tardis' 2023 reading record

Happy New Year to all: peace, health, safety, good reading light, and excellent books!

My TBR pile is at 68 not counting library books. They're mostly later volumes in series where I don't have the earlier volumes yet, but some have been there for many years. Maybe I should accept that I'm not going to read them and liberate them to find a new reader, but I probably won't :)

Happy new year and happy new thread!

Happy reading in 2023!

Happy New Year and happy reading!

Happy new year!!

What everybody else said!

>1 tardis: The same to you! I hope your reading year is memorable, for all the right reasons.

May you find all the missing early volumes of your series for reasonable prices, and may they satisfy you in the reading.

Happy new year to the person on LT whose reading most closely resembles mine.

Happy New Year!

Looking forward to hearing about what you're reading and doing. Happy new year and new thread!

Thank you all, and rest assured that I am following all your threads, too, and looking forward to lots of BBs!

1. The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson. A fitting end to Era 2 of Mistborn. Wax, Wayne, Marasi, Steris (I love Steris so much) and many others must track down a terrifying threat to Elendel. Gods, politics, heroes and villains. So good and a great start to 2023.

Happy new year! I expect you will riddle me with BBs as usual!

2. Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones. Audiobook, re-read. There's a witch in class 6B. In a world where witches are burned, including the parents and other family members of some of the kids (Jones never pulled punches!) this is a deadly accusation. Between the cliques and the witch(es), things quickly spiral out of control. Still a great story.

Wishing you wonderful reading. Oh, I have tread Witch Week. Wounded already.

>14 tardis: I think I read that when I was a kid! I'd forgotten all about it until now!

A friend recommended a new-to-me cozy mystery writer, Vicki Delany, and as I was in the library on Friday, I grabbed all her books they had on the shelf, a sampling of various series. I still have one left to read, but I figured I should list what I've got through so far. They're all enjoyable fluff, but best not read in a bunch as they're rather formulaic and the whole amateur detective thing gets on my nerves after a while. I do like that all the series feature heroines who are self-reliant and good at their jobs, and also have good friends/family/found family.

3. Dying in a Winter Wonderland, a Year-Round Christmas Mystery. The town of Rudolph makes Christmas its tourism hook year-round, but in this series installment it actually is Christmas. Merry Wilkinson is doing wedding planning for bridezilla Luanne, until the groom is found dead.

4. Deadly Director's Cut, a Catskill Summer Resort Mystery. It's the mid-1950s and a movie is being filmed at a resort in the Catskills. Haggerman's Resort manager Elizabeth Grady is happy about the cash infusion paid by the studio, but the director, cast, and crew can be a challenge. So is murder.

5. Body on Baker Street, a Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery. Gemma Doyle, ex-pat Brit, is the co-owner/manager of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium in West London, MA. When a famous writer of Holmes-inspired romantic mysteries (Holmes and Mrs. Hudson as lovers!) asks to have a reading there on short notice, she's thrilled, but ends up having to clear one of her local experts on Sherlockiana of murder.

6. A Curious Incident, a Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery. When an 11 year old girl tries to hire Gemma to find a missing cat, Gemma turns her down since she's not a consulting detective. However, she then finds the cat by accident, and the kid tries to hire her again to find the kid's missing mother. Said mother has disappeared following a dispute with and subsequent murder of a fellow gardener.

7. Tea & Treachery, a Tea by the Sea Mystery. Lily Roberts already has her hands full, managing and cooking for her tea room, Tea by the Sea, on Cape Cod, and helping her grandmother, Rose, run the next-door bed and breakfast. When a nasty land developer is found dead at the bottom of the steps from the B&B to the seashore, she gets caught up in defending her grandmother against suspicion.

>17 tardis: Oh, they all sound like fun, fluffy reads. Good during stressful times. I’ll have to put her on my list.

>17 tardis: My mom likes all of Delaney's series, especially the tea by the sea one. I find it hard to read too many books in a row from any one genre, series, or author. I start to skim if I do. :)

>17 tardis: I used to scorn cozies but I've been enjoying series by Rhys Bowen and Donna Andrews quite a bit. If I ever run out, I'll look for Delany.

Oh, and belated happy new year! I hope it's a good one.

>20 Jim53: Donna Andrews is my favourite cozy mystery writer. I always enjoy the Meg Langslowe books, but I also like the Turing Hopper series, which Andrews isn't writing anymore, and is hard to find these days. It's about an AI and her people. Suffers a bit by being dated by advances in modern computing technology, but still enjoyable. I always like Rhys Bowen, too.

8. Murder in a Teacup by Vicki Delany. In the Tea By The Sea mystery series. Takes place only a few months after the last murder in the area, and I'd be starting to get wary of the place if I was anywhere near it. An old friend of Lily's grandmother, Rose, decides to have a family reunion at the Victoria-On-Sea, the B&B run by Rose, but the family is from hell and it doesn't go well.

>21 tardis: Would you describe the titles in the Tea by the Sea series as being more humorous than a straightforward mystery? Are they puzzle oriented with the solution coming through interviews (as one sees in a Hercule Poirot mystery) or is the approach one where the heroine is actively put in real danger?

>22 jillmwo: On the humorous side, although not laugh-out-loud. Light. Fluffy. The heroine and her friends are just plain nosy, so there's a certain amount of interviewing going on but they really have no right to be doing it, and they do tend to end up in sticky situations.

9. Death on a Winter Stroll by Francine Mathews. It's Winter Stroll on Nantucket, which is a big tourist thing, and Police Chief Merry Folger is annoyed because the Secretary of State and her family are spending "family time" there, necessitating extra security. The SoS's stepson finds his long-lost mother. There's also a film crew making a movie, and the director's asshole powerbroker husband is along for the ride. Family drama and murders ensue. I figured out the connection between the two murders long before the cops did, but not who the murderer was. Also one of the few books that actually acknowledges COVID. Very good.

10. The Garden Tour Affair by Ann Ripley. TV garden show host Louise is on location to film an episode of her tv series in Litchfield Falls, New England. Her husband, daughter, daughter's boyfriend, and boyfriend's mother are along for the ride. Among the other guests at their inn, there's murder, adultery, and unpleasantness. Louise is the kind of amateur sleuth that is smarter than the police (and they seem to admire her for it!). There are also inexplicable gardening essays sprinkled through the book, interrupting the flow of the story. Honestly, I barely finished this one. Not a keeper.

11. Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire. In the Wayward Children series. This was so good, but the beginning was so hard to read. The feeling of dread... Anyway, Antoinette (aka Antsy) is a busy, active girl but her father dies and her mother remarries, and Antsy needs to run away. The refuge she finds is good, but there's a price that nobody told her about.

12. Into the Windwracked Wilds by A. Deborah Baker (aka Seanan McGuire). The third of the stories that are companions to McGuire's Middlegame and Seasonal Fears. Zib, Avery, the Crow Girl, and Niamh (the drowned girl) meet the Page of Ceaseless Storms and are sent to the Queen of Swords. Can they get back onto the Improbable Road? Enjoyed it, although it isn't my favourite of McGuire's series.

13th book on Friday the 13th. Also this is -1 off the TBR pile.

13. Wingfield's Hope : More Letters From Wingfield Farm by Dan Needles. Ex-Bay Street stockbroker Walt Wingfield is still "farming" in rocky Persephone Township, Ontario, now with his new wife, Maggie. A cursed millstone, an ice storm, the birth of Hope (Walt and Maggie's daughter) and an inferno are just some of the events of this installment. Very funny, and as heartwarming as the first book, Letters from Wingfield Farm. Love it.

>27 tardis: What was the initial publication date of Letters from Wingfield Farm? Am I right that this is set in late 20th century (1970s forward)?

>27 tardis: Making a note of this to gift the complete letters to my mom for her birthday. She loves Green Acres and books about moving to rural areas. Thank you!

>29 libraryperilous: If you ever find a South African classic (i.e.published c. 1950 and now almost as rare as hens' teeth) called Three Clods in Clover and, if you're indecently lucky, the sequel The Clods Press on, both by one Norman Moorât, annex them for your mom. The Clods in the title are three very urban Johannesburgers who decided to get out of the rat race and go pig farming near Estcourt in the KZN Midlands. Their efforts were hilarious.

>28 jillmwo: It started in the mid-to-late 1980s. I first met LFWF as a series of one-man radio plays, and later as one-man stage productions which were also filmed and broadcast on TV. The radio plays helped save my sanity in the early dazed and sleep-deprived days of parenthood (1989, same year the first book was published). They were played at the end of the CBC Radio program "Morningside," and gave me something to look forward to that I knew would make me laugh even if the baby was making me crazy. I have them all on CD and when actor Rod Beattie toured the stage productions, I went to them all. You can find at least some episodes of the TV version on YouTube. Search "Wingfield Farm." I don't see the beginning of the series, but even later episodes will give you the sense of it. Rod Beattie is amazing. He just twitches a shoulder or scratches his ear and suddenly he's a different character.

>29 libraryperilous: I hope she loves it as much as I do.

>30 hfglen: It's a universal theme, isn't it? :)

ismo has been on my TBR pile for a very long time, so long that I had to pull from my shelf and re-read the two books ahead of it in the Callendar family series before I could get to it. There are two more books that I don't have, although I'm fairly sure I have read at least one of them from the public library. Of course, they got rid of it long ago.

14. Friday's Tunnel (1959)
15. February's Road (1961)
16. ismo (1964)

All by John Verney. These are ostensibly books for teens, although they really do cover some odd topics for children's lit - world politics, the arms race, unethical profiteering in road construction, 1960s counter culture, art theft, and more. They're somewhat dated in attitudes and terminology towards people of other races and nationalities, although not mean about it. I'm not sure that's the right way to put it. Still, the Callendar family are charming and the stories are good.

>32 tardis: I love this series, though the first two are my favourites. The town where the family live is based on Farnham in Surrey, where my friends live, and we have gone for drives through the areas he wrote about. The last book, Samson's Hoard is about the real-life battle to save the town's historical maltings.

17. Murder Spills the Tea by Vicki Delany. Tea by the Sea series. Lily gets signed up for a baking competition TV show, rather against her own better judgement, and when one of the judges is murdered she needs to defend her staff from suspicion. Decent mystery, although formulaic.

The following are all audiobooks; I've been listening to a lot of them and I haven't listed most of them yet. These are all things I've previously read in print, although mostly not recently.

18. Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. Polly dresses as a man to enlist in the army to find her brother. Turns out not to be an original idea :) Funny, touching, satirical - Pratchett always delivers.

19. Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold. Miles hits 30, 30 hits back. Miles makes a stupid error of judgement and torpedos his career. Always fun to watch him redeem himself.

20. Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold. Auditor Miles goes to Komarr as part of the investigation team on damage to the solar mirror in Komarr orbit. Meets a lovely woman, although she's married.

21. Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones. Andrew Hope inherits his late grandfather's house and surrounding lands, as well as a mystical duty of care for the area. Orphan Aidan comes to him for refuge, and things get complicated. Wonderful story.

22. A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold. Miles plans his courtship of the widow Ekaterin Vorsoisson as if it was a battle, and it doesn't exactly go the way he planned.

23. Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold. A wedding guest identifies a nasty threat to the bride. I adore Sgt. Taura.

24. Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold. On the way home from their belated honeymoon, Miles and Ekaterin are deflected to Graf Station to investigate a problem with the Barrayaran military escort to Komarran merchant ships in Quaddiespace. Very twisty.

25. The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones. Some secretive witch clans, trying hard to avoid Chrestomanci's notice, go to war with each other. Marianne Pinhoe gives Cat Chant an odd egg. So much fun!

>34 tardis: Bujold, Wynne Jones and Pratchett! What a great combination for these winter days!

>35 Sakerfalcon: Or any days, really! You can't go wrong with any of them.

26. Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold. Audiobook. Miles and Roic go to Kibou-daini to investigate something smelly about a cryofreezing operation that wants to expand to Komarr. Great, as always.

27. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold. Audiobook. Three years after Aral Vorkosigan's death, his wife and his lover move on with their lives. I like this book, but it really relies on everything that preceded it in the series to make sense. It's also kind of self-indulgent on Bujold's part - she is almost saying goodbye to these characters and wrapping up neatly.

