Sandy's 2021 Reading Odyssey ~ #5 ~

I've been absent for various stretches this year, with some travel and simply due to pandemic burnout.
Travel was such an emotional lift and our October trip to the west coast couldn't have been at a better time ~ the autumn colours were brilliantly gorgeous.

A view from the hilltop of the Quarry Gardens in Queen Elizabeth Park (located in the nearly-geographical centre of Vancouver, B. C.)



Back home, we've had sunny, relatively mild days to enjoy a stroll the end of the fall.


This view is taken from the top of the sleighing hill in a nearby park. While the glowing look of russet browns and golden dry grasses and tree bark may not show in the photo, it was inspirational. I want to to sketch the scene onto fabric and 'thread-paint' the tree trunks and shrubby bushes. Perhaps I'll be industrious enough to make something worth posting here, later on.

November Reading Round Up
From the disappointing through to the sublime. I've read 92 books to date.
This year will go down as the one in which I set a record (that I can recall) for the most abandoned-unfinished books. I'm learning that it is not a bad thing to move along to another title when there's no joy in the reading.

Olive Kitteridge (Elizabeth Strout) ~ ~
Life is too short for unengaging writing, unlikable characters populating a series of short stories, so, no.

The Bestseller (Olivia Goldsmith) ~ ~
Choppy writing in a series of inconclusive novellas, with a set of rather deplorable characters which never contributed to a cohesive storyline. Abandoned.

Word Nerd (Susin Nielsen) ~ ~
Several plot flaws but recommended based on the developing relationships in a world of ordinary people struggling with real-life situations, the engaging character development in Nielsen's writing, and her ability to evoke reader sympathy.

In Search of the Perfect Loaf A Home Baker’s Odyssey (Samuel Fromartz) ~ ~
Autobiographical story and a highly amusing narrative in demonstrating that bread-making is an art as much as a science. Inspired my attempts at the challenging production of the French-style baguette.

Death in the English Countryside (Sara Rosett) ~ ~
Engaging mystery; well-drawn characters and very effective descriptions of the quintessential English countryside. Great pandemic reading.

The Unknown Ajax (Georgette Heyer) ~ ~
A re-read which is always fun and easy to enjoy. Period detail and manners dictate the start of this novel. The Heir apparent arrives in a country estate and turns the household on its ears. Very amusing episodes which embrace everything from arrogant relatives to a few smuggling scenes and revenue men add to the frolic.

Dogsbody (Diana Wynne Jones) ~ ~
Another favourite re-read off my shelves. A young girl and a puppy which does not descend into maudlin cuteness; interwoven with the mythical Wild Hunt led by Herne, in modern Britain, during the time of IRA unrest. Highly recommended, as always with DWJ novels.

Edited to add:
I had quite a difficult time a few days ago, posting book covers to accompany the text.
Thanks to everyone for excellent suggestions, because I think the covers will now display properly.

My Currently Reading pile is restrained at the moment.

A Master of Djinn (P. Djèlí Clark)
Looking like a 4-star read ~

I dithered with starting the book. I wanted to read the prequels, which reviewers have mentioned as setting the scene. I have yet to find a url to provide access to this starting title. Anybody have some info or a link to this novella?

The Tenth Muse (Catherine Chung)
I’m feeling kind of iffy about this one ~

It is as if the author starts out on one theme and then progressively wanders off to some other aspect. I wanted to read the book (I thought at first it was non-fiction) because of the “women and math” in the 1950’s - 60’s era.

A House Unlocked (Penelope Lively)
I stalled out on this story last year ~

After the lockdowns and the isolation craziness around the Coronavirus, it was time to try this story again. I’m liking Lively’s philosophical writings better now, but I still find I’m easily distracted.

Since we can all use a laugh, especially related to this cynical business of air travel, I give you this ~



We loved being in the New Westminster area. We DID NOT enjoy the ridiculous airline chopping and changing our schedule *three* times before we travelled. We never eat their food but this pretzel business is too awful.

And I need this spot, because the book covers aren't loading and where's the fun in that?

So, because I know you all love foodie stuff (OK, not *all*), I wanted to share the Shortbread Pecan Ovals, while you hang out waiting for proper book coverage...



