique Martin
213. Beyond the Veil of Stars by Robert Reed
214. Magic for Nothing by Seanan McGuire
215. Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker
216. The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stroll
217. The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths
218. Making Merry by Erica Ridley
219. The Ghost and the Graveyard by Genevieve Jack
220. Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews
221. The Stopover by T. L. Swan
222. White Hot by Ilona Andrews
223. Wildfire by Ilona Andrews

159. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Nix writes easily-read works, usually fantasy, and he is famous for children's and young adults' works, as well as some for adults.
This one was charming, if a little derivative.

It seems that left-handed, as well as right-handed booksellers of a certain bloodline may work at either one of two related bookshops in London. There are also field agents. The left-handed tend to action, including violence, and they work with the intersection of the paranormal and the normal. The cover maintains, "Licensed to kill...and to sell books.", and that's the crux.

Susan Arkshaw goes to London just after her eighteenth birthday to find living quarters and a job in advance of starting at a prestigious art college there. She has barely arrived with she falls afoul of dark paranormal occurrences, is saved by an extremely handsome left-handed bookseller, and ends up that night in a police interview room. Thank goodness there is a police squad that knows about, and works with, the booksellers with whom we are concerned, and that saves her. She is escorted to a police/bookseller safe house, with an enigmatic landlady who pulls out a firearm from her apron pocket in a later scene. This lady has a red button to push for emergency help from the booksellers (and police), and she pushes it in this same scene.

Susan is informed by certain upper echelons of the bookshops that there is something mysterious about her father. She knows her mother is odd, since she is extremely vague and dreamy, and her mom maintains that didn't drop much acid in the times she ran with the big bands--like the Rolling Stones. She won't tell Susan about her father, or rather Mom tends to lose her train of thought when asked, and never manages to answer the question in a concrete way.

Susan's adventures with the booksellers, their most important authorities, and the beasties and genius loci that she encounters with the booksellers, lead her on an adventure to find the Copper Cauldron (yes, the one that revivifies the dead) and her father. We get some important answers, discover why Susan's dad left her mother, why her mother is so unmoored, and also that booksellers can change their physical gender, and tend to be a little, umm, generous with their favors. She manages to keep her own opinions in their primary place, maintain her equilibrium in the course of all this adventure, and go home to rest up a little before college starts.

I enjoyed this, and would gladly read a follow-up book. It is no wonder it was a popular book and well-spoken of in its reviews and fantasy blogs and publications.

160. How to Read Poetry Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster

For my purposes, this slim book was much the better than the much larger book by Hirsch that I read earlier. I'm not sure what I want from the books, I just wanted a little more framework when I approach poetry. It's odd that I write poetry, as, I suspect, many of us do, but I never read it. I purposely avoid contemporary poetry in magazines. It often seems quite self-conscious to me.

I was afraid this would be all about symbology and forms of poetry, but thankfully, it was not. It was discursive, with chapters about those things, but well-stocked with good poems to appreciate. I did, too. He can pick 'em.

161. Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

I have been so enjoying this series, The Rivers of London about the intersection of magic and policing in a slightly future London. Or maybe it was a slightly alternative London. Yes, that, I think. In this series, for instance, the wizards go to Germany during WWII to take custody of the occult papers and devices the Nazis kept. Hitler, it was, I believe, who was so fascinated with the occult. The deep Nazi Occultism is, I believe, a myth, or folklore, or something.

I don't understand the relationship between Beverly Brook (goddess of a medium-sized river of London) and Peter Grant, Nightingale's wizardly apprentice, and I certainly don't understand the new relationship between Peter and Lesley, his erstwhile partner, but I enjoy reading about their doings. In this case, Peter goes out of London to check out a kidnapping of two girls--in case there might be paranormal issues involved. Beverly meet him there later, for sex and possibly for amusement (Does she like him? I can't tell). When the children have been found and Peter has bargained himself to the Queen of the Fae for the children and colleagues he has collected, Beverly drives a construction truck into Fairyland to take him back. After that they engage in supernaturally-active carnal amusements to seed a new goddess for a poor benighted river without one, and do other things to pass the time in a kind of mini-vacation. Lesley has started calling him again. What can she possibly think to mean by it? I can't wait to know more.