I hit a couple of used book stores this week and bought 9 or 10 books, which is bad for my TBR pile but a few of them will get read fairly quickly. This is the first of them :)

28. Green Grow the Dollars by Emma Lathan. Published in 1982, this book could have been written today, aside from some technological changes. A family-run nursery and mail-order seed company, recently purchased by a big conglomerate, is trying to patent a new tomato plant that could be worth millions. A small upstart seed company blocks the patent, claiming that the research was stolen from them. John Putnam Thatcher of the Sloan Guaranty Trust follows the money. Excellent, as always.

29. Marie Kondo's Kurashi at Home by Marie Kondo. Kondo invites you to visualize your "ideal life" to help you make conscious, mindful choices about your life and environment. I found it very calming and a bit inspirational :)

30. My Hygge Home : How to Make Your Home Your Happy Place by Meik Wiking. Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, explains how design of homes can affect wellbeing, small changes that can make your home more cozy and welcoming. He even talks about workspaces and outdoor spaces a bit. With gentle humour (and a few dad jokes), this book was very enjoyable.

These two have a lot in common. Lots of lovely pictures, fairly quick reads, very calming.

>38 tardis: But doesn't the ideal life include being surrounded by books??

>39 Karlstar: Of course! And as long as they spark joy, they're perfectly fine to keep :) Also, they contribute mightily to hygge. I mean, what's cozier than a room lined with bookshelves?

31. Murder in a Cathedral by Ruth Dudley Edwards. When an old friend of Baroness "Jack" Troutbeck's is appointed bishop of Westonbury Cathedral, he's dumped into a snake's nest, and the appalling Baroness emotionally blackmails Robert Amiss into a temporary job as his secretary/assistant to help support him. Good mystery.

>40 tardis: Nothing is cozier than that, except maybe a treehouse with books!

>31 tardis: I can't remember when it was precisely that I read Murder in a Cathedral but like you, I seem to recall finding it to be enjoyable.

32. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. Pretty sure this should be in the YA category. Apprentice Librarian Elizabeth Scrivener is implicated in the murder of the Director of her library and the destruction of a very dangerous grimoire. A dishy young sorcerer hauls her off to the big city for trial, and things really get strange. I quite enjoyed this. I liked Elizabeth (although she's a bit naïvely obtuse in the beginning), and Nathaniel Thorn and his demon pal Silas. The magic system was interesting, the libraries cool, and it was overall quite fun.

33. Murder for Hire By Gabrielle Ash. Second in The Murder series. Crow shifter Diana Van Doren is now the Lead Crow of her own little Murder, consisting of hunky part-angel Sasha Sokolov and Nobu, the Japanese kid who hosts the demon Natsu. They're heading out of the country when they get side-tracked by a visit from a member of Diana's sister's murder. There's a new big bad demon in town, and as the possessors of the only demon-killing knife in the world, they need to help out. Action-packed and I liked the characters. Last book's insta-love has turned into angst, a bit, as they still don't tell each other stuff when they should. Overall, liked it. Would read more from this series and this author. Reviewed from an eBook copy received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program in return for an unbiased review.

34. The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard. Space pirates, politics, betrayals, a marriage of convenience, maybe even hope. A sentient pirate ship's wife has died and she needs a new wife with the skills to uncover the truth about that death. Scavenger Xich Si is a prisoner of the pirates, but she has the skills the ship, Rice Fish, needs. I loved this, although the whole avatar thing was odd. I could never figure out if they were "real" or not, or how avatars could taste tea or food.

>43 tardis: The premise for Sorcery of Thorns is such that I might just have to track it down. A young librarian working in the kind of library where the books are chained to the shelf sounds like fun.

This (like #33, above) is another of my overdue Early Reviewer book reviews. I still have two even older ones left, one which I actively dislike and one I'm just not getting into very easily. Still, they're up next. At least this one was good.

35. Mortal Heart by Lisa Edmonds. Exiled former archangel Ronan and Arkady Woodall, private investigator and business partner of Alice Worth, team up to track down the supernatural beings behind a human trafficking ring. Arkady and Ronan are both suitably kick-ass, and they're a good team. I liked how they snarked at each other. There was insta-lust, almost insta-love, misunderstandings in the way of both, and graphic sex. I'd say it's not absolutely necessary to have read the main Alice Worth series before this, but it definitely helps. Reviewed from an eBook copy received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program in return for an unbiased review.

36. City of Ruin by Charissa Weaks. This is the second volume in the Witch Walker Trilogy, so readers should not start here. Much of the story is taken up by following our heroes slogging across land and sea to get to the City of Ruin. Meanwhile, the nameless prince's plan to resurrect a dead god proceeds. There's lots of graphic sex - too much, in my opinion - it mostly didn't advance the plot. The writing is good, and the plot does hang together pretty well. Reviewed from an e-book received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program in return for an unbiased review.

And that's another off my outstanding ER review list. I've got one older one to do, plus the two I just won.

37. Sweep of the Heart by Ilona Andrews. #6 in The Innkeeper Chronicles, so not the place to start with the series, but a very enjoyable installment. Sean's mentor has been kidnapped, and in order to get access to the portal leading to where he's been taken, Dina and Sean agree to host a competition to be the spouse of one of the most powerful rulers in the galaxy. The competition (think The Bachelor with aliens) and associated politicking and backstabbing is a lot of fun to watch, and it's nice to be at the Gertrude Hunt Inn again.

38. The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh. When a body washes up during a New Year's Day polar bear swim in a Welsh village, the local constable, Ffion Morgan, must work with an English officer to discover the murderer. Nice setting, good characters, decently complicated plot. Lots of back-and-forth between past and present. Will most likely get the next in the series.

39. Hot Lead, Cold Iron by Ari Marmell. First in a noir urban fantasy series set in 1930s Chicago. Mick Oberon (cousin of THE Oberon), PI, takes the case of a mob wife whose daughter has turned out to be a changeling, and wants to know what happened to the baby that was stolen 16 years ago. This was pretty good. The period-accurate slang is kind of fun, too.

40. Dust & Grim by Chuck Wendig. 13-year-old Molly, raised by her shiftless father, discovers after his death that she has a brother and a legacy - half a funeral home! Dustin, 18, was raised in the funeral home by their mother, also now dead, and her assistant, Viv, and trained to run it after her. He takes it seriously. Having a sister he didn't know existed show up with her lawyer (their uncle Gordo) is a bit of an unwelcome shock. Spiky Molly and stodgy Dustin don't get on, and Viv doesn't trust her, either, and nobody tells her anything so when she makes a big mistake, she has to cosplay a hero to help fix it. I really enjoyed this. Molly, with her love of anime and cosplay, is great, and Dustin and Viv grew on me.

41. Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee. Lizzy Chung is an overachieving lawyer, completely stressed out by her climb up the law firm's ladder. After having a panic attack during a big trial (even though she bounced back and won the case), she takes a vacation and goes back to the small town where her best friend-since-they-were-9-years-old), Jack Park, lives. Jack is the bookkeeper for his family's brewery, but his heart isn't in it, and he's been in love with Lizzy since he was ten. Saving a failing bookstore, friends to lovers, all the tropes - this was fun brain candy. Also, descriptions of amazing Korean food. Yum.

42. To Each This World by Julie E. Czerneda. On New Earth, humans have made a home, but they weren't complacent. A couple of centuries ago, they sent out six sleeper ships to colonize new worlds. Some time after that, an alien race, the Kmet contacted them and gave them portal technology that allowed instant transit. Now they need to find the worlds the sleeper ships were headed for, to save the colonists. But are the Kmet really playing straight with humanity? Very good.

>52 tardis: Oh this sounds good!

>52 tardis: Oh, this was on my former TBR. I've placed a hold. It sounds fun!

>52 tardis: Dagnabbit! Another BB. Going on the wishlist!

>53 Sakerfalcon:, >54 libraryperilous:, >55 clamairy: - I hope you all like it :)

43. Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg. In 1846 Merritt Fernsby, writer, inherits a haunted house on an island, and it looks like it's going to be a big problem until Hulda Larkin, housekeeper from BIKER (Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms), shows up to help him get the house under control. While they're solving the mystery of the source of magic in the house and hiring staff, a horror from Hulda's past is drawing nearer. Neat magic system, not many anachronisms, found family. Enjoyed it very much.

>56 tardis: I am so weak. Not found in my libraries. Had to order it.

44. Uncanny Times by Laura Anne Gilman. Kind of like Supernatural, except early 20th Century and featuring a sister and brother instead of two brothers. Rosemary and Aaron Harker are huntsmen (part of a secret society that hunts the Uncanny) and with their extremely large dog, Botheration, they go to investigate the suspicious death of a distant relative. Gilman is a good writer and usually this kind of book is catnip to me, but I'm not sure I'll read on in the series.

>58 tardis: Oh, I haven't ever watched a full episode of the show, so I didn't pick up on its influence. I also don't read much urban fantasy, because I read London Falling and got very upset about what happened to the cat.

>59 libraryperilous: I don't know if Gilman was directly influenced by Supernatural - her Huntsmen do have differences, but those were the parallels I saw. Urban fantasy is a diverse genre and London Falling (which I liked, mind you) is only one example. Try the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch or the Incryptid series by Seanan McGuire, if you haven't already read them. They're not nearly so dark as London Falling.

45. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. Audiobook, re-read.
46. Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley. Audiobook, re-read.
47. Blitz by Daniel O'Malley. Print, re-read.
I enjoy all these books very much and the readers for the audiobooks are very good. I can't get the Blitz audiobook from the library yet, so I went back to the print. After Blitz I might need to re-read A Little Princess :)

I know this probably isn't the correct place, but I wanted to thank you for the suggestion of Legends and Lattes on the suggested romantic reads list. I picked it up after coincidentally seeing it at the bookstore the same day I saw your recommendation. I am about halfway through and just loving it!

>61 Jenson_AKA_DL: It's a good place for it! And she deserves thanks. I too loved that book.
(I think I thanked her elsewhere, but I'll do it again.)

>56 tardis: I thought it was your influence. My libraries failed to provide it, so my copy from AbeBooks arrived today. **shakes fist at your enablement**

>60 tardis: What is the prompt for revisiting A Little Princess? Is there a tie into the titles you mention by Daniel O'Malley?

And like everyone else here, thank you for recommending Legends and Lattes. I wasn't sure I'd be in the right mood for it, but it was a comfortable read.

>64 jillmwo: Re A Little Princess and Blitz--yes, there is. It made me irrationally happy.

>65 Marissa_Doyle: Me, too :) Also scattered throughout the series his many little references to places, people, and things from other works: Misselthwaite Manor, Kirrin Island, marshwiggles, the island of Dr. Moreau. Someone in Blitz ran across a police box with a non-working phone. I'm sure that there are lots of references I don't get, too.

48. The Serpent in Heaven by Charlaine Harris. Gunnie Rose series, book 4. Pretty sure I missed book 3 - will have to get it soon. Anyway, Felicia, Lisbeth Rose's half sister, is now at the Rasputin School in San Diego, capital of the Holy Russian Empire. She loves it there, but suddenly, someone is trying to kidnap her! Why? Good fun.

49. The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliot. When her adult son is kidnapped, a world-hopping, spell-slinging, badass mom gets her team back together and heads out into the Beyond to get him back. Pretty good fun :)

>66 tardis: Misselthwaite Manor gets a mention? I am charmed.

>66 tardis: Even the garden gets mentioned :)

50. Wayward by Chuck Wendig. Sequel to Wanderers. The former sleepwalkers are awake and making an idyllic home in Ouray, Colorado. It all seems so lovely, but things are not quite right. For one thing, Shana's pregnancy isn't proceeding normally at all - much too fast - and for another some of the former walkers are getting a bit cult-like. After the baby is born, Shana and Benji go on a cross-country trek to the CDC in Atlanta to find answers. Very good.

>69 tardis: Liked the first book quite a lot. I'm interested to see where he takes the sequel so it's good to see a positive review for it.

Oooh, post-apocalyptic!

>69 tardis: Its classed as horror. Can you comment on that? I hesitate…

>72 2wonderY: I wouldn't call it horror, although there are some horrifying things. Not out of range for post-apocalyptic stuff. No zombies but some creepy stuff. A bit Mad Max in places. I found it ultimately hopeful. Also, the dog survives.

51. Hallow Point by Ari Marmell. Mick Oberon, PI and aes sidhe, living in Chicago amid all that cold iron and "modern" (1930s) technology, has to find the Spear of Lugh. He's not the only one looking, though, and there's this mysterious (but gorgeous) dame who wants his protection. Good fun.