Edited to where to find the recipe ~
This was my mother's recipe (I have posted this on my wall, at the bottom of my profile if you want to check it out). She never rolled out the dough to cut perfect ovals. The trick to a speedy bake is to make "logs", chill, slice. I love the process: fun-fast-finished (and fattening)

Happy new thread!

Have fun filling in the spaces.

>5 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Susan...
I'm having to edit the posts above, because I seem to have grabbed something incorrectly.

In the meantime, thanks for dropping by ~

Happy new thread, Sandy.

>1 SandyAMcPherson: Vancouver is certainly on my bucket list.

>1 SandyAMcPherson: The Quarry Gardens are beautiful!

Happy new thread, Sandy!

>3 SandyAMcPherson: Sandy, I checked the code you used for the cover of A House Unlocked. The link you used is from Amazon. To use the ones on LibraryThing copy the link from the Member-uploaded covers section after you have clicked on Information that comes up when you scroll over the cover image.
This is a link I got that way:
https://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/9e/72/9e72a006fd7268e59796c6559774345...

You will notice the "..librarything.com" in the URL.

>5 SandyAMcPherson: Oh those pecan shortbread from rolls were the best. We made them too. Recipe?

Yes please recipe? They look really delicious!

Happy new thread, Sandy.

>1 SandyAMcPherson: Lovely pictures with the feel of autumn and winter :-)

Hi Sandy! I love your thread-topping photos. Sorry to see Olive Kitteridge didn't work for you. It's a favorite of mine, but you do have to love a "love her or hate her" character.

I'll second Susan's advice on photos. Good luck with it!

>8 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. Thanks for dropping by.
Vancouver seems too sprawling, ridiculously fraught with traffic jams and full of massively tall high rises to me. The construction of these condo towers in such a high-probability-earthquake zone seems so ill-advised. OTOH, metro Van is a lovely place to visit in many respects, so if you hanker to see urban-Canada, I hope you make it there one day.

>9 alcottacre: Stasia, the Gardens were so vibrant, I had no idea!
When we lived in Vancouver area, I think we must have visited only later, in winter and early spring, since I remember the trees in bloom and spring flowers. But not this vibrant autumn foliage.

>10 quondame: Thanks Susan. I wondered if that might be the problem, except, I was derailed by the fact that the code for 'Master of Djinn' was an LT pic (https://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/be/fa/befa683d1f415c6597069367877426f41514141_v5.jpg).

I'll post the recipe for sure. A bit later today. We are off for our Covid-vaccine booster shots in about 15 mins.

>11 mdoris: Hi Mary. Hope all is well in Comox. Recipe will be forthcoming.

>12 FAMeulstee: Nice to see you Anita. I'm happy you liked the photos.
Not a patch on actually being there. It was rainy but the sun peeked out and made everything glistening. Unfortunately, I didn't catch that moment in photographs. The QE park is not as prevalent in the tourist promotions as other places, so visitors often miss this beautiful place.

>13 lauralkeet: Good morning Laura.
I know there is lots of love for Elizabeth Strout's books on LT, but I guess it was a case of just not resonating with me at this time. I know pandemic reading has been focused on soothing my anxious-stressed out mind, so I've had to look for that quality in my reading.

I found Beloved terribly difficult as well and returned the library e-book after just a couple chapters.
I think that seeking out calmer reading that's amusing or deeply engaging is what I'm gravitating to. I *did* have great fun with Just One Damned Thing After Another, so there's hope for me yet. That wasn't precisely a 'calm' read, but it was great adventure escapism!

All valid points Sandy.
FYI, when I click on your Master of Djinn “image”, it opens a new tab with the following URL:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/%E2%80%9Dhttps://pics.cdn.librarything.com/pi...

Could be something wrong with your image-posting html syntax.

Happy new one, Sandy!

Happy new thread! Those cookies look yummy!

Happy new thread!

Hi, Sandy! I hope this won't be my only visit to your thread; my hourglass has no narrow waist. You are reflecting what I've felt (for some nebulous non-reason) about E. Strout. Who knows how many wonderful writers I've missed because of unsubstantiated bias? Otoh, I'll never read all the books I'm desperate to get into before I die, especially not at this year's rate.