162. A Long High Whistle by David Biespiel

This writer is a published poet who wrote, for ten years, a poetry column for the Sunday edition of a large newspaper in the Northwest. It was highly regarded, and he still is. This book is a compilation, with some revisions, of some of those columns, and is a book about poetry, reading poetry, and writing poetry.

I have been a little abashed over my lack of interest in reading poetry, although I write it. I thought to better equip myself, and hence these several books about poetry. I liked this one, and found it more useful than Mr. Hirsch's book that I read a few books ago, but I got saturated at about half of the book, and I think I will stop here. I tried to read on, but got the cloying feeling as if I had eaten too many sweets. A little like Museum Fatigue, as I'm sure you know what I mean.

163. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

I know I read this some months ago, but I tried to read the next one in the Harry Dresden series, and had just forgotten too much detail. I read the first quarter of this one, and the last half again, in preparation. It was about werewolves, and a complex plot to get Harry to kill with magic and so be killed by the White Council of Magic. That's a firm law, I understand.

Seeing Harry's fictional relationships develop is good, and I'm a sucker for characters like Michael, a Knight of the Cross, who is chiefly armed with his true righteousness--and a magically active sword with, just possibly, a nail from Jesus' torment embedded in the hilt. Besides, Michael loves his wife, and that's the most endearing quality in a man. I also love a guy who stands up for the little guy of either sex and protects him or her--that's Harry. I didn't really like the werewolf monster that much, or the plot around him, but it was quite tolerable, given the rest. Worth the re-read, anyway.

164. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

Harry doesn't know why, but for some reason, the ghosts around Chicago town are going nuts; they are violent, there are tons of them, and they are keeping Harry and his friend Michael, a truly righteous man, busy day and night. The two of them are busy protecting others from the nasty spooks and laying them to rest--some of the time all they can manage is to push them back to the other side of the Veil, that which protects the living world from the world of the Dead.

The burden of this plot is how Harry is partly responsible for the situation, how he becomes severely indebted to his aunt, a heavyweight in the spiritual world, how he and Michael save the world temporarily, and possible proof that God is on board with a lot of this stuff. Too, Michael saves his wife, with Harry's help, and they have a new baby, who hovers on the brink of death after his untimely birth. Michael thinks of Abraham and Isaac, but he is determined to save his son as well.

I enjoyed this more than the two prior ones in the Harry Dresden saga. Some of you told me that would happen. I am looking forward to the next.

The Nix title has piqued my interest; I don't read a lot of fantasy, but I may give this one a try.

I think Foster is very practical; I haven't read this one, but I hope you found it helpful.

165. A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King

An archaeologist friend of Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes' wife, comes to visit the couple at their cottage in Sussex. She gives to Mary a possibly ancient letter from a person by Mariam, an apostle of Jesus, and the letter is addressed to her sister at Magdala.

The Holmes couple go up to London, only to discover that the Archaeologist died in a hit and run accident that very day. When looking at the scene they conclude that the "accident" was quite intentional, and that there is still physical evidence at the scene.

This was an adventure with great suspense, and the by-play between Mr. and Mrs Holmes, or Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell, as they use. I enjoyed this very much. It was significantly knotty without being silly, and the characters are so very winning. As I have said before, there is nothing more appealing than a man who loves his wife.

I wouldn't start with this novel to experience this series, but then again, it is as much characteristic of these as the earlier novels. It is merely a shame to miss their growth as a couple in the first and second novels in the series.