52. Gardening at Longmeadow by Monty Don. Very British, which isn't all that helpful to me as a Canadian prairie gardener (gardening in January? It is to laugh!) but nice pictures and if I did a bit of time shifting, some of the info was still useful. Hardly any of his favourite varieties are available here, though.

53. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Sara Crewe is a pampered border at Miss Minchin's school, until her father dies, having lost all his money. Minchin turns her into a drudge. An old favourite.

54. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Audiobook. Another old favourite.

>75 tardis: Both P&P and A Little Princess are old favorites. Did I ever share with you that the book, Now, Voyager has as much to do with Princess as it has to do with Walt Whitman's poetry that provided the book's title? I know I'm prone to repeating myself...

;>)

>76 jillmwo: Huh. I’ve read Now, Voyager, by Prouty, and also saw the film. I’m not seeing the connection; but would love to hear more.

There is a reference early in Chapter 3 of the book Now Voyager to Sarah Crewe, Frances Hodgson Burnett's heroine. There are subsequent references to Sarah throughout the text. Sarah survives the domination of Miss Minchin by holding on to her internal conviction of self-worth, carefully inculcated in her by a loving father. If a parent doesn't instill that in a child, the lack has long-term repercussions in an individual's life. The similarity is more readily seen by reading each of the two novels -- not so much if you're only familiar with the movie with Bette Davis.

Charlotte Vale was never given that internal sense of value and the story of Now, Voyager is of her having to find her value and her gifts along the way. Ultimately, she sees that she has something to offer others, specifically JD's daughter, Tina. There is a similar moment in The Little Princess when Sarah, believing herself to be as far down in life as possible, manages to think beyond herself and, as hungry as she is, share food with a beggar girl who she recognizes as having even less than herself.

The difference between Sarah and Charlotte is the quality of the parenting received.

>78 jillmwo: Interesting! I don't think you had shared the link to Now Voyager, which I haven't read. Must look it up.

55. Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. This was delightful. Tress voyages to find her lost love, who has been taken by The Sorceress. Pirates, curses, a clever talking rat.

>79 tardis: Yay! Another one who enjoyed it!

>78 jillmwo: Thank you!! So interesting. I’ll have to think some more on that theme. Both of my daughters have very difficult children and are working so hard to raise them positively.

56. Thud by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook, reread. The Watch investigate the death of a dwarven senior religious official while trying to prevent war between dwarves and trolls. Very good.

57. The Paper Bark Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu. Chen Su Lin has lost her job with the police due to a new senior officer's prejudice, but when that officer is found dead, she can't help investigating. This is an earlier book in the series that I somehow missed. Very good, although the prejudice against "natives" is pretty hard to watch.

58. The Cannonball Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu. It's 1944 and Su Lin is working at the Shori headquarters of the occupying Japanese, translating propaganda and cooking. She misses her pre-war friends, but she's safe enough. However, a figure out of her past comes calling, and murders follow. Again, very good.

59. The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope. When some mysterious entity is stealing minds and bodies in her community in Washington DC, Clara has to pull together a team to pull off a magical heist to save them. With some real-world black history woven into the story and a vivid portrait of the black community in Washington during Prohibition, this was an enjoyable read.

60. Encore in Death by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). An actor that everyone loves dies of cyanide poisoning at a party. Maybe he wasn't the target? Eve Dallas and team track down the facts in their inimitable style. A bit formulaic but a good read anyway. Enjoyed it.

I am temporarily out of library books, so I need to attack Mt. TBR, which has been expanding.

61. Hultichia by Marshall Ryan Maresca. A short novella taking place before the main Maradaine series, featuring Aurien Pemmick, who later features as a minor character in the other books. Pemmick is a Deacon, undertaking a pilgrimage to prove worthy of becoming a Reverend. An old friend sends him a letter, that sets him on a quest to find the friend. It was cool to see Pemmick's "origin story" and like all of Maresca's work it's well-written, but I found the story vaguely unsatisfying. Pemmick finds some stuff out, but nothing really happens about it. Was it real? Was it a hallucination? Anyway, I'd recommend it for Maresca's fans, but it wouldn't be a good place for new readers to start.

62. Deathblow Hill by Phoebe Atwood Taylor. An Asey Mayo mystery. I have been collecting these for years and I finally just went to ABE Books and ordered the few I was still missing. In this installment, Asey is called in to help a friend solve a slew of related mysteries: houses ransacked, people attacked, mysterious yellow scarves, and of course murder. Always a good time.

63. The Crimson Patch by Phoebe Atwood Taylor. More Asey Mayo. Nasty radio personality, murder, killer on the lam, package mix-up, wild (goose) chases, more murder... lots of fun, except for the occasional racism and sexism of 1936.

And that takes the TBR pile down to 76.

64. About Time by Jodi Taylor. The Time Police are having a bad day. Team Weird's mission to apprehend a minor criminal selling dodgy antiquities goes haywire, a prisoner is murdered, an officer attacked, and there's a mole in the Time Police. And more! Always a good time with the Time Police.

>83 tardis: I have The Cannonball Tree Mystery in my Kindle library. I don't think I knew that it was part of a well-established series. I thought it was a debut novel or something. I think you've read a number of Yu's books? Should one read these in order or is it okay to skip around?

>87 tardis: Is this series as complicated as the St. Mary’s books? I have to outline those books to keep the events straight in my head- hard to do on audio.

>88 jillmwo: It is better to read the series in order. I did read part of it out of order and it wasn't the end of the world, but it would have been more satisfying in order. Cannonball is #5 in the series.

>89 2wonderY: I'd say Time Police is less complicated than St. Mary's but it's time travel, after all. I don't find the complexity a problem, but I have only read them in print, never audio. I was wondering the other day if they would be good on audio. The library doesn't have any of the audiobooks but my husband played me a snippet from Audible (he has a subscription, I don't) and the reader sounds very good.

65. Octagon House by Phoebe Atwood Taylor. The citizens of Quanomet are upset by a mural in the new post office that caricatures almost all of them, and when the artist's wife is murdered and her sister accused, Asey Mayo steps in to solve the case. Good, as always.

66. The Annulet of Gilt by Phoebe Atwood Taylor. Who shot a hole through Asey's hat, and who was wearing it at the time? Who tied Jennie Mayo up and stuffed her in a closet. Who is the imperious lady renovating the Colvin Estate. Why an elephant? Excellent mystery.

67. Three Plots for Asey Mayo by Phoebe Atwood Taylor. Three novellas featuring Asey Mayo. How did Col. Head die? Why was there a dead man in the Wander Bird trailer? Who shot the photographer in the Boston Public Gardens? Good mysteries, and lots of fun.

And that takes TBR pile down to 72, but I've just picked up a couple of library books so there will be a pause while I take care of those.

68. One Extra Corpse by Barbara Hambly. The second of Hambly's Silver Screen historical mysteries, set in 1920s Hollywood. When a director is killed on set, an ingenue is the most likely suspect, but he wanted to see actress Camille de la Rose (aka Kitty Flint) that morning. Kitty and sister-in-law Emma Blackstone didn't get there in time to find out what he wanted, and now someone is following them and searching their home. A fun mystery with lots of interesting early film industry detail. Enjoyed it.

>93 tardis: I read Hambly many years ago, but it was a couple of fantasy novels. Looks like it's the same person. I didn't know she was writing mysteries, or, perhaps more likely, I'd forgotten.

>94 Jim53: She has written a lot of different things. I'm one of the people that loves her fantasy stuff but I can't stand the historical stuff (the Benjamin January series was good but too unrelentingly bleak for me to handle).

>94 Jim53:, >95 reconditereader: I like all Hambly's work, from the secondary world fantasies to the vampire historical fantasies to the Benjamin January mysteries. The January books are dark - they're set in a terrible time period in US history - but fascinating. I no longer buy them, and I don't think I'll be keeping or re-reading the ones I own, but they're very good. The Silver Screen historical mysteries are much lighter.

69. Backpacking Through Bedlam by Seanan McGuire. Latest Incriptid novel. Alice and Thomas are finally home in Buckley Township, but they don't get to stay long. There's a big problem with the Covenant in New York and they and adopted daughter Sally are sent to help solve it. Very good. Also liked the bonus story at the back about James and the Aeslin Mice. I adore the mice.

70. Terry Pratchett : A Life with Footnotes by Rob Wilkins. A biography both wonderful and hard. A loving portrait of a complicated man, a behind-the-scenes of Discworld and the author's method. Melancholy, because I knew the end and indeed the last chapter and epilogue had me in tears. GNU Terry Pratchett.

>97 tardis: I've been eyeing that one. Good to hear it's a good read.

>97 tardis: I just got this in a kindle deal. It sounds excellent from your review.

Catch up post:
71. Moon Called
72. Blood Bound
73. Iron Kissed
74. Bone Crossed
All by Patricia Briggs, all audiobooks. Mercy Thompson, VW mechanic and coyote shifter, and her adventures with werewolves, fae, vampires, etc. I like this series quite a bit.

75. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. This is one of the new audio recordings and I really enjoyed it. Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick mess about in Lancre politics.

I also DNF-d Grady Hendrix's How to Sell a Haunted House. I think at another time I might have enjoyed it, but it didn't sit well when I tried it a few days ago. I mean, if you walked into your late parents' house full of creepy dolls and a TV that turns on by itself, would you tell your brother to send away the dumpster and cleaning company he'd hired because he didn't check with you first? I sure wouldn't.

76. Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett. Nanny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax, and Magrat Garlick head off to Genua to do some fairy-godmothering. Hijinks ensue. Also shenanigans. Terry's grasp of narrative tropes is unparalleled.

>100 tardis: Who narrated the version of Wyrd Sisters that you listed to? I listened to one several years ago narrated by Celia Imrie. And loved it so much that I read it a few years later. Such a great book.

Edited to add that I just looked at Libby and they have a BBC dramatization available.

>102 clamairy: It was Indira Varma. They're releasing all new audiobook versions. Varma did the Witches books, Richard Coyle did the Moist Von Lipwig books, Andy Serkis did Small Gods, and I forget who is doing the others. They all have Bill Nighy doing footnotes and Peter Serafinowicz as Death. I've only heard the older (mostly Stephen Briggs) versions of most others, but I think Varma does a very fine job.

77. The Game is a Footnote by Vicki Delany. A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery. Gemma and pals are called in to investigate a haunting at a historic home. Decent cozy, although Gemma is too nosy to survive in the real world.

>103 tardis: And there is me wondering if I could use some audio books as I recover from surgery. I think you've sold me on Small Gods, any way.

>104 MrsLee: Audiobooks are fantastic when you're feeling crappy. I use them when I have a migraine, since sound sensitivity isn't one of my symptoms. I suggest if you're likely to nod off (as one does, post-surgery), that you set the sleep timer on your phone or computer or whatever you're listening on. Otherwise you end up having to back up to get the bits you slept through. Well, sometimes you have to do that anyway, but if you've set the timer you don't have to go back as far. If you don't fall asleep, you have to start the story up again every half hour or so but I find that less annoying than sleeping through the good bits (and Pratchett is all good bits!).

>101 tardis: This is probably my all-time favourite of the Discworld books!

>105 tardis: Good advice! That never used to be a problem, but I can see it happening now.

78. The Iron Princess by Barbara Hambly. Something is wrong with magic, and only the powers of the Crystal Mages seem unaffected, based as they are on an element called adamis, which is mined by slaves and conscripts. Clea, the eponymous Iron Princess, wants to protect her little brother and her people, and to that end retrieves a wizard from his tormented exile. Very good.

79. The Cut Direct by Phoebe Atwood Taylor, writing as Alice Tilton. A Leonidas Witherall mystery. A young couple find a body under a parked car, who turns out not to be dead, and then all of them are pitched into a whirlwind of coincidences, crimes, and shenanigans. Good fun, but the coincidences stretch belief!

80. Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gould. A book of cartoons about books, writing, and librarians. Funny.

>110 tardis: Librarians can be a funny (enjoyable) lot at times, but I have also seen librarians be a funny (weird) population just as frequently. Do be on your guard when you approach. :>)

>111 jillmwo: Trust me, I know :) I AM a librarian. Or was until retirement, anyway. Once a librarian, always a librarian, right?

81. The Mushroom Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu. The war in Europe is over but the Japanese are still in control in Singapore, and Su Lin is doing what she can to survive. She's helping care for a blind professor and growing mushrooms on some old trees in the botanic garden to supplement meagre rations. Theft, murder, secrets. Very good.