Anyway, read, read, read! And report, report, report!!!!!

Happy new one!

As for recipes, they can be shared in The Kitchen at least for this year's iteration of 75 Books Challenge, next year we have to start all over again!

Happy new thread, Sandy! I saw you mention on another thread that you hadn't been able to find the short stories that come before A Master of Djinn. I can't help much with The Haunting of Tram Car 015, as I borrowed the e-book from my library, but his short story A Dead Djinn in Cairo" is available online from Tor.com.

>5 SandyAMcPherson: Those cookies look SO tempting! My grandmother used to make what she called "Icebox cookies", using the log roll and slice method. I think she had several varieties, including one that looked like your pecan shortbread. They were all delicious.

>16 jessibud2: >17 foggidawn: >18 drneutron: Thanks for your visits to my thread.

>19 LizzieD:, Hi Peggy. It was comforting to know I'm not alone in having difficulty with E. Strout books. When so many folks admire and extol her work, I wonder at myself being such an outlier!

>21 quondame: Good to know. Thank you. I haven't really explored all the LT groups. My attention level has dwindled these days except for my sporadic visits to the 75-er group.

>22 bell7: Thank you for that link.
I wasn't successful previously with looking on Tor.com
I've now downloaded the file using your link and look forward to reading it tonight!

>25 SandyAMcPherson: The Kitchen is just another thread in the 75ers group.

The reading of novels with characters you do not like AT ALL is, to me, one of the Big Issues in Literature. So many of the 'great' novels have main characters who range from nasty (Captain Ahab) to pathetic (Emma Bovary) and on and on -- why is this? And why are so many of these among the 'greatest' novels? I have theories--that have to do with overall not-very-pleasant aspects of homo sapiens in general that do, ultimately, benefit from the airing. I do like Strout, so maybe it is a New England thing on my part!

Sunday morning and time to look back at my thread for the posts I wanted to edit.
It's been a bumpy ride since Wednesday, when we went for our booster jabs. I was surprisingly sideswiped by the immunisation (it was the alternative mRNA vaccine (to the first two doses) as recommended by the provincial health authority). The reaction passed off surprisingly quickly, though. Not even a sore arm 48-hours later.

So, onto to some comments about editing:
I fixed both posts (here, and also in Currently Reading). Annoyingly, the images wouldn't display, even when I used my own uploads. I think it was a matter of making sure that I saved the edit book file before I snagged the cover image link. But WDIK!!
Thanks to everyone who sent me messages with much appreciated tips.

>28 sibylline: Lucy, that's an insightful idea. Never occurred to me that portraying these despicable or worse characters has a way of illuminating what we as a society should deplore.
Although this 'airing' may not change the entrenched mindset in some folks (look at the number of racists that have emerged into the open), I guess this type of literature could shine a spotlight on the not-very-pleasant aspects of people instead of turning a blind eye.

The idea that this spotlight is comprised in the so-called "greatest novels", I am very cynical about that attribution. Too often the designation of great arises from some shift in societal norms to reflect a coterie of public claims by (1) publishers (with a marketing agenda) (2) opinionated reviewers embracing politically correct attitudes (3) esoteric literary reviews which speak only to the specialist. There are probably other such sources swaying the designation.

One great thing about book websites like LibraryThing, is that there is a pool of readers who span the spectrum of all kinds of knowledge bases and cultural heritage (confining my opinion to the writing in English, since I have poorly developed skills in other languages).
There's a sense of very broad perspectives. Many opinions are available in the review section from "This book sucked" (valid, if not enlightening as to what was so unappealing) to long diatribes or praises of the same book.

Unfortunately, I tend to stay on the English language website, but it would be wonderful to read the reviews and talk threads in other languages. What do they say in Japan? How are the novels of Samira Ahmed or Abir Mukherjee accepted in India?

"Great" and "Best" are rarely defined in specific terms. Book awards (in my usually never humble opinion) are fraught with interest groups ~ what's considered fashionable to espouse at the time, and so forth. The greatest calamity (in terms of fairness and inclusion) is the complete lack of blind peer- and book prize awards. Anonymity of the authors/publishers are non-existent when proposed for a prize. In the academic world, only double-blind submissions/reviewers are considered unbiased. This is a serious flaw in some fields where the author is given the boot or rubber-stamped simply because of their association or previous work.

