manoah

Not a whole lot of progress...we was on vacation - yo!

30. A Storm of Swords by George R R Martin
I did finish this and I'm very pleased with it. I'm finding that the characters I thought were the bad guys might be good guys and the ones I thought were good might not be so good. I'm sure if you've read/watched you know the answers so, NO SPOILERS!

31. The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King
I'm still reading this one. Fred Rogers was quite the interesting character! He had a touch of "only child" syndrome. Add that to his wealth (did you know that?), makes for quite the dynamic guy.

32. A Feast for Crows by George R R Martin
I'm more than 1/2 way through this one. My previous statement re: bad vs. good still stands.

As an aside, we did start to watch the shows. I'm stuck by how they "aged" the younger characters. I guess they had to. As I told The Spare back in the day about the Harry Potter books vs. the movies, you have to look at them as two separate entities lest you make yourself crazy!

And I'm still reading.

23. Origin by Dan Brown
A new to me Dan Brown/Robert Langdon book. Interesting subject matter. I kinda guessed the ending, but not quite. It was a bit of a twist, which is always nice. I do try not to figure these things out ahead, but sometimes it just hits me. If you like the Robert Langdon books, this is a good one!

24. Spirit of Steamboat by Craig Johnson
Another of the Longmire books. This one is what I call a "wayback" book. It takes place when the characters are much younger, but does explain some why they do what they do. I always enjoy these.

25. Any Other Name by Craig Johnson
Next on my Longmire list. I have to say, I don't find them formulaic, but that could be because I enjoy them so much.

26. Game of Thrones by George R R Martin
This is where the rubber meets the road, as it were. I've been mostly reading from the library on my tablet. This means I can read in bed and not disturb (mostly) His Lordship. This is an actual paper book (which I adore as it has MAPS and I find it hard to reference them on my tablet *iz old). I have read this first book before, but want to "binge" read them now that the series is ending. I am one of the few people who has never seen an episode of GoT and I'm trying really hard not to be spoiled. I'm almost done with this, maybe I'll finish it today.

27. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Since I still need (want?) something to read in bed, this is on my tablet. I've seen the movie (which is aces!) and now I'm reading the book. Quite a different format from the movie, but still quite good.

That's all I've got! Happy Reading!

I'm still reading, but slowly now. I'm also working on a new crochet bear pattern and adapting it. I can't read and crochet at the same time and no, I don't do audible books. I just like to read. Onward:

15. Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley
I ended up liking this more than I thought I would. It's a part of history I'm unfamiliar with and that made it interesting. Also, it kept me on my toes as to who was who. I wasn't trying to figure it out and it didn't jump out at me, so that was a bonus. I do enjoy Kearsley's books. Maybe not all at once, but every few months...yeah.

16. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
This is what I'm rereading now. I had forgotten that I'd read this, but now I'm about halfway through and it's pretty good. Interesting all the symbols used by our founding fathers. Masons feature prominently in this book.

I have 4 books queued up on my Kindle/Library app. They'll be quick ones, but I have to get the Dan Brown book finished first.

Have I mentioned I love to read?

I've got a few to talk about. Heh. That's what happens when one...chills.

5. Edward VII: The Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved by Catharine Arnold
This book. Hmm. This was only about the women Bertie loved. Not a complete bio, but an abbreviated one. I had already read a bio about him, so this was all stuff I knew. It was interesting, but if you decide to read a complete bio, let me refer you to: The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, the Playboy Princeby Jane Ridley as it was quite comprehensive.

6. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
My first reread of the year. I was watching the movie and decided to read the book. Move vs. book is very different. But I enjoyed revisiting it.

7. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Well, since I had it...decided to reread as well. Interestingly, as I had just finished Angels and Demons, I realized how similar the two books were as far as plot, pacing, etc. I'm on a wait list for the next book in the series. I remember reading this all in one go one summer. Found it fascinating. Now? Hmmm. I still liked it, but parts just make me cringe. Oh well, it's a fun read.

8. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
We had watched the movie a few months back and it was on the available list so...why not! Again, book vs. movie; very different. Still good. I recommend.

9. Puddin' by Julie Murphy
This was also available, so I grabbed it as well. It's called a "companion" book, but I would call it a sequel as it takes place after the first book. More insight into two of the peripheral characters, one of which the movie kinda glosses over. Again, well written and I enjoyed. Read it! (after you read the first one).

10. As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson
There are a few more books in the 'Longmire' series before I finish. This was next so off we go. I do enjoy reading his books. He can be, umm, un-PC, but he acknowledges it and he says he gets permission from his First Nation friends. As long as everyone gets it....

11. A Serpent's Tooth by Craig Johnson
Next in the series. All these books are fun to read. They aren't fluffy fun, but good solid reads and detective type books. Matter of fact, it's just these last two that I guessed the baddie. Sometimes they are hard to spot!

I'm now rereading the Rick Riordan books starting with The Lightning Thief. Have I mentioned I love to read?

In other, non reading news....life is going well. I just came from a yoga class which I thoroughly enjoyed. Very nice getting out and doing something for me!

It's a bit cold and rainy today, but I'm home and settled. I think I'm going to make Sloppy Joe Salad for dinner. Sounds yummy. Now for a smoothie!

I finished that 800+ page book re: Mary Queen of Scots and decided to try something on my new tablet.

I got Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music - The Definitive Life by Tim Riley. Only to recently find out it's over 700 pages. Sigh. It's good, don't get me wrong, but I was hoping for something a bit quicker. I may still be reading this next week.

Then I'll get to my re-reads!

I stopped reading books in October...after mom died. I'm not sure why, but I did. Possibly because the book I was reading (and didn't finish) was requiring me to think. And there was no thinking for a while.

I did manage to read 57 books prior to that. Makes me wonder how many I'd have read if I kept going. Now mind, I didn't stop reading, I just wasn't reading books. I was reading smooshy, mushy, fic. Can I just say thank goodness for you writers out there? Yes, I can say it. Thank Goodness!

I've seen several people starting this lj book bingo thing and I think I'm going to take a pass on it. I'd already decided that 2019 was going to be my year of the 're-read'. In other words, I am going to indulge myself with all my favorite book and series. Not to say I won't read new or new to me books, but for the most part...re-read it is.

If anyone is interested, my list under the cut.

( 2018 Books )

I haven't done this in a while so....

( Book Stuff )

I talked (it wasn't hard) His Lordship into going grocery shopping with me yesterday as the weather report said it was supposed to start snowing around 4am. So that's done for the week.

I stayed up late last night to watch the USA vs. Canada gold medal hockey game. I'm not a big hockey fan and don't know that much about the sport. Thank my Google-fu for the assist. It was quite the exciting time, but I got to bed much later than I normally do.

The text I got at 6:15am said it was just windy and no snow and he was fine. The Facebooks said the school district, in it's infinite wisdom, was going to have a two hour delayed start due to the winter weather. I looked out the window and there was nothing. I read for a bit and fell back asleep.

My terrible, awful bad dream woke me up around 9:30 and there was still no snow. As I look out my back window right now, it's just starting to come down and the facebook people are saying it's coming down like woah in the North Valley (where His Lordship works - a bit higher elevation). Just in time for the commute to school.

I know why they didn't just call a snow day. I talked to one of my friends who still works for the district and, evidently, there were no contingency days put into the school calendar. If there is a snow day, the kids will have to come back to school the Monday after the stated last day. If there are two, everyone comes Monday but Tuesday is an election day so only teachers go back. Three days? Monday everyone, Tuesday just teacher and Wednesday everyone. Like any of that will happen. What maroons.

Last year there were so many snow days called that they canceled all the Wednesday early release days (used for teacher professional development) so they could make them up without coming back. Evidently they got their hands slapped about that from the Dept. of Education. Oh boy.

Today looks like a good day to read in front of the fireplace.