>112 tardis: I'd not had sufficient coffee when I posted earlier today (doctors visits, etc.); otherwise, I'd have remembered that about you. Because once you're acquired certain practices of the profession, it's rather hard to shed them. (And sometimes I am a funny (enjoyable) librarian and other times, I supposed I'm just one of the weird ones.)

>113 jillmwo: You and me, both :)

82. The Iron Clew by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton. Another Leonidas Witherall mystery. Much like the one I read earlier, it relies heavily on coincidence and people not doing the sensible thing and calling the police when they find a body. Mixed up packages, murder, and shenanigans.

83. Unbreakable by Mira Grant. They were a super team defending the world until they were betrayed. Now only Piper and Yuina are left, separated and controlled by the government, and the Heralds are prevented from calling new teams to protect the world. It's like Sailor Moon: The Dark Side, and it's very good.

84. A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow. A dying girl with a fixation on Sleeping Beauty gets hooked into another world. Can she save the princess? This was really good, but I'd have liked it better without the creepy illustrations of headless people with branches sticking out of their necks.

And that's -1 off the TBR pile, and I'm releasing it to find a new reader.

>116 tardis: Oh no! Now I am so glad I read the ebook. I have no memory of headless people. (It's also possible the illustrations were so small on my Kindle that I couldn't tell what they were.)

>100 tardis: I read all the Mercy Thompson books earlier this year. I am planning on trying Briggs’ other series very soon.

>116 tardis: I enjoyed A Spindle Splintered. I don’t recall illustrations in the copy I read.

I liked A Spindle Splintered and my edition either had no illustrations or else I paid no attention to them. I hate illustrations in novels, anyway, and usually cover them as I read so I don't have to see them (graphic novels are different). Anyway. A cool book.

85. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. A scholar of dryadology, Emily Wilde, travels to a remote Scandinavian-ish island to document the fae of that place for the encyclopedia she is writing. Quite fun, although I found it took me a while to get into it.

86. Conquer the Kingdom by Jennifer Estep. Gemma Ripley - princess, spy, mind magier - can't find evil prince Milo and his henchman but she knows he's out there and planning dreadful things. She puts a long plan into action to draw him out. Pretty good.

87. Etiquette & Espionage
88. Curtsies & Conspiracies
89. Waistcoats & Weaponry
90. Manners & Mutiny
All by Gail Carriger. Audiobooks, re-read. Sophronia proceeds through her education as an intelligencer at Mme Geraldine's Finishing School, learning not only dance and manners, but also espionage, diversion, and murder. I like Sophronia and her friends/found family. Fun stories.

91. Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs. Audiobook, re-read. Mercy always has problems. Samuel is suffering, a TV bounty hunter comes after Adam, Adam's pack are having trouble accepting her, and more disasters follow. Good story, though.

92. Cece Rios and the King of Fears by Kaela Rivera. Cece and her sister Juana are home, but all is not well with Juana. Soon enough, they are on separate quests to heal Juana's soul, with help from Coyote and the criaturas. Very good!

>123 tardis: Yay! I'm glad you were able to read it.

>124 libraryperilous: I'm so glad I saw it in your thread!

93. The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell. A book bullet from several directions, and well worth the damage. I really enjoyed this off-beat tale of Hannah, who gets a job at the weirdest tabloid newspaper in the world. Also loved her colleagues.

94. In Other News by C.K. McDonnell. Three oddball stories in the world of The Stranger Times. Very enjoyable.

Now I just need the next book in the ST series, which is still on order at the library. I might end up buying these.

>125 tardis:
I am glad you are enjoying them.

I trust you have been reading the Dublin Trilogy and McGarry Stateside books?

>125 tardis: Glad you enjoyed this!

>126 pgmcc: I have not yet read Dublin Trilogy or McGarry Stateside yet as my library doesn't have them. I will have to request that they be purchased.

>125 tardis: Always good to see others picking up this series. Like you, I haven't picked up any of his other books. Yet!

>128 tardis:
You have treats in store for you.
Happy reading.

>128 tardis: & >129 AHS-Wolfy: If it helps any, he frequently offers deals on the ebooks. I found several on Amazon for under $5. After the first few, I didn't care about the price any more. :) I have the Stranger Times series in hardcover, sorry of unintentionally, but I'm not sorry. Thinking seriously about getting the Dublin series in hardback as well, but finances and other issues at this time bid me wait.

95. The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen. An enemies to lovers romance between an undertaker (Mercy) and a Marshall (Hart) who hunts drudges (sort of zombies), sparked when Hart writes an anonymous letter to no-one to get out his loneliness and mails it, not expecting it to be delivered. The mail-rabbit does deliver it, though, and the recipient writes back. Quite sweet, even allowing for zombie mayhem. Liked it a lot.

96. River Marked by Patricia Briggs. Audiobook. Mercy and Adam get married and go on a honeymoon. Turns out there's something murderous in the river near their campsite, and they need to sort it out. Always a good time.

97. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. A retired pirate is arm-twisted into one last job, rescuing the kidnapped daughter of a former crew member. Magic, monsters, friendship, thrilling adventures! This was so much fun. Amina is awesome, but I loved her team, too, especially Dalila.

98. Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson. Sequel to Sorcery of Thorns. Elizabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas must solve the mystery of the spell that is trapping them in Thorn Manor. Fun and charming.

>134 tardis: I am glad to hear this. I believe that Chakraborty is on a lot of TBRs. And we have a couple other people in here reading it right now. I'm hoping to get to it soon-ish.

99. Shadow Beasts

100. Shadow Charms

Both by Nellie H. Steele. Paige Turner (groan) has never had a library job in the 10 years since she graduated with her Masters of Library Science. Against the odds, she gets a job as an archive librarian at Shadow Harbour Public Library, where she discovers that it is one of a network of libraries that archive dangerous magical objects and books. Paige is a klutz but enthusiastic, well-meaning and kind. Her new partner, Dewey Decimael (groan) is not a klutz, but otherwise similar. He's also a teacup dragon and ace researcher. They make a good team. The events of both stories revolve around ridiculous coincidences and Paige getting hit over the head and/or drugged, and regularly locked in dungeons. There's no plot reason for Paige's hunky upstairs neighbour to exist, but there's enough foreshadowing to indicate that he'll be important (for more than making Paige babble) later in the series. Received through Early Reviewers, so I'm going to have to do a separate review for each of them, but here I'll just say that they were quite short novels and absolute fluff.

101. Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry. 1st in the By The Book Mysteries. Mystery/thriller writer Tess takes her teen daughter, Gertrude, to spend a few weeks in Tess' late grandfather's cabin in the Pacific Northwest woods. Tess is going to write, Gertie is going to find out what it's like to live without wi-fi. Of course there's a body almost immediately, and all Tess' expertise in murder (research for her books) means she can't help getting involved. Gertie is appealingly snarky, Tess is a know-it-all but not obnoxious, local law enforcement are competent, and the plot is only a teeny bit (okay, maybe a lot) far-fetched. Fun cozy mystery.

>134 tardis:
It is after 1am and I have 50 pages left to read of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. I am tempted to keep reading. It is great fun.

>138 pgmcc: Glad you enjoyed it, too!

102. Rivers of London : Deadly ever after by Ben Aaronovitch. Graphic novel. Chelsea and Olympia, twin daughters of Mama Thames, are out for a good time, but someone is making fairy tales come true and it's bad news (and possibly their fault) so they need to fix it. Fun.

103. A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher. Funny and delightfully creepy horror novel. Samantha, 30-something entomologist/archaeologist goes to stay with her mom while waiting for a dig to start up again. Mom lives in her own late mother's house and seems unaccountably nervous, there are no bugs at all in the lavish rose garden around the house, and weird things are happening. Very weird. A very good book.

>140 tardis: Oh, that sounds interesting!

>140 tardis: I'm looking forward to this one!

104. This Charming Man by C. K. McDonnell. The staff of the Stranger Times wants to know why vampires are happening in Manchester, when everyone knows vampires don't exist. The usual madcap shenanigans, and fun. Loved it.

>143 tardis:
I am glad you enjoyed this episode.

105. Frost Burned audiobook
106. Night Broken print
107. Fire Touched print
All by Patricia Briggs. The continuing adventures of Mercy Thompson and the Tri Cities werewolf pack. Always a good time.

108. A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn. Stoker and Speedwell go to Stoker's family home to help his brother unmask a murderer. Good.

I'm curious about A Sinister Revenge. Is it a straight-forward mystery or is there a vampire or similar paranormal element to it?

>146 jillmwo: Mystery. I always feel like this series ought to be fantasy or steampunk or something, but it isn't.

108. Silence Fallen
109. Storm Cursed
Both by Patricia Briggs, both audiobooks. Rereads. The continuing adventures of Mercy Thompson and the werewolves.
Still good.

110. Bad Girls Bite by S.L. Choi. Second in the Blood Fae Druid series, and an Early Reviewer book. Sun Fae are vanishing and Lane and her sisters are "hired" (not given a choice) to find them. The sunstones they were hired to retrieve in the previous book are mostly still missing and they're still trying to track those down. Lane's druid grandfather has escaped from jail and is offering to teach her druiding. Family secrets are emerging, and may break the family apart. Lane's sexy boyfriend, Teddy, and his inner wolf are partially bound to her, and she needs to decide if she's going to complete the bonding. Not that she has all the information she needs to solve any of those problems. Lane is a bit of a mess, but I still like her and her sisters. Teddy is okay, although his pet name for Lane, "Sweet Fangs" is still annoying, and her search for a cute pet name for him not much better. Also, too much sex for my preferences, and mostly not advancing the plot. Decent follow-up to the first book. Will read more in the series as they come my way. Reviewed from an e-book received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program in return for an honest review.

111. Murder at Haven's Rock by Kelley Armstrong. Rockton is gone, but a new village is being built to carry on the most important work it did, providing refuge to people on the run who have no other options for safety. It's still under construction, but Detective Casey Duncan and Sheriff Eric Dalton stop in for a visit because two of the workers have disappeared. Good story and characters, nothing too heavy. Decent brain candy.

112. Smoke Bitten
113. Soul Taken
both by Patricia Briggs. Print. Re-reads. Continuing adventures of Mercy Thompson and the Tri-Cities werewolf pack.

114. Death in Irish Accents by Catie Murphy. Dublin Driver mysteries, #4. It's been a while since Megan found a corpse, but when one fall into her lap in a coffee shop, she gets dragged into another investigation. Also, a visiting American author requests her specifically, as the "murder driver", which doesn't thrill her. The visiting author imparts much wisdom on the publishing industry, no doubt hard-learned by the actual author of the book. A good mystery, and good characters. Enjoyed it greatly.

115. Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw. Dr. Greta Helsing is a physician serving the supernatural community of London. She's competent, fairly unflappable, and determined. When a sect of mad monks start murdering people they consider evil/unclean/etc., she and her supernatural pals have to stop them. This was really a good story, and I loved Greta and her unusual found family.

116. Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw. Greta Helsing is attending a supernatural medical conference in Paris. There are odd (if harmless) supernatural monsters appearing and a coven of nasty vampires, and it takes Greta, three vampires, two psychopomps, two demons, and the werewolf master of Paris to sort things out. Again, a lot of fun. Recommended.

>151 tardis: I can second your recommendation of these books. Very enjoyable and, as you say, a lot of fun. There is a third book, Grave Importance. All three definitely worth a read.

>152 UncleMort: Grave Importance is waiting for me at the library, to be picked up later today :)

117. All That Is Hidden by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles. Molly Murphy mystery. Molly's husband, Police Captain Daniel Sullivan, is suddenly into politics, running for the Sheriff of New York County on the Tammany ticket. Molly is appalled, and when the head of the ticket is found murdered, she investigates. Good.

118. A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins. A Lady who owns and writes for a newspaper, another female reporter, and a handsome Scotland Yard detective solve the mystery of the "Ten Commandments Killer." This had no magic in it, but it's as much fantasy as any other "historical" romance. Enjoyable, though.

119. The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner. Lenna is studying under renowned medium Vaudaline D'Allaire, only because she wants to contact her beloved sister, who died on All Hallow's Eve, and Vaudaline is in Paris and can't go back to England. However, when an old friend dies, Vaudaline is asked to go back to England secretly, to run a seance for him. This was pretty good, although for some reason I didn't love it. Still, would read more by penner.