So much for a quiet Sunday morning, huh?

>29 SandyAMcPherson: Glad that the booster shot came without a sore arm. I have to get mine soon and find an appointment time that fits in on my day off.

Have a great week ahead :)

>31 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita.
Make no mistake ~ my arm, shoulder and neck were indeed feeling hurt, as in horribly bruised and sort of swollen, for about 18 hours and then the pain and swelling completely vanished!

Hope you get the shot sooner than later!

>30 SandyAMcPherson: The idea of blind reviews would be good, but how many academics who are capable of reviewing submissions aren't aware of who is doing what in the field and what their style is. Some, but hardly all. Academic gossip is a pretty fine mill.

What gets me is how often a really fabulous book is overlooked so that it is a sequel or subsequent work that gets the formal recognition. Awards for last year's books are part of the problem, although necessary to the publishing machine - I'd like to see awards 5 and 10 years out.

>33 quondame: That's a heck of a good idea (the 5 to 10 years out suggestion).

Some journals in my field were indeed blind reviewed both for the author and the reviewer. Actually, all my articles were blind reviewers, although I did later have discussions where I knew who the reviewer was. It was okay and I personally was always well-treated. I never had a blind-author review as that is actually fairly uncommon in science (afaik). I believe in humanities, it is more usual.

Hi Sandy!

Happy new thread.

>5 SandyAMcPherson: Yum. I'm not particularly motivated to bake right now, but do love reading good recipes - one pound of butter! Totally yum.

Okay so what the heck happened here!??!

I was going to check where I was in the requests queue for the next Jodi Taylor installment (Chronicles of St. Mary's). When I logged in this morning ...



I had made it to #2 (for 1 available copy in my locality). And I had several other requests, at least 8. The library staff were essentially shrugging their shoulders about the empty list.

Yes. It's not a disaster in the face of what else is happening for people and we have heat on, food in the refrigerator and nobody is ill. But *big sigh* of reading disappointment.

>36 SandyAMcPherson: That is a bummer.

Sinterklaasavond !


It's tonight! St. Nicholas Eve...

>38 SandyAMcPherson: Did you celebrate, Sandy?
We didn't, as we have no kids it is decades back when we did.
And until a few years ago it was the birthday of Franks aunt that we celebrated.

>39 FAMeulstee: No, not at our house. We only observed this day while visiting family in Amsterdam (who celebrated every year of course).

When they moved back to Canada (5 years ago now), Dec 5-6th was important to the kids, so was celebrated. I think it is only marked now by a tree being brought in and lights added. Perhaps chocolate letters for everyone? The Solstice and Dec 25 have become the gift and feast days. A Sinterklaas figure is set out with a stuffed goat (no reindeer toy)!

And in true Canadian prairie custom, it is currently -26°C (-14°F) with a wind chill you don't want to be out in (-38°C).

>40 SandyAMcPherson: - EEK! That's cold. We are actually above zero today but it will be windy. Those temps will get here eventually but I am in no hurry...! Stay warm!!

>40 SandyAMcPherson: So they slowly move from celebrating Sinterklaas to the more usual North-American December festivities :-)

That is cold! I have never been to places so cold.
Our city is record-holding with -22,9 C at night in 2012. Of course I was't out then.

>41 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley. I wish I could stay inside this morning, but ---> I need to mail some gifts today and pick up a prescription.

Our weather doesn't seem to circulate to Ontario, if that's any relief. Your wintery blasts usually come sailing up from New York state, or the Michigan-Ohio-Pennsylvania corridor, no?

>42 FAMeulstee: Your record cold year! We were there that December. It was so penetratingly cold. And our down parkas left in Canada.
Our kids were aghast at the canals semi-freezing over and people walking on them with babies in carriages! OMG! There wasn't a solid ice sheet even.

Nice picture of Queen E park, Sandy. You remind me that I haven't been there in a while but I did make it to Bouchard Gardens this summer. Good that you got your booster, our province as usual, is dragging its feet on that.