166. Raven Cursed by Faith Hunter This is the fourth in this series.

Jane Yellowrock, in her function as security expert for the Master of the City of New Orleans, is setting up and overseeing security for a meeting between him, Leo Pellissier, and the gentleman vampire who would like to be Master of the City of Asheville, North Carolina, by name Lincoln Shaddock. Since by feudal rules, outlined in the Vampira Carta, this is in Leo's territory, it is his to decide, and he has been turning down Lincoln Shaddock for sixty years. Jane comes to town a day early to check on the security arrangements she has managed at a distance before.

No one expects the entry of werewolves with a different agenda, and quite willing to wreak havoc and do violence. Add in Jane's best friend Molly's sister, who is spelling her sisters, against all Witch rules, the African black panther were who is spending the month after his consort's death in an attempt to obliterate time with alcohol, Jane's former lover who is trying to shift for the first time, the discovery that Angie's baby brother Evan also has crazy-strong magic, and the fact that Evangelina, Molly's sister is toying with vampires and demons. That brings you a story of more than moderate complexity, but which remains easy to understand somehow. I love this series.

I had another flare. I can read, but not comment on what I am reading. That's tedious.

167. Miss Delectable by Grace Burrowes

168. Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire

169. A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

170. Fairy Tales of the Russians and Other Slavs by Ace C. Pilkington

171. The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

172. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

173. Climbing Mount Improbably by Richard Dawkins

174. The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G. K. Chesterton

175. A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare

176. The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton

>11 sallypursell: hope you feel better soon.

I’m sorry you are having health issues, Sally. I hope you get relief soon.

Does anyone remember my honorary grandson Andrew? Yesterday I presided at a Naming Ceremony for him, the equivalent of a Baptism, but for non-Christians. His parents are Pagans, and they are serious about it. It took doing some research to write a ceremony that would reflect their beliefs and feel as meaningful to them as a Christening does to mainstream Christians.

All week I had been working on it, and I made a big push on Thursday and Friday, thinking and word processing, then re-arranging the document so I could print it as a booklet for reading as I ran the ceremony.

First, the Dad and I smudged the house and asked any spirits about if they would approve of our actions and bring benevolent attention to our working. Then the Dad took some dried flowers from their wedding, and made a Circle, leaving it open until we were ready to start. Dad closed the circle with the crumbled flowers, while I asked for the blessings of the people and any spirits present. I then blessed the Circle from each cardinal direction, N, E, S, W, asking for Peace. I had the assembled friends and family ask for Peace. Then I questioned the parents about their intentions, and then the Guardians (god-parents) about theirs. Afterwards we took the baby to each cardinal direction and asked for the spirits and people to support him in the ways they could, highlighting the associated seasons and topics of each. Following this I blessed the baby with love and the gifts of each season. Finally, I asked the parents what name they had chosen and why, and then in the capacity as the medium of the spiritual forces, I welcomed him to our world by name, and gave thanks for the gift of the baby. I asked everyone to welcome him. Finally, I thanked the spirits, and dismissed them (not wishing a haunting, or mischief the like of which I coped in childhood), and declared the rite finished, drawing attention to the food and drink the parents provided as the final act. Dad opened the Circle.

I was surprised at the rapt attention I got from the "audience", and their enthusiastic responses when I asked for them. Several people told me that it was a beautiful service. Mom, Dad and an interested uncle all teared up as I invoked the first blessings. The baby didn't flinch when I rubbed dirt on his heel, when I caressed him with a feather, when I circled lighted incense around him, bathing him in the smoke, and finally when I dripped water on his forehead. He never cried. He also happily wore a crown made from ivy growing in the yard, and never tried to take it off until we were finished. He even took a nap in it while we were getting everything ready. He looked awesome in it. It was as if he was a baby Green Man.

Anyway, I couldn't read at all seriously during this past week, but I need to read, for my spiritual comfort, and I read my way through a whole series of light romantic comedies.

I want to make spots for other reviews, first, but then I will get to those, #188 and so on.