120. To Track a Traitor by Iona Whishaw. Lane Winslow's grandfather has had a heartattack and her flighty sister has disappeared. Lane goes back to Scotland to figure out what the problem is. Back in Nelson, BC, Lane's husband, Inspector Darling, is looking into a missing persons case with roots in the past. Good mystery.

121. Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw. To escape the incessant rain in England, Greta Helsing takes a 6 month locum at a specialist clinic in Marseilles. Her new patients are mummies, and she loves all the learning and challenging cases. Meanwhile Ruthven and Grisailles are holidaying in Rome when a weird encounter leads to Ruthven becoming deathly ill. Heaven, Hell, and their denizens are all involved. Very good, and sadly seems to be the end of the series, although I hope I'm wrong. Loved it.

122. The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix. After finding out about her parentage and powers in the last book, Susan is just trying to be a normal art student. However, when her boyfriend, the left-handed Bookseller, Merlin, gets sucked into a mysterious map Susan is called to help get him out. So much fun and weird in a really good way.

123. Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. Magrat is preparing for her wedding to King Verence while Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax battle an invasion of elves. Fantastic, although Nigel Planer is not my favourite reader.

124. Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee. Ester has wanted to be a rukher and fly a roc to hunt monsters since her mother and younger brother were killed by a manticore. She gets her chance when she's paired with a fledgeling roc, Zahra. A really good story.

125. The Scourge Between the Stars by Ness Brown. A creepy monsters in space story. Something is killing the crew of a generation ship heading back to Earth after a failed attempt to colonize another world. I thought it was very good.

>155 tardis: BB taken for The Sinister Booksellers of Bath. I thought the first book in the series (The Left-Handed Booksellers of London) was great, plus Garth Nix is a Canberra boy like me. Hey — "sinister" = "left-handed". Little joke there?

>156 haydninvienna: I think you'll like this one just as much :)

126. Boss witch by Ann Aguirre. Second in her Fix-it Witches series, this one focussing on Clem and the witch hunter. Romantic fluff but enjoyable.

Tardis, you read the best books! I’d love to sit down with you in a coffee shop and just talk books. I’m going to check out the Vivian Shaw books and the Garth Nix book(s). He has some children’s books. Is this one or is it for adults?

>158 catzteach: I would love to have coffee (or in my case, tea) with you and/or any of my LT friends! I suspect the baristas would have to kick us out to get rid of us, though.

Anyway, these two Garth Nix I'd classify as for young adults on up. He doesn't write down to his audience, so I have enjoyed all his books that I've read, for whatever age group. My kids loved them, too, back in the day.

127. Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes by Manda Collins. "Historical" romance (aka fantasy without magic LOL) about a woman whose sister is accused of murder and a Duke who needs a shield against matchmaking mamas (and his own grandmother). So, fake engagement trope so he can help her clear her sister and she can defend him against unwanted young ladies. Appealing fluff.

128. Paper Cuts (A Secret, Book, and Scone Society Novel Book 6) by Ellery Adams. Cozy mystery. Nora, owner of the Miracle Springs bookstore, is visited by an unwelcome figure from her past. Murder ensues and she is accused. Her friends rally around. Usual cozy mystery tropes, but the circle of friends is nice and the most egregious idiocies of the amateur detective avoided.

129. Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai. Elle has been living in hiding with her older brother, Tony, since a terrible event divided them from the rest of their family. Tony lost his magic in the event and Elle is protecting him and working in a shop that supplies magical glyphs to agents, but not living much of a life for herself and not using much of her own magical talent because she doesn't want to attract attention. But then there's Luc, her favourite customer, on whom she has a huge crush, who wants some custom glyphs, and things begin to spiral out of control. I enjoyed this. It has that manga flavour to it, without actually being manga.

>161 tardis: How did you know I just finished reading this 2 days ago?!?? I also enjoyed it.

>160 tardis: Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes was indeed a bit on the frothy, foamy side of light reading. But I would give it a quick thumbs up as well.

>162 reconditereader: Book psychic resonance LOL

130. Knot of Shadows by Lois McMaster Bujold. Re-read as I just acquired the print edition. Pen and Des are called in to investigate a corpse that comes back to life. Very good, although a bit sad in spots. TW child death.

pgmcc, you can take credit for a bb riccochet! A few weeks ago, I was reading The Stranger Times on your (and others) recommendation. I raved about it at dinner and wondered aloud if there was an audiobook version. My husband, who has an Audible subscription, looked it up and said yes, but the library didn't have it so I didn't think about it again. Yesterday, he came to me and showed me the cover of the book on his screen and said "I don't remember how I got this but it's HILARIOUS!" He must have accidentally purchased it.

>160 tardis: Hmm, maybe I would like Regency romances more if I read them as fantasies sans magic systems. After all, the ton's unwritten rules are systems. Incidentally, two of my favorite fantasies are The Goblin Emperor and the Crown Duel duology, both of which rely heavily on high society's ghastly social regulations.

>166 libraryperilous: I wonder if you would like The Hands of the Emperor.

131. The Dispatcher : Travel by Bullet by John Scalzi. Third in the series. People being murdered inexplicably disappear, only to reappear healthy in a safe place, and the job of dispatcher is to kill them to save them. Tony Valdez is working in a hospital, dispatching patients who can be "cured" by being killed. When another dispatcher is brought in after an accident, Tony gets drawn into a complicated plot. Good fun.

>165 tardis:
Thank you for reporting the hit. I am delighted your husband is enjoying it.

There's an election happening, it's stressful because I'm deeply afraid the outcome will be bad, and I'm comfort reading.

132. Clockwork Boys
133. The Wonder Engine
Both by T. Kingfisher. Re-reads. A forger, a paladin, an assassin, and a scholar must discover the source and stop the "clockwork boys" that are rampaging across the countryside. A very good duology, and typical Kingfisher with snark and blood and friendships. Also a gnole.

I've only just introduced books by Kingfisher into my library. I am hoping that I find her as enjoyable as you seem to.

>170 tardis: You have my sympathies on the election. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed that you get the outcome that you're hoping for.

>170 tardis: Those sound very good. I shall have to try to browbeat my local library into obtaining them. I was interested to see a creature called a gnole; in my only prior experience of the word, it denoted horribly bad liquor.

Hoping your election goes well.

As far as my vote (the only thing I can control in any election) went, my candidate got elected. Unfortunately, his party didn't get the majority, so the next four years could be a bit bleak. I forsee protests, lots of angst, and a ton of comfort reading, which continues below.

134. Swordheart by T. Kingfisher. Halla inherits her uncle's house and money, but faced with forced marriage to her nasty cousin (because the family doesn't want to let the money get away), she plans suicide with a sword that was hanging on the wall of her room. Except there's an enchanted swordsman trapped in the sword and he's not okay with this. Same 'verse as the Clockwork Boys and just as much fun. The cleric/lawyers of the Temple of the Rat are awesome, and there's another excellent gnole who manages the ox.

>173 Jim53: in Kingfisher's books, gnoles are small people with fur kind of like a badger, odd grammer, a complicated caste system, who live in burrows and do many of the less salubrious jobs in towns and cities.

Swordheart is the T. Kingfisher that I've re-read the most times.

>167 reconditereader: Thank you. It sounds intriguing! I'm a little intimidated by the length.

>174 tardis: Someone on social media said the vote margin was very close. I hope it breaks your way the next time.

>176 libraryperilous: Sadly, they can do a lot of damage in 4 years. Sigh. I take a small amount of comfort in knowing that several of the more awful candidates lost their own seats. Anyway, that's all politics and although I doubt Canadian politics will cause as much unrest as US politcs, it's still best avoided.

135. Cry Wolf by Patrica Briggs. Alpha and Omega series. Reread. Anna and Charles go after a rogue wolf in the mountains while trying to adjust to thier new personal relationship. Reliable good book.

I got two new books in the mail yesterday, so they're up next!

>177 tardis: Is there anything better for lifting one's general spirits than to open the door and find books have come in the mail? Yay for the postal service!! And for book-sellers!

136. Fair trade by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. One of my two new books :) Jethri Gobelyn Ven'Deelin has risen through the ranks of traders and now rates a ship of his own. The incursion of "Rostov's Dust" on the trade routes is a problem and he and allies are working to come up with solutions. Good, as always.

>174 tardis: I'm very sad about the election outcome.

Swordheart was my first Kingfisher book, and is still my favourite. I'm still waiting for the books about the other swords, though. (rather impatiently)

137. Witch King by Martha Wells. Demon Prince of the Fourth House Kai wakes up dead and has to acquire a new body and figure out who betrayed him. This was very good, although maybe not Wells' best. I think I need to read it again in a month or two.

>181 tardis: I will attempt to temper my expectations a smidgen.

>182 clamairy: I may have been influenced by the fact that I was having a migraine and kept dozing off. A friend just finished it and loved it unreservedly. That's why I thought I should give it another go in a month or two.

138. Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer. Audiobook. Kate, penniless relation, is swept off to her aunt's stately home. But does her aunt have motives other than kindness? A charming story, as are most of Heyer's regencies. The audiobook reader was adequate.

139. Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs. Alpha and Omega series. Charles and Anna go to Seattle for an international conclave of werewolves, to discuss the Marrok's plan to take the werewolves public. The brutal alpha of the French werewolves makes trouble. Good.

140. The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe. Volume 1 of the Devoured Worlds. Son of privilege Tarquin Mercator is stranded on a dying planet with a bunch of his family's retainers and some saboteurs. The fungus that is killing the planet, the mineral that the family business wants to mine, and another element combine to make a compelling story. Enjoyed it, and look forward to the next in the series.

141. An Heiress's Guide to Deception and Desire by Manda Collins. The "deception" part of the title doesn't make a lot of sense, but the story is still fun, if improbable. When an actress disappears, Caro Hardcastle and her friends investigate. Also there's a dishy viscount.

I started the Alpha and Omega series a couple months ago. I will read more of them this summer. I know I can get through an entire book in one day.

>187 catzteach: They're definitely brain candy. I thought I'd read them before but I don't recognize the stories in the last two that I've read.

142. Fair Game by Patricia Briggs. Alpha and Omega series. The werewolves are "out" to the general population, and Charles is getting burned out enforcing his father's laws. To give him a break, Anna is sent to help find a serial killer who has killed three werewolves (among other victims) and he goes along as her back up. Fast read.

143. Arabella by Georgette Heyer. Audiobook. Arabella goes to London to catch a rich husband, and hijinks ensue. Fun, as always. The audiobook reader was mediocre, though. She read too slowly, but I tried speeding up the playback, and that was too fast.

144. Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. I was reading another thread and Sakerfalcon mentioned this book, which I recently read and I realized that i hadn't recorded it here. Earth has been destroyed by aliens and most remaining humans have settled into other worlds and come to terms with the aliens, but there's one last holdout of militaristic rebels. Kyr is one of them, and one of the most devout. When she has to leave the station, she begins to realize that it's not all black and white. In the end, I really liked it, but getting into it took a bit of work because the main character starts off SO unlikeable. It's not all her fault - it's how she's been raised and indoctrinated. There's a certain amount of timey-wimeyness, but well worth the read.

145. Season of Skulls by Charles Stross. The ancient eldritch god who is now Britain's prime minister sends Eve Starkey on a mission to bring him the head of her former boss. Eve has to head into the dream roads, gets stuck in the Village, falls for an Earl, and has to decide which is the lesser evil. Very good. Can't wait to see where Stross goes with this next.

146. Extra Witchy by ann Aguirre. Leanne wants to get elected to city council, but worries that her two past divorces and single status make her a less appealing candidate. Trevor is a slacker living in his parents basement. After they hook up at a party, Leanne suggests to him that they get married, solving her image problem and getting him out of his rut. She doesn't tell him that she's a witch. Most of this story is concurrent with Witch Please and Boss Witch. Undemanding fluff, but kind of charming.

147. The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison. Reread. Thera Celehar is asked to train a new Witness for the Dead, and they solve several thorny cases, including one that takes all that Celehar is. Just as affecting as the first time I read it, and I very much hope that some day there will be another in the series.

>189 tardis: I wasn't expecting Kyr to be so unlikeable, that really took me by surprise and is making for a much more interesting read than if she was a conventional hero.
Is Season of skulls part of a series?

>191 Sakerfalcon: Agree about Kyr. I almost DNF-d the book as I disliked her so much at the beginning. I'm glad I kept on, though. Season of Skulls is the latest in Stross' Laundry-verse. You really need to read the rest first.