>40 SandyAMcPherson: Brrrrrr, stay warm!

Hi Sandy! Here next to the North Atlantic, we're going to get some snow tomorrow but blessedly not wind chills of -40°. *shiver*

I'm sorry to report The Haunting of Tram Car 015 is only a for-sale read. After you read A Dead Djinn in Cairo though, you should also enjoy reading The Angel of Khan El-Khalili at Tor.com.

>44 SandyAMcPherson: Most of our nation goes crazy when there is starting to grow a bit of ice, Sandy.

>48 FAMeulstee: !!

>47 richardderus: Not to worry. I WL-ed The Haunting of Tram Car 015 at the library. I'll request it when I've read the other downloads (I did get them from Tor. thanks to >22 bell7: Mary's advice).

Hi Sandy!

>36 SandyAMcPherson: Libraries rely on these systems but unfortunately the librarians are not IT folks and so can only shrug. Can you escalate the issue? Do you know what books you had on hold?

>40 SandyAMcPherson: Whew. Bill was just complaining to me how nasty it was when he went to the mailbox to get yesterday’s mail. It is 40F. I just told him about your -14F and -36.4F. He said “There’s cold and then there’s cold!”

>51 karenmarie: Hah! “There’s cold and then there’s cold!”.
Here we say, " “There’s cold and then there’s stupid”!
:D

Re the holds. My brain is too scattered to remember what my holds were, except for the Jodi Taylor title (A symphony of echoes). It was so close to my turn, being top of the list for the next copy.

I like it. "There's cold and then there's stupid!"

Funny that you remember the Jodi Taylor hold - I was just on Richard's thread and read the free short story on her website and enjoyed it so much that I bought book 5 to continue the series. I read the first four in 2014, so perhaps it's time to pick them up again, eh?

>53 karenmarie: Too funny!
I downloaded the St. Mary's "Toilet Roll" saga and started reading it last night.
A friend sent me the link. She's English and said, "You'll roll your eyes ~ British bathroom humour ~ all about the politics around loo paper".

I'll drop by Richard's thread when I have loo paper humour to share!

>54 SandyAMcPherson: *chuckle* I do so love Jodi's sense of humor.

Happy week-ahead's reads!

A Master of Djinn

~

Clark's novel was quite an "up and down" narrative for me, although I do recommend it for the concept of a steampunk mystery novel with an imaginative setting in an alt-Cairo, plus assertive female characters (I especially admired Fatwa and Siti).
While the main characters are interesting, the story loses its punch with action that was choppy, and sometimes, rather boring in the sense of here we go again repetitive.
Much of the warring and convoluted intrigue was too long and took away from moving the story forward. Unfortunately, the finale was sort of a letdown, because the AW allusion as to who was the fraud gave away the reveal too soon. Based on the author's accomplished plotting in earlier novellas, this could have been handled more adroitly.

(Edited to alter the oversized book cover!)

>56 SandyAMcPherson: Yeh, I rated it the same for pretty much the same reasons - it really didn't live up to expectations.

56 Days

~

Catherine Ryan Howard is a new author for me ~ I'm greatly impressed by her approach to writing. This novel showcased how to effectively switch between scenarios that occur in different time frames and from the perspective of more than two characters. Too frequently writing with time and perspective changing back and forth is muddled and yanks the reader right out of the narrative. Not this author.

Having said that, I rated the story no more than 3½ stars. Towards the last quarter of the book, there was an extremely annoying deception. After re-reading the build-up to this point (to be sure I had correctly absorbed the way facts were presented), the duplicity was apparently intended. Why did the author deliberately mislead the reader? As the story was reaching its big twist in the plot, I still believed that Ciara was Paul’s sister, not Shane’s. Since this was an e-book, I couldn't even throw the book across the room in frustration.

Despite this glaring flaw, it was a heck of a good read. Suspenseful. Bravely set in the beginning of the Covid panics with lockdown in Ireland. Conveyed the main characters' developing relationship believably. Yet you simply *know* there's something subtly weird going on. The author does an amazing job of making the reader feel the sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop. The supporting characters are skillfully drawn with realistic flaws and strengths, to the point each person felt so genuine I wondered if CRH actually knew these people. Were it not for the flaw in plotting, this could have been a strong 4½-star read.