177. Hand of Mars by Glenn Stewart

178. Finder by Emma Bull

179. The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter by Sharon McCrumb

180. Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck

181. Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose

182. A Test of Wills by Charles Todd

183. Too Wicked to Wed by Cara Elliott

This was the one that I thought 175. A Night to Surrender would be. It was less serious, a Regency novel showcasing a woman who wants to follow her own life and not bow to the expectations of the ton.

She spends some time with a known rake, Connor, the Earl of Killingworth, as she strives to experience some adventure in her life. This is after her brother escorts her, clad as a young gentleman, to a brothel and gambling club owned by the rake, since her curiosity means she wants to see what one is like. She manages to win a half interest in the club as the spoils of a gambling session. This wasn't supposed to be possible, and is only that because it is from a young man in his cups. He has it temporarily, because the Rake trusts him with the vowel for the short time until it can be redeemed. It seems rather unlikely, but I can suspend my disbelief for that long.

Of course, Alexa, our heroine, falls for the rake. More unlikely, he returns her love. Together they recover their balance in this situation, and thus find that they work well as a team. Love conquers all, and the Rake has a title, so he has automatic forgiveness by his peers and other members of the upper crust. This was fun enough to finish, but I can't say it is of high quality. It was refreshing, though, in that the author seemed to know enough about the mores and habits of the Regency not to make any mis-steps. I've read far too many Regency romances with insufficient understanding of that milieu, in which, for instance chaperonage of young women is only important when it is convenient for the story, and the rest of the time it is honoured only in the breach.

184. The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill

185. Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn

186. Never Fall for Your Back-Up Guy by Kate O'Keeffe

187. Apple Pie and Arsenic by C. A. Phipps

188. Text Me on Tuesday; All is Fair in Love and Texting by Whitney Dineen and Melanie Summers
189. The Text God; Text and You Shall Receive
190. Text Wars; May the Text Be With You
191. Text in Show; It's a Dog Text Dog World
192. Mistle Text; Twas the Text Before Christmas

There wasn't much that was serious in these books. The Series name is Accidentally in Love, but I think unless one has an arranged marriage that "accidentally" is how everyone arranges the married for life kind of connection. After all, I met my husband "accidentally" as a mutual friend introduced him, and I had that instant "This is the One." feeling that I didn't believe in until that moment. I didn't even know he was coming. These were perfect to read for the week I was working so strenuously on the Naming Ceremony. These only needed a little attention, and they were pleasant, with a Happily Ever After outcome in each one. I can't really say that there was anything special about them. I enjoyed the one about dogs the least, because I'm just not a dog person. There was some good humour in all of them. The authors fashion the pet shop as a sort of cult about dogs, going rather too far. All the workers are called Penelope, the floor of the shop is bouncy, and the clerks have to come see the house before a dog comes home to be sure that it is oriented around the dog, psychologically and physically, enough for salubriousness. It's in Mayfair, of course.

Hi Sally - I'm glad to see you posting. And you certainly have been reading!

193. Miss Timmin's School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy

194. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

195. Dating Mr. Darcy by Kate O'Keeffe

196. The Witches of Cambridge by Meena Van Praag

197. Marrying Mr. Darcy by Kate O'Keeffe

198. The Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex by Owen Chase

199. Hammered by Kevin Hearne

200. The Lady's Protector by Emma Prince

I would think I would like romances in the Highlands or in Ireland, since I feel close to those parts of my heritage, but I have read very few that were worth the time. This one wasn't. I didn't read the last tenth or so. It was just so stereotyped!

201. Mariner's Compass by Earlene Fowler

I really do like this mystery series. The interpersonal relationships are interesting, the setting, although not one I'm fond of, is still worth paying attention to, and the mysteries are well worked out. The romance in the protagonist's second marriage is tempestuous but believably loving.