>192 tardis: Ah, thanks! I'm about 5 books in to the original Laundry series, so quite a way to go!

148. Dead Heat
149. Burn Bright
both by Patricia Briggs, in the Alpha and Omega series. In the first, Charles and Anna travel to Arizona to get Anna a horse. Something evil is posessing people. In the second, something is attacking the loner werewolves around Aspen Creek, and there's a traitor in the pack. Both good, as always.

150. The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton. Top agents of A.U.N.T. are teamed up to pose as husband and wife to infiltrate a meeting of pirates. Much confusion and silliness, plus a good amount of lust. Enjoyed it.

151. Winter's Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch. A Rivers of London novella that doesn't take place in London, or even England. FBI agent Kimberly Reynolds is sent up to Wisconsin in winter to investigate a report of something weird made by a retired agent. When she arrives, she discovers that a tornado has flattened half the town and the retired agent is missing. I enjoyed it.

152. The Body in the Web by Katherine Hall Page. It's January 2021 and everyone has been isolated for a year due to Covid. Caterer Faith Fairchild has pivoted her business to delivering boxed meals. Still, between Zoom and socially distanced outdoor visits with friends and family, she gets by. When a friend, a local art teacher, is targeted at a public zoom-bombing, Faith investigates. The story also includes lots of family drama and quite a bit of infodumping (did I really need to know all about the source of the free range eggs in the middle of a conversation between two characters?), but overall not too bad. Weird to read something that really reflects how it was in the 2020-2021 Covid years.

>195 tardis: Yay! It’s been too long. Glad he’s still writing in that universe.

153. Translation state by Ann Leckie. A new novel in the Radch-verse. Enae, a reluctant diplomat, is searching for a being that disappeared 200 years ago. Qven was raised to be a Presger Translator, but is not looking forward to matching with another to get there. Reet, an orphan raised by loving adoptive parents, is looking for a place to belong. The three come together, and the treaty with the Presger is on the line. Very good.

>198 tardis: I loved this. Glad you enjoyed it!

154. Maskerade by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg travel to Ankh Morpork to meet with the publisher of Nanny's cookbook and run into Opera, and a mysterious ghost. Always wonderful.

155. Dressed to Drill by Kate Carlisle. Contractor Shannon Hammer has a new reno project, an old church being turned into a museum/gallery. Of course there's a corpse in the sacristy when they tour it. Typical cozy, but I like the setting and characters.

156. Demons of Good and Evil by Kim Harrison. Rachel Morgan and allies have banished the demon Hodin, but there's a new mage in town and a bunch of new werewolves, and she's got to protect her allies and the local power structure. Rachel is actually becoming less annoying as her personal life has stabilized. Good brain candy.

157. The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo. Very weird. Good weird, but still. A retelling of the Great Gatsby from the point of view of Jordan Baker, adopted from Tonkin (aka Vietnam) by one of the Louisville Bakers. With demons and magic. I haven't read the original Gatsby, so can't speak to how it matches up, but it was very good. Not, I think, a book I'll keep, though.

158. They Walked Like Men by Clifford D. Simak. Science reporter Parker Graves discovers an alien plot to take over the world. Nobody believes him except his girlfriend, Joy. Good story but very much of its time. Joy is smart and capable but about the only woman with a speaking role, and darned near the only woman, period. Still recommended, though.

>201 tardis: "A retelling of the Great Gatsby ... With demons and magic." Why would anyone do that?

>203 Karlstar: For fun?

>204 Julie_in_the_Library: That's a good reason.

>203 Karlstar: It's actually very well done.

159. Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc. by Ash Bishop. Russ Wesley, drifter, goes home for his grandfather's funeral and ends up staying to renovate his grandparents' quirky bookstore. In a back room full of weird stuff, he finds an unusual rock, and he and local science nerd, Nina, are dragged into an intergalactic adventure. This was kind of silly but I really enjoyed it.

>206 tardis: Goody! My library system has it.

>201 tardis: It's taken 17 books for Rachel to become less annoying?? I'm glad I stopped at book 4! It's a pity because I enjoyed the world and the supporting characters, but couldn't get past my annoyance with Rachel.

>201 tardis: I think a send-up of The Great Gatsby would be the only way to salvage that one. I never found F. Scott Fitzgerald to be particularly interesting but she -- Nghi Vo might do a really interesting twist.

>209 jillmwo: I could never read Fitzgerald at all, so this is as close as I will ever come to any of his books LOL.

>208 Sakerfalcon: Yeah, I skipped a few books in the series due to Rachel's annoyingness, but like you, I liked the world and other characters, so decided to try again. I've read a couple of the more recent ones, and they're not bad. Not great lit, but I don't mind that :)

160. The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray. Never in literature has a character so needed to be bludgeoned to death, so that was satisfying as all get-out :) A pretty good mystery featuring many familiar characters. I liked Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney a lot. Looking forward to more in the series. Also thanks to several Green Dragon members for the book bullet!

161. Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews. Kate, Curran, and their son Conlan are settling into their new home in Wilmington, but as one might expect, mayhem follows whereever they are. When they're offered a large piece of land in return for defeating an old evil in the forest, they collect a few allies and head out into trouble again. I always enjoy these books.

162. Dorsai! by Gordon R. Dickson. A classic of military SF from a master of the genre. Originally published in 1959, it shows it's age in the usual way. One woman with military rank, who barely has two lines, other females in very traditional roles. Still a cracking story, though. I might go on to read more in the series, since it's been so long since I first read them that I've completely forgotten them. Anyway, this is -1 off my TBR pile.

I finished all my library books and nothing on my TBR pile (including the outstanding ER books) inspires at the moment. I re-read The Stranger Times because I bought it in paperback (just as good the second time!), but now I need something else, because it's too hot out to do much besides sitting in the shade and reading. I need to go to my shelves and see what needs re-reading. Maybe Bujold's Sharing Knife series. I re-read her Five Gods and Vorkosigan books frequently, but it's been a good few years since I read SK.

163. Beguilement
164. Legacy
165. Passage
166. Horizon
167. Knife Children
All by Lois McMaster Bujold. Fawn, a Farmer, pregnant and running away from her judgemental family, meets Dag, much older Lakewalker, who is hunting down malices with his patrol. Farmers and Lakewalkers don't mix, but Dag and Fawn fall for each other and the four books in the series are them making a start on changing their world. Knife Children is the story of Barr (minor character from the other books) finding his half-farmer daughter. I really like this series (as I do all of Bujold's books) and it's been a long time since I read it. It holds up well.

>213 tardis: I've never tried these. Perhaps it's time. Good shot.

>214 Jim53: Some find the age difference between the protagonists a bit off-putting, but it never bothered me. Fawn is mature for her age, and she doesn't lack agency or choices.

>213 tardis: I think Beguilement is accessible via my Kindle account but I don't remember getting very deeply into it. I will wait to hear more from you.

>215 tardis: I read and enjoyed these on Internet Archive recently. It seemed to me that Fawn was every bit as mature as Dag, and probably a bit more intelligent, but lacked experience and information (Dag supplied the latter).

168. The Raven Heir by Stephanie Burgis. Cordelia and her siblings are triplets, living with their family in an isolated castle. When their mother and older brother are imprisoned for not revealing which of them is the oldest (and therefore to be king or queen), they must figure out how to free them. Very good.

169. Good Neighbours by Stephanie Burgis. Metal magician Mia Brandt and her dad move in next to the castle of a necromancer, Leander Fabian. After she fixes some of his minions, Mia and Leander decide to be allies against the forces of prejudice against magic users and eventually become something more. Fun.

170. Dangerous Flames by Stephanie Burgis. Two characters from Good Neighbours, the Countess Cardenza (from Good Neighbours) and Eliza de Mornay, both necromancers, have a history together. Indeed, they seem to have broken each others hearts. However, they must team up to keep an old enemy from ruining Leander and Mia's wedding. Fun.

171. Macaws of Death by Karen Dudley. When field biologist Robyn Devara is asked to consult on the species of a smuggled bird, she can't believe she's seeing a new species of macaw. Even better, she gets to go to Costa Rica to try and track down the bird's origin and find out if there's a breeding population. When she gets to the research station there's murder and more. Lots of science as well as a good mystery.

172. Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis. Kat, youngest of three sisters, must save her sister from an unwelcome marriage to a very rich man. Kat is great, as is middle sister, Angelica. Oldest sister Elissa is a bit wet. Magic and family. Fun.

173. Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis. Kat's big sister Elissa's wedding goes horribly wrong (although Elissa does actually get married, so that's okay), and their stepmother packs Kat and Angelina off to Bath to try to get Angelina a husband before her reputation for witchcraft really gets around. Kat, of course, has plans to fix everything. So does Angelina. Fun.

174. Stolen Magic by Stephanie Burgis. The Stephenson family are at Angelina's fiance's home for the wedding. A carriage accident, a shooting ... someone is trying to stop the wedding. 13 year old Kat, of course, is right in there, despite someone sinister following her. Fun as always.

175. Courting Magic by Stephanie Burgis. Kat is now 19 and a trained Guardian, but that isn't stopping her sisters from bringing her out in Society to get a husband. Also, as a Guardian, she's part of a team trying to stop a witch who is using illusions to steal from members of Society. Also fun.

176. The Mysterious Planet by Lester Del Rey. Cadet Bob Griffeth is excited to go on an expedition to check out a new planet that has been discovered on the outer edges of the solar system. First contact, space navy, will there be war? Published in 1953, so it shows its age. The only female is Bob's mother, who is barely there. One non-white character (hispanic), etc. Still, I've read worse from that era. There is at least lip service to women being allowed to join the space navy if they want to. -1 off the TBR pile, although I've added to it lately so it doesn't really help.

>220 tardis: -1 off the TBR pile, although I've added to it lately so it doesn't really help. Yep. That's my problem as well. It is the explanation for why my shelves aren't any less full, despite re-homing duplicates of some things.

177. Lady Violet Investigates by Grace Burrowes. A so-so historical mystery featuring a titled young widow, a house party, two hunky maybe-suitors, and a lot of coincidences.

178. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. I'm late to the party on this one, but it was great. The club members, the police, the mystery - all fun.

>222 tardis: I want to get to this one and The Marlow Murder Club soon.

I've read a couple of Burrowes' romances. I liked them well enough to finish, but I was a bit so-so afterwards.

Edit: numbering

179. Food for the Gods by Karen Dudley. I first read this a few years ago, and recently bought a used copy. Pelops, a celebrity chef in ancient Athens, can't get a break. Poseidon and Hera have grudges against him, and Zeus, Dionysius, and Hermes aren't a lot of help. When a client asks him to find a particular courtesan as a condition of a cooking job, Pelops reluctantly agrees. Things get worse, though, when that courtesan's older sister is murdered during one of his other events, and he has to solve her murder before he gets run out of town. This is a lot of fun.

180. The Solstice Countdown by Lisa Shearin. Mackenna and boyfriend Rake (gosh, how I hate that name, although the guy is okay) go to Makenna's home town for Christmas. On the way they get attacked by the Wild Hunt, and then the town gets sealed off, and there's a big bad wizard in town. Makenna's family are fun. Enjoyable fluff.

181. Grounds for Murder by Tara Lush. Boy, she hit all the cliches with this one. Award-winning reporter loses her job and goes home to small Florida town to run the family coffee shop, meets hunky police chief, stumbles across a corpse. Nice enough brain candy.

182. Happy Place by Emily Henry. A whole pile of people who love each other but never actually talk about their real feelings come together for one last vacation in a favourite place. This includes two who have broken up but not told their friends, and have to pretend to still be together so they don't spoil the reunion. You can guess what happens. Pretty quick read.

It's been a while since i updated this list! Life, the universe, and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival got in the way.

183. Nightwatch on the Hinterlands
184. Nightwatch over Windscar
both by K. Eason. Enjoyed this although sometimes the battle scenes (of which there were a lot) went on for a bit. Templar Iari and Vakari ambassador/spy/arithmancer Gaer fight Brood (hungry things that come through fissures from another world) and people on their side that are trying to use brood for nefarious perposes. Very good. I liked the characters a lot. I'd call this more fantasy, though - despite trappings of spaceships and aliens, the whole arithmancy and sensing auras seems very fantasy.