>57 quondame: Interesting that we were similar in our impressions.
Scrambled around and looked at what you wrote. Yes, indeed.
I wrote my review likely having been influenced by subsequently reading some earlier short stories by Djèlí Clark (free on Tor.com thanks to help from other 75-er posts).

Since reading A Master of Djinn, I finished A Dead Djinn in Cairo this morning. Now in progress: The Angel of Khan el-Khalili. They're much snappier, feel even shorter than a nouvella. Maybe that's Clark's strength and the editor(s) pushed him to make a full length novel. Much as I liked Fatwa, Siti and the temple women, I probably won't continue in the series.

Hi Sandy, I just made your very delicious pecan shortbreads. Not being a person who likes to be bossed around I did make a few alterations to the instructions. I used unsalted butter and made only half the recipe and did all the stirring by hand (not machine) and cooked for longer than specified as I wanted them to brown a bit and rather than letting it rest as dough first, I gathered it up into a log and then let it rest in the fridge before slicing, reducing the 2 stages. I used a coarse salt grinder to sprinkle on top before baking as I thought the pecans would appreciate some salt. They are scrumptious so thank you for the recipe. I will bundle and give to some neighbours (and of course eat a few myself!).

Happy holiday season to you!

Hi Sandy! I hope you're enjoying the run up to the season!

>58 SandyAMcPherson: I liked 56 Days more than you did, but not by a lot. I think I gave it 3.75 stars.

Have a wonderful week, Sandy! Stay warm.

>58 SandyAMcPherson: What felt like a bug to you was a feature to me!

Happy Yule, Sandy, and a terrific load of reading to see out this nasty year.

Or in other words: Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Hi Sandy wishing you all the best in 2022, especially really good books!

I hope fun festivities are keeping you away from your thread, Sandy. Happy holidays and a much better 2022!

HI Sandy!

>58 SandyAMcPherson: I like your comments, and we hashed out the flaw/feature bit on my thread. Your comments are always thoughtful and well expressed, even if I don't always agree with them!

May all your surprises be good ones this Holiday season.

Have a lovely holiday, Sandy.

Happy Holidays Sandy!

I'm late to the game for holiday wishes but I will say an early Happy New Year, Sandy.

Thanks to all my end-of-year visitors. I dropped by all your talk threads to wish you a very Merry, Covid-free New year.
In (doubtful) honour of Omicron, the hubs and I have invested in yet another set of upgraded, not-baggy face masks.
These should be tax deductible under our health plan, having spent upwards of $250
~ but sadly, not.

>74 SandyAMcPherson: - Well, that's crappy news. I am sticking to the masks I have since I have so many. They are all triple layered cotton and if I wanted to, I could slip a filter inside them. But in truth, I don't go that many places and when I do, I am pretty diligent about keeping a good deal more than 6 feet/2 metres away from people. Masks in indoor spaces are mandatory everywhere here in Toronto, thankfully. I am barely socializing with anyone and I have FINALLY managed to book an appointment for my third booster shot.

Hang in there, Sandy!

December round-up -- with snippet reviews
❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅

Surprisingly pleased to have achieved 100-books-read this year. It paid off to not invoke a specific objective.

Archangel
~
A marvellous re-read. The characterizations are richly-drawn and the adventurous plot moved along at a pace that kept me reading too late into the night! Another of my Strong Female characterisation tags.

Design Like Nature: Biomimicry for a Healthy Planet
~
Somewhat cursory descriptions (lack of detail and photo annotations); fascinating insights as to inventions based on observations in real life natural adaptations (Velcro™ and painless needles for injections!). A starting point to explore the Biomimicry topic.

Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green
~
Invaluable reference for artists. Very insightful discussion of colour mixing in terms of pigments (versus light). Detailed explanations for mixing two primaries in creating a secondary colour, when using pigment-based materials. Exercises given to practice achieving the colour desired.

Bruno Chief of Police
~
Delightful cosy mystery set in the Dordogne (in southwest France, set between the Loire Valley and Pyrenees mountains). The protagonist is perhaps 'too perfect' but I loved all the character portrayals as well as the mystery. Deserved my Strong Female characterisation tag, even if a little unrealistic.