202. Chaos Choreography by Seanan McGuire

This may be her light stuff, but McGuire still writes and plots well, and these are really funny. The Aeslin mice are the funniest constructs I've seen in many a book. So worth the time, even if it isn't her best stuff.

203. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

Some people have an unhealthy love of physical books, although that isn't any of us. (I might be close, but I don't steal to feed my addiction, and I don't have warehouses full of books. I just want my own library so that anything I want to read in the middle of the night is right there on the shelf.)

This book concentrates on a man who simply does not understand that he is not entitled to all the books he wants, and who wants all the good ones, and all the beautiful ones, and all the rare ones. He spends a lot of time in prison due to his many thefts. Each time he is barely out of durance vile, he commits another notable theft, and goes back to jail or prison. He truly seems to not be normal, to not really understand the moral issue, and to really believe that simply wanting and appreciating good books means that they should be his. He has a stash somewhere that we never find out about. If experience serves, other somewhat similar people have storage lockers or whole buildings chock full of books--more than they could ever read in a lifetime.

A fascinating book full of expected and unexpected delights.

204. The Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

Life has changed for Harry Dresden, the only Wizard in Chicago's yellow pages. His friends and his girlfriend have gone, or have died, or have changed. He remains beholden to some in the fairy courts, notably his cruel godmother. The White Council have come to town to try Harry for his actions in recent endeavors, and to try to negotiate an agreement with Fairyland which will enable passage for them in their conflicts with other powers. Harry does not endear himself to them with his scruffy grooming and insistence that he has handled himself as he had to in his problems with the NeverNever and the Dreamlands. Even his mentors from his past have some problems with him, and can only protect him a certain amount.

In the meantime he is offered a bargain with a Faery representative, who represents possible freedom from his dire obligation to his godmother. Of course, he knows better than most how dangerous it is to make bargains with the Fae, but it seems the better choice. The loopholes and drawbacks become more and more troublesome and dangerous as he tries to manage his life and his duties. This is a turning point for Harry to a more mature practice, but he remains a toy and a tool for the creatures he must manage. I miss his lady-love; maybe she will be back.

205. The Apothecary by Mary Kingswood

206. Loathe Thy Neighbor by Teagan Hungter

207. Born Into the Children of God by Natacha Tourmey

This is one of those memoirs written by a young woman who was raised in a cult. I was very curious, but after reading it, I felt ashamed. I felt that my interest was almost a prurient one--I wanted to know how children were incorporated into the sex lives of the family, how they were raised to think about it, and what results there were in the children who were raised that way. I felt compassion, of course, for all the poor confused people who no doubt felt they were practicing a kind of lifestyle that would bring them closer to god, but just as much was my sheer curiosity. I had no plans to help, or to get involved in rehabilitation, if that was needed. I just wanted to picture the whole thing.

Needless to say, there was nothing new; these poor people were flailing in the dark, and some were simply pederasts. In families the children were seldom any priority; they seemed a last interest of the adults. Many families were too large for parents to deal with effectively. Many older girl-children were forced to take care of younger siblings and do housework all day with their mothers. School was not a priority, either, and those people who left the cult found they were woefully uneducated and ignorant about the basics of modern life.

The book was not particularly well written, although it was certainly adequate, and not painful to read.

208. In Sherlock's Shadow by Liz Hedgecock

209. The Harlow Hoyden by Lynn Messina

210. The New Wife by Sue Watson

A thriller, with several surprising twists, but not exceptionally well done, and certainly not markedly well-written. The police don't come off very well; they seem to be floundering, and one senior police officer turns out not to be the superior fellow he seems to be. The wives aren't very impressive. One is a "junior doctor", by which is meant a resident, I guess. Doctors and detectives and professors don't seem intelligent or thoughtful, and the parents of these same people don't seem smart enough to engender their clever offspring. Some very selfish and manipulative adults seem to fool a great many people that they are caring and warm. I won't need to read any more like this one.

211. Death's Rival by Faith Hunter