185. A Pale Light in the Black by K. B. Wagers. Re-read. Very much enjoy this space opera tale of sports, politics, and mystery. The re-read was because there's a new one in the series coming and I wanted to refresh my memory. Also needed an ebook that would be manageable during the Folk Fest, when I get distracted easily.

I also got through a couple of audiobooks before the FF - Swordheart and Legends and Lattes. Both very well narrated. I'm not counting those in the official tally, though, as they're re-reads.

186. Hold Fast Through the Fire by K.B. Wagers. Second NeoG book. The crew of Zuma's Ghost has changed. Ma and Rosa have retired. Nika is back to take command, and there's a newbie, Chae, who has a secret. Very good.

>227 tardis: I have the first one labeled a science fantasy mystery and the second one a science fantasy (the mystery turned into more of a quest in the second book). Glad you liked them!

I'm on hold for the third NeoG novel and finally have moved to first in the line.

>227 tardis: I didn’t expect to find A Pale Light in the Black in Libby, with its low member count here; but yes! even in audio!

187. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher. Novella. Toadling guards the keep where a princess sleeps. After many years, a knight comes, but the story isn't as straightforward as the legends told him. I really loved this. Kingfisher is so good at putting a twist on a familiar tale.

188. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson. A nice story about a young woman who is treated as a god due to her ability to call the spirits, and a young man who paints nightmares to imprison them. The two are mysteriously brought together and must figure out why and how to right a great wrong. Very good.

189. The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee. Audiobook. A novella in the world of Lee's Jade War series. Apprentice jade setter Pulo chafes under the stodgy reluctance to change of his master, but when a vastly important jade artifact is stolen Pulo must step up to help find it. Very good, although it helps to have read the rest of the series to understand the importance of jade.

190. Behind the Throne
191. After the Crown
192. Beyond the Empire
All by K.B. Wagers. Gunrunner Cressen Stone is really Hailimi Bristol, princess of Indrana. When her sisters are killed, she's dragged back to be the heir. Politics, scheming, snark. Good series.

We're on a vacation/family visit right now. Our drive to the coast was improved by listening to The Stranger Times audiobook, and the trip home will be This Charming Man. Sadly, we won't have time for the third book, but we'll get to it eventually. I haven't even read it in print yet.

>234 tardis: Some great reading and listening there!

193. Crudrat by Gail Carriger. Maura, a "crudrat" who cleans crud out of the innards of a space station, meets an alien and has adventures. Good enough story, but not my favourite of Carriger's works.

194. In The Vanishers' Palace by Aliette de Bodard. Allegedly a beauty and the beast retelling, in which a woman is betrayed and sold into indenture to a dragon to pay her village's debt. I liked it quite a bit, but not something I'll revisit.

195. Heir of Uncertain Magic by Charlie N. Holmberg. Hulda Larkin managed to calm haunted Whimbrel House, and in the process she and owner Merritt Fernsby fell in love. However, Merritt's own powers need guidance and training, Hulda's boss has disappeared, and there are auditors at BIKER. Very good.

196. A Newlywed's Guide to Fortune and Murder by Dianne Freeman. Latest Countess of Harleigh mystery. Frances is asked to sponsor a young lady's society debut. Missing diary, cranky old ladies, murder, laudanum. Lightweight but I liked it.

197. A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin. Regency romance, decent first novel, annoying title. I'm getting a bit tired of these "A ...'s Guide to ..." titles, but it's the vagiaries of the library's delivery of my holds that brings me this one right after the last one. Anyway, enjoyable enough romp as an impoverised orphan hunts an rich husband to pay off her family's debts and secure her four sisters's futures. Complete fantasy, if without magic.

198. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters. Audiobook, re-read. The beginning of the Amelia Peabody series, in which the intrepid Peabody rescues a fallen woman, then falls for archaeology and an archaeologist.

199. Real Murders by Charlaine Harris. Audiobook. Meh. Harris is generally reliable for me, but I find the main character of this series annoying, and probably won't go further. That said, the reader of this audiobook was superb.

200. The Dark Lord's Daughter by Patricia C. Wrede. This was charming. Kayla Jones has always known she was adopted, and occasionally wondered about her birth parents, but when a mysterious stranger hijacks her and her adopted brother and mother into another world so she can become the new Dark Lady (replacing her father, the former Dark Lord), she's a bit out of her element. I loved it.

>239 tardis: I wasn't certain I'd like the Wrede. Your review has sold me on it. :)

>240 libraryperilous: I always like Wrede. I don't think she's ever written a bad book.

201. Love Will Tear Us Apart by C.K. McDonnell. Stranger Times #3. Hannah has mysteriously left the Stranger Times and checked into a fancy new-age resort/spa. Her philandering husband appears to have turned over a new leaf. Banecroft's mania about his wife's non-death is peaking and everyone is worried. Simon's ghost has been hijacked. An ex-columnist has been disappeared. Stella gets to take part in her first Loon Day. It's all connected and as funny but also wrenching as usual. Loved it.

202. The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray. Juliet Tilney is visiting Marianne Brandon, and Jonathan Darcy is part of a house party visiting his old school enemy Willoughby nearby, W and his wifte having just inherited his aunt's property. When Mrs Willoughby dies at a dinner party, Juliet and Jonathan spring into detective mode again. Perhaps a bit far-fetched, but still fun.

>242 tardis: That was how I viewed The Murder of Mr. Wickham as well. A bit far-fetched but still rather fun. I haven't yet got round to this newer title yet.

203. Dead and Breakfast by Kate Kingsbury. Audiobook. A trite and cliched mystery featuring a woman recovering from divorce and her feisty grandmother, who are teaming up to open a haunted B&B in Oregon. They find a skeleton in the closet while renovating. Not helped by the annoying narrator.

204. Every Crooked Nanny by Kathy Hogan Trocheck, AKA Mary Kay Andrews. First in the Callahan Garrity mystery series. Audiobook. Good narrator. Callahan left the Atlanta Police force to become a PI, discovered that she wasn't likely to make a living at it, and bought a cleaning service with her mom, Edna. Great characters, good mystery. Surprisingly less dated than you might expect from a book written in the 1990s.

205. To Live and Die in Dixie by Kathy Hogan Trocheck/Mary Kay Andrews. Audiobook. Callahan and her cleaning team find a corpse while cleaning a new client's house. Social commentary (sad how many of the issues are still a problem!), murder, arson.

>244 tardis: I read one of Kingsbury's Pennyfoot Hotel mysteries a number of years ago. It was trite, cliched, and blatantly homophobic.

>245 libraryperilous: I'm sure I've read some Kingsbury before, and not minded them but this was enough to put me off looking for any in future. It was a late-night insomnia download.

206. A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys. A reasonably hopeful first contact story. The first people to meet the aliens had their baby with them, and it turned out to be a diplomatic coup, although the remnants of technological societies want in on the negotiations, too. Found family, cooperation, philosophy. Liked it very much.

>246 tardis: Oh! Just what I need now!!

>246 tardis: & >247 2wonderY: That does sound intriguing!

207. Homemade Sin by Kathy Hogan Trocheck/Mary Kay Andrews. Audiobook. Callahan Garrity's favourite cousin is murdered in an apparent carjacking and her son saw what happened from the back seat. Callahan has questions and bulls past family objections and police disapproval to get answers. Good.

208. The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones. Audiobook. Aileen and her magically powerful Aunt Beck are sent on a mission to find the High King's son, along with two boys from the royal household. They pick up companions along the way and Aileen has to find her magic, too. Very good book.

>246 tardis: This is on my TBR pile. I'm glad you enjoyed it because after I bought it I saw some lukewarm reviews.

209. Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire. Toby is happy, living in her mother's tower and serving her beloved sister, August. However, a trip to Shadowed Hills drags her into realizing that all is not as it should be, and without knowing how to be a hero, she has to step up. Very good.

210. Starter Villain by John Scalzi. Enjoyable romp about a guy who inherits his uncle's "business empire" and has to quickly adjust to a world of assassins and betrayal. Really fun, and I loved the cats. I want my own Hera (and/or Persephone) for friends (not pets!).

>252 tardis: Every time Hera typed something, I pictured her little kitty paws flying over the keyboard. So sweet!

>253 libraryperilous: So did I :)

>254 Narilka: I want a Hera of my own ;)

>255 libraryperilous: I want a cat computer for my own cats to see what would happen. Maybe they already are that smart and we just lack the technology ;)

>252 tardis: This is one I want to get in print, because of the awesome cover!

>255 libraryperilous: >256 Narilka: >257 Sakerfalcon: I agree with all of you :) I love snarky cats.

211. The Ghosts of Trappist by K. B. Wagers. Another great adventure with the NeoG. Disappearing ships, long lost ships reappearing, weird music, hackers, swords, cage fighting, evil spacesuits, and so much more. Found family, real family (good and bad), inclusion. Loved it.

212. Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout. Audiobook, done a long time ago, not a great reader. I'd run out of podcasts and needed something to listen to, but i wish they'd re-record the Nero Wolfe books with a new reader. Still, a great story. Wolfe and Archie are on their way to an orchid competition/exhibition when car trouble strands them and they get sucked into the doings of a family with a bull. Archie meets Lily Rowan.

>259 tardis: I love that story.

It inspired me to make chicken fricassie with dumplings. To die for.

>260 MrsLee: mmm, chicken fricassie.

213. Happy Never After
214. Heart Trouble
215. Strange Brew
216. Midnight Clear
217. Irish Eyes
All by Kathy Hogan Trochek/Mary Kay Andrews. All audiobooks. The reader was fine if I listened at 1.25 speed, but way too slow at normal speed. All are Callahan Garrity mysteries, featuring the same recurring cast of cops and housecleaners, and I'm quite fond of them all. The mysteries themselves were all solid.

218. The Gorgon Agenda by Lisa Shearin. Makenna Fraser and fellow SPI agents come up against Medusa's older and meaner sister after the founder/head of SPI's hoard is burgled. Vivienne Sacadrago's hoard contained some super-dangerous things, and her evil sister, Tiamat, wanted one of them. Pretty good brain candy. I like that Makenna and her partner, Ian, are good friends but not lovers.

219. Payback in Death by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). A retired police Internal Affairs captain dies and Eve Dallas and team are on the job, because, although at first glance it looks like suicide, too many things don't add up. The usual cast of characters, the usual legwork to interview suspects and witnesses, and a fairly satisfying resolution. Excellent brain candy, and I enjoyed it.

220. Labyrinth's Heart by M. A. Carrick. Ren, Grey, and Vargo, with help from their friends, must destroy the dark magic talismans against a background of political unrest and treachery. Exciting conclusion to the series.

221. Birder She Wrote by Donna Andrews. A search for a long-lost cemetary finds a modern corpse, and Meg and family are once more drawn into a mystery. There's also a reporter for a lifestyle magazine trying to interview Meg's grandmother, a missing beekeeper, pomeranian dogs being trained for search and rescue, and more. The usual fun, although a couple of continuity problems.

>264 tardis: That title is the best! I just looked at some of the other titles in the series. Wonderful stuff...

222. Divinity 36 by Gail Carriger. Phex is "discovered" and recruited to an elimination contest to become a "god" - a member of a divine singing group. It was okay. I'll likely read the next in the series.

223. The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire. The events of Sleep No More (see >251 tardis: above) from Tybalt's point of view. Clever, and even knowing the story, and having some bits overlap, I enjoyed it.

224. The Mystery At Dunvegan Castle by T. L. Huchu. Ropa Moyo, apprentice/intern to Sir Callendar, is working at Dunvegan Castle to prepare for a big conference of Scottish wizards. Theft and murder, and Ropa needs to figure out who dunnit. Very good.

225. He Wasn't There Again Today : A Third Postmodern Mystery By The Numbers by Candas Jane Dorsey. Lockwood Chiles, murderer of our nameless protagonist's lover, Nathan, and old friend, Pris (see previous book) is murdered in jail. Our nameless protagonist is suspected of possibly hiring it done. A homeless man living in the alley behind the Epitome Apartments is beaten by neo-Nazi bullyboys and dies. And that's just the beginning. A very good mystery, with lots of twists and great characters. Also I love seeing my city in fiction. So good!

Also, Candas autographed it for me :)

The title touchstone isn't working - I'll get it fixed eventually. In the meantime, i've touchstoned the author.

226. The Defector by Chris Hadfield. Sequel to The Apollo Murders. A Russian test pilot defects to the US with his brand-new MIG fighter, and Kaz gets drawn into working with him, as well as being a liaison for the Apollo-Soyez mission crew. Exciting, but kind of old-school. High body count.