Death in an English Cottage
~
Less beguiling character development and sketches in a small English village compared to Book 1. The mystery aspect was decently-plotted, although obscure ~ no small ah-ha moment during the reveal because the plot didn't appear to provide clues along that line.

The Unknown Ajax
~
One of my favourite Heyer novels to re-read when I simply want to be amused. The Heir apparent arrives at the insistence of the Lord of the manor and turns the household on its ears. Lots of amusing episodes that embrace the strongly-opinionated old Lord Darracott, his recalcitrant granddaughter (Anthea), several cousins and 'the heir', Hugo.

A House Unlocked
~
Discerning observations about the hierarchy of British class society and the importance of the collective history invoked by the simple components that make a house 'home'. Plodding in places and some unexpected forays into the plight of evacuees during WWII, but a generally enlightening overview of two world wars changing the status quo in England.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo
~
A suspenseful story ~ a little too evil and anxiety-causing for me. It will set up the reader for the alt-Cairo mystery series, Dead Djinn Universe really effectively.

Ysabel
~
An excellent YA story: young protagonists drawn into a mythological past, involving Beltane and ceremonies in the area around Aix-en-Provence. Plenty of intrigue and adventure, Celtic mythology, and factual Roman history.

56 Days
~
A heck of a good read. Suspenseful. Bravely set in the beginning of the Covid panics with lockdown in Ireland. Conveyed the main characters' developing relationship believably. Yet you simply *know* there's something subtly weird going on.

A Master of Djinn
~
Loved the strong female lead - the main characters are interesting. Story loses its punch with action that was choppy, and sometimes, rather boring (here we go again repetitive). Another distraction: much of the warring and convoluted intrigue was too long and took away from moving the story forward.

The book page reviews are more expansive. Depending on your particular interests (cosy-fun mysteries, vintage or contemporary fiction, reference reading) these were all great books and I thoroughly enjoyed the re-reading as well.

>75 jessibud2: Hi Shelley, thanks for the news that you will get your booster.
Those appointments were so hard to find in Ontario, based on my family rushing around. Pretty lame for a technologically-connected society (speaking of Canada in its entirety). We were able to book ahead at a large health-region clinic in the city and took the first eligible date.

I spent last night and this morning composing my month-end round up of book reviews. I'm pleased to have completed 100 and might even get the one I'm reading now (These Old Shades, a re-read) finished before tomorrow night. I love that story, silly as aspects of it are.

We never go anywhere special for Dec. 31st, so our being deliberately isolated these days won't interfere with our usual attitude to the New Year's Eve folderol. I sense you are taking the same care.

>76 SandyAMcPherson: I liked A Dead Djinn in Cairo a bit more than you but felt pretty much the same about A Master of Djinn. The there is there, but getting us to it in novel form hasn't been mastered yet.

The Unknown Ajax always delights.

I love These Old Shades. It's one of my favourite Heyer's. Enjoy!

>76 SandyAMcPherson: I'm happy you didn't explode with revulsion at any of your reads...especially the ones I've advocated for!

happy gnu jar

>78 quondame: Susan, nice to see you here.
I think my difficulty with A Dead Djinn in Cairo can be attributed to the details I learned in A Master of Djinn. It was sort of a spoiler but had the effect of intensifying my suspense (read, anxiety), rather than taking away the anticipation of what was to happen.

I believe that is why I immediately went to pick up the Heyer as a comfort read. And it was indeed delightfully an amusing romp.

>79 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg. I'm in total agreement, These Old Shades is one of my top fave Heyer Regency novels.

I've just finished the book this morning (slothful reading - still in robe and PJ's). So, happily, 101 books as a total for 2021.
Thanks for letting me know you were stopping by. Happy New Year!

Hi Sandy! Happy New Year’s Eve!

>76 SandyAMcPherson: Congrats on achieving 100 books read. Ooh, I love The Unknown Ajax. It’s one of my favorites to re-read, too.

>80 richardderus: Hey RD, good to see you ~ 🎊

I liked all these reads. I've mostly not posted reviews here of my less than 3* scores, but I do track them on my profile list so I don't make a mistake in choosing future reading.

Have no memory of the source of the BB's in this lot. I did see 56 Days in a number of threads, but it was a local friend who initially got me interested in requesting it from Overdrive (if that's the title you recommended). I also think I probably chose P. Djèlí Clark's novels after reading about them on your and likely quondame's thread.

You might be reassured to know that a 3* rating is considered a worthwhile book in my perspective on scoring my reading - simply means it wasn't as satisfying as I would have liked, and the writing is acceptable, even if the plotting annoys me. Clark is an excellent writer, IMHO, but my critique stands (in my niggly little mind). I also believe more of C.R. Howard's oeuvre is worth seeking out.

"happy gnu jar" to you too.

Edited to add that ~ oh yes, I just remembered a BB for Ysabel ~ from Amber (aka scaifea).

>83 karenmarie: Hi Karen, I see we both posted here almost at the same time.
Lots of enjoyment for The Unknown Ajax, which is lovely to see. I've occasionally wondered if anyone ever started a Heyer Regency thread on LT.

I have enough trouble contributing to this thread and staying at least "sort of" caught up. So I've never really looked. My thread here this year has tailed off and became mostly moribund since the summer.

Happy New Year's Eve to you, too. 🎉
It will be quiet in this house, for sure. Reading and finishing off the Christmas baking, I suspect.

At -35°C in the prairies, we ain't gonna go *anywhere* and no one is invited here. Too much CoVid flying around and the cold temps do not inactivate the virus, despite a few local idiots saying so.

- 35C? Yikes. That's -31F, and doesn't even compute... stay safe!

I'm very pleased!
The December Early Reviewers awards are in and I am so surprised to win ~

Raising Humans with Heart: Not A How To Manual

With the advent of small children arriving in our extended family, I had a tip from a local counsellor to check out Sarah MacLaughlin and I was totally sold. She has such sensible and achievable perspectives to suggest.

I have yet to find a copy to borrow of What Not to Say: Tools for Talking with Young Children, so receiving this ER book, which details approaches in parenting teenagers, is fantastic.

>86 karenmarie: Indeed.
And as you likely know... 40˚C = 40˚F !

It would cause you to swoon if I told you what the windchill was this morning at sunrise. The hubs, intrepid darling that he is, went to buy milk, eggs, fruit and biscuits at 7 am (opening time and the lowest risk of encountering virus-laden aerosols to sneak behind the mask).

>97 richardderus: - That can't be the same Sarah MacLaughlin, she of the melodic and angelic voice? Now, that would be something! Sounds like a great book!

>89 jessibud2: As mentioned in >87 SandyAMcPherson:, ...
check out Sarah MacLaughlin.
You'll discover she is based in the USA.

Forget your stresses and strains
As the old year wanes;
All that now remains
Is to bring you good cheer
With wine, liquor or beer
And wish you a special new year.

Happy New Year, Sandy.

Hello to anyone who pops by here to see what's doing.
Thank you Paul ~ last of of 201, hey?!

I hope everyone has a healthy safe year going forward. With "good reading", too.
I'm mentioning here that I plan to take an LT "Talk thread" sabbatical for 2022, although I'm sure to lurk on threads far and wide. I may even make some comments now and then when I've seen a BB.

Should anyone like to see what I've read, my profile will be updated regularly with titles and stars by the month.

As most of you know, I like to review everything (on the book's title page).
So you can always visit there if you're interested in the review commentary.

Even if it's a DNF, I have commented (5 words or less) why I abandoned the book. Usually this is for my own sake, so I don't wonder about a title and what didn't I like.

Be well, take care, Sandy. I do hope to see you pop in once in awhile.

Stay warm!

All the best Sandy in the new year. I'll be sure to pop by and see what you are reading.

Oh, so I should stop seeking you in the far reaches of 75 Books Challenge for 2022?

Well then:

Happy New Year, Sandy.

Feel free to stop by one of my threads; they're not usually as busy as some, and I enjoy a little discourse. :)

Happy 2022, Sandy, come and lurk any old time.

Hi Sandy -- Happy New Year and just be sure to visit me!