>269 tardis: When did he start writing fiction? Is there anything he can't do? I still love that video of him playing guitar and singing A Space Oddity on the ISS!

>270 clamairy: Well, The Apollo Murders was his first novel, so I guess that's when he started. He is pretty great :)

227. All the Dead Shall Weep by Charlaine Harris. 5th in the Gunny Rose series. Lizbeth Rose and husband Eli are living in Texoma. Lizbeth is happy to have her half-sister, Felicia, visiting, along with Eli's brother, Peter. When a militia come to town looking for grigori to help them take over, Eli and Peter take off to follow them and figure out what's going on. Of course, Lizbeth and Felicia go after them, and then things get complicated. A real page-turner.

228. A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales. Beatrice Steele is fascinated by murder, although it's not a proper hobby for a well-bred young lady, so she keeps it secret. However, when there's a murder at a ball she's attending, she gets into the investigation. Rather silly, but fun.

>271 tardis:. Silly, but fun has its place in the world.

>272 jillmwo: Silly but fun is my favourite thing right now.

229. Demigod 12 by Gail Carriger. Phex and pantheon are now demigods, travelling with a group of gods so that Phex can perform with them when their own deep cantor is ill. Phex's relationship with Misset is getting more annoying. Misset is a whiny baby person, for all he's a "god" and ten years older than Phex. I have borrowed the final book in the series from the library but definitely won't be re-reading or buying the series.

230. Stargazy Pie by Victoria Goddard. Jemis Greenwing, son of a scoundrel, is back in his home town of Ragnor Bella, having failed at university, been done wrong by the girl he loved, and now working in a bookstore. He meets up with his old friend, Mr. Dart, and they get sucked into a mystery with an odd fish pie, a mermaid, cultists, and people who aren't what they seem. Quite fun.

231. Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews. Pure Hallmark movie type fluff, and quite enjoyable. Kerry (out of a job and back home, living with her mom) is guilted into going to New York with her brother to sell Christmas trees (the family business). Attractive divorced dad with cute kid, rival tree sellers, and an odd old man who critiques her sketches. Liked it a lot.

232. One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters. Audiobook. An early Brother Cadfael mystery, in which there is an extra corpse besides the ones that were executed by King Stephen. Very good.

233. Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree. Just as much fun as Legends & Lattes. Early in her mercenary career, Viv is injured and left behind by the mercenary company to heal while they chase a necromancer. To fill time, she stops into a bookshop, gets hooked on reading and helps out the proprietor. More found family, mouthwatering baked goods, and (of course) love of books. Loved it.

>275 tardis: I watched the filmed version of One Corpse too Many. Love the introduction of Hugh Beringar, and the actor who appeared in it is my favorite version of Hugh.

>274 tardis: - I really like the Greenwing and Dart series.

>277 NorthernStar: I'll be looking for more of Greenwing and Dart.

234. Black Orchids by Rex Stout. Two shorter works in one volume, including the titular "Black Orchids" in which Wolfe acquires some black orchids :). Audiobook. Very good, although not the best reader. He's a bit shouty.

235. Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher. Second book in the series, and probably will be hard to follow if you haven't read book 1. Grigsby is finally an Auditor, but only getting low-level jobs, because his partner is AWOL and he's really not all that powerful. He helps Wudge with a mission to find a piece of a door that will help Wudge get home, drags his partner back out of his day (and night) drinking pit, and more. Butcher the younger is getting better at writing.

236. Murder in Williamstown by Kerry Greenwood. Phryne Fisher's two adopted daughters are doing community service (for their school) at a school for the blind. There's a problem with the accounts. Meanwhile, Phryne stumble across an opium pipe in Williamstown and problems in the Chinese community. I enjoyed it.

237. Dome 6 by Gail Carriger. Phex and Misset's love affair didn't get any less annoying, but the series is done, so I never have to revisit it. Other than that, I quite liked the plot, although it was thin in places. However, Carriger has dropped from a must-buy to a library-first author, and I won't be buying most of her recent stuff.

238. System Collapse by Martha Wells. Murderbot is suffering from PTSD after the events of Network Effect but still has to keep its humans from getting killed while they're trying to keep Barish-Estranza Corporation from enslaving the colonists of the alien-remnant contaminated planet. I loved this. I'll be reading it again many times.

239. Let it Crow! Let it Crow! Let it Crow! by Donna Andrews. It's nearly Christmas, and Meg is out at Ragnar's house, helping out behind the scenes with a reality TV show about swordsmiths. When her friend Faulk is attacked, she reluctantly steps into his spot as one of the contestants. Needless to say, murder ensues. Very enjoyable.

240. The Vacuum of Space by Julia Huni. Space Janitor #1. Audiobook. Felt very YA. Triana Moore is a space janitor on a big station. When she stumbles on a body that later disappears, she's caught up in a mystery that will change her life. Cute, fun, light, but not enough so that I'll go on with the series. Of course, part of the problem could be that I had not read it in print before listening to it on audio, which is not my preference. NOTE: apparently this book has a variant title: "Murder is Messy".

I'm in the middle of about 4 other books (and I have a stack of library books that I haven't even started yet), but I have homework for the printmaking course I'm enrolled in, so haven't been reading print as much. Generally I use audiobooks at times like this, and prefer books I've already read in print, so I mostly don't count them towards my reading totals unless it's been a long time since I last read that book. I just listened to the audiobook of System Collapse, and highly recommend it. The reader for all the Murderbot books, Kevin R. Free, is excellent.

241. Honey Drop Dead by Laura Childs. Picked this up to see if the main character had become less annoying, and nope, no improvement. I did finish it, in a sort of half-assed way (skimming a lot) but I think I won't go back to this series again.

242. Remember When by J.D. Robb. Two stories in one. The first is about the daughter of a conman/thief who is escaping her shady past with dear old dad by running an antique shop in a small town. When Daddy makes a big score and the nastiest of his partners comes to town looking for more than his own share of the loot, daughter teams up with an insurance investigator to foil him. In the second, the daughter and the insurance investigator's grandaughter has written a book about the big crime and someone is trying to find the 1/4 of the diamonds that were never found. Eve Dallas gets the associated murder case. Pretty sure I'd already read this but long enough ago that I had forgotten most of the details.

243. The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson. A man finds himself dumped in a medieval alternate dimension with no memories of why. As his memories gradually come back and he pieces his former life together, is he a hero? Grifter? And what is he in this new world? Pretty good.

>282 tardis: I had that one from the library but had a hard time getting to it. I renewed it so much I couldn’t renew it anymore and had to give it back. I need to get it back so I can actually read it!

>283 catzteach: It definitely wasn't my favourite of Sanderson's work, although it was okay.

244. City of Bones by Martha Wells. An older book, newly revised and republished. I read it a few years ago and really liked it. Relic dealers, warders, ancient artifacts, etc. Still really liked it.

245. The Warden by Daniel M. Ford. First in a series. Warden Aelis is assigned to a backwater village called Lone Pine, which turns out to be a lot more exciting than she expected. Enchanted gold, a sexy adventurer, orcs, and ancient wizards. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

>282 tardis: & >283 catzteach: This was my least favorite of the three Sanderson books I've read so far this year. I still enjoyed it, but it seems like it took a little while to get into.

(Can't get the touchstone to work.)

>284 tardis: & >285 clamairy: Hmm, maybe I should try a different Sanderson book, then. I’ve never read one of his before.

>286 catzteach: Maybe try Warbreaker. I remember liking that one, and it's a standalone.

>286 catzteach: Another stand-alone by Sanderson that you might try is The Emperor's Soul. Short and truly excellent.

246. Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews. Novella. Scarred lone werewolf Derek Gaunt teams up with Julie Lennart-Olsen to pursue the murderers and the thing they were looking for. Good.

247. Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews. Audiobook, re-read. Catalina Baylor deals with attacks on her family by a formidable enemy. Good.

248. The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu. Shantiport is supposedly dying, and the wealthy are abandoning it, but Lina, daughter of a dead revolutionary, wants to save the city, with help from her brother, Bador (a monkey bot with attitude). Beautiful writing, but I wanted to like this a lot more than I actually did.

249. The Proof of the Pudding by Rhys Bowen. Georgie and Darcy O'Mara are expecting their first child, and they've acquired a terrific French chef. A neighbour borrows the chef for a fancy dinner party, but when some of the guests are ill afterwards, the chef is suspected of poisoning them. Guest stars Agatha Christie, with cameos by Laurence Olivier and his wife, Jill Esmond. Brain candy.

>290 tardis: I didn't realize there was another Georgie out. They're wonderful for bedtime. Off to the library I go. Thanks!

>291 Jim53: Yes, they're good books for that. Quick reads.

250. An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka. First in a new series, with a new kind of magic. Stephen's father disappeared three years ago, and he and his cat, Hobbes, are living in a rented room in a shared house. He goes out with his friends, works at a temp job, and practices "drucraft" in his spare time. When a mysterious girl approaches him and then tries to kidnap him, he gets drawn into the drucraft world. Enjoyed it, and will look out for the next in the series.

251. The Yellow Rambutan Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu. The Japanese occupation of Singapore is over and the British are back in charge. Su Lin is back living with her grandmother, uncle, aunt, and little cousin. Everyone but the aunt and the cousin is very sick, but Su Lin is feeling a bit better than the rest.When a former business associate of her uncle's is found dead in a ditch, Su Lin gets drawn into the investigation. Liked it a lot.

252. The Paper Caper by Kate Carlisle. A Bibliophile mystery. Not the first in the series, and I haven't read the others, but it stood well enough on its own. Brooklyn is involved in a city-wide Mark Twain festival, and is rebinding a first edition of The Prince and the Pauper in front of an audience. Her hunky husband, Derek, is handling security for the extremely wealthy patron of the festival. There is, of course, a murder. Lightweight, fast read. I liked it.

253. Curse of the Pharoahs by Elizabeth Peters. Audiobook/re-read. Second of the Amelia Peabody series, in which Peabody and Emerson leave their precocious son at home and head off to Egypt to take over an excavation for the widow of another archaeologist. Murder and assorted mayhem ensue. Fun.

254. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. 2nd Thursday Murder Club story. Elizabeth's ex-husband turns up, staying at Cooper's Chase in protective custody, since a very bad man thinks he's stolen some diamonds. Spies, diamonds, the mafia, and of course the charming members of the Thursday Murder Club. Loved it.

>284 tardis: I am curious, what is different about this new version of City of Bones? I think I had read an older version a couple of years ago. It was a very nice book, but I wasn't head over heels...

>297 Alexandra_book_life: I can't say what the differences are - it has been too long since I first read it for memory to help, and I didn't have a copy of the original version to compare. Some day, when I have actual spare time...

>298 tardis: I understand :) Thank you!

255. Death in Print by G. M. Malliet. When an out-for-himself author is found dead during a party in his honor, DCI St. Just is on the spot. He's attending the party with his fiancee, Portia De'Ath. Despite being out of his jurisdiction, St. Just helps the local constabulary. Smoothly written and fairly engaging.

So far I've knocked off two books in my Do Nothing But Read Day (and my TBR pile!). I read half the first book yesterday.

256. Bound for Perdition by Celia Lake. An invalided-out war vet gets assigned to assist a bookbinder and a papermaker who are developing magical journals that can be used for instantaneous communication. Romance ensues. Also spying. Not a whole pile of peril involved but still enjoyable fluff.

257. Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty. Mrs. Brown has gone to learn more about being the symbiont of a space station, leaving Mallory Viridian (murder magnet and sleuth) in charge, but Mallory isn't feeling very well and there's a new shuttle of humans due to arrive soon, with a new Ambassador. Fun

258. No One Will Come Back For Us by Premee Mohamed. Collection of short stories, all in a creepy/horror/lovecraftian vein. Very good if you like that sort of thing.

259. Paladin's Faith by T. Kingfisher. Book 4 of the Saint of Steel series. Marguerite Florian is a spy, and a good one, but she's got a price on her head and she wants rid of it. She's heard of an invention that could destabilize the economies of several countries, and the people who are after her want to destroy the invention and the artificer who created it, so saving both seems like a good way to destroy her enemies. To that end, she goes to the Temple of the White Rat and recruits a couple of paladins of the Saint of Steel (deceased), and off they go. Really good, and I will likely be reading it again in a